He Is Worthy

Greetings to all of you who are watching or listening today.

We are still in the midst of this pandemic,

but I hope and I've been praying that God has been working for your good through all of this.

I know many of you are eager for us to be able to come together as a church

and fellowship and worship in person, but the day for that has not come yet.

We are currently awaiting, at least here in Saskatchewan,

for Phase 3 to start in about a week's time.

And we're also waiting on the government to give some additional guidance and instruction

specifically for places of worship.

And I hope you know that I and the elders will be listening closely to those things that they say

and prayerfully looking at how we can resume in some measure, when, how,

and we'll do our best to communicate that to you.

And we do look forward to the day when we can be together again in person.

Until that day comes, I just want to encourage you to be patient

and to continue to fix your eyes on Jesus.

He's the one who will continue to lead us through all of this one day at a time.

Well, we want to do that today as we open our Bibles again

and listen to what God has said about His Son, Jesus.

We've been working our way as a church through the Gospel of John.

And we are in the middle of Jesus giving a bit of an answer.

It's kind of a long answer to the religious leaders.

We're in John chapter 5.

John 5 · chapter mention

If you have a Bible with you, please open it up to John chapter 5 and follow along.

John 5 · chapter mention

So Jesus is in Jerusalem and He has healed the man who has been unable to walk for 38 years

at the pool of Bethesda.

He did that on the Sabbath and the religious leaders, the Jewish leaders, came after Him.

They are trying to have Him killed.

This is part of the larger story of what's going on between Jesus and the religious leaders,

which John and the other Gospel writers tell us about.

And things get even more intense when Jesus says a certain thing to Him,

which we looked at a couple weeks back, basically referring to God as His own Father.

And the focus on Sabbath breaking kind of goes away.

And in its place comes this focus on Jesus and His relationship with God.

And Jesus gives an answer to them to explain just what His relationship is with God, His Father.

And so we saw a little bit of that last Sunday about how Jesus is one with His Father.

And they work together in unison, two distinct persons and one God working in any given moment

with these miracles and these things that Jesus is doing.

Well, today we want to see a little more of what Jesus has to say about this relationship that He has with His Father.

And we pick up the story and we'll start it in verse 19, but we'll be looking at the verses which follow.

John chapter 5, verse 19.

John 5:19

Jesus gave them this answer.

Yes, and He will show Him even greater works than these,

so that you will be amazed.

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.

Moreover, the Father judges no one,

but has entrusted 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.

So there's a lot in here about this relationship between Jesus and His Father.

And the first thing that we see, at least in the section we're looking at today,

comes in verse 20.

For the Father loves the Son.

We've already heard John say this very thing back in John 3, verse 35.

John 3:35

The Father loves the Son.

Now, John didn't say this in his gospel,

but we know from the other gospels,

these words have been used before about Jesus as well.

At Jesus' baptism,

as Jesus was coming up out of the water,

we saw or we heard there that a voice came from heaven.

God spoke from heaven and said,

this is my beloved Son,

with whom I am well pleased.

And we will see the Father speak

basically the same words

at a later time

as Jesus is transfigured

in the presence of a few of His disciples.

This is my beloved Son,

with whom I am well pleased.

The Father loves the Son.

We see from all these places

and these moments

that the Father loves the Son.

Theirs is a relationship

that's not just characterized

by unity and oneness.

It's a relationship

that is also characterized by love.

One for the other.

And in this case,

the Father loves the Son.

And here in verse 20,

we see a little bit of what

the Father's love for the Son

leads Him to do.

Or we might say

the result of the Father's love.

In verse 20,

for the Father loves the Son

and shows Him all He does.

The Father loves the Son

and shows Him all He does.

And the emphasis in this statement

is on the word all

in the original language.

Like everything.

He loves Him

and shows Him

all.

Everything that He does.

That He is doing.

Now I have to admit,

this is not what I expected

to read

as I came to this point.

For the Father loves the Son

and shows Him

all He does

or all He is doing.

What does that mean?

I was expecting perhaps

something more familiar.

The Father loves the Son

and tells Him that every day.

Or the Father loves the Son

and watches over Him

and protects Him

from all threats.

Or the Father loves the Son

and gives Him amazing gifts,

power, authority.

Something like that.

This is a little unexpected,

at least to me.

The Father loves the Son

and shows Him

all He does.

What does that mean?

Shows Him all He does

or all He is doing.

I think to really get the sense of that

we have to go back to

kind of the counterpart to this

which we saw

last Sunday

in verse 19.

There Jesus told us

that the Son

can do nothing

of Himself

unless,

He said,

it is something

He sees

the Father doing.

And what we took

from that

is that

in some sense

that we just

don't understand

as mere human beings,

Jesus,

the Divine Son of God

is continuously

watching His Father.

He is continuously

seeing

what His Father

is doing.

And the counterpart

to that

that we see

here

is that the Father

is continuously

showing

the Son

all

that He is doing.

The Son

sees

what the Father

is doing

and the Father

shows

the Son

what He is doing.

There's kind of

both.

The Son

sees,

the Father shows.

The Father shows,

the Son sees.

We get this

sense of

that there's a communion,

there's a relationship

going on here,

there's an intimacy

happening

here.

And what's so

interesting

to me

in all of this

is that

the showing

of the Father

is the Father

shows the Son

all He does

that seems to sprout

out of His

love

for the Son.

How is that?

Why is that?

I think we see here

a little bit

of a principle

if we're looking

closely

that we can draw

out about

what love

is

and what love

does.

We might say

it like this.

God's kind

of love

or true

love

opens up

to others.

It shows

oneself

to others

and allows

them to see

what's really

going on

with you,

what you are

up to,

what you are

doing.

There's

an intimacy

here.

He allows

the Son

to see,

He shows

the Son

and the Son

sees

and knows

just what

the Father

is up to.

We get a little

bit of confirmation

of this

principle

of love

from Jesus'

words

to His disciples

on the night

of His betrayal.

John 15,

John 15:13

verse 13.

Jesus is speaking

to His disciples.

He says,

Greater love

has no one

than this,

that a man

lay down

his life

for his

friends.

And then a couple

verses down

in verse 15,

He says,

I no longer

call you

servants

because a servant

does not know

his master's

business.

instead,

I have

called you

friends

for everything

that I

heard

from my

Father,

I have

made known

to you.

And so

Jesus is

talking about

love and

relationship

again

to His

disciples,

saying,

you are

my friends,

I love

you,

and I'm

about to

show you

just how

much

I love

you,

but laying

down my

life

for you,

the greatest

demonstration

of love

possible.

My

relationship

with you

is not

like that

of a

master

with his

servants.

It's

like that

of a

person

with his

friend.

A

master,

he doesn't

make his

business,

what he

is doing,

what he

is up

to known

to his

servants.

They don't

need to

know,

he makes

his business,

what he's

up to

known to

his

friends,

whom he

loves.

The

evidence

that you

are

friends,

that I

have called

you friends

and not

just

servants,

is that I

have made

known to

you everything

that I

have heard

from my

father.

So again,

we see here

kind of this

principle that

in a

loving

relationship,

there is

intimacy,

there is

a making

known

to the

other,

rather than

keeping

things from

the other

and hiding

things from

them and

keeping

secrets.

And this

is what we

see in

Jesus'

relationship

with his

father,

the father's

relationship

with the

son.

He shows

him all

he does,

everything.

There's an

intimacy there.

And I

think we

can draw a

bit of a

principle here

for human

level

relationships

as well.

I mean,

this is about

Jesus and

his father,

but I

think the

same applies

to human

relationships

too.

We are

to imitate

God's

love

toward one

another,

toward other

people.

And so to

do that,

we must

open ourselves

up to

them.

We must

let them

see what

is really

going on

with us,

what we

are up

to.

Now,

of course,

as we

apply this

to human

relationships,

there are

appropriate

boundaries

here.

It would

not be

right to

show all

things to

someone who

is not your

husband or

your wife.

It would

not be

wise to

show all

things to

a stranger

or to

an enemy.

Showing

all things

to someone,

that's

something that

you do in

only the

deepest of

relationships,

that you

show everything.

And I

think that's

precisely the

point Jesus

is making

here.

This is the

kind of

relationship

I have

with God

the Father.

He shows

all things

that he is

doing to

me.

There's no

secrets.

Nothing is

being hidden.

I think we

can reflect

on our

various

relationships

with this

principle that

love opens

up to the

other and

lets them

in.

We might

reflect on

marriage

relationships.

A marriage

in which

one or

both

partners

are holding

each other

at arm's

length

and keeping

secrets and

hiding things

from each

other and

not opening

up to each

other is a

marriage that

is failing,

that is spiraling

downward.

The intimacy

is not there

and growing.

When your

spouse asks

you that

question with

longing and

sincerity,

how are you

doing?

how is

your day?

Don't hold

up the

arm and

say,

oh,

I'm good.

Make the

effort.

Open yourself

up.

Let them

see what's

really going

on with you,

what you

are up

to.

This is

the kind

of love

that makes

for intimate

relationships,

not just

with husband

and wife

relationship,

but with

parent and

child

relationship.

I'm aware

of this,

especially as

a father

of three

young children.

My kids

are always

asking me

the question,

why?

Why?

Why?

Sometimes,

I'll be

honest,

it feels

like a

little much.

I get

kind of

weary of

hearing that

question,

but as

I've been

reflecting on

this,

many times

underneath

that is

just a

simple

longing to

know you,

mom,

or to

know you,

dad,

to understand

what makes

you tick,

why you

say the

things you

do,

why you

make the

decisions you

do,

why you

responded

that way

to that

friend that

you were

talking to.

And it's

kind of a

sweet and

beautiful and

innocent thing.

a young

child just

longs to

know,

to receive

wisdom about

how to

navigate the

world from

you as a

parent.

And so,

I'm talking

to myself,

I'm confessing

my own sins

here.

When you

hold up

the hand

and kind of

keep them

at arm's

length and

give answers

like,

because I

said so,

because you

don't need

to know,

love opens

up to

the other.

You could

apply this

to your

relationships

with your

co-workers,

with your

neighbors,

of course,

in appropriate

ways.

On the

flip side of

things,

some of

you may

be just

anxious to

open yourself

up to

someone,

to share

what's going

on in your

life with

someone,

but maybe

they're not

asking how

you're doing.

That can be

a difficult

place to

be.

But we

can only go

so far in

answering

questions that

are not

being asked

of us.

So what can

we do in

those situations?

Well, I

would encourage

you just to

instead focus

on, not so

much on getting

the opportunity

to share what's

going on with

you, with

them, but

focus on

asking them

what's going

on in their

life.

Give them

the opportunity

to open up

to you.

Ask them

questions that

draw them

out and

go beneath

the surface

a little bit.

Sometimes people

just want to

know that

you care

before they

exchange

details and

information about

what's really

going on in

their life at

that level.

Finally, if

there's one

thing on this

topic of love

and intimacy

that really

is a barrier

to intimacy

that really

keeps us from

opening up to

others, it's

sin in our

lives.

It's sinful

attitudes, sinful

behaviors.

I know in my

own life, when I

am wrestling with

a sinful attitude

or behavior of

some kind or

have done

something that I

know is wrong,

the last thing I

want to do is

be close to

people.

I kind of

want to keep

my arm up

and keep a

distance.

I don't want

you to see my

sin up close.

I found from my

own personal

experience that

what I need to

do most in

that situation

is not to go

straight to other

people and just

fling wide the

doors open and

let them see,

but it's to go

to the Lord and

acknowledge my

sin and confess

it to him,

ask for his

forgiveness,

repent, and

come to that

place again where

I see just how

deeply he loves

me, the broken

sinner that I

am, and how

he has forgiven

me and made

me righteous in

his sight through

Jesus.

It's there at

the cross that I

find strength and

courage to open

up to people and

to let them see

what's really going

on with me.

me.

So those are

some of the

things that we

can maybe pull

as a bit of a

principle for our

human level

relationships with

one another from

this that we see

between father and

son.

But just think for

a moment what a

wonderful relationship

this must be between

Jesus and his

father.

There's no sin,

there's no barriers,

there's no guilt,

there's no shame,

there's no reason to

hide one from the

other.

There's is a

beautiful, complete,

total intimacy,

constant seeing,

constant showing.

Well, Jesus goes on

from there in verse

20.

He says this, 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.

I love these words.

It's almost as if

Jesus is saying,

you think that the

miracles that I've

done up to this

point are amazing?

Like all these

countless healings

and, and casting

out demons and

other signs and

miracles that I've

done.

You think those are

amazing?

You haven't seen

anything yet.

the father will

show me.

And as I see what

he shows me and

together do we do

works, you will see

greater things than

those.

And, and I love this

expression things that

when you see you will

be amazed.

Now that word amazed

may seem a little

flat to us.

Amazed.

I mean, we use that

very ordinarily like

that basketball shot

that we saw someone

make on their

Facebook page.

Oh, that was

amazing.

That's not what Jesus

means here.

When he says amazed

the original word

there, so that you

will be amazed means

so that you will be

extraordinarily impressed

impressed so that you

will be astonished

that so that you

will marvel be, be

filled with awe.

So what kind of

greater things or

greater works is

Jesus talking about?

Well, what, what do

you expect?

How do you feel about

some of the miracles

that, you know, Jesus

has done or will do

in, in this story?

I think of some of

the, some of the

things like Jesus

walking on water,

Jesus calming the

storm, Jesus multiplying

a couple loaves of

bread and fish to

feed thousands.

Those things, if I'm

honest, astonish me.

They amaze me.

But what I think is, is

truly wonderful is that

these, I mean, these

might be kinds of

things might be

included in what Jesus

says, but they're not

the things that he

gives.

They're not the

example that he

gives of greater

things.

What, what kinds of

things is Jesus

talking about?

Verse 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.

God, that is one of the

greater works that the

father will show the

son and the son will

do and we will be

amazed.

Only God can give

life.

And we're not talking

give life like, you

know, my mother gave me

life, like give birth or

reproduce.

No, we're talking

resurrection.

We're talking life from

the dead for just as

the father raises the

dead and gives them

life or makes them

alive.

Even so the son makes

alive or gives life to

whom he is pleased to

give it.

That, that unique

signature work of God's

power, giving life to

the dead.

You're going to see me

do that too.

And you'll be amazed.

You'll be astonished,

says Jesus.

We're going to talk a

little bit more about

that because Jesus has

more to say.

We'll talk about that

more next Sunday.

But let's move on.

What's another example

of a greater work or

greater thing that Jesus

will do?

Something that will

astonish them.

verse 22.

Moreover, the father

judges no one, says

Jesus, but has

entrusted all judgment

to the son.

What a statement.

What a thing to say.

I mean, think about

this.

The Lord God,

Yahweh, we know from

the Old Testament is

the judge.

He is the judge of

all the earth.

He's the one who

sees that all receive

what they are due,

whether good or bad,

reward or punishment.

That's his domain.

That's his sole

responsibility as creator

and God over everything

in the universe.

Jesus is saying.

That responsibility,

and I think he's mainly

pointing to the future,

final judgment,

that responsibility.

The father has passed

off to me.

He has delegated to me.

I will do it for all

people on his behalf.

I mean, can you

imagine, let's bring

into focus for a moment

the religious leaders.

Can you imagine what

they're thinking as they

hear this?

You're claiming that

you, we will see you

give life to the dead,

and that we will see you

judging all the world.

You can only imagine

the reaction that they had.

They were already

bent on killing him

for calling God

his own father.

Now he's very clearly

claiming to do

the very things

that are God's

alone to do.

How dare you?

They might be thinking.

Notice in verse

23, why the father

has entrusted all

judgment to the son.

Verse 23, the father

has entrusted all

judgment to the son

that all may honor

the son just as they

honor the father.

So the father desires

the son to be honored,

to be esteemed,

to be glorified,

just as he himself

is honored and esteemed

and glorified.

Again, the religious

leaders are probably

thinking,

how dare you say

such a thing?

Have you not read

what Isaiah the prophet

said?

Isaiah 42, 8,

I am the Lord.

That is my name.

I will not yield my glory

to another.

How dare you claim

that God desires

to see you receive

the glory

that he himself

receives.

the religious leaders.

And Jesus will explain

this.

We heard this last Sunday.

He will explain how

this works.

He's not claiming to be

another God or a second

God, a rival God.

in Jesus' own words,

John 14, 10,

I am in the father

and the father

is in me.

John 10, verse 30,

John 10:30

I and the father

are one.

There is only

one God

and within

his being,

there is father,

there is son,

there is Holy Spirit

and there is love

between the persons

of this

one God.

There is honoring

and glorifying

of each other

going on in there.

There's relationship.

The religious leaders

refuse to believe that.

The final statement

that Jesus makes

in this section

comes in verse 23.

Whoever does not

honor the son

does not honor

the father

who sent him.

And again,

in these words,

we see this,

this connection

between the father

and the son.

We see,

we see this

oneness.

The way that you

treat the son

reflects on your

treatment of the

father himself.

Whoever does not

honor me

does not honor

the father

who sent me.

if you spit

in my face,

it's as though

you are spitting

in the face

of God himself.

He has sent me.

We see both

oneness

and we see

this idea

that the son

represents

the father.

He has come

from the father

on his behalf

and probably

the best

illustration,

the place that

we see this

most clearly

is in the

parable of the

tenants,

which Jesus

tells.

This is found

in Mark

Mark 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12.

Jesus tells

a story of

a man who

built a vineyard

and then rented

it out to

some farmers

and then went

off to a

distant land.

And at harvest

time,

he sent servants

to collect

some of the

fruit that was

produced in the

vineyard.

And the tenants

treated the

servants

shamefully.

they beat

some of them

and others

they killed.

Finally,

it comes down

to that there

are no more

servants left

to send.

And the last

thing I'll do,

I'll send my

son.

Perhaps they

will respect

him.

And so he

sends his

son and they

see him coming

from afar and

they plot to

kill him.

Now there's

lots that we

could take from

that parable,

but we don't

have time for

that today.

The main

point that

we're looking

at is just

to see how

their treatment

of the son

is, if they

treat the son

shamefully,

they treat the

father who sent

him shamefully.

To spit in the

face of the son

is to spit in

the face of the

father.

Because of the

close relationship

between father

and son,

whatever they

do to the

son, to

harm him,

to shame

him,

to insult

him, the

father takes

personally.

For he has

sent the son

to collect.

It's the same

in this case

with Jesus

and his

father.

Whoever does

not honor the

son does not

honor the father

who sent him.

If we

dishonor

Jesus,

we dishonor

God the

father.

This is the

relationship

that we see

between

father and

son.

Well, there's a

lot of wonderful

truth that we

see in all of

this about

Jesus'

relationship with

his father.

We see how

the father

loves the

son.

We see how

he shows

him everything

he does.

we see how

he will show

him even

greater works

than the

ones he's

already done.

How it

has been

given to

him to

judge

all people

in the

final count.

And that

because the

father loves

the son and

desires to

see him

glorified and

honored.

well, what

should our

response to

all of this

wonderful truth

be?

Aside from

awe and

reverence and

wonder at

this special

relationship

between God

the father and

the divine

son of God,

if we're

listening carefully

to Jesus,

the only fitting

response comes

in verse 23,

that we honor

the son,

the one who

has been sent

from the

father, that

we honor him.

That's what

this is all

about.

Do we honor

the one he

has sent?

Now, what

does it mean

to honor the

son, to

honor Jesus?

Well, I

hesitate to

just give an

answer to

that.

I think this

is something

that we all

should really

think deeply

about.

What does it

mean?

What does it

look like for

me to honor

Jesus, the

son of God?

It means more

than to just

give him lip

service.

It means more

than to give

him token

worship, token

obedience.

obedience.

It means more

than to like

his metaphorical

Facebook page

and say,

I'm for

Jesus.

I agree with

him.

It means more

than just

kind of liking

him.

At a very

minimum, it

means that we

acknowledge just

who he is.

at the very

minimum, it

means that we

welcome him

with open

arms.

To honor

him means

that we

take the

words that

he says

very

seriously.

That we

obey the

commands which

he has given

for he

speaks the

words and

gives the

commands of

God the

father.

that's the

bare minimum

of what

honoring the

son means.

It means that

we believe

him.

We accept

him.

We obey

him.

But I

want us to

think way

beyond that.

When it

comes to

honoring

someone,

one of the

questions I

think that we

should ask

is just who

is this

person?

And what

are they

worthy of?

What kind

of honor

are they

due?

We could

think of

this from

a human

relationships

perspective.

I mean,

if it's

just Joe

from down

the street

coming over

for the

fourth time

this week,

a co-op

pizza,

a big

slab,

is good

enough.

But if

it's a

dear friend

who we

haven't seen

in a long

time who

is traveling

all the

way,

halfway

across

Canada

just to

be with

us,

we honor

that person

by killing

the fattened

calf and

throwing a

feast that

costs us

a great

deal.

If we're

thinking of

honoring someone

very special,

someone who

we would

like to spend

the rest of

our life

with,

it could be

very costly.

We won't

just give

them a

little trinket

to demonstrate

our commitment

and love to

them.

No,

we will

spend

months of

our savings

to give

them a

symbol of

our love,

an engagement

ring that

communicates

the honor

that we

have for

them,

the love

that we

have for

them.

I know

of a

mother and

daughter back

in Edmonton

in the church

I used to

go to.

That young

gal honored

her mother

whose,

I think it

was kidney,

both kidneys

had failed.

She honored

her mother

with the

costly gift

of giving

her mother

one of

her own.

that's how

dear and

precious she

was.

And so this

question of

just who

is it that

we are

honoring and

how worthy

are they?

What are they

worthy of?

Is so

important.

Now think

of that,

not with

human level

relationships,

but with

Jesus,

the divine

son of

God.

We've

already seen

so many

wonderful

things about

who he

is.

He's the

lamb of

God who

takes away

the sins

of the

world.

He's the

Messiah,

God's

appointed

king.

He's the

one

whom God

has entrusted

all judgment

to.

He himself

is one

with the

father.

Through him

all things

were created

that have

been made.

He is

God.

How worthy

is he?

He is

worthy of

all blessing,

all honor,

all glory

that we

could possibly

give.

all of

everything

that we

have.

All of

us,

all of

our love,

all of

our

attention,

all of

our

devotion,

all of

our

strength

and

effort.

He's

worthy

not just

of those

things this

next week

or this

next month,

but of

those things

for the

rest of

our lives

forever.

forever.

That's

who Jesus

the son

is.

We barely

scratched the

tip of

the surface

of who

he is

in our

time in

John

here.

How will

you

honor

Jesus,

the son

of God,

not just

with this

week,

not just

with today,

but with

your life,

with what

God has

given you

to honor

him with.

I think

is the

question that

we all

need to

ask.

In

fact,

God

himself

tells us

just how

worthy

his son

is.

We get

a glimpse

of the

end of

the story

in

Revelation.

These

are the

kinds of

words that

the angels

say and

that someday

all creatures

and especially

those who

belong to

Jesus will

join in

proclaiming

and in

saying.

Revelation 5

Revelation 5:12

verse 12

worthy is

the lamb

who was

slain to

receive power

and wealth

and wisdom

and strength

and honor

and glory

and praise.

And there

are many

exclamations

like this

in Revelation

which have

some other

things added

in and

these things

not just

for a period

of time

but forever.

that's how

worthy

he is.

How

will you

honor the

son

with your

life

with what

God has

given you

to honor

him with?

Let's pray.

Father in

heaven

thank you

that you

have sent

your

one and

only

precious

beloved

son

into our

world

and that

is a gift

of grace

and mercy

he has

laid down

his life

for us

that we

might be

saved

from what

we truly

deserve

for the

wrongs that

we have

done against

you.

That in

itself is

the greatest

gift

of all.

we love

your

son.

We

worship

him.

We give

him glory

and honor

and praise

and we

ask that

you would

lead us

in doing

that for

the rest

of our

lives

from now

on

until

forever

in his

name.

Amen.