The Authority of Jesus: Many modern people object to the ethical teachings of Christianity, whether it be about sexuality, gender, money, forgiveness, or something else. However, if Jesus is who he claimed to be, he has authority over every aspect of life. The most important question is not “Do you agree with his teaching?” but “Who do you think Jesus is?” Recorded on Sep 17, 2023, on John 5:16-47 by Pastor David Parks. (Apologies for the audio issues!)
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Finding Life in Jesus’ Name is a sermon series on the gospel according to John in the Bible. Have you ever felt unsatisfied with your life? Or, even when things were going well, something was still missing? Many people sense there must be something more. But what?? John, one of the closest friends of Jesus, believed that Jesus came into the world so that we may have life and have it to the full. Jesus turned John’s life upside down, and John claims this new life — marked by God’s power, presence, and purpose — is available for all who believe.
Sermon Transcript
We’re going through the gospel according to John in a series called Finding Life in Jesus’ Name. And today, we’re picking back up in John 5. If you missed any of the messages so far, you can always go back and watch or listen online. You can watch on YouTube or on the church app or listen to the audio podcast wherever you listen to podcasts. But today, Jesus addresses a big elephant in the room (and maybe this is something you’ve wondered about, too): where does Jesus get the authority to say/do everything that he says/does? Or, to put a finer point on it, what gives him the right to tell us what to do? That’s usually the problem, isn’t it? We don’t mind other people saying or doing things unless it affects us or makes demands of us. Very often, when I talk with people in the world about the Christian faith, the objections to Christianity have nothing to do with the person/work of Jesus. There seems to be a general acceptance today or even appreciation of Jesus, even among people who would never set foot in a church. However, the objections often center on the morals/ethics of Christianity, of what is taught to be right or wrong according to the Bible. Whether it’s the sexual ethic of Christianity or its teaching on gender or money or forgiveness or something else. Many people hear parts of these teachings and think, I could never be part of that. But here’s the deal: if Jesus is who he claims to be, then he has the authority, he has every right, to tell us how we ought to live. But if he isn’t who he claims to be, then nothing he says matters. But this isn’t a modern thing. It was no different in Jesus’ own day. When people met him or heard his teaching, or saw his ministry, he was constantly asked, “Where do you get the authority to be saying/doing these things?” How do you think Jesus responded? If you have a Bible/app, please take it and open it to John 5:16. This is a longer passage, but we’ll unpack it as we go.
John 5:16-18 (NIV), “16 So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him. 17 In his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” 18 For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.” Let’s pause here. So, our passage picks up right where we left off last week with the healing of the man at Bethesda. Jesus was in Jerusalem during a busy festival time when he healed a man who couldn’t walk for thirty-eight years. This was the third of seven miraculous signs in John’s gospel, and it was a sign of the power of Jesus not only to heal but also to restore what had been lost. He restored this man’s mobility and so much more. Amazing, right? But there’s a problem. Jesus had healed this man on the Sabbath, which was supposed to be a day to rest and enjoy the blessings of God. What could be wrong with this? Well, as we said last week, by this time in history, the Sabbath had become a religious box to check. It wasn’t so much about resting and worshiping God, it was a way to demonstrate your own righteousness by following all the extra man-made rules about what constituted work on the Sabbath. John says that the Jewish leaders began to persecute Jesus because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. They might say something like, “Who or what gives you the authority to go against what we teach about the Sabbath?” In his defense, Jesus gave an answer, but his answer only gets him in more trouble. He says, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” And this is really significant. Jesus here is claiming that God the Father in heaven, the creator of the heavens and the earth, the only true and living God, is his Father. In the OT, at certain times and places, God might be referred to as the Father of Israel. But no one before Jesus ever envisioned God as their personal Father in this way. This is really unique. And the proof of this is the response of the Jewish leaders. They went from persecution to wanting to kill him. Because they rightly understood that Jesus was “not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.” Now. If Jesus is telling the truth, and he is in fact equal to God, then he would have every right to do whatever he wanted to do on the Sabbath, right? Where did the original command to keep the Sabbath day holy come from? If Jesus is telling the truth, then it came from him, and he would not only have authority over the Jewish leaders’ interpretation of the Sabbath, but over the Sabbath itself. He would be the Lord of the Sabbath. Of course, if he was lying, then he’d be guilty of blasphemy and deserving of death under their law. Maybe Jesus would walk back this claim? Let’s see as we continue.
John 5:19-23 (NIV), “19 Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, 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, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. 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 honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.” Ok, let’s pause here. So this is one of the clearest and most amazing Christological passages, meaning a teaching on the person or work of Christ. And Jesus just pulls back the veil between heaven and earth to reveal his supremely unique relationship with his Father. He says, “Very truly I tell you…” (Amen, amen, I tell you) — this means what is about to follow is very important: I, the Son, can do nothing on my own. I only do what I see my Father doing. And then, Jesus gives a series of because statements. Why does Jesus only do what he sees his Father doing? Because, first, whatever the Father does, the Son also does. Why? For/because, second, the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Incredible. The relationship at the heart of the Godhead is one of love. We could contemplate this for the rest of our lives and never get over it. The ultimate reality under everything is a perfect loving relationship. “Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed.” Why? For/because, third, just as the Father has authority over life and death and judgment, so the son has been given the same authority in order that he might be honored, just as the Father had been honored. What Jesus is teaching about himself here is totally unique. No one ever made these claims before or since. Every other major religion in history had prophets who made claims about how people might be able to gain the blessings or favor of God or at least to find peace or the good life in this broken world. But only Jesus came claiming to be God, claiming to be the one and only divine Son of the Father who was loved from before the creation of the world. But he didn’t use this divine identity to his own advantage; he came into the world to save the world from itself. He came, as he told Nicodemus so that we might be born again, born of the Spirit, and become children of God in the family of God. He came, as he told the woman at the well, as the Messiah, the chosen one sent from heaven to provide living water, welling up to eternal life. He came to heal and restore and set people free, as he demonstrated with the official’s son or the man at Bethesda. Jesus doesn’t walk back the claim of equality with God; he doubles down, saying that it is this absolutely unique identity that explains/authorizes his words and deeds. It’s like Jesus is saying, “You want to know what gives me the authority to do these things on the Sabbath? I’m the one and only Son of the Father. He loves me and has sent me to do these very things.” But then, as now, when we are presented with the actual Christological claims of Jesus himself, we have a choice. How will we respond to him? We see the consequences of this choice next.
John 5:24-30 (NIV), “24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. 25 Very truly I tell you, 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 also 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 what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is 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.” The theme of John’s gospel is all about finding life in Jesus’ name. This is why he wrote these words. This is what we need to find today. Here, Jesus is again very clear: Very truly I tell you, if you want to find real/eternal life, then whoever hears the word of Jesus and accepts it by faith has eternal life. They have nothing to fear on judgment day. They have already crossed over from death to life. This is what it means to be born again. You might be physically alive but spiritually dead. But by faith in Jesus’ name, you can be made spiritually alive. And it is this spiritual life that will sustain you even beyond physical death. Very truly I tell you (this passage is full of these important statements of Jesus): a time is coming when this age will come to an end. And the dead will be raised, and everyone will give an account to our creator. This shouldn’t be surprising. Don’t be amazed at this. A number of OT passages describe this, as well. God has spoken to us. He has told us what he will do. And those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned. However, and here is the heart of the good news of the gospel: Jesus was not sent this first time to condemn the world (as John wrote in chapter 3), but to save people from a world that is already condemned. What good news is this!! However, all this teaching is still based only on Jesus’ word. The Jewish leaders might respond, “Well, this is all a very interesting story. But still, how can we know that what you claim about yourself is true? Is there any evidence you can provide to back up this wild claim?”
John 5:31-40 (NIV), “31 “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. 32 There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is true. 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. 36 “I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify 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 study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life.” Ok, one more pause before we finish this passage. This part is just awesome. Jesus makes these wild claims about his identity as the divine Son, equal with God the Father, sent from heaven to seek and to save the lost as the promised Messiah. And he says, you want proof? You want some sort of validation for who I am? I’ll give you three things: First, didn’t you at least respect the ministry of John the Baptist? For a time you enjoyed his light? But remember what he said about me? (Behold! The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”) John said that his whole ministry was to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord. And then he testified that I was the one who was to come. But then, second, Jesus says that he has an even better reason to believe his claims. “I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me.” Look at what I have been doing. I’ve been healing the sick and freeing those in spiritual bondage; I have been performing signs and wonders…how could I possibly be doing these things unless I had the power of the Spirit of the living God? Finally, third, Jesus says aren’t you supposed to be experts in the Scriptures? You study the Scriptures because you think they contain the path to eternal life. But those Scriptures are really about me. The whole OT is all about Jesus, both in pointing to our need for him and to what God promises to do in and through him. Jesus wouldn’t have had to do this, but he gives this threefold testimony to validate his identity as the beloved Son of the Father. You don’t know if you can believe me? Listen to John. Or listen to my works, which are works of God. Or listen to the Scriptures. But if you do not listen, if you do not believe, then you are still on the same sinking ship of this broken world, and your man-made rules around the Sabbath will not save you. Jesus is the lifeboat, and it doesn’t matter how religious or good you think you are or how other people think you are; if you fail to get on the lifeboat, you will go down with the ship.
John 5:41-47 (NIV), “41 “I do not accept glory from human beings, 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 since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? 45 “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?” How do we know that Jesus has the authority to say/do the (seemingly crazy, perhaps offensive) things he says/does? How can we be sure? Jesus points to his unique relationship with God the Father in heaven and then to the threefold testimony validating his identity. But what does this have to do with us today? I believe this teaching confronts us in two ways: first, we, too, need to consider and come to a decision on who Jesus is. Do we believe his claims to be the Son of God? Do we believe that he was sent into the world to be the savior of all? This really is the most important question. But second, how we answer that question will have major implications as to what we do with the word/teaching of Jesus, whether we’re talking about sexuality, gender, money, forgiveness, the Sabbath, or anything else. Don’t reject Christianity because of the ethical claims of Christianity without deciding what you believe about Christ first. Because if Jesus is who he claimed to be, then he has every right; he would have all the authority of heaven and earth. He would be the Lord of all of life, not just this part or that part. But if he is not who he claimed to be, then he would have no more authority than you or me. So what about you? Who do you say that he is? Do you find him compelling? Do you think his arguments are plausible? Then I would encourage you to keep going, keep listening, keep thinking about this until you can answer for yourself. Is this Jesus really the Son of God? Is he the way to find real/eternal life? If so, then this changes everything. Let’s pray.