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John chapter five. I'll pick 
up reading at verse 16. in John 5. For this reason, the 
Jews persecuted Jesus and sought to kill Him, because He had done 
these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, My Father 
has been working until now, and I have been working. Therefore, 
the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only 
broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making 
Himself equal with God. Then Jesus answered and said 
to them, most assuredly I say to you, the son can do nothing 
of himself, but what he sees the father do. For whatever he 
does, the son also does in like manner. For the father loves 
the son and shows him all things that he himself does. And he 
will show him greater works than these that you may marvel. For 
as the father raises the dead and gives life to them, even 
so the son gives life to whom he will. For the Father judges 
no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all 
should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who 
does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. 
Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes 
in him who sent me has everlasting life and shall not come into 
judgment, but is passed from death into life. Most assuredly, 
I say to you, the hour is coming and now is when the dead will 
hear the voice of the son of God and those who hear will live. For as the father has life in 
himself, so he has granted the son to have life in himself and 
has given him authority to execute judgment also because he is the 
son of man. Do not marvel at this, for the 
hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His 
voice, and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection 
of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of 
condemnation. I can of myself do nothing. As 
I hear, I judge, and my judgment is righteous, because I do not 
seek my own will, but the will of the Father who sent me. If 
I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. There is 
another who bears witness of me, and I know that the witness 
which he witnesses of me is true. You have sent to John, and he 
has borne witness to the truth. Yet I do not receive testimony 
from men, but I say these things that you may be saved. He was 
the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time 
to rejoice in his light. But I have a greater witness 
than John's, for the works which the Father has given me to finish, 
the very works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father 
has sent me. And the Father himself who sent 
me has testified of me. You have neither heard his voice 
at any time, nor seen his form. But you do not have his word 
abiding in you, because whom he sent, him you do not believe. You search the Scriptures, for 
in them you think you have eternal life. And these are they which 
testify of me. But you are not willing to come 
to me that you may have life. I do not receive honor from men, 
but I know you that you do not have the love of God in you. 
I have come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me. If 
another comes in his own name, him you will receive. How can 
you believe who receive honor from one another and do not seek 
the honor that comes from the only God? Do not think that I 
shall accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you, 
Moses, in whom you trust. For if you believed Moses, you 
would believe Me. For he wrote about Me. But if 
you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words? 
Amen. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank You for John 5. We thank You for the entirety 
of the Bible. We thank You that the Spirit 
gave it to us. And so we pray to You now that the Spirit would 
guide us and lead us. and instruct us as we consider 
these wonderful statements, declarations by our Lord Jesus Christ. Again, 
forgive us for all of our sin and grant us understanding concerning 
the Trinity, understanding concerning Christology, all those things 
that we see emphasized repetitively in this book. And God be glorified 
now we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, as I said 
last week, John 5 and 6 are somewhat similar in structure. They both 
begin with a miracle, and then they have Jewish opposition to 
our Lord Jesus Christ, and then there is extended instruction 
by Jesus where he gives self-revelation. So in John 5, he emphasizes that 
he is, in fact, the Son of God. In John 6, he emphasizes that 
he is the bread of life. And here in John 5, the miracle 
we looked at last week is in verses 1 to 15. Remember that 
man who had been paralyzed for 38 years, that man who's by the 
waters in Bethesda. There's nobody around, according 
to verse 7, to sort of help him in such that he can get that 
benefit from when the angel comes into the waters and stirs it 
up. And so Jesus asks him, do you wanna be healed? Of course 
the answer was yes. Jesus is simply drawing this 
man's attention to himself. And so Jesus with a word heals 
him. Now, when the Jews see this, 
they come to the man and they rebuke the man because he had 
carried his mat on the Sabbath day. They didn't say anything 
about the fact that you had been hurting in a bad way for 38 years 
and now you're able to carry a mat. They had no regard whatsoever 
for the man, and when the man simply answered the question 
that he didn't know the name of the man who healed him, they 
wanted to find Jesus, and they wanted to rebuke Jesus, and they 
wanted to condemn Jesus. So that's the emphasis in the 
passage. And when they level this charge 
against Jesus, not only Sabbath-breaking, but that he makes himself equal 
with God, Jesus takes this up to task. Jesus responds to that. In verses 19 to 47, Jesus says 
absolutely, positively, unequivocally, I am making myself equal with 
God. We saw that in John 1, in verse 
1. In the beginning was the Word. 
The Word was with God, and the Word was God. There, I describe 
Jesus as co-eternal with the Father, distinct from the Father, 
and then consubstantial with the Father. You're going to hear 
that word a lot today and probably over the next couple of weeks 
as we work our way through John 5. That's the charge. He's made himself equal with 
God. He's made himself consubstantial 
with God. He has made himself of one substance 
or essence with God. And so Christ again takes up 
that challenge, or charge rather, and basically, not basically, 
again, unequivocally affirms that that's the reality. So it's 
not just John in the prologue that demonstrates that Jesus 
is of the same substance or essence with the Father, but we see it 
in his earthly ministry right here in John chapter five. Our 
confession of faith says, in this divine and infinite being, 
talking about the true and living God, in this divine and infinite 
being, there are three persons of one substance, power, and 
eternity, each having the whole divine essence, yet the essence 
undivided. Jesus isn't a little g-god. Jesus 
isn't an inferior god. Jesus isn't some sort of a third 
thing. Jesus has the same essence or 
substance as the Father and as the Spirit. The Father is unbegotten, 
the Son is begotten by the Father, and the Spirit proceeds from 
the Father and the Son. In the language of the Nicene 
Creed, we believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten 
Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds. God of God, 
light of light, very God of very God, begotten not made, being 
of one substance with the Father. Being of one substance with the 
Father. He's consubstantial with the Father. So let's look first 
at the opposition of the Jews to the Lord in verses 16 to 18. 
And then secondly, the relation of the Son to the Father in verses 
19 to 23. Notice in the first place the 
charge leveled by the Jews. The statement of their opposition 
is clear. Verse 16, for this reason the 
Jews persecuted Jesus and sought to kill him because he had done 
these things on the Sabbath. Again, going back up into the 
narrative, you see verse 9, immediately the man was made well, took up 
his bed and walked, and that day was the Sabbath. Verse 10, 
the Jews therefore said to him who was cured, it is the Sabbath. 
It is not lawful for you to carry your bag. So he said, well, the 
man who healed me told me to do that. Well, then the man who 
healed you and told you to do that is certainly suspect in 
terms of Sabbath breaking. Now there's a surface level legitimacy 
to this particular claim. In the prophet Jeremiah 17 verses 
21 and 22, the children of Israel are prohibited from carrying 
their burdens on the Sabbath day. But when it comes to this 
particular passage and when it comes to our Lord's earthly ministry 
and His assertion that He is the Lord of the Sabbath, it is 
Him who declares what is and what is not lawful on the Sabbath 
day. Whatever carrying your burdens 
look like in Jeremiah 17, that's not what's happening in this 
particular passage. It's amazing to me how many good, 
Solid men are ready to concede that Jesus broke the Sabbath 
in this passage. Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath. If you came to me and you said, 
oh, this object that you made, this thing that you carefully 
constructed, this thing that you put together, I want to tell 
you how it's supposed to be used and how it's not supposed to 
be used. You might just be inclined to say, wait a minute, I made 
it. Wait a minute, I fashioned it. Wait a minute, I put it together 
and I'm the one who's able to decree what is and what isn't 
a proper use of it. They're coming to the Lord of 
the Sabbath and charging him with having broken the Sabbath. 
Because even if he himself doesn't, if he tells another person to, 
then he's responsible. We don't concede that Christ 
broke the Sabbath. The works of mercy and necessity 
are perfectly consistent with Sabbatarianism. Now in terms 
of their obvious prejudice, it ought to be obvious for this 
reason the Jews persecuted and sought to kill him because he 
had done these things on the Sabbath. Now the penal sanction 
for Sabbath breaking in the old covenant was in fact the death 
penalty. But to go from this man has been 
healed after 38 years to we're going to kill the man who healed 
him without any new process, without any examination, without 
any interrogation, without any discussion whatsoever, they go 
right to the very end of the game and they want to murder, 
they want to put to death our Lord Jesus. Now notice his response 
to the opposition in verse 17. So we see that it's stated as 
what they're thinking, but they must have verbalized this, or 
Jesus, according to his divinity, knew exactly what they were thinking. 
So verse 17, Jesus answered them, My father has been working until 
now, and I have been working. So in terms of Sabbath breaking, 
what is he doing? He is making himself equal with 
God. And the language here is obvious. 
He says, my father. He's not my father by creation. God is, in a sense, according 
to Acts 17, the father of those who he has created. We don't 
want to press that too far. The universal fatherhood of God 
is a heresy that attaches itself to the church at times, but with 
reference to we being God's offspring, there is a sense in that. So 
Jesus is not the son by creation. Jesus is not the son by adoption. You and I are sons by adoption. In Ephesians chapter one, the 
apostle highlights that. The apostle declares that. He 
chose us in him. He predestinated us unto adoption 
as sons. He says the same thing in Galatians 
chapter four. In Romans, he tells us that we 
are joint heirs with Christ Jesus. Why? Because adopted sons and 
daughters have all of the privileges and all the prerogatives of the 
natural born. So Jesus is not the son by creation. He's not the son by adoption, 
but rather he's the son by nature. And we considered that when we 
were in John chapter one, when it refers to Jesus as the only 
begotten of the father, when it refers to Jesus as begotten 
by the father or the only begotten son, That idea of eternal generation 
is crucial because it distinguishes the Father and the Son, but it 
also underscores that everything is true of God. The Father, relative 
to the divine essence, is true of the Son. The Father in eternal 
generation communicates the divine essence to the Son. It's a most 
glorious thing. So Christ says, my Father has 
been working until now. So at the creation account, Genesis 
chapter two, after God looks at the handiwork of his hand, 
he rests, he finds complacency in that, he delights in that. 
But it's not a cessation of activity, he's still operative in terms 
of providence. And so what is Jesus doing? He 
not only asserts my father by nature, He doesn't say by nature, 
but as we move through John 5, that's the obvious implication. 
But not only did he cease from his work and continue in terms 
of providence, if it wasn't sin for the father or it isn't sin 
for the father to work in providence on the Sabbath day, then it's 
not sin for the son to work in healing on the Sabbath day either. That's the emphasis in verse 
17. He refers to my father, he refers 
to my father working until now, and he refers to his own work. 
He's equating the two works, the father's work and the son's 
work. Now let's see how the Jews respond 
to this. Do they say, thank you for clarifying. Thank you for clearing that all 
up. Thank you for giving us that good bit of truth. We're now 
gonna confess you as Lord and Savior and bow down to you. No. As we well know, the truth is 
not always readily accepted. As we know, the truth oftentimes 
increases the rage and the enmity and the opposition of the opposition. And that's precisely what we 
find in verse 18. Notice, therefore the Jews sought 
all the more to kill him, because he had done these things on the 
Sabbath. So we see these men having witnessed 
a glorious miracle of healing. Instead of bowing to the one 
who healed them, they increase all the more in terms of their 
enmity against him. They really want to get him. 
They really want to destroy him. They want to really rid Israel 
of this man's nasty presence. And again, in terms of the old 
covenant law, the death penalty was the penalty for Sabbath breaking, 
but as well for blasphemy. And that's what we see at the 
end of their statement or at the end of the statement of verse 
18. They've got a problem now with Jesus, not just in terms 
of Sabbath breaking, but they've got a problem with him in terms 
of blasphemy. So verse 18, therefore the Jews 
sought all the more to kill him because he not only broke the 
Sabbath, Again, just because these lying, deceiving, wretched 
people thought that he was breaking the Sabbath, that doesn't mean 
he was breaking the Sabbath. I don't know why commentators 
do that. Well, we see the Lord broke this. No, he didn't. He's 
holy, harmless, and undefiled. If he breaks the Sabbath, we're 
dead in our trespasses and sins. We saw that when he comes to 
the feast, according to John 5. It's not just that there's 
a more bigger population for his earthly ministry, but he's 
living in light of Deuteronomy. He's living in light of Exodus. 
Deuteronomy 16, 16 specifies that at the three great feasts 
in Israel's calendar, all males were supposed to go to Jerusalem 
in order to abide by the law. If we grant that Jesus broke 
the Sabbath or granted permission to break the Sabbath, then he 
did not come to fulfill all righteousness. This idea that because they say 
he broke the Sabbath, well, therefore, he must have broke the Sabbath. 
These men were fools. These men rejected Christ. These 
men despised Christ. And on more than one occasion, 
Christ turned the cannon against them. You condemn, and you indict, 
and you upbraid, and you rebuke, and you chastise people who come 
on the Sabbath day to get a healing. Remember that woman who was bent 
over with her infirmity for 18 years, yet she's in the temple 
on the Sabbath day, and Jesus heals her. And so the ruler of 
the synagogue lambasts everybody else. Jesus says, which of you, 
if you had an ox, if you had a donkey, if you had a sheep, 
and it fell into a ditch on the Sabbath day, what would you do? 
Of course, you would schlep it out of there. Of course, you 
would brush it off. Of course, you would put the 
yoke harder on it so that it doesn't happen again. In other 
words, you show mercy or demonstrate works of necessity when it comes 
to the beasts. But this woman, a daughter of 
Abraham, that's been bent over for 18 years, You're gonna have 
a problem when she comes to full health? In the same manner with 
reference to this man at Bethesda. This guy was in a bad state for 
38 years. They don't even acknowledge that. 
They simply use it as the pretense upon which they can try to rid 
the world of our blessed Lord Jesus. So notice, they wanted 
to kill him because he not only broke the Sabbath, but also said 
that God was his father making himself equal with God. There's 
a similar instance in John 10, you can turn there. John chapter 
10, you see a similar response. John 10, I'll just read the part 
that they really get outraged with. Notice in verse 30, I and 
my father are one, again. He's saying that he's consubstantial 
with the Father. He's of the same essence. He's 
of the same substance. He is God of God, light of light, 
very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance 
with the Father. That's what he means. I and my 
Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones 
again to stone him. Jesus answered them, many good 
works I have shown you from my father, for which of those works 
do you stone me? The Jews answered him saying, 
for a good work we do not stone you, but for blasphemy, and because 
you being a man, make yourself God. Turn back to John 8, you 
see another instance of this, specifically at verse 57. Well, 
verse 56 sets it in the context, Your father Abraham rejoiced 
to see My day, and he sought and was glad. Then the Jews said 
to him, You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen 
Abraham? Jesus said to them, Most assuredly I say to you, 
Before Abraham was, I am. Then they took up stones to throw 
at him. But Jesus hid himself and went 
out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed 
by." So going back to John chapter five, this is what really stuck 
in their craw. He made himself equal with God. That's blasphemy. That's a capital 
offense. We're gonna pick up stones and 
we're gonna stone him. That's what they do in chapters eight 
and 10. You see that rising opposition building. Here they wanna kill 
him. Here they want to persecute him. They're not at the place 
yet of actually picking up the stones, but it's fomenting in 
their hearts. The Jehovah's Witnesses have 
an odd take on this. The Jehovah's Witnesses understand 
that the Jews say that Jesus made himself equal with God. 
And in their ignorance, they say, well, that was the Jews' 
understanding. But of course, Jesus answers 
negatively. Nothing could be further from 
the truth. Jesus answers affirmatively. Again, from verses 19 to 47, 
he answers affirmatively. So let's look now at the relation 
of the Son to the Father. So the charge, the overarching 
concern in the rest of chapter 5 is verse 18. He's making himself 
equal with God. Remember that in Jesus' response, 
that's what he's answering. In Jesus' response, that's what 
he's demonstrating. And in verses 19 to 23, he shows 
the consubstantiality of the Son to the Father. In verses 
24 to 30, he shows his consubstantiality in his divine functions and the 
works that he carries out. They're alluded to in the previous 
section, amplified in that center section. And then he summarizes 
his argument at the end of the chapter with the witnesses. I'm 
not just saying this, I'm not some lunatic on the side road 
in Chilliwack that's, you know, drooling down his beer and claiming 
to be the Messiah. There are witnesses for everything 
that he is saying. And the first and the foremost 
is God the Father. So that's his response. It's 
not the case that the Jews thought he was doing this, so Jesus corrects 
him. If ever there was a time for 
Jesus to correct a false charge concerning his divinity, it would 
be here. But that he does just the opposite? Jesus wants them to know, and 
Jesus wants us to know, what John has already told us in the 
prologue. In the beginning was the Word, 
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. No one has 
seen God at any time, but the only begotten Son, who is what? Who is in the bosom of the Father. 
Who could possibly be in the bosom of the Father, but one 
who has the same essence, but one who has the same substance, 
but one who is consubstantial with the Father. So let's look 
at his response in chapter 5. Notice in the first place, he 
underscores the works of God. That's already come out. My father 
has been working until now, and I have been working. So in verse 
19, he appeals to the works. Verse 19. Then Jesus answered 
and said to them most assuredly. That's a double use of amen. 
So it's an amen, amen. Not that when we don't have amen, 
amen, you're not supposed to pay attention. But when he says, 
amen, amen, or when he says most assuredly, or as the old King 
James has it, verily, verily, it means you really should pay 
attention. You've just made this charge 
that I'm making myself equal with God. Let's see if that is 
in fact the case. So he says, most assuredly, I 
say to you, the son can do nothing of himself. You know what the 
witnesses say? Oh, there it is. He can do nothing. 
He's not confessing his impotence in verse 19. He's confessing 
his omnipotence in verse 19. The son can do nothing of himself. Why? Because he has the whole 
divine essence. that divine essence that the 
Father has. They have one mind, one will, 
one power, one nature. And as a result, he says, I'm 
not a renegade. I'm not a maverick. I'm not off 
the reservation. I can do nothing of myself. I 
am doing that which is consistent with the Father who sent me. 
So again, it's not he's admitting impotence, I can do nothing of 
myself. Look at what he goes on to declare 
in verse 19. He says, but what he sees the 
father do, for whatever he does, the son also does in like manner. Brethren, no creature could say 
that. Could any creature ever say, 
whatever I see the Father do, I do in like manner? I mean, come on, a few of you 
are smiling because you know how ludicrous it is. If Jesus 
isn't equal with God, then he's either a liar or a lunatic, to 
borrow from C.S. Lewis. But if he is equal with 
God, and he's affirming their particular charge, what is the 
proper response? It is to believe on him. It is 
to look unto him. It is to understand the nature 
of sin, and depravity, and wickedness, and the reality that you have 
offended a thrice holy God. But that God has so loved the 
world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in 
him should not perish, but have everlasting life. You see, that 
goes on in verse 24, Christ says that. Again, the double Amen. 
Most assuredly I say to you, he who hears my word and believes 
in him who sent me has everlasting life and shall not come into 
judgment, but is passed from death unto life. So our Lord 
Jesus Christ, when he makes this statement in verse 19, the son 
can do nothing of himself. Probably a hat tip to what theologians 
call inseparable operations. When we look at the created order, 
when we look at the government of the universe, the one true 
and living God is responsible for that. The one true and living 
God does that. Now at times in scripture, we 
see those works appropriated by persons in the Godhead to 
teach us more about him. So in this instance, Christ says, 
I can do nothing of myself. There's a consistency. There's a unity. There is a, 
dare I say it, consubstantiality with the Father. But what he 
sees the Father do for whatever he does, the Son also does in 
like manner. Cyril of Alexandria made this 
observation. He said, by being able to do 
exactly the same works as God the Father, and by doing them 
in the same way as the one who begat him, he testifies to the 
identity of the substance with him. For things that have the 
same nature as each other will act in the same way. That's the 
point. He's not confessing his impotence 
in verse 19. He is confessing his omnipotence, 
consistent with what the Father possesses, what is true of the 
divine and infinite being, what is true of God in his blessed 
simplicity. Christ possesses that, and therefore 
Christ is, in fact, equal with the father. John Gill says he 
does everything in connection with him, with the same power, 
having the same will, being of the same nature and equal to 
each other. That's the way you're supposed 
to understand verse 19. Not that Jesus is distancing 
himself from this Jewish claim that he's made himself equal 
with God. That is foolishness. That is ignorance. That is bad 
theology. Bad exegesis, bad, right across 
the line. Now notice in the second place, 
Christ underscores the love of God. In verse 20, for the father 
loves the son. Have you ever heard pastors stand 
up and preach from John chapter 21? And they make a distinction 
between phileo and agape love. The one is really strong and 
earnest and the other, not so much. That's just nuts. Sorry. It's just not helpful. The father loves Filet-O. It's not a lesser love when it's 
father to son than agape. That's just weird preacher talk 
to, I don't know, do something. I don't know what the end game 
is, but the father loves the son. The father loves us. God so loved the world that he 
gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should 
not perish, but have everlasting life. We know that God's love 
for us is glorious. It's wonderful. The love that 
he has for the son He says with reference to the baptism and 
then the Mount of Transfiguration, this is my beloved son in whom 
I am well pleased. Hear him. It's not that he doesn't 
love us, but Christ is underscoring that love by nature, that love 
with reference to consubstantiality. So verse 20, he says, for the 
father loves the son and shows him all things that he himself 
does. Well, brethren, we read that 
and we think in terms of the creaturely order. When you're 
a father and your son needs to go to the bathroom, you show 
him the mechanics. You show him what to do and how 
to do it. Well, there's certainly an analogy 
here, but it cannot be pressed. This isn't a discursive understanding. The father shows the son the 
particular mission. The son says, I agree and I'm 
gonna undertake. No, that's not how it works in 
creator-ville. That's just not the way it is. 
We have a distinction between creator and creature. Christ 
is speaking to creatures, so he uses language that we can 
understand. He accommodates himself so that 
we can receive it. So back to verse 20, for the 
father loves the son and shows him all things that he himself 
does. In other words, with reference 
to their works, They're consistent, they're similar, they're the 
same. Why? One power, one mind, one will, 
same substance. That's the reality. The emphasis 
here is on the consubstantiality of the persons, and I think John 
1.18 is great background. John 1.18. It says, no one has 
seen God at any time. The only begotten Son who is 
in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. See, there's 
another instance where God uses language accommodated to man. The Father doesn't have a bosom 
because according to John 4, God is spirit. There's no bosom. What's he doing? He's using a 
position of intimacy. He's using a position of connection. He's using a position of harmony 
to underscore the consubstantiality of the son with the father. So 
back to 520, he says, the father loves the son and shows him all 
things that he himself does. And he will show him greater 
works than these that you may marvel. In other words, the ministry 
of Jesus Christ is going to be even more great than the healing 
of this man at Bethesda. Christ is a man, in the language 
of the Apostle Peter, who went about doing good. We'll see him 
heal. We'll see him feed, we'll see 
him raise people from the dead. And the idea behind this is so 
that when Christ does this in his earthly ministry, you're 
led to worship and to praise and to adore the living and the 
true God. And it might be functioning here 
too as a bit of a rebuke, as a bit of an indictment. Look 
at what it says in verse 20. The father loves the son and 
shows him all things that he himself does. And he will show 
him greater works than these, that what? That you may marvel. How do you think that could function 
as a bit of an upbraiding? Because they didn't marvel when 
the man who was on his paralytic bed for 38 years took up his 
mat and walked. What's Jesus' implication is 
that when you see these works, you are led to praise and worship. When you are driving to church 
this morning, You have to tell me the truth. When you saw the 
sun, when you saw the blue, when you saw the clarity of the sky, 
doesn't it bring you back to praise God most high? Doesn't 
the created order bring us to acknowledge the creator himself? 
Doesn't the providential order bring us to stand in awe at the 
wisdom of the governor of all the universe? Doesn't the redeeming 
power of Jesus Christ put us on our faces before God and cause 
us to praise and worship and adore and glorify? I'm gonna 
do these things that you may marvel. that you may stand in 
awe. The psalmist says the heavens 
declare the righteousness of God. Well, certainly taking this 
man at Bethesda and conferring upon him healthy legs and a body, 
such that now he can pick up his mat and walk, should elicit 
praise from persons who confess faith in the living and true 
God. He indicts them. He upbraids them. Again, not 
with malice or any sort of a harshness about him, but he's basically 
giving the program. I'm gonna do a lot of things 
in Jerusalem. I'm gonna do glorious things 
in Jerusalem. John's gonna end his book by 
saying there's so many things that Jesus did. The world itself 
couldn't contain the books if they were all written down. And 
nevertheless, instead of marveling, nevertheless, instead of bowing 
to God, nevertheless, instead of confessing faith in this Messiah, 
they rejected Him, they resisted Him, they opposed Him, and they 
ultimately crucified Him. So the works of God demonstrate 
this consubstantiality. The love of God demonstrates 
the consubstantiality. Notice in the third place, the 
power of God in verse 21. For as the father raises the 
dead and gives life to them, even so the son gives life to 
whom he will." Again, strange language if a man is denying 
his equality with God. He is confessing that everything 
that is true with the father, everything that the father does, 
the son does in like manner. You all get that, right? I'm 
not making this up. You see this? You see that he's 
answering in the affirmative? You see that he's saying yea 
and amen? You see that he's asserting his 
equality with the Father? And he does so here in verse 
21. For as the Father raises the 
dead and gives life to them, Deuteronomy 32, 39, God kills, 
God makes alive. 1 Samuel chapter 2, verse 6, 
God kills, God makes alive. What do we see in the enthroned 
or rather glorified Christ when he comes to John in that vision 
on the island of Patmos? He is the one who holds what? The keys to death and Hades. Christ has the same power over 
life and death that the Father has. Again, it underscores the 
equality between the persons. It underscores the consubstantiality 
of the persons. Christ has the power to make 
men alive in the physical realm. Christ has the power to make 
men alive in the spiritual realm. He's gonna deal with that later 
in the context. The Father has the power to make men alive in 
the physical. The Father has the power to make 
men alive in the spiritual. So that access or rather that 
expression of power is according to the one power, the one mind, 
the one will, the same nature. Christ is driving home his point. He has made himself equal with 
God. They have rightly seen that he's 
made himself equal with God. They charge him now with blasphemy. 
So he answers their charge in the affirmative. This is precisely 
what is the case. Cyril of Alexandria again, the 
ability to give life is a property of the divine nature, which is 
in the father and the son alike. And then notice fourthly, and 
finally in our context, the judgment of God. Verses 22 and 23. The Father judges no one. When you read that word judge, 
you probably think of a black robe, you think of a bench, and 
you think of a gavel. The word judge here is probably 
broader. It probably means rule or government. Now it's going to be a bit more 
narrowly applied in the following section in terms of the judgment 
by the Son of Man on the Day of Judgment. But here in verse 
22, it's probably the rule of God, the government of God. Calvin 
sees it this way, so does the Geneva Bible. The Geneva Bible 
says this word, judgeth, is taken by the figure synecdoche. Synecdoche means apart for the 
whole. For all government. So that's what he's saying here. 
Listen to what the text says. For the Father judges no one, 
but has committed all judgment to the Son. So the rule of God 
the Father, in this instance, is seen through the agency of 
the Son. Remember, inseparable operations. Whatever God carries out, creation, 
God carries out. But in the Bible, at times, certain 
works like creation are appropriated to certain persons of the Godhead 
so that we learn more about them. In Genesis chapter 1, for instance, 
we see God the Father speak creation into being. God the Father, through 
the agency of His Word, His Word is the Lord Jesus Christ, and 
then we see the Spirit brooding over the water. So you see all 
three persons of the Godhead in Genesis chapter 1. The psalmist 
understands that in Psalm 33 at verse 6. When we turn to the 
pages of the New Testament, it wants to emphasize that Jesus 
is, in fact, the one promised in the Law and the Prophets, 
that he is, in fact, the one who is consubstantial with the 
Father, and therefore it appropriates the works of creation in places 
to the Son. So in John 1, 3, for instance, 
it tells us that Jesus made all things. But even in that, we 
need to understand what Webster points out. Nor is the Son a 
mere instrument through whom the Father works. Father and 
Son act by the same principle, the simple divine essence. That's what Jesus highlights 
in verse 22. For the Father judges no one, 
but has committed all judgment, all rule, all government to the 
Son. Now notice the purpose behind 
this. The purpose behind this again 
asserts that what they have charged him with is true. Look at what 
it says in verse 23. So the father judges Noah in 
verse 22, he has committed all judgment or rule or government 
to the son, that all should honor the son just as they honor the 
father. Again, brethren, if anybody ever 
claims this kind of thing, and he's not Jesus, then he's nuts. It is that simple. We are supposed 
to honor the Son just as we honor the Father? Now never forget 
that Jesus was fully God or very God and very man. As very man, 
Jesus was very up on the Old Testament scriptures. Jesus read 
the Bible. Jesus knew the prophet Isaiah. 
In fact, turn back to the prophet Isaiah in chapter 42 to see something 
intriguing in light of our text. Isaiah 42, specifically at verse 
eight. I'm sorry, not Isaiah 42 at verse, 
yeah, Isaiah 42 at verse eight. I just happened to be looking 
at Isaiah 41, verse 8, that's why it didn't match. Isaiah 42, 
8, I am the Lord, that is my name, and my glory I will not 
give to another, nor my praise to carved images. Christ, according 
to his humanity, had read that, he probably, well, not probably, 
he knew it, he understood it, and yet he's saying, In terms 
of his earthly ministry to a bunch of Jews who had just accused 
him of making himself equal with God and declaring that that was 
a blasphemous admission, a blasphemous statement, Jesus says that you're 
supposed to honor the Son just as you honor the Father in light 
of an Isaiah 42.8? Or how about an Isaiah 48.11? Same sort of emphasis. God most 
high shares his glory with no man. Isaiah 48 verse 11, for 
my own sake, for my own sake, I will do it. For how should 
my name be profaned and I will not give my glory to another. So back to our particular text, 
we are supposed to honor the son just as they honor the father. That can only be true because 
of consubstantiality. Our worship is to be given to 
the one true and living God. That one true and living God 
who exists eternally as three persons, Father, Son, and Holy 
Spirit. And Jesus emphasizes that in 
a rebuttal to the charge that he has made himself equal to 
God. He's not rebutting the charge as if the charge somehow is false. 
He's rebutting it by underscoring that it's true. You can see why 
later in chapters 8 and 10, they picked up stones to stone him. 
If you don't see this by faith, if you don't receive who he is 
according to the Spirit, if you don't understand the nature of 
the Christian message, it will all seem a bit ludicrous to you. 
It will all seem a bit odd to you. It will all seem a bit strange 
to you. when you consider that a man 
claimed to be the Son of God, that a man claimed that whoever 
looked to him in faith would be forgiven of their sins and 
would receive a righteousness such that they could go to heaven. 
Again, brethren, for people outside of the camp, for people outside 
of Zion, for people who think that this is a collection of 
myths and fairy tales, it does seem odd, it does seem awkward. 
And with reference to this particular audience that's in rebellion 
to the true and living God, when Jesus makes himself equal with 
God and they pick up stones to throw at him, not that we're 
justifying it, but it makes sense. You could see why ungodly, unfaithful, 
wretched men who misread their scriptures reject the one their 
scriptures prophesied concerning. And so Jesus says that we're 
to honor the Son just as the Father. Again, Cyril of Alexandria, 
he says, if he has everything the Father has, as far as God-befitting 
dignity is concerned, how would it not be right to crown him 
with equal honors who lacks nothing pertaining to identity of substance? Amen. Absolutely. If He is who 
He says He is, you better believe. You better repent. You better 
come to Him. Because there are passages that 
we could look at that indicate that on that day, every knee 
shall bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is 
Lord to the glory of God the Father. That's going to happen 
whether you're willing or not. So I think people miss that. 
They read Philippians 2 and they say, well, thankfully Jesus has 
saved me, Jesus has conquered me, Jesus has blessed me, so 
that when he comes again in glory, I'm going to happily bow down 
to him and this tongue is going to confess him that he is Lord 
to the glory of God the Father. It's gonna be the non-Christian 
as well. It's gonna be the God-hater as 
well. It's gonna be the rebel. It's 
gonna be the mutinous. It's gonna be everybody who despised 
and rejected and forsook him. They're gonna make the same confession 
and then be cast off into hell, which was prepared for the devil 
and his angels. Confess him as Lord, you will. My suggestion, my encouragement, 
my pleading with you is that you confess him as Lord now. Don't wait till that day. Believe 
on Him. Say with your heart that God 
raised Him from the dead. Confess Jesus as Lord and Savior. Receive the benefits that He 
has secured for needy sinners, namely justification, sanctification, 
glorification. Everything that we need is to 
be had in Him. And then Jesus ends, or there 
is this implication that follows after having stated that all 
should honor the son just as they honor the father. Notice 
at the end in verse 23, he who does not honor the son does not 
honor the father who sent him. What do you think they thought? 
They think they honor the father. They think they serve the true 
and living God. They think they're the chosen 
ones. They think that everything is 
all right. They've got Abraham's blood flowing 
through their veins. They've got circumcision. They've 
got Sabbath. They've got Torah. They've got 
the prophets. Of course, we've got the true 
and living God. Look at what Jesus says. You 
don't honor the son. You don't have the father. You 
don't believe on Christ, you have no God. You don't come through 
the mediator, there's no reception by the Father. This upbraids 
and this indicts, and again, this probably incensed them and 
caused them to engage in outrage. Who does he think he is? telling 
us that we need to honor him just as we honor the Father? 
And then he has the gall to say that if we don't honor him, then 
we don't have the Father? You see, brethren, we oftentimes 
hear that Jesus wasn't a political figure. He wasn't in terms of 
Republicans and Democrats. He wasn't in terms of liberals 
and conservatives. But remember that many of these 
Jews, it wasn't only religion for them, it was politics. And 
when Jesus makes statements like these, He is, as we say today, 
speaking truth to power. And they undoubtedly hated it. You'll see it in chapter 8. You'll 
see it in chapter 10. and you'll see it in spades in 
John chapter 19, when he's hung on the cross for the crime of 
being equal with God the Father. The implication here is strong. The implication is powerful. 
He who does not honor the Son. What does that mean? Gill, I 
think, explains it well. He that honoreth not the Son, 
that denies his divine Sonship or his proper deity that detracts 
from the dignity of his person or office, that shows no regard 
to him in point of salvation or of obedience. Unfortunately, 
I think Gil just described every body, church and non-church, 
in the world today. We don't honor the Son as we 
ought, but we need to remember that's why the Son came into 
this world. Sinners to save. But the implication is powerful 
for these people. The rejection of the Son is a 
rejection of the Father. Turn to John 14. John 14. Verse six, verse five, Thomas 
said to him, Lord, we do not know where you are going and 
how can we know the way? Jesus said to him, I am the way, 
the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except 
through me. If you had known me, you would 
have known my father also. And from now on, you know him 
and have seen him. Philip said to him, Lord, show 
us the father and it is sufficient for us. Jesus said to him, if 
I'd been with you so long and yet you have not known me, Philip, 
he who has seen me has seen the father. Now that doesn't mean 
the Father has brown hair. I was unfortunately on a Jehovah's 
Witness website looking for how they explain these texts. I'm 
sure I had read it in the past, but I wanted to refresh my mind. 
And of course they have a picture of an ancient Near Eastern man 
that they call Jesus. And of course he's beautiful, 
he's gorgeous, he's everything the prophet Isaiah told us he 
wouldn't be. He has no form. He has no comeliness. 
There's nothing about him that would draw our eye to him. But 
Jehovah's Witness, Jesus, if he was walking down the street, 
the women would be all over that. They would love it. They would 
think that was great. But with reference to when you have seen 
me, you have seen the Father. He's not saying the Father has 
brown hair. It's not saying the Father is six foot tall. It's 
not saying the Father looks like me. He is saying that I am consubstantial 
with the Father. If you have seen me, the one 
who is in the bosom of the Father, the one who has come to declare 
the Father, if you have seen me, then you have seen the Father. Again, John's gospel takes great 
pains to make sure that you understand that in the beginning was the 
Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Matthew 
Poole says, this is a text which reflects dreadfully upon such 
as honor not Christ, especially the Jews and Sassanians, who 
professedly do not honor Him with the same honor with which 
they yet pretend to honor the Father, and are concluded by 
this text not in truth to honor the Father. But it's not just 
Jews and Sicilians. Line up the Aryans. Line up the 
Sibelians. Line up the Jehovah's Witnesses. 
Line up anybody today. You meet people today. You try 
to evangelize them. What do you hear? Oh, I'm not 
religious. I'm spiritual. I have a relationship with God. 
What do you think about Jesus? Ah, I'm not bothered with Jesus. 
Verse 23 says you better come to grips with who Jesus is. Because 
if you don't have the Son, you don't have the Father. If you 
don't believe the Son, you shall not see life. If you are not 
confessing faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, then you do not 
have the Father. That's a message that greatly 
needs to be hammered down in this present pluralistic age. We're not supposed to go out 
there and gun other faiths down, but we're not supposed to theologically 
substantiate their claims to having a relationship with God. 
No, you don't. John 14, six is very clear. I am the way, the truth and the 
life, and no one comes to the father except through me. What 
could be clearer? Well, I guess a church that puts 
women in the pulpits and misses 1 Timothy 2, verse 12 is going 
to miss the exclusivity of Christ alone for salvation. But the church today needs to 
bring this to bear upon this generation. Jews need to believe 
the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Muslims need to believe 
the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jehovah's Witnesses need 
to believe the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Mormons need 
to believe the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Pagans do, 
heathens do, atheists do, agnostics do, and the spiritual people 
that aren't religious. They need to believe on the Lord 
Jesus Christ. Because if you don't have Christ, 
you don't have the Father. In conclusion, we see the rage 
of the opposition. They are upset, it is growing, 
it is rising, and it's gonna culminate in terms of their desire 
to actually kill him with stones in their hands. It's going to 
culminate ultimately with them saying, away with him, away with 
him, crucify him. Delivering him up to Pontius 
Pilate, Pilate rendering the sentence of death upon him and 
him dying. You see the rage of the opposition 
displayed in the gospel narratives. You see, Christ didn't come to 
a world that received Him. He came to His own, according 
to the prologue in 1.11, and His own received Him not. And 
not only did they just not receive Him, they despised Him. They rejected Him. They defected 
from Him and ultimately destroyed Him according to their means 
and capability. Notice in the second place, His 
defense against the opposition. Don't, and I hope I won't forget, 
you're probably saying you won't forget, but next week I hopefully 
will not forget verse 18. Because verse 18 continues, or 
it's the overarching concern for all of verse five. We're 
carving up verse five a bit, so we're not here till three. 
But with reference to, I'm sorry, chapter 5. All of chapter 5 is 
his response to this charge in verse 18. So his defense is an 
extended confirmation of their charge that he has made himself 
equal with God. And in terms of the consubstantiality 
of the Son, we've seen it in the prologue, chapter 1. We see 
it, I don't want to say this verse, this verse, this verse, 
all of chapter 1, 1 to 18. You see it in John the Baptist 
in John 1. This is truly the Son of God. When you ask the question of 
the apostle John, what do you want me to get from your gospel? 
Well, I want you to get that Jesus is who he says he is, and 
I want you to believe that he is who he says he is, so that 
you may have everlasting life. In terms of the response to these 
particular Jews, he says, most certainly I am. He refers to 
my father and the parallel between their works in verse 17. He asserts 
his omnipotence in verse 19. The son also does in like manner. He refers to the love of the 
son by the father. Again, he's not the son by creation. He's not the son by adoption. 
He's the son by nature. As well, he declares his authority 
over life itself in verse 21. Who could do that if they're 
not actually equal with God? Who could make these assertions 
or declarations? Who could say the things that 
Jesus is saying here if he isn't who he is? As well, he has sovereign 
authority over all things according to verse 22. And he says in verse 
23, that all, everyone, every man, woman, boy, and girl, every 
tribe, tongue, people, and nation should honor the son as just 
as they honor the father. Now in terms of some real practical 
implication for us, as I said, we have a theology study every 
other Saturday morning. We're going through a book called 
Simply Trinity by Matthew Barrett. Even if you don't come on Saturday 
morning and you want to kind of investigate further some of 
the things that I've been mentioning here this morning, it's a great 
book to read. It's very well laid out, it's very historically 
accurate, theologically, exegetically, it's just a good solid book. 
But in the chapter that we discussed yesterday, he made this observation. 
He said, only if he is son of the father by nature, can we 
boldly approach the throne of the father by grace. In other 
words, if Jesus is not who Jesus says he is, then all of us will 
die in our sin. I think it was one of Athanasius' 
arguments for the deity or divinity of Jesus, wherein he said that 
only God himself could save fallen humanity. Amen, 100%. If Christ is not the Son of God 
by nature, if Christ is not co-eternal, distinct from, and consubstantial 
with the Father, then there's no salvation. You see, He is 
what He is, and He does what He does, and He came down from 
heaven for us men and for our salvation. This isn't theology 
that's simply supposed to make you go, wow, that's interesting, 
that's kind of cool, that's kind of neat. Examine your own hearts. Where are you with reference 
to the true and living God? Do you honor the Son? Do you 
have the Son? Because if you do not, then you 
don't have the Father. And according to Jesus in John 
chapter three, or John in John chapter three, he who has the 
son has everlasting life, but he who does not have the son 
shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. It is a most wretched state. It is a most horrible thing to 
fall into the hands of the living God, unclothed with the righteousness 
of Jesus. So this isn't just gee whiz information 
to instruct and inform and try to make sense out of John's gospel. 
It is the very foundation upon which everlasting life comes. If Christ isn't who Christ is, 
then we're all dead in our trespasses and sins. But that Christ is 
who He is, He has blessed with every spiritual blessing in the 
heavenly places. He has conferred upon us forgiveness 
of sin. See, anybody here that has the 
Son and has the Father, it's not because they heard a sermon 
like this and said, you know, that makes good sense. I'm going 
to exercise my free will, I'm going to engage my intellect, 
and I'm going to receive that gift that has been given to me 
by God. We were all dead in our trespasses and sins. Miserable, 
horrible, wretched people. People that were justly liable 
for our sin to a holy and just God. But God in mercy showed 
us our sin. You say, that's not merciful. 
Oh, absolutely, positively it is. See, if we don't know we're 
sinners, if we don't know what the problem is, we're never going 
to ask what the remedy or the solution is. So God in His grace 
shows us. We call that conviction of sin. 
But He doesn't stop there. He shows us His Son. He shows 
us what the bride describes as altogether lovely and chief among 
10,000. He shows us the Son of His love who came into this world, 
guilty, vile, helpless sinners to save. And we learned experientially 
and again by grace that belief in Him and salvation in Him is 
the most glorious and the most wonderful thing that we'll ever 
know. We will one day be in heaven and we'll say with John Newton, 
when we've been there 10,000 years, bright shining as the 
sun, we've no less days to sing his praise than when we first 
begun. Why? Because guilty, vile, helpless, 
we. Spotless lamb of God was he. Full atonement, can it be? Hallelujah, 
what a savior. If you don't know the son, you 
don't have the father. What's the answer? Believe on 
the Son, you'll have the Father. Let us pray. Father, thank you 
for the clarity of Holy Scripture. Thank you for the answer of our 
Lord Jesus to this charge. this accurate charge, they actually 
got it right. And then it repulsed them and 
infuriated them and led them to that place to actually fulfill 
your will in delivering them up to Pontius Pilate. We give 
praise to you for our blessed Savior. We give praise to you 
for the one who is altogether lovely and chief among 10,000. 
And God, we pray to you that you'd open hearts today all over 
the earth and cause sinners to see the Lord Jesus Christ as 
the one in whom there is forgiveness. And we pray in his most blessed 
name, amen. We'll take your hymn books and 
we'll close our service by singing 564. 564, we'll stand as we sing 
together. ♪ You are not that, not of this, 
not of that ♪ ♪ You don't live, you live on trespassers ♪ ♪ In glory everlasting ♪ ♪ You don't live, 
you live on trespassers ♪ ♪ In glory everlasting ♪ Rest in peace, O God's King, 
to all eternity. The Lord, at His glory, will pardon and salvation give. oh Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ 
and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you 
all. Amen. Father, thank you for corporate 
worship. Thank you for the church of the living God. Thank you 
for the gospel of our salvation. And we pray now that you would 
go with us, that you would keep us and bless us and cause your 
face to shine upon us and bring us together tonight to worship 
you. Bring us together tonight to 
remember in a particular way the death of our Lord Jesus Christ 
at the table. And we pray in his name. Amen. will please be seated for a brief 
time of meditation.