Therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, because he did these things on the sabbath.

“(Tr. xvii. c. 13) This announcement enraged them, And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, because He had done these things on the sabbath day. A plain bodily work had been done before their eyes, distinct from the healing of the man’s body, and which could not have been necessary, even if healing was; viz. the carrying of the bed. Wherefore our Lord openly says, that the sacrament of the Sabbath, the sign of observing one day out of seven, was only a temporary institution, which had attained its fulfilment in Him: But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work: as if He said, Do not suppose that My Father rested on the Sabbath in such a sense, as that from that time forth, He has ceased from working; for He worketh up to this time, though without labour, and so work I. God’s resting means only that He made no other creature, after the creation. The Scripture calls it rest, to remind us of the rest we shall enjoy after a life of good works here. And as God only when He had made man in His own image and similitude, and finished all His works, and seen that they were very good, rested on the seventh day: so do thou expect no rest, except thou return to the likeness in which thou wert made, but which thou hast lost by sin; i. e. unless thou doest good works.”

“Having set forth the visible miracle by which the power of Christ to repair spiritual life is shown, here is set forth the occasion of Christ's teaching; and this occasion is taken from the persecution stirred up by the Jews against Christ. Now the cause of this persecution was twofold on the part of the Jews who envied Christ. The first was a work of piety; the second was the teaching of truth, at the place: "But Jesus answered them: My Father worketh until now, and I work," and so on. Concerning the first he does three things. First he sets forth beforehand the occasion of the persecution; second he sets forth the calumny brought against the man who was healed, at the place: "The Jews therefore said to him that was healed," etc.; third he sets forth the calumny brought against Christ, at the place: "They asked him: Who is that man?" and so on. Now the occasion of the persecution brought against Christ is taken from the fact that he healed on the Sabbath; and therefore the Evangelist says: "Now it was the Sabbath on that day," when Jesus worked the miracle, when he commanded the pallet to be taken up. Now a threefold reason is assigned why the Lord began to work on the Sabbath. One is given by Ambrose on Luke: Christ came for this purpose, that he might repair the work of creation, namely man, which had been deformed. Now he ought to begin from the point at which the Author had created the completed work of creation: and this was on the day of the Sabbath, as is said in Genesis 1; and therefore, that Christ might show himself the restorer of the whole creature, he began on the Sabbath. Another reason is that the day of the Sabbath is celebrated by the Jews in memory of the first creation. But Christ came in order, as it were, to make a new creature, according to that saying of Galatians (last chapter), 15: "In Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision availeth anything, but a new creature" — through grace, which comes about through the Holy Spirit, according to that saying of Psalm 103:30: "Thou shalt send forth thy spirit, and they shall be created, and thou shalt renew the face of the earth." Wanting, therefore, to show that a re-creation comes about through him, Christ works on the Sabbath; James 1:18: "that we might be some beginning of his creature." The third reason is, that he might show that he would do what the law could not do; Romans 8:3: "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh." And further on: "that the justification of the law might be fulfilled in us." Now the Jews did no work on the Sabbath, as a figure that certain things belonging to the Sabbath were to be brought to completion, which could not be brought about through the law. And this is evident in four things which God ordained concerning the day of the Sabbath. For he sanctified the day of the Sabbath, he blessed the day of the Sabbath, on it he completed his works, and on it he rested. But the law could not do these things, for it could not sanctify. Whence Psalm 11:1 said: "Save me, O Lord, for the holy one hath failed." Nor could it bless either; rather, "as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse," as is said in Galatians 3:10. Nor could it complete and perfect: for "the law brought no one to perfection," Hebrews 7:19. Nor even could it grant perfect rest: for as is said in Hebrews 4:8: "For if Jesus had given them rest, he would never have spoken of another." These things, therefore, which the law could not do, Christ did: for he sanctified the people itself through his Passion. Hebrews 13:12: "Jesus, that he might sanctify the people by his own blood, suffered without the gate." He himself blessed through the infusion of grace; Ephesians 1:3: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ." He himself completed through the instruction of perfect justice; Matthew 5:48: "Be ye perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect." He himself brought us into true rest; Hebrews 4:3: "We who have believed shall enter into rest, as he said: As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest." It belongs, therefore, to him to work on the day of the Sabbath, who is able to bring to perfection those things that pertain to the Sabbath, from which the law, being powerless, fell short. Next he sets forth the calumny brought against the man who was healed, when he says: "The Jews therefore said to him that was healed," etc. And first is set forth the bringing of the calumny against the healed man; second is subjoined the excuse of the healed man, at the place: "He answered them: He that made me whole," etc. Now they bring the calumny against this man on the ground that he carries his pallet on the Sabbath, but not concerning the healing; whence they say: "It is the Sabbath, it is not lawful for thee to take up thy bed." A manifold reason for this can be assigned. One is that the Jews, frequently bringing against Christ a calumny about healing on the day of the Sabbath, had been refuted by Christ by the fact that they themselves also drew out and saved beasts of burden from a pit on the day of the Sabbath, as is recorded in Luke 14:15. And therefore concerning the healing, as being a useful and necessary thing, they are silent; but concerning the carrying of the bed, which seemed not necessary, they bring calumny — as if they were saying: if the healing was not to be deferred, what need was there to carry the bed, or to command that it be carried? Another reason is that the Lord had said, concluding against them, that it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. And therefore, since to be healed is not to do good but to undergo good, they bring calumny against the one healed rather than against the one who healed. The third reason is that this seems to be prohibited to the Jews in the law, that they should do nothing on the day of the Sabbath; but especially the carrying of burdens on the day of the Sabbath is prohibited. Jeremiah 17:21: "Carry no burdens on the Sabbath day." And therefore they especially brought calumny against the carrying on the day of the Sabbath, as being contrary to the saying of the prophet. But this command of the prophet is nonetheless mystical: for by the burdens not to be carried he intended to lead them to rest on the day of the Sabbath from the burdens of sins; of which it is said in Psalm 37:5: "My iniquities... are grown heavy upon me like a heavy burden." Whence, because it was now the time for resolving the hidden figures, Christ commands this man to take up his pallet, that is, to sustain his neighbor in weakness, according to that saying of Galatians 6:2: "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so you shall fulfil the law of Christ." Next is set forth the excuse of the healed man, when it is subjoined: "He answered them: He that made me whole, he said to me," etc. And indeed he excuses himself prudently: for teaching is never so well proved to be from God as through the showing of miracles, which can be done only by divine power. Mark, last chapter, 20: "But they going forth preached everywhere: the Lord working withal, and confirming the word with signs that followed." And therefore this man, to those bringing calumny, set forth the author of his health, saying "He that made me whole, he said to me" — as if he were saying: you say that it is forbidden that a burden be carried on the Sabbath, and this by divine authority; but by that same authority it was laid upon me that I should take up my pallet: for he who made me whole, and who through the health restored showed that he has divine power, said to me: "Take up thy bed and walk." And therefore I am rightly bound to obey the commands of him who is of such great power, and who conferred on me such a benefit. Psalm 118:93: "Thy justifications I will never forget: for by them thou hast given me life." Next he says: "They asked him therefore," etc. Because they could not bring calumny against the man who was healed, they strive to bring calumny against Christ's act of healing: for by this the man had excused himself. And because he had not stated determinately who it was, they maliciously asked him who it was. And therefore concerning this, first there is treated the seeking after Christ; second his being found, at the place: "Afterwards Jesus findeth him"; third his being persecuted, at the place: "Therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus." Concerning the first, three things are set forth: namely, the inquiry of the Jews, the ignorance of the healed man, and the cause of the ignorance. As to the first, it is said: "The Jews therefore asked him" — not, that is, with a good intention, that they might profit, but with a malicious mind, that they might persecute and destroy. Below, 8:21: "You shall seek me, and shall die in your sin." And their own words manifest this malice of theirs. For although the Lord had commanded both that the sick man be healed and that the pallet be taken up, they pass over in silence the first — the sign that shows forth the divine power and is irrefutable — and they bring up again the other, which seems contrary to the law, saying: "Who is that man who said to thee, Take up thy bed and walk?" Ecclesiasticus 11:33: "turning good into evil, he lieth in wait, and upon the elect he imposes" — that is, he strives to impose a blemish. As to the second he says: "But he who was healed knew not who it was." This healed man signifies the faithful who have been healed through the grace of Christ. Ephesians 2:8: "By grace you are saved." These indeed do not know who Christ is, but know only his effect. 2 Corinthians 5:6: "As long as we are in the body, we are absent from the Lord: for we walk by faith, and not by sight." But then we shall know who Christ is, when we shall see him as he is: 1 John 3:2. Now he assigns the cause of this ignorance as to three things, when he says: "But Jesus had withdrawn from the crowd gathered in the place." And this indeed has a literal and a mystical cause. The literal cause, as to two things. First, that he might give us an example of hiding our good works and not seeking in them the favor of men, according to that saying of Matthew 6:1: "Take heed that you do not your justice before men." Second, that we might turn away and flee the eyes of the envious from all our works, lest their envy grow from this; Ecclesiasticus 8:14: "Stand not against the face of an injurious person, lest he sit as a spy on thy mouth." The mystical cause, as to two things. First, that he might give us to understand that Christ is not easily found in the multitude of men and in the whirl of temporal cares, but in spiritual secrecy. Hosea 2:14: "I will lead her into the wilderness, and I will speak to her heart." For "the words of the wise are heard in silence," as is said in Ecclesiastes 9:17. Second, that he might suggest that Christ was to turn away from the Jews to the Gentiles; Isaiah 8:17: "He hath hid his face for a while from Jacob" — that is, he withdrew the knowledge of his truth from the people of the Jews. Next there is treated the finding of Christ, when he says: "Afterwards Jesus findeth him in the temple." And first he says that he is found; second he suggests that, having been found, he teaches; third that after the teaching he is made manifest. As to the finding he sets forth two things, namely the manner of finding, and the place. The manner indeed is marvelous, because he is not found unless he first finds — whence he says "afterwards," namely, after the things that have been said, "Jesus findeth him": for man cannot find Christ by his own power, unless Christ presents himself to him. Whence also Psalm 118:176 said: "Seek thy servant." Wisdom 6:14: "She preventeth them that covet her." Now the place in which Christ is found is venerable, because it is in the temple, according to that saying of Psalm 10:5: "The Lord is in his holy temple." For his mother too found him in the temple, Luke 2:46, and this because it behooved him to be about the things that are his Father's. In which we are given to understand that this healed man, turned not to vanity but to the pursuit of religion, frequenting the temple, comes to know Christ in it: for if we wish to come to the knowledge of our Maker, the crowd of depraved affections must be fled, and the gatherings of evil men must be shunned, and we must flee to the temple of our heart, which God deigns to visit and to dwell in. Next, having been found, he teaches; whence he also said to him: "Behold thou art made whole: sin no more." Where first he calls to mind the benefit bestowed; second he proposes wholesome counsel; third he shows an imminent danger. But the benefit is admirable, because of the sudden restoration of health. Whence it is said: "Behold thou art made whole already." And therefore it must always be kept in memory, according to that saying of Isaiah 63:7: "I will remember the tender mercies of the Lord." The counsel indeed is useful, because "sin no more henceforth"; Ecclesiasticus 21:1: "Son, hast thou sinned? do so no more." Why does the Lord make mention of sins to this paralytic and certain others healed by him, and not to others? For this reason, namely, that he might show by this that in some, infirmities arise from prior sins, according to that saying of 1 Corinthians 11:30: "Therefore are there many weak and infirm, and many sleep." By which he also shows himself to be God, revealing sins and the hidden things of hearts. Proverbs 15:11: "Hell and destruction are before him: how much more the hearts of the children of men?" To these alone, therefore, does he make mention of sins, and not to others healed by him, because not all infirmities arise on account of prior sins; but some arise from natural disposition, some for the sake of testing, as in the case of Job. Or he made mention only concerning these, because they were more prepared for correction. Proverbs 9:8: "Rebuke not a scorner, lest he hate thee. Rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee." Or, in these, he gave this command intending it for all the others as well. Now the imminent danger was terrible, whence he says: "lest some worse thing happen to thee." This indeed can be understood in two ways, according to two things that had gone before in this man's case. For first he had been punished by a prolonged illness; second he had obtained a great benefit. And therefore what is said can be referred to each of the two. As to the first: because when someone is punished for a sin and is not drawn back from sin by that very punishment, it is just that he be punished more severely. And therefore he says, "sin no more," because if you sin, a worse thing will happen to you. Jeremiah 2:30: "In vain have I struck your children, they have not received correction." As to the second: because he who, after benefits received, slips back into sins, becomes guilty of a heavier punishment on account of ingratitude, according to that saying of 2 Peter 2:20: "It had been better for them not to have known the way of truth, than after they have known it, to turn back." Likewise also, because after a man has once returned to sin, he sins more easily; according to that saying of Matthew 12:45: "the last state of that man becomes worse than the first." Jeremiah 2:20: "Of old time thou hast broken the yoke, thou hast burst the bond, and thou saidst: I will not serve." Next is set forth the manifestation made by the one found, when it is subjoined: "That man went his way, and told," etc. And according to some it could be understood, as Chrysostom says, that he had made him known out of malice; but this does not seem probable, namely that after so great a benefit he would be so ungrateful. He announced, therefore, to the Jews, that it was Jesus who had made him whole, in order to make manifest Christ's power to heal. Psalm 65:16: "Come and I will tell... how great things the Lord hath done for my soul." And this is evident, because they had asked him who had commanded him to take up his pallet. But he announced to them that Jesus had made him whole. Next, when he says: "Therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus," the persecution against Christ is set forth, which is on account of a certain work of piety shown on the Sabbath; whence he says: "Therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, because he did these things on the Sabbath." Psalm 118:161: "Princes have persecuted me without cause." Next, when he says: "But Jesus answered them," etc., the second cause of the persecution is set forth, which is taken from his teaching. And first the teaching of truth is set forth; second the persecution of Jewish wickedness, at the place: "Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him." Now the Lord sets forth the teaching of truth by excusing himself concerning the breaking of the Sabbath. But it must be noted that the Lord, concerning the breaking of this, sometimes excused himself, and sometimes his disciples. And his disciples indeed, since they were mere men, he excused by comparison with men, namely, by the example of the priests, who worked in the temple on the day of the Sabbath and did not break the Sabbath. And David, who, fleeing from the face of Saul on the day of the Sabbath under the priest Achimelech, took the loaves of proposition from the temple, as is recorded in 1 Kings 21:1ff. But himself, since he was both man and God, he sometimes excused from the breaking of the Sabbath by comparison with men. Luke 14:5: "Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fall into a pit, and will not immediately draw him out on the Sabbath day?" But sometimes, and especially in this place, he excuses himself by comparison with God, saying: "My Father worketh until now, and I work" — as if he were saying: do not think that my Father so rested on the Sabbath that from that time he does not work; but just as he himself even now works without labor, so also do I work. In which he excludes the false understanding of the Jews, who, wishing to conform themselves to God, do nothing on the day of the Sabbath, as if God had entirely ceased to work on that very day. And indeed, although he rested on the Sabbath from establishing new creatures, nonetheless he always and continually works even until now, preserving creatures in being. Whence Moses also used the word of resting, notably, after the works of God, from establishing which he rested, in order to signify the spiritual rest which God, by the example of his own rest, was promising, in a hidden signification, to the faithful who would afterward do good works. Whence it can be said that that command was enjoined in the shadow of what was to come. Now he says notably "worketh until now," and not "hath worked," in order to designate the continuation of the divine work. For one might imagine that God is the cause of the world just as a craftsman is the cause of a house, only as regards its coming-to-be: so that, just as the house remains even when the craftsman's operation ceases, so too the world could continue to subsist, the divine influence ceasing. But according to Augustine, God is the cause of all creatures in such a way that he is also the cause of their subsisting; for if his power should cease even for a moment, all their species too, which nature contains, would at once cease — just as if I should say that the air is illuminated only so long as the light of the sun remains in it. The reason for this indeed is that those things which have a cause only as regards their coming-to-be can subsist when the cause ceases; but those things which have a cause not only of their coming-to-be but also of their subsisting need the continual preservation of the cause. He also excludes, by what he says — "My Father worketh until now" — the opinion of certain ones saying that God produces things by means of second causes; which is against that saying of Isaiah 26:12: "Thou hast wrought all our works in us, O Lord." Just as, therefore, my Father, having in the beginning established nature, worketh until now, by that same operation containing and preserving it, so also I work, because I am the Word of the Father, through whom he works all things; Genesis 1:3: "God said: Be light made." Whence, just as he wrought the first establishment of things through the Word, so also their preservation. And thus, if he himself worketh until now, I too work, because I am the Word of the Father, through whom all things are made and preserved. Next, when he says: "Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him," the persecution arising from this teaching is set forth: because on account of this very teaching the Jews sought the more — that is, with a more avid mind, with a more fervent zeal — to kill him. For two crimes were punished with death in the law: namely, the crime of breaking the Sabbath, whence he who gathered sticks on the Sabbath was stoned, Numbers 15:32, and the crime of blasphemy, whence it is said in Leviticus 24:14: "Bring forth the blasphemer without the camp... and let all the multitude of the children of Israel stone him." Now these men reckoned it blasphemy that a man should say he was God; below, 10:33: "For a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God." And they imputed these two crimes to Christ: the one, namely, because he broke the Sabbath; the other, because he said he was equal to God. Whence he says that they sought to kill him for this reason, that he not only broke the Sabbath, but also called God his own Father. But because other righteous men also call God their Father — Jeremiah 3:19: "Thou shalt call me father" — therefore they say not only that he called God his own Father, but they add what pertains to blasphemy, "making himself equal to God," which they gather from this, that he said: "My Father worketh, and I work." He calls God his own Father in order to give the understanding that he is his Father by nature, but the Father of others by adoption: according to which manner of speaking he says below, 20:17: "I go to my Father," namely by nature, "and your Father," namely by grace. Likewise he says that he works in likeness to him, resolving by this the calumny of the Jews concerning the breaking of the Sabbath: which would not be a fitting excuse, unless he had equal authority with God in working. And therefore they say that he makes himself equal to God. And indeed great is the blindness of the Arians, who in the words of the Lord cannot understand what the Jews understood, saying that Christ is less than God the Father. But the Arians say that Christ did not make himself equal to God, but that the Jews only suspected this. But through the things that have been said in the text itself, it is manifest otherwise as well. For the Evangelist says that the Jews persecuted Christ because he broke the Sabbath, and because he called God his Father, and because he made himself equal to God. Therefore either Christ is a liar, or he is equal to God. But if he is equal to God, then Christ is God by nature. Now the Evangelist says "making himself equal to God," not because he himself made himself equal to God — for through eternal generation he was equal to God — but speaking according to the intention of the Jews, who, not believing Christ to be the Son of God by nature, understood from his words that he called himself the Son of God, as though wishing to make himself equal to God, while nonetheless not believing that he was this; below, chapter 10:33: "Thou, being a man, makest thyself God" — that is, thou sayest that thou art God: which is interpreted as if thou thyself wert making thyself God.”

“And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus,.... With their tongues, reproaching and reviling him, as a sabbath breaker, a destroyer of the law, and a sinful wicked man: and sought to slay him; either in a violent way, by setting the zealots, a sort of ruffians under the pretence of religion, upon him; or rather in a judicial way, summoning him before the sanhedrim, in order to condemn him to death for the breach of the sabbath, which by the law of Moses was punishable with death: because he had done these things on the sabbath day; because he had cured the man of his disease, under which he had laboured eight and thirty years, and had ordered him to take up his bed, and walk home with it on his back on the sabbath day. This drew upon him their resentment to such a degree, that they not only persecuted him with their tongues, but sought to take away his life. Nothing would satisfy them but his blood.”

“And sought to slay him - This clause is omitted by BCDL, some others, and several ancient versions. Griesbach has left it out of the text; and Professor White says, certissime delenda: but it does not appear to me that it should be omitted. However, it was true of the Jews, whether the words were originally in the evangelist or not. For what cause did these persons seek to destroy our Lord? Because he had healed a poor man, who had been diseased thirty-eight years, and ordered him to carry home the couch on which he lay! How implacable must their malice have been! The spirit of religious persecution has always been the most fell and dangerous of all on this side perdition. Every other disposition appears to have its moderator; but this is wholly abandoned to the guidance of Satan, and has for its objects the men who know the truth, and who live to the glory of their God, and for the benefit of mankind. How strange that such should ever be objects of malice and hatred! But the Satanic nature in fallen man is ever opposed to whatever comes from God.”

“because he had done these things on the sabbath day--What to these hypocritical religionists was the doing of the most glorious and beneficent miracles, compared with the atrocity of doing them on the sabbath day! Having given them this handle, on purpose to raise the first public controversy with them, and thus open a fitting opportunity of laying His claims before them, He rises at once to the whole height of them, in a statement which for grandeur and terseness exceeds almost anything that ever afterwards fell from Him, at least to His enemies.”