Can doing good ever break the Sabbath?

In John 5:1-18, Jesus heals a man who had been unable to walk for thirty-eight years — and the religious leaders are furious, because He did it on the Sabbath. In this study, Dr. Toby Holt contrasts Christ’s mercy with man-made rules.

At the pool of Bethesda, Jesus seeks out a long-suffering man and heals him with a word: “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” Instead of rejoicing, the leaders object that carrying a mat breaks the Sabbath — one of dozens of extra rules they had piled on top of God’s law. Dr. Holt explains that works of mercy and necessity were always lawful on the Sabbath. The deeper offense comes when Jesus calls God His own Father, making Himself equal with God — the claim that sets the rest of John’s Gospel in motion.

Questions this study answers:

1. Why were the leaders angry about the healing? Because Jesus healed on the Sabbath and told the man to carry his mat, breaking their man-made rules — though not God’s law.

2. Is it ever right to “work” on the Sabbath? Yes. Works of mercy and necessity — like caring for the sick — have always been lawful. Jesus showed mercy, not lawlessness.

3. Why did this healing stir such opposition? Because Jesus called God His own Father, claiming equality with God — a claim that drives the conflict through the rest of John.

“Rise, take up your bed and walk.” — John 5:8 (NKJV)

Speaker: Dr. Toby Holt is the President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, a Reformed seminary in Colorado Springs. He is known for clear, down-to-earth Bible teaching, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 million times on SermonAudio.

Listen and go deeper: This sermon is part of the John Explained study from New Geneva Theological Seminary. Find more verse-by-verse teaching across the Bible at newgeneva.org. To support this teaching ministry, visit newgeneva.org/give.