But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.”
Parallel translations
- WEB But Jesus answered them, “My Father is still working, so I am working, too.”
- KJV But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.
- BSB But Jesus answered them, “To this very day My Father is at His work, and I too am working.”
- ESV But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”
- NKJV But Jesus answered them, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.”
- NLT But Jesus replied, “My Father is always working, and so am I.”
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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
Jesus answered that his Father is working still, and so is he. He claims a unique, ongoing relationship with God the Father.
Overview
Jesus justifies his Sabbath healing by appealing to God's continual upholding of creation, which the Sabbath rest never halted. By calling God 'my Father' and aligning his work with the Father's, he makes a profound claim. This statement asserts his divine sonship and his right to act with the Father's own authority.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- John 9:4I must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day. The night is coming, when no one can work.
- John 14:10Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I tell you, I speak not from myself; but the Father who lives in me does his works.
- Col 1:16For by him all things were created, in the heavens and on the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and for him.
- 1 Cor 12:6There are various kinds of workings, but the same God, who works all things in all.
- Heb 1:3His Son is the radiance of his glory, the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purified us of our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
- Gen 2:1–2The heavens, the earth, and all their vast array were finished.
- Isa 40:26Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these, who brings out their army by number. He calls them all by name. by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power, Not one is lacking.
- Acts 17:28‘For in him we live, and move, and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also his offspring.’
- Acts 14:17Yet he didn’t leave himself without witness, in that he did good and gave you rains from the sky and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.”
- Matt 10:29“Aren’t two sparrows sold for an assarion coin? Not one of them falls on the ground apart from your Father’s will,
- Ps 65:6Who by his power forms the mountains, having armed yourself with strength;
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 5:17 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.