"After this there was a feast..."
2:13--Passover
5:1--a feast/Sabbath
6:4--Passover was near
7:2--Feast of Tabernacles
9:14--Sabbath
10:22--Feast of Dedication
11:55--Passover (final)--12:1, 12, 20; 13:1, 29; 18:28, 39; 19:14, 31, 42
20:1--First day of the week--20:19

Next Sunday evening we will be looking at the Feasts of Israel --the Feasts that God commanded the Israelites to keep. The Feasts were days of special celebration and worship They were special days of rest in which all of God's people gathered to remember what God had done in delivering his people from bondage to slavery; and to give thanks for all of the blessings that he had given them. Every event in the Gospel of John happens around a Feast or a Sabbath.

And as a faithful Israelite, Jesus goes up to Jerusalem for the feast. In chapter 4, Jesus has retreated from Jerusalem to Galilee because he did not wish to provoke a controversy with the Pharisees before his time. John now takes us to a time when Jesus deliberately wished to provoke the Jews. In John 5-6 Jesus explains the relationship between the Father and the Son.

And he does so in the context of "a feast of the Jews." Jesus is teaching his people that HE is the fulfillment of the feasts: As Paul says in Colossians 2: "Let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a feast day or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ." Christ is the reality to whom the feasts and sabbaths pointed. He is the bread of heaven; He is the living water; He is the one in whom we worship the Father. He gives us rest and peace from all our enemies.

Here, in John 5, we see Jesus giving rest to his people: He asks, "Do you want to be healed?" The sick man replies (verse 7) This reply caused some early scribe to add what is sometimes called verse 4. Your translation may not have a verse 4, but may have a footnote explaining that most of the oldest manuscripts do not have this verse. Verse four explains what the Jews thought about the pool of Bethesda, so it appears that an early scribe thought it would be useful to explain why the man thought it was important to get into the pool.

But instead of helping the man into the pool, Jesus tells this man to take up his bed and walk. So he does. But because it was the Sabbath, the Jews said to the man who was healed: "It is the Sabbath! It is not lawful for you to carry your bed" Why did they say this? Why did they think that it was unlawful to carry a bed on the Sabbath? Jeremiah 17:19-27 If you keep the Sabbath, then you will have kings and princes sitting on the throne of David. Later, Nehemiah (13:15-19) will insist upon this after the Israelites have returned from Exile. God commanded his people not to carry burdens in and out of the city. The Pharisees took this to mean that all lifting was forbidden. So they established all sorts of rules to make sure that no one lifted anything. But if you read Jeremiah and Nehemiah in context (and if you consider it in light of the 4th commandment) then it becomes perfectly clear that what is forbidden is doing business on the Sabbath. What sort of load would a farmer carry into a city on the Sabbath? grain, olives, animals, etc. What is prohibited is economic activity--not the necessary actions of everyday life! What was this man supposed to do? leave his bed sitting by the pool? There were three things that the Sabbath was for: 1) rest from your ordinary labors--your economic employment 2) give rest to others--especially those who work for you 3) worship God Jesus is not breaking the Sabbath --he is doing precisely what one should be doing on the Sabbath! He is giving rest to this man! And he is worshiping God, and causing others to worship God as well!

But Jesus is doing more than showing the Pharisees that they have misunderstood the Law. In fact, Jesus doesn't even bother explaining it to them. Like usual in John's gospel, Jesus's teaching doesn't seem obviously connected to the issue! Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman have already shown us that Jesus does not give obvious answers! Here, Jesus heals on the Sabbath--so you'd expect a discourse about the Sabbath, right? What does Jesus say when they come seeking to kill him?

"My Father has been working until now, and I have been working." (v17)

Heb 4:4 says that God entered his rest on the seventh day--and that this rest has lasted from the creation until now.

So is God resting or working?

Jesus wants you to understand that resting on the Sabbath is NOT just sitting there with your hands folded in your lap, with a bored look on your face! The Sabbath-rest that God himself observes is a rest that works! It's a different KIND of work than the rest of the week, but it is work nonetheless. God did his work of creation in six days, and then entered his rest --but that rest, Jesus says, can be called "working"! What is that "work" that God has been doing since he finished creating? Well, what does Jesus say? (v19-21) The work of God consists of giving life to the dead. This is what God does during his Sabbath-rest! He delivers people from bondage to sin; And as a picture of that, Jesus heals the sick on the Sabbath. What can we do on the Sabbath that will also be a picture of this? How can we give rest and hope to people on Sundays? Certainly we start this by worshiping on Sundays--but what else can we do? Perhaps there are nursing homes that we could visit. I know that several churches have nursing home ministries. Are there any other things that we could do to show mercy to people on Sundays? Perhaps you know of families in the community who could use groceries or even a brief visit. What about an old-fashioned Sunday school? Teaching immigrant children? That would be a wonderful way to show forth the life and hope that Jesus brings

But as Jesus says "My Father is working until now, and I am working", the Jews become even more upset. Why? Because by calling God his Father, he is making himself equal with God.

1) The Son imitates the Father You all have seen children who look like their parents. There is a family resemblance. The Son is the picture of the Father--"he's just a chip off the old block"

What the Father does, the Son does: (v19) The Son sees his Father. The Son watches his Father and learns from him. Isn't this the way we learn? Your kids watch you. They learn to walk by watching their parents. They say, "I wanna do that too!" What happens when daddy eats a cookie before dinner? "but mommy, daddy did it!" Kids imitate their parents.

Even so, the Son of God imitates the Father. He watches the Father and does what he sees his Father doing. The Father gives life to the dead (Son) So also the Son (us)

This teaches us something about the Trinity. v26--The Father has life in himself --and he has granted the Son to have life in himself. We looked at this a few weeks ago. What does it mean to have life in yourself? It means that you have power over life and death. It means that you ARE life We all "have" life, but none of us have life "in ourselves" We are not the source and origin of life. But the Father is. He has life in himself. And so does the Son.

But if both the Father and the Son have life in themselves, then doesn't this mean that there are two gods? After all, if the Father has life in himself, and the Son has life in himself, then that means that there are two sources and origins of life, right?

Ah, but that is the secret of John 5:26. John 5:26 does NOT say that the Son has life in himself APART from the Father; rather, the Father has granted the Son to have life in himself. There are not TWO different principles of life; there is only ONE. The Father and the Son are not TWO gods, but ONE God. And the Father who has life in himself, has granted the Son to also have life in himself because they are truly one God. The Son is fully God--but he is NOT a different God from the Father.

Therefore, if you want eternal life, there is only one place to get it: As Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but by me!"

2) Therefore the Son is honored in the same way as the Father What honor are we to give to the Father? We are to praise him and glorify him and serve him. What is the chief end of man? Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever!

That is the same honor we are to give to the Son! Jesus teaches us plainly that the Son shares in the Father's glory; and God does not allow his glory to be shared very often! In fact he told Isaiah, "I will NOT share my glory with another!" Yet here Jesus claims to be worthy of the same honor and glory as the Father. He is claiming, as the Jews know full well, to be God.

And Jesus warns that ALL must honor the Son JUST AS they honor the Father.

But what is the precise way in which we are to honor the Son?

Jesus explains this in v24.

3) You must hear the Word, and believe in the Father. And if you do hear His Word, and believe in the Father, then you have passed from death to life! As Jesus says, "the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live"

How can the dead hear? If you are dead, then how can hear anyone's voice? Well, remember what Jesus has just finished saying! The Father has given him life in himself! He has power over death, and can even raise the dead! This is why he says in v25 "the hour is coming and now is" (recall Samaritan woman--4:23) The time has come, Jesus says, this is the time that was foretold by the prophets: this is the day of salvation: those who were dead will now live!

Jesus goes on to explain that this authority has been given to him by the Father. v27-30--all judgment has been given to the Son: Not just some judgment. Not just the final judgment. But ALL judgment. His judgment will either fall on you now OR later. If you hear the Word of Christ and believe in the Father who sent him, then he will rule: "not guilty" BUT if you reject the Word of Christ and refuse to believe, then he will rule: "guilty" Jesus Christ will decide who receives life and who receives death. He is the judge who will either give life or condemnation. You can receive life now, and receive life later. Or you can remain in death, and receive condemnation later.

But Jesus reminds us: he does not judge by himself. He hears what the Father says, and judges accordingly. If the Father desires to give life to you, then the Son will give you life!

And THIS, Jesus says, is righteous judgment; because God IS the very definition of righteousness! And those who imitate God: those who "do good" will receive the resurrection of life. Those who do NOT imitate God: those who do evil will receive the resurrection of condemnation.

4) my judgment is righteous because I do not seek my own will, but the will of the Father who sent me.

This is key Jesus's judgment is righteous because it is not done for his own glory. Jesus is not interested in pursuing his own desires. He does what the Father says. He seeks to please the Father. And in so doing, he is honored and glorified forever.

What about your decisions? You, too, make judgments--decisions--what is motivating your decisions? Are you seeking your own interests? Or do you hear the Word of Christ, and follow what he says? You are to imitate Christ, and seek NOT your own will, but the will of God.

How do you do that? First, you must put to death your own selfish desires, and seek to please God and serve others. For example, Husbands, is it your heart's desire to give delight to your wife? In your relationship, are you constantly trying to "get what you deserve"? or are you seeking to give honor to your wife? Or wives, do you eagerly seek to please your husband? or do you try to get him to do what you want? Children, do you serve your parents? do you ask how you can help them, or what you can do for them? OR do you complain when you don't get your way?

You see, Jesus did not seek his own will. He sought to do the will of the Father who sent him. Why? Because he was truly the Son of God. He was the Son of the Father, and he did all that the Father showed him. And now, you have been made children of God. You have been conformed to the image of Christ. And now God calls you to walk in that image! "for as the Father raises the dead and give life, even so the Son gives life to whom He will" You have been given life by the Son. You are no longer bound by sin and death! Now you are called to be like your Father. You are called to be like your big brother, Jesus Christ. There is to be a family resemblance between us and our Father. WE are to see what the Father has done in and through the Son, and so we, like the lame man, are to take up our beds and walk. And as Jesus said to the man he had healed, "Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you." (5:14) Do not return to a life of wickedness and sin. But rather repent and believe the promises of God! Walk in the newness of life that God has given you.

You must trust yourself entirely to the grace of God. You must believe that God has made you alive with Christ!

Copyright © 2003 Peter J. Wallace