Father and Son

Introduction

Illustration: Have you ever watched Undercover Boss? I’ve never watched a full episode, but I have enjoyed seeing funny clips from it on the internet. The funniest ones are when bad supervisors or people who badmouth the bosses find out who this mysterious new worker is.

It matters who someone is. Especially if that someone has titles and authority. Accidentally cutting off someone in traffic is bad. Accidentally cutting off a police officer is worse. Not that I know that from experience. When Jesus was walking on earth a lot of people, I’d wager to say almost every person, didn’t know who they were dealing with. To be fair He broke a lot of expectations and often spoke in a subtle and mysterious way. Yet often times He tells them exactly who He is and kind of leaves them with no excuse. He talks in a way that teaches them His nature and how they should be treating Him. Of course John opened His gospel talking about how His own people rejected Him, so we shouldn’t be surprised that they don’t get it. The question is, when we read what He says today, are we going to get it? Are we going to learn who Jesus is and live according to what we find?

This is part 12 of our series “Believe and Live: the Gospel According to John,” where we take a slow trip through John’s Gospel asking what it can teach us about being disciples and about making disciples. Some of these passages teach us practical lessons about how to live our life and how to treat others. Others like today’s passage teach us about Jesus’ nature and how we should treat Him as His disciples. Let’s take a look at the second part of chapter 5. As a reminder this comes just after Jesus heals the man who had been paralyzed for 38 years near the pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath. After this He claims that He can work on the Sabbath because His Father works on the Sabbath and the Jewish religious leadership wants to kill Him for claiming to be equal to God. Jesus responds to this with our passage for this morning:

John 5:19–47 CSB

Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, the Son is not able to do anything on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, the Son likewise does these things. For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing, and he will show him greater works than these so that you will be amazed. And just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son also gives life to whom he wants. The Father, in fact, judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son, so that all people may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. “Truly I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life. “Truly I tell you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he has granted to the Son to have life in himself. And he has granted him the right to pass judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not be amazed at this, because a time is coming when all who are in the graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done good things, to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked things, to the resurrection of condemnation. “I can do nothing on my own. I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will, but the will of him who sent me. “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who testifies about me, and I know that the testimony he gives about me is true. You sent messengers to John, and he testified to the truth. I don’t receive human testimony, but I say these things so that you may be saved. John was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. “But I have a greater testimony than John’s because of the works that the Father has given me to accomplish. These very works I am doing testify about me that the Father has sent me. The Father who sent me has himself testified about me. You have not heard his voice at any time, and you haven’t seen his form. You don’t have his word residing in you, because you don’t believe the one he sent. You pore over the Scriptures because you think you have eternal life in them, and yet they testify about me. But you are not willing to come to me so that you may have life. “I do not accept glory from people, but I know you—that you have no love for God within you. I have come in my Father’s name, and yet you don’t accept me. If someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe, since you accept glory from one another but don’t seek the glory that comes from the only God? Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me. But if you don’t believe what he wrote, how will you believe my words?”

So rather than calming the situation down and downplaying His claim to be equal with God Jesus seems to double down and boldly claim to be who He truly is. The divine perfect son of God. So what do we learn about Jesus from our passage this morning? We learn that first of all, Jesus models perfect humble submission. He shows us what it means to be the ideal Son, who only does anything in submission to the will of the Father. Jesus also talks about how He is the agent of God with the authority of God who will stand in Judgement over everyone and give life to whoever He wants to, showing that He truly does believe that He is equal to God. Finally He gives them the receipts and calls forward three incredible witnesses to the authority He claims, showing that we should all honor Him the same way we honor the Father.

The Perfect Son

Illustration: Anyone who has children 2 years or older knows that sometimes it is difficult to get kids to do what you want them to do. This can make even the best of us angry.

Now could you imagine having a child who not only listened to everything you told them to do, but did so purely from the motivation of love. A child who wanted to do everything to show you honor and respect and make sure that your will was done around the house. I love my kids and I’m not trying to do them a disservice by this comparison, but can you imagine?

It’s hard to imagine because it never happens. People are naturally bent to rebel and do wrong, and this starts surprisingly early. It takes patience and consistency to teach your children how to properly behave and even then they are their own people who make their own choices.

The same was true of all of us as children and continues to be true in all of us as adults. We do wrong, we stray. We disobey our earthly parents and we even more frequently disobey God, who is our Father. There is however one person who always perfectly obeyed what His Father told Him to do. That is of course, Jesus.

Reading starting at verse 19,

John 5:19–20 CSB

Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, the Son is not able to do anything on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, the Son likewise does these things. For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing, and he will show him greater works than these so that you will be amazed.

And then later in this same passage in verse 30 Jesus says.

John 5:30 CSB

“I can do nothing on my own. I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will, but the will of him who sent me.

Now remember what our context is here. Jesus is saying these things in reaction to the Jewish leaders who accuse Him of making Himself equal to God by saying that He can work on the Sabbath because He’s the Son of God and God is working on the Sabbath. For this they plan to kill Him, because they believe that He is not only a law breaker but a blasphemer.

So what does Jesus say to correct them? He starts by talking about the nature of His relationship with the Father and radical obedience to His will. Not only is He not living in disobedience to the Father, He’s living in perfect obedience. He doesn’t do anything apart from the Father. He only ever does what He sees the Father doing. So in a sense when they accuse Him of doing wrong they are accusing God Himself of doing wrong.

Of course some people take verses like these and say, “see! Jesus can’t be God because He submits to God. He is just calling Himself a son in the same way as anyone can call themselves a son of God.” To that I say, read more carefully. We’ll talk more about it when we get to the verses between these verses, but consider this, Jesus is in the same breath saying that He doesn’t do anything unless He sees the Father do it, but then saying that He does the same things God does. What we read in our English translation as “likewise” is a Greek word which means “in the same way.” Meaning Jesus is saying “…whatever the Father does, the Son in the same way does the same things.” In other words He is able to do all the same things God does. That sounds to me like a claim to being God.

In any case Jesus first response is to establish His perfect loving submission to the Father when accused of disobeying the Father’s laws. This serves as an example to all of us as well. The fact that Jesus who is equal in power with the Father would willingly before, during, and after all history submit to the will of the Father and make Himself less in authority to the Father is an example to all of us to do the same.

The root of the first human sin was trying to make ourselves into our own Gods. Satan himself fell for the same reason. Jesus serves as the example of righteousness by submitting even to death when He didn’t need to. I’ve quoted this passage recently but it bears repeating and is very relevant here. Philippians 2:5-8

Philippians 2:5–8 (CSB)

Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited. Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity.

And when he had come as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross.

The humility and submission of Christ is an inspiration to us to be humble and submissive. This applies to our relationships to those in authority over us in our homes, churches, and governments, but first and foremost to our God who is calling us to seek and save the lost in His name and often asks us to do things that are difficult and maybe even dangerous. Will we be like Jesus in those moments and do everything the Father asks us to do?

The Judge of All Living and Dead

Illustration: In the ancient world there were often people sent out as agents of rulers. Because of the slow speed of travel and transmission of influence, if a person wanted their will done throughout a kingdom or even an empire, they had to trust people to do the enacting of their will. These people were treated with a great deal of respect, and in ancient society anything you did or said to that person was as if you had done or said it to the King himself. This is why it was such a big deal in the movie 300 when Leonidas kicked the messenger into the pit.

So you can imagine if you were an ordinary person living an ordinary life you would be careful and respectful around those who were agents of a powerful emperor. What about when it comes to God Himself? What if God Himself sent a messanger who acted with His authority? An agent whose treatment was treated as if you were interacting with the Father of all Himself? Certainly you would want to give this agent the respect that God deserves and you would be right to be nervous about how you were treating them.

This is part of what Jesus is getting at in these verses:

John 5:21–29 CSB

And just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son also gives life to whom he wants. The Father, in fact, judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son, so that all people may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. “Truly I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life. “Truly I tell you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he has granted to the Son to have life in himself. And he has granted him the right to pass judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not be amazed at this, because a time is coming when all who are in the graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done good things, to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked things, to the resurrection of condemnation.

In part Jesus is claiming to be an agent of God “one sent by the Father,” who speaks on behalf of the Father and enacts His will on the earth. That already is a pretty big claim. But Jesus is no ordinary messenger of God. He is in fact the Son of God in a unique way. This is the same idea Jesus is getting at in this parable in Matthew 21:33-39

Matthew 21:33–39 CSB

“Listen to another parable: There was a landowner, who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a watchtower. He leased it to tenant farmers and went away. When the time came to harvest fruit, he sent his servants to the farmers to collect his fruit. The farmers took his servants, beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. Again, he sent other servants, more than the first group, and they did the same to them. Finally, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said. “But when the tenant farmers saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.

In this parable the wicked farmers are the religious leaders of Jesus’ day. The servants are the prophets, who are like ordinary agents of God who act like an agent of a King or an emperor and should be treated with the respect they deserve. The son is another matter entirely. He doesn’t just speak on behalf of God but He is God. Consider the authority Jesus is claiming here. He is claiming that He has the power to give life, and that He is the one who will judge everyone based on their deeds, not the Father.

The Hebrew Scriptures are clear that God is the only one who has power over life and death.

Deuteronomy 32:39 (CSB)

See now that I alone am he; there is no God but me. I bring death and I give life; I wound and I heal. No one can rescue anyone from my power.

and again in 1 Sm 2:6

1 Samuel 2:6 (CSB)

The Lord brings death and gives life; he sends some down to Sheol, and he raises others up.

So how could Jesus not be claiming to be God by claiming that He could give life to whoever He wants to? Not just who the Father wants Him to, but whoever He wants to. He is given not just the power to raise the dead and give judgment, but the freedom to enact His will in this office. That’s huge. We will see Jesus prove His words by His actions later in this very gospel when we read about the raising of Lazarus from the Dead.

What does it mean to us that Jesus is this divine Son of God? We know it’s something the Bible says that is true and important, but what does it change about the way that we live? Does it matter if other groups like the Jehovah’s Witnesses say He isn’t God but just an angel? All these questions are answered in Jesus stern warning to His hearers in verses 22-23.

John 5:22–23 CSB

The Father, in fact, judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son, so that all people may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.

This is why it matters that we believe that Jesus is God. Because if He is who He says He is than He deserves the same honor the Father deserves. What sort of honour does the Father deserve? He deserves our praise and worship. He deserves our love in action. He deserves our obedience. So then Jesus too deserves all these things from us.

The Proven One

Illustration: You can’t always just take someone’s word for it. This is especially true in the court of law. If someone is accused of murder of course they are going to say they didn’t do it. The same is true in the other direction. An accusation isn’t enough. There need to be witnesses and evidence brought forward in order to prove to the best of our ability what the truth is in a court of law.

The Bible often uses legal language as a metaphor to describe truths about God, Jesus, and the relationship between God and men. In fact Jesus does so in our own passage this morning. When He uses the words “testify” and “testimony” in this passage He is using legal terms. He wants His hearers to be thinking about a court of law, and about witnesses bringing forth a testimony in Jesus’ defence.

Why would He do this? Well the Law of Moses says in Deuteronomy 19:15

Deuteronomy 19:15 CSB

“One witness cannot establish any iniquity or sin against a person, whatever that person has done. A fact must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.

This is what God taught the Israelites about establishing a fair legal system that aimed at arriving at truth together. One can also assume that a person cannot be their own witness, since there is obvious bias at play in that situation. With this legal background in mind, let’s read what Jesus says in verses 31 to 47.

John 5:31–47 CSB

“If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who testifies about me, and I know that the testimony he gives about me is true. You sent messengers to John, and he testified to the truth. I don’t receive human testimony, but I say these things so that you may be saved. John was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. “But I have a greater testimony than John’s because of the works that the Father has given me to accomplish. These very works I am doing testify about me that the Father has sent me. The Father who sent me has himself testified about me. You have not heard his voice at any time, and you haven’t seen his form. You don’t have his word residing in you, because you don’t believe the one he sent. You pore over the Scriptures because you think you have eternal life in them, and yet they testify about me. But you are not willing to come to me so that you may have life. “I do not accept glory from people, but I know you—that you have no love for God within you. I have come in my Father’s name, and yet you don’t accept me. If someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe, since you accept glory from one another but don’t seek the glory that comes from the only God? Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me. But if you don’t believe what he wrote, how will you believe my words?”

Jesus made a lot of big claims about who He was. He claimed to be the chosen anointed one that the prophets predicted would come. He claimed to be greater than Moses. He claimed to be greater than Abraham. He claimed to be God Himself. But He didn’t just make those claims and walk away. He had evidence to back those claims up. What is that evidence? He gives three witnesses to who He is here, with a bonus thrown in.

He gives John the Baptist as a bonus witness but then raises the bar and says that human testimony isn’t enough for Him. Instead He calls as His witness the miraculous works that He’s been performing. Works that Nicodemus, a member of the Sanhedrin and a Pharisee, said prove that He must be from God. He calls God the Father Himself as His witness. Who spoke at the baptism of Jesus and who is said to enlighten all who believe in Jesus. Finally the Scriptures themselves, which these men have dedicated their whole lives to, Jesus says are witnesses to who He truly is they are written about Him.

A great many people make the unfair accusation against Christians that we have a blind faith. That we just hear that Jesus is God and then blindly believe it in spite of the evidence otherwise. I would say that the opposite is true. That faith is not believing something just because someone said it to you. Rather faith is putting active trust in someone, in this case God. And that God has given us good reasons to trust Him and His word, the Bible. Jesus Himself doesn’t just say “believe me or don’t,” but gives these scholars and Pharisees reasons to believe His claim.

My friends this is where I encourage all of you to learn the good reasons that we have for believing that Jesus is who He says He is. There are tons of great arguments for why its reasonable to believe that God exists, and lots of historical and archeological evidence to the truth of the Bible, and especially the evidence of fulfilled prophecy. I don’t really have time to go over all the evidence but it’s all over the place, which is why Paul can say in Romans 1 that unbelievers are without excuse for not believing in God.

Knowing these things can not only help to confirm and strengthen our own faith but also give us tools in our conversations with those who have not yet believed to help break down some of the walls that people have put up against the gospel, so that we can as Peter says in 1 Peter 3:15-16

1 Peter 3:15–16 CSB

but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. Yet do this with gentleness and reverence, keeping a clear conscience, so that when you are accused, those who disparage your good conduct in Christ will be put to shame.

Conclusion

I am finding the longer I am a disciple of Jesus and the longer I study the Bible, the more I realize that I will never discover everything that’s in it. In fact it’s been 2000 years since Jesus ministry and we’re still writing sermons every Sunday at Churches all across the world teaching people all we can about who Jesus is and I don’t think we’ve covered everything there is to say, not even close. But what have we learned about who Jesus is this morning? We have learned that Jesus is the model of humility, the perfect Son who always obeys the Father and does His will. We have learned that He is the divine Son of God who has the authority to give life to anyone He chooses, and that He offers that life to us and will one day judge everyone living and dead. We also learn that there are good reasons to trust what Jesus says, and to live by the words that He has taught us.

As disciples of Jesus there can be no greater aim than loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. How can we do that if we don’t know Him as He truly is? So then my brothers and sisters let us treasure up in our hearts these truths that we’ve discovered about the character and authority of Jesus and be prepared to share them liberally with those in our lives so that we can do our part to loving both God and neighbor.

Let us pray and then let us go out confirmed in the knowledge and love of our God.