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Commentaries
English
John
  
14Afterwards, Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, "See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse befall you."15The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him.16And this was why the Jews persecuted Jesus, because he did this on the Sabbath.


Jesus sought the healed one to complete the cure by freeing him from his sins. He found the man in the temple praising God. He was fearful and joyful at the same time when he saw Jesus. We know what Jesus said to him:
You are healed. Realize the extent of the marvel that has come to you. You had been sick for 38 years. This was a divine deed, not a human act. The Incarnate God has Himself opened the eyes of your heart.
You know your sins. Life without God has caused this calamity. By my healing you, your sins are all pardoned. For healing to cover his inner being, Jesus asked him to obey and not to sin. Receiving pardon requires a decision not to return to the same sin. He who accepts Christ’s powerful word, and repents in sorrow, receives divine power, and can overcome evil with God’s help. Christ does not ask the impossible from us, but gives us the Spirit for that power may overcome our bodily temptations and our pet hates. The Spirit of truth enables us to avoid and resist evil.
Sometimes maladies and injuries are chastenings from God’s loving concern to bring us back to Him. At other times wealth and luxury may become divine punishment for our hardness towards God. A man becomes demonic, ending in eternal loss. Do not flirt with sin, but admit your bondage to a particular failing, and ask Christ to free you. Do not adopt a neutral stand between Jesus and your sin. Break down your sinful bent. Promise your Savior in a covenant. He will save you to the uttermost.
What a surprise! After getting advice from Jesus the healed man ran to the Jews, and told them that the Nazarene had healed him and led him ‘astray’ from the law of the Sabbath. The legalists may have hoped he would spy on Jesus to make an arrest more likely.
The hatred shown by the priests when Jesus cleansed the temple was not as fierce as the Pharisees’ hostility against Jesus, after this healing. Christ had deflated their ‘righteousness,’ and shown that righteousness does not rest on law keeping from selfish motives. God requires mercy and love. Holiness without love is false. God looks for mercy in us, not ritual. Thankfully God has freed us from thousands of legalistic rules, giving us love as the sole commandment.

Question
Why did the Jews persecute Jesus?