As Christians, we need to face the claim of Jesus that He is equal with God. We went into detail about this in chapter 1 but again we are faced with this claim tonight. How could Jesus make such a claim? Because Jesus gave us proof after proof of His claim which clearly verified it. In tonight’s passage, Jesus will give us 9 proofs that He is equal with God. Let’s begin with His 1st claim.
READ 17-18. Jesus calls God “My Father” not “Our Father.” He was claiming His unique relationship, a Father-Son union with God and the religionists understood it clearly. They understood that Jesus said God was “HIS” Father and that Jesus was making Himself equal with God.
Another claim that Jesus made was when He said, “My Father is always at his work.”—which means “My Father keeps on working even until now.” That is, God never ceases to work, even on the Sabbath.
Some may question this by remembering that after God created the universe in 6 days, He rested on the Sabbath. But further study will reveal that God rested from His creative work, not from His other work; His work of love and mercy, helping and caring.
Jesus said, “And I too am working,” 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. This is precisely why the religionists tried to kill Jesus. Two thoughts on this:
1. A person either accepts this claim of Jesus to be equal with God or else they reject it. There is no longer a middle ground to stand on. Man is now forced to make a decision.
2. Some take the words and behavior of Jesus on the Sabbath as the approval for working on Sunday. That is not what Jesus is condoning here. Jesus wasn’t violating nor erasing the Lord’s day as the day for man’s rest and worship. In fact, it is just the opposite. He was saying that the day was to be used for compassion and mercy and good, helping men in their needs. Think of it this way, if man in not supposed to do anything on the Sabbath, then what do we do about me standing here on Sundays and preaching?
READ 19. Proof #1- The first proof that Jesus was equal with God was His obedience. Jesus stated two things:
1. He didn’t act alone or independently from God. In other words, He didn’t take things into His own hands, or do His own thing, or act selfishly, or walk separately from God.
Hopefully you noticed how Jesus stressed the point when He said, “I tell you the truth.” In other words, listen closely to what I’m saying.
2. Jesus did exactly what He saw the Father do. He didn’t add anything or take anything away. He did exactly what God did. A literal translation of the original Greek manuscript reads, “He did the very same things in the very same manner.” So, He was perfectly obedient. What a challenge and a lesson on obedience for us.
READ 20. The second proof that Jesus was equal with God was His great works. Jesus made two statements here in this verse that we need to focus on.
1. “The Father loves the Son.” The idea is that the Father continues to love and never stops loving the Son. It’s a perfect love that never ceases to give.
2. And because of this love, the Father showed the Son all things which He did. Then He goes on the say that the Father was going to show Him greater things to do, even greater things than healing the paralytic man that we talked about last time.
And we will see later in this letter that Jesus would control the forces of nature. He’ll calm the storm on the Sea of Galilee. He will multiply food. He’ll raise the dead and heal crowds of people. He will institute new ordinances and create people anew.
READ 21. Now we see the third proof that Jesus is equal with God by His power to give life. God gives life, and only God can give life. And we know that Jesus had the power to give life in the miracles that He performed. But at this point in Scripture it has not been recorded any time that Jesus had raised the dead yet.
So, in a sense, Jesus is giving a foresight to His ability to give life. Just as God gives life to whom He will, so does Jesus. But so far we are only considering physical life. Think about the abundant and eternal life that Jesus gives to anyone who believes on Him. Yes, for sure Jesus gives life.
READ 22-23. Here’s the 4th proof that Jesus was equal with God and that was His control over the whole judicial process. Most of us believe that God will judge the world and that we will have to stand before God in the Day of Judgment. But not so, Jesus says. Jesus claims that God will judge no one, but He has entrusted all judgment to 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.
This means that all judgment has been given to Christ. God has willed that all men honor the Son just as they honor Him. We are to honor and worship Jesus just as we honor and worship God. The truth of it all is that if a person doesn’t honor Christ, he doesn’t honor God. And if he doesn’t worship Christ, he doesn’t worship God.
READ 24-25. Here’s the 5th proof that Jesus is equal to God. His power over man’s destiny, the power to save men from death to life. There are three things to note here.
1. HOW MEN ARE SAVED. They are saved by hearing Jesus’ Word. In order to be saved, we must hear and follow Jesus’ Word, doing as He says. People are saved by believing God, that is, by believing that God has sent His Son Jesus Christ to save them.
2. The second point is THE RESULT OF BEING SAVED. The result of being saved is eternal life. When a person is truly saved, he is never condemned to die; he is declared righteous and given eternal life. Jesus said he “has crossed over from death to life.” Man is in a present state of death; that is, each one of us is in the process of dying. We must die and will die. We can’t stop the process.
3. But the facts are twofold. A time 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.
READ 26. A 6th proof of Jesus’ equality with God. His energy of life, His self-existence. God is the source of life, the essence of life. God has given the very same energy of life to Jesus. So, this implies that Jesus has the power to give eternal life to those who hear Him and believe in God.
READ 27. The 7th proof of Jesus’ equality with God. His power to execute judgment. Jesus is referred to as the Son of Man, meaning He 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 so He is able to execute perfect judgment. And for this reason, God has given Him the right and the authority to judge men.
Also in verse 27 we have the 8th proof that Jesus was equal with God and that was His claim to be the Son of Man. This was Jesus’ favorite description of Himself.
Jesus is the Son of Man. This doesn’t mean that Jesus was born of a man. It means that He is more than what an ordinary man is, more than a son of some man. Jesus is what every man ought to be. Jesus is everything God wants a man to be. He is the pattern, the model, the perfect example of concern and caring. He served other people just like every man ought to serve other people.
Jesus called Himself “the Son of Man” about 80 times. In that title, Jesus is the representative Man, the Ideal Man in God’s plan.
READ 28-30. Deep words. Finally, we have the 9th proof that Jesus is equal with God and that is in His power to resurrect all men from the grave. We’ll note several facts and then we’ll close.
1. It’s the voice—the Word, the power of Jesus—that shall resurrect all who are in their graves. (v.28)
2. Note again it is “all who are in their graves” that shall be resurrected. So not a single one will be left in the earth. Everyone will “come out.”
3. It also says “a time is coming” when all shall be resurrected. The time is set, it’s fixed, it’s already determined.
4. Then it says that we “must not be amazed at this.” God does exist and He has a plan for the world, an incredible plan because God is incredible.
The world has not just happened. Life has not happened by chance, without purpose and meaning. Because of what Jesus is telling here, we should understand that life is not doomed, or without hope, or destined to despair. There is meaning, and purpose, and significance.
5. These last verses tell us that “people who have done good will rise to live.” So that tells us that how you live matters. The person who professes and lives for God will take part in the resurrection of life, but they who have done evil will rise to be condemned. That is what we call the resurrection of damnation, judgment and condemnation.
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? Did they believe in Christ and serve Him? Believing on Christ means that a person has committed his life to follow Christ, to obey and serve Him. In other words, they should practice what they preach.
Let’s make mention of 2 things about the resurrection.
1. There will be a resurrection of all who have believed and obeyed Jesus Christ.
2. And there will also be a resurrection of all those who have rejected and disobeyed Christ.
The judgment of Christ will be just. He will judge precisely as He hears, exactly as God wills. He hears and does the will of God perfectly, so He will hear God and execute God’s judgment exactly as He wills.
Only men who have lived godly lives will rise to live. All others will rise to be condemned.
So tonight, we have seen Jesus’ claims that He is equal with God. With all this said, should we doubt any of it?
