Have you ever been watching a TV show where everything is going perfectly for the main characters and you just know something bad is about to happen?

That’s exactly what we get in John 5. Everything seems to be going great — a miraculous healing, a man’s life transformed. But then we reach the end of verse 9, and six words change everything: “Now that day was the Sabbath.” And just like that, trouble is about to begin.

1. Did Jesus break the Fourth Commandment? No, while Jesus broke a man-made rule regarding the Sabbath, he didn’t break the Fourth Commandment.
2. Had the man been an invalid because of his own sin? Possibly, but Jesus might have been referring to the sin of unbelief which would lead to “something worse.”
3. What does Jesus’s statement in verse 17 mean? Jesus is claiming to be God. He needs to always be working, including on the Sabbath, just like the Father.

Jesus — the one who is equal with God — feels compassion for people in need. And he believes that our greatest need is solved by believing in him and receiving eternal life.