HomeLog inTodaySubscriptionVerse LibraryApproachAboutPrivacy中文English
← Back to Library

John 5:17

约翰福音 5:17

The Passage

But Jesus answered them, 'My Father is still working, so I am working, too.'

In the other language

耶稣就对他们说：我父做事直到如今，我也做事。

Theme

The working God

Bring a question to this passage

Many readers arrive here from a real question. These are reflections for how this passage speaks to the questions people bring most often — not an answer about what will happen, but an invitation to sit with it slowly.

How do I face this season of pressure at work?

Jesus speaks here of his Father's work and his own. This brief saying does not directly explain how to manage workplace pressure, and it is not an instruction for you to work without stopping. Its attention rests on the Father and Son, not on the demands of your employer. You can let that distinction remain. Your workload is not the measure of God's activity, and every urgent request does not become sacred simply because it is called work. As you sit with Jesus' words, there is room to consider your responsibilities without confusing them with his. Where have you begun treating your own constant activity as something God requires?

Carry thisJesus' words about his work are not demands for overwork.

Other passages for this questionGenesis 1:26-28 · Isaiah 41:10 · 2 Corinthians 10:2-6

I want to learn to love better in this relationship.

Love that costs something is not the same as love that earns something. Jesus speaks here of his Father's work and his own, and this brief saying does not explain how to love better in a relationship, nor is it a demand that you remain endlessly busy. It does, however, present divine life as active rather than indifferent. As you consider your relationship, that may invite attention to the difference between feeling affection and expressing care. A conversation you have avoided, a promise you have neglected, or an apology you have postponed may deserve consideration. You do not have to turn every moment into a task or carry both people's responsibilities. Where could your care take one concrete, honest form rather than remain only an intention?

Carry thisLove can take a concrete form without becoming endless labor.

Other passages for this questionGenesis 1:26-28 · Isaiah 41:10 · 2 Corinthians 10:2-6

What do I need to let go of in the coming weeks?

Jesus speaks of his Father's work and his own work in the same breath. This verse does not identify what you should let go of, and it is not a command to remain constantly busy. Its attention rests on the Father and the Son, not on measuring your productivity. When you consider the coming weeks, you might notice how easily your own activity becomes the measure of everything that matters. The passage offers a different center of attention without explaining what God is doing in your circumstances. You can acknowledge the importance of your tasks without treating your effort as the only effort that counts. Which burden feels impossible to release because you believe everything depends on you?

Carry thisYour own activity is not the measure of everything.

Other passages for this questionGenesis 1:26-28 · Isaiah 41:10 · 2 Corinthians 10:2-6

How can I find stillness in a busy life?

Stillness is not the absence of work but the presence of the One who works. This verse does not directly explain how to find stillness, and it should not become a demand that you keep working without pause. Its subject is not your capacity to stay busy, but the relationship between Jesus' work and his Father's. You can let that distinction stand. Not every statement about divine activity is an assignment for you to do more. In a crowded day, reading these words slowly may give you room to notice how quickly you turn even Scripture into another obligation. Which pressure becomes visible when you hear Jesus' words without making them a measure of your productivity?

Carry thisJesus' words are not another measure of your productivity.

Other passages for this questionGenesis 1:26-28 · Isaiah 41:10 · 2 Corinthians 10:2-6

Have a different question?

Write what you are actually carrying right now, and Lectio will answer it with this passage — John 5:17.

Or walk this passage through the five steps of Lectio →

John 5 — in context

11He answered them, “He who made me well, the same said to me, ‘Take up your mat, and walk.’”

12Then they asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your mat, and walk’?”

13But he who was healed didn’t know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a crowd being in the place.

14Afterward 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.”

15The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.

16For this cause the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill him, because he did these things on the Sabbath.

17But Jesus answered them, “My Father is still working, so I am working, too.”

18For this cause therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the Sabbath, but also called God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

19Jesus therefore answered them, “Most certainly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father doing. For whatever things he does, these the Son also does likewise.

20For the Father 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.

21For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom he desires.

22For the Father judges no one, but he has given all judgment to the Son,

23that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who doesn’t honor the Son doesn’t honor the Father who sent him.

More from John

Related topics

Work and Calling

Begin a Lectio reading

Log in

Continue with Google
or use email

Don't have an account? Sign up