The Book of John - 31c

Introduction - As we finished up the lesson from last week, we began to realize the enormity of the statements made by the Lord Jesus Christ.

In the first section, verses 19-23, it is clear that the Lord claimed to be equal with God.

I. He claimed to be equal with God the Father. (Vs. 19-23)

In Verses 17 and 19, the Lord speaks of His unity with God the Father. In this, He claims to have the same breadth of knowledge as God the Father, which is a claim to omniscience.

In verses 20-21, the Lord claims omnipotence. He states that He is able to do what the Father does (vs. 20).

He further presents evidence of omnipotence, claiming that He has the authority and power to raise the dead (vs. 21).

We looked at the fact that the Lord demonstrated this authority and power on three separate occasions recorded in the gospel records.

However, there is actually a fourth.

In John 10:17–18, the Bible says, “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.”

These examples demonstrate the difference between Him and the prophets of the Old Testament.

In verses 22 and 23, we saw lastly the He expressed His sole right to judge all men.

“The fact that the Lord Jesus is the universal judge means that he has personal knowledge of all the countless human beings in all ages of history. He has detailed acquaintance with the endless variety of circumstances of each and every individual. He knows the character of each one of us. He knows our motives, opportunities, hidden passions, mental ability, thoughts, desires, words, acts. He knows the lasting influence for the better or for worse of our every act and look. Moreover, he has perfect grasp of all the laws of God by which to judge the world.” (Phillips)

The purpose of this claim is expressed in verse 23. John 5:23 “That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.”

Before we take on the rest of these verses, I want you to consider what this would mean to the religious leaders hearing the Lord make these statements.

Imagine, for a moment, that you were in their place.

You grew up around the Old Testament Scriptures.

If you were a Pharisee, for example, you would have sat under the instruction of some notable Rabbi.

You would have learned from a young child moving forward the sacred truth concerning Yahweh.

You would have first learned that “the Lord our God is one Lord.”

You would have knowledge of the Exodus. The history of your people and God would be your national heritage.

You would know how God had delivered the law to Moses and how Moses delivered the law to the people.

At the forefront of your mind would be Exodus 34:14 “For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:”

If you had any instruction in the law, you would know the terrible judgments that ensued for the breaking of the law. There was the man gathering sticks on the Sabbath--- who was stoned to death (Numbers 15), the uprising of Korah against God’s man Moses — whose household the earth opened up and swallowed (Numbers 16), and the rebellion of Aaron and Miriam (Numbers 12)— which resulted in Miriam being made leperous.

You would have known that for disobedience Moses Himself was not allowed to enter into the promised land you richly enjoy.

You would have been taught about the necessity for singleness of heart in worshipping the one true Living God as stated in Deuteronomy 6:5 “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.”

You would no doubt have had a good understanding of the spiritually dark times during the period of the Judges when everyone did what was right in their own eyes.

Perhaps you would remember about the people rejecting God and selecting that first king Saul… in the time of Samuel the prophet.

If you were instructed in the law, you would know about Israel’s waywardness because of idolatry and their captivity, both the northern kingdom, which is no more and the southern kingdom, which has since been under the rule and oppression of Gentiles.

The occupation of the Romans would be a constant reminder of that terrible history.

The very Temple that you are standing in would just be a shadow in your mind of the former glory of the Solomonic Temple....

Perhaps you would have passed down stories of what it was like when God’s shekinah glory filled the Temple… and the grandeur of what once was a pristine godly heritage...

And yet standing right in front of you is a man that is claiming to be equal with God, claiming to have the mind of God, claiming to have the power of God.

And the to top it all off, He claims that He is to be worshipped and honored like God.

Now I am not trying to make excuses for the utter blindness of these folks contending with the Lord, but you can see how these statements would cast the gauntlet before these religious leaders to either receive or reject the Lord.

There would be no middle ground with these claims.

On the other side of that same coin, there would have been a careful expectation of the coming of Christ. — The Anointed One of God--- The King who would sit on the Throne of David.

In the Gospel records, there is evidence that, especially under this Roman occupation, there was an expectation that God would send the Christ and deliver them.

Matthew 2:1–4 “Now when Jesus was born in Beth-lehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.”

We are told of a man by the name of Simeon who looked for the coming of Christ in Luke 2:25-26, “And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.”

In Luke 3:15 we learn that John the Baptist was making such a stir that people thought perhaps He was the Christ.

“And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not;”

John 1:25 the religous crowd had sent a delegation to question John, “And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?”

And this, my friend, is the way it is today as well.

There is no middle ground concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. He is either the Christ, the Savior, the Only Begotten Son of God… fully God and fully man or He is not.

And so we come to this middle section.

Notice in the next section in verses 24-29.

II. He claimed to have the authority to raise the dead. (Vs. 24-29)

This section begins with the central statement of the whole conversation.

Let’s read it together, verse 24.

John 5:24 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”

“We who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ do not have to wait until we are dead and arraigned before the Supreme Court of the universe to find out what the verdict will be. We need only to consult our own hearts and this verse to find out now.” (Phillips)

It is interesting that in this statement, you will notice it says, “He that believeth on Him that sent me...” and not He that believeth on me.

The truth being conveyed is that He who rejects Christ, God the Son, rejects God the Father as well.

Someone cannot claim to receive God the Father and not receive God the Son.

Salvation is presented in this verse as (1) Hearing and receiving the words of the Lord and (2) Believing God.

Those who are saved possess everlasting life at the moment of Salvation.

It is a present possession for every believer.

I was just working on our lessons for HRSOTB dealing with Salvation.

When someone repents of their sin and, by faith, trusts in Jesus Christ, His death on the cross for their sins, His burial, and His resurrection, what is new about them? Well, this verse tells us:

They have moved from a state of death to life.

But consider this as well, they have a:

- New Father.

- New Man/Life

- New Home

- New Destination

- New Outlook

- New Direction

- New Battles

- New Family

- New Joy

- New Hope

- New Love

- New Fellowship

The message for this morning, even after 2000 years, is still the same. Will you hear the word of the Lord?… Will you believe God? —-

In verse 25, the Lord states, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.” (John 5:25)

This verse can be understood in two ways, both of which are true.

The phrase “The hour is coming, and now is…” signifies this.

The hour of which He speaks is not a literal hour of time but rather a figure of speech.

It is referred to as a Synecdoche- (suh·nek·duh·kee), Where a part is given for a whole.

An example of this is seen in Judas’ betrayal when he states in Matthew 27:4, “Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood..”

The term ‘blood’ used by Judas means the whole man.

The same is true with the Lord’s use of the word ‘hour.’ We might say it this way: “The time is coming, and the time now is…”

At present, those who are dead in trespasses and sins, if they would hear the voice of the Son of God and receive it, they shall live.

But equally true as well the Bible speaks of a blessed time when the Lord Jesus Christ shall “descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:” (I Thessalonians 4:16) We are reminded of the words of the Lord to Martha concerning Lazarus. John 11:25 “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:”

By making this statement, the Lord expresses His Authority over the dead, but next, we see His Authority over life.

Notice what the Bible says in verse 26.

John 5:26 “For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;”

When we consider this statement in verse 26, we are given a statement that is beyond our ability to fully understand.

You and I can understand the process of life and reproduction from our parents to us.

We understand that life requires prior life.

Dogs produce dogs, cats produce cats, and man produces man. However, concerning God, this is not the case. God has eternal uncreated life.

“All the abundant varieties of life we discern on this planet are his invention. Each form of life is transmitted by divine law, each kind “after its kind”—as is so emphatically declared in Genesis 1, where the expression occurs ten times.” (Phillips)

But this is not true of God the Son. In effect the Lord is stating the Father and Son enjoy the same kind of life— He is the eternal I AM.

“We cannot grasp the eternal dimension because we are creatures of a time dimension. We express our mode of existence in three tenses of time. We say, “I was, I am, I will be.” God does not express Himself like that at all. He says, “I am, I am, I am.” Because of our time-space limitation, we cannot grasp the eternal nature of the Godhead. We cannot comprehend One who has no beginning, One who is eternal and uncreated, One who has life in Himself.” (Phillips)

What are the implications of this?

The Bible tells us in the remaining verses in this section concerning His authority to raise the dead.

Let’s read verses 27-29.

John 5:27–29 “And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”

Again, the Lord speaks of this hour to come. In this hour to come, there will be two kinds of resurrections that take place: one is a resurrection unto life, and one is a resurrection unto damnation.

In case the listeners did not get that He claimed to judge all men, it is made clear here by His claim to judge those who have already physically died.

The Lord is saying there is coming a day when all that are in the graves shall rise at my command… And when they rise out of the grave— it will either be a resurrection unto damnation or a resurrection unto life.

He judges not only because He is the Son of God (vs. 22), but as the Son of Man, as stated here in verse 27.

We see two resurrections and two judgments brought together in one verse.

The resurrection of the redeemed, —- this resurrection unto life will happen in stages, just like a good harvest. There is the firstfruits (Matthew 27:52–58 “And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God. And many women were there beholding afar off, which followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him: Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee’s children. When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus’ disciple: He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered.”) Then there is the full harvest, (found in 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”) And then there will be the gleanings, as seen in the tribulation Saints which spoken about in the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

We shall all stand before the Lord for 2 Corinthians 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” The judgment of the redeemed is a judgment of reward or rebuke, not eternal destination. It is a judgment of works. Either you will experience gain or loss according to 1 Corinthians 3:10-15.

The second is the resurrection of the lost dead unto damnation…And this is spoken about in Revelation 20.

The lost dead will all be summoned to the great white throne and will have no hope— but condemned to the eternal fiery torment of the lake of fire —- the second death.

“The point that John is making here, in His gospel is that the Lord Jesus is the judge and that He acts as judge in His character as Son of Man. The Jews, of course, were familiar with Daniel’s prophecy of this” in Daniel 7:9-14.

After making these powerful claims the Lord then begins the third section in His reply.

We will handle this section next week, but in verses 30-47, the Lord claims that His witnesses to His deity are valid.

III. He claimed His witnesses to His deity were valid. (Vs. 30-47)