WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.620 Let's pray. 00:00:06.839 --> 00:00:14.400 Heavenly Father, you have spoken to us through your word here in John 5, 16, 47. 00:00:15.439 --> 00:00:23.699 And we ask now that by your spirit, the breath of God, that you would carry forth your word 00:00:23.699 --> 00:00:26.839 and implant them deep into our hearts. 00:00:26.839 --> 00:00:37.939 That you would address us, speak to us so that we might be changed, so that our lives may 00:00:37.939 --> 00:00:45.579 be reprioritized, so that we may live to please the only God. 00:00:47.120 --> 00:00:48.939 Help us now in Jesus' name we pray. 00:00:49.359 --> 00:00:49.560 Amen. 00:00:49.560 --> 00:00:49.659 Amen. 00:00:49.659 --> 00:01:00.759 When someone tries to speak authoritatively on a subject, it's right for us to expect 00:01:00.759 --> 00:01:01.619 some kind of credentials. 00:01:02.119 --> 00:01:08.099 So if you're driving and someone pulls you over with a siren in their car, then you are 00:01:08.099 --> 00:01:10.439 right to demand that that person show you his police badge. 00:01:10.439 --> 00:01:15.939 And in the same way, if you were to go into MIT and try to teach math there, you better 00:01:15.939 --> 00:01:17.739 have a PhD in math. 00:01:18.140 --> 00:01:19.599 You've got to have some kind of credentials. 00:01:20.480 --> 00:01:26.479 And so it's right for us to ask for that kind of, to prove someone's authenticity, their 00:01:26.479 --> 00:01:27.939 authority to speak on a subject. 00:01:28.700 --> 00:01:34.700 And the Gospel of John contains some of the most amazing claims that Jesus makes throughout 00:01:34.700 --> 00:01:35.340 his ministry. 00:01:35.340 --> 00:01:41.880 And one of them, which we spoke of last week, he says in verse 16, my father is working 00:01:41.880 --> 00:01:46.020 until now and I am working, saying that he essentially identified himself with God the 00:01:46.020 --> 00:01:49.640 Father as the Lord of creation who works even on the Sabbath. 00:01:50.140 --> 00:01:56.120 And when you make these claims, they need to be, that you need to give evidence of why you 00:01:56.120 --> 00:02:00.320 can say that, why you have the authority to say what you say, and why you have the credentials 00:02:00.320 --> 00:02:01.040 to do that. 00:02:01.040 --> 00:02:04.940 And that's essentially what Jesus tries to do in this passage. 00:02:05.860 --> 00:02:13.920 And what Jesus claims is even, is so ludicrous from the eyes of the Jewish leaders, because 00:02:13.920 --> 00:02:16.840 if you look at verse 17, he says, my father, right? 00:02:17.400 --> 00:02:23.460 And just to illustrate that, if I'm in the same room as my sister and I'm talking about 00:02:23.460 --> 00:02:27.340 my dad, my father, I don't say my dad, right? 00:02:27.340 --> 00:02:29.180 Because it's our dad, right? 00:02:29.180 --> 00:02:32.219 And so I'd either simply just say dad or our dad. 00:02:32.240 --> 00:02:36.540 I would never say my dad when I'm talking to my sister about my father, right? 00:02:36.640 --> 00:02:42.719 But so the Jews were in a habit of, in their worship services of referring to God as our 00:02:42.719 --> 00:02:46.000 father, recognizing collectively that God is their father. 00:02:46.180 --> 00:02:49.780 But here in their very presence, Jesus looks to them. 00:02:49.860 --> 00:02:52.800 He says, my father is working. 00:02:52.800 --> 00:02:56.820 So he's setting himself apart from them and telling them that, you know what? 00:02:56.939 --> 00:03:02.800 God, you say is our father, but he's a father to me in a way that he is and to you, right? 00:03:03.300 --> 00:03:05.420 I have a unique relationship with him. 00:03:06.180 --> 00:03:11.840 And so he's claiming really, in essence, equality with him because he's saying he's God, he's 00:03:11.840 --> 00:03:12.260 his father. 00:03:12.340 --> 00:03:13.980 They share the same nature. 00:03:13.979 --> 00:03:18.500 And so the Jews correctly catch the drift of Jesus's argument. 00:03:18.899 --> 00:03:21.539 And so they're indignant and they try to kill him. 00:03:21.679 --> 00:03:26.039 Verse 18, this was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him because not only was 00:03:26.039 --> 00:03:33.979 he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own father, making himself equal with 00:03:33.979 --> 00:03:34.859 God. 00:03:36.219 --> 00:03:41.419 If any claim to authority needs to be proved or demonstrated, this one does. 00:03:41.419 --> 00:03:43.199 And that's what Jesus sets out to do. 00:03:43.280 --> 00:03:47.819 And he does that by telling us to believe that he is the son of God who imparts eternal 00:03:47.819 --> 00:03:53.679 life because of his works, because of his father and his scriptures. 00:03:53.679 --> 00:03:56.139 They bear witness about him. 00:03:56.279 --> 00:04:00.719 So he's saying we need to believe in him as a son of God who imparts eternal life because 00:04:00.719 --> 00:04:05.419 three things, his works, his father and his scriptures bear witness about him. 00:04:05.899 --> 00:04:07.099 And we're going to go through that. 00:04:07.099 --> 00:04:11.919 First, talk about the extent of the son's authority, the origin of the son's authority, and then 00:04:11.919 --> 00:04:14.539 finally, the evidence of the son's authority. 00:04:15.659 --> 00:04:18.259 So first, let's talk about the extent of the son's authority. 00:04:18.759 --> 00:04:21.219 Really, what kind of authority does a son have? 00:04:21.879 --> 00:04:26.480 And the Jewish leaders, while they were right to get that Jesus was claiming equality with 00:04:26.480 --> 00:04:31.819 God, they were also misunderstanding a part of that because when they accuse Jesus of claiming 00:04:31.819 --> 00:04:37.639 equality with God, they think that Jesus is saying that he is another God, a God really 00:04:37.639 --> 00:04:42.279 in competition with God the Father, like a God alongside him, a separate from him. 00:04:42.420 --> 00:04:45.759 And that to them was unacceptable because they believed in one God. 00:04:46.639 --> 00:04:48.360 But that's not what Jesus is saying. 00:04:48.439 --> 00:04:50.279 And he makes this clear in verse 19. 00:04:50.279 --> 00:04:58.859 So Jesus said to them, truly, truly, I say to you, the son can do nothing of his own accord, 00:04:59.019 --> 00:05:01.739 but only what he sees the father doing. 00:05:02.259 --> 00:05:03.899 And that's a categorical statement. 00:05:04.079 --> 00:05:10.019 So the son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the father doing. 00:05:10.059 --> 00:05:10.719 That's what he does. 00:05:10.799 --> 00:05:13.179 That's the extent of the son's authority. 00:05:13.299 --> 00:05:16.099 It's circumscribed by the father's will. 00:05:17.319 --> 00:05:18.699 Jesus is equal with God. 00:05:18.699 --> 00:05:19.800 Yes, that is true. 00:05:20.039 --> 00:05:22.439 But Jesus is not independent from God. 00:05:22.819 --> 00:05:24.000 They're one God. 00:05:24.479 --> 00:05:30.639 In fact, there's such a unity that the son does nothing of his own accord. 00:05:30.699 --> 00:05:33.599 He only sees what the father is doing, only does what the father is doing. 00:05:33.959 --> 00:05:38.500 This is a doctrine that we call a functional subordination of the son. 00:05:39.819 --> 00:05:43.620 It's taught that even though Jesus is fully equal, even though he's fully God, 00:05:43.699 --> 00:05:48.259 even though he has the same nature and essence in his function, in his works, 00:05:48.259 --> 00:05:51.180 Jesus willingly and eternally submits to the father. 00:05:51.699 --> 00:05:54.000 And that's what's taught here. 00:05:54.360 --> 00:05:58.800 And later, John will also talk about the Holy Spirit, which forms the Trinity. 00:05:59.519 --> 00:06:03.399 So the extent of the son's authority is circumscribed by the father's will. 00:06:03.639 --> 00:06:08.319 But of course, that doesn't mean that it's a limitation of any sort for Jesus, 00:06:08.319 --> 00:06:11.759 because the father is God. 00:06:11.959 --> 00:06:12.920 He's omnipotent. 00:06:13.039 --> 00:06:13.779 He's infinite. 00:06:13.779 --> 00:06:17.339 So really, when you say that Jesus can only do what he sees the father do, 00:06:17.539 --> 00:06:19.859 like that's not saying that Jesus is limited. 00:06:20.000 --> 00:06:22.459 Rather, it's saying that Jesus can do a whole lot. 00:06:23.019 --> 00:06:24.899 Jesus can do all that God does. 00:06:25.079 --> 00:06:27.739 Jesus has the divine prerogatives to himself. 00:06:28.479 --> 00:06:30.559 And so verses 19 to 20 says this, 00:06:30.560 --> 00:06:34.839 For whatever the father does, that the son does likewise. 00:06:35.579 --> 00:06:39.639 Father loves the son and shows him all that he himself is doing. 00:06:40.060 --> 00:06:44.240 And greater works than these will show him so that you may marvel. 00:06:45.280 --> 00:06:50.519 Now, Jesus had just raised up or healed an invalid of 38 years. 00:06:50.840 --> 00:06:56.040 But now he promises you will see greater works than these that will make you marvel. 00:06:56.600 --> 00:06:59.560 And then he details what some of these great works might be. 00:06:59.560 --> 00:07:03.040 And the chief among them being, in verses 21 to 22, 00:07:03.259 --> 00:07:09.100 that he gets to impart eternal life to people and judge them at the final judgment. 00:07:09.339 --> 00:07:12.420 That's one of the chief among the things that Jesus gets to do, 00:07:12.720 --> 00:07:14.720 because he does what the father does. 00:07:15.120 --> 00:07:17.120 In verses 21 to 22, read it with me. 00:07:17.899 --> 00:07:21.939 For as the father raises the dead and gives them life, 00:07:22.079 --> 00:07:25.620 so also the son gives life to whom he will. 00:07:25.620 --> 00:07:30.680 For the father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the son. 00:07:31.420 --> 00:07:34.939 And notice the connection between judgment and life, eternal life there. 00:07:35.040 --> 00:07:37.060 Because Jesus gets to impart eternal life. 00:07:37.379 --> 00:07:39.300 For the father judges no one. 00:07:39.399 --> 00:07:41.340 And that's because the judgment is related. 00:07:41.800 --> 00:07:43.480 Later in verse 29, it says, 00:07:43.840 --> 00:07:46.480 Those who have done good to the resurrection of life will be raised, 00:07:46.680 --> 00:07:49.519 and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. 00:07:49.620 --> 00:07:52.000 So life and judgment are set up against each other. 00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:57.420 And that's why Jesus having the prerogative to give eternal life is the same prerogative to judge. 00:07:57.879 --> 00:08:00.360 Because by not giving eternal life to people, 00:08:00.420 --> 00:08:03.199 those people are subject to, liable to God's judgment. 00:08:04.339 --> 00:08:06.939 And because the father has appointed Jesus to be the judge, 00:08:07.060 --> 00:08:09.240 he gets to impart eternal life. 00:08:09.699 --> 00:08:11.720 And what exactly is eternal life? 00:08:11.959 --> 00:08:14.620 We talked about eternal life a lot throughout the Gospel of John, 00:08:14.800 --> 00:08:18.860 but this passage gives us more details into what it actually is. 00:08:19.300 --> 00:08:21.220 And two kinds of eternal life are mentioned. 00:08:21.220 --> 00:08:23.920 Here in verses 25 to 29. 00:08:24.860 --> 00:08:26.940 In verse 25, Jesus says, 00:08:27.420 --> 00:08:29.880 An hour is coming and is now here, 00:08:30.120 --> 00:08:32.620 when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, 00:08:32.680 --> 00:08:34.940 and those who hear will live. 00:08:36.100 --> 00:08:39.639 And then second, Jesus says in verses 28 and 29, 00:08:40.160 --> 00:08:41.180 An hour is coming, 00:08:41.500 --> 00:08:44.680 when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out. 00:08:45.019 --> 00:08:47.120 Those who have done good to the resurrection of life, 00:08:47.160 --> 00:08:50.000 and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. 00:08:50.000 --> 00:08:51.940 I don't know if you caught this, 00:08:52.139 --> 00:08:55.720 but if you examine those, compare those two sentences side by side, 00:08:56.059 --> 00:08:58.120 in the first case, Jesus says, 00:08:58.259 --> 00:09:00.940 An hour is coming and is now here. 00:09:01.340 --> 00:09:04.000 So he says that it's coming and is also already here. 00:09:04.379 --> 00:09:05.539 But in the second case, 00:09:05.639 --> 00:09:06.840 Jesus merely says, 00:09:06.919 --> 00:09:07.940 An hour is coming. 00:09:08.200 --> 00:09:10.000 He does not say that it is now here. 00:09:10.379 --> 00:09:12.220 So that's two different types of eternal life, 00:09:12.279 --> 00:09:13.840 the kinds of eternal life that Jesus is talking about. 00:09:13.840 --> 00:09:17.560 The first kind that Jesus imparts is spiritual life. 00:09:18.660 --> 00:09:23.120 The life of the soul that Jesus makes possible at his first coming, 00:09:23.500 --> 00:09:24.879 through his death and resurrection, 00:09:25.060 --> 00:09:25.940 by reconciling us, 00:09:26.060 --> 00:09:27.120 forgiving us of our sins, 00:09:27.240 --> 00:09:28.460 atoning for our sin, 00:09:28.840 --> 00:09:29.980 and delivering us from death, 00:09:30.060 --> 00:09:33.379 he imparts spiritual life to people who are spiritually dead. 00:09:33.580 --> 00:09:35.320 That's the first kind of eternal life. 00:09:35.580 --> 00:09:37.740 And that life is here already. 00:09:38.160 --> 00:09:38.940 It's coming. 00:09:38.940 --> 00:09:40.540 It will be consummated, 00:09:40.700 --> 00:09:41.820 fulfilled later, 00:09:41.940 --> 00:09:43.060 but it's already here. 00:09:43.220 --> 00:09:43.960 Here and now, 00:09:44.040 --> 00:09:45.580 we experience that eternal life, 00:09:45.640 --> 00:09:48.200 that spiritual life through Jesus and through his spirit. 00:09:49.000 --> 00:09:53.040 But the second kind of life that Jesus imparts is resurrection life, 00:09:53.440 --> 00:09:55.860 because he says that that is coming, 00:09:56.260 --> 00:09:57.620 but it's not now here. 00:09:58.160 --> 00:10:00.780 So that's going to happen at his second coming. 00:10:01.180 --> 00:10:02.360 The first life came, 00:10:02.780 --> 00:10:03.400 his first coming, 00:10:03.460 --> 00:10:05.220 the second life comes at his second coming, 00:10:05.360 --> 00:10:06.840 when he raises the dead, 00:10:06.920 --> 00:10:08.240 the bodies of the dead. 00:10:08.240 --> 00:10:09.740 So the resurrection of the body, 00:10:09.840 --> 00:10:13.419 our souls with God will be reunited with our bodies, 00:10:13.820 --> 00:10:14.899 and as our whole beings, 00:10:14.980 --> 00:10:17.539 we'll be able to worship God and be with him in heaven. 00:10:18.379 --> 00:10:20.620 And that's both of these things, 00:10:20.840 --> 00:10:22.840 imparting eternal life in both of these senses, 00:10:23.299 --> 00:10:25.639 are the prerogative of the Son of God. 00:10:25.820 --> 00:10:27.919 That's what Jesus gets to do. 00:10:28.620 --> 00:10:29.139 And this, 00:10:29.779 --> 00:10:31.440 consistently throughout the Old Testament, 00:10:32.019 --> 00:10:34.700 taught is uniquely a divine prerogative. 00:10:35.279 --> 00:10:37.120 So a king says this, 00:10:37.120 --> 00:10:39.639 an Israelite king says this to a Syrian king, 00:10:39.899 --> 00:10:41.279 who sends him a man, 00:10:41.500 --> 00:10:42.899 a commander of his army, 00:10:43.159 --> 00:10:44.120 effective with leprosy, 00:10:44.200 --> 00:10:44.399 saying, 00:10:44.580 --> 00:10:45.019 heal him. 00:10:45.060 --> 00:10:46.740 You have prophets in your nation, 00:10:47.000 --> 00:10:47.480 heal him. 00:10:47.820 --> 00:10:49.060 And then the Israelite king is indignant. 00:10:49.159 --> 00:10:49.440 He says, 00:10:49.679 --> 00:10:52.039 am I God to kill and to make alive, 00:10:52.299 --> 00:10:55.720 that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? 00:10:56.440 --> 00:10:56.940 Am I God? 00:10:56.940 --> 00:10:58.380 So giving life, 00:10:58.520 --> 00:10:59.980 whether it's through birth, 00:11:00.360 --> 00:11:02.620 like we see in the Huckins family, 00:11:02.780 --> 00:11:04.240 a birth of a new daughter, 00:11:04.620 --> 00:11:05.820 whether it's that kind of birth, 00:11:05.880 --> 00:11:06.880 or whether it's life, 00:11:07.320 --> 00:11:08.060 spiritual life, 00:11:08.180 --> 00:11:09.620 eternal life that he imparts, 00:11:09.900 --> 00:11:11.300 life comes from God. 00:11:11.360 --> 00:11:13.220 That's a uniquely divine privilege. 00:11:13.600 --> 00:11:14.540 And Jesus says, 00:11:14.720 --> 00:11:15.560 he does that, 00:11:15.720 --> 00:11:17.480 because he is the Son of God. 00:11:17.480 --> 00:11:20.120 That is the immensity, 00:11:20.259 --> 00:11:23.420 the extent of the Son's authority. 00:11:24.539 --> 00:11:24.980 Now, 00:11:25.460 --> 00:11:27.180 if that's the extent of his authority, 00:11:27.279 --> 00:11:29.200 then where does he get that authority? 00:11:29.440 --> 00:11:32.500 What is the origin of his authority? 00:11:33.460 --> 00:11:35.340 And this passage teaches us, 00:11:35.480 --> 00:11:36.399 in a way that really, 00:11:36.639 --> 00:11:39.139 a few other passages in the Bible do, 00:11:39.659 --> 00:11:41.940 that this authority of the Son 00:11:41.940 --> 00:11:44.500 is tied uniquely to his relationship, 00:11:44.700 --> 00:11:46.460 the way he relates to the Father. 00:11:46.460 --> 00:11:47.420 Now, 00:11:47.980 --> 00:11:48.160 first, 00:11:48.440 --> 00:11:49.660 the origin of the Son's authority 00:11:49.660 --> 00:11:51.180 is the Father's love. 00:11:52.460 --> 00:11:53.940 Verses 19 to 20, 00:11:54.519 --> 00:11:54.720 it says, 00:11:54.900 --> 00:11:56.379 for whatever the Father does, 00:11:56.820 --> 00:11:58.620 that the Son does likewise, 00:11:59.360 --> 00:12:02.000 for the Father loves the Son 00:12:02.000 --> 00:12:05.860 and shows him all that he himself is doing. 00:12:06.700 --> 00:12:07.420 Did you guys catch that? 00:12:07.759 --> 00:12:10.519 The reason why Jesus has this authority 00:12:10.519 --> 00:12:12.400 is because the Father loves him. 00:12:12.820 --> 00:12:14.519 And because the Father loves Jesus, 00:12:14.519 --> 00:12:17.000 he shows Jesus all that he is doing. 00:12:17.799 --> 00:12:20.199 And because Jesus does all that he is doing, 00:12:20.319 --> 00:12:23.279 he is able to reveal God the Father to us. 00:12:23.439 --> 00:12:26.059 So this has really powerful implications 00:12:26.059 --> 00:12:27.720 that affect our understanding 00:12:27.720 --> 00:12:29.179 of God's revelation to us 00:12:29.179 --> 00:12:30.860 and God's redemption of us. 00:12:31.299 --> 00:12:33.899 Because the reason why Jesus 00:12:33.899 --> 00:12:35.879 is the ultimate revelation of God, 00:12:36.120 --> 00:12:39.159 the reason why Jesus is the only way to God, 00:12:39.159 --> 00:12:40.740 we can't really, 00:12:40.839 --> 00:12:42.259 we can't get to know God the Father 00:12:42.259 --> 00:12:43.319 through any other means, 00:12:43.419 --> 00:12:44.519 through any other person, 00:12:44.799 --> 00:12:46.500 because Jesus uniquely, 00:12:46.659 --> 00:12:47.279 as the Son of God, 00:12:47.480 --> 00:12:48.759 is loved by the Father. 00:12:49.219 --> 00:12:50.659 And because the Father loves him, 00:12:50.679 --> 00:12:51.980 he shows him everything that he does. 00:12:52.079 --> 00:12:54.579 That's why he's able to reveal God to us. 00:12:55.980 --> 00:12:56.659 And then, 00:12:57.000 --> 00:12:59.439 and that means that it has great applications for us, 00:12:59.480 --> 00:12:59.620 right? 00:12:59.659 --> 00:13:01.039 Because then when we're seeking God, 00:13:01.279 --> 00:13:02.719 when we want to get to know God, 00:13:02.779 --> 00:13:05.439 we don't rely on our own philosophical explorations 00:13:05.440 --> 00:13:07.020 or spiritual meditations, 00:13:07.020 --> 00:13:09.320 but we learn from watching 00:13:09.320 --> 00:13:10.860 and hearing from, 00:13:10.940 --> 00:13:12.180 getting to know Jesus, 00:13:12.300 --> 00:13:14.040 because he reveals God to us. 00:13:15.060 --> 00:13:15.920 And then secondly, 00:13:16.020 --> 00:13:17.840 it has implications for our redemption. 00:13:19.200 --> 00:13:22.460 And because even before our redemption, 00:13:22.640 --> 00:13:25.520 our salvation depends on God's love for us, 00:13:25.840 --> 00:13:28.700 it depends on God's love for his Son. 00:13:29.360 --> 00:13:33.840 That's prior to even his love for us. 00:13:33.840 --> 00:13:36.700 And it's because the Father loves the Son, 00:13:36.800 --> 00:13:37.600 and the Son, 00:13:37.940 --> 00:13:39.019 in response, 00:13:39.480 --> 00:13:40.360 reciprocates that love, 00:13:40.460 --> 00:13:41.080 loves the Father, 00:13:41.139 --> 00:13:41.960 and wants to obey him. 00:13:42.080 --> 00:13:43.040 That's why he comes, 00:13:43.519 --> 00:13:44.540 to obey his Father, 00:13:44.879 --> 00:13:46.019 out of love for his Father. 00:13:46.080 --> 00:13:47.120 That's why he comes. 00:13:48.160 --> 00:13:49.019 And so that's, 00:13:49.460 --> 00:13:50.160 that means, 00:13:50.320 --> 00:13:50.920 and this is, 00:13:51.040 --> 00:13:51.259 I think, 00:13:51.300 --> 00:13:52.519 such a beautiful thing. 00:13:52.639 --> 00:13:54.220 I pray that you guys get this, 00:13:54.300 --> 00:13:56.160 because I can't adequately express it, 00:13:56.240 --> 00:13:57.519 but there's so much beauty there, 00:13:57.519 --> 00:13:58.400 that God, 00:13:58.620 --> 00:13:58.860 the Father, 00:13:58.980 --> 00:13:59.639 loving the Son, 00:13:59.700 --> 00:14:00.000 the Son, 00:14:00.300 --> 00:14:00.920 loving the Father, 00:14:01.040 --> 00:14:02.400 that's the origin, 00:14:02.660 --> 00:14:03.660 that's the basis, 00:14:03.840 --> 00:14:05.519 for any love from God, 00:14:05.560 --> 00:14:06.460 that we get to experience. 00:14:06.980 --> 00:14:08.639 And we simply get enveloped, 00:14:08.639 --> 00:14:09.560 into that love, 00:14:10.040 --> 00:14:11.680 get carried into that love. 00:14:12.460 --> 00:14:13.780 That's beautiful. 00:14:14.320 --> 00:14:14.860 And so then, 00:14:14.960 --> 00:14:16.220 if we really get that, 00:14:16.300 --> 00:14:17.300 then we recognize, 00:14:17.399 --> 00:14:18.180 that we're not the center, 00:14:18.180 --> 00:14:18.759 of the universe. 00:14:20.160 --> 00:14:22.200 God doesn't revolve around us. 00:14:22.560 --> 00:14:24.280 We revolve around him, 00:14:24.340 --> 00:14:25.620 and his perfect love, 00:14:25.620 --> 00:14:26.780 within the Trinity. 00:14:28.040 --> 00:14:28.740 And it's only, 00:14:28.740 --> 00:14:30.000 when we recognize that, 00:14:30.080 --> 00:14:32.100 that we will see God's love, 00:14:32.100 --> 00:14:33.480 as a privilege, 00:14:33.600 --> 00:14:34.639 as an undeserved privilege, 00:14:34.720 --> 00:14:35.860 and not as an entitlement. 00:14:37.540 --> 00:14:38.620 And then we can truly live, 00:14:38.680 --> 00:14:39.860 to please and glorify God. 00:14:40.620 --> 00:14:40.840 So, 00:14:41.000 --> 00:14:41.759 to summarize that, 00:14:41.820 --> 00:14:42.600 God's revelation, 00:14:42.779 --> 00:14:43.139 and redemption, 00:14:43.500 --> 00:14:45.519 both are an overflow, 00:14:45.779 --> 00:14:46.940 of the reciprocal love, 00:14:46.980 --> 00:14:47.759 between the Father, 00:14:48.159 --> 00:14:48.899 and the Son. 00:14:48.940 --> 00:14:49.500 And that's, 00:14:49.700 --> 00:14:50.360 the origin, 00:14:50.620 --> 00:14:51.440 of the Son's, 00:14:51.560 --> 00:14:52.139 authority. 00:14:53.740 --> 00:14:54.820 There's a second origin, 00:14:55.019 --> 00:14:55.860 mentioned in this passage, 00:14:56.100 --> 00:14:57.300 and that's in verse 26. 00:14:58.120 --> 00:14:58.479 So, 00:14:58.559 --> 00:14:59.139 the first was, 00:14:59.199 --> 00:14:59.939 the Father's love, 00:15:00.099 --> 00:15:00.599 and the second, 00:15:00.719 --> 00:15:02.019 is the Father's life. 00:15:02.620 --> 00:15:03.500 Verse 26 says, 00:15:03.579 --> 00:15:04.500 for as the Father, 00:15:04.559 --> 00:15:06.219 has life in himself, 00:15:06.859 --> 00:15:08.079 so he has granted, 00:15:08.219 --> 00:15:08.699 the Son, 00:15:08.819 --> 00:15:09.620 also to have, 00:15:09.979 --> 00:15:11.599 life in himself. 00:15:12.639 --> 00:15:13.599 This refers, 00:15:13.740 --> 00:15:14.839 to an attribute of God, 00:15:14.939 --> 00:15:15.199 called, 00:15:15.299 --> 00:15:15.879 aseity, 00:15:16.079 --> 00:15:17.439 or self-existence. 00:15:17.439 --> 00:15:18.179 Which means, 00:15:18.299 --> 00:15:19.339 that God has life, 00:15:19.479 --> 00:15:19.979 or being, 00:15:20.139 --> 00:15:21.120 in himself, 00:15:21.379 --> 00:15:22.419 unlike the rest, 00:15:22.479 --> 00:15:22.919 of creation, 00:15:23.039 --> 00:15:23.819 which just has, 00:15:23.899 --> 00:15:24.799 derivative existence. 00:15:25.620 --> 00:15:25.819 We, 00:15:25.959 --> 00:15:27.039 we have life, 00:15:27.120 --> 00:15:28.539 because God gives us life, 00:15:28.639 --> 00:15:29.379 because we're dependent, 00:15:29.379 --> 00:15:29.879 on him. 00:15:30.299 --> 00:15:31.159 We are creatures, 00:15:31.740 --> 00:15:33.019 but God is not like that. 00:15:33.059 --> 00:15:33.639 He has life, 00:15:33.819 --> 00:15:34.500 in himself. 00:15:35.019 --> 00:15:35.219 I mean, 00:15:35.279 --> 00:15:35.919 to illustrate that, 00:15:35.959 --> 00:15:36.559 it's kind of like, 00:15:36.679 --> 00:15:37.679 if you have, 00:15:37.740 --> 00:15:38.439 photo, 00:15:38.599 --> 00:15:39.519 luminescent objects, 00:15:39.679 --> 00:15:39.879 like, 00:15:40.939 --> 00:15:42.000 glow-in-the-dark, 00:15:42.319 --> 00:15:43.379 stickers, 00:15:43.620 --> 00:15:44.219 maybe that you put, 00:15:44.219 --> 00:15:44.819 on your ceilings, 00:15:44.899 --> 00:15:45.759 when you turn the lights off, 00:15:45.819 --> 00:15:46.199 it glows, 00:15:46.299 --> 00:15:46.799 because it has, 00:15:46.819 --> 00:15:48.179 absorbed some light, 00:15:48.479 --> 00:15:49.179 and it was there, 00:15:49.259 --> 00:15:50.259 from the original source, 00:15:50.519 --> 00:15:51.419 and then it just kind of, 00:15:51.439 --> 00:15:52.139 radiates that, 00:15:52.379 --> 00:15:53.359 emits that light. 00:15:53.740 --> 00:15:54.120 This is like, 00:15:54.120 --> 00:15:55.419 or like your clock dial, 00:15:55.500 --> 00:15:56.100 maybe that has, 00:15:56.179 --> 00:15:57.139 glow-in-the-dark properties, 00:15:57.240 --> 00:15:57.379 like, 00:15:57.500 --> 00:15:58.399 we're like that, 00:15:58.500 --> 00:15:58.659 right? 00:15:58.860 --> 00:15:59.519 We don't have, 00:15:59.580 --> 00:16:00.560 we can't generate light, 00:16:00.620 --> 00:16:01.019 on our own. 00:16:01.159 --> 00:16:02.220 We have no life, 00:16:02.259 --> 00:16:02.779 of our own. 00:16:03.039 --> 00:16:03.240 Rather, 00:16:03.379 --> 00:16:04.179 we reflect, 00:16:04.399 --> 00:16:04.940 what we see, 00:16:05.000 --> 00:16:06.039 we absorb the life, 00:16:06.100 --> 00:16:06.899 from the source, 00:16:06.980 --> 00:16:07.440 and we just, 00:16:07.539 --> 00:16:08.060 we admit it. 00:16:08.100 --> 00:16:08.960 That's what we do. 00:16:09.220 --> 00:16:10.440 That's what all creatures do. 00:16:10.500 --> 00:16:11.899 That's what all creation does. 00:16:12.100 --> 00:16:13.460 But God is different, 00:16:13.700 --> 00:16:14.759 and the son of God, 00:16:14.879 --> 00:16:15.879 like his father, 00:16:15.960 --> 00:16:17.120 is self-existent. 00:16:17.179 --> 00:16:17.820 He has life, 00:16:18.039 --> 00:16:18.940 in himself, 00:16:18.940 --> 00:16:19.940 and that's why, 00:16:20.000 --> 00:16:20.840 he's able to give life, 00:16:20.940 --> 00:16:21.299 to others. 00:16:21.580 --> 00:16:22.620 Because he's the source. 00:16:23.220 --> 00:16:24.060 He's the original. 00:16:24.639 --> 00:16:26.139 He doesn't have, 00:16:26.240 --> 00:16:26.980 a derivative existence, 00:16:26.980 --> 00:16:27.799 like we do. 00:16:28.200 --> 00:16:29.440 So the father's love, 00:16:29.759 --> 00:16:30.240 for him, 00:16:30.279 --> 00:16:31.460 and the father's life, 00:16:31.560 --> 00:16:32.100 that he shares, 00:16:32.340 --> 00:16:33.340 these two things, 00:16:33.679 --> 00:16:34.799 give him the authority, 00:16:34.919 --> 00:16:36.379 to impart eternal life. 00:16:36.440 --> 00:16:37.179 That's the origin, 00:16:37.779 --> 00:16:39.360 of the son's authority. 00:16:40.879 --> 00:16:41.600 And this, 00:16:41.720 --> 00:16:42.399 is the part that Jesus, 00:16:42.759 --> 00:16:43.659 trying to get to now. 00:16:43.779 --> 00:16:43.980 Next, 00:16:44.060 --> 00:16:44.879 is having established, 00:16:45.039 --> 00:16:46.240 the extent of his authority, 00:16:46.240 --> 00:16:47.460 and the origin of his authority, 00:16:47.460 --> 00:16:48.320 we finally see, 00:16:48.320 --> 00:16:49.220 the evidence. 00:16:49.960 --> 00:16:50.080 So, 00:16:50.379 --> 00:16:51.139 what's the proof? 00:16:51.620 --> 00:16:52.240 Why do you, 00:16:52.379 --> 00:16:52.980 why should we believe, 00:16:53.100 --> 00:16:54.120 that Jesus has the authority, 00:16:54.120 --> 00:16:54.759 to do this? 00:16:55.080 --> 00:16:56.639 And he gives his answer, 00:16:56.639 --> 00:16:57.419 in three parts. 00:16:57.799 --> 00:16:58.259 And first, 00:16:58.399 --> 00:16:59.199 is his works. 00:16:59.860 --> 00:17:00.199 Second, 00:17:00.319 --> 00:17:00.960 his father. 00:17:01.360 --> 00:17:01.779 And third, 00:17:01.860 --> 00:17:02.500 his scriptures. 00:17:02.659 --> 00:17:02.899 He says, 00:17:02.960 --> 00:17:03.899 all three of these things, 00:17:04.000 --> 00:17:05.599 bear witness about him, 00:17:05.799 --> 00:17:06.960 about his authority. 00:17:08.039 --> 00:17:08.379 Jesus, 00:17:08.599 --> 00:17:08.819 you could, 00:17:09.019 --> 00:17:09.259 I mean, 00:17:09.319 --> 00:17:10.420 you could add John the Baptist, 00:17:10.579 --> 00:17:11.359 in there if you want to, 00:17:11.440 --> 00:17:12.819 because he does briefly mention, 00:17:12.879 --> 00:17:13.400 John the Baptist. 00:17:13.779 --> 00:17:14.920 But he makes it very clear, 00:17:14.920 --> 00:17:16.460 that John the Baptist's testimony, 00:17:16.460 --> 00:17:18.220 is not what validates him, 00:17:18.440 --> 00:17:19.240 because that's still, 00:17:19.360 --> 00:17:19.700 in the end, 00:17:19.759 --> 00:17:20.500 merely the testimony, 00:17:20.620 --> 00:17:21.340 of other men. 00:17:22.000 --> 00:17:22.720 And Jesus, 00:17:22.900 --> 00:17:23.240 indeed, 00:17:23.299 --> 00:17:24.319 does not need to be validated, 00:17:24.319 --> 00:17:24.740 by that. 00:17:24.819 --> 00:17:26.259 His validation comes, 00:17:26.340 --> 00:17:26.559 rather, 00:17:26.660 --> 00:17:27.500 from his father, 00:17:27.579 --> 00:17:28.100 from God. 00:17:28.640 --> 00:17:29.519 That's demonstrated, 00:17:29.640 --> 00:17:30.180 in his works, 00:17:30.420 --> 00:17:31.340 his father's testimony, 00:17:31.460 --> 00:17:32.079 and his scriptures. 00:17:32.880 --> 00:17:34.079 Read verse 36, 00:17:34.160 --> 00:17:34.460 with me. 00:17:34.640 --> 00:17:34.860 It says, 00:17:35.620 --> 00:17:36.259 Jesus says, 00:17:36.940 --> 00:17:38.059 but the testimony, 00:17:38.059 --> 00:17:38.819 that I have, 00:17:38.819 --> 00:17:39.640 is greater, 00:17:39.640 --> 00:17:40.779 than that of John. 00:17:41.360 --> 00:17:41.819 For the works, 00:17:41.900 --> 00:17:42.440 that the father, 00:17:42.640 --> 00:17:43.140 has given me, 00:17:43.200 --> 00:17:43.740 to accomplish, 00:17:44.019 --> 00:17:45.200 the very works, 00:17:45.400 --> 00:17:46.259 that I am doing, 00:17:46.460 --> 00:17:47.420 bear witness, 00:17:47.539 --> 00:17:48.240 about me, 00:17:48.319 --> 00:17:48.940 that the father, 00:17:48.940 --> 00:17:50.579 has sent me. 00:17:51.539 --> 00:17:51.640 Now, 00:17:52.039 --> 00:17:53.519 so this is the first category, 00:17:53.620 --> 00:17:54.160 the works. 00:17:54.480 --> 00:17:55.160 These works, 00:17:55.299 --> 00:17:55.740 that the father, 00:17:55.980 --> 00:17:56.840 that Jesus does, 00:17:56.880 --> 00:17:57.340 in his ministry, 00:17:57.440 --> 00:17:58.259 which includes, 00:17:58.319 --> 00:17:59.340 the miraculous signs, 00:17:59.340 --> 00:18:00.120 that he performs, 00:18:00.259 --> 00:18:01.819 like healing the invalid. 00:18:02.340 --> 00:18:03.180 And ultimately, 00:18:03.539 --> 00:18:04.720 though this hasn't happened yet, 00:18:04.860 --> 00:18:05.819 his death, 00:18:06.160 --> 00:18:07.299 and resurrection, 00:18:07.299 --> 00:18:08.220 from death. 00:18:08.640 --> 00:18:10.500 Those works, 00:18:10.980 --> 00:18:11.480 demonstrate, 00:18:11.779 --> 00:18:12.279 prove, 00:18:12.519 --> 00:18:13.860 his authority. 00:18:15.340 --> 00:18:15.539 And, 00:18:15.539 --> 00:18:16.519 this, 00:18:17.579 --> 00:18:18.779 we might be skeptical, 00:18:18.779 --> 00:18:19.339 of this, 00:18:19.379 --> 00:18:20.139 as modern people, 00:18:20.220 --> 00:18:20.859 we like to think, 00:18:20.960 --> 00:18:21.079 oh, 00:18:21.159 --> 00:18:21.460 we're, 00:18:21.740 --> 00:18:22.000 you know, 00:18:22.039 --> 00:18:22.519 advanced, 00:18:22.700 --> 00:18:22.859 you know, 00:18:22.899 --> 00:18:23.460 modern people, 00:18:23.599 --> 00:18:24.819 who are not as credulous, 00:18:24.920 --> 00:18:26.359 as people from the ancient times. 00:18:26.799 --> 00:18:27.359 And so for us, 00:18:27.399 --> 00:18:27.980 how can you say, 00:18:28.059 --> 00:18:29.000 that these miraculous signs, 00:18:29.079 --> 00:18:29.559 really happen? 00:18:29.639 --> 00:18:30.839 How can they really be a proof, 00:18:31.319 --> 00:18:32.759 of Christ's authority? 00:18:33.180 --> 00:18:33.379 And that, 00:18:33.599 --> 00:18:34.720 to say that would be, 00:18:34.960 --> 00:18:37.379 to fall susceptible, 00:18:37.599 --> 00:18:38.720 to what C.S. Lewis calls, 00:18:38.819 --> 00:18:40.059 chronological snobbery, 00:18:40.279 --> 00:18:40.480 right? 00:18:40.480 --> 00:18:41.420 Because, 00:18:41.660 --> 00:18:42.759 people back then, 00:18:42.980 --> 00:18:43.480 didn't believe, 00:18:43.559 --> 00:18:44.799 that people rose from the dead either. 00:18:45.400 --> 00:18:46.240 And people back then, 00:18:46.279 --> 00:18:46.819 didn't believe, 00:18:47.059 --> 00:18:48.200 that the invalid of 30 years, 00:18:48.299 --> 00:18:48.860 walked either. 00:18:49.000 --> 00:18:49.460 They didn't. 00:18:49.980 --> 00:18:51.339 That's why they're recorded here, 00:18:51.380 --> 00:18:52.380 because it amazed them, 00:18:52.460 --> 00:18:52.880 because it was, 00:18:52.940 --> 00:18:53.539 extraordinary, 00:18:53.920 --> 00:18:54.559 not ordinary. 00:18:54.720 --> 00:18:55.460 That's why it's written, 00:18:55.559 --> 00:18:56.120 in the gospels. 00:18:56.480 --> 00:18:57.380 So in the same way, 00:18:57.460 --> 00:18:58.140 those works, 00:18:58.259 --> 00:18:59.519 have proved to these people, 00:18:59.599 --> 00:19:00.660 the authority of the son, 00:19:00.900 --> 00:19:01.420 they can, 00:19:01.519 --> 00:19:01.940 to us, 00:19:02.000 --> 00:19:03.180 serve as a meaningful, 00:19:03.400 --> 00:19:04.059 demonstration, 00:19:04.259 --> 00:19:05.180 of the son's authority. 00:19:05.980 --> 00:19:07.279 And this is unique, 00:19:07.380 --> 00:19:07.840 to Christianity. 00:19:08.519 --> 00:19:08.960 There's, 00:19:09.039 --> 00:19:09.940 there's an author, 00:19:10.060 --> 00:19:11.140 named C. Michael Patton, 00:19:11.200 --> 00:19:11.820 who wrote a book, 00:19:11.920 --> 00:19:12.500 recently called, 00:19:12.640 --> 00:19:13.700 Now That I'm a Christian. 00:19:14.519 --> 00:19:15.380 And in the book, 00:19:15.460 --> 00:19:16.360 he writes about, 00:19:16.580 --> 00:19:17.220 how Christianity, 00:19:17.680 --> 00:19:19.000 is the world's, 00:19:19.000 --> 00:19:21.080 most falsifiable religion. 00:19:22.320 --> 00:19:23.360 And what he means, 00:19:23.420 --> 00:19:24.100 by that is this, 00:19:24.220 --> 00:19:24.680 is that, 00:19:25.259 --> 00:19:25.380 if, 00:19:25.660 --> 00:19:26.720 look at any other religion, 00:19:26.820 --> 00:19:27.320 look at Islam, 00:19:27.660 --> 00:19:27.960 Buddhism, 00:19:28.340 --> 00:19:28.779 Hinduism, 00:19:28.900 --> 00:19:29.660 all the major religions, 00:19:29.740 --> 00:19:30.180 look at them, 00:19:30.720 --> 00:19:31.400 examine them, 00:19:31.519 --> 00:19:32.380 and they start, 00:19:32.380 --> 00:19:33.320 something like this. 00:19:33.440 --> 00:19:34.019 It starts with, 00:19:34.200 --> 00:19:35.080 the private vision, 00:19:35.180 --> 00:19:35.620 or a dream, 00:19:35.720 --> 00:19:36.539 you have about God, 00:19:36.759 --> 00:19:39.060 or a private idea, 00:19:39.060 --> 00:19:40.100 you have about God, 00:19:40.120 --> 00:19:40.840 or a philosophy. 00:19:41.460 --> 00:19:42.080 And then, 00:19:42.279 --> 00:19:43.340 you share this, 00:19:43.440 --> 00:19:44.019 with people, 00:19:44.220 --> 00:19:45.560 and this one person's testimony, 00:19:45.660 --> 00:19:46.420 becomes the basis, 00:19:46.420 --> 00:19:47.240 for the religion. 00:19:48.420 --> 00:19:49.920 Because it's a private dream, 00:19:50.019 --> 00:19:50.680 a private vision, 00:19:50.759 --> 00:19:51.440 a private idea, 00:19:51.519 --> 00:19:52.680 you have no way, 00:19:52.799 --> 00:19:54.120 objectively verify, 00:19:54.320 --> 00:19:54.720 anything, 00:19:55.080 --> 00:19:56.120 that this person claims. 00:19:56.420 --> 00:19:57.600 It's in the person's dream, 00:19:57.660 --> 00:19:58.039 or vision. 00:19:58.360 --> 00:19:58.920 There's no way, 00:19:58.980 --> 00:19:59.660 to verify it. 00:19:59.980 --> 00:20:00.600 But Christianity, 00:20:00.600 --> 00:20:01.700 is very different. 00:20:02.140 --> 00:20:03.720 Jesus has a public ministry, 00:20:04.100 --> 00:20:05.100 Jesus has a public, 00:20:05.099 --> 00:20:05.539 public death, 00:20:05.779 --> 00:20:07.459 Jesus has a public resurrection, 00:20:07.980 --> 00:20:09.740 and then he has a public testimony, 00:20:10.059 --> 00:20:10.899 and all the people, 00:20:11.000 --> 00:20:11.619 who saw him, 00:20:11.699 --> 00:20:12.219 tell people, 00:20:12.379 --> 00:20:13.699 about what they saw. 00:20:14.599 --> 00:20:14.759 See, 00:20:14.839 --> 00:20:15.059 you see, 00:20:15.119 --> 00:20:16.219 if you want to start a religion, 00:20:16.319 --> 00:20:17.439 if you want to start a cult, 00:20:17.539 --> 00:20:18.419 you don't go out saying, 00:20:18.500 --> 00:20:18.599 well, 00:20:18.639 --> 00:20:19.199 I'm going to die, 00:20:19.240 --> 00:20:20.359 and I'm going to rise again, 00:20:20.359 --> 00:20:21.019 in three days. 00:20:21.579 --> 00:20:22.199 Because if you do, 00:20:22.299 --> 00:20:23.619 that religion is not going to go anywhere, 00:20:23.719 --> 00:20:24.599 because you're going to die, 00:20:24.639 --> 00:20:25.419 and you're not going to rise, 00:20:25.480 --> 00:20:26.039 in three days. 00:20:26.480 --> 00:20:26.639 Right? 00:20:27.039 --> 00:20:28.359 That's not what you do. 00:20:28.359 --> 00:20:29.619 But Jesus said that, 00:20:29.679 --> 00:20:31.159 and Christianity endured, 00:20:31.459 --> 00:20:32.139 and it is now, 00:20:32.240 --> 00:20:33.339 the largest religion in the world. 00:20:33.500 --> 00:20:33.819 Why? 00:20:34.079 --> 00:20:35.459 Because it actually happened. 00:20:36.519 --> 00:20:37.979 That's not how you start a religion. 00:20:38.479 --> 00:20:40.959 These works that Jesus did, 00:20:41.219 --> 00:20:41.819 they proved, 00:20:41.879 --> 00:20:43.899 they show the Son's authority, 00:20:44.439 --> 00:20:47.059 in a way that no other religion can claim. 00:20:48.279 --> 00:20:48.740 And then second, 00:20:48.740 --> 00:20:51.980 the Father himself bears witness, 00:20:51.980 --> 00:20:52.759 about the Son. 00:20:53.640 --> 00:20:54.299 Jesus says, 00:20:54.380 --> 00:20:55.980 in verses 37 to 38, 00:20:56.880 --> 00:20:58.460 And the Father who sent me, 00:20:58.599 --> 00:21:00.339 has himself borne witness, 00:21:00.400 --> 00:21:00.920 about me. 00:21:01.759 --> 00:21:03.660 His voice you have never heard, 00:21:03.960 --> 00:21:05.839 His form you have never seen, 00:21:06.019 --> 00:21:07.319 and you do not have His word, 00:21:07.359 --> 00:21:08.079 abiding in you. 00:21:08.579 --> 00:21:10.120 For you do not believe, 00:21:10.200 --> 00:21:11.740 the one whom He has sent. 00:21:12.460 --> 00:21:12.700 Now, 00:21:12.819 --> 00:21:14.519 this is a general reference, 00:21:14.599 --> 00:21:15.720 to all the ways, 00:21:15.759 --> 00:21:16.420 in which the Father, 00:21:16.559 --> 00:21:17.839 reveals Himself through His Son. 00:21:18.740 --> 00:21:20.159 But you could tell, 00:21:20.279 --> 00:21:21.179 from what Jesus is saying, 00:21:21.199 --> 00:21:21.839 about these people, 00:21:22.159 --> 00:21:23.059 He accuses them, 00:21:23.119 --> 00:21:24.839 of not seeing God, 00:21:24.959 --> 00:21:26.139 not hearing His voice, 00:21:26.419 --> 00:21:27.419 not hearing His voice, 00:21:27.500 --> 00:21:28.480 not seeing His form, 00:21:28.699 --> 00:21:30.059 and not having His word. 00:21:30.579 --> 00:21:31.919 And those three things, 00:21:31.980 --> 00:21:34.039 are exactly what Jesus does. 00:21:34.299 --> 00:21:35.519 So if you have an ambassador, 00:21:35.519 --> 00:21:36.259 from a nation, 00:21:36.619 --> 00:21:37.459 and that ambassador, 00:21:37.639 --> 00:21:39.019 faithfully reflects, 00:21:39.179 --> 00:21:40.599 the desires and purposes, 00:21:40.779 --> 00:21:41.919 of the king, 00:21:41.959 --> 00:21:42.439 or the president, 00:21:42.539 --> 00:21:43.439 that sent that ambassador, 00:21:43.799 --> 00:21:45.319 then that's a good evidence, 00:21:45.519 --> 00:21:46.299 that's a good sign, 00:21:46.379 --> 00:21:47.059 that that ambassador, 00:21:47.059 --> 00:21:48.700 was actually from that king, 00:21:48.919 --> 00:21:49.759 or from that president. 00:21:50.399 --> 00:21:50.639 Now, 00:21:50.919 --> 00:21:51.980 Jesus is saying here, 00:21:52.059 --> 00:21:53.720 that He shows, 00:21:53.839 --> 00:21:55.259 He speaks the voice of God, 00:21:55.440 --> 00:21:56.980 He has the form of God, 00:21:57.079 --> 00:21:58.659 and He is the word of God, 00:21:58.879 --> 00:22:00.240 and so in His ministry, 00:22:00.339 --> 00:22:01.099 in all that He does, 00:22:01.319 --> 00:22:02.240 the Father Himself, 00:22:02.379 --> 00:22:04.079 is bearing witness about Him. 00:22:04.440 --> 00:22:04.919 Right? 00:22:05.339 --> 00:22:07.099 And because He is, 00:22:07.319 --> 00:22:09.019 as it says in verse 25, 00:22:09.859 --> 00:22:10.419 29, 00:22:10.539 --> 00:22:11.440 He has the voice, 00:22:11.500 --> 00:22:12.599 that raises the dead, 00:22:12.700 --> 00:22:13.039 He says. 00:22:13.279 --> 00:22:14.339 That's the voice of God. 00:22:14.339 --> 00:22:14.379 God. 00:22:14.919 --> 00:22:15.839 And in Philippians 2, 00:22:15.899 --> 00:22:16.139 6, 00:22:16.199 --> 00:22:18.059 that He was in the very form of God, 00:22:18.179 --> 00:22:19.419 and in this same book, 00:22:19.519 --> 00:22:20.039 John 1, 00:22:20.099 --> 00:22:20.379 18, 00:22:20.480 --> 00:22:20.720 it says, 00:22:20.839 --> 00:22:22.199 No one has ever seen God. 00:22:22.439 --> 00:22:23.480 The only God, 00:22:23.679 --> 00:22:24.279 this is Jesus, 00:22:24.419 --> 00:22:25.480 who is at the Father's side, 00:22:25.579 --> 00:22:27.039 He has made Him known. 00:22:27.459 --> 00:22:29.179 So the Son has the Father's voice, 00:22:29.259 --> 00:22:30.899 the Son has the form of God, 00:22:31.059 --> 00:22:31.759 and then Son, 00:22:31.879 --> 00:22:32.159 of course, 00:22:32.240 --> 00:22:33.220 is the word of God, 00:22:33.279 --> 00:22:34.579 as John 1 told us. 00:22:35.139 --> 00:22:37.220 And because Jesus is all of these things, 00:22:37.559 --> 00:22:39.500 the Father has abundantly attested, 00:22:39.500 --> 00:22:41.279 to who Jesus actually is. 00:22:41.279 --> 00:22:43.420 The Father Himself has borne witness, 00:22:43.619 --> 00:22:44.899 to the authenticity, 00:22:45.139 --> 00:22:46.319 and authority of His Son. 00:22:48.740 --> 00:22:49.240 And finally, 00:22:49.799 --> 00:22:50.819 even more, 00:22:51.579 --> 00:22:52.379 not even more, 00:22:52.440 --> 00:22:52.960 but finally, 00:22:53.059 --> 00:22:53.720 the last thing, 00:22:53.960 --> 00:22:56.399 that His works and His Father bear witness about the Son, 00:22:56.440 --> 00:22:57.319 but there's one more thing, 00:22:57.420 --> 00:22:58.279 and that's the Scriptures. 00:22:59.019 --> 00:22:59.740 Verse 39, 00:23:00.379 --> 00:23:01.759 You search the Scriptures, 00:23:01.960 --> 00:23:03.500 because you think that in them, 00:23:03.579 --> 00:23:04.839 you have eternal life, 00:23:05.079 --> 00:23:08.099 and it is they that bear witness about Me. 00:23:08.099 --> 00:23:11.859 Jesus says that all the Scriptures 00:23:11.859 --> 00:23:13.799 that you have been reading all your life, 00:23:13.879 --> 00:23:14.639 that you've been memorizing, 00:23:14.759 --> 00:23:15.419 that you've been studying, 00:23:15.839 --> 00:23:16.559 they're about Me. 00:23:17.019 --> 00:23:18.659 They bear witness about Me. 00:23:19.279 --> 00:23:20.159 And for us, 00:23:20.319 --> 00:23:20.679 when I say, 00:23:20.740 --> 00:23:21.319 well, yeah, of course, 00:23:21.399 --> 00:23:22.759 the New Testament is all about Jesus, 00:23:23.240 --> 00:23:25.439 but the New Testament is not written yet, 00:23:25.500 --> 00:23:25.899 at this point. 00:23:26.059 --> 00:23:27.619 He's talking about the Old Testament. 00:23:28.559 --> 00:23:29.819 All of the Old Testament, 00:23:30.279 --> 00:23:31.119 from the Pentateuch, 00:23:31.199 --> 00:23:31.679 from Genesis, 00:23:31.859 --> 00:23:32.439 to Psalms, 00:23:32.559 --> 00:23:33.959 to the historical books, 00:23:33.959 --> 00:23:36.579 they all bear witness about Jesus. 00:23:36.719 --> 00:23:37.419 That's what He's saying. 00:23:37.420 --> 00:23:38.140 Right? 00:23:38.960 --> 00:23:39.360 So, 00:23:39.660 --> 00:23:41.400 and you might wonder how that's the case, 00:23:41.480 --> 00:23:43.279 but through direct prophecies, 00:23:43.360 --> 00:23:44.980 but also through types, 00:23:45.480 --> 00:23:45.940 for example, 00:23:46.120 --> 00:23:46.900 of figures, 00:23:47.039 --> 00:23:47.740 of persons, 00:23:48.000 --> 00:23:48.800 and institutions, 00:23:48.800 --> 00:23:50.200 like the Sabbath, 00:23:50.460 --> 00:23:50.980 the temple, 00:23:51.180 --> 00:23:51.820 the Passover, 00:23:52.279 --> 00:23:52.880 King David, 00:23:53.039 --> 00:23:53.320 Moses, 00:23:53.519 --> 00:23:55.759 all these things prefigure Christ, 00:23:55.920 --> 00:23:57.279 who is to come in the New Testament. 00:23:58.100 --> 00:23:58.779 So Jesus says, 00:23:58.880 --> 00:23:59.039 really, 00:23:59.220 --> 00:24:00.120 all you could rightly say, 00:24:00.200 --> 00:24:01.100 all of Scripture, 00:24:01.620 --> 00:24:02.220 every verse, 00:24:03.000 --> 00:24:03.820 is about Him. 00:24:04.539 --> 00:24:05.800 They point to Him. 00:24:05.799 --> 00:24:08.339 And the Jews were missing that, 00:24:08.419 --> 00:24:09.500 that very important point, 00:24:09.559 --> 00:24:10.819 the very purpose of the Scriptures. 00:24:11.460 --> 00:24:13.039 They diligently studied the Scriptures. 00:24:13.240 --> 00:24:16.039 The word search there suggests diligent study. 00:24:16.119 --> 00:24:18.599 So the Jewish leaders were dedicated to the Scriptures. 00:24:18.960 --> 00:24:25.279 But what Jesus says to them here shows that there's nothing intrinsically life-giving about reading the Scriptures. 00:24:25.279 --> 00:24:29.339 You can't just read the Scriptures and expect to have eternal life. 00:24:29.539 --> 00:24:31.399 It's not merely just in the reading, 00:24:31.740 --> 00:24:37.559 but it's through encountering Christ in your reading of Scripture that you are given eternal life. 00:24:41.160 --> 00:24:43.779 It's not to say the Scriptures are not powerful. 00:24:43.879 --> 00:24:44.259 They are. 00:24:44.500 --> 00:24:45.259 They're powerful. 00:24:45.680 --> 00:24:46.379 They're precious. 00:24:46.380 --> 00:24:51.220 Because the living God breathes through these pages. 00:24:51.620 --> 00:24:53.360 He breathes through pages. 00:24:53.480 --> 00:24:54.820 We can meet Him here. 00:24:57.920 --> 00:25:00.560 Not because the Bible itself saves us, 00:25:00.600 --> 00:25:04.400 but because the Christ who saves is revealed in the Scriptures. 00:25:05.980 --> 00:25:07.460 And understanding this is crucial. 00:25:07.460 --> 00:25:10.779 If you're a believer and you try to do Bible reading on a daily basis, 00:25:11.259 --> 00:25:16.759 this is important for keeping us from treating Bible reading legalistically. 00:25:18.019 --> 00:25:21.360 Because Bible reading can easily become an end in and of itself. 00:25:21.539 --> 00:25:21.920 And so we say, 00:25:22.000 --> 00:25:23.840 Well, that's something that I just have to do. 00:25:23.880 --> 00:25:25.140 I have to check it off the list today. 00:25:25.480 --> 00:25:25.960 I have to do it. 00:25:26.039 --> 00:25:26.120 No. 00:25:26.680 --> 00:25:28.220 Then that becomes legalistic. 00:25:28.819 --> 00:25:30.759 But that's not the purpose of the Scriptures. 00:25:30.880 --> 00:25:34.360 The purpose of the Scriptures is to let us hear from Jesus. 00:25:34.680 --> 00:25:36.360 Let us behold the face of Jesus. 00:25:36.359 --> 00:25:37.839 Let us talk to Jesus. 00:25:37.939 --> 00:25:40.819 Let us encounter Him through the pages of Scripture. 00:25:40.939 --> 00:25:41.919 That's the purpose. 00:25:42.939 --> 00:25:45.959 So it's no longer legalistic when you approach your Bible. 00:25:46.099 --> 00:25:47.459 No, you come to meet Him. 00:25:47.859 --> 00:25:49.399 You come to have life with Him. 00:25:52.299 --> 00:25:56.479 And if you are, have tried Bible reading, 00:25:56.599 --> 00:26:01.059 I wanted to use this opportunity to put in a little plug for a Bible reading plan. 00:26:01.379 --> 00:26:02.899 Since the new year is coming up, 00:26:02.899 --> 00:26:05.399 if you don't have a regular way in which you engage, 00:26:05.400 --> 00:26:07.360 meet and encounter Christ through the Word, 00:26:07.660 --> 00:26:09.800 I encourage you strongly to try that. 00:26:10.340 --> 00:26:13.880 So I printed off some Bible reading plans in the back that you guys can grab. 00:26:14.360 --> 00:26:19.620 This one is a good plan that has only 25 days of reading assigned per month 00:26:19.620 --> 00:26:23.060 because most often people try for like the first month, 00:26:23.140 --> 00:26:23.840 they fall behind, 00:26:24.019 --> 00:26:25.100 and they get too discouraged, 00:26:25.100 --> 00:26:26.060 and they discontinue. 00:26:26.059 --> 00:26:30.379 So this plan kind of already looks ahead and says, 00:26:30.500 --> 00:26:31.639 you know what, you are going to fall behind, 00:26:31.740 --> 00:26:33.179 so I'm just going to give you 25 days. 00:26:33.599 --> 00:26:35.819 So when you fall behind, you have time to catch up. 00:26:35.940 --> 00:26:36.740 And if you are ahead, 00:26:36.839 --> 00:26:39.279 then that's a good time, opportunity for you to really study 00:26:39.279 --> 00:26:41.919 and delve into specific passages in a deeper way. 00:26:42.279 --> 00:26:43.359 So I encourage you to do that. 00:26:43.460 --> 00:26:45.899 Consider that because Scripture is precious to us, 00:26:45.899 --> 00:26:48.259 the precious means by which we encounter Christ. 00:26:48.259 --> 00:26:50.859 And if you're not a believer, 00:26:50.960 --> 00:26:53.799 you don't yet believe that the Scripture is compelling, 00:26:54.000 --> 00:26:55.160 that Scripture is reliable, 00:26:55.619 --> 00:26:57.940 then I encourage you to read the Bible for yourself. 00:26:58.879 --> 00:27:02.640 Really, just as the proof of the putting is in the eating, 00:27:03.720 --> 00:27:05.700 really the best proof of the Bible 00:27:05.700 --> 00:27:10.220 is not some historical argument about its reliability, 00:27:10.420 --> 00:27:11.319 even though that is important, 00:27:11.319 --> 00:27:14.819 and the Bible is the most historically attested 00:27:14.819 --> 00:27:18.779 and the most rigorously examined piece 00:27:18.779 --> 00:27:20.759 of ancient literature in existence, 00:27:21.159 --> 00:27:23.539 but notwithstanding that the best proof of the Bible 00:27:23.539 --> 00:27:25.220 still is in the reading 00:27:25.220 --> 00:27:27.419 because it says in 2 Corinthians 4, 00:27:27.500 --> 00:27:31.539 there's a light of the gospel of the glory of Christ 00:27:31.539 --> 00:27:34.240 that you can see in God's Word 00:27:34.240 --> 00:27:36.019 as the Spirit works through Him. 00:27:36.240 --> 00:27:37.939 The light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, 00:27:38.579 --> 00:27:40.779 that's what's going to ultimately convince you 00:27:40.779 --> 00:27:42.039 of the authority of the Son 00:27:42.039 --> 00:27:42.940 and the evidence, 00:27:43.019 --> 00:27:44.579 the compelling evidence that Scripture is. 00:27:45.839 --> 00:27:50.059 So then, having witnessed the extent of the Son's authority, 00:27:50.259 --> 00:27:51.700 the origin of His authority, 00:27:51.759 --> 00:27:53.059 and the evidence of the Son's authority, 00:27:53.359 --> 00:27:55.359 the appropriate response for us 00:27:55.359 --> 00:27:58.579 is to believe that Jesus is the Son of God 00:27:58.579 --> 00:28:01.879 who imparts eternal life. 00:28:03.220 --> 00:28:07.960 And Jesus says something that's very revealing 00:28:07.960 --> 00:28:10.299 about those of us who do not believe. 00:28:10.779 --> 00:28:13.500 And He says of those who refuse to believe in Him, 00:28:13.619 --> 00:28:15.879 verse 40 and 42, 00:28:16.660 --> 00:28:16.839 He says, 00:28:17.059 --> 00:28:20.480 You refuse to come to Me that you may have life. 00:28:21.339 --> 00:28:26.000 I know that you do not have the love of God within you. 00:28:26.680 --> 00:28:28.039 Did you guys catch the two things 00:28:28.039 --> 00:28:30.160 that the people who refuse Him lack? 00:28:30.799 --> 00:28:34.200 It's life and love. 00:28:34.200 --> 00:28:38.519 The two very things that gave Jesus the authority, 00:28:38.720 --> 00:28:40.019 the origin of His authority, 00:28:40.559 --> 00:28:41.640 the love of the Father, 00:28:41.940 --> 00:28:43.319 the life of the Father that He has. 00:28:43.580 --> 00:28:45.900 Because He uniquely has those things, 00:28:46.080 --> 00:28:47.380 if you reject Him, 00:28:47.620 --> 00:28:48.819 you will have no life, 00:28:49.000 --> 00:28:49.920 no spiritual life. 00:28:50.039 --> 00:28:52.100 You will have no love of the Father. 00:28:53.539 --> 00:28:55.860 And why do people reject Him? 00:28:55.859 --> 00:28:58.819 And Jesus tells us that too in verse 41 and 44. 00:28:59.500 --> 00:29:00.619 In contrast to Jesus, 00:29:00.799 --> 00:29:02.179 Jesus says in verse 41, 00:29:02.459 --> 00:29:04.839 I do not receive glory from people. 00:29:05.179 --> 00:29:05.559 He's saying, 00:29:05.659 --> 00:29:07.479 I don't need any validation from people. 00:29:07.579 --> 00:29:07.819 He says, 00:29:07.859 --> 00:29:09.079 I don't receive glory from people, 00:29:09.119 --> 00:29:09.500 He says. 00:29:09.979 --> 00:29:11.359 But in contrast to Jesus, 00:29:11.539 --> 00:29:12.699 it says in verse 44, 00:29:12.700 --> 00:29:15.299 For those who fail to believe in Him 00:29:15.299 --> 00:29:18.500 receive glory from one another 00:29:18.500 --> 00:29:23.640 and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God. 00:29:24.220 --> 00:29:28.840 Like a student that cares more about what his or her peers think 00:29:28.840 --> 00:29:31.400 than what her teacher thinks, 00:29:33.100 --> 00:29:36.740 we seek glory and receive glory from one another 00:29:36.740 --> 00:29:40.539 rather than seeking the glory that comes from the only God. 00:29:40.539 --> 00:29:46.180 This tragic situation reminds me of a tagline of a ministry 00:29:46.180 --> 00:29:48.240 that supports churches called Nine Marks. 00:29:48.460 --> 00:29:49.759 They have a tagline that says, 00:29:50.180 --> 00:29:51.799 Ask the Bible, not the crowd. 00:29:52.460 --> 00:29:53.980 It's a really good tagline. 00:29:54.740 --> 00:29:57.339 Because unfortunately, a lot of times, 00:29:57.420 --> 00:29:58.559 we do exactly the opposite. 00:29:58.779 --> 00:30:00.319 We ask the crowd, but not the Bible. 00:30:02.259 --> 00:30:06.299 We ask self-help books, blogs, newspapers, 00:30:06.980 --> 00:30:08.139 pundits, magazines. 00:30:08.339 --> 00:30:09.379 We ask Oprah. 00:30:09.380 --> 00:30:11.280 We ask the Daily Show. 00:30:11.740 --> 00:30:13.300 We ask our peers. 00:30:13.480 --> 00:30:14.820 We ask even ourselves. 00:30:15.140 --> 00:30:17.560 But we don't ask the only God. 00:30:20.300 --> 00:30:23.520 We want to be perceived as enlightened by those around us 00:30:23.520 --> 00:30:26.660 and not be enlightened by the actual light of God 00:30:26.660 --> 00:30:28.360 that shines from the only God. 00:30:28.359 --> 00:30:32.779 And I plead with you to ask yourself this morning, 00:30:33.000 --> 00:30:37.399 Do I really believe that Jesus is the Son of God 00:30:37.399 --> 00:30:40.639 who imparts eternal life? 00:30:40.640 --> 00:30:43.000 God has spoken. 00:30:43.000 --> 00:30:43.480 God has spoken. 00:30:43.480 --> 00:30:46.640 The Father has borne witness through the works, 00:30:46.780 --> 00:30:48.620 through His own testimony, and through the Scriptures. 00:30:48.980 --> 00:30:53.040 He tells us that Jesus is the authoritative Son of God. 00:30:53.200 --> 00:30:57.740 And it's only when we as people choose to listen to the only God 00:30:57.740 --> 00:31:01.580 rather than all these noises and opinions and voices around us. 00:31:01.579 --> 00:31:05.659 It's only when we choose to please the only God 00:31:05.659 --> 00:31:10.019 rather than the countless expectations and demands placed on us 00:31:10.019 --> 00:31:11.099 by those around us. 00:31:11.399 --> 00:31:14.019 That's when we really begin to live. 00:31:14.980 --> 00:31:17.439 That's when we begin to have spiritual life. 00:31:18.059 --> 00:31:21.159 That's what it means to inherit eternal life. 00:31:21.160 --> 00:31:26.100 So I pray you consider this and delay no longer, 00:31:26.240 --> 00:31:27.900 but believe in Jesus this morning. 00:31:28.220 --> 00:31:29.000 Let's pray together. 00:31:41.000 --> 00:31:43.300 God, we do believe. 00:31:45.300 --> 00:31:46.860 Now help our unbelief. 00:31:51.160 --> 00:31:57.100 We pray that you would help us so that our belief 00:31:57.100 --> 00:32:00.200 in your testimony regarding your Son 00:32:00.200 --> 00:32:08.040 would have functional priority and authority in our lives. 00:32:12.279 --> 00:32:15.700 Help us to seek you, listen to you daily. 00:32:15.700 --> 00:32:24.539 More than we seek the voices and opinions of anything or anyone else. 00:32:25.259 --> 00:32:26.160 In Jesus' name we pray. 00:32:26.779 --> 00:32:27.000 Amen.