John 5

EasyEnglish Bible

Jesus makes a man able to walk

5 Some time after that, Jesus went to Jerusalem, because it was time for one of the Jewish festivals.

² There is a pool near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem. Its name in the Jewish language is Bethesda. Round the pool, there is a building with five places that have a roof over them. ³ A large number of sick people were lying in these places. Some of them were blind. Some of them could not walk properly. Some of them could not move their legs or their arms. [^[a] They were waiting for when the water started to move. ⁴ An angel would go down into the pool at certain times and move the water about. When that happened, all the sick people tried to get into the pool. The first person who got into the water became well, whatever his illness was.]

⁵ One man who was lying there had been ill for 38 years. ⁶ Jesus saw this man. He knew that the man had been ill like this for a very long time. So he asked the man, ‘Do you want to get well?’ ⁷ The sick man said, ‘Sir, I do not have anyone who will help me. I need somebody who will put me into the pool. When the water starts to move, I try to get in. But someone else always gets in before me.’ ⁸ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Stand up! Pick up your mat and walk.’ ⁹ The man became well immediately. He picked up his mat and he walked.

The day when this happened was a Jewish day of rest.^{[b] 10} Because of this, the Jewish leaders spoke to the man that Jesus had made well. They said to him, ‘You must not carry your mat on our day of rest. You are not obeying the rules.’ ¹¹ The man replied, ‘The man who made me well said to me, “Pick up your mat and walk.” ’ ¹² So they asked him, ‘Who is this man? Who said to you, “Pick up your mat and walk”?’ ¹³ The man did not know who had made him well. Jesus had gone away and joined the crowd that was there.

¹⁴ Some time after that, Jesus found the man in the temple. Jesus said to him, ‘See, you have become well. Stop doing wrong things. If you do not stop, something worse may happen to you.’ ¹⁵ Then the man went to the Jewish leaders. He told them that it was Jesus who had made him well. ¹⁶ The Jewish leaders were angry because Jesus had made a man well on their day of rest.^[c] As a result, they began to cause a lot of trouble for Jesus. ¹⁷ But Jesus said to them, ‘My Father is still working, and I too must work.’ ¹⁸ Because Jesus said this, the Jewish leaders became really angry. They wanted even more to kill him. Jesus not only worked on the day of rest. He was also calling God his own Father, so he was making himself equal with God.

¹⁹ Jesus answered them, ‘I tell you this: The Son can do nothing by himself. He sees what the Father does, and he can do only those same things. What the Father does, the Son also does. ²⁰ The Father loves the Son. He shows the Son all the things that he himself does. And the Father will show the Son even greater things to do than these. Those greater things will surprise you even more than what you have already seen. ²¹ The Father raises dead people to make them alive again. In the same way, the Son gives life to whoever he chooses. ²² More than that, the Father does not judge anyone. He has given authority to the Son, so that the Son will judge all people. ²³ Then all people will respect the Son as a great person. They will respect him in the way that they respect the Father. The Father sent the Son. So if people refuse to respect the Son, it shows that they do not respect the Father either.

²⁴ I tell you this: Everyone who hears my message should believe in the Father who sent me. If they believe in me, they will have life for ever with God. God will not say that they are guilty. They are no longer under the power of death. Instead, they have life with God.

²⁵ I tell you this: A time will soon come when those who are dead in their spirits will hear the voice of the Son of God. Yes, it is that time already. Those people who hear that message will receive true life. ²⁶ The Father himself can give people life. In the same way, he has given authority to the Son to give people life. ²⁷ The Father has also given authority to the Son to judge people. That is because I am the Son of Man. ²⁸ Do not be surprised by this. There will be a time when all the dead people will hear the Son's voice. ²⁹ They will come out from under the ground. Those people who have done good things will rise from death and they will live with God. Those people who have done evil things will also rise from death. But they will rise so that God can punish them as guilty people.’

The Father shows who Jesus really is

³⁰ Then Jesus said, ‘I can do nothing by myself. I hear what the Father says to me. Then, because of what he says, I judge people. So I judge in a way that is fair. I am not trying to do what I want for myself. The Father sent me, and I want to do what he wants. ³¹ If I say great things about myself, nobody would know that my words are true. ³² But there is someone else who speaks about me. I know that what he says about me is true. ³³ You have sent your people to ask John about me. What he has told you about me is true. ³⁴ I do not need any man to speak on my behalf. But I am telling you this to help you. Then God will be able to save you. ³⁵ John was like a light that shone brightly. For a certain time, you enjoyed the light that he gave.

³⁶ But it is not only John who shows who I am. There are other things that show it more strongly. My Father has given work to me so that I could finish it. These are the things that I do, and they show who I am. They show clearly that the Father has sent me. ³⁷ Also, the Father himself has spoken about me. You have never heard his voice. And you have never seen his shape. ³⁸ I am the one that he has sent. You do not receive his message because you do not believe in me. ³⁹ You study carefully what the Bible teaches. You think that those books will give you life with God. And it is true, those books do speak about who I am. ⁴⁰ But then you refuse to come to me so that you may have life with God!

⁴¹ I do not think that it is important for people to praise me. ⁴² But I know what kind of people you are. I know that you do not really love God. ⁴³ I have come with my Father's authority, but you do not accept me. But if someone else comes with his own authority, then you will accept him. ⁴⁴ You like to praise each other. That makes you happy. But what about God himself? You do not try to do good things so that he will praise you. That is why you will never believe in me.

⁴⁵ But I will not have to tell the Father that you are guilty. No, it is Moses who will do that. You think that Moses is the one who will show that you are right. But he is the one who will show that you are guilty. ⁴⁶ Moses wrote about me. So, if you had really believed Moses, you would believe me. ⁴⁷ But you do not believe what Moses wrote.^[d] So you will never believe what I say.’