We usually read the passage and then begin the sermon, but because this passage records some vary careful reasoning we will read through it as we move through the sermon.
Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ,
Our last Gospel of John sermon looked at vv1-9a and the record of the miraculous healing of the man who had been paralysed for 38 years. Jesus simply told him to get up and walk and “at once the man was cured.” But we also noted that the circumstances of this miracle bring about this large discourse of the Lord Jesus. And today we want to see why that is and how this whole episode becomes an opportunity or Jesus to show and to say that He is God.
Now, to understand what happens in this passage, we need to understand two things:
- First, Jesus is in total control of everything that is happening here. Way back at the Fall, God promised that a descendant of Eve would come and crush the head of the serpent. And that promise had as its goal the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. So as you read the OT and the Gospels, you are reading about how the Father has been sovereignly controlling the political landscape, the religious landscape, the social landscape, the legal landscape, and everything else, to prepare the world for that moment. And the episode before us today is a crucial part of how the crucifixion of Jesus comes about. Sometimes when you are cooking you need to simmer your ingredients and then slowly bring them to the boil. And it is important that they don’t come to the boil to soon; everything has to be just right. Well, it will soon be time for ‘boiling point’ to be reached, in terms of the relationship between Jesus and the Jews, which will result in His arrest and trial and crucifixion. And this episode is a part of how Jesus ‘turns up the heat’ in order to bring about that moment. And that is something that John wants us to see with this episode – Jesus is in total control of everything that is happening here.
- But secondly, to understand how the miracle leads to the discourse, we also need to understand the legal system of the Jews. You see, our legal system in the West is all about lawyers and evidence. Programs like CSI play this out for us every week – What are the facts? What can be proven with physical evidence, like DNA, CCTV footage, and electronic data analysis, etc. The Jewish legal system, on the other hand, was all about witnesses. Typically, whoever had the most witnesses and the most impressive and honourable group of witnesses would win the case. If witnesses could show that they were trustworthy and they gave clear and unambiguous testimony, conviction was pretty much guaranteed. And it would usually be the witnesses who would carry out the sentence of the court. And so, for example, if at least two, trustworthy people presented clear testimony of blasphemy, that would be enough for the accused to be stoned to death. And it would be the witnesses who would stone the accused! Now, because so much hung on the testimony of witnesses, there were very severe punishments for false witnesses. In fact, they would usually get the punishment that the accused would have got if found guilty. So people were typically very careful about laying a serious charge. To begin with, there had to be at least two witnesses. They would then raise the matter in a formal way with the accused to check if they were doing what they were doing unintentionally or ignorantly, or if there were some mitigating circumstances or justifiable reason for the act. But if there were no such factors, it was the duty of any law-abiding Jew to lay charges. And that is what we will see play out here is the trial before the trial. The Trial will happen just before Jesus is crucified, but this is where that trial begins to be inevitable.
- And we see this beginning in vv9-15 where a serious crime is investigated.
- vv1-9 record an astonishing miracle – the paralytic was instantly cured by the word of Jesus. The man would surely have been well-known as the guy who had lain by the pool for 38 years! But John now introduces the note of tension into the narrative as he tells us that “the day on which this took place was the Sabbath.” And if we know anything about the Gospels and the Jews of Jesus’ day, this is going to be a red rag to Jewish bulls! And that is exactly what happens as we read vv10-15:
and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.” But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.'” So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?” The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there. Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
- Now, the first thing to note is that the Jews pay zero attention to the miracle. Isn’t that striking? There is no, ‘Hey! You’re walking! That’s amazing!’ All they see is a man who in their view is breaking the Sabbath. So, was he breaking the Sabbath?
- Well, the Fourth commandment forbids everyone from working on the Sabbath. And in Numbers 15 there is an account of a man who was stoned to death for collecting firewood on the Sabbath. And when Jeremiah saw people bring goods into Jerusalem for Sabbath trading, he said, “Do not carry a load on the Sabbath day or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem.” So the Jewish rabbis had pondered all this for many centuries and had written down a book of rules for how this applied to every situation.
- And so, for example, if a Jewish trader was travelling to town with his goods and he got his timing wrong and the Sabbath Day arrived, he had to ask a Gentile to carry his goods for him. And if there was no Gentile, he could tie his goods on his donkey. But as soon as he arrived at the town, he was not allowed to touch his goods; he had to untie the cord and let them fall off the donkey and lie there until the Sabbath was finished.
- Another rule said if a man carried something in his hands or on his shoulders, he was breaking Sabbath, but the man who carried it “with the back of his hand, or with his foot, with his mouth, with his elbow, with his ear, with his hair, with his waist bag, the opening of which is at the bottom, or between his belt and his shirt, with the edge of his shirt, with his shoe or sandal, is not culpable, because he carries it in an unusual manner.”
- Now, we will actually be thinking about how to observe the Christian Sabbath in this afternoon’s sermon. The key thing here is that the spiritual importance of rest and worship in Jesus’ day had been replaced by a complicated code of burdensome and bizarre rules that made the day utterly miserable for God’s people. So this man was only ‘guilty’ of breaking the man-made rules of the Jews about the Sabbath. Jesus will deal with those man-made rules on other occasions, but here these rules create the opportunity for Jesus to say more about Himself and what He came to do.
- Well, the Fourth commandment forbids everyone from working on the Sabbath. And in Numbers 15 there is an account of a man who was stoned to death for collecting firewood on the Sabbath. And when Jeremiah saw people bring goods into Jerusalem for Sabbath trading, he said, “Do not carry a load on the Sabbath day or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem.” So the Jewish rabbis had pondered all this for many centuries and had written down a book of rules for how this applied to every situation.
- But because these Jews think there may be a Sabbath violation here, remembering what we said earlier about the Jewish legal system, they approach him to try and establish whether or not this was a deliberate Sabbath violation.
- And in reply, the man blames Jesus, even though we learn from the ensuing conversation that he doesn’t even know who Jesus is. Well, it’s a bit hard to prosecute a crime when you don’t know who the culprit is, so they probably withdraw to ponder their next move. But then Jesus seeks the man out again, as we see in v14, and once the man knows who Jesus is, he points Him out to the Jews.
- Well, this changes everything. Now the spotlight of the crime is focused on Jesus! And remember, He was the fellow who had the audacity to clear the temple not that long ago, as we read in ch. 2. And He was the fellow who was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John the Baptist, which annoyed the Pharisees no end, as we read in ch. 4. And He is a teacher! And according to this man, Jesus had healed him on the Sabbath! And by Jewish regulations, only life-saving activity was permissible on the Sabbath day. Thus, in their view, Jesus was guilty. The problem though is that this man is the only witness. That is why the Jews have to approach Jesus to check out the accusation.
- And that brings us to vv16-18 where the opening statements are made. In any good courtroom drama, you get to hear from the prosecution and defense lawyers as they make their opening statements and lay out the charges and the defense. Well, you didn’t typically have lawyers in the Jewish legal system; you had the accusers and the defendant who had to speak for themselves and bring their own witnesses. And that is what we have here as the Jews speak and Jesus responds. Let’s read vv16-18: “So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him. [That means they brought a formal warning against Him; they are still trying to see assess His guilt and provoke Him to condemn Himself in the presence of witnesses]. Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at His work to this very day, and I, too, am working.” For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. “ So let’s look carefully at Jesus’ answer:
- He begins by pointing to the Father who He says has always been working and who continues to work today, even on the Sabbath. And the Jews would have agreed with Jesus that the Father works every day, including the Sabbath. Yes, He ceased from the work of creation on the seventh day, but He continued His work of providence. For if God had completely ceased from all work, the universe would fall into chaos. Their problem with what Jesus said though was twofold:
- First, He said, “My” And make no mistake, these Jews knew exactly what Jesus was claiming with these words; they knew He was claiming divinity and equality with God. And to be absolutely sure we understand that that is what Jesus is saying, John gives us the Spirit inspired commentary of v18 to spell it out in black and white: He “was making Himself equal with God.” With these words Jesus is saying I am the Son of God!
- But Jesus also said, “and I, too, am working,”
- And the way Jesus puts this takes in the past and the present. With these words He is saying that He was working with the Father at the beginning; at Creation. Do you remember how John’s Gospel begins? “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God and the word was God … [and] through Him all things were made.” Jesus is declaring that He is the eternal Son of God who worked with the Father at creation!
- But Jesus is also declaring that His work does not break the Sabbath. What is the Sabbath command? Do your work for six days and then cease from your work on the Sabbath. Did you catch the emphasis? We will say more about this tonight. But the point is that you cease from your work on the Sabbath in order to do the Lord’s work. So do you see what Jesus is saying? I am the Lord! Whatever I do is the Lord’s work! I am not breaking Sabbath! Just to be clear, Jesus would not have done His carpentry work on the Sabbath. But when He heals, He is giving rest to those who are afflicted by the consequences of sin. So, because He is the Lord, He is doing the Lord’s work, which means He is not breaking the Sabbath.
- This is a massive divinity claim!
- And it infuriates the Jews who find it totally unacceptable – their formal warnings now escalate to include breaking the Sabbath and blasphemy. So Jesus now responds to their double charge in vv19-47. And His response begins with a divine defense in vv19-30. Let’s read that together (vv19-30). “Jesus gave them this answer: ‘I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these. 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. 22 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honour the Son just as they honour the Father. He who does not honour the Son does not honour the Father, who sent him. 24 “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. 25 I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come 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 to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man. 28 “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and come out– those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned. 30 By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.’”
- Now, keep in mind what Jesus has just done – He has healed a man who was paralysed for 38 years! But in v20 He explains that He has come to do even greater things than that. What are those greater things? There are two of them:
- The first we see in v21: “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.” So Jesus gives life. And this includes physical resurrection, because Jesus will raise the dead as we see later in this Gospel, but what is mainly in view here is spiritual resurrection – salvation/eternal life.
- But the other greater thing that Jesus came to do is to judge the world, as we see in v22: “Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son,” and v25, “And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.”
- And this is where Jesus’ defense is actually a sermon that proclaims the gospel to those who heard Him speak and to those who read these words. Look again at v24 where Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.”
- We have talked before about the two realms in this world; here they are described as the realm of death and the realm of life. Every human being begins life in the realm of death. Our natural condition is to be God-haters who are guilty law-breakers. And if that does not change, we will die and then on the Day of Judgment we will be raised and condemned to eternity in hell. The other realm is the realm of life. Those in the realm of life will also die but on the Day of Judgment they will be raised and welcomed into eternal life in heaven. And the way into the realm of life is to believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He came to die on the cross for the forgiveness of your sins.
- That’s what Jesus spells out in vv28-30: “A time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out– those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.” And when Jesus says, “Those who have done good,” He is referring to what He said in v24 – those who hear Jesus’ word and believe. My friends, your eternal destiny depends on whether or not you believed in Jesus while living. If you have believed, you will live in heaven; if you have not believed, you will be condemned to hell.
- Well, that brings us finally to the last part of Jesus’ discourse, which is where He transitions from defense to prosecution in vv31-47. As I said at the beginning of the sermon, the Jewish legal system was all about witnesses, and one witness was never enough. And that is what Jesus states in v31, “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not valid.” So Jesus now gives the testimony of the three witnesses that support His claims. Let’s look at each in turn:
- The first is John the Baptist, as we see in vv32-35. We read, “There is another who testifies in my favour, and I know that his testimony about me is valid. 33 “You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. 34 Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved. 35 John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.”
- Turn back for a moment to 1:19. That is what Jesus is referring to with His words in ch. 5. John was very popular at the time and when the Jewish leaders had asked him who he was, John replied that he was not the Christ but that the Christ was coming soon. And it appears that the Jewish leaders thought that was fantastic! John was a trustworthy and god-fearing man who should be believed. They may even have gone around telling others that John said Messiah is coming soon! But now they have met Messiah and they hate Him. But their hatred for Jesus doesn’t alter the fact that John gave reliable testimony that they had accepted. So that’s strike one against the Jews, according to their own legal system!
- The first is John the Baptist, as we see in vv32-35. We read, “There is another who testifies in my favour, and I know that his testimony about me is valid. 33 “You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. 34 Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved. 35 John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.”
- The second testimony is that of the Father Himself, as we see in vv36-44. We read, “I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the very work that the Father has given me to finish, and which I am doing, testifies that the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, 38 nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. 39 You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life. 41 “I do not accept praise from men, 42 but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. 43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. 44 How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?”
- And everything Jesus says here is about what the Father has caused to be written down in the Old Testament. After Jesus rose from the dead, He met two people on the road to Emmaus. They were depressed because of the death of Jesus. They could not believe that the one they thought was Messiah had been executed and was dead. But then Jesus explained to them that this is exactly what had to happen – He came to die! And here is how He explained it to these two people: “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets (OT), He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” The whole OT is about Jesus – the sacrifices point to Jesus, the promises are about Jesus, the prophets, priests, and kings point us to Jesus. So Jesus is saying to these Jews, I am exactly who the OT says I am, but you refuse to believe the testimony of your own Bible! And that’s strike two against the Jews, according to their own legal system.
- And that brings us to the third witness, Moses, from vv45-47. We read, “But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. 46 If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. 47 But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?”
- What started this whole episode off? The accusation of the Jews that Jesus was breaking Sabbath. Where do we find the Sabbath commandment? In Exodus and Deuteronomy. Who wrote the Books of Exodus and Deuteronomy? And what else did Moses write, which we read earlier in the service? Duet. 18, where we read, “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to Him.” So were these Jews listening to Jesus? No.
- And on top of this, the major failing of all of the rules and regulations that the Jewish leaders put together around the law was that the people came to see themselves as law-keepers. This is an attitude that New Testament confronts again and again. You see, law-keepers don’t need a Saviour. It is only when you realize that you are a guilty law-breaker that Jesus becomes a necessary and wonderful Saviour!!!
- And that, congregation, gets us to the nub of why these Jews hated Jesus so much. They loved the idea of a Messiah who would smash the Romans. They despised the idea of a Messiah who told them that they were guilty sinners who needed to believe in Him and if they did not they would be condemned to hell.
Well, this is a large and complex passage. Well done if you are still awake J It’s pretty plain that the Jews rejected Jesus. The question for today is what about you? Jesus is declaring here that He is God our only hope for eternal life. Do you believe Him? Your eternal destiny depends on your answer. Plenty of people are comfortable with a Jesus who is a good teacher. But it is only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for the forgiveness of their sins who will enter eternal life.
But the other reason why your answer to this question is so important is because tough times are coming for Christians. It wasn’t that long ago in NZ that secular meant not promoting one Christian denomination over another. Seriously! That’s what it meant. We were a Christian nation but not Anglican or Baptist or Roman Catholic. Now though, secular means anti-God. We will not acknowledge Him or the Bible or any exclusive claims about behaviour or salvation in Jesus Christ. So there are going to be increased limits on what we can say and preach and do, as a church and as individuals. And unless you believe that Jesus is the Lord, you will go the way of everyone else and tow the line. It is only those who are convinced that Jesus is Lord who will stand firm, whatever the cost.
So by way of conclusion, I invite you to confess Jesus as your Saviour and Lord as stand together and recite the words of Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 10…