John 5:19-30

Good morning. Please take your copy of God's Word and join me in John chapter 5.

John 5 · chapter mention

You would have no idea. Perhaps maybe only my wife knows all the things we've been walking through and dealing with.

A lot going on in the life of our church.

And it's not all been good, but confident it's all being worked for good.

This past week at the end of the week, which we do every year, your elders had a retreat together.

We got away, got some rest, just spent some time having fun, talked through a few matters.

And it was good and it was rich.

But I will say that normally I do not plan to preach the Sunday after said retreat.

Just circumstances didn't allow for somebody else to do so.

So here we are, John chapter 5, verses 19 through 30.

John 5:19–30

And I think what you can expect from me is a little more devotional than it usually is.

Certainly good, I think, for myself and I think for you to be reminded that I am not the Lord Jesus Christ.

I don't think anybody had any notion of that at all.

But I am imperfect and I am frail.

Maybe a little more probable, it's also good for you to know that I am not just a handsome robot.

Which is what a handsome robot would tell you.

But I'm especially feeling my frailty this morning.

I'm grateful that God's word is not any less powerful as we open it together.

John's gospel follows a pattern.

First, he will present a miracle that Jesus performs.

A sign that grabs attention.

The characters in the story, they're paying attention now to Jesus.

Or it creates some kind of conflict.

And it's meant to do that for us as well.

Second, he will record something of great importance that Jesus says.

So we definitely want to pay attention to the sign itself.

But we really want to be paying attention to what Jesus says following that sign.

Last week we looked at the beginning of chapter 5 where Jesus recorded healing a man at the pool of Bethesda who had been lame for 38 years.

It has to be assumed that many people would have known this man.

That he could not walk.

And that his newfound ability to walk.

It just would have been attention grabbing.

It would have been an astounding thing to see this man healed.

It certainly got the attention of the Jewish religious leaders.

Particularly because Jesus performed this miracle on the Sabbath.

They had added all kinds of regulation to the Old Testament commandment to keep the Sabbath.

And they were vigilant about pointing out when people weren't keeping the Sabbath.

And so Jesus did not sin in healing this man.

Nor did this man sin in taking up his mat in obedience to Jesus.

But they thought that they had.

And so they were looking to kill him.

He was being disruptive to the religious order.

If you notice verse 16 and following of chapter 5.

It says,

And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus.

Because he was doing these things.

This healing on the Sabbath.

But Jesus answered them,

My Father is working until now.

And I am working.

It's an astounding statement that Christ makes of himself.

Of his deity.

And then it goes on.

John says in verse 18.

This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him.

Because not only was he breaking the Sabbath.

But he was even calling God his own Father.

Making himself equal with God.

Blasphemy or profaning the name of God.

Was and is a serious infraction.

It would be blasphemy for me to call myself God.

It would be a terrible, terrible sin.

If Jesus was in fact blaspheming.

Then a pursuit of justice was in order.

That needed to be correct.

But he was innocent of this charge.

Because Jesus is God.

Who is Jesus?

Who is Jesus?

Is the most important question to be asked or answered.

You must take up this matter.

Who is Jesus?

Who do you believe that Jesus is?

Last week I mentioned the trilemma.

Jesus makes some astounding claims about himself.

What do you do with what he says about himself?

You really only have three options.

The trilemma.

You must pick one of the following.

He was either a liar.

The things that he said about himself just were untrue.

And he knew exactly what he was doing.

And spinning this yarn.

Or he genuinely believed this about himself.

But it's false.

And so he's a lunatic.

Or what he said about himself is true.

And so it's right for us to worship him as Lord.

So that's the trilemma.

Is he liar?

Is he lunatic?

Or is he Lord?

And we encounter this kind of trilemma in life.

All the time.

Not nearly as weighty as the matter before us.

I'll give you an example.

Did you know that there are people today who think the earth is flat?

They really do.

If you're in the room, I don't mean to be insulting to you.

We have to do something with that.

What do we do with that?

These people either don't really believe this to be true.

They're fabricating it because they want to bother us and get it underneath our skin.

Or they really believe it's true.

Or they're right.

And I'll leave you to guess which one I think it is.

C.S. Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity,

I am trying here to prevent anyone from saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Jesus.

I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher,

but I don't accept his claim to be God.

That is the one thing we must not say.

A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus would not be a great moral teacher.

He would either be a lunatic on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg,

or else he would be the devil of hell.

A liar, right?

You must make your choice.

Either this man was and is the Son of God,

or else a madman or something worse.

You can shut him up for a fool.

You could spit at him and kill him as a demon,

or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God.

But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher.

He has not left that open to us.

For us to reduce him to merely a teacher, Lewis is saying,

is a great insult to what he said about himself.

He's either a liar or a lunatic,

or he is in fact who he said he is.

He's the Son of God,

the Lord of the universe.

The Jewish religious leaders had already decided what they believed about Jesus.

In some places, it's recorded for us that they think he is insane.

In others, that he is of the devil, the father of lies.

John 5.18,

This is why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him.

Because not only was he breaking the Sabbath,

but he was even calling God his own father,

making himself equal with God.

And it is in response to this judgment in their minds

that John records the following teaching of Jesus.

It's on the heels of this, right?

John has been very careful about what he's recorded for us here.

Here, it's following this that Jesus is going to teach.

Let me pray for us, and then we'll read the text.

Father God, we do thank you this day for Christ, your Son.

We are so very glad that he is, in fact,

true to all of the things that he said about himself.

But we know that we need your help this morning

to rightly understand this.

What a vast thing to try to wrap our minds around.

What an incredible thing to have worked down deep into our hearts

that it might bring forth fruit.

We thank you for your word this morning

and for what it says to this end.

We thank you that your word itself is powerful to change us,

and we pray that you'd work by it.

Help us to believe its promises and obey its commands

and have affection for you, its author.

We know we need your help in doing so.

So we pray that you would help us,

and we pray in Christ's name.

Amen.

So John 5, beginning in verse 19 and following.

So, Jesus said to them, those who want to kill him

because of what he said about himself being God,

truly, truly, truly, I say to you,

the Son can do nothing of his own accord,

but only what he sees the Father doing.

For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.

For the Father loves the Son and shows him

all that he himself is doing.

And greater works than these will he show him

so that you may marvel.

For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life,

so also the Son gives life to whom he will.

For the Father judges no one,

but has given all judgment to the Son,

that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father.

Whoever does not honor the Son

does not honor the Father who sent him.

Truly, truly, I say to you,

whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me

has eternal life.

He does not come into judgment,

but has passed from death to life.

Truly, truly, I say to 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 as the Father has life in himself,

so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.

And he has given him authority to execute judgment

because he is the Son of Man.

Do not marvel at this,

for an hour is coming

when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice

and come out,

those who have done good to the resurrection of life

and those who have done evil

to the resurrection of judgment.

I can do nothing on my own.

As I hear, I judge,

and my judgment is just

because I seek not my own,

but the will of him who sent me.

All right.

So words of Jesus,

which are not always easy to navigate through.

Sometimes he speaks in ways

that can be a bit difficult

for us to understand.

However,

there is a literary structure

found in the book of John

that helps us to this end.

It's there.

I need to put this in your notes for you

so you can see it better yourself.

But this text,

verses 19 through 30,

is, once again,

a chiastic structure.

Okay.

And I'm going to show you

because why?

Why is he repetitious?

It doesn't feel like

he's making a progressive,

logical argument

the way Paul writes in many places.

So this, then this, then this.

Right?

This language seems to loop back around.

You're right.

Right?

That impulse in you is correct.

Right?

So if you're unfamiliar

with the chiastic structure,

it comes from the Greek letter

for X, chi.

Right?

There's a center point

to this text.

So I want to show it to you

really briefly,

show you what the center of it is.

It'll help us a bit

as we look on.

So first,

verse 19 and verse 30

correspond to one another.

Right?

Fairly easy to apprehend

that very thing.

So you've got A and A prime,

verse 19 and verse 30.

So Jesus said to them,

Truly, truly, I say to you,

the Son can do nothing

of his own accord.

You see the phrase?

And then again,

in verse 30,

I can do nothing

on my own.

See how the two things

correspond.

They set up some bookends

to this passage of text.

Next we see,

so B and B prime

corresponding to one another,

verses 20 through 23,

and then verses 25 through 29.

So larger sections.

But thematically,

you can notice a pattern.

talk of resurrection

and then judgment.

In the case of verses 20 through 23,

then honor.

So resurrection, judgment, honor.

And in the second case,

verses 25 through 29,

resurrection,

judgment,

and reward.

So honor for Christ

and the Father.

In the one case,

resurrection, judgment, honor.

In the second case,

reward for those

who place their faith in him.

Resurrection,

judgment,

judgment,

and reward.

Which brings us

to the center

of the chiasm,

which is verse 24.

There Jesus says,

Truly, truly,

I say to you,

whoever hears my word

and believes him

who sent me

has eternal life.

He does not come

into judgment,

but is passed

from death

to life.

Now there is a lot

to talk about

in this passage.

We don't want

to neglect it,

but if,

if we had a really

limited amount

of time together,

which is fairly limited,

a limited amount

of time together,

I would suggest to you

in this case,

what you most need

to hear is what's

being communicated

in verse 24.

It's being built up,

it's being clearly

communicated to us

in other parts

of the passage,

but verse 24,

if you needed to hone

in on a central thing,

this is the thing

that you should notice.

And this shouldn't

be a surprise to us.

In John's structuring

of Jesus' words,

he's driving a point

that he's going to drive

all throughout

his gospel,

like the greatest point

that he could

possibly drive.

For us to have

eternal life,

we must go to God

through Christ.

Jesus is the Messiah.

It's the way

that we can be saved.

He states the purpose

of the whole book.

John 20,

John 20:30

verse 30 and 31.

Now Jesus did

many other signs

or miracles

in the presence

of the disciples

which are not written

in this book,

but these are written

so that you may believe

that Jesus is the Christ,

the Son of God,

and that by believing

you may have life

in his name.

This is the point

that he's driving us at.

Now I will tell you

at this point,

there's a temptation

amongst pastors,

people who preach.

We don't want to get up

and be boring.

I just don't want

to be boring.

The effort that I put

into preaching sermons,

I want to be well received.

I want you guys

to appreciate

what happens

on a Sunday morning.

at my purest intention,

I want your lives

to be changed

from one degree of glory

to another,

the praise of Christ.

We want it to be effectual.

We want it to actually

accomplish things

when we come together

and the temptation

is to be innovative.

The temptation

is to somehow say

the same thing

in some new way,

some thing that will

grab your attention

otherwise.

And I think

this is a grave error.

I'm so glad

that when that little

impulse rises up in me

that the response

to it is,

just preach the word.

People are going

to have tickling ears.

Don't entertain them.

Just preach the word

and let us be a people

who never grow tired

of musing

about this reality.

Apart from Christ,

we are due death

forever.

But in Christ,

we have eternal life.

This ought not

be a thing

that grows cold

in our hearts.

Perhaps the Bible

is so replete with it,

it says it over

and over and over again

because we need to hear it

over and over

and over

and over again.

So we'll spend some time

in these next few moments

doing that very phrase.

Jesus makes

three astonishing claims

in these 12 verses.

That's what we'll do

as our outline.

I want to draw your attention

to three claims

that he makes.

The first claim he makes

is that he is aligned

with the Father

in action.

Jesus is aligned

with the Father

in action.

verse 19-20

and verse 30.

He's upping this claim.

The Father is working

and I am working.

Not only that,

but I'm doing exactly

what the Father does.

He's doubling down

on this claim

that he is God.

Truly, truly, I say to you,

the Son can do

nothing of his own accord

but only what he sees

the Father doing.

Whatever the Father does,

the Son does likewise.

The Father loves the Son.

This relationship

shows him all

that he himself is doing.

He's going to do

greater works

than healing the lame man,

greater works

than these will.

Verse 30.

He says,

I can do nothing

on my own.

This isn't speaking

to Jesus' sovereign power.

It's speaking to

his relationship

with the Father.

He doesn't go rogue

with his own will.

He says,

As I hear,

I judge,

and my judgment

is just

because I seek

not my own will,

but the will

of him who sent me.

Jesus is God.

Jesus does

the very things

that God is doing.

Later on,

he's going to say

that he comes

to seek

and to save

the lost.

He has a purpose

in the world

to redeem

God's people.

So,

what do we do

with this information?

Is there anything

applicable to us?

Of course.

Of course there is.

Firstly,

we should trust Jesus

with confidence.

If we can behold Christ,

then we are seeing

the Father as well.

If the Son does

only what the Father does,

Jesus never

misrepresents God.

He was

chapter 1.

He's an exact

imprint

of his nature.

To know

Jesus

is to know

the Father.

There's no

contradiction

between them,

which means that

Jesus is

entirely

trustworthy.

If we take up

his word,

we can know

that this is God

himself speaking

to us.

Which means

we should submit

to Jesus'

authority,

secondly.

his perfect

unity with the

Father means

his words

carry the

weight

of divinity.

To resist

Jesus'

words

is to resist

God

himself.

It's the invitation

to come and

believe in him

that we might have

eternal life.

Who Jesus

is

matters

immensely

because he's

aligned with

the Father

in action.

This should

cause us

certainly to

marvel at

his works.

Jesus says

the Father

will show him

greater works

so that we

will

marvel.

The right

response

to this

is

worship.

And,

beloved,

let me tell you

that we live

in a world

that is looking

for

signs.

the greatest

work

that the

living

Christ

accomplishes

is bringing

dead

people

to life.

And this

is happening

all the time

around us.

Dead people

brought to

life,

moved along

in holiness.

It's a

miraculous thing

when people

put off the

way of the

world,

when they

deny their

flesh and

they take

up the

things

of God.

Because this

is not our

natural

inclination.

Right?

By nature,

we were,

apart from

Christ,

children of

wrath.

But now

we desire

to seek

holiness

and this

is

miraculous.

It's

miraculous.

We ought

to come

together

at church

and we

ought to

look around

at one

another

and see

the evidence

of God

and grace

in our

life

and be

moved

by it.

Look at

the goodness

of our

God

in your

brothers

and in

your

sisters.

If you

were

unmoved,

unmoved

by that

on Sunday

mornings,

ask that

God would

open your

eyes to

see the

greatness

of Christ

in the

people that

you come

to fellowship

with.

Marvel,

marvel at

his

works.

Fourthly,

we should

pattern our

obedience

after Christ.

Jesus

sought not

his own

will but

his

father's.

And that

same

posture

of

joyful

submission

should

mark

our

lives

as well.

And we

do not

have to

wonder

what his

will is.

We have a

text.

It's been

granted to

us.

We can

pattern our

lives after

the commandments

that have been

given to us

in the

scripture.

So that's

Jesus'

first claim

that he

is aligned

with the

father in

action.

Second

claim that he

makes is that

he has the

power to

grant

life.

Jesus has

the power.

As God,

he has

the power

to grant

life.

In verse

26,

he says,

for as the

father has

life in

himself,

he is a

source of

life.

He doesn't

need any

sustaining

power.

He is

the power,

so the

son has

life in

himself.

He doesn't

need sustenance

but grants

it to

others.

Notice

verse 21,

for as the

father raises

the dead

and gives

them life,

so also

the son

gives life

to whom

he will.

Verse 24,

truly,

truly,

I say to

you,

whoever hears

my word

and believes

him who

sent me

has

eternal

life.

He does

not come

into judgment

but has

passed

from death

to life.

Verse 25,

truly,

truly,

I say to

you,

an hour

is coming

and now

is here

when the

dead

will hear

the voice

of the

son of

God

and those

who hear

will live.

Today's

passage

presents us

with two

forms

of

resurrection.

There is

a physical

resurrection

that will

come

and every

single one

of us

will experience

it.

We'll address

it briefly

in a moment.

But here,

those who hear

the voice

of the son

of God

are experiencing

spiritual

resurrection

now.

The time

is coming

and is

now

here.

Dead

people

will come

to life.

And the

eternal life

that we

have now,

we don't

ever want

to belittle

the eternal

life that

comes after

this temporal

life,

but we also

don't want

to neglect

that we

have eternal

life now.

I grew up

in a tradition

that was

constantly

looking heavenward.

what a good

thing to do,

but often

at the

neglect

of now.

I grew up

in a tradition

that sang

the first,

second,

and fifth

verse of

every single

song.

And you know

what we

missed all

the time

in our

singing?

The now.

The eternal

life now.

We were

constantly being

told about

how to come

to faith in

Christ,

and we were

constantly being

told about

what would

await us

later,

but never

anything

in between.

The in

between is

rich,

and it's

good.

it's not

easy living

on this

side of

glory,

but it's

good.

Eternal

life now,

John tells

us, and I

can't wait to

get there,

because it's

so very

good in

chapter 17,

is that we

know God

and Jesus

Christ,

who he has

sent.

That's John

17,

and verse

3.

We can

know

God

now.

And that

phrase,

to know

God,

again,

ought to

warm us.

Those who

know him

have some

sense of

what that

means.

It's a

good,

glorious

thing to

know

God.

By faith

in Christ,

we can be

made alive,

brought to

life,

have eternal

life now

and forever

more.

We see him

now in a

glimpse,

because we

still are

burdened by

our flesh,

we still

live in a

cursed world.

Someday we're

going to

behold him

without any

encumbrance to

that reality,

knowing God.

The glorious

thing about the

life beyond

this one

will not be

streets of

gold,

crystal lakes,

it's not the

mansions,

that's not the

point.

is all

that going

to be

there?

Yeah.

New heavens

and new

earth,

it's going

to be

wonderful to

behold,

but the

most wonderful

thing about

it is going

to be that

God will be

there.

That place

will be lit

by his

glory.

I don't

know exactly

what that

means,

but it

means,

I think,

that he's

everywhere all

the time,

that we will

behold him

forever.

It's glorious.

If you can

imagine a life

after this,

with all of

the possible

things you

can think

would be

great about

it,

and God

the Father

and the Son

are not

there and

you're okay

with that,

it's a

problem.

The point

should be

that we

would be

with God.

The judgment,

the eternal

destruction,

is that we're

not in

his presence.

God's

And so

what are we

to think

of this?

We should

believe.

We should

believe now

and live

now.

We want

to hear the

words of

Christ and

believe in

him,

his person

and his

work,

so that we

would be

granted

eternal life,

so that we

would be

spared

judgment,

that we

would pass

from death

to life.

Not just

a future

hope,

although it

is.

It begins

the moment

that one

believes,

eternal life.

Do not

delay,

respond,

respond to

the word

of Christ

today.

We can

rest in

Christ for

our assurance.

If you

hear his

voice and

believe,

you have

passed from

death to

life.

So thankful

we haven't

been saved

by Christ.

Our salvation

is secure

in him,

not because

of some

works that

I do or

fail to

do, but

because of

his power

to give

life.

Jesus has

the power

to grant

it to us.

We also

want to talk

about this

life giver.

I'm really

grateful that

my full-time

employment

sets me to

the task of

talking about

Jesus all

the time.

Christ.

When I'm

by myself,

I'm usually

reading about,

studying about

this Christ,

and then I

get to be

with people

and I

get to

talk about

this Christ.

Some of

you have

to put

yourselves

to different

tasks.

Your day-to-day

doesn't look

like this,

but I think

there should

be something

in you

pent up.

Any opportunity

you have

to talk

about the

one who

brought you

from death

to life.

life.

The door

gets barely

cracked open

and you

kick it

the rest

of the way

because you

want to

talk about

this glorious

Savior.

If Jesus

alone grants

eternal life,

and he does,

then the world

around us,

which is

spiritually dead

apart from him,

desperately needs

to hear that

good news.

Evangelism is

not just a thing

that the rare

Christian does.

It ought to

be the

lifeblood

of who

we are.

Going out,

rescue mission,

carrying this

message that's

empowered by

the Spirit

to bring

dead people

to life.

And the

last little

thought here,

I've mentioned

it kind of

already,

but we ought

to treasure,

we ought to

hold tight

to appreciate

deeper our

life in

him.

Understand

what it

means to

know God

and set

ourselves

to the

continuing

task of

knowing

God.

What a

privilege it

is.

Great

privilege.

Blood-bought

privilege to

know God.

Last claim.

Claim number

three.

Jesus has

the authority

to judge.

See this in

verse 22 and

23 and then

in verse 27

and 29.

Here we see

Jesus says the

Father judges

no one but

has given that

judgment to

the Son.

The triune God

at work.

This is what

Jesus does.

He's a Savior

but he's also

a judge.

Philippians

Philippians 2:5–11

chapter 2

verse 5

through 11.

Paul gives

to us an

example of the

mind we ought

to have which

is ours in

Christ.

It's this mind

of humility.

But listen to

what he says

going on in

verse 6 and

following.

Jesus who

was in the

form of God

did not

count equality

with God

a thing to

be grasped

but he

emptied himself

by taking the

form of a

servant being

born in the

likeness of

Ben and

being found

in human

form.

He humbled

himself by

becoming

obedient to

the point

of death

even death

on a cross.

Therefore

God has

highly exalted

him and bestowed

on him the

name that is

above every

name so that

in the name

of Jesus

every knee

should bow

in heaven

and on earth

and under

the earth

and every

tongue confess

that Jesus

Christ is

Lord to the

glory of

God the

Father.

Everybody

everybody

one day

will bow

before Christ.

He is

Lord.

I don't

want to find

myself

bowing

because of

judgment.

I want to

find myself

bowing because

of worship.

Because I'm

found in

him.

And this

will be the

basis of

his judgment.

That one is

mine.

By faith in

my person and

work he is

found in

me.

I am

united to

him.

That's what

grants me

eternal life.

To the

other not

mine.

I never

knew him.

Verse 27

says he's

been given

authority to

execute

judgment

because he

is the

son of

man.

You have

to understand

what this

title means

of Jesus.

Son of

man.

It's his

favorite way

to refer to

himself.

He calls

himself the

son of

man over

and over

and over

again.

And as I

said I hope

that you

already know

but just in

case you

don't and

it's okay

if you

don't.

This

comes from

Daniel chapter

Daniel 7 · chapter mention

7.

It's found

one place in

the Old

Testament.

Jesus

elicits this

title over

and over

and over

again because

it is

incredibly

significant.

Daniel chapter

Daniel 7 · chapter mention

7.

This is

verse 13

and 14.

Daniel says

I saw in

the night

visions and

behold with

the clouds

of heaven

there came

one like

a son

of man.

There's the

phrase.

Son of

man.

And he

came to

the ancient

of days

and was

presented

before him

and to

him to

the son

of man

by the

ancient

of days

was given

dominion

and glory

and a

kingdom

that all

people's

nations and

languages

should serve

him.

His

dominion

is an

everlasting

dominion

which shall

not pass

away and

his kingdom

one that

shall not

be

destroyed.

This is

Christ.

He refers

to himself

this way

over and

over and

over again.

And in the

establishment

of this

unfading

not passing

away

everlasting

dominion

kingdom

this thing

that he's

going to

reign over

forever

that there's

going to be

peoples and

nations and

languages all

part of

he's going to

judge.

He's going to

judge.

He's going to

cast out of

that kingdom

those who

don't believe

in him.

But he's

going to

welcome in

warmly and

reign over

forever those

who do.

What an

astounding

thing.

Place your

faith in

Christ.

His person

and not a

lunatic.

He should be

worshipped as

Lord.

Flee from

your sin,

from the

judgment and

wrath to come.

place your

faith in

him.

Jesus is

God.

Charles Spurgeon

once said,

this is the

quotation on the

back of your

bulletin today,

it is not

possible that

the man who

denies the

deity of

Christ can

be a

Christian.

He

deliberately

refuses the

only way of

escape from

the wrath

to come.

Jesus is

Christ.

Let's pray.

God