In The Footsteps Of The Master: The Life and Times of Jesus Christ Jesus Makes Bold Claims (Part 2) April 26,

Jesus’ Bold Claims Jesus makes bold statements about His relationship with the Father –The Son can do nothing except what the Father has shown Him –The Father loves the Son and shows Him all things –The Father restored life from physical death; the Son from spiritual death –The Father has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor Him –Those who do not honor the Son do not honor the Father –Those who believe the Son, believe the Father and receive eternal life 2

A Quotation This is “an act of the most extraordinary and unique courage... He must have known that to speak like this was to court death. It is His claim to be King; and He knew well that the man who listened to words like this had only two alternatives – the listener must either accept Jesus as the Son of God, or He must hate Him as a blasphemer and seek to destroy Him. There is hardly any passage where Jesus appeals for men’s love and defies men’s hatred as He does here.” William Barclay 3

The Son and Judgment John 5:25-28 –“ 25 Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; 27 and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, 4

Son/Judgment (cont.) John 5:29-30 –“ 29 and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment. 30 I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” 5

Observations This is the first of three times in John’s Gospel where Jesus refers to Himself as the Son of God –His favorite expression is “Son of Man” The final phrase in verse 27 can be interpreted two ways from the Greek –“the Son of man” –“a man” –The latter provides an interesting perspective in that Jesus is given judgment over us because He is one of us 6

For Discussion Who are the “dead” who will hear Jesus’ voice? –How does “hearing” make them live? In the OT, the Father is the One from whom life derives –Jesus hereby makes another claim of commission by the Father –“I can do nothing of My own initiative” Define the concept of judgment –When does it occur? –How are works linked to judgment? –Why is Jesus’ judgment just? 7

Daniel’s Prophecy Daniel 7:13-14 –“ 13 I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. 14 And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed.” 8

Testimonies About Jesus In the following passages, Jesus tells the Jews that witness concerning Himself comes from: –The Father –John the Baptist –Jesus’ works –The OT Scriptures –Moses Watch for these as we read 9

The Father’s Testimony John 5:31-32 – “31 If I alone testify about Myself, My testimony is not true. 32 There is another who testifies of Me, and I know that the testimony which He gives about Me is true.” 10

For Discussion Jesus claims no witness about Himself –If He testifies about Himself, the testimony is not true What is the witness that is greater than John? –How is that testimony greater? 11

John’s Testimony John 5:33-35 – “33 You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth. 34 But the testimony which I receive is not from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35 He was the lamp that was burning and was shining and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.” 12

For Discussion Why was the Jews’ interest in John short- lived? –Why were they interested in him at all? John was a Prophet in their time –First one in almost 500 years 13

The Testimony of Works John 5:36-37 –“ 36 But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish - the very works that I do - testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me. 37 And the Father who sent Me, He has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form. ” 14

For Discussion Why does Jesus say that the Jews haven’t seen or heard the Father? –What does he mean by this? 15

The Testimony of Scripture John 5:39-42 –“ 38 You do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent. 39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; 40 and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life. 41 I do not receive glory from men; 42 but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves. 16

The Testimony of Scripture John 5:43-44 –“ 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 you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?” 17

For Discussion Why does Jesus say that they don’t have the Word within them? What were the Jews searching for in the OT? How does the OT testify about Jesus? How could the Jews know the Scriptures in detail but miss Jesus? –They dwelled on the letter of the Law and missed the deeper truths –The Jews made a profession of loving God, but didn’t really love Him In the presence of the One who brings life, they became antagonistic 18

The Testimony of Moses John 5:45-47 –“ 45 Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” 19

For Discussion What does Jesus mean when He says that Moses is their accuser? –“The Law of Moses is not a religion of salvation, it is the categorical imperative of God by which men are accused and exposed as sinners.” Hoskyns Moses foretold the coming of the Messiah in Deuteronomy 18:15,18-19 –“Every true disciple of Moses is on the way to becoming a Christian.” Godet –Those who rejected Jesus, ultimately rejected Moses 20

21 Next Week Another Sabbath Controversy