Making Claims and Answering Objections

Introduction

The last time we were together we saw in Jn. 5:10-18 how Jesus healed a lame man for the purpose of the man continuing in a holy life. After healing him Jesus told the man, “Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you” (Jn. 5:14). In other words, the man was healed for holiness. In that passage we also saw the glory and grandeur of Jesus because in each of the verses we were pointed to the reality that Jesus is the Messiah spoken of by all of the OT prophets, and he is capable of healing both body and soul. It’s in that reality that we saw that there’s an element of the already, but not yet at work because Jesus certainly had the ability to heal every single person at that pool, but only chose to heal one solitary man. From our perspective looking back on the cross and resurrection of Jesus we can see the fact that although we’ve been healed in our soul by the giving of the Holy Spirit to those who believe, we still live in sin plagued fleshly bodies that await the transformation that will come when Jesus returns.

I can’t help but think of a several of my own family members. One of them spent his entire life confined to a wheel-chair until God took him home after fifty long years; his soul was healed, and yet his body bore the scars of a sickness he’d contracted as a baby from the simple bite of a mosquito. Or another, who, because of the fact that he was deprived of oxygen at birth, never developed a mind beyond that of a three-year-old child, and yet he is now in his mid-sixties. You may well have family members, or know people like this as well, and it’s in places like these that we still see the not yet that will one day come when Jesus returns. However, it’s in the healing of the soul for holiness that we look forward to the fact that one day that not-yet aspect of the kingdom will become a reality.

Now, it’s here that much of the conflict arises between the Jewish leadership and Jesus because they thought the kingdom was all going to come at once. Remember, they wanted a military coup, but Jesus gave them a mustard seed! They, the leadership, had made God’s Law (the actual Hebrew word for Torah means instruction) a burden on the backs of the people, and here comes Jesus right from the start giving them a good kick in the gut by healing a man on the Sabbath of all days, which, in turn, caused them to want to kill him. And when he equated himself with God, well, that REALLY made them want to kill him all the more! And it’s at this point that we arrive at Jn. 5:19-29 where Jesus is going to make some claims that answer the objection of the leaders to his making himself equal with God. So, let’s dive in and look at the text.

John 5:19–29 NKJV

19 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. 20 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. 21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will. 22 For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, 23 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. 24 “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 has passed from death into life. 25 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. 26 For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, 27 and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29 and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.

Prayer

Organization of the Text

Before we get into this text, I want to tell you how I think it’s divided up. One of the things you should always look for when you want to know how a biblical text is portioned is repeated words of phrases. That’s something you see in this text, Jn. 5:19-29. If you’ll notice in Jn. 5:19, 24, and 25, you see the phrase “Most assuredly, I say to you” the rendering in the old KJV is “Verily, Verily, I say unto you”. This can also be translated as “Truly, truly, I say to you”, and also “Amen, Amen, I say to you”. This phrase seems to mark off the major section of this portion of Scripture, so that’s how I’m going to divide it up, Jn. 5:19-23; Jn. 5:24; and lastly Jn. 5:25-29.

Jesus does what God does.

John 5:19–23 NKJV

19 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. 20 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. 21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will. 22 For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, 23 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.

First, let’s look at Jn. 5:19-23 where you see that Jesus does what God does, and only what God does. Notice that Jn. 5:19 begins with words, “Then Jesus answered and said to them …” Remember, he’s addressing the leaders who are all really jacked up because he, one, healed a lame man on the Sabbath, and two, made a statement in which he equated himself with God. In these verses Jesus is really going to blow them out of the water with what he’s going to say. From the outset he begins with the phrase “Most assuredly …” Now, this is pretty important because when a Jewish rabbi wanted to make an important declaration, he would preface it with these words. So, what Jesus is doing here is saying to his listeners, “Perk up your ears and listen to me!” He then, in Jn. 5:19, says, “the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He see the Father do, (and that), the Son does in like manner”. I want you to look at that little word of there, that word is ἀπό (apo) in Greek and it’s a preposition that expresses the relationship of a part to a whole. I think that’s important because in what follows in Jn. 5:19b though the end of Jn. 5:23 Jesus is going to make four statements that begin with the word “for / because” γάρ (gar) which will tie all that he says back to the fact that he only does what he sees the Father do. This, in turn, ties Jesus to the Father making him equal to God, meaning that he, Jesus, is the physical representation of God.” Friends, to say that Jesus has a way with words would be a vast understatement!

The first “for” comes in Jn. 5:19 and introduces the fact that Jesus doesn’t do anything independent of the Father. In other words, it’s impossible for Jesus to take any independent self-determined action that would set him over or against the Father, “for” or “because” all that he, that is Jesus, does is coincident with and coexistent with everything the Father does. The second “for” comes at the beginning of Jn. 5:20 and this tells us “how” the Son does all that the Father does. The reason lies in the fact that (Jn. 5:20) “the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does …”. The point is this, if Jesus is doing only what he sees the Father doing and the Father is showing Jesus what to do, then by default Jesus is revealing the Father to those around him. This is why Jesus can make the comment that’s recorded in Jn. 14:9, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” The “greater things” Jesus is speaking of in Jn. 5:20 refers to the progressive nature of all that his listeners will see, ultimately culminating in his resurrection on the third day. The third “for” is found at the beginning of Jn. 5:21 and is directly related to what Jesus has previously said in Jn. 5:19-20 and finds its foundation in the fact that Jesus “will” from the perspective of John’s narrative, later on rise from the grave. It’s in his resurrection that Jesus proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that he truly is co-equal with the Father! Which mean that what John writes at the end of Jn. 5:21 is a solid fact, “the Son gives life to whom He will”. The fourth and final “for” comes at the beginning of Jn. 5:22. Jesus says that “the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgement to the Son.” This last “for” seems to carry the since of saying somethings like “moreover” because it presents a further reason for what was said in that last verse, Jn. 5:21. Remember, Jesus said there that he had the authority to give life; it is this authority to give life that also gives him the authority to judge on the last day, where we will all give an account for what we have done in the flesh. Let me put like this, every knee will bow to King Jesus either in honor or submission because Jn. 5:23, “He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.”

(Appeal) So, which one will it be for you? How will you bow the knee, will it be in honor or submission? Either way you will bow!

Jesus gives life, with a capital L!

John 5:24 NKJV

24 “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 has passed from death into life.

Jn. 5:24 marks a new unit in this portion of Scripture we’re looking at because it begins with that phrase, “Most assuredly”. Although this is a new unit, it’s in direct relation to what Jesus has just said because what he’s going to say here in Jn. 5:24 finds its foundation in Jn. 5:19-23. In this verse, Jn. 5:24, Jesus says that he gives life with a capital L.

One of the most amazing things I’ve ever experienced was seeing my children being born. You see, out of all of the water, blood, and nastiness that we call birth comes a living breathing human life. It almost seems like a contradiction because even though the mother carries the baby for all those months, the baby isn’t her, it’s a separate person. She is the “host”, if you will. What I find really amazing about all of this is that from the moment that baby is conceived, while it’s growing inside the mom and then eventually outside in the world, while all of that’s going on, at the same time that same baby that will grow up to be a person is slowly working its way toward death unless Jesus returns before. All of that sounds like a contradiction, but in reality, it’s not.

Jn. 5:24 is a lot like that because if you don’t understand Scripture and the overall grand narrative of the Bible, you might read a verse like this a think there’s a contradiction. Look at what Jesus says here. “He who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” What this verse is saying is that when you hear the message of the gospel and you understand and believe it, you move from the sphere of death and damnation into the realm of eternal life, and all of this while at the same time your physical body will die if Jesus tarries his return long enough. It’s as if, you, when you believe, experience a type of resurrection in the present without experiencing the bodily portion of it yet. This is what the Apostle Paul is getting at when he says in his letter the Colossians, “13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” Col. 1:13–14 (ESV). This, friends, is the ultimate already – not yet because although we have been delivered from sin, the ultimate deliverance will come when the King returns.

(Appeal) Let me ask you, have you heard that still small voice calling you to come to Jesus? If that’s you, come today and give your life to Jesus as your Lord and Savior because Jesus gives life with a capital L!

Jesus, and the resurrection of the dead.

John 5:25–29 NKJV

25 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. 26 For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, 27 and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29 and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.

Lastly, let’s look at Jn. 5:25-29, Jesus and the resurrection of the dead. Jn. 5:25 begins with our phrase “Most assuredly”, so we know that this is presenting us with another section. As before, these verses, Jn. 5:25-29, are related to what has come before. Take a look at Jn. 5:25, Jesus says that “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.” In this verse Jesus is pulling the future into the present because just one verse before, Jn. 5:24, Jesus has said that those who hear his voice now have life, that is spiritual life, but in that spiritual life they also have eternal life that will last forever. The completeness of that eternal life will only come when he returns, but you see, Jesus gave us small glimpses of when he raised people like Lazarus. Jn. 5:26 presents us with Jesus’ explanation of how and why he can do this. Now, it’s easy to read Jn. 5:25 and think that Jesus is only speaking here about believers, but I think there’s more going on in the text because of what he says in Jn. 5:28-29. Look at those verses if you will. In Jn. 5:28 Jesus says, “Do not marvel at this …”. What is “this”? “This” has to refer back to what he’s said in Jn. 5:25, which means that although the major focus of what Jesus is saying in Jn. 5:25 may well be on believers (they experience a portion of the age to come in their reception of the Holy Spirit, that’s the point of Jesus saying that the time “now is” in Jn. 5:25) there are more than just believers included in Jesus statement there, you see Jn. 5:28 and the first words of Jn. 5:29 qualify this by adding the word “all” and stating that “all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth.” It’s here in Jn. 5:28-29 that we look to the future and two very different outcomes for people. When Jesus comes back, he’s going to raise everyone. I really don’t think these verses tell us much about the timing of the resurrection per se. Suffice it to say, however, that some people believe that when Jesus returns, he will first raise the believing dead and then after a long period of time, the Millennium, the thousand years, he will then raise the unbelieving dead (that’s premillennialism). Others believe that when Jesus returns, he’s going to raise everyone, that is, believers first and then shortly thereafter nonbelievers, in a general resurrection just prior to the coming of the new heaven and earth (that’s amillennialism). Now, I’m not going to tell you where I stand on this is of the Millennium because I don’t think it’s that important. If you think that believing in or not believing there will be a literal Millennium is grounds to judge whether a person has salvation or not, then you need to reevaluate your understanding of what Scripture teaches concerning salvation. When the end comes, we will all asked be one question, and that is, “What did you do with Jesus?” And that’s the question I want conclude with. You see, Jesus makes claims in the text we’ve just looked and answers objections to the fact that he holds equality with God, leaving you with one question to answer, “What will you do with Jesus?”

Invitation

Prayer