"Jesus is God... So What?" John 5:19-29; Steve Johnson

thanks Johnny good morning illuminate how are you this morning my name is Steve Johnson as he said a couple just quick facts about me number one I was carrying Jason around when he was in diapers I've said this before but it bears repeating his father was a spiritual mentor for me and my wife and I spent four years in Argentina I've spent a good part of the last 25 years traveling through Latin America training pastors etc and all of that stems back to the work that God did in my heart through Jason's mom so it is really a privilege to be a part of this church and and to be a part of that family so a few things I need to say this morning before we get started claim as hungry as a horse and I know that I told you a million times not to exaggerate you know I have a cousin and my cousin is as big as a house I waited forever to get a can of hairspray in Safeway for those of you that have kids I've got a household of toys for those of you that are squeamish I'm sure you've spent you've probably set at one point in your life spiders make my skin crawl yesterday we were telling jokes and I laughed my head off and I'm looking out in the audience and I see that a few of you women are wearing a ton of makeup and one I like best because it's most relevant to me true yesterday I climbed Tom Thumb for the first time and it killed me but I'm here hyperbole a statement that is made in expression in which exaggeration is used to emphasize a point or a truth the message in the text this morning in John chapter 5 is perhaps the most important text with the reference of with with reference to the identity of Jesus Christ that you will find in Scripture and believe me that is not hyperbole this text and understanding it is more important than your salary it's more important than your job it's more important than your house it's more important than your retirement it is more important than your kids if you don't get this straight if we do not understand what Jesus is saying this morning in John chapter 5 19 through 29 we do not understand Jesus Christ today we have a straight up answer to the suit the title of our series who is Jesus and that questions going to be answered from the very mouth of Jesus Christ himself if you have your Bibles go ahead and open up to John chapter 5 we're gonna look at verses 19 through 29 and now I know why Jason isn't here this morning Jason isn't here this morning because he didn't want to have to deal with this text because in the original language the grammatical structure is almost impossible to figure out there's statements within statements and parent the parentheses within parentheses and I'm going to try to do the best job that I can to to to express what I believe the text is saying this morning but I want you to know not only is it tough to give but for some of you this morning it may be very difficult to hear because Jesus is cutting straight to the heart of the gospel straight to the heart of salvation well if you remember the main point of our series the main passage that kind of tells the purpose of the series is found in chapter 20 verse 31 where John writes these things are written the entire book has been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God and that by believing you may have life in his name and those words can't be any truer for this morning's text as we come to the text in John chapter 5 let me set the context a little bit as you remember in the book of John the first verses of the book of John were introduced to Jesus as the Word of God in the light of the world and then in verses 19 of chapter 1 all the way through the end of well actually in the chapter 5 we see Jesus revealing himself slowly but surely to an increasing number of people he first introduces himself as the son to John the Baptist and then to his closest disciples and then to the Jews in Jerusalem and then going out of Jerusalem he introduces himself to the Jews in Judea and then he go crosses over where he shouldn't have into Samaria and you all remember in chapter 4 the conversation with the Samaritan woman and the healing of the noble man's son and then in Galilee now is he he has come in chapter 5 verses 1 through 18 to the pool at the Sheep skate Bethesda where jesus heals a man who had been crippled for 38 years when we come to these verses we recognize that the there's a there's a transitional verse in verse 18 after the Jews and the Pharisees see what has happened in this healing it says in verse 18 what Jesus says in 17 my father is working till now and I am working the Jews were ticked they were angry at Jesus because he healed this guy and and and to make matters worse Jesus says in verse 17 my father's working until now and I'm working and John clarifies that comment for us in verse 18 when he says this is why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him because not only was he breaking the Sabbath but he was calling God his own father making himself equal with God against a charge of blasphemy we received the clearest most direct declaration of the deity the divine nature of Jesus Christ and his unity that we probably have in all of the Gospels here in verses 19 through 29 let's get into the text Jesus answering the charge he says in verse 20 in verse 19 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 you you guys think I'm equal with God let me make the point I am and he starts out by saying that the father and I are absolutely one when it comes to works whatever the father does I do whatever I do the father does our relationship is that tight and notice that he uses the typical rabbinical form of making sure to highlight underline the point here verily verily are truly truly I say unto you in other words listen up this is hugely important truly I say to you the son doesn't do anything on his own accord but only what he sees the father doing and Jesus is the point that Jesus the sub-point that Jesus is making here not only is that he does what the father does but he does not act independently of the father he only does what the father does without giving up his divine authority Jesus is saying I cannot act independently of the father the question why not because I and the father are one is which is what he'll say in the later point in the book of John when one acts the other acts another passage it says he who has seen the father has seen the son and we could say loosely like father like son and the reason why this is so verse 20 is because the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing but greater works than these will he show him so that you may marvel the reason why they do the same thing is because the father loves to the son the father loves Jesus he has he does and he always will and the same is true about his ability to reveal things whatever the father knows he's revealed to his son he loves reveals everything and Jesus therefore reveals and and the Jews are probably scratching their heads going wait a minute why are we jumping into this discussion so deeply right away remember they weren't concerned about the unity between the father and the son they just saw a paralytic healed after 38 years on the Sabbath Jesus broke the law and to make matters worse they pursue the guy that gets healed and rather than saying way to go praise God you're healed don't you love it they say to him dude what's going on you're carrying your mat don't you realize you've just broken the law Jason mentioned it last week there's a list of an unending list of rules you'll find it in the Mishnah the Jewish Mishnah things that you can and can't do on the Sabbath you could carry stuff from one part of the house to another part of the house but you could never be caught in public carrying anything at the shoulder or or above on the Sabbath they were concerned about the fact that Jesus was breaking the Sabbath they're not really concerned about his being healed and Jesus says guys you think that was something you think this healing was something greater works than these will you see and the question comes to our mind what are they and Jesus reveals them in the remaining of the text there are two of them basically number one Jesus gives life and number two Jesus brings judgment and once you understand those two those two concepts the giving of life and the bringing of judgment you will understand Jesus Christ you will understand his works and the response that God wants every single one of us to give as a result is to marvel so that you may marvel he said says in the text there marvel at his works that prove that he and the father are one now when we come to verse 21 Jesus says for as the father raises the dead and gives them life so also the sin son gives life to whom he will no surprise that God gives and takes life every self-respecting Jew knew that and I'm sure every single one of you if you have any concept of God God has to be a creator at some point in time ruler and sustainer and he can give and take away life that's not too shocking the Jews understood that but Jesus giving life what what wait a minute this guy is the son of Joseph the carpenter from Nazareth and he's now saying that the father has given him the ability to grant life the Marvel here is that Jesus the son is actually doing these works that normally correspond to the Father and that that pushes you and me it pushed us in us into a response mode and asked ask ourselves the question where is it for us who really is Jesus who is Jesus to you what is it that Jesus does the answer is clear in this text in verse 21 as the father raises the dead and gives life so the son gives life to whom He wills father creates physical life and the son as we will see is the one who provides us with spiritual life and he gives it to whomever he will the father has granted Jesus the Son the ability to give life to whoever Jesus so wishes to give life and to whom does Jesus desire to give life John 3:16 to all to all he desires to give that life to all how we respond to his giving of life makes all the difference it's important here to know that either you or me or anybody else on this planet can do anything about your physical life or your spiritual life they're in hands of God the Father and the son the power to give life and by here life you mean spiritual life eternal life was given to the son by the father look at verse 26 move down verse 26 for as the father has life in himself so he's granted the son to have life in himself so the son has life and the some graph gives life well how does that happen how does it go about look at verse 24 it says truly truly I say to you truly truly listen up underline highlight this is really important 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 this is the central essence of the gospel of Jesus Christ the entire New Testament in the Old Testament revolve around this notice the unity here between the father and the son whoever hears what my word the words of the Son and believes in Him who sent me the father were one whoever hears my word and believes in Him who sent me has passed from death into life notice also that he's saying here whoever hears my word salvation does not happen without hearing the word you have made bet you may have been in a hundred churches you may have gone to a ton of Christian concerts and salvation doesn't happen because you stood up and raised your hand it doesn't happen because you came to church and you go hmm that makes sense and then went home it doesn't happen because you filled out a card it only happens as you hear the word of God and combine it with faith in God belief in God that's the only way life happens but as that happens it's he says in this text in verse 24 not that he will have eternal life in the future but that he has eternal life the individual who has heard the Word of God and believed in the father has eternal life it's not something that you have to wait for it's not something pie in the sky in the future it's right now eternal life begins at the point of faith and lasts for eternity there is a future but there's a quality of life right now on this plant on this on this planet while you're alive which is a part and parcel of eternal life when you die you're just opening the door to a new dimension of eternal life not he will but he has eternal life and he says he does not come in to judgment I think one of the toughest things of Christianity is the fact that people understand that there's there's coming a day when there's a judgment we'll see that in just a minute but there's a way to avoid that judgment there's a way not to have to look God in the eye and give an account for your life there's a way that you don't have to explain to God someday in the future why you didn't accept Jesus Christ and what it is that you think you've done in your life in order to get into heaven there is no good answer the only answer that's acceptable to the judge of the universe will be I heard the Word of God and I accepted Jesus Christ as my savior that's the only thing that will allow you to avoid judgment and the person who has done that has eternal life he's passed from death to life and he or she will never come in to judgment it's not enough I'm sorry it's not enough for you to say you know I really don't care that sounds great Steve but I'm not ready to make that decision yet you don't know if you're gonna live past today you don't know if you're gonna be here next week and if you haven't heard the word and combined it with faith you will not pass from death to life these are the words of Jesus they're not mine not making a decision is making a decision it's that simple let me say it as clearly as I can he who has not believed is condemned and has not passed from death into life it's the essence of Christianity it's a hard word I hope you hear it very clearly if you're here and you just love church and you love the community and but you have not given your life to Jesus Christ you have not believed your destiny is death unless you hear his word and believe look at verse 25 he makes it even clearer he says truly truly I say to you once again truly truly if it isn't important enough let me say this is important 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 the point is made and fatica Lee don't miss it the day is coming wait wait the day is now now is the time not tomorrow not next week not next year today is the day today is a day for you to understand that Jesus Christ came to this earth lived a sinless life died on the cross of Calvary rose on the third day ascended to the right hand of the Father and the father has granted him the ability to give you eternal life and to experience that eternal life you simply need to hear his word and believe in him acknowledge your in fact that you are dead in your sins and ask him to come in and transform you from the inside out you see I don't think the issue is that maybe you're confused I'm not even sure that the issue is that you're that some of you may be living a wayward life or taking your time the issue is we're not seeking the issue is either we are alive or we are dead and there's nothing in between these are hard words but it's the truth of the scripture Jesus is saying because of the power granted to him by the father the dead the spiritually dead will hear his voice and they will live this is not about cleaning up your life this isn't about making you a better person this isn't about some moral transformation it's about the very voice of God opening your heart speaking truth into that heart you believing and you passing from death eternal separation from God to eternal life Jesus Christ has been granted the power by God to give you life from within and the truth is if you're not a Christian there's only one destiny now let me tell you for me it didn't happen in one moment when I was a sophomore in high school my my parents had divorced was living in Arcadia California I was in my second high school in in two years and I started going to a Presbyterian Church on Sunday mornings walking about a mile and a half two miles to this Presbyterian Church because I was on the hunt for a young lady I was excited about this gal and I wanted to find a way that I could get you know close to her outside of school and I went to this Presbyterian Church Arcadia Presbyterian Church in the pastor Jim haggle Gantz probably preached six or seven messages of this type during the time that I attended and while I understood with my brain that I was dead in my spaces in sin and that apart from accepting Jesus Christ as my personal Savior I would not inherit eternal life I didn't make a decision I just it just sat there and the next six to eight months of my life were excruciating because not only did I have that in the back of my mind every time I did something wrong every time I talked back every time I lied every time I cheated whenever whatever I would feel something going on inside of me but I knew I hadn't put all the pieces together it was until March of 1970 when we were living in Scottsdale down by Fashion Square I got into a massive argument with my mom which is a pretty common occurrence but this one night I slapped her across the face and I was so ashamed I ran out of the house and I wandered around downtown Scottsdale which is now Fashion Square it wasn't Fashion Square back then but I wandered around for about an hour until I was running by this little place called the hair barn and upstairs above this hair salon there was a bunch of music going on and I wandered up the stairs and I wandered into Saguaro High School's young life club many of you know Larry Anderson the pastor of North Bible Church Larry was giving his testimony that night Bernier off and the new beginning were playing I can remember as though as yesterday and dr. Bob Madsen who was the young life leader for saguaro led me and others in a prayer and I accepted Jesus Christ I believe that night I'd heard his word but I hadn't combined it with faith that night I combined it with faith and my life has never been the same since jesus wants you to understand that he gives life and he wants you to trust in that power to give life if you don't have life you're dead believe in him and he will give you life but not only does he give life like the Father he's was on to say in verse 22 this the father judges no one but has given all judgment to the son that all may honor the son just as they honor the father not only am I the giver of life Jesus says but the father has delegated all judgment to the son now again it wasn't surprising that God is the judge of the universe and to the Jews they all knew a time was coming when men would be judged the startling fact here is that Jesus is saying to the Spirit of God the coming judgement of the world lies on the shoulders of Jesus the son he's the one that is judging us because the father has delegated that judgment to him every single one of us every one that's ever lived will stand before judgment and look at verse 27 for just a moment he says and God has given him authority to execute this judgment because he is the son of man not only does he execute judgment like the father the father has given him the right to bring judgment but he makes that interesting statement there that he's given them the authority to execute John in judgment because Jesus is the Son of Man and the Jews knew right away what Jesus was saying there they understood the Old Testament and they knew that in Daniel chapter 7 verses in 13 and 14 as Daniel lays out his vision that that this the Old Testament Scriptures consistently spoke of an individual who would come and sit on the throne of the universe forever and the one sitting on the throne of the universe forever would be the one who would be executing judgment over all of the nations that individual is the son of man and right here Jesus says that's me I am the one who will sit on that throne I am the one that will bring judgment why did God give him this prerogative why did God give judgement over to the Sun well it's there at the end of verse 23 so that man will give the same honor to the Sun as they do to the Father how much clearer can it be you think you honor God great now recognize that I and the father are one and God's given me the ability to give life and bring judgment so that you may honor the son just like you honor the father you want to live for God you want to honor God you want to please God then do so by honoring his son look at the implications of his authority to give judgment in verses 28 and 29 do not marvel at this for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out those who have done good to the resurrection of life and those who have done evil to the resurrection a judgment he's just hammering it home and I'm sorry if this seems difficult and hard but it is the truth and these are the words of Jesus don't be amazed at this Jesus says a time is coming in the future when everyone will hear the voice of Jesus and will come out can you imagine the picture every single soul will come out of every single cemetery on this planet all of those who've died in the air in plane crashes or wherever will instantly hear the voice and will come out they will come into presence of God the Father not just believers believers and those who don't trust Jesus everyone that means that every single one of you and me at one point in time in the future we'll hear the voice of Christ and we will come out of our graves unless he comes before we die we'll all not some not most all of us and there's only two destinations there's no middle ground there's only two places to end up either you will rise to the resurrection of eternal life because you already have it and you will be in the presence of God the Father Jesus Christ the Son the Holy Spirit for eternity or if you have not passed over from death to life you will be raised resurrected to death and after death judgment and you will be separated from the God of the universe for all of eternity I didn't invent this no human could possibly invent such a wild religious concept and Jesus says those of you that have done the good will be resurrected to life those of you that have done evil will be resurrected to judgment now the question is is Jesus saying here that my salvation then my destiny depends upon my works absolutely not the scriptures are clear salvation is by grace through faith and that not of ourselves it is the gift of God Ephesians 2:8 and 9 but as you'll hear well as we heard in the in the benediction this morning of the first service there's a verse 10 after verse 9 of Ephesians chapter 2 it says we are his workmanship we are as poema created in Christ Jesus for good works the good works don't save us they simply are the proof that we have actually heard and believed and passed from death to life they don't save you when you stand before God you say well I did this I did that I did this I gave to the poor I do this none of that makes a difference for your eternal destiny it is simply the proof to you that that transact transaction has actually happened in your life you think you're saved and would be resurrected to life because you signed a card came forward send a simple prayer and didn't do anything more about it I would say you have paused a question whether or not you ever really have passed from death to life the concept of the good here in in in in in John chapter 5 could be said a different way Jesus said it a different way in Matthew chapter 5 verse 16 where he says let your works let your light so shine before the father they may see your good works they may glorify your father in heaven glorify honor your father in heaven what does Jesus want from you this morning in this passage regarding that he wants you to honor his authority to execute judgment over your life marvel at his works trust his power to give you life honor him for his ability to bring judgment on your life in mine this passage is not easy but it's clear Jesus is indeed claiming to be one with the Father he's claiming to be God and he's claiming to do the very works of God and we only have two alternatives in responding to this either a Jesus Christ was telling the truth and he is indeed God the Father and therefore we better hear his voice and believe or Jesus is the biggest nutcase that ever lived he's a liar or he's self deceived there's no middle ground it's one or the other the first class I took at Arizona State University as a freshman was a class a religious class with Rabbi Albert Plotkin you may have heard that name and it was a class on CS Louis and jay-ar Tolkien so we led that you know we reread the trilogy we read the space trilogy of Lewis we read mere christianity the carnal chronicles or narnia etc and this whole liar lunatic lunatic or lord concept comes from him in his book let me read it for you CS Lewis says I'm trying to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Jesus I'm ready to accept him as a great moral teacher but I don't claim I don't accept his claim to be God the one thing we must not say a man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would either be a lunatic on a level with a man who says he's a poached egg or else he would be the Daleville of hell you must make your choice either this man was and he is the Son of God or else a madman or something worse you can shut him up for a fool you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord in God but let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about him his being a great human teacher he has not left that open to us friends this morning we are only in one of two groups there aren't five there are twenty there are only two groups either you have passed from death into life or you have not you may have heard his voice but perhaps you haven't combined it with trust in God and you're still wondering my life isn't working out for you the way it's supposed to why it doesn't work out the same way it works for other Christian friends the truth is at some point in time every one of us will hear the voice of Jesus Christ and rise either to eternal life in God's presence or eternal condemnation which the Bible calls hell I don't want you to leave here this morning without making your destiny absolutely clear as clear as this passage if you close your eyes and pray with me for those of you that know Jesus Christ in your as your Sable Savior I want you this morning to honor and marvel at what he's done for you if you do not know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior if you've only heard and you haven't combined it with faith now is the time to do that and I'll simply ask you to follow in your heart if it's truly the desire of your heart not because it's word because it reflects your heart then just pray like this god I recognize that I am dead in my sins in him separated from the father and there's nothing that I can do in and of my own efforts to find or experience life I've heard the word this morning and recognize that only the Sun gives life it's only as I believe in Jesus and his sinless life and the fact that he died on the cross of Calvary and rose again on the third day and ascended to the right hand of heaven that he can give me life Father I pray that he will forgive me I pray that you will forgive me for my sins and I ask right now that Jesus will open up my heart and then Jesus Jesus Christ will transform it and turn this spiritually dead individual into one teeming with spiritual life I can't do it on my own please father come and do that I pray you know Charles Spurgeon probably says it sums it up best when he says my hope lives not become I must because I'm a sinner but because I'm a sinner for whom Christ died my trust is not that I'm holy but they're being unholy he is my righteousness my faith rests not upon what I am or shall be or feel or no but in who Christ is in what he has done and what he's now doing for me hallelujah [Music] quick word for believers this morning you've passed from death to life the Apostle Paul picks up this concept of the oneness of the Father the divine nature of Jesus Christ in Philippians chapter 2 specifically verses 5 to 11 but I encourage you to go home this afternoon and look at verses 1 through 4 of chapter 2 there are at least nine things 9 ways that you can honor God with your life as a believer this week and boy they're really clear and they're really specific and they're not hard to live out [Music] marvel at his works trust in his power honor the son we're gonna do that right now we're gonna come to the table of Jesus Christ the Lord's Supper communion it's an ordinance that Jesus left for us to say remember me celebrate me honor me as often as you do it it's a way of us honoring him by saying Jesus Christ thank you for helping me go from death to life and I recognized that that crossing meant the breaking of your body and the shedding of your blood so we're gonna honor Jesus Christ by celebrating communion right now I'm gonna invite you after a moment of reflection to come up to one of the tables in the back or the front and take the elements the bread and the cup and then take them back to your seat and we'll all eat and drink together [Music]

Channel: Illuminate Community

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Length: 40min 16sec (2416 seconds)

Published: Mon Apr 30 2018