John 5:17-23

October 13, 2013

Jesus healed the impotent man, but it was on a Sabbath so the Jews persecuted Jesus:
17

But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.

This is His answer against breaking the Sabbath. The Fathers work started and has not stopped. The works Jesus does are a result of the Fathers work. If a person doesnt believe Jesus, then he doesnt believe the Father either.
18

Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God. They didnt hear anything but My Father so they wanted to kill Him for blasphemy:
19

Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. This is the first part of His answer against blasphemy. Some people think He means that Hes limited in His abilities, but we cant forget that He is both God and Man at the same time. He cant be less God and still be God. He is the eternal and omnipresent Word while He is the man Jesus Christ. The point of His statement here is that Hes so united with the Father that its impossible for Him to act outside the Fathers will. Remember His prayer in the garden? Not as I will, but as you will (Mt. 26:39). He teaches His disciples to pray, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Mt. 6:10). The healing of the lame man on the Sabbath (and the subsequent command to take up his bed) were from the Son; but the Son does nothing against the will of the Father! It is the will of the Godhead that this man be healed on this day and that He should stand up and carry a load.
20

For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth:

This is the second part of His answer: the Father and the Son are intimately united. The Father and Son are more than allies; they are family. Think about what the Father said at the Mount of Transfiguration: And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him (Mk. 9:7). Think also about Matthew 21:33-40: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: 34And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. 35And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. 36Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. 37But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. 38But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. 39And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. 40When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? The point is that the son has a special place of significance; he is part of the family, and he speaks for his father and is rightfully over the vineyard. The Father loves the Son and shows Him all and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel. 21For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. Here is the third part of His answer: Healing the impotent man was a big deal, but raising the dead and healing the spiritually impotent is bigger. The Jews may or may not be amazed at the miracle of the lame man, but they will marvel when they see the Sons authority over life and death. The Father and the Son are united in their plan of salvation.
22

For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: 23That 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. Here is the result of their unity: The Son will be as honored as the Father. Compare the verse to John 9:39And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made

blind. The Father has committed all judgment to the Son so that the Son will be equally honored with the Father. If a man rejects the Son He automatically rejects the Father also who sent Him. There are several practical insights we can gain from this passage: #1- We are confident Jesus is God and that He gave up no deity while on the earth. #2- We can be content with our circumstances because we know God has us here for His glory. #3- Christ is greater than religion. #4- The Father loves the Son intimately and we are united to the Son, therefore we know the Father loves us. newgracebaptistchurch.wordpress.com