John 5:9-15

John 5:9 b - John 5:15. The Conflict with the Authorities. With the man himself the Jews raise the question of bearing burdens on the Sabbath (cf. Jeremiah 17:21). The man's ignorance of who had healed him is one of the many details which suggest that the author is following tradition, or using his memory, rather than inventing for didactic purposes. In John 5:5 b a reference is often found to the thirty-eight years of the wandering in the wilderness, mentioned only in Deuteronomy 2:14, too obscure a passage for the origin of the detail, which is probably traditional, though the author may have had the parallel in his mind. With Jesus Himself the Jews raise the wider question of Sabbath healing, as in the Synoptists. John 5:17 is a summary of His defence. He is doing the will of the Lawgiver. It is the Father who works when His Messenger works. This claim to be a fellow-worker with God seems blasphemous to His opponents and they seek His death. It is not unlikely that the author anticipates a stage in the quarrel which was really reached later. Cf. however, Mark 3:6.