John 5:17
“But Jesus answered them, “My Father is still working, so I am working, too.””
What does John 5:17 mean?
Jesus is responding to criticism about healing someone on the Sabbath, when Jewish law forbade work. His answer suggests something profound: God's work of sustaining and healing the world doesn't stop on the Sabbath, so neither should his. He's not dismissing the Sabbath law casually, but reframing what truly matters. The deeper point is that compassion and restoration are acts aligned with God's very nature, something that transcends strict rule-keeping. For anyone wrestling with competing demands between rigid expectations and genuine human need, this verse invites us to consider what God actually values most.