John 5 contains one of the most direct questions Jesus ever asked: “Do you want to be made well?” The man had been sick for thirty-eight years at the Pool of Bethesda, and the healing that follows becomes the opening exhibit in a theological argument spanning the rest of the chapter - Jesus claiming the same life-givin
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Lyrics
By the sheep gate in Jerusalem there is a pool Called Bethesda with five porches
In these lay a great multitude of those who were sick Blind, lame, or paralysed A certain man was there sick for thirty-eight years When Jesus saw him lying there he asked him Do you want to be made well
Arise take up your mat and walk Immediately the man was made well He took up his mat and walked But it was the Sabbath
The Jews said to him who was cured It is the Sabbath, it is not lawful for you to carry your mat He answered, He who made me well said to me Take up your mat and walk My Father is still working so I am working too
For this cause the Jews sought to kill him Because he not only broke the Sabbath But also called God his own Father Making himself equal with God The Son can do nothing of himself But what he sees the Father doing
For the Father has affection for the Son And shows him all things that he himself does The Father raises the dead and gives them life Even so the Son also gives life to whom he desires The Father judges no one but gave all judgement to the Son
Most certainly I tell you He who hears my word and believes him who sent me Has eternal life and doesn’t come into judgement But has passed out of death into life The hour comes and now is When the dead will hear the Son of God’s voice
Those who have done good will rise to the resurrection of life Those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgement I can of myself do nothing As I hear I judge and my judgement is righteous Because I don’t seek my own will But the will of my Father who sent me
The very works that I do testify about me
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John 5 sung by Psalm Selah. The whole Bible, one chapter at a time.
Published 2026-05-22 · Last updated 2026-06-06
Written by Reid Wender, Editorial Director at Psalmody Press