16 So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him. 17 In his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” 18 For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
19 Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. 21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. 22 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.
24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. 25 Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.
28 “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned. 30 By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me."
John 5 ( NIV )
The near instantaneous reaction of the Jewish leaders against the healing of the invalid at the pool was less about theological reasons than about authority. One need only look at politics to see how badly it is taken by any and all people involved with any actual or imagined loss of power. Authority and power is a deep weakness with us for we are determined to be the absolute power in our lives. John 5 ( NIV )
The first point used against Christ for His healing was that it was on the Sabbath. If we just quickly glance at this statement, how silly it makes us sound. Here is a group of educated people objecting to someone doing something NICE for someone else, at no cost, no pain, nothing. Rather like clubbing someone over the head for offering to cover the cost of gasoline for another who has lost their wallet.
Christ was not at all ruffled, something that cannot be said by most Jews who were questioned by the leaders. If the leaders so said, a Jew would be cast out of his home and family related to impurity. Admittedly, Christ had that added ability of being God, and knowing what was in these people--a major advantage that they, of course, did not have on Him.
Next Christ pointed out that He had an inability to do anything but what the Father does. This section can cause a lot of issues, as people can read it and think it sounds as if Christ is stating He cannot do things without the Father. It is not a statement of weakness as it might appear, but rather that it is impossible for Him to do anything but what the Father would do, because They are the same Person---rather like it is impossible for me to "stay" here and continue to write this post and send my body to get me a glass of water. Christ has to do what the Father would do, because He is going to do what the Father would do, because He is the Father. It is not a cannot, but a will not.
Christ never states in a full on "I am God" statement, which makes many people spend an incredibly amount of energy and time arguing that He is not, therefore, God. This is not so, and this passage is a good example, though there are many, many other passages which are claiming His Godship. The various ways that He describes Himself in this section is blatantly claiming Godship--I will keep repeating in this section that this is why the Jews were so angry at Him, He was claiming something no one would dare claim: "In Revelation, an angel instructed the apostle John to only worship God (Revelation 19:10). Several times in Scripture Jesus receives worship (Matthew 2:11; 14:33; 28:9, 17; Luke 24:52; John 9:38). He never rebukes people for worshiping Him. If Jesus were not God, He would have told people to not worship Him, just as the angel in Revelation did. There are many other passages of Scripture that argue for Jesus’ deity." ( gotquestions )
The passage then speaks of raising of the dead at the completion of His time here on earth. Only God has ever raised people from the dead--Elisha gave the glory for those raised from the dead to God. A professor of mine used to say during anatomy and physiology that "life can only come from life". Christ claims such ownership by stating that the Son has been granted the ability to give life to whom He pleases. If Christ speaks of things such as this, and means them, as He does, He is either God, or He is not a sane man--are you beginning to see why the Jewish leaders were so angry, unspeakably angry, at Him? Every sentence in this section reiterates over and over again the absolute authority that He, as the Son of God, really has.
Following this is another reaffirming claim of Godship. He discusses the ownership of being the Final Judge, with the determining of the eternal destination of creation. This was pushed with a deeper affirmation by His stating that a human must believe in the Father and the Son, and that having belief in the Son is belief in the Father---again underlining over and over again the fact that He is not merely a "son", He is God. These are important verses to use today and understand because it is so rampant today in churches and teachings that Christ is only a "son" of God, not THE Son of God---which as the firstborn of God, by the cultural implications of the Jewish people, the firstborn son is equal to the father.
For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; it is he who will save us. Isa 33.22 ( NIV )
Next Christ pointed out that He had an inability to do anything but what the Father does. This section can cause a lot of issues, as people can read it and think it sounds as if Christ is stating He cannot do things without the Father. It is not a statement of weakness as it might appear, but rather that it is impossible for Him to do anything but what the Father would do, because They are the same Person---rather like it is impossible for me to "stay" here and continue to write this post and send my body to get me a glass of water. Christ has to do what the Father would do, because He is going to do what the Father would do, because He is the Father. It is not a cannot, but a will not.
Christ never states in a full on "I am God" statement, which makes many people spend an incredibly amount of energy and time arguing that He is not, therefore, God. This is not so, and this passage is a good example, though there are many, many other passages which are claiming His Godship. The various ways that He describes Himself in this section is blatantly claiming Godship--I will keep repeating in this section that this is why the Jews were so angry at Him, He was claiming something no one would dare claim: "In Revelation, an angel instructed the apostle John to only worship God (Revelation 19:10). Several times in Scripture Jesus receives worship (Matthew 2:11; 14:33; 28:9, 17; Luke 24:52; John 9:38). He never rebukes people for worshiping Him. If Jesus were not God, He would have told people to not worship Him, just as the angel in Revelation did. There are many other passages of Scripture that argue for Jesus’ deity." ( gotquestions )
The passage then speaks of raising of the dead at the completion of His time here on earth. Only God has ever raised people from the dead--Elisha gave the glory for those raised from the dead to God. A professor of mine used to say during anatomy and physiology that "life can only come from life". Christ claims such ownership by stating that the Son has been granted the ability to give life to whom He pleases. If Christ speaks of things such as this, and means them, as He does, He is either God, or He is not a sane man--are you beginning to see why the Jewish leaders were so angry, unspeakably angry, at Him? Every sentence in this section reiterates over and over again the absolute authority that He, as the Son of God, really has.
Following this is another reaffirming claim of Godship. He discusses the ownership of being the Final Judge, with the determining of the eternal destination of creation. This was pushed with a deeper affirmation by His stating that a human must believe in the Father and the Son, and that having belief in the Son is belief in the Father---again underlining over and over again the fact that He is not merely a "son", He is God. These are important verses to use today and understand because it is so rampant today in churches and teachings that Christ is only a "son" of God, not THE Son of God---which as the firstborn of God, by the cultural implications of the Jewish people, the firstborn son is equal to the father.
For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; it is he who will save us. Isa 33.22 ( NIV )
11Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister
d
or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it.
12There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor? Jam 4 ( NIV)
I, like many people, have feared the idea of facing the Judge. What younger, and often older, Christians are not aware of is the fact that we have already been judged and justified--because our sins are fully covered by the blood of the everlasting sacrifice. Part of this can be better understood by understanding the tenses used in the Word. Younger people today often are not taught how specific some tenses are--especially in languages such as Greek and Latin. These two languages are VERY specific on whether something is going to be done, is being done, or is done, etc.
An example of the fact we are already (completed) justified is the following passage, because the tense have been justified means completed:
"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ," Rom 5.1 (NIV )
21 "Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of[g] your evil behavior. 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation." Col 1.21-22 ( NIV )
Verse 28 mentions the dead hearing the Voice, and raising those who have done good (believed and had His perfection cover them) will be raised. Jay Mack (Authority ) makes an interesting point that those who did not believe will hear the Voice once and only once, and it will be a Voice they spend eternity wanting to escape, while those of us who know Him will spend eternity hearing that Voice. A strange example, perhaps, but it makes me think of childhood, when you knew you had done something wrong, and your mama calls you. There is a tone in that voice of judgement--you know you messed up, you know it is too late, you know punishment is coming. It is a totally different voice than your mama's voice when you are not in trouble, but my point is that one voice falls on the ear with fear, while the other falls on the ear with joy. This reminds me, however faintly, of the Voice that will one day speak to me, a Voice I will know as His, and know His love for me.
As a final slap in the face, to be certain that the leaders of the time, and people today cannot state He was not referring to Himself, Christ switches from third person to first, and reiterates that He cannot do (because one cannot do things without the rest of them there) anything without the Father, which is an extremely powerful statement--extremely.
I, like many people, have feared the idea of facing the Judge. What younger, and often older, Christians are not aware of is the fact that we have already been judged and justified--because our sins are fully covered by the blood of the everlasting sacrifice. Part of this can be better understood by understanding the tenses used in the Word. Younger people today often are not taught how specific some tenses are--especially in languages such as Greek and Latin. These two languages are VERY specific on whether something is going to be done, is being done, or is done, etc.
An example of the fact we are already (completed) justified is the following passage, because the tense have been justified means completed:
"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ," Rom 5.1 (NIV )
21 "Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of[g] your evil behavior. 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation." Col 1.21-22 ( NIV )
Verse 28 mentions the dead hearing the Voice, and raising those who have done good (believed and had His perfection cover them) will be raised. Jay Mack (Authority ) makes an interesting point that those who did not believe will hear the Voice once and only once, and it will be a Voice they spend eternity wanting to escape, while those of us who know Him will spend eternity hearing that Voice. A strange example, perhaps, but it makes me think of childhood, when you knew you had done something wrong, and your mama calls you. There is a tone in that voice of judgement--you know you messed up, you know it is too late, you know punishment is coming. It is a totally different voice than your mama's voice when you are not in trouble, but my point is that one voice falls on the ear with fear, while the other falls on the ear with joy. This reminds me, however faintly, of the Voice that will one day speak to me, a Voice I will know as His, and know His love for me.
As a final slap in the face, to be certain that the leaders of the time, and people today cannot state He was not referring to Himself, Christ switches from third person to first, and reiterates that He cannot do (because one cannot do things without the rest of them there) anything without the Father, which is an extremely powerful statement--extremely.
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