John 5:13 Commentary and Bible Study

It was not appropriate for Christ to have the great acclamation of the crowd, so he had moved away. Now he finds him or, more literally, sees him. It is not as though he is looking for him; he knew where he was all the time, but he sees him, he meets with him in the Temple. What is the healed man doing in the Temple? A little later on, Christ addresses him in such a way that it shows he was a rebel against God, he had no mind or heart for God. He was one who would be classified as a sinner in every sense of the term. He is grateful for his healing and is reflecting on what has happened to him. Now he is in the Temple, not his normal place. ‘Behold, thou art made whole.’ Look at yourself! Think about it! What has happened to you? You have been transformed. Think of what was there before, and how you have been made whole. Realise that this is an act of God.Then Christ says something quite wonderful ‘Sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.’ Now if you want to be really simple, you might say, Oh, 38 years before, he committed a great sin, and his illness was his punishment, and it will come back in worse form if he sins again. But that is not the right interpretation. Not a worse illness; he is talking about eternity. If there is no conversion, no change, then the worse thing is eternity under the punishment of God. ‘Stop sinning. Stop the life of sin. Let the life of sin now terminate, end.’ That is what Christ means. It is another authoritative command. Be whole in your spiritual life. Be a child of God. There is power in the word; it is not just an exhortation. Yield to God, be saved, be changed: sin no more.