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.
Jesus Christ was perfectly obedient; He acted exactly in the nature of God. (What a lesson on obedience! A challenge for obedience!)
“All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him” (Mt. 11:27).
“But I know him: for I am from him, and he hath sent me” (Jn. 7:29).
“Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying” (Jn. 8:55).
“As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep” (Jn. 10:15).
“I and my Father are one” (Jn. 10:30).
“If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him” (Jn. 10:37–38).
“Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works” (Jn. 14:10).
“And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are” (Jn. 17:11).
“That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one” (Jn. 17:21–22).
“O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me” (Jn. 17:25).
3 (5:20) Jesus Christ, Deity—Works: the second proof that Jesus was equal with God was His great works. Two astounding statements were made.
a. The Father loves the Son. The idea is that the Father continues to love and never stops loving the Son. There is never a moment when the love diminishes. It is a perfect love that never ceases to give.
“Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again” (Jn. 10:17).
“For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God” (Jn. 16:27).
“I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me” (Jn. 17:23).
“And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them” (Jn. 17:26).
“While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him” (Mt. 17:5).
“And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: and there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Mk. 1:10–11).
“To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved” (Ep. 1:6).
“Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son” (Col. 1:13).
“Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee” (He. 5:5).
“He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him” (Jn. 14:21; see Jn. 14:23).
“As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love” (Jn. 15:9).
b. Therefore, the Father showed the Son all things which He did.
1) All things which Jesus did were the very things which the Father did.
2) Jesus said that the Father was going to show Him greater things to do, greater things than the healing of the paralyzed man (vv.8–9). Jesus would be …
• controlling the forces of nature (storms on the Sea of Galilee)
• multiplying food
• raising the dead and healing multitudes of people
• instituting a greater law, the law of the Son of Man. (See note—Mt. 5:17–18.)
• instituting new ordinances
• creating people anew
“But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me” (Jn. 5:36).
“I must work the works of him that sent him, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work” (Jn. 9:4).
“Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me” (Jn. 10:25).
“If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him” (Jn. 10:37–38).
“Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake” (Jn. 14:10–11).
“If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father” (Jn. 15:24).
4 (5:21) Jesus Christ, Deity—Life—Salvation—Resurrection: the third proof that Jesus was equal with God was His power to give life.
a. God gives life, and only God can give life. Therefore if He wishes to give life to a dead body, He can. In giving life and raising the dead, God …
• is sovereign, acting fully as He alone wills
• is not constrained nor restrained
• has the power and authority
• exercises perfect love, justice, and wisdom. He knows exactly what He is doing, and He does it perfectly
b. The Son, Jesus Christ, gives life to whom He wills. Just as God does, so Christ does. Christ is equal with God in giving life and raising the dead. Note …
• there is a state of death
• there is a state of life, of being quickened, of being made alive from the dead.
Christ quickens and gives life to a person when that person believes on Him, and the life which He gives is both abundant and eternal (see note—Jn. 3:16).
“But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house” (Mt. 9:6).
“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Mt. 28:18).
“As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him” (Jn. 17:2).
“But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you” (Ro. 8:11).
“And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins” (Ep. 2:1; see vv.2–3).
“But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ep. 2:4–9)
“And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses” (Col. 2:13).
5 (5:22–23) Jesus Christ, Deity—Judgment—Honor, of Jesus Christ—Relationship, To God: the fourth proof that Jesus was equal with God was His control over the whole judicial process. Most men think that God (the Father) will judge the world and that they will have to stand before God in the day of judgment. But not so, Jesus says. He claims that God will judge “no man, but [He] hath committed all judgment unto the Son.” The scene is the picture of a supreme court—not just the supreme court of a nation, but the supreme court of the universe presided over by Jesus Christ.
“Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead” (Ac. 17:31).
“And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats” (Mt. 25:32).
“And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick [the living] and dead” (Ac. 10:42).
“Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead” (Ac. 17:31).
“In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel” (Ro. 2:16).
“But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ” (Ro. 14:10).
“Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God” (1 Co. 4:5).
“I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom” (2 Ti. 4:1).
“[Men] who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead” (1 Pe. 4:5).
a. The purpose for all judgment being given to Christ is onefold: God has willed that all men honor the Son just as they honor Him. The idea is that God has determined that men will keep on honoring the Son with the very same honor and worship they give Him. (This is seen in the Greek tense which is present active subjective.)
b. This is a truth that shatters men, for it means that if a man does not honor Christ, he does not honor God; and if he does not worship Christ, he does not worship God.
“He that hateth me hateth my Father also” (Jn. 15:23).
“Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: [but] he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also” (1 Jn. 2:23).
“He that despiseth me despiseth Him that sent me” (Lu. 10:16).
“Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels” (Mk. 8:38).
“Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son” (1 Jn. 2:22).
6 (5:24–25) Jesus Christ, Deity—Salvation—Sin—Death: the fifth proof that Jesus was equal with God was His power over people’s destiny, the power to save people from death. Note three significant points.
a. How men are saved.
1) They are saved by hearing Jesus’ Word. The idea is commitment and obedience to it. In order to be saved, men must hear and follow Jesus’ Word, doing exactly as He says.
2) They are saved by believing God, that is, by believing that God has sent His Son Jesus Christ to save them.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (Jn. 3:16).
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Ro. 5:8).
b. The result of being saved: eternal life. A man passes from the state of death into the state of life, from the state of condemnation into the state of justification. When a man is truly saved, he is never condemned to die; he is declared righteous and given eternal life. Note the descriptive way of expressing it: “is passed from death to life.” Note also that man is presently in a state of death; that is, man is in the process of dying. Man must die and will die. He cannot stop the process.
c. The facts are twofold. The hour has come and now is …
• when the spiritually dead can hear the voice of the Son of God
• when the spiritually dead, who hear, can live
“For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Co. 6:2).
“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (Jn. 3:36).
(5:25) Jesus Christ, Son of God: there are three places in the Gospel of John where Jesus calls Himself the Son of God (Jn. 5:25; 10:36; 11:4; see Jn. 19:7). Note also the claim to be the Son (Jn. 5:19–23, 26; 6:40; 8:35–36; 14:13; 19:1). John’s stated purpose should also be noted at this point.
“But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name” (Jn. 20:31).
7 (5:26) Jesus Christ, Deity—Life, Source: the sixth proof that Jesus was equal with God was His energy of life, His self-existence. God is the …
• Energy of life
• Power of life
• Being of life
• Possessor of life
• Source of life
• Essence of life
• Sovereign of life
• Self-existent life
God has life within Himself. And note: God has given the very same energy of life to the Son. Jesus Christ possesses “the very being” of life, the power and energy of self-existence within Himself.
The implication is clear: Jesus Christ has the power to give everlasting life to those who hear Him and believe on God.
“And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Ge. 2:7).
“That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days” (De. 30:20).
“The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life” (Jb. 33:4).
“The Lord is the strength of my life” (Ps. 27:1).
“For with thee is the fountain of life” (Ps. 36:9).
“Yet the LORD will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life” (Ps. 42:8).
“[God] holdeth our soul in life” (Ps. 66:9).
“In him was life; and the life was the light of men” (Jn. 1:4).
“I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (Jn. 10:10).
“Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live” (Jn. 11:25).
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (Jn. 14:6).
“That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord” (Ro. 5:21).
“But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Ti. 1:10).
“He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (1 Jn. 5:12).
8 (5:27) Jesus Christ, Deity—Judgment—Sympathy: the seventh proof that Jesus was equal with God was His authority to execute judgment. Jesus Christ is the Son of Man, having lived just as all sons of men live. He walked through life as Man, bearing all the weight and pressure, trials and temptations, sufferings and death, joys and victories that men experience. He knows every facet and fiber of human life; therefore, He is able to execute perfect judgment. For this reason, God has given Him the right and the authority to judge men. (See note, Son of Man—Jn. 1:51.)
9 (5:27) Jesus Christ, Deity—Son of Man: the eighth proof that Jesus was equal with God was His claim to be the Son of Man. This was Jesus’ favorite description of Himself (see notes, Son of Man—Jn. 1:51 for discussion. See 3:13–14; 5:27; 6:27, 53, 62; 8:28; 9:35; 12:3–34; 13:31.)
10 (5:28–30) Resurrection, the—Judgment: the ninth proof that Jesus was equal with God was His power to resurrect all people from the grave. Note several facts.
a. It is the voice—the Word, the power of Jesus—that shall resurrect “all that are in the graves.”
b. “All that are in the graves” shall be resurrected. Not a single one will be left in the earth. Everyone “shall come forth.”
c. “The hour is coming” when all shall be resurrected. The hour is set, fixed, already determined.
d. Men are to “marvel not at this.” It is not incredible or ridiculous, for God is; He does exist, and He has a plan for the world. The world has not just happened. Life has not happened by chance, without purpose and meaning beyond a few brief years. Life is not doomed, without hope, destined to despair and dirt. There is meaning, purpose, and significance, both to life and to the world.
e. Men who have done good shall “come forth to the resurrection of life.” How one lives matters. The man who professes and lives for God will take part in the resurrection of life, but they who have done evil will “come forth to the resurrection of damnation” (judgment, condemnation, see Jn. 3:17). What a person has professed will not matter. All that will matter will be how a person has lived. Has he lived righteously and godly in this present world—believing on Christ and serving Him? Believing on Christ means that a person has committed His life to follow Christ, to obey and serve Him (see note—Jn. 2:2).
Thought 1. Note two critical facts about the resurrection.
(1) There is to be a resurrection of all who have believed and obeyed the Lord Jesus Christ.
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live” (Jn. 5:25).
“And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day” (Jn. 6:40).
“Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live” (Jn. 11:25).
“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Co. 15:22).
“Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you” (2 Co. 4:14).
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Th. 4:16–17).
“But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me” (Ps. 49:15).
“Thou, which hast showed me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth” (Ps. 71:20).
“I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction” (Ho. 13:14).
(2) There is to be a resurrection not only of believers but also of all those who have rejected and disobeyed the Lord Jesus Christ.
“Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation” (Jn. 5:28–29).
“And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust” (Acts 24:15).
“And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt” (Da. 12:2).
f. The judgment of Christ will be a just judgment. He will judge precisely as He “hears,” exactly as God wills. He hears and does the will of God perfectly; therefore, He will hear God and execute God’s judgment exactly as He wills. Only men who have lived godly lives will take part in the “resurrection of life.” All others will come forth to the “resurrection of damnation.”
“For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works” (Mt. 16:27).
“Who will render to every man according to his deed” (Ro. 2:6).
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad” (2 Co. 5:10).
“And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear” (1 Pe. 1:17).
“And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Re. 20:12–15).
“And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be” (Re. 22:12).
“Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy: for thou renderest to every man according to his work” (Ps. 62:12).
“I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings” (Je. 17:10).
Leadership Ministries Worldwide. (2004). The Gospel according to John
