Good morning, Eric, one of the pastors here at Garden City, and our mission as a church is to advance Christ’s kingdom through a gospel movement of disciple-making disciples in KL and the world.¹ We want to spend time praying through that mission over the next several weeks, and so before we jump into the sermon I want to invite us as a community to pray for a gospel movement.

Go ahead and open with me to John 5. If you remember from last week, Jesus heals a manon the Sabbath who couldn’t walk, and in response, the Pharisees [religious leaders] get mad about it. They’re like, “Who did this?” We’re told in [v. 13] the guy had no idea until later, Jesus sees him in the temple and tells him to sin no more.

Then he goes and tells on Jesus. [v. 15] says the guy went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who healed him, and that’s why people were persecuting him.

Which honestly, feels like the experience I have with my kids when I discipline them. They’relike, “You can’t do that!” Then they try to threaten me with a higher authority. They’re like, “I’m gonna go tell mom!”

I’ll go tell her myself. What do you think that’s going to do for you?

The Pharisees get upset with Jesus because he’s violating the religious code. He’s working ona day that God set apart from the beginning as a day of rest and you can’t do that.

This issue sets the stage for the rest of the chapter, which is why it’s important for us to consider two things before we can keep going:

FIRST of all: Can God break the Sabbath? God gave the Sabbath for our sake—because we’re finite and need rest. Rest is a gift from God. But God is infinite. He doesn’t get tired.

The Psalmist says we can rest in comfort because [Ps. 121:3b] – “…he who keeps you willnot slumber.” See, it was commonly believed in Jesus’s day that God continued to be active on the Sabbath, because if he didn’t, who would hold the universe together? Life is sustained by God. So, no.

God can’t break the Sabbath.

The SECOND thing is that Jesus applies that logic to himself. When reading thegospels, it sure seems like Jesus liked getting people worked up about healing on the Sabbath.

And most of the time he responds with something similar to what he says in Matthew 12. In [Matt. 12:11] Jesus says, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

And he could have said the same thing here but that’s not what he says. In John 5:17 Jesussays, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” That’s Jesus’s way of saying, “We all know God doesn’t stop his work on the Sabbath, and that’s what I’m doing because I’m God in the flesh.”

That’s why: [v. 18] – This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, becausenot only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

What does that mean? People trip up over Jesus being the Son of God all the time. But [v. 18] says he’s equal with God, and Jesus being equal with

God can’t mean that he’s God’s rival. Jesus affirms along with the rest of the the Bible that there is ONE God and he has no equal.²

And Jesus as the Son of God also can’t mean that he’s somehow less than God, otherwise, why were they ready to kill him? That’s what you do to someone who falsely claims to be God.

Jesus’s claim as the Son of God means he’s equal with God in his nature, character, and will but different in personhood. The Father’s not the Son and the Son’s not the Father (the Spirit is not the Father or the Son), but they are one. And the Father has given the Son authority over life and death.

I want us to lean into what Jesus says about who he is, why he came, and how he judges. But let me warn you—this is one of those passages that can feel dense. You might read it a few times and still wonder, What did I just read? But in it, Jesus reveals the truth about hisauthority as the Son of God.

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

Jesus being equal with God means:

1.  Jesus is the visible image of the invisible God.

Jesus is talking about knowing God, and I don’t mean knowing facts about hiim. God the Father didn’t just give Jesus a list of rules to pass along.

Jesus is saying he is the Word—his actions fully reflect who God is because he is God.Jesus is one with the Father in both nature and action. So when you read the Gospels and see what Jesus does, you’re not just seeing someone like God—you’re seeing God himself made visible.

[Heb. 1:1] – Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by theprophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son…[3] He is the radiance ofthe glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.

It’s not just that Jesus does what God says, but he is by nature God. That’s a nature that’s categorically different from ours. We all wrestle with sin, so fully doing God’s will is a constant struggle. Maybe we can obey for a moment, but not every moment of every day.

Jesus, on the other hand, has no sin. That’s why he says he can do nothing on his own—because his will is perfectly aligned with the Father’s. He’s not like us. He’s the visible image of the invisible God.

2.  Jesus’s actions reveal God’s heart.

Everything Jesus thinks, feels, acts, and does reveal the heart of the Father.

[v. 20] –  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.

Everything Jesus does reveals God’s plan. He went to the Cross to save us—not just becauseof the joy set before him, but even more because he loved the Father and wanted to bring him glory.

And the greatest glory the Father could receive comes by Jesus laying down his life to savepeople who were totally headed for hell and couldn’t do a thing about it.

That’s the greater work Jesus wants us to marvel at. He doesn’t force people into belief—buthe even wants his enemies to be amazed by God’s love. The Pharisees thought they were defending God, but Jesus was showing them they were missing him entirely.

Jesus perfectly obeys the will of God. So what does his ministry show you about what matters most to the Father?

[v. 21] –  For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. 22 For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, 23 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. 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.

3.  Authority over life and death belong to Jesus.

Every one of us will give an account one day for how we lived, but how will we be judged? Somany people lean into that question wondering, Will God really send good people to hell? And I understand the concern, but I just think the question’s misguided. The more biblically faithful question to ask is: Will Jesus really reward sinful people with eternal life?

Final judgment makes lots of people anxious until you know the Father through the Son by the Spirit.

God has given Jesus resurrection power and the authority to judge who’s worthy of it. And wecan trust his judgment because he only does what the Father wills. But that still leaves people wondering how Jesus will judge.

Lots of people assume they’ll be judged based on how fervently they followed their religion or by how moral they are and how much good they do in the world. But in John 5, Jesus is telling the Bible-expert religious guys they don’t know the first thing about God because theyreject the One he sent.

God gives the Son authority so that we would honor Jesus as God. [v. 23] Whoever doesnot honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Put another way: You dishonor God when you dishonor Jesus.

“But I believe Jesus is a good teacher.” You dishonor the Son.

“But I believe Jesus is a prophet sent from God.” You dishonor the Son.

There was a Jehovah’s Witness who came by the office months ago trying to convert some of our church staff to their religion, and the guy came in saying we basically believe the same thing.

[I don’t have time for this…] Let’s just get straight to the point. So I told him, “I believe Jesus is God in the flesh who takes away the sins of the world and that he’s worthy of all honor andpraise. Is that what you believe?” And he said, “Well, we can talk about that another time.” He hasn’t come back…because he dishonors the Son. To say Jesus is anything less than God come to save you dishonors him.

Jesus isn’t just Lord of the Sabbath, he’s Lord of all, which means we should obey him. Butthe call to faith isn’t a call to blind obedience or forced submission. It’s a call to enjoy life with the mighty God who lays down his life to save the weak.

[John 3:17] – God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Jesus as judge moves toward guilty sinners with grace. He comes desiring our freedom not our condemnation. He even wants the people who are persecuting him to marvel at his ability to save.

You enter into life with God by beholding and believing in the Son. We experience the goodness of God come to us and we go all in. We admit that we’re broken sinners who needhis grace and mercy and we surrender to him. But watch this:

[John 3:18] – Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe iscondemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has

come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.

Bible-believing, Sabbath-keeping religious leaders loved the darkness rather than the light. They denied the Son of God, which means they denied God’s saving grace.

The way you honor the Son is by:

• Trusting in the work he’s done to save you on the Cross
• Resting in his judgment of no condemnation for those who are in Christ.
• And obeying his commands with the help of the Spirit. You honor God by pursuing friendship with Jesus.

See, it’s one thing to say I love my wife. But if I never see her, I never talk to her, I don’t spend time with her, I don’t listen to her, I don’t think about her, I don’t do anything for her, I can still claim the relationship because we’re married but functionally there’s nothing there.

Similarly, you can say you love Jesus, and maybe you come to church on Sundays, but if you don’t listen to his Word, you don’t know his promises, you don’t care about his people, and you have no desire to make disciples then is there really anything to the love and obedience?That’s hollow faith.

[John 5:25] Jesus says, “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. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. 28 Do notmarvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. 30 “I can do nothing on 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.

During the time of Jesus, there were two different groups of Jewish religious leaders: thePharisees and the Sadduccees. And one of the main differences between them is that the Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the dead and the Sadduccees didn’t. The Pharisees believed, at the end of the age, that the righteous would be raised to eternal life and the wicked to eternal punishment.

But Jesus is in charge of final judgment, and he’s saying that those who listen to him canexperience life with God now. Those who are spiritually dead can be made alive because Jesus offers life now.

That’s why, when we talk about a movement of the gospel among us, a desire to see people come to faith, to see Christians grow in spiritual maturity, to see leaders raised up and churches planted. That can’t happen apart from God moving among us. But we’re missing who Jesus is if we don’t think he wants to do that here. And we’re not leaning into his powerto save if we’re not asking him to move in our lives like this and watch what he does.

[We’ve been looking at Jesus’s authority]: Jesus is equal with God in nature, character,and will. He’s been given authority to give life to whom he will, and his judgments reveal the Father’s love.

[Now let’s talk about the proof of that]: The heart of Jesus is for the salvation of many but he doesn’t force us into submission. Instead, he loves us, he understands our stubbornness, and he speaks to our hearts. Jesus is saying, “The Law was meant to lead you to me. Sinceyou missed that, let me show you who I am by applying the Law to build my point.”

[Deut. 19:15] the Law of Moses says, Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established.

We’re talking about testing the truthfulness of a claim, and we should trust Jesus because he’s God and God is trustworthy. But Jesus applies the legal principle of establishingwitnesses anyway because he wants people

to believe. That’s why Jesus says [v. 31] – If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. 32 There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. 33 You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. 34 Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35 He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.

The FIRST witness is John the Baptist.

Jesus says two things here about human testimony—one negative and one positive. First, he makes it clear that he doesn’t need people to prove who he is. Jesus is God, no matter what we think because our opinions don’t change that. So if someone says, “I’m not convinced Jesus is the Son of God,” that doesn’t make him any less divine. Human witness isn’t a load bearing wall in Jesus being God. So if you take it out, the truth about Jesus still stands.

But on the positive side, the Spirit can use human testimony to powerfully reveal to otherswho Jesus is.³ That’s what happened with John the Baptist.

His witness was like a burning lamp that drew people in to see the movement of God.People were lining up to be baptized, and the religious leaders took notice, wondering who John was and what authority he had.

John kept pointing away from himself, saying, “I’m not the guy you’re looking for.” But when he saw Jesus he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” Andwhen he baptized Jesus he saw the Spirit of God descend and heard the Father’s voice say: “He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.”⁴

Jesus doesn’t need human testimony to prove he’s God. But the Holy Spirit does work through us to help people see the truth and come into the light.

It’s the Holy Spirit who helps us understand who Jesus is. We can’t come to faith apart from the Spirit working in us. And it’s the Spirit who assures us that we’ve been saved and that we truly belong to the Father. That’s what gives us confidence to stand with Jesus on the day of judgment.

[1 Jn. 3:22b] we can be confident that we’ve received the Spirit – “…because we keep [God’s] commandments and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his commandment, that webelieve in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.”

If you’ve ever wondered, “How can I know I’m really saved?”—this is how it works: The HolySpirit comes alive in you and he’s effective in his work. So ask yourself: Do you desire to follow Jesus? Do you want to grow in a knowledge of the truth? No matter how imperfectly, do you want to submit to his Lordship? That’s evidence of the Spirit working in you.

But if you’d say, “I really don’t love Jesus, I don’t want to obey him, I don’t care about hisWord or his people, but sometimes I go to church and I think I remember some things in theBible,” then I wouldn’t call myself a Christian because there’s no real evidence of the Spirit’s work in your life.

You might say good things about Jesus or be a really nice person—but have you surrenderedyour life to him? That’s part of my own story. There was a time in my life when the gospel became real to me.

God opened my eyes, so when I saw Jesus on the Cross I realized, “He died for me.” And ifthat’s true, then my life belongs to him and he gets to have his way.

Have you ever had a moment like that—where you knew God was moving in your heart? That’s a gospel breakthrough. Jesus is Lord. And while we often think his authority will weigh us down, it actually frees us. His power

lifts the weight of sin so we do good works in his name. Do you have a story like that?

[v. 36] – But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that theFather has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me.

The SECOND witness is Christ’s works, which the Pharisees also recognized. Back in John 3, Nicodemus (Pharisee) comes to Jesus saying, “Rabbi, we know that you’ve comefrom God because no one can do the signs you do unless God is with him.”

Jesus can do nothing apart from the Father, which means that Jesus’s entire ministry—turning water to wine, giving sight to the blind, healing the paralyzed man, feeding the 5,000, raising Lazarus from the dead—it’s all revealing God. Every breath, every thought, every word, every act that Jesus does has God’s stamp of approval.

All the signs and wonders point to the power of God. And his greatest work—Jesus’ death and resurrection—still speaks to us today.

All of human history pivots at the Cross, and the empty tomb is proof positive that Jesus isGod and has final authority over life and death.

[v. 37] – And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice youhave never heard, his form you have never seen, 38 and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. 39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,

The THIRD witness is God himself, and here Jesus gives us a glimpse into his understanding of how the Bible works.

The Bible is the perfect, inerrant Word of God. It was written by people, but every word was inspired by God. For example, the first five books of the

Bible—called the Torah—were written by Moses. But when Jesus quotes Moses, he says,“God said,” because the Bible ultimately comes from God. It’s how he reveals himself to us. So when the Bible speaks, God is speaking.

And in [v. 39] Jesus says the Scriptures bear witness about him. He makes a similar claim to some of his disciples after his resurrection on the Road to Emmaus. [Luke 24:44] – “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me inthe Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”

That’s the shorthand way of saying the whole Bible points to Jesus. Now, that doesn’t meanevery verse is a hidden prophecy, but it does mean that every promise made, every saving act, and every command given is leading toward the day when God would come in the flesh to save his people.

And when he came, the people didn’t want him. Jesus says you search the Scriptures for eternal life, and in every way your heart longs for that, those longings find their fulfillment in me.

[v. 40] – yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. 41 I do not receive glory from people.

Because he receives glory from the Father. Unlike us, he’s not swayed by peer pressure and he doesn’t cave to the temptations of sin. He won’t change just to please us—and that’s good news for us because no one wants a crucified Savior.

But honoring Jesus as God means admitting his ways are better than mine, and making the daily choice to surrender.

[v. 42] –  But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. 43 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. 44 How can you believe,

when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? 45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you:Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe mywords?”

Jesus is the Son of God who’s been given all authority over life and death. And his deepest desire is to save you. He wants you to marvel at him. He says whoever believes in him haseternal life. He gives proofs of his divinity so that you’ll be saved.

Even his final questions to the religious leaders focus on their unbelief: How will you putyour faith in God if you don’t trust in the One he sent to save you?

These leaders loved the Bible—but it didn’t lead them to love Jesus. That’s why Jesus says, “You’ve never heard God’s voice” or “seen his form.” Moses heard God speak and loved his commands because he loved the God who gave them. Jacob wrestled with God. When he saw him face to face his life was spared. Their vision was clouded, but when they encountered God they responded in awe and worship.

Now Jesus is saying, You search the Scriptures for life, but they were always pointing to me.I am the Word of God. When you hear me, you hear God’s voice. When you see me, you see the face of God.

The heroes of your faith praised me when they met me. But now that you’re part of the story, you’re rejecting me—and in rejecting me you’re condemning yourselves. You’re proving that you love the darkness and hate the light.

Which means you don’t have my word abiding in you. So I want to close with an invitation foryou to lay yourself at the feet of Jesus and take on a posture of surrender.

¹ Works Consulted:

• “That You May Marvel” – Chandler
• The Gospel According to John – Carson
• “Jesus is the Test of True Faith” – Piper
• “Finding Jesus” – Keller

² Mark 12:29-31; Isaiah 46:5

³ Helped in this idea from Matt Chandler.

⁴ John 1:33