Claims of Christ

Muslims and others make claims about Jesus. Some say he was a genuine prophet. Others declare him a wise teacher and a worthy example for humans to follow. But they also claim that Jesus never claimed to be anything more than a man—and that he never claimed to be God.

Yet here in chapter 5 of John’s gospel, Jesus boldly asserted His deity in such precise, unambiguous terms that His enemies were outraged, calling Him a blasphemer, for “making Himself equal with God” (John 5:18). His enemies understood Jesus perfectly.

Their authority being threatened, they pretended to uphold God’s preeminence in the Sabbath. Jesus first addressed the surface issue, correcting their faulty theology, and then He addressed the question: Who owns the Sabbath? Jesus answers this question with six specific claims:

1) He is equal with God,

2) He is the giver of life,

3) He is the final judge,

4) He will determine the eternal destiny of humanity,

5) He will raise the dead, and

6) He is always doing the will of God.

1. Jesus is equal with God, 5:19-20.

Verse 19 begins with a solemn introduction to what follows. The significance of what Jesus is going to say is emphasized by the words, “Truly, truly.”

The Son is distinct from the Father, yet He does what the Father does. The word “sees” indicates active sight. His work is doing the Father’s work. The activity of the Son is entirely defined by the activity of the Father. So the Son is also unique and equal with the Father, not a created or subordinate being.

God the Father is limitless, therefore the Son is as well. If the Son is limited, then so is the Father. They cannot act in opposition. Among the Father and the Son, actions, will, and purpose find perfect agreement.

In verse 20, the Love of the Father for the Son is expressed in the present tense, emphasizing a continual, habitual love. Jesus’ ministry is rooted in and empowered by the Father. Jesus is the perfect revelation of the Father here on earth in human form. All His work reflects the intentions and actions of the Father. The greater works that the Father shows the Son (greater than what He has already done!) will bring the ones observing them to marvel. The “you” in the text is emphatic.

2. Jesus is the giver of life, 5:21, 26.

The second claim is found here and reiterated in verse 26. To be able to give life, you must be the source of life. The religious leaders believed God is the giver of life. What Jesus is impressing here is that what was believed about God as true is equally and irrevocably true about Jesus. Jesus is not working beside God, He is participating “just as” the Father in the restoration of life.

The Father has even granted the Son a certain autonomy; the Son is entirely free to select one man out of a multitude to heal, not on the basis of external factors, but by the counsel of infinite wisdom and love

3. Jesus is the final judge, 5:22-23.

This third claim refers to the final phase of the mission of the Son. Jesus was not sent to condemn the world, yet a judgment has already began and it belongs to the Son who was sent.

John 3:17–18 NASB95

“For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

The final judge of man is God, because only He can discern the intentions of the heart, being omniscient. Only He can weigh the value of a person without being hypocritical, because He is perfectly righteous. Only He can decide the fate of humanity, because He made us and is sovereign.

The Father has given all judgment to the Son. Jesus functions like the Father, and He will receive the honor that the Father receives. Why? Jesus the Son is equal with the Father. These words are a rebuke to the Jewish leaders who disassociate Jesus from God. Here we have a clear declaration of Jesus’ divinity in the last sentence of verse 23. We have a portion of the trinitarian doctrine revealed where God is the Father and the Son, at the very least!

To get Jesus wrong is to get the Father wrong; God is fully presented by the Son.

4. Jesus will determine the eternal destiny of humanity, 5:24.

The fourth claim of Jesus starts with the phrase He has used before, emphasizing the significance of what follows.

Only Jesus can offer this promise based on all that he just said. The one who “hears” and “believes” focuses attention on who Jesus is. Responding to Jesus’ word is also believing in God the Father.

The one who does has eternal life. The tense used emphasizes a true life which is a present reality for the one who responds to Jesus’ words.

Then the last phrases emphasize that the Judge and Giver of life is also the only One who can remove judgment and death.

5. Jesus will raise the dead, 5:25-29.

The fifth claim of Jesus is prefaced by the third occurence of “Truly, truly;” the significance following. In verses 25-29, Jesus declares what already belongs to Him.

Here the overlap between God’s time (beyond time) and humanity’s time (linear time) is brought to focus, centered on the Son of God.

The dead will hear . . . and those who hear will live. The word “hear” has a double meaning in this context: the first is literally speaking of an exposure to the sound of the Son’s voice; the second is the comprehending of the message and receiving it. Presently, the “dead” — those who have no spiritual life in Him — can receive life now if they hear/comprehend/receive the message of the Son. He has resurrection power.

The Father has life in Himself. “Life” is the possession of God:

Genesis 2:7 NASB95

Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

Deuteronomy 30:20 NASB95

by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”

Job 10:12 NASB95

‘You have granted me life and lovingkindness; And Your care has preserved my spirit.

Job 33:4 NASB95

“The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

Psalm 16:11 NASB95

You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

Psalm 36:9 NASB95

For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light.

The Son Has life in Himself. Just as Jesus the Son reveals the Father, so does He also make known and make possible life.

In verses 21-22, the significance is the similarity of the Father and the Son; in verses 26-27, the significance is the power and authority that is the Son’s — He is the Son of Man Daniel 7:13-14

Daniel 7:13–14 NASB95

“I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. “And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.

Judgment involves the Father; it belongs in practice to the Son. The “hour” has already begun through the fulfillment in Jesus.

Verses 22 and 27 speak of the One who will execute judgment, pointing back to Daniel 7; as well as the establishment of God’s Kingdom.

Verses 25 and 28-29 speak of the final judgment to come, emphasizing the resurrection leading to eternal life, yet revealing that not all will respond to the work of God. The work of God? John 6:29

John 6:29 NASB95

Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”

So all the dead will hear the Son’s voice and respond by coming forth from the tombs.

If anyone could be morally perfect, they receive a resurrection of life. The point is, no one is morally perfect. Therefore, to face judgment without grace is to face condemnation by the Son. The resurrection of judgment is a resurrection of condemnation. So how does anyone avoid judgment? By grace received through belief.

John 5:24 NASB95

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

This work belongs entirely to Jesus as the Son of Man. Jesus is qualified to be the judge of all humanity — He is the Son of God who can give life; He is the Son of Man who experienced life without sin.

6. Jesus is always doing the will of God, 5:30.

With this sixth claim, Jesus shifts from the third-person to the first person, emphasizing that He is making all these claims about Himself. He and the Father are in perfect sync.

These six truths point to one overarching declaration that demands a response. Jesus claimed equality with God. That leaves humanity with no room for compromise, no fence-sitting, no middle ground. We must choose to believe or reject His declaration.

Rejection means then that you must choose between two alternative explanations. Either Jesus knew His claims were false or He did not. If He knew, then He was a liar of the worst kind, evil to the depths of His being for demanding the worship of others. On the other hand, if he was a mere man believing himself to be God, then he had completely lost his mind, being utterly insane. Being wrong about who he is, then he could be neither a good man nor a teacher who was worth hearing.

To believe Jesus claim to deity there are also two possible responses: rebellion or trust. To accept the fact of Jesus’ deity without trusting Him for salvation will not save you—you are in no better position than that of demons.

James 2:19 NASB95

You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.

To reject Jesus’ offer of grace is to suffer the just penalty for sin. We cannot enter heaven on our own terms.

We must accept the claims of Jesus as true and place complete trust in Him, personally receiving His gift of eternal life. Out of all the alternatives, it is the only logical thing to do.