John 5: 19-29: More gigantic claims.

19 Jesus gave them this answer: ‘Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. 21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.22 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honour the Son just as they honour the Father. Whoever does not honour the Son does not honour the Father, who sent him.24 ‘Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. 25 Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come 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 also to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.28 ‘Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and come out – those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.NIV

 

Following the healing of an invalid man on the Sabbath day, Jesus spoke of His unity withy the Father. The Father had healed the man, and Jesus’ work of healing on this occasion gave expression to His oneness with the Father. The Jews got the point and saw that Jesus was claiming equality with God (18). That gave them even more reason to want to kill Him. But this was just the starting point. Jesus had even more things to say about His essential unity with the Father. He can only do what the Father does (19) so whenever we see Jesus at work, that is God the Father at work. And, indeed, to honour the Son is to honour the Father (23). If we don’t honour Jesus we can’t honour God. 

We need to get this message:

The Father heals the sick on the Sabbath, and so the Son does – for they are one (16-18);

As the Father raises the dead, so Jesus has the power to raise people both spiritually and physically – for they are one (21, 24, 25, 26, 28 and 29);

As the Father judges all, so does Jesus – for they are one (22, 23).

”The relationship of our Lord to the Father was such that he felt himself competent to fulfill all the functions of the Divine Being. Is it God’s prerogative to raise the dead? It is also Jesus Christ’s…Is it the divine right to be the judge of man? It is also the Redeemer’s right…Is it the peculiar attitude of God to be the fountain of life, so that life, inherent, underived, and perennial, is ever arising in his nature, sustaining here an angel and there a hummingbird? This is also an attribute of our blessed Lord…The entire sum of the attributes of Deity are resident in the nature of the Son of man. But though although all divine attributes were his, and might have been called into operation, he forebode to use them, that he might learn the life of dependence and faith, the life which was to become ours toward himself. He did nothing apart from the Father…No vine ever clung more closely to its trellis, and no child to its mother, than he to the Father. See Gal.2:20; Heb.12:2” F.B. Meyer: ‘Devotional Commentary’, pp.461,462.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, as you walked through life in total dependence on your Father, so enable me to keep my heart and eyes fixed on you. I need you every hour, every minute, every second (and milli-second!)