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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