Life in the Son (John 5:16-30)

The purpose of the Sabbath

So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him. Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working. For this reason the Jews tried to all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

John 5:16-18

●     “These things” that Jesus was doing on the Sabbath (verse 16) build on the event of the miraculous healing at the pool of Bethesda (verses 1 to 15). The phrase indicates that the healing of the paralysed man was not an isolated event. Jesus had developed a pattern of healing - and as the religious authorities understood it, a pattern of ‘working’ - on the Sabbath day. Because of this, the religious leaders set out to persecute Jesus (verse 16), even to the extent of plotting to kill him (verse 18).

●     This latter section of John 5 forms an extended defence Jesus presents against the charge of breaking the Sabbath law. “Jesus answered them” (verse 17 in the ESV, not merely “said to them” in the NIV; once again in verse 19: “Jesus therefore answered them.” Greek: apekrinato) Jesus is giving a direct, point-by-point defence of his ‘work’ on the Sabbath, answering his critics amongst the religious leadership of the Jews.

●     The main thesis of Jesus’ defence is the working relationship he shares with his Father. “My Father is always at work to this very day, and I, too, am working.”

●     It is worth noticing that Jesus does not appeal to any loopholes in the Sabbath law, such as he does in Matthew Chapter 12.

He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” (Matthew 12:11-12)

In healing the paralysed man, Jesus was “doing good in the Sabbath”, something that was permissible according to the religious leaders’ own understanding and practice of the law. Yet, Jesus does not appeal to this legal loophole.

●     Rather, Jesus presents a picture of God’s continuing, never-ceasing work in sustaining the created order. “My Father is always at work… to this very day.” This statement introduces a dilemma: for God himself commands his people to rest on the Sabbath, citing his own example of creating the universe in six days and then resting on the seventh. In other words, the call is to imitate God’s pattern of work and rest.

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. (Exodus 20:8)

●     Yet, here Jesus claims to be truly imitating his Father, not in resting on the Sabbath, but by working. How can this be? In truth, the text does not tell us. It may be that Jesus is appealing to the Jewish scholar’s own prevailing understanding of God’s continuing work in sustaining the created order, without which, all life was cease to exist.

●     Rather than breaking the Sabbath law (as the Jews understood Jesus’ actions to be doing - verse 18), it seems evident from Jesus’ own position that he is fulfilling the Sabbath law. In the same way that the very first Sabbath was a culmination of God’s masterpiece in creating the heavens and the earth, so subsequent Sabbath markers - the pattern of rest instituted by the Decalogue; the entry into the Promised Land; the hint yet another form of God’s rest found in Psalm 95 - point us forward to a greater accomplishment - one seen not in the present created order but in a renewed creation.

●     Elsewhere, Jesus declares himself the Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:8). Here we learn that Jesus is not simply one who stands over the regulations of the Sabbath as its Lord, but the one who works to bring about a new Sabbath; a new conclusion to God’s plan in redemption and salvation. It is in this sense that Jewish leaders are right in sensing that he was “making himself equal with God.” (verse 18) Jesus was equating his work - of preaching, teaching, healing; ultimately in his dying on the cross - to God’s work in creation, though readers of John’s gospel know that it was through the co-eternal Word that this creation came to being in the first place (John 1:3)!

The love of the Father

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.

John 6:19

●     Verses 19 to 23 present four statements, each beginning with the word “for” (Greek: gar).
Verse 19: For whatever the Father does the Son also does.
Verse 20: For the Father loves the Son...
Verse 21: For just as the Father raises the dead… even so the Son gives life.
Verse 22: For indeed the Father judges no-one, but has entrusted all judgement to the Son.

●     In these four statements, Jesus is presenting four implications of his Sabbath work. Remembering that the theme of the Sabbath is the end-goal of the God’s work in creation, so these four statements point us towards God’s purpose for his new creation to be accomplished through Jesus.

●     More importantly, these four statements reveal an intimacy that Jesus shares with his Father - his working relationship, if you like. They give us a glimpse into the eternal fellowship shared between God the Father and God the Son, in terms of headship and submission; in terms of glory and self-denial.

●     In the first purpose statement, Jesus reveals his complete and utter dependence on his Father. “For whatever the Father does the Son also does.” The Son can do nothing by himself, he is completely and willingly dependent on his Father. In so doing, Jesus is revealing the Father to us. John 1:18 - “No-one has ever seen God, but God the one and only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.” He says to Philip, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father,” (John 14:9) elaborating still, “It is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.” (John 14:10)

●     In the second purpose statement, Jesus reveals his Father’s love for him. I might even call this, the Father’s passion for his Son. I say that because this is a love that God wants us to take notice of; especially to Jesus’ critics, God would have them bow down in amazement before such love.

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.

John 5:20

●     God the Father’s initiative in revealing his plan to Jesus is a measure of his love for his Son. The picture is that of a father sharing his trade skills with son, passing on his experience and knowledge to his son, handing over, as it were, the family business to his firstborn.

●     What this looks like in terms of the role and responsibilities that the Son will inherit from his Father is seen in the following two purpose statements.

For just as the Father raises the dead and give them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.

John 5:21

●     The third purpose statement deals with the theme of final resurrection. This is God’s power to raise the dead to life again, something the Jews understood as God’s sole prerogative to be exercised at the end of the age. Jesus says the the Father has handed over this role to the Son, such that the Son is able to “give life to whom he is pleased to give it.”

●     To the paralysed man by the pool of Bethesda, Jesus doesn’t merely say to him, “Be healed!” Rather the actual command that issues from Jesus’ lips is “Rise up!” - an indicator of Jesus’ authority not simply to heal a disease but to bring life out of the dead.

●     The fact that Jesus performs this miracle on the Sabbath - on the seventh and last day - is precisely meant to sharpen this expectation. His words will be heard on the last day; these are words that call forth obedience from both the living and the dead.

Moreover, the Father judges no-one, but has entrusted all judgement to the Son, that all may honour the Son just as they honour the Father. He who does not honour the Son does not honour the Father.

John 5:22-23

●     The fourth and final purpose clause deal with God’s final judgement, which God the Father has fully entrusted to the Son. “The Father judges no-one,” Jesus says, “but has entrusted all judgement to the Son.”

●     Notice the reason why: That all may honour the Son as they honour the Father. Our response to Jesus today is linked to Jesus’ response to us on that final judgement day. Indeed, our response to Jesus reveals our true inner heartfelt response to God the Father. “He who does not honour the Son does not honour the Father.”

●     Now John 3:17 makes it clear that “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” Jesus was not sent to bring final condemnation. He was sent by God the Father to bring salvation.

●     And yet, John 3:18 is equally clear that our response to Jesus is a sure indicator of that final verdict - “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”

●     God has entrusted all judgement to the Son so that all may honour the Son as they honour the Father.

●     Jesus presents four purpose statements outlining four implications of his Sabbath work. (1) He is completely dependant on his Father; doing only what the Father does, and nothing else. (2) He is completely loved by his Father, receiving the rights and the responsibilities of the ‘family’ business. (3) He has the right to raise the dead to life; a prerogative reserved for God alone at the end-time. (4) Jesus will stand as God’s chosen judge over the living and the dead. All will stand before his judgement throne on that final day.

●     These four purpose statements form the end-goal of his Father’s work in salvation and redemption. They point us to a new Sabbath rest: when all glory will go to Jesus; when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that he is Lord.

●     From the importance of heeding his work, Jesus now turns to the importance of hearing his word. He brings forward that final day to say to us: Listen! Hear and respond to his salvation today!

The voice of the Son

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.

John 5:24

●     Jesus is calling for a response. He has just presented us with his answers to our objections: He really is God’s beloved Son. He really has the power to raise the dead to life. But here he says to us: Will you therefore listen to my voice?

●     “Whoever hears my word and believes in him who sent me,” Jesus says, “has eternal life.” Now, these are not two responses but one. Jesus is not saying (1) Hear what I’m saying; and (2) Believe in God who sent me. No, the two statements form one single response. Meaning this: To hear Jesus’ words equates to believing God. To hear Jesus voice means you are hearing God’s voice speaking to you. It is one and the same. What is Jesus saying? Pay attention!

●     What is at stake is no less than eternal life: “he will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” That is the language of conversion. Becoming a Christian means crossing over from death to life, and Jesus is saying, it’s not something that might or might not happen in the future; he says, “If you hear my word, that’s done!” His word causes the dead to come to life!

●     The amazing thing about these verses - that would have shocked his hearers at the time - is how Jesus brings forward to the present day a reality the Jewish leaders expected to happen only at the end of time. Jesus says, “A time is coming and has now come…”

I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come 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.

John 5:25-26

●     The power that Jesus exercises in raising the dead to life, according to these verses, is seen - not in the future - it is seen today in believers who hear his voice and receive life from the Son. All that Jesus was talking before about the culmination of the work of God in the bringing glory to his Son - that’s happening right now. The dead will hear his voice and those who hear, Jesus says, will live.

●     When we open the bible each week here at the Chinese Church, we are asking Jesus to make this happen: To bring the dead to life! Only his word can do this. No amount of counselling, no amount of singing, no amount of cooking can bring dead people to life. But Jesus says his words can raise the dead to eternal life.

●     But what kind of life is this? Verse 26 tells us the Father has life in himself, that is, God is the source of all life. He has life in and of himself. He is the author and sustainer of life; whilst we receive life from him. He sustains us in our very being, he gives us every breath, he holds the universe together by his will. God alone is the author and sustainer of all life. That much makes sense, doesn’t it?

●     Why then does verse 26 go on to say, “so he has granted the Son to have life in himself”? Either the Son is like God - he has life in himself. Or the Son is unlike God - and has to be granted/given life. Which is it?

●     I think this, admittedly confusing, statement on life from God is there to help us to understand what it means when Jesus says offers us “eternal” life. It is life that is not independent of God. It’s not the permission to carry on living our life away from God, to do whatever we want with our lives. The life that Jesus has is the life that he shares with his Father, in the same way, that your life is not an independent measure of time you’ve spent on earth but a fullness derived from your relationship with God and the people around you. Jesus has life in and of himself (he isn’t a created being and has the ability to grant life) but at the same time, his is a life lived in complete love and unity and co-existence with the Father. That’s the life he offers us through his word.

●     The question is: Will you respond to this offer of life today? The alternative is that final day when all will hear his voice and rise to face Jesus, not to receive salvation and life, but rather, to face judgement and even, death.

And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man. Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out - those who have done good will rise to life, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned. By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.

John 5:27-30

●     When Jesus commands the paralysed man to rise up (Greek: egeire), pick up his mat and walk, it is a glimpse into a future certainty when Jesus will say to each one of us “Rise up!” “Do not be surprised at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice.” Both good and bad, Jesus tells us, will respond to that call, some to life, others to condemnation. On that day, it will no longer be a question of faith or repentance, but obedience and accountability to the judge of all the living and the dead.

●     Verse 27 calls Jesus the Son of Man, probably an allusion to the Son of Man in Daniel Chapter 7 who receives all authority and power from the Ancient of Days. God hands over the keys to Jesus. Jesus has the final word on salvation and condemnation.

●     His judgement is completely fair. “My judgement is just,” Jesus says in verse 30, “for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.”

●     And Jesus prefaces this picture of the final judgement with these words, “Do not be amazed at this,” as a way of saying, “You should have seen this coming.” From the account of the healing of the paralysed man. From the hearing of the gospel. Don’t be amazed.

●     But also, Jesus seems to be saying, Don’t use this as an excuse.

●     We put off thinking seriously about who Jesus is and how we should respond to him. Either we respond to his word today - a word that speaks forgiveness and life - or, we foolishly wait till that final day. “Do not be amazed,” Jesus says, when that final day comes.

●     I have been preaching in the Chinese Church three years now. This is my last sermon to you as a council member. Each week, I have tried to make this book - the bible - the centre of all we do and who we are. Not the food. Not the music. Not the fellowship and events. This book. These are the words of eternal life, friends, and my intention in opening to the scriptures each and every time we meet is so that we - you and I together - can hear Jesus speaking to us. It is so that he can speak life into our dead hearts. It is so that he can reveal his Father to us, each time we hear these words read. Each time we take heed and obey his instruction. It is so that you and I can hear our the voice of our Saviour and Lord, Jesus Christ - and have life in the Son.

●     Jesus says, and I will close with his words, “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my words and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.”