John 5: Group Study Handout

Overview

Jesus went to Jerusalem for a Jewish feast and found a multitude of sick people at the pool of Bethesda (vv. 1-3). He encountered a man who had been ill for thirty-eight years and asked him if he wanted to be made well (vv.

Key verse

“For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom he desires.”

John 5:21 (WEB)

Outline

1. John 5:1–5 Healing at the Pool of Bethesda
2. John 5:6–9 Command to Walk
3. John 5:10–13 Sabbath Controversy Begins
4. John 5:14–16 Warning and Persecution
5. John 5:17–24 Jesus' Defense of His Work
6. John 5:25–30 Authority Over Life and Judgment
7. John 5:31–47 Testimony to Jesus’ Authority

Discussion questions

1. In v6, what does Jesus ask the man who had been sick for thirty-eight years?
2. What do the Jews say is not lawful in vv. 9-10?
3. In v18, why do the Jews seek to kill Jesus after he calls God his Father?
4. In v39, what is implied about the people's search of the Scriptures regarding Jesus?
5. When have you felt pressured by rules, like the Jews were about the Sabbath (v10)?

Go deeper

Passages that echo John 5: John 8, John 14, John 3.

Before next time: read John 6.