Jesus Is God
John 5:15-24

INTRO: Good morning church. In our study of John 5 we read about Jesus healing a disabled man on a Sabbath. This man had been in this condition for 38 years, equal to the time of the helplessness and hopelessness of the Israelites as they were punished for their sins in the wilderness during the days of Moses. We suggested this maybe the reason that Jesus selects this man over all the other people who are in this covered porch area. The man's inability to move contrasts with Jesus' command, showing that spiritual life comes through Christ's word (grace) rather than human effort or strict observance (law).

Verse 9 tells us that this was the Sabbath and problems are going to arise for Jesus from the Jewish leadership. The religious leaders, focused on Sabbath rules, were spiritually blind, and couldn't see the miracle. They question the healed man about whom it was that healed him, but he did not know who it was. Later, Jesus finds this healed man at the temple and tells him to sin no more so that no worse thing will happen to him.

John 5:15-16, “The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.” These verses tell us that the healed man, goes to the Jewish leaders and tells them that it was Jesus who had healed him. This ignites a persecution against Jesus because He was healing on the Sabbath. Jesus responds to this persecution by teaching that He is equal to God… because He is God. What we are about to read is Jesus’ own defense of His deity.

I. Jesus Is Equal with God in His Person (John 5:17-18) – Jesus’ answer is fascinating. The Jewish persecution is because they are charging Jesus with doing work on the Sabbath. Rather than teaching them that healing is not work and not a violation of the Sabbath, Jesus goes the other direction and argues that He is working on the Sabbath and why that is acceptable. This is not at all what we would expect to read, and I would imagine it took the Jewish leaders by surprise.

A. Listen to the statement Jesus makes in verse 17. “But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”[ESV] Jesus says, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” He is saying, “You’re right, I'm working.

1. Consider what Jesus is doing by saying those words and agreeing with them that He is working on the Sabbath. He is also making the observation that what He is doing is acceptable. It is right for Him to work on the Sabbath.
2. To understand that let’s consider Genesis 2:2-3. “And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.” It is not stated here that God rested from all activity, but that He rested from creation, "His work that He had done," an expression twice repeated in verse 2. In verse 3 here also, the specific thing from which it is stated that God rested is the work of creation.
3. Jewish sources acknowledge God's ongoing work (providence, sustaining life) but distinguish it from human general activity, i.e. creative, productive labor. Priests did not stop working when the Sabbath day came but were in the sanctuary working for the Lord (Matthew 12:5).
4. It was acceptable for God since He is the creator of all things, to then, “violate the Sabbath”, because He's over all things. I just think this is an interesting aside. I mean, if you must justify God for doing anything, you are probably working from a lousy position in the first place. Of course, God is working. He is sustaining all things.
5. Notice what Jesus does in verse 17. He places Himself in a unique relationship with the Father. He doesn't say our Father is working. He says, my Father is working. He excludes everybody else from this. The idea is of course; humans are under the requirements of the Sabbath Law… but God is not. Therefore, Jesus must be working. To put it another way, if you recognize that God the Father is working, then I must be working as well, because I'm God. That's exactly how the Jews understand it.

B. John 5:18, “This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.” It is not only the persecution of verse 16, now they want to kill Him. Jesus makes the claim that He is equal with God. This is the thrust of the argument Jesus is making. My Father is still working continually, and so am I.

1. An aside here. We're living in a time where some people say that in the scriptures Jesus never claimed to be God. We will see that He claims to be God five times in this text and the first is right here. God's working: therefore, I must be working. There's no option. I must work because I'm God. God works on the Sabbath, and so do I, because I'm God.
2. Jesus does not tell them that they misunderstood, instead He is going to offer four more proofs that He is God and is equal to God in every way.

II. Jesus Is Equal to God in His Works (John 5:19-20) – “So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel.”

A. Look at the two parts of this amazing answer that Jesus gives. First, the Son does not do things with His own initiative, but only what He sees the Father doing. Please underline the word “see.” Who can see what the Father is doing? Do you see what God the Father is doing right now?

1. No human can see what God is doing. In fact, John made that argument at the very beginning of this gospel. “No one has seen God at any time.” Here Jesus is making an extraordinary statement. I see what the Father is doing. I am able to observe His actions.
2. Humans cannot observe those actions. Humans cannot see God, nor see everything that He does. Jesus says, I see what the Father is doing. I'm not doing my own works. I'm doing everything I see God do.
3. Jesus is saying that His action has been in harmony with the will of God. That places Him in a very important state of privilege. That makes Him God, because He can see God and humans cannot see God.
4. Not only does He say that He sees God, but He says He does what the Father does. No human can do what God does. Can you be holy and pure and right so that every action you take is the same action as God in holiness and purity?

• Can you do what God does?
• Can you speak worlds into existence?
• Can you say, let there be light and there is light?
• Can you create anything? Humans do a great job at making all kinds of things, but we cannot create something out of nothing.

5. He says, I see what my Father does, and I do exactly what He does. Nobody else can do that.

B. Then Jesus adds in verse 20, “For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel.” Not only does Jesus see what the Father does, not only does He then do what the Father does, He goes further and says that the Father reveals to Jesus everything that He's doing, everything that is going on.

1. He has full knowledge of the Father in every aspect, in every category, full understanding, because the Father has revealed it to Him. Think back to John 1:1, it says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” That is very important to us, Jesus is the Word. He reveals the very message of God. Jesus reveals everything to us about the Father. He is the revealer of who God is.
2. The Son is obedient to the Father in every way and acts in such a way as to reveal who the Father is and does the Father's works and performs the Father's will. It is why Jesus later in this gospel says, if you've seen me, you've seen the father. Why? Because I do what He does.
3. He reveals everything to me; therefore, since I'm obedient to Him, everything that I do reflects the Father. Everything that I say reflects the very words of God himself. He is taking this to another level and is telling them, I'm not human. I'm God. That's why I'm working because God is working.

C. Notice how verse 20 tacks on the end of that—you're going to see greater works than these. I'm going to do greater things than this. Greater signs than healing this disabled man are going to come from the Father through the Son. Of course, His greatest sign will be when He is lifted up on the cross to His death only to rise from the dead three days later. That then is the second proof. He's equal to God because He does the works of God.

III. Jesus Is Equal to God in Power (John 5:21) – The third is verse 21 – “For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.”

A. Jesus’ claim to be able to raise the dead and give life to whomever He wills, is startling. Raising the dead and giving life are the sole works… and choices, of God.

1. Carefully observe what Jesus is arguing. He's not just simply saying, “I can raise people from the dead.” If we look back to the Old Testament, we can see the dead raised and life given. Elijah prayed to God and raised the widow’s son from the dead. Here Jesus is not claiming to be God’s instrument through which resurrection and life come. Notice how that verse ended – “… the Son gives life to whom he will.”
2. Can Elijah say that? No. No one has that power. The prophets could not give life to whoever they wanted. They all relied upon the power of God to perform those miracles, but Jesus is not an instrument through which God was healing. Jesus is the healer.

B. Go back to John 1:4, “In him was life!” This is an important truth to the lesson Jesus is teaching, and the direction Jesus wants to lead His audience. Jesus gives life to whoever He wants. Jesus makes the choice. It is the prerogative of Jesus to make that determination.

IV. Jesus is Equal to God in Judgment (John 5:22) – “For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, ”. Just like the power to raise from the dead and give life, so also is the assertion of judgment. Who alone can judge? Only God can judge. All judgment is given to the Son. Therefore, Jesus is God because He has the power to judge.

A. This is another important truth to the lesson Jesus is teaching. Jesus is the determiner of life and Jesus is the judge. Jesus deals with the two realities confessed in the Jewish faith. Only God gives life at the beginning and only God gives judgment at the end. Jesus has just laid claim to both of those prerogatives, claiming them for His own.
B. This then is the fourth – Jesus is the one who brings judgment. Paul in 2^nd Timothy 4:7 says, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day…”

IV. Jesus Is Equal to God in Honor (John 5:23) - Why has all life-giving and judgment-related authority been given to the Son? Jesus explains in verse 23: “that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father…”

A. The reason Jesus has all life-giving authority, and the reason that He has the authority and the power to judge, is so that everybody on earth, all peoples, will honor the Son as He ought to be honored, just as they honor the Father.

1. Conversely, to not give Jesus equal honor is to not honor the Father. Anyone who fails to acknowledge the authority of the Son is rejecting the Sender, the Father. To say that Jesus is just a prophet, just a good guy, just somebody you should follow, an interesting figure in history, is to not honor the Father. Those who say Jesus is not the Christ, but a prophet is anti-Christ. 1^st John 2:22.
2. Jesus is saying, You must honor me on an equal level as God or you are not honoring the Father. You are not honoring the one who sent me. That is important today. Everybody is all “yea God”, but not everybody is “yea Jesus”. It’s just too polarizing to bring up Jesus they say, just say God.
3. You cannot honor the Father unless you honor the son. You cannot honor the Father unless you honor Jesus. It is not possible. Jesus makes that argument crystal clear right here. There is no way to honor Him unless you honor the One and only Son. You cannot leave Him out, and if you do so, that is an insult to the Father. To fail to acknowledge the authority of the Son is to reject the authority of the Father.

B. Therefore, in contrast with the Jewish leaders’ charge of blasphemy, Jesus is honoring the Father because He is doing the Father’s will. His acts honor the Father. However, by them dishonoring Jesus they are dishonoring the Father. In a great turn of events, it is they, not Him, who is dishonoring God.

VI. Concluding Call (John 5:24) – In verse 24, the fifth point, Jesus ties together who He is and what this means to these people and to the world. “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” I suggest what Jesus just said is calling upon them to bow the knee, to submit and to serve and to worship Jesus as God. He says, “…hears my word and believes…”

A. We can take those two things as passive concepts. He is not being passive with His audience. When you say that your child never listens, what do you mean by that? That they are deaf and can't hear? No, you mean they are disobedient. They do not do as they are told.

1. Hearing and believing Christ's word is equivalent to believing God who sent Him. Believing Jesus is believing God!
2. Here is another skillful advocacy of His deity. This focuses upon the true mission of our Lord's coming into the world—to bring men eternal life. The Pharisees, had they been interested in such a blessing, might have been convinced by this promise; but they were too busy with their earthly concerns to pay any attention to the great hope shown in these words.

B. Jesus says, “…hears my word AND believes him who sent me…” Remember Nicodemus? Nicodemus comes to Jesus and says we know that you are from God.

1. Sounds like belief. Jesus says to him unless you are born again you will not see the kingdom of God. Then Jesus spends time trying to teach him about the need for life transformation. In John’s gospel we have been reading of people who have shallow, simple belief that has not led to life transformation. Jesus is working in each of those cases to try to get them to see that is not enough.
2. If we have experienced this life change, if we hear the words of Jesus and believe, submitting and doing what He says, believing in Him, we are experiencing that transformation from His words.

C. Jesus determines the destiny of every soul. Jesus determines the judgment of every person. Jesus decides to whom He will give life. Jesus calls for the ears of everyone to carefully hear as He says, “Truly, truly” to begin this glorious teaching. Listen carefully to the words of our Lord because they are true. Whoever hears the words of Jesus believes in Him and believes in the One who sent Him has eternal life.

1. The call is to bow the knee and worship Jesus as God, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He is divine and has come to this world with the power of life and the power of judgment. Listen to the words of Jesus, which does not mean to merely hear what He says but to do what He says. We are to listen to the words of Jesus and believe.
2. We saw in chapter 3, and we will continue to remind ourselves of this as we go through this gospel, that saving faith is not just acknowledgment, but to be born again. Hearing and believing is to obey the words of Jesus and experience radical life transformation from His word. Those are the people who have eternal life.
3. Listen to the wonderful words at the end of verse 24: “… He (the person who hears and believes) does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” Life is defined as a person having crossed over from death to life. To pass from death to life is to be born from above. It implies a line of demarcation between those who have returned to God’s side and those who remain against Him.

CONCLUSION:
Please note that this is not in the future tense. Notice how John describes this as our current condition. Jesus is the judge because the Father has given all judgment into His hand. We do not come into judgment when we hear the words of Jesus and believe. In fact, we have passed from death to life already. To use the words of the apostle Paul, “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness (death) and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son (life) in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14).

You have life now when you come to Jesus. You will pass from death to life when you listen to Jesus and give your life to Him in submission.

Jesus gives life to whom He wills (John 5:21). Jesus gives life to those who hear Him and believe Him (John 5:24). All judgment has been given to Jesus (John 5:22). Whoever dishonors Jesus also dishonors the Father (John 5:23).
How do you honor the king? The only way to honor the king is to bow the knee and submit to His authority. We honor the king by worshiping the king. We honor the king by praising the king. We honor the king by doing what the king commands. Jesus is God, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Submit to your king and your God.

If you have not accepted Jesus and believed in Him and submitted your life to Him, that is your starting point—believe that Jesus is the son of God who came to this world and died for your sins. Be immersed in water to have your sins washed away to enter a relationship with Him so that you can know that you have eternal life.

If you've already begun there, don't stop. Do not think you can put your life in neutral and you're good to go. Deepen the relationship. See Him as the treasure.
Recognize Him and honor Him for who He is. We invite you to come while we stand and while we sing.

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Reference Sermon: Brent Kercheville