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John 5 · a question people ask

"The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well" (5:15). Why did he tell them?

In the text

The Gospel tells what the man did, in order, and not why. He "didn’t know who it was" who had healed him (5:13). "Afterward Jesus found him in the temple" (5:14). Then "The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well" (5:15). The next verse gives the reason for what followed: "For this cause the Jews persecuted Jesus and sought to kill him, because he did these things on the Sabbath" (5:16). It gives no word from the man about what he meant by telling them, and these notes don't supply one.

The verses

“But he who was healed didn’t know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a crowd being in the place. Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “Behold, you are made well. Sin no more, so that nothing worse happens to you.” The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. For this cause the Jews persecuted Jesus and sought to kill him, because he did these things on the Sabbath.”
John 5:13-16 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of John 5

John 5: My Father is still working

Asked "Do you want to be made well?", the man at the pool doesn't say yes; he says, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool" (5:6-7). Jesus doesn't put him in: "Arise, take up your mat, and walk" (5:8). And only after he walks does the Gospel say, "Now that day was a Sabbath" (5:9).

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Last reviewed October 1, 2026. Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions