John 5 records Jesus healing a man who had been ill for thirty-eight years at the pool of Bethesda, and the controversy that follows when he does it on the Sabbath. Jesus then explains his close relationship with the Father, his authority to give life and judge, and the testimony that supports his claims. These questions are for a small group, a Sunday class, or personal study, and each set moves from what the text says, to what it means, to how to live it.
John 5 at a Glance
The chapter opens with a feast in Jerusalem and a man lying by a pool, unable to get into the water first. Jesus heals him with a simple command, which triggers a dispute with religious leaders over the Sabbath. The rest of the chapter is Jesus defending his actions by pointing to his unity with the Father, the authority given to him, and several witnesses to who he is.
Use the three question sets in order. The observation questions keep the group on the text, the interpretation questions handle the harder claims, and the application questions bring the chapter into daily life.
Observation Questions
Begin here so the group agrees on what happens before anyone explains it. Ask each question, let several people answer, and read the relevant verses aloud before moving on.
Q: In verses 2-5, what details does John give about the man and the place where Jesus finds him?
2 Now in Jerusalem by the sheep gate, there is a pool, which is called in Hebrew, “Bethesda”, having five porches. 3 In these lay a great multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, or paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water; 4 for an angel went down at certain times into the pool, and stirred up the water. Whoever stepped in first after the stirring of the water was healed of whatever disease he had. 5 A certain man was there, who had been sick for thirty-eight years.
John 5:2-5 (WEB)
The group should notice the crowd of sick, blind, lame, and paralyzed people, the five porches, and the man’s thirty-eight years of illness. These details show how long and how hopeless his condition was, and why his later healing is so significant. Ask someone to name what the people around the pool were waiting for.
Q: In verses 6-9, what does Jesus ask the man, and what does he tell him to do?
6 When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had been sick for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to be made well?” 7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I’m coming, another steps down before me.” 8 Jesus said to him, “Arise, take up your mat, and walk.” 9 Immediately, the man was made well, and took up his mat and walked. Now it was the Sabbath on that day.
John 5:6-9 (WEB)
Jesus asks, “Do you want to be made well?” and then gives a short command: arise, take up your mat, and walk. The healing happens immediately. Point out that Jesus does not wait for the man to get into the pool, and that the man’s answer about having no one to help him gives the group a clear picture of his need.
Q: In verses 10-13, what objection do the Jewish leaders raise, and what does the healed man say when they press him?
10 So the Jews said to him who was cured, “It is the Sabbath. It is not lawful for you to carry the mat.” 11 He answered them, “He who made me well, the same said to me, ‘Take up your mat, and walk.’” 12 Then they asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your mat, and walk’?” 13 But he who was healed didn’t know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a crowd being in the place.
John 5:10-13 (WEB)
The objection is about carrying a mat on the Sabbath, not about the healing itself. The man explains that the one who healed him told him to carry it, but he does not yet know who Jesus is. Notice that the man is not hostile and simply reports what happened.
Q: In verses 14-15, what warning does Jesus give the man, and what does the man do afterward?
14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “Behold, you are made well. Sin no more, so that nothing worse happens to you.” 15 The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
John 5:14-15 (WEB)
Jesus finds him in the temple and says, “Sin no more, so that nothing worse happens to you.” The man then tells the Jewish leaders that Jesus made him well. The group can discuss why Jesus connects healing with a call to turn from sin, and what it means that the man reports Jesus to the authorities.
Interpretation Questions
These questions ask what the chapter means. Expect differing views, and keep returning to the words of the text. Give the group time to reason from the passage before offering explanations.
Q: In verses 16-18, why do the Jews seek to kill Jesus, and what does Jesus’s claim about God as his Father add to the dispute?
16 For this cause the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill him, because he did these things on the Sabbath. 17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father is still working, so I am working, too.” 18 For this cause therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the Sabbath, but also called God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
John 5:16-18 (WEB)
The conflict begins with Sabbath healing but escalates when Jesus calls God his own Father, which the leaders understand as making himself equal with God. Help the group see that the charge is about Jesus’s identity as well as his actions. Ask why calling God “my Father” would be heard as such a bold claim.
Q: In verses 19-23, what does Jesus say about his relationship with the Father, and why does he say all judgment is given to the Son?
19 Jesus therefore answered them, “Most certainly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father doing. For whatever things he does, these the Son also does likewise. 20 For the Father has affection for the Son, and shows him all things that he himself does. He will show him greater works than these, that you may marvel. 21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom he desires. 22 For the Father judges no one, but he has given all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who doesn’t honor the Son doesn’t honor the Father who sent him.
John 5:19-23 (WEB)
Jesus says the Son does only what he sees the Father doing, and that the Father shows him all things and gives him authority to give life and judge. The purpose is that all may honor the Son as they honor the Father. Discuss how these verses describe a close, shared work between Father and Son without denying their distinct roles.
Q: In verses 24-29, what does Jesus promise to those who hear and believe, and what does he say about the coming hour?
24 “Most certainly I tell you, he who hears my word, and believes him who sent me, has eternal life, and doesn’t come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. 25 Most certainly, I tell you, the hour comes, and now is, when the dead will hear the Son of God’s voice; and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, even so he gave to the Son also to have life in himself. 27 He also gave him authority to execute judgment, because he is a son of man. 28 Don’t marvel at this, for the hour comes, in which all that are in the tombs will hear his voice, 29 and will come out; those who have done good, to the resurrection of life; and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment.
John 5:24-29 (WEB)
Jesus promises eternal life and passage from death into life for those who hear his word and believe the Father who sent him. He also speaks of a coming hour when the dead will hear his voice and come out, some to the resurrection of life and some to judgment. Ask the group how they understand the present and future aspects of life and judgment in these verses.
Q: In verses 31-40, what witnesses does Jesus name to support his claims, and why does he say the people still refuse to come to him?
31 “If I testify about myself, my witness is not valid. 32 It is another who testifies about me. I know that the testimony which he testifies about me is true. 33 You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth. 34 But the testimony which I receive is not from man. However, I say these things that you may be saved. 35 He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. 36 But the testimony which I have is greater than that of John, for the works which the Father gave me to accomplish, the very works that I do, testify about me, that the Father has sent me. 37 The Father himself, who sent me, has testified about me. You have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his form. 38 You don’t have his word living in you; because you don’t believe him whom he sent. 39 “You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and these are they which testify about me. 40 Yet you will not come to me, that you may have life.
John 5:31-40 (WEB)
Jesus lists John the Baptist, his own works, the Father, and the Scriptures as testimony about him. Yet he says they will not come to him that they may have life. Explore the tension between having the witnesses and not responding, and ask what it means that the Scriptures testify about Jesus.
Application Questions
These questions turn the chapter toward daily life. Encourage honest answers and remind the group that no one needs to share more than they are comfortable saying. Close each question by asking what one practical step might look like this week.
Q: Jesus asked the man, “Do you want to be made well?” What might that question be asking you today?
When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had been sick for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to be made well?”
John 5:6 (WEB)
Many people have settled into a long-term hardship and stopped expecting change. This question invites honesty about whether you truly want Jesus to act in an area of your life. Ask the group whether they have ever been content with their situation in a way that made healing less welcome.
Q: The man did not know who healed him at first, yet he obeyed the command to walk. How does obedience before full understanding shape your walk with Jesus?
8 Jesus said to him, “Arise, take up your mat, and walk.” 9 Immediately, the man was made well, and took up his mat and walked. Now it was the Sabbath on that day.
John 5:8-9 (WEB)
The man took up his mat and walked before he knew the healer’s name. Consider times when you have followed a clear instruction from Scripture or conscience while still having many questions. Talk about how trust can grow through small obedient steps.
Q: Jesus warned the healed man to sin no more. What does turning from sin look like in an ordinary week for you?
Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “Behold, you are made well. Sin no more, so that nothing worse happens to you.”
John 5:14 (WEB)
The warning is not about earning healing but about living in the light of what Jesus has done. Ask the group to name concrete habits, relationships, or patterns that need attention. Encourage each person to choose one area to bring to God in prayer.
Q: Jesus says the Scriptures testify about him. How will you read the Bible differently this week, looking for Christ?
39 “You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and these are they which testify about me. 40 Yet you will not come to me, that you may have life.
John 5:39-40 (WEB)
Jesus rebukes those who study the Scriptures without coming to him for life. Suggest the group read a familiar Old Testament passage and ask where it points to Jesus. Ask how this approach might change personal devotion times.
Key Verses to Read Aloud
John 5:17
But Jesus answered them, “My Father is still working, so I am working, too.”
(WEB)
Read this short verse to show the source of the controversy. Jesus’s claim about his Father’s ongoing work frames everything that follows in the chapter.
John 5:19-20
19 Jesus therefore answered them, “Most certainly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father doing. For whatever things he does, these the Son also does likewise. 20 For the Father has affection for the Son, and shows him all things that he himself does. He will show him greater works than these, that you may marvel.
(WEB)
Read these verses to hear Jesus describe his dependence on the Father and the Father’s love for the Son. They are central to understanding the chapter’s claims about identity.
John 5:24
“Most certainly I tell you, he who hears my word, and believes him who sent me, has eternal life, and doesn’t come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
(WEB)
Read this verse as a clear statement of the promise for those who hear and believe. Many groups find it a natural place to pause and invite response.
Memory Verse for John 5
A Closing Prayer for the Group
Father, we thank you that you meet us in our long-held needs and speak your word to us as you did to the man at the pool. Help us to answer honestly when you ask whether we truly want to be made well. Give us hearts that hear your Son’s voice and believe the One you sent, so that we may have life that lasts. Teach us to search the Scriptures to find Jesus, and to walk in obedience even when our understanding is still growing. May the truth of this chapter change how we live this week. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
