John 5:17-30
The Only Man Equal with God
Introduction
"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronising nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. ... Now it seems to me obvious that He was neither a lunatic nor a fiend: and consequently, however strange or terrifying or unlikely it may seem, I have to accept the view that He was and is God."
That is C.S. Lewis in his book Mere Christianity. Lewis deals with the nonsensical notions people have about Jesus only being a great moral teacher, a great man, a philosopher, a sage, and so on. These claims people make about who Jesus is are not the claims that Jesus made about who He is. And Lewis skillfully shows us that there are only 3 options for us to believe: Either Jesus was a Liar, a Lunatic, or the Lord God in the flesh.
We’ve seen a list of witnesses testifying to the identity of Jesus until this point, and now, John is going to bring forth the very testimony of Jesus Himself. What did Jesus claim? What did He say about His own identity? Know this: Jesus claimed to be equal with God and those who heard Him knew this is what He was claiming.
Now His claims were startling – especially to the Jews. To the Jews it was more than startling, it enraged them. According to the Scriptures, God has no equal. In Isaiah 46 God says, “To whom will you compare me or count me equal? To whom will you liken me that we may be compared? Remember me and fix it in mind, I am God and there is no other. I am God and there is none like me.” So for them to hear a man say He is equal with God and that He is God would really stir things up.
Now the only way Jesus could be equal with God were if there were more than one God (which the Bible does not teach), or, if Jesus were that one God who became a man (this is what the Bible teaches).
Why is it important to know that Jesus is equal with God? Because it is what distinguishes Christianity from every other religion. It’s what makes the Christian claims about truth exclusive. In other words, the truth about God and salvation can only be found in the Christian faith. If Jesus is God then there is no other religion and no other person where the truth about God can be found. Let me put it to you this way: If there is another religion that IS true, then Christianity is NOT true. That is because Christianity is based on the claims of the Bible which are opposed to the claims of every other religion. They can’t all be true. They can’t all be equal. Jesus is either who He said He was, or He is not.
Jesus points out 5 ways that He is equal to God: in Nature, in Works, in giving Life, in Judgment, and in receiving Honor. These are 5 ways Jesus describes that He as the Son of God is equal to God.
Nature (v. 18b)
“Not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.”
There are 2 charges being leveled against Jesus by the Jews: He’s breaking the Sabbath and He’s blaspheming by claiming God as His Father, by claiming to be equal with God.
It is important for us to realize that the Jews knew what Jesus was getting at. They knew the claim He was making. There are many I believe today who want to believe that Jesus never made the claim that He was divine. That He was just a good moral man – a guide, a teacher. But, clearly, throughout the gospels the Jews knew Jesus was making the claim to be equal with God.
To highlight this point, we can notice what Jesus did NOT say. He does not say, “Whoa, wait, I didn’t say I was God – wait a minute – let me explain.” He does not try to correct them in verse 18 when they understand Him to claim that He is equal with God.
The Scriptures teach over and over again that Jesus was equal with God the Father. Paul says in Philippians 2:6, “[Jesus] being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped.” The nature of Jesus is the nature of God – He is divine in nature. And, when he says Jesus did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, he is not talking about attaining equality with God – or becoming equal. He means the equality Jesus always had was not something to be held onto. When Jesus became a man He allowed Himself to be treated as less than God even though He always was, remained and still is fully God.
Jesus is equal with God in nature.
Works (v. 19, 20)
Secondly, Jesus is equal with God in works. Notice verses 19 and 20, “Jesus gave them this answer, ‘I tell you the truth, 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. For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all He does. Yes, to your amazement He will show Him even greater things than these.’”
Understand, again, that Jesus is talking both about what He is doing and when He is doing it. He does whatever He sees His Father doing, and since His Father works on the Sabbath – then He too is working on the Sabbath.
The Son perfectly carries out the Father’s will. The Son does not act independently of the Father. Everything He does harmonizes perfectly with the purpose and desire of the Father.
The Son has full knowledge of the Father’s will. He knows all that the Father knows. When it says that the Father shows the Son it does not mean that the Son is learning things that He did not know before. It means that
“it was impossible for Jesus Christ to do anything on earth apart from the Father and everything He did do He was continually able to see the Father doing. The verb “sees” is present tense, meaning Jesus Christ continually saw what God the Father would do in every single situation. There was such correspondence and harmony between God the Father and God the Son that in every single situation, Jesus Christ not only knew what the Father would do, He saw what the Father would do. Jesus Christ is a perfect replica of God the Father in everything and every way. Whatever Jesus Christ did, He did because He knew and saw that it was the will of the Father for Him to do. This is amazing and absolute Divine equality . You and I struggle at times with the will of God; Jesus never did. He always knew what the will of God was and He always did the will of God. Now this statement alone establishes that Jesus Christ is fully God. There are many times in our lives when we have no clue as to what God is doing. Christ always knew and saw what God was doing because He is God. This is not just equality of action , but equality of Person .”
The Son is loved by the Father. The word for love here is “phileo”, and it is the only time in Scriptures where it is used to describe the love that God the Father has for Jesus Christ. It is the love of warm affection, of deep feelings, like a father would feel towards a son. It is love that is based on relationship, the Father and the Son have a divine relationship, a relationship of equals – the Father to the Son and the Son to the Father.
We get our first glimpse of this in John 1:1. When John starts out and says “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was WITH God…” The word “with” in the Greek means to see eye-to-eye, to see one another as equals. “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was equal with God and the Word was God.”
Jesus is the divine agent through whom God made the world (John 1:3, 10; Col 1:16; Heb. 1:2). He is the One by whom God is performing miracles like healing an invalid. The Father is in Jesus and Jesus is in the Father according to John 14. And Jesus says that there are still even greater miraculous works that are yet to be shown then the healing of an invalid, and these will be done to the amazement of the Jews. What was He talking about?
Jesus is equal to God in the works that He did. But, what Jesus says next is the ultimate of God’s works.
Gives Life (v. 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.”
The Bible teaches us that God gives life. He is the Source of all life. Life does not come from any other source. God is the source. Acts 17:25 says, “He himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.”
We see God as the source of life in two ways, in creation and in resurrection. In creation He creates life when there was absolutely nothing before. But, in resurrection, He gives life when there was no life before – when there was only the dead, the lifeless. Ephesians 2:4 says, “But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions”
Notice it says that Jesus gives life to whom He wishes. Eternal life is not something you can earn. Eternal life is Jesus’ life, and, you can’t get it by any other means then by believing in Him. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can get His life any other way then by going to Him in faith to receive it. Jesus is the One who gives life. Get His life; get eternal life.
Judgment (v. 22)
“Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son”
This is similar to what John said in chapter 3:35, “The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands.” There is no other judge for mankind. All judgment for all of mankind has been placed in the hands of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He is the One every single person will stand before.
Someone might say, “I don’t believe that. That’s fine for you to believe, but, that’s not what I believe.” Well that’s your decision, but, you’re responsible for what you decide about what you have heard about Jesus Christ. So let me share with you what the Word of God says about you and Jesus:
Acts 17:31, “For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.” Second Thessalonians 1 says, “God is just: He will pay back to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of His power”
The Father has given all judgment to Jesus because the will of the Son is perfectly aligned with the will of the Father. All that the Father does is all that the Son does. All that the Father would do, is all that the Son would do. Therefore the judgment of Jesus is a perfect display of the judgment of the Father. When the Son judges it is exactly like the Father would judge.
Honor (v. 23)
“that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent Him.”
Because of the equality of the Son with the Father, He is to receive equal honor with the Father. As a matter of fact, to reject or dishonor the Son is to reject and dishonor the Father.
This is an amazing statement of the Deity of Jesus. God said in Isaiah 42 that He will not give His glory to another. He will not give the glory that is due to Him as God to anyone else who is not God. Jesus Christ, then, if He has been entrusted with all judgment from God the Father in order that He may receive honor JUST AS the Father receives honor, is therefore equal with the Father – that is, He is God as much as God the Father is God.
There is no other way to have a relationship with the Father. There is no other way to worship the Father. There is no other way to honor the Father then through honoring His Son, Jesus Christ.
Jesus is going to move now from this teaching of His identity to His audience’s response to that teaching. It is our response today as well.
The Crossover (v. 24)
“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.”
Jesus tells the truth because He speaks only what He hears from the Father. That’s why He says “if you hear My word and believe Him who sent me.” The Father sent the Son and tells the Son everything to say. When you hear the words of Jesus you hear the words of the Father. When you believe the words of Jesus you are believing the words of the Father. That is why you cannot reject Jesus claims and still come to God; worship God; be saved by God.
Jesus is the judge and those who believe His words will not be condemned, they will not come into judgment. They have crossed over. From death to life. If a person does not believe in Jesus then right now they are dead. There is no life in them. But, just as the Son gave life to the body of that invalid by the power of His spoken Word, you too if you believe His spoken word will receive life everlasting. You will crossover from death to life.
The Only Man Equal with God
Introduction
"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronising nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. ... Now it seems to me obvious that He was neither a lunatic nor a fiend: and consequently, however strange or terrifying or unlikely it may seem, I have to accept the view that He was and is God."
That is C.S. Lewis in his book Mere Christianity. Lewis deals with the nonsensical notions people have about Jesus only being a great moral teacher, a great man, a philosopher, a sage, and so on. These claims people make about who Jesus is are not the claims that Jesus made about who He is. And Lewis skillfully shows us that there are only 3 options for us to believe: Either Jesus was a Liar, a Lunatic, or the Lord God in the flesh.
We’ve seen a list of witnesses testifying to the identity of Jesus until this point, and now, John is going to bring forth the very testimony of Jesus Himself. What did Jesus claim? What did He say about His own identity? Know this: Jesus claimed to be equal with God and those who heard Him knew this is what He was claiming.
Now His claims were startling – especially to the Jews. To the Jews it was more than startling, it enraged them. According to the Scriptures, God has no equal. In Isaiah 46 God says, “To whom will you compare me or count me equal? To whom will you liken me that we may be compared? Remember me and fix it in mind, I am God and there is no other. I am God and there is none like me.” So for them to hear a man say He is equal with God and that He is God would really stir things up.
Now the only way Jesus could be equal with God were if there were more than one God (which the Bible does not teach), or, if Jesus were that one God who became a man (this is what the Bible teaches).
Why is it important to know that Jesus is equal with God? Because it is what distinguishes Christianity from every other religion. It’s what makes the Christian claims about truth exclusive. In other words, the truth about God and salvation can only be found in the Christian faith. If Jesus is God then there is no other religion and no other person where the truth about God can be found. Let me put it to you this way: If there is another religion that IS true, then Christianity is NOT true. That is because Christianity is based on the claims of the Bible which are opposed to the claims of every other religion. They can’t all be true. They can’t all be equal. Jesus is either who He said He was, or He is not.
Jesus points out 5 ways that He is equal to God: in Nature, in Works, in giving Life, in Judgment, and in receiving Honor. These are 5 ways Jesus describes that He as the Son of God is equal to God.
Nature (v. 18b)
“Not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.”
There are 2 charges being leveled against Jesus by the Jews: He’s breaking the Sabbath and He’s blaspheming by claiming God as His Father, by claiming to be equal with God.
It is important for us to realize that the Jews knew what Jesus was getting at. They knew the claim He was making. There are many I believe today who want to believe that Jesus never made the claim that He was divine. That He was just a good moral man – a guide, a teacher. But, clearly, throughout the gospels the Jews knew Jesus was making the claim to be equal with God.
To highlight this point, we can notice what Jesus did NOT say. He does not say, “Whoa, wait, I didn’t say I was God – wait a minute – let me explain.” He does not try to correct them in verse 18 when they understand Him to claim that He is equal with God.
The Scriptures teach over and over again that Jesus was equal with God the Father. Paul says in Philippians 2:6, “[Jesus] being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped.” The nature of Jesus is the nature of God – He is divine in nature. And, when he says Jesus did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, he is not talking about attaining equality with God – or becoming equal. He means the equality Jesus always had was not something to be held onto. When Jesus became a man He allowed Himself to be treated as less than God even though He always was, remained and still is fully God.
Jesus is equal with God in nature.
Works (v. 19, 20)
Secondly, Jesus is equal with God in works. Notice verses 19 and 20, “Jesus gave them this answer, ‘I tell you the truth, 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. For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all He does. Yes, to your amazement He will show Him even greater things than these.’”
Understand, again, that Jesus is talking both about what He is doing and when He is doing it. He does whatever He sees His Father doing, and since His Father works on the Sabbath – then He too is working on the Sabbath.
The Son perfectly carries out the Father’s will. The Son does not act independently of the Father. Everything He does harmonizes perfectly with the purpose and desire of the Father.
The Son has full knowledge of the Father’s will. He knows all that the Father knows. When it says that the Father shows the Son it does not mean that the Son is learning things that He did not know before. It means that
“it was impossible for Jesus Christ to do anything on earth apart from the Father and everything He did do He was continually able to see the Father doing. The verb “sees” is present tense, meaning Jesus Christ continually saw what God the Father would do in every single situation. There was such correspondence and harmony between God the Father and God the Son that in every single situation, Jesus Christ not only knew what the Father would do, He saw what the Father would do. Jesus Christ is a perfect replica of God the Father in everything and every way. Whatever Jesus Christ did, He did because He knew and saw that it was the will of the Father for Him to do. This is amazing and absolute Divine equality . You and I struggle at times with the will of God; Jesus never did. He always knew what the will of God was and He always did the will of God. Now this statement alone establishes that Jesus Christ is fully God. There are many times in our lives when we have no clue as to what God is doing. Christ always knew and saw what God was doing because He is God. This is not just equality of action , but equality of Person .”
The Son is loved by the Father. The word for love here is “phileo”, and it is the only time in Scriptures where it is used to describe the love that God the Father has for Jesus Christ. It is the love of warm affection, of deep feelings, like a father would feel towards a son. It is love that is based on relationship, the Father and the Son have a divine relationship, a relationship of equals – the Father to the Son and the Son to the Father.
We get our first glimpse of this in John 1:1. When John starts out and says “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was WITH God…” The word “with” in the Greek means to see eye-to-eye, to see one another as equals. “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was equal with God and the Word was God.”
Jesus is the divine agent through whom God made the world (John 1:3, 10; Col 1:16; Heb. 1:2). He is the One by whom God is performing miracles like healing an invalid. The Father is in Jesus and Jesus is in the Father according to John 14. And Jesus says that there are still even greater miraculous works that are yet to be shown then the healing of an invalid, and these will be done to the amazement of the Jews. What was He talking about?
Jesus is equal to God in the works that He did. But, what Jesus says next is the ultimate of God’s works.
Gives Life (v. 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.”
The Bible teaches us that God gives life. He is the Source of all life. Life does not come from any other source. God is the source. Acts 17:25 says, “He himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.”
We see God as the source of life in two ways, in creation and in resurrection. In creation He creates life when there was absolutely nothing before. But, in resurrection, He gives life when there was no life before – when there was only the dead, the lifeless. Ephesians 2:4 says, “But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions”
Notice it says that Jesus gives life to whom He wishes. Eternal life is not something you can earn. Eternal life is Jesus’ life, and, you can’t get it by any other means then by believing in Him. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can get His life any other way then by going to Him in faith to receive it. Jesus is the One who gives life. Get His life; get eternal life.
Judgment (v. 22)
“Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son”
This is similar to what John said in chapter 3:35, “The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands.” There is no other judge for mankind. All judgment for all of mankind has been placed in the hands of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He is the One every single person will stand before.
Someone might say, “I don’t believe that. That’s fine for you to believe, but, that’s not what I believe.” Well that’s your decision, but, you’re responsible for what you decide about what you have heard about Jesus Christ. So let me share with you what the Word of God says about you and Jesus:
Acts 17:31, “For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.” Second Thessalonians 1 says, “God is just: He will pay back to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of His power”
The Father has given all judgment to Jesus because the will of the Son is perfectly aligned with the will of the Father. All that the Father does is all that the Son does. All that the Father would do, is all that the Son would do. Therefore the judgment of Jesus is a perfect display of the judgment of the Father. When the Son judges it is exactly like the Father would judge.
Honor (v. 23)
“that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent Him.”
Because of the equality of the Son with the Father, He is to receive equal honor with the Father. As a matter of fact, to reject or dishonor the Son is to reject and dishonor the Father.
This is an amazing statement of the Deity of Jesus. God said in Isaiah 42 that He will not give His glory to another. He will not give the glory that is due to Him as God to anyone else who is not God. Jesus Christ, then, if He has been entrusted with all judgment from God the Father in order that He may receive honor JUST AS the Father receives honor, is therefore equal with the Father – that is, He is God as much as God the Father is God.
There is no other way to have a relationship with the Father. There is no other way to worship the Father. There is no other way to honor the Father then through honoring His Son, Jesus Christ.
Jesus is going to move now from this teaching of His identity to His audience’s response to that teaching. It is our response today as well.
The Crossover (v. 24)
“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.”
Jesus tells the truth because He speaks only what He hears from the Father. That’s why He says “if you hear My word and believe Him who sent me.” The Father sent the Son and tells the Son everything to say. When you hear the words of Jesus you hear the words of the Father. When you believe the words of Jesus you are believing the words of the Father. That is why you cannot reject Jesus claims and still come to God; worship God; be saved by God.
Jesus is the judge and those who believe His words will not be condemned, they will not come into judgment. They have crossed over. From death to life. If a person does not believe in Jesus then right now they are dead. There is no life in them. But, just as the Son gave life to the body of that invalid by the power of His spoken Word, you too if you believe His spoken word will receive life everlasting. You will crossover from death to life.
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