And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day.
Parallel translations
- WEB For this cause the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill him, because he did these things on the Sabbath.
- BSB Now because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews began to persecute Him.
- NKJV For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath.
- NASB For this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on a Sabbath.
- NLT So the Jewish leaders began harassing Jesus for breaking the Sabbath rules.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Because he did such things on the Sabbath, the leaders persecuted Jesus. The healing exposed their hardened opposition to him.
Overview
The leaders' hostility now becomes open persecution. Their zeal for Sabbath rules turns into enmity against the Lord of the Sabbath himself. John shows how rejection of Jesus hardens into the opposition that will lead to the cross.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- John 10:39Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand,
- Acts 9:4–5And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
- Mark 3:6And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.
- Matt 12:13Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.
- John 7:19–20Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me?
- John 15:20Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
- John 7:25Then said some of them of Jerusalem, Is not this he, whom they seek to kill?
- John 5:13And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place.
- Luke 6:11And they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus.
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Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 5:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.