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139. Life through The Son


John 5:16-30
Key Verse: He who does not honor the son does not honor the Father, who sent Him.
John 5:23B

Once again, Jesus is at odds with the religious leadership. His first offense is that He healed again on the Sabbath. (We talked about this healing back on day 138) Worse than that, He encouraged the man to carry away his mat, which is defined as work, which is strictly forbidden by Jewish Law on the Sabbath! Jesus, however, makes his offense even worse, to them, when He refers to the "Holy God," as His Father, in familiar terms. This was considered to be pure blasphemy which could never be tolerated under any circumstances.  You recall that even Jesus' own home folk were ready to throw Him off a cliff for such a supposed offense. (day 57)

Once again, we readers of modern western culture are at a severe disadvantage in trying to understand the conversation that takes place in the verses from John 5:16-47. First of all, we need to understand that, for His offenses, Jesus is undergoing a kind of informal trial by His persecutors. The Greek word for "persecute," in v.16, clues us in that this is what is taking place. Jesus has, evidently been accused in a more serious way than just finger pointing, of breaking the laws mentioned above. Therefore, the response that Jesus gives, in this passage is his response as if he were formally accused, which He may have been.

Jesus' basic defense can be summed up like this. "Life does not stop on the Sabbath. My Father does not stop being God on the Sabbath. I am my Father's son. My Father dispenses grace on the Sabbath just like other days. As His son, I will do the same. My Father gives life and raises from the dead and so will I. My Father approves so wholeheartedly of what I do, that He has appointed the Son as Judge of all things when the time is appropriate."

At this point, it would be easy for us to yawn and think to ourselves, "Okay, I agree with Jesus, He and God are one, but what in the world is a practical take away for me today from this? Isn't this just Jesus having another argument with the religious people of His day? What's in it for me?"

First of all, I need to challenge you with the question, "Does there always need to be something in it for you?" But at the heart of today's message, for you, are two basic questions. Do you really believe that Jesus is who He claims to be, and secondly, how do you fit in to the picture? If Jesus truly is God, then is He really Lord of your life? Secondly, as we shall see later, in John 17, Jesus will pray that you be included with Him in God. Does Jesus in you make you as committed to doing God's will and serving your Heavenly Father, as Jesus is shown to be here? Are you willing to face the tough questions because you and the Father are One through Christ Jesus? Have you accepted the fact that being a Christian offers a life of challenge? Do you face those challenges as confidently as Christ is demonstrating for us today? He knows who He is and what He believes and He knows His purpose from God the Father. In Him, we can face life with the same confidence because His Holy Spirit is in us.

"Is He Worthy?" This is a new Chris Tomlin song that gets to the point of Jesus being great as our God. 

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