Jesus on Trial - John 5:19-47 - May 10, 2026

Matthew Poole: Good morning. praise God. It is a joy to gather with you. It is a joy to serve you with the word of Christ. ⁓ Thank you, Mike and the team for leading us in song to sing, to set our affections and our minds to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. an interesting show that came up, one of the more interesting concepts for a show that's come out is this show called Undercover Boss. I don't know if you've seen this, I hadn't seen many of them, but looked at some clips and was aware of this show. guess it's not on the air anymore, but you can probably find episodes. The concept goes something like this. The boss, the CEO, president takes on a disguise and comes in as an entry level, like entry level position and then begins working in the company. there and he's exploring, he's learning about the company, he's learning about the employees that he has. And at some point, there is the reveal. Right, and why it's interesting is because if anybody knew the boss was here, we would act differently, right? We would change our behavior and there is that moment during the reveal where it's like, ⁓ my goodness. And that's either a moment of incredible shame or a moment of joy. You get fired or you might get a promotion. Write something about the presence of the boss changes our behavior and should change our behavior. When we open up today in the text in John chapter five, the boss is here. And he's revealing himself. He's not undercover. He is revealing himself, and what's jarring about it is there's no reception to the boss. It's not okay, the boss is actually here, you've told us your name, therefore everything needs to stop, let's listen to what you have to say. It's the polar opposite. He's revealing himself, and he's being rejected. So much so that these religious authorities are actually putting him on trial. You're not the boss. And in fact, what they're saying is, we're the boss. There's a sense of threat coming to the religious authorities through Jesus. And so they're putting him on trial. Jesus is a threat. to the kingdom of self and to the kingdom of self glory. He is. As the boss, as the creator God, he is a threat to the kingdom of self. And that's what's happening in this text. And maybe that's what's happening in our hearts this morning as we join in and hear the word of God. There's a confrontation happening as we are seeing and hearing the words of Jesus. Because we're not too... different than these religious authorities. We like to be in charge, don't we? We like to call the shots. We like to make all the decisions. We want to run life our way. And if somebody else is in charge, well, that changes things. And we don't like that very much, do we? The stakes in responding to Jesus could not be higher. This is not about losing your job or getting a promotion. These are the greatest of stakes, either eternal death or eternal life. That is how blunt Jesus is. That is how he divides humanity based upon a response to him. Eternal. It's an eternal destiny. An eternal trajectory based on how you and I respond to who Jesus is. we seek the glory of self, we will die. If we seek the glory of Jesus, we That's what's being held out to us this morning. And whether we're hearing about Jesus for the very first time, or whether we've been Christians for 30 years, we need this word. We need God's word to calibrate our hearts to the glory of Jesus because that's not where we naturally go. It's grace here this morning that the word would come to us lovingly confront us to where life is and where life is to be found in Jesus alone. May our hearts be calibrated that direction. May we move away from the self, repent from glory of the self and give all glory to King Jesus this So as I said, they're putting Jesus on trial and today in this text, Jesus is taking the stand, if you will. He's taking the stand and he's gonna testify. He's gonna bear witness about himself. So we're hearing the words of Jesus this morning and his witness. And as we do... I love to read the words of J.C. Ryle who comments on this exact same passage. He says this, the passage we have now begun is one of the deepest things in the Bible. We should approach it with feelings of peculiar reverence and humility. We're about to read words which fell from the lips of him who spoke as no man ever spoke. Words in which he speaks of his own divine nature and of his relation to the Father. Nowhere else in the gospels does he say do we find our Lord making such a formal, systematic, orderly regular statement about his own unity with the Father, his divine commission and authority, and the proofs of his Messiahship as we find in this discourse. It seems one of the deepest things in the Jesus is taking the stand. He's going to speak. Are we going to hear Him? and for us to hear him and the spirit of what J.C. Rowell is encouraging us, let us pray for God's help. So would you pray with Heavenly Father, we bow before you. God, we thank you that you are a speaking God. And we pray now for you to do what only you can do. Work a peculiar reverence and humility in us this morning. Without proper humility, we will not hear what the Son of God has to say to us and for us. So God, we pray that you would work humility in us. Give us ears to hear the words of Jesus. That we may pass from death to life. And enjoy Him forever and ever. In your name we pray, amen. So the first witness is going to be the witness of Jesus and there's going to be several other witnesses, we're going to spend the most time on the witness of Jesus. Verse 19. So Jesus said to them, truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of His own accord, but only what He sees the Father doing. What Jesus is saying here, I am equal to the Father. We saw this last week in verse 17-18. His response earlier to these Jews was, as my Father works, I work. I'm a worker and I work instead of the Father and the charge then is he's saying that he's equal to God. It's exactly what he's saying. Jesus continuing this. I am equal to God. Truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing of His own accord. He only does what He sees the Father doing. I'm equal to Him. Jesus works. He doesn't do anything the Father doesn't do. He can't act alone. Why? It's not in His nature to act alone. He's not a lone ranger. He can never go rogue because it's not in His nature to go rogue. Right? A dog doesn't bark. A dog doesn't meow. A cat doesn't bark. He operates in accordance with his nature and the nature of Jesus is to work in perfect unity with the Father. His will is intricately bound up in the will of the Father. Two distinct persons, one God. God the Holy Spirit, three persons and one God, is our full Christian theology there, but here, two perfect persons. The Father and the Son in one accord. And then Jesus gives four supporting statements, and these are kind of fast, four supporting statements for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise. Jesus says, as the Son, I imitate the Father. That's what I I'm an imitator. Don't, it's coming from just me. I imitate the Father. Verse 20, for the Father loves the Son. shows him all that he himself is doing and greater works than these will he show him so that you may marvel. So for Jesus to imitate the Father, he's got to see what the Father is doing. So these guys might be saying, okay, Jesus, what makes you so special that you're the one that gets to see what the Father He says, this is what makes me special. The Father loves me. The Father loves me, therefore the Father shows me what He's doing. at base of this relationship between the Father and the Son is love, an eternal love. An eternal love that's always been between the Father and the Son. The Father showing Jesus what he's doing. And so that you may marvel. Greater works are coming. We're gonna see the ultimate act in life, death, resurrection of Jesus. This greater work is coming so that you may marvel. Jesus is working so that we may marvel. He knows how great the Father is, he knows how great he is, but he's doing these things so that we may marvel. Verse 21, for as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. The Father and the Son give life to dead people. That's what they do. They give life to dead people. Authoritatively so. It's what they do. It's not all they do. Verse 22, 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. Jesus also executes judgment. He gives life and he gives judgment. Right, these Jewish authorities would have known full well the father is judge. They had that concept. What they don't have the concept of is this guy Jesus standing before them saying, I'm the judge. I'm the judge of all. So what Jesus is saying here, just put it in some reform, he's saying, I am equal to the Father, and my work is in perfect unity with the Father. I am God. I am God. He's the boss. The boss is here. The boss is revealing himself here. then Jesus continues his defense. And things shift a little bit right here. He's been focusing on the relationship between the Father and the Son, sort of like in its essence, and now it begins to move into how Jesus is representing himself in the world, like into history. Or what we've just been over is now being put into action. So we're gonna see a lot of the same language. The Son is equal to the Father, we've seen that, and now we see the Son represents the Father. 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. 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. The Father gives life. The Father gives life through His Son, who is life. God the Father gives life through the Word of His Son, the Word being His Son. And that life comes to dead people like you and The life is sourced in God. Jesus can give life to us because he is life. He's got. It's not like He's grabbing life off the shelf and giving it to us. No, He is life Himself and He's blessing us with Himself. And for those who believe, judgment is no more. Judgment is gone. They have passed past tense. passed over death and are now into life right now. If you're a believer, you've passed over. Life is yours forever in Jesus. There's both a context with Jesus talking in the here and the present and in the future glory to come. There's a life now and there's a life to come in resurrection when we will all appear before him. And Jesus continues, verse 27, are we hanging in there? I know we're swimming in the deep end. Are we doing okay? All right. Verse 27. And He has given 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 they will come out. Those who have done good to the resurrection of life and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. Let me summarize it again. I can do nothing of my own. 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. Again, we see Jesus giving life, and here, He's executing judgment. That's what He's doing in world history. He's going to be executing judgment. He calls Himself the Son of Man, which is unique here. There's a prophecy in the Old Testament, a couple different places. talking about this messiah, kingly, prophetic figure who's coming and he's ruling. He is executing the kingdom of God. Judgment is coming. The kingdom of God is coming to bear on this place, on us as a fallen people, evil people. God is coming to bring a judgment as He executes. He executes that judgment and He's bringing life. He's bringing His kingdom, which is in opposition to the kingdom of this world, the kingdom of self. He's saying that day is coming as the Son of Man. We all are going to face this judgment. Every single one of us will die, if Jesus didn't come back before then, and we will all be raised from the dead. Resurrection is for everyone. Just some are resurrected to life and others are resurrected to death. But you go through, you pass through the judgment of Jesus. He's the one that's gonna bring a judgment on every one of us. We tend to think that it's the Father, it's full of wrath. Jesus is not. That's the Father, right? Father's the one who's so angry, He's so holy. He gets angry and He's full of wrath. Not Jesus. We like Jesus to be the airbrush, soft, tender, lamb-carrying shepherd that never gets mad at anyone. That's not the picture. Jesus is the one who executes the wrath. It's terrifying. absolutely terrifying. Listen to Revelation 19 15 for from his mouth, Jesus comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God, Almighty on his robe and on his thigh has a name written King of Kings and Lord of Lords. You don't mess with this one. You don't mess with him. He's God. King of kings, Lord of lords. His kingdom will endure. His kingdom will reign. Our kingdoms, they're coming down. Where are we aligned? What kingdom are we seeking this morning? The sun. is equal to the Father and the Son represents the Father in giving life and executing judgment both now and forever. That's what Jesus is saying. I'm God. I function as God. This confronts us, right? This staggering reality. Whatever your conception of God is, you have to deal with the reality of Jesus. God in the flesh. Everything is drawn here, right? And this is staggering. It's not like it's easy to understand. how somebody standing right before these Jews, before us this morning, some way. five and a half feet tall. He gets tired, goes to sleep, he eats, hangs out with other people. creator. judge of all things, this man? You mean to tell me God is located in a person? It's exactly what the scriptures are saying. This one, like hear this, Jesus in his flesh has a beginning. Jesus in his person has no beginning. He is everlasting to everlasting. Always has been, always will be. decides to take on a flesh suit. Come and redeem us to save us. He is creator, he's life giver, he's judge. Are we honoring him as such? Do we honor him as such? Do we treat him just like another influencer? Another religious head? Another figure? some other way to live a good life, follow his teachings. We let His Word be honored in our hearts. He deserves far more than what He's the Son of God, the Son of man. Our mouths should drop, our knees should drop, our hearts should lay prostrate before this one who has no beginning and no end, and who alone is the source of all. This is Jesus' words to these Jewish authorities and it's His word to us this morning. This is witness, His verbal witness. And then He goes on though, now He's gonna call a bunch of other witnesses to the stand. We begin with the witness of John the Baptist. He begins with the witness of John the Baptist. He says in verse 31, if I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who bears witness about me and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. I think he's speaking about, he doesn't have any identity crisis here. He knows his testimony is good because of the Father. But for the sake of people hearing, other people need to hear some other witnesses. I think that's what Jesus is doing. He says, you sent John, you sent to John and he has borne witness to the truth. Not that the testimony that I received from man is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. He was a burning and shining lamp and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. So John came, he told the truth, he witnessed. He did exactly what he was supposed to do. A man sent from God to witness to the truth, Jesus is God. Jesus is sent from God, Jesus does the work of the Father. John bore witness to that. Jesus saying, hey you guys went out there, y'all accepted it for a little while, but at some point it got a little dicey. It got a little too close to home and he said, okay forget that guy. He's actually bringing about another, he's talking about another kingdom and we don't want that. The next witness to take the stand is the witness of Jesus' works. Verse 36, but the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, they bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. What are the works that Jesus is doing? He's creating, he's healing people, he's casting out demons, right, he's calming storms. We're gonna see, he's feeding the 5,000, He's doing all kinds of miracles. He's bringing redemption through his life and his death, and we will see his resurrection. He is the lamb of God as John bore witness to take away the sin of the world. He's bringing about a new heavens and a new earth. This is the work that Jesus is doing, and that testifies about the Father. The works that Jesus is doing declares Jesus is God, and he's doing the work of the Father. The next witness is the witness of the Father. Verse 37. And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen. And you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. The Father's witness is simply Jesus. I think most uniquely. It is Jesus. Maybe there's a piece of this, the Father saying, Jesus' baptism. is my beloved son. The testimony, God's testimony is here's Jesus. The Father's testimony is Jesus. It's how he is chosen to speak. That's how he's chosen to reveal himself to us. So this is the Father through Jesus testifying Jesus is God and he's doing the work. And the final stand, the final witness to take the stand is the witness of the scriptures. Verse 39, you search the Scriptures. because you think that in them you have eternal. and it is they that bear witness about me. yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. I do not receive glory from people, but I know that you do not have the love of God within you. I have come in my Father's name and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe when you receive glory from one another and do not seek? the glory that comes from the only God. Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who already accuses you, Moses, on whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe me. For he wrote about me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my Jesus now turns the focus on the scriptures and he says, all the scriptures are about me. They bear witness about me. The prophecies are about me. The ceremonial sacrificial system is about me. Everything in creation and redemptive history that we read in our Old Testaments is about Jesus. It's where we need to not run past this because we all have a habit of reading the Old Testament scriptures and not getting Jesus. We have a habit of reading the New Testament and not getting Jesus. If we are reading scripture in any other way that does not lead us to Jesus, then we are missing the point of the scriptures and the point and the reason why God has revealed himself to us through his word. We're missing the whole thing. The scriptures are not so you can get a list of things to do or moral improvements that you need to make or leadership principles or fill in the blank. That's not why they are here. The scriptures are here that we might worship and behold Jesus Christ. That's what you should be aiming at in your time with the Lord. Aim there. When we open the Bible, we're looking for Jesus. We might have to go through some stuff. I'm not saying it's easy to understand, but that's the journey. That's the goal. And if we stop short of that, we are missing it. We don't want to fall into this trap. These people. They had the thing memorized. Jesus. They had the Word of God memorized, but did not have Jesus. Why? Why didn't they have Jesus? Jesus tells them right here in this passage. These are rebukes. These are indictments. Here's why you do not have Jesus in the scriptures. He says first here, they don't want to come to Jesus. They refuse to come to Jesus. They do not have the love of God in their hearts. They seek glory from other humans, that is they love the praise of man, and they have set their hope on Moses, which isn't even what Moses meant. So they've set their hope on something other than that, maybe just the law. and they reject it all. Something far more is going on here than just misunderstanding. And that they just need some Bible reading tips. There's something going on. all the witnesses come forth. Jesus, he gives his verbal witness, John, Baptist, Jesus works, the Father, and finally the Scriptures, do they receive it? They reject it. They reject the testimony that God has given to them through these witnesses. You see, they don't reject Jesus because of bad logic. They reject Jesus because of bad hearts. They reject him because they have a sin problem that's deep inside of the heart. They reject him because he's a threat to their kingdom. You see, if they or we prize the praise of man and self glory, there's no room for Jesus. Jesus is a threat. Get him away from us. We don't want to worship Him, we want to worship ourselves. So what do these guys do? Well, if Jesus is a threat, let's take Him out. Let's take Him out. Maybe then we can just get rid of this, and maybe that can appease our consciences. We don't want to deal with it. So making themselves judges. They give their verdict. We will see this track out through the gospel. Jesus is not God. blasphemer and he's not doing the work. kill him. It's the right penalty for him. String him up on a cross of shame and judgment. there is the indictment. It could not be worse for them or for us. For the creation to string the Creator up on a cross, judging Him, It doesn't get worse than that. turn to an indictment on our own sinful tendencies, our own fallen flesh would refuse the Creator, refuse life. long as we can keep the crown. That's not a path of life for us. It does no good for us to exert our independence over King Jesus. It does no good. There's no life there. There's no blessing there. We're not so different than these Jewish elites. We're just not. We love ourselves. We love our kingdoms. We love making choices that we want. And worst of all, we love our sin. We just love our sin and don't want to repent of it. That's the image of it. we determine we want our sin, the image of it is, crucify Him. I don't want His verdict. I'll be the one to make the verdict. Here. We deserve judgment, right? We have offended a cosmic, glorious, holy judge. We deserve judgment. What do we do? How do we escape the judgment that we deserve? We run to the one who took it. we run to the one who took our judgment. As Jesus was losing the trial against the Pharisees, he was successfully accomplishing the work of the Father, the mission of God to redeem a people. He's not losing anything. He's accomplishing something for the Father. What's he doing? He's bringing life to dead people by dying for them. A judgment he doesn't deserve, but you and I deserve. Talk about a revealing of a boss. He comes and reveals himself, not with a hammer. but by laying down his life as a lamb, as a sacrifice for those who would believe to redeem them and to pay for every single sin. Every time we have chosen to wear the crown of self glory, he pays for it. Forgiven, full forgiveness in the cross of Jesus Christ. That is why Jesus He is here to do that work. This is the testimony of the Father. Love for sinners. And whoever believed would have life forever. Jesus comes out of the grave, declaring that the payment was sufficient. We're moving on. There is a new life to be had on the other side of death. Jesus is bringing it. What a wonder. What an absolute wonder, church. And if you're an unbeliever this morning, can you not see the wonder in it? Our life is found in the judge, who bore an unjust judgment, entering into a death he did not deserve, but you and I did, so that we could live forever. What a wonder that everlasting God has done this. Right, you remember Jesus, they're persecuting and he's suffering in the cross on the way to the cross and it says he could have called down angels, legions of angel are. Just melt everything. Justice served and he would have been right. That's not what he does. He just continues serving. Continues loving. Continuing to offer you and I mercy and grace. It's just unthinkable. He didn't have to do this, but he did because he loves you and he loves me. He loves all of us. One day all of us will face him. We will face this Jesus. Is that going to be a day that you look forward to? Is that going to be a day of incredible, inexpressible rejoicing, or is that going to be a day that brings untold, unfathomable pain and shame for you? There's been a revealing in Christ coming, and he came as a servant. He came as a lamb, 100%. We have yet to see Him be. The Revelation 19. But that's coming too. When we are raised from the dead and appear before Him, we will see Him in all of His glory. question is, are we choosing Him now? What is that day going to be like for us? If you've not bent the knee and chosen Jesus, then that day is going to be full of suffering. But the wonder is, if you have chosen Jesus today to receive the word of God, to receive God in your place on a cross, then that judgment is pay- and what the word even said today in our text you have passed over you have passed over from death to life right now That's open to anybody in this room to believe in that way. And if you believe that miracle happens, you pass from death to life. If you've never done that today, trust Jesus right now. Say yes to him in your spirit and in your heart. Yes, Jesus, I believe you are God sent from God to do the work of the Father, dying in my place and being raised to do life. Trust in him in that work. And if you have been a believer for 30 years, Praise God. Keep choosing Jesus. Keep worshiping Jesus, allowing your life to give him all the honor, all the praise, all the thanks for what he's done for Let him keep working in us, constantly repenting, throwing that cross off of ourselves, and just giving him more and more glory, because we know, we have tasted and seen he is good, he is worthy to be followed, and it is good for our souls that we follow in. Church, this is us. We are a people that rejoice as those who have passed from death to life, and we know one day we will be raised from the dead, and we will be with him forever and ever. To God be the glory. There is no more condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Let's pray. Father, thank you that you have given us your word. and what a sufficient word it is that points us to the sufficient Savior. who laid down his life as a sufficient righteous sacrifice to pay the debt that we deserve. God give us eyes and hearts that would behold the truth here, the truth laid out in Jesus, that we may have life forever, that our hearts may be full now even as we long for that day when we will be with you on the backside of all sin and suffering and death. and all attacks from the enemy and demonic powers. We long for that day, when life in all of its glory will be manifested. God, we pray for the nagging guilt that sometimes overwhelms us and the shame that just can pervade our lives. God, I pray that now by the power of your Spirit, you would just move in our hearts. Even now, God, as sins and struggles and whatever come to mind, that we just give them to you. Or even better yet, God, you would just take them. we would know we have full life in the sun. We have full acceptance in the sun. God help us to rejoice in your son Jesus that he may be honored. And we can look forward to that day to come when he comes back. We can look forward to that with great hope. Thank you, Lord Jesus. In your name we pray, amen.