World English Bible · Under Rome
John 5
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After these things, there was a feast of the , and went up to . Now in by the sheep gate, there is a pool, which is called in , "", having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, or paralyzed, for the moving of the water; 4for went down at certain times into the pool and stirred up the water. Whoever stepped in first after the stirring of the water was healed of whatever disease he had. A certain man was there who had been sick for thirty-eight years. When saw him lying there, and knew that he had been sick for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to be made well?" The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I'm coming, another steps down before me." said to him, "Arise, take up your mat, and walk." Immediately, the man was made well, and took up his mat and walked. Now that day was a . So the said to him who was cured, "It is the . It is not lawful for you to carry the mat." He answered them, "He who made me well said to me, 'Take up your mat and walk.' " Then they asked him, "Who is the man who said to you, 'Take up your mat and walk'?" But he who was healed didn't know who it was, for had withdrawn, a being in the place. Afterward found him in and said to him, "Behold, you are made well. no more, so that nothing worse happens to you." The man went away, and told the that it was who had made him well. For this cause the persecuted and sought to kill him, because he did these things on the . But answered them, " is still working, so I am working, too." For this cause therefore the sought all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the , but also called his own , making himself equal with . therefore answered them, "Most certainly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees doing. For whatever things he does, these the Son also does likewise. For has affection for the Son, and shows him all things that he himself does. He will show him greater works than these, that you may marvel. For as raises and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom he . For judges no one, but he has given all to the Son, that all may the Son, even as they . He who doesn't the Son doesn't who sent him. "Most certainly I tell you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me has , and doesn't come into , but has passed out of into life. Most certainly I tell you, the hour comes, and now is, when will hear the Son of voice; and those who hear will live. For as has life in himself, even so he gave to the Son also to have life in himself. He also gave him to execute , because he is a . Don't marvel at this, for the hour comes in which all who are in the will hear his voice and will come out; those who have done good, to the of life; and those who have done evil, to the of . I can of myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and my is , because I don't seek my own will, but the will of who sent me. "If I testify about myself, my is not valid. It is another who testifies about me. I know that the which he testifies about me is true. You have sent to , and he has testified to the truth. But the which I receive is not from man. However, I say these things that you may be . He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his . But the which I have is greater than that of ; for the works which gave me to accomplish, the very works that I do, testify about me, that has sent me. himself, who sent me, has testified about me. You have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his form. You don't have his word living in you, because you don't him whom he sent. "You search , because you think that in them you have ; and these are they which testify about me. Yet you will not come to me, that you may have life. I don't receive from men. But I know you, that you don't have love in yourselves. I have come in name, and you don't receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you , who receive from one another, and you don't seek the that comes from the only ? "Don't think that I will accuse you to . There is one who accuses you, even , on whom you have set your . For if you , you would me; for he wrote about me. But if you don't his writings, how will you my words?"
A public domain modern English translation, free to read and share. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.