John 5 tells of the third sign in this Gospel. At the pool of Bethesda, a man had waited for healing for thirty-eight years. Jesus asked a searching question: Do you want to be made well? The man only gave reasons why he could not be helped. Jesus did not need the pool. He spoke, and the man rose, picked up his mat, and walked. Later Jesus warned him to stop sinning so that something worse would not happen. Jesus cares about our bodies, but even more about our souls.
Because it was the Sabbath, the leaders objected. Jesus replied, My Father is still working, so I am working too. God keeps the world going even on the Sabbath, and Jesus claimed the same right. The leaders saw this as making Himself equal with God, and they sought to kill Him. Jesus did not take back His claim.
Instead, Jesus explained His relationship with the Father. The Son can do nothing by Himself except what He sees the Father doing. The Father has given the Son authority to give life and to judge. Most truly, he who hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and has passed out of death into life. Jesus listed witnesses: John the Baptist, His works, the Father, and the Scriptures. The tragedy was that the leaders searched the Scriptures but refused to come to the One the Scriptures were about.