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No Need for a Bedroll

¹ Later on, Jesus went back to Jerusalem for another Jewish festival. ² When you go in the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem, there is a pool called Bethesda. Around the water are five covered porches. ³ Under these porch coverings lay the blind, lame, and paralyzed. ⁴ Every once in a while, an angel would ride down and stir up the water. When this happened, the first one to get in the water would be healed.

Note: This verse is not included in the earliest manuscripts.

⁷ "Sir, when the angel stirs the water, the first one in is healed, but someone always gets there before me."

⁸ Jesus said to him, "Get up, take your bedroll and walk out of here."

⁹ The man was instantly healed. He rolled up his bedroll and began walking around. This all happened on the day of rest, ¹⁰ so the Jewish leaders weren't too happy about it. They approached the man and said, "You can't be carrying your bedroll around on the day of rest. That is against our laws."

¹¹ The man shot back, "That fellow who healed me told me to, so that's what I'm going to do."

¹² "What fellow told you that?" they shouted.

¹³ The healed guy looked around, but couldn't find Jesus. He had slipped away in all the commotion. ¹⁴ Later on, they healed guy ran into Jesus in the temple. Jesus told him, "Now that you are healed, stop sinning or you'll end up in wire worse than just being sick." ¹⁵ The man went back and told the leaders that it was Jesus who had healed him.

Jesus Tells Them He Is the Son of God

¹⁶ So the Jewish leaders started nit-picking Jesus about healing a man on the day of rest. ¹⁷ Jesus told them, "When your Father is out working, you go and work with him. My Dad is working today and I am too." ¹⁸ Now this really kicked the hornet's nest, and the leaders tried to find a way to get rid of Jesus for good. Not only had Jesus broke the Law by working on the day of rest, when he called God his Father, he was saying that he was equal with God.

¹⁹ So Jesus tried to explain himself to the knot-heads. "The Son doesn't do anything on his own. He only works beside his Dad and does the things he does. ²⁰ The Father loves his Son and teaches him all things and shows him everything he is doing. The truth is, the Father is going to show the Son how to do greater things than just healing a sick dude. If that blew your mind, you ain't going to believe what's coming next. ²¹ The Father can bring the dead back to life, and in the same way, the Son can give life to anyone he chooses.

²² "And besides that, the Father has turned all his operations over to the Son, who now has the final say in all matters. ²³ If you don't show respect to the Son, then you are disrespecting the Father. He's the one who sent the Son to you.

²⁴ "Listen carefully to what I'm fixing to tell you. Those who believe what I am telling you right now, and believe that the God has sent me, that person will live forever in heaven. No sin will be held against a cowboy who believes in me. That cowboy has walked from the land of the dead and crossed the cattle guard to saddle up for eternal life.

²⁵ "Don't miss what I'm saying. A time is coming—right now as a matter of fact—when dead men will hear my words and come alive. ²⁶ Only the Father has the power to give life, and he has given that power to the Son. ²⁷ And with this power comes the authority to judge every cowboy because he is the Son of Man.

²⁸ "And don't let all this surprise you. There will be time for amazement when those who are dead hear the Son's voice and ²⁹ rise from their graves. Those who believe will go on to do good things and experience eternal life, but those who dismiss this message will only ride for themselves and continue to live evil lives. These will experience judgment for their sins. ³⁰ But I do not judge unfairly. I only judge as God tells me. Therefore, my judgment is fair, and they will get what they deserve. I only carry out the will of my Father who sent me, not my own.

³¹ "You know, I'm not telling you anything you haven't heard about me already. I didn't just come up with this on my own. ³² There is someone else who has already said all of this is true. ³³ In fact, y'all sent people to listen to John the Baptizer, and everything he said was the truth. ³⁴ To be honest though, I don't even need someone else to verify what I tell you is the truth. I tell you the truth because I want you to be saved. ³⁵ John was a campfire that shined bright in this dark world and y'all enjoyed the warmth of his message for a while. ³⁶ But I have something that verifies me even more than what John said. My teachings and the miracles I do prove that my Father has sent me. ³⁷ My words and my miracles are the testimony of God that I AM who I say I AM. Y'all have never seen God face to voice or heard his voice with your own ears, ³⁸ therefore you do not understand his message. You cannot understand his message because you do not believe his messenger—who he sent to you today. ³⁹ You pat yourselves on the back for memorizing all the scriptures that describe me, but you are too blind to see that I stand here before you. ⁴⁰ If you were not blind, you would not refuse the life that only I can give.

⁴¹ "Make no mistake, your approval means diddly-squat to me. ⁴² I see into your hearts and know that you do not ride for God. ⁴³ I have been sent by my Father and you turn me away. I have come saying, 'Look at God' and you reject me. Others have come saying, 'Look at me' and you welcome them. ⁴⁴ No wonder y'all can't believe. You're too busy standing in a big circle patting each other on the back. You seek glory from each other instead of from God.

⁴⁵ "But it isn't me who will criticize you in front of God. Moses is going to do that, not me. Yes, the same Moses you put so much hope in. ⁴⁶ If you put so much stock in what Moses said, you would believe me because he wrote about me. ⁴⁷ But since you won't even believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?"