The Controversial Christ

Father & Son

SERMON OUTLINE:

• Claim #1: "I am equal with God" (vs 19-20).

• Claim #2: "I am the giver of life" (vs 21 & 26).

• Claim #3: "I am the final judge" (vs 22-23).

• Claim #4: "I determine man's destiny" (vs 24).

• Claim #5: "I will raise the dead" (vs 25-29).

• Claim #6: "I am always doing the will of God" (vs 30)

SERMON BODY

• This section in John’s gospel that you have asked me to speak on;

• Really divides into two distinct sections.

• Verses: John chapter 5 verses 16-29.

• The authority of the Son.

• This is the section I want to focus on and speak on.

• Verses 30-47:

• Testimonies about the Son.

• Where five witnesses are introduced to verify his claims.

• They are God the Father (vs 32), John the Baptist (vs 33-35),

• Jesus’ own works (vs 36), The Old Testament scriptures (vs 39-44), Moses (vs 45-47).

The section I want to focus on and speak on is verses 16-29.

• The authority of the Son.

• This section also fits in well with the title you gave me: ‘Father & Son’.

• Notice: in these section the religious leaders are focussed on the Sabbath.

• Yet, Jesus doesn’t directly refer to the Sabbath but to his Father.

Ill:

• We were invited to a wedding reception at the Solent Hotel in Whiteley.

• We arrived early as the bride and groom went off to have additional photos taken.

• When they drove down the driveway to the front of the hotel,

• There was a crowd of guests ready to greet them.

• The car they came in was a vintage white Rolls Royce,

• And as the couple stood next to the car while more photos were taken,

• All the ladies present were saying; “Wow! Doesn’t the bride look fantastic?”

• While all the men were says; “Wow! Doesn’t the car look fantastic?”

• TRANSITION: Somebody had missed the point!

• And in this passage some people will miss the point.

• They will be focussed on the Sabbath and they will miss the Son.

• Now in this chapter Jesus is about to make some incredible claims:

• Claims that would divide his audience into two distinct groups,

• Those who were for him and those who were against him.

Note:

• The dialogue we are reading came out of an incident,

• You cannot really separate the two.

• In verses 1- 15 was the incident: a man was miraculously healed.

• He had been sick for thirty eight years,

• (Joke): Of course if you've been waiting on the National Health,

• For an operation you'll know exactly how he felt!

• But in verse 8 Jesus tells this man who was sick for thirty-eight years to:

• "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk".

• And to the astonishment of the man, the crowd around the pool;

• The man got up, picked up his mat and walked!

• It should have been a time for rejoicing, of celebration;

• After all, the life of this man had been transformed by Jesus,

• Now life could start all over again!

But as you read John 5; the reactions of the Jewish leaders was not one of joy,

• In fact the opposite was true,

• They were scandalized by this merciful act,

• Verses 9-17 tells us why.

• Because it took place on "The Sabbath".

• And so instead of rejoicing with this man:

• They interrogated him by asking him question upon question.

• They wanted to know the identity of this healer who broke the Law:

When the religious leaders found out that the 'Law breaking' healer was Jesus:

• They start to accuse and investigate him,

• And they also start to persecute him (verse 16).

Quote: Verses 16-18:

“So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him.

17 Jesus said to them, My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.

18 For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God”.

• The original accusation of being a Sabbath-breaker paled to this charge.

• And for them, there was only one conclusion to be made.

• It was a time to kill. Jesus had to die.

• On a purely human level;

• You could say the fate of Jesus was sealed at this point.

• In human terms this conversation in John chapter 5 cost Jesus his life;

• The Jewish leaders refused to believe him and they never forgave him!