John Series 26 The Astounding Authority: Equality With God, John 5:17–30 Series

Sermon 26 JOHN SERIES Astounding Authority Equality with God John 5:17–30

The Astounding Authority: Equality with God, 5:17–30

(5:17–30) Jesus Christ, Claims—Deity: all men have to face this earth-shaking, shattering claim of Christ. He made the astounding claim that all authority belonged to Him. How could He make such an astounding claim? Because He proclaimed that He possessed equality with God and then He proceeded to give proof after proof which unequivocally verified His claim.

1. Jesus claimed equality with God (vv.17–18).

2. Proof 1: His obedience (v.19).

3. Proof 2: His great works (v.20).

4. Proof 3: His power to quicken and to give life, to raise from the dead (v.21).

5. Proof 4: His control over the whole judicial process of judgment (vv.22–23).

6. Proof 5: His power over people’s destiny, to save people from death (vv.24–25).

7. Proof 6: His energy of life, His self-existence (v.26).

8. Proof 7: His authority to execute judgment (v.27).

9. Proof 8: His claim to be the Son of Man (v.27).

10. Proof 9: His power to resurrect all people from the grave (vv.28–30).

1 (5:17–18) Jesus Christ, Claims—Deity—Religionists, Opposed Christ: Jesus claimed equality with God. Note the astounding claim: He called God “My Father” not “our Father.” Jesus was claiming a unique relationship, a Father-Son union with God; and note: the shattering fact was clearly understood by the religionists. They understood clearly …

• that He had said God was His Father. (See “His own Son” Ro. 8:32.)

• that He was making Himself equal with God. (See “Equal to God,” Ph. 2:6.)

His claim was unquestionable. They knew exactly what He was claiming. (See note—Jn. 1:34 for more discussion.)

A second claim was this: Jesus said, “My Father worketh hitherto” (heos arti ergazetai), which means “My Father keeps on working even until now.” That is, God never ceases to work, even on the Sabbath (Sunday). It is true that when God created the world, Scripture says He rested on the Sabbath day; but this means He rested from His creative work, not from His other work. His work of love and mercy, helping and caring (compassion), looking after and overseeing (sovereignty) continued. Note: Jesus said, “And I work,” meaning that He did good on the Sabbath as well as God. Again, He was claiming to be equal with God, claiming to have the same right to work even as God works: that is, to erase the wrong laws of men and to establish the just and compassionate laws of God.

It was for these two reasons that the religionists sought to kill Jesus.

a. He clearly said, “My Father,” claiming that God was His Father and making Himself equal with God. He was clearly claiming that He was “the Son of God,” “the only begotten Son of God” (see Jn. 3:16).

b. He broke the law against working on the Sabbath (Sunday), claiming that He had the same authority as God, the authority to do good on the Sabbath: to be compassionate by teaching and helping and caring for men.

Thought 1. A person either accepts the claim of Jesus to be equal with God or else he rejects the claim. The claim was clearly made. There is no longer a middle ground upon which men can stand. Man is now forced to make a decision.

Thought 2. Some take the words and behavior of Jesus on the Sabbath as the approval for working on Sunday. This is false reasoning. Jesus was not violating nor erasing the Lord’s day as the day for man’s rest and worship. Just the opposite is true. He was saying that the day was to be used for compassion and mercy and good, helping men in their needs.

2 (5:19) Obedience—Jesus Christ, Nature—Deity: the first proof that Jesus was equal with God was His obedience. Jesus stated two astounding facts.

a. He did not act alone. He did not act independently of God (cp. Jn. 5:30; 7:28; 8:28; 14:10). He was not disobedient to God. He did not …

• take His life into His own hands

• do His own thing

• act selfishly

• walk separately from God

Note the stress, the crucial importance of this point. Jesus said, “Verily, verily”; that is, listen, listen. Pay close attention to what is said.

b. He did exactly what He saw the Father do. There was no divergence whatsoever between the Father and Jesus. There are three claims here.

? Jesus was in perfect, unbroken communion with God.

? Jesus was of the very same nature and person as God.

? Jesus acted as God because He was God: He did exactly what God did. He did “the very same things” (tauta) in “the very same manner” (homoios). He acted and behaved exactly as God acted and behaved.