Lesson 17

The Man Who Is Equal With God

John 5:9-29

John 5:1-9 introduced us to the man who had no man. But now our attention shifts to the man who is equal with God. Let's read about Him.

A wonderful miracle had happened at the pool of Bethesda. A paralyzed man who had laid at the pool for 38 years waiting and hoping for his own miracle had been healed! In verse 9, we move from the cure to the controversies. There are two of them.

The Sabbath Controversy

This miracle would have caused no problems for Jesus except that it had occured on the sabbath. Jesus certainly could have come a dy earlier or even waited a day. But He did this on the sabbath.

Later (9:1-14) He would deliberately heal a blind man on the sabbath. Jesus had already healed a demoniac on the sabbath (Luke 4:31-37). In Matthew 12:1-8, Jesus would defend his disciples for picking grain on the sabbath and in that same chapter (vss 9-14) He would heal a man with a withered hand on the sabbath.

It's as though Jesus made absolutely no attempts to avoid this controversy. My tendency is to not stir up controversy and give your enemies a reason to criticize me. I'm like Rodney King. I want to say, "Can't we all just get along?" But Jesus deliberately challenged the legalistic tradition of the scribes and Pharisees.

The Old Testament did have come commandments concerning the keeping of the sabbath, see Exodus 16:22-23; 20:10-11; 31:13-17. But over the centuries, the rabbis added all kinds of traditions and rituals to the law of God. By the time of Jesus, these traditions had been compiled into a book known as the Talmud, which was considered by the Pharisees to be equal to the Old Testament itself. The Talmud contained 24 chapters listing Sabbath day rules and rituals. For example, one was limited to 3000 feet of travel on the sabbath. Anything bigger than a dried fig could not be lifted on the sabbath else it was considered work. There were restrictions on how big your bites could be - a single bite could be nothing bigger than an olive. Nothing could be bought or sold; no fire could be lit or extinguished; baths were not permitted on the sabbath. Women could not look into the mirror for fear that they would see a gray hair and pull it

out which would constitute work. There was no cooking permitted on the sabbath. If a person were sick or injured, no treatment could be done which would make the person better - the Talmud permitted only doing that which was absolutely necessary to keep the person alive.

They had come up with a long list of things that were prohibited on the sabbath and carrying a burden was number 39 on their list. The Pharisees had taken the sabbath - a gift from God to man - and had turned it into a prison. The sabbath was intended to bring rest but the Pharisees had made it exhausting and burdensome to keep the sabbath. It would be harder to rest than to work and earn a living. And now, instead of rejoicing at the wonderful deliverance of this man from grip of paralysis - these "religious" leaders condemned the man for carrying his bed on the sabbath.

One brief sidebar on this matter of the sabbath. Why don't we keep the sabbath today? Why do Christians worship on Sunday instead of Saturday? After all, keeping the sabbath holy is one of the ten commandments. It seems to go back, not just to the law, but to creation, in honor of God who rested on the seventh day. So why don't we keep the sabbath? For New Testament Christians, Sunday is a day of worship, not a day of rest. We worship on Sunday because Jesus arose upon the first day of the week, Mathew 28:1; Luke 24:1; John 20:1; Mark 16:2,9 - Mark 16:9 Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. We assemble on the Sunday because the Bible indicates that the disciples assembled for fellowship and even took up a collection on the first day of the week. John 20:19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. Acts 20:7 And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them... 1 Cor 16:2 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come. Nine of the ten commandments are all specifically repeated in the New Testament. Only the commandment to remember the Sabbath is not repeated in the New Testament. In fact, the only place in any of the epistles (which are the instructions to churches) where the sabbath is mentioned is in Colossians 2:16-17. Paul says that the sabbath is a shadow of Christ. Where do we go for rest? Jesus said, "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28) And then, immediately, he defended his disciples for gathering grain on the sabbath, Matthew 12:1ff. According to Hebrews 4:9-11, we enter into God's rest by faith in Jesus Christ. Our rest is not upon a day, it is in a person. The sabbath was fulfilled in Christ who gives us rest.

Getting back to John 5, we discover that these legalistic Jews did not like it that this man was carrying his bed on the Sabbath or that Jesus had healed him on the sabbath. The real aim of the Jews was not so much to prosecute the man as it was to persecute Jesus. When they learned that he had been the healer, then began the "official persecution" of Christ, v. 16. Verse 16 is strange. In their minds, Jesus had broken the sabbath and that was real bad. And they wanted to kill him, and that was all right!

Notice how Jesus handled their accusation, v. 17. "I am only doing on the Sabbath what my Father is doing." "My Father works on the sabbath and so do I." Now, wait a minute. Who was the first person to rest on the seventh day? According to Genesis 2:1-3, it was God! The command to remember the sabbath (Exodus 20:10-11) had to do with creation. But now, here is Jesus saying that His Father worked on the sabbath! God the Father heals on the sabbath, why cannot God the Son?

The Sonship Controversy

For Jesus to refer to himself as "the Son" and God as "my Father" was quickly and clearly understood by these Jews as a claim to deity. By doing this, the persecution intensified because not only was Jesus breaking the Jewish traditions of the Sabbath, He was making himself equal with God.

Several years ago, I preached a simple message called "Who Is Jesus?" The message concerned the deity of Christ. A visitor took issue with me over the fact that Jesus is God. She said that Jesus is the Son of God. What does it mean to say that Jesus is the Son of God? It has been stated over and over that the thesis of the gospel of John is that Jesus is the Son of God, 20:31. This text enables us to understand what that phrase "the son of God" means. It means equal with God. Jesus claimed to be equal with God. He did not deny their accusation, he endorsed it. In vs. 19-20, Jesus comments on the relationship between the Father and the Son. In verse 19, Jesus claimed that the Father and Son worked together and in verse 20, that the Father loves the Son.

To demonstrate that He is indeed equal with God, Jesus, beginning in verse21, makes four incredible claims.

I am the giver of life, vs. 21, 26. To assert his equality, Jesus claims to have the same power the Father does over the dead. Remember what John said at the beginning of this gospel? "1:4 - "in him was life." It is uniquely an attribute of God to raise the dead. Man can give medicine when sickness comes, food when hunger comes, help when weakness comes. But when death comes, man can give only sympathy, only compassion, never the gift of life. Only God can do that. And if Jesus can do that, then Jesus is equal with God, yea, Jesus is God!

I am the final judge, vs. 22-23. What a striking claim for Jesus to make. "The Father is not going to judge anyone, but has committed all judgment to the Son." Most people mistakenly believe that God the Father is the final judge of mankind. But this verse, along with several others in the New Testament (Acts 10:42; II Timothy 4:1) indicate that Jesus will be the judge. Just as a human judge is esteemed as "Your honor" in the courtroom, so it is fitting that the Son of God be honored. If Jesus is the final judge, then He must be equal with God, He must be God!

I determine man's destiny, v. 24. Not only does Jesus claim to be the judge; He claims to be the ticket out of the courtroom for any who stand guilty. By hearing and believing Christ, one "hath" (present tense) and "shall not come into condemnation" but "is passed" (present tense) "from death unto life."

I will raise the dead, vs. 25-29. For the third time in this passage, Jesus uses the words "Verily, verily, I say unto you." This phrase, found 20 times in the Gospel of John and no where else in the Bible, draws attention to the importance of what is about to be said. Three crystal-clear facts rise to the surface from these verses. First, there is life after death. Second, every person is involved - "all that are in the graves", v. 28. Third, mankind fall into two and only two categories. There are two resurrections spoken of here - one to life and the other to damnation. This truth is stated over and over in the Bible. There is more than one resurrection - at the rapture, the dead in Christ will rise and later, the unsaved dead will be raised. There is more than one judgement - the judgment seat of Christ at which only Christians will be present to receive rewards and later the great white throne judgment at which only the unsaved will be present. This verse makes it sound like judgment will be based on works - "they that have done good ... they that have done evil." But as we study Jesus' teachings and John's writings, we learn that doing good is the natural outgrowth of being born of God. 3 John 1:11 Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.

The radical claims of Christ, should cause a radical change in our life. My prayer is that today, you will hear the words of Christ and believe in him and receive the eternal life that he offers you.

We offer an invitation to you. You are invited to come, to publicly profess you faith in Him, invited to come with questions and inquiry about spiritual life. You are invited to come and prayer. I will pray with you if you wish or you can come and pray alone.