CHAPTER 5
Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. John 5:1
John was not so interested in a time sequence, but he was interested in presenting the Lord Jesus as the holy and powerful Son of God. In the first section of his book, he is presenting Jesus through his mighty works and miracles. Probably some months had passed since the events of the previous chapter.1 His coming miracle at the pool in Jerusalem would place him in a serious and extended conflict with the Jewish leaders.
We do not know to which of the feasts Jesus had come. There have been many guesses over the centuries. Previous scholars thought it was Pentecost while more modern scholars have felt it to be Passover. Should the feast have been that of Passover it would obviously have been the first of three Passovers (cf. 6:4; 11:55) and it would have extended the time of Jesus’ ministry to at least three years.2
The simple truth is that we do not know the name of this feast. We would be much safer to assume that it was one of the three pilgrimage festivals of Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles. Jewish men were commanded to observe these festivals in Jerusalem (Exo. 23:17).3 We know from scripture that Jesus was always faithful in going to these feasts (e.g. Mat. 26:17; Jn. 7:2). He even celebrated the winter Feast of Dedication in 11:55.
“Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades” (5:2). Here, as in other geographical descriptions, John is relying on his sharp memories of Jesus’ ministry. The pool likely had been destroyed by the Romans in AD 70, along with virtually everything else in Jerusalem. John is writing at least 20 years after that event.
We have mention here of the Sheep Gate. This gate was also spoken of in Nehemiah 3:1, 32; and 12:39. It probably stood in the general location of the Lion’s Gate today, which opens immediately into the northeastern part of the Old City and the Temple Mount. For centuries, Bible scholars scoffed at the idea of a five-sided pool, but as in most of these cases, God had the last laugh. Such a pool was discovered in the late 19th century. A 2015 article by the Biblical Archaeology Society staff says that it has taken over 100 years for the pool to be properly identified. The site now reveals a rectangular pool with two basins separated by a wall, thus producing a five-sided pool, with each pool having a portico. Scholars now feel that the pool possibly served as a mikveh, a ritual purification bath.4 Its nearness to the temple makes this a very likely possibility.
The name of this pool has undergone some discussion over the years. It is known as Bethesda, House of Mercy or Bethzatha, House of Olives.5 Modern translations choose between the names with Bethesda probably being more popular. Today this pool can be seen at the St. Anne Church compound just off the Via Dolorosa in Old Jerusalem. Over the years I have been there many times alone and with groups. The St. Anne Church has great acoustics and our tour groups always liked to stop and sing choruses there.
“Here a great number of disabled people used to lie— the blind, the lame, the paralyzed” (5:3-4). There is considerable evidence that this site was a sort of healing shrine.6 Of course, this meant that many disabled and needy folks were there awaiting their chance at a cure. The fourth verse goes into an explanation about how these folks were waiting for the moving of the water which was brought about by an angel’s presence. This verse appears in a few versions like the KJV, the NKJ, the NAS, and the ASV, but it is not found in most modern versions today, including the NIV. Robertson says, “All of this verse is wanting in the oldest and best manuscripts like Aleph, B, C, D, W, 33, Old Syriac, Coptic versions, Latin Vulgate.” 7 It was obviously some scribal explanation that became attached to the text over the centuries.
THE INVALID AT THE POOL
One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. John 5:5
This man had been an invalid for a long, long time. Some manuscripts read that he was actually paralyzed.8 We do not know that the man had spent all thirty-eight years there by the pool, but he had been there far too long. There was a great crowd of needy people at the pool but Jesus picked only one. Perhaps he realized that this man had been there the longest and was the most needy. Tenney says, “Thirty-eight years of sickness would indicate hopelessness from the physical standpoint; but there was a hint that the man was even more hopeless psychologically.” 9 He seemed to be placing the blame for the continued existence of his situation upon other people.
When we look at this man, he seems to be a picture of Israel, helpless and paralyzed through centuries of erroneous teaching. He is also a very good picture of the lost sinner, who is unable to do anything for himself and who is paralyzed to accomplish anything good. It is only Jesus who is able to have mercy and help such as these.
“When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, ‘Do you want to get well?’” (5:6). This question might sound strange to us at first. What man would not want to get well? However, experience tells us that some people are quite comfortable in their misery. Some enjoy having other people wait on them. Others might be quite fearful of giving up their life of begging and having to get a job to make their own way. Jesus wanted the man to indicate that he had a desire to get well.
“‘Sir,’ the invalid replied, ‘I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me’” (5:7). Keener says, “Healing shrines were common throughout the ancient world, especially for the worship of Asclepius and other popular deities renowned for healing powers…” 10 There was likely some superstition regarding this pool that an angel did periodically stir the water and at such a time a fortunate person could get healed by jumping in.
“Then Jesus said to him, ‘Get up! Pick up your mat and walk’” (5:8). Jesus was commanding the impossible, since the man had not walked for thirty-eight years. He was likely paralyzed and all his muscles were no doubt atrophied through disuse. Not only could he not walk but he could certainly not carry his mat.
“At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, and so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, ‘It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat’” (5:9-10). What an astounding miracle this was! The man who had been an invalid for much of a normal lifetime sprang up, walked around, and began to carry his bed. This act should have been an eye-opener for the Jewish people. Long before, Isaiah had spoken of the Messianic Age and prophesied: “Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy” (Isa. 35:6; cf. Matt. 11:5-6).
When we westerners think of a man carrying a bed it seems to be quite a large task. The bed Jesus spoke of was not a large mattress with metal or wooden frames. The Greek word is krabbatos and it really meant a pallet.11 We can imagine this man carrying his pallet as he must have been walking, leaping and praising God. However, Jewish leaders were standing in the wings ready to douse his joy.
They quickly reminded the man that it was the Sabbath and that carrying beds was forbidden on the holy day (Exo. 20:10). Not only did the Scribes and Pharisees acknowledge the law but they busily added numerous commands to the law, ostensibly to protect it. There were in fact thirty-nine categories of work on the Sabbath which they had devised and carrying a load was one of these.12 They had really made the law ridiculous by arguing that a person sinned even if he carried a needle in his robe. They declared that even wearing artificial teeth or a wooden leg was a sin.13 Jesus would say of them, “They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules” (Matt. 15:9). They loaded people down with burdens while they themselves were not willing to lift a finger to help (Lk. 11:46). Augustine said of them, “…They sought darkness from the Sabbath more than light from the miracle.” 14
Jesus who was “Lord of the Sabbath” (Matt. 12:8), and the one who actually created the Sabbath, did not accept their ideas of Sabbath worship. Instead, he made a special point to heal and deliver people on the Sabbath (cf. Matt. 12:1-14; Mk. 2:23 – 3:6; Lk. 6:1-11; 14:1-6; Jn. 9:1-14). This was much more in line with God’s original plan for the day. After all, the Lord who made the Sabbath had a right to declare what might or might not be done on that special day.15 It is utterly amazing that these Jewish leaders were not in the least interested in the fact that an astounding miracle had been worked. As Pet says, “They were only interested in furniture removal on the Sabbath.” 16
“But he replied, ‘The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk’” (5:11). The Pharisees, Scribes and others were experts at producing new laws that would burden people, but they were incapable of producing miracles to help them. The evidence of a divine miracle certainly outranked the burdensome laws they had manufactured.
“So they asked him, ‘Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?’” (5:12). Apparently, these officials were unfamiliar with Jesus at this time. However, we do pick up a note of contempt in their expression “this fellow.” 17
“The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there” (5:13). Bruce says, “…Jesus, in keeping with his common policy, shunned publicity for acts of this kind…” 18 Apparently, the man was released since his supposed transgression was not his fault.
“Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, ‘See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you’” (5:14). Jesus sought this man out and found him. We are reminded of Francis Thompson’s poem, “The Hound of Heaven,” picturing God as one pursuing sinners to their salvation. Jesus would not give up on this man because there was more that he needed. His problem was both physical and spiritual. Apparently, the spiritual problem in this case had caused the physical problem. Jesus charged him to stop sinning. Pett notes that the exhortation is in the present tense, indicating that the man was still continuing to sin.19
Sometimes sin can cause sickness, but it is a tricky business to suppose that sin always causes sickness and that all sickness is caused somehow by sin. In John 9:1-3, Jesus’ disciples wondered if a certain blind man had sinned or whether it was the sin of his parents that he was born blind. Jesus assured them that it was neither. His healing was just God’s opportunity to display his mighty works in him.
“The man went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well” (5:15). Morris says of him: “The man was not of the stuff of which heroes are made. He put the whole blame on the shoulders of him who had healed him.” 20 He purposefully squealed on Jesus, exposing him to the wrath of the Jewish leadership. However, we cannot be too hard on this man. It might well have been the divine purpose for Jesus to come into conflict with the corrupted Jewish leadership.
JEWISH PERSECUTION
So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him. John 5:16
Wiersbe says here: “He deliberately challenged the legalistic traditions of the scribes and Pharisees. They had taken the Sabbath – God’s gift to man – and had transformed it into a prison house of regulations and restrictions.” 21 It is interesting to note a couple of things in the Greek language here. The language implies that Jesus habitually did things like this on the Sabbath.22 Also, the word for persecute is the Greek dioko which in Greek literature is used for legal prosecution. In a very real sense, Jesus’ final trial had begun and the charge of blasphemy was already being formulated.23
Their attitudes and charges were really ridiculous. All that Jesus had done was to help a poor man in need. The Jewish leaders habitually did a similar thing to their cattle. Jesus once said to them: “…If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath” (Matt. 12:11-12). They had forgotten that the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath (Mk. 2:27). While this event marks the first open hostility to Jesus, it was destined to continue and increase in intensity until it would ultimately end in his death.24
“In his defense Jesus said to them, ‘My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working’” (5:17). It is clear in scripture that God rested after all his works of creation, but he has been at work ever since. There is not a Sabbath that the Lord is not at work keeping the heavens in alignment and making the earth rotate on its axis. He makes the sun come up, the waves come in and the flowers bloom. While he is busy with the old creation he is also quite busy with the new creation.25 The Lord is very busy laboring in his church (2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15), and that work certainly goes on during the Sabbath. The Father also never slumbers or sleeps as he watches over Israel (Psa. 121:3-4).
There is something else in this verse that alarmed the Jews. In speaking of God Jesus called him “My Father.” Bruce says about this: “In their synagogue services of prayer and thanksgiving the Jews were accustomed to address God as ‘our Father’; but Jesus appeared to be claiming God as ‘his own Father’ in an exceptional, if not exclusive,
sense.” 26 Clearly, he was making himself equal to God and that did not go unnoticed by the Jews.
“For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God” (5:18). Of course, such a claim was blasphemy to the Jews and they began immediately with their evil plans. They never ceased with this overall plan and the only thing preventing Jesus’ murder was the hand of God the Father and their need of an opportunity.
JESUS EXPLAINS HIS RELATIONSHIP TO THE FATHER
Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” John 5:19
In verse 25 Jesus will clearly apply the term “Son of God” to himself. While the term appears 39 times in the New Testament it does not appear in the Old Testament. Simply, the Jews did not believe that God has a Son. Thus, the talk of Jesus as Son of God was blasphemy to them. Of course, there are several occasions in the Old Testament where it appears that God has a Son (Psa. 2:7; Prov. 30:4). It is always interesting that God strangely used the plural when he spoke of creating the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:26). Theologically speaking, God is one, but he has revealed himself in the persons of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This is the profound mystery that we Christians term as the Trinity.
In this passage Jesus is showing forth the essential and true unity of the Father and the Son.27 This whole section “…is built on the motif of the cultural family relationship where a son would learn a skill or trade from his father.” 28 Thus, the two would work perfectly and harmoniously together. It also conveys the idea of agency, where the Son is “sent” by the Father to accomplish his will and work.29 This passage is critical. Ryle says of it: “Nowhere else in the gospels do we find our Lord making such a formal, systematic, orderly, regular statement of his own unity with the Father, his divine commission and authority, and the proofs of his Messiahship, as we find in this discourse…” 30 Wiersbe says, “The ‘religious’ people who say that they worship God, but who deny the deity of Christ, have neither the Father nor the Son! Apart from Jesus Christ, we cannot know the Father, worship the Father, or serve the Father.” 31
“For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it” (5:20-21). This passage must have caused the Jewish leaders to back away in dumbfounded astonishment. Now, Jesus is claiming that he will raise the dead and give resurrection life to all whom he pleases. This was always considered to be the work of the Father but here it is made plain that the Father and Son are doing the same work. This is really an astoundingly clear description of the Lord’s purpose and work.
“Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him” (5:22-23). To the Jewish people God was judge of all (Gen. 18:25). But here Jesus claims that now all judgment is given to the Son of God. We see in 2 Corinthians 5:10, that all will appear before the judgment seat of Christ. In John 12:47, we see Jesus saying that he did not come to judge the world but to save it. That was the purpose of his first coming. However, in his second appearance he will come to judge the world.
“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life” (5:24). The solemn introduction, “verily truly” (Gk. amen, amen) as we have mentioned before is often used of Jesus to stress the importance of a statement. In fact, it is used over twenty times in this gospel.32
Here we have what theologians have called “Realized” or “Inaugurated” Eschatology.33 If we hear the word and believe in Jesus we will presently begin to enjoy eternal life. It is not something for which we will have to wait. Of course, eternal life at its fullest will be ours only at the resurrection of the dead. Jesus says that such a one will not be judged. Of course we will all appear before the judgment seat of Christ as we have said previously, but for the righteous in Christ there is no condemnation (Rom. 8:1).
JESUS AND THE RESURRECTION
Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. John 5:25
Jesus will say later in 6:40, “For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.” Guthrie remarks, “It is noticeable that Jesus uses the title Son of God when speaking of resurrection and Son of Man (v. 27) when speaking of judgment.” 34 Perhaps this is because the Son of Man in his flesh had experienced every human temptation and had done so victoriously. He was thus especially qualified to judge humanity.
This is shocking language that the dead will hear the voice of Christ and will arise. In his earthly ministry Jesus had called several people from the dead. There was the damsel of Mark 5:41; the young man of Luke 7:14; Lazarus of John 11:43. However, all these died again eventually. The resurrection of the last days is a resurrection to eternal life. Wiersbe says of this resurrection: “Keep in mind that resurrection is not reconstruction. He does not imply that God ‘puts the pieces back together again.’ The resurrection body is a new body, a glorified body, suited to the new heavenly environment.” 35
Let us illustrate the difference between earthly body that ages, dies and decomposes and the spiritual resurrected body. Today we can have articles and books on our computers and we can have the same articles and books printed out in hard copy. The printed versions discolor and degenerate with age. We spill coffee on them and they become wrinkled and brittle. Finally they are ready for the trash. However, with the flick of our finger we can print out a brand new and spotless copy. We can also send that new copy around the world at lightning speed in the cyber realm. This is only a faint illustration of the resurrected life.
“For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man (5:26-27). The Son of God is the very embodiment of life (1 Jn. 1:2). He is the life (14:6). He also is the resurrection (11:25). Not only does the Son have life in himself but he also has the authority to judge. We saw in 5:22: “Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son…” It is important to understand that all judgment is now turned over to the Son of Man. Barker and Kohlenberger say, “As the Son of Man Jesus is qualified to judge humanity because he belongs to it and can understand the needs and viewpoints of humans…Heb. 2:17.” 36 Barclay adds: “Only a man whose heart is pure and whose motives are completely unmixed can rightly judge another man – which means to say that no man can.” 37
“Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out— those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned” (5:28-29). Barker and Kohlenberger comment: “This passage contains one of the few references to eschatology (study of last things) in John’s gospel…The double resurrection assumes that both the righteous and the wicked will receive bodies in the future life and that presumably each body will express the character of the person who is resurrected.” 38 We note that this final judgment is based upon deeds (cf. Psa. 62:12; 28:4; Job 34:11; Pro. 24:12; Matt. 16:27; Rom. 2:6-8; 1 Cor. 3:8; 2 Cor. 5:10; Eph. 6:8 and Col. 3:25). After all, deeds are the expression of true faith.
“By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me” (5:30). In this verse we once again see the principle of agency at work. Jesus perfectly represents the Father and speaks only that which the Father speaks. Pett says, “By his very nature he cannot act on his own. The unity of the Godhead is too close.” 39
JESUS DEFENDS HIMSELF
If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. John 5:31
Tenney remarks here: “There is an apparent conflict between the statement in 5:31, ‘If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true,’ and that in 8:14, ‘Even if I bear witness of myself, my witness is true.’ The former was a concession to the legal rule that a man’s testimony about himself is inadmissible as evidence in court, since it might be assumed that his judgment would be prejudiced. The latter was an avowal of personal competency to speak concerning himself since he knew more about himself than anybody else did.” 40
We know from scripture that there had to be at least two witnesses before a judgment could be made (Deut. 17:6; 19:15; cf. 1 Tim. 5:19). This was the day before DNA testing and cell phone pictures so individual testimonies were of critical importance. Jesus will continue to name five witnesses to his claims.
(1)“There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is true. You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth” (5:32-33). The Jewish leaders had actually sent a delegation that questioned John the Baptist. He verified to them that the one coming after him was greater than himself (1:26-27). John lived in the wilderness and was not influenced by society or politics. He bore a true and unsolicited witness to Jesus.
“Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved. John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light” (5:34-35). Truly, the Son of God did not need human testimony to validate his ministry. He gave such testimony to save the Jewish people from disaster. The Jews had not seen a prophet for some 400 years. But when one appeared, the leaders disdained him and allowed their ruler to finally behead him. He bore the fate that many more prophets of Israel had suffered. They enjoyed his light for a season – “that is, till they saw that it pointed whither they were not prepared to go.” 41
(2) “I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish— the very works that I am doing— testify that the Father has sent me” (5:36). Jesus did mighty works all over Israel. However, he did many mighty works right in Jerusalem, in the presence of the leaders of Israel. They could never acknowledge these works because their concern was always that Jesus was breaking their traditions.
(3) “And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent” (5:37-38). It is likely that Jesus was here referring to God’s voice from heaven on three different occasions during Jesus’ ministry (cf. Matt. 3:17; 17:5; Mk. 1:11; 9:7; Lk. 3:22; 9:35; Jn. 12:28).
(4) “You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life” (5:39-40). The Jewish people studied the scriptures from early childhood. Many people had much of the scripture memorized. Yet, somehow they missed the Messiah, who was the focal point of all scripture. It is clear that the Pharisees practiced a sort of bibliolatry or worship of the Bible. We cannot be fanatics about the Bible while at the same time missing the Bible’s essential message. The message of the word of God must be laid up in our hearts (Psa. 119:11) but it must also be seen in our works or way of life.
Tenney says, “…Jesus was attempting to point out the inconsistency of professing to study the law and of rejecting him, since the law spoke of him.” 42 In a very real sense Jesus was and is the Living Law. The Risen Christ said to his disciples: “…This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms. Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures” (Lk. 24:44-45; cf. Psa. 40:7).
Those who have been around seminaries know how some people (like the Pharisees) can become puffed up with their religious knowledge. They may in fact be highly skilled scholars in biblical matters. However, they do not reflect the warmth, simplicity, love and humility of Jesus. Wiersbe asks: “…Does our knowledge of the Bible give us a “big head” or a “burning heart”? 43
PRAISE FROM GOD, NOT FROM MEN
I do not accept glory from human beings, but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. John 5:41-42
Bruce says: “Had there been any love for God in their hearts, it would have manifested itself by their acceptance of the one who came to them in the name of God…and chief among his commandments is this: ‘that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ (1 Jn. 3:23).’” 44
Apparently, the Jewish leaders were busy seeking honor from each other (cf. 12:43) and not from God.45 There is a lot of that going on in religious circles today where one preacher builds up another, knowing that the favor will be quickly returned to him. Such things are fading glories while the glory that God gives will last forever.
“I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him” (5:43). Michael Magill (New Testament TransLine) has a very good quote in this regard: “The Jewish leaders will receive a human teacher or rabbi who does not claim to be sent by God. With a human teacher, they are in a reciprocal relationship of peers, exchanging glory on an equal basis. With a prophet sent from God, they must be in a subordinate position, hearing and obeying. This has always been at the root of why God’s prophets were rejected.” 46
There was a very tragic fulfillment of Jesus’ words that happened around AD 132. A Jewish leader by the name of Simon bar Kokhba arose, claiming to be from David’s line, and he led the Jewish people in a second revolt against the Roman Empire. At that time Akiba, Israel’s most eminent rabbi, hailed Simon as ‘the star out of Jacob’ (Num. 24:17). Unfortunately, Kokhba’s war resulted in another awful defeat by Rome.47 This defeat essentially resulted in the dispersion of Israel from the land for the next nineteen centuries.
“How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?” (5:44). Clarke says, “The grand obstacle to the salvation of the scribes and Pharisees was their pride, vanity, and self-love. They lived on each other’s praise.” 48 One of America’s great pastors, Adrian Rogers, once said, “Our theology has been changed to me-ology.”
(5) “But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?” (5:45-47). Here is the fifth and final witness regarding Jesus. It was none other than their great hero Moses. In the First Century the Jewish people regarded Moses as their primary prophetic figure.49 Now Jesus points to their highly venerated Moses as their accuser. The use of the present tense makes clear that Moses is at present standing as a witness against them.50 After all, the great Moses had said: “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him” (Deut. 18:15). That prophet had now appeared, working miracles like Moses did so long ago. Yet, the Jews refused to believe in him.
Jesus at the end of his ministry would rise from the dead. This was something that the great Moses was unable to do. Still the Jewish people did not believe in him. Scripture had spoken about this very thing: “…If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead” (Lk.16:31).