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Some time later there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
John 5:1 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB After these things, there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
  • KJV After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
  • NKJV After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
  • NASB After these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
  • NLT Afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days.

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 went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. This visit sets the stage for a healing and major teaching about his identity.

Overview

John frequently ties Jesus' ministry to the Jewish festivals, showing him as the true fulfillment of Israel's worship. The unnamed feast brings Jesus to Jerusalem, where conflict over his authority will intensify. His faithful presence at the feast underscores his relationship to the whole of Israel's covenant life.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 7

  • Deut 16:16Three times a year all your men are to appear before the LORD your God in the place He will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles. No one should appear before the LORD empty-handed.
  • Exod 23:14–17Three times a year you are to celebrate a feast to Me.
  • Lev 23:2–4“Speak to the Israelites and say to them, ‘These are My appointed feasts, the feasts of the LORD that you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.
  • Exod 34:23Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord GOD, the God of Israel.
  • John 2:13When the Jewish Passover was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
  • Gal 4:4But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
  • Matt 3:15“Let it be so now,” Jesus replied. “It is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness in this way.” Then John permitted Him.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — John videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on John 5:1YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JohnMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 5:1 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.