Well, greetings to all of you who are watching or listening today.
We're still in the midst of this strange time with COVID-19.
It hasn't touched upon this particular community of Davidson yet,
but all of us continue to be affected in some way.
But I hope and I pray that you have been finding peace and joy in the Lord in the midst of all this.
It's in times like these and through our troubles that I'm reminded of those words of David,
which he said about God,
He is my rock.
He is my refuge.
I will not be shaken.
And if we have the Lord, we can say the same as long as we are putting our trust in Him.
Well, today as we look into God's Word,
my hope and prayer is that we would see something of Jesus
that would lift our eyes off of maybe some of our circumstances
and the things going on around us
and remind us of what is most important.
So, it's with that intention that we open the Word today.
If you have your Bible with you, please open it up to John chapter 5.
John chapter 5.
Last Sunday, we saw Jesus at the pool in Jerusalem.
And we watched as he healed a man who was lying there,
who had been unable to walk for the past 38 years.
He said to him,
Pick up your mat and walk.
And an amazing miracle happened.
He did.
He got up.
He picked up his mat and he walked.
But unfortunately, he was pulled over by the religious leaders.
They questioned him as to why he was carrying his mat on the Sabbath.
That was considered work.
He kind of deflected the blame a little bit to Jesus.
The man who healed me.
He told me to pick up my mat, to be carrying it on the Sabbath.
He didn't know who Jesus was at the time.
But later, after he bumped into Jesus at the temple,
he reported back to the religious leaders
that it was Jesus who had told him to pick up his mat
and Jesus who had healed him.
So, John has already set the scene in what we looked at last week
for a bit of a clash between Jesus and the Jewish leaders.
So, let's pick up the story in verse 16 of John chapter 5.
So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath,
the Jewish leaders began to persecute him.
In his defense, Jesus said to them,
My father is always at his work to this very day,
and I too am working.
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.
So, we see the tension beginning to rise
between Jesus and the Jewish leaders.
And all of this is sparked by this healing of the man at the pool
and telling him to carry his mat on the Sabbath.
John says,
Because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath,
the Jewish leaders began to persecute him.
Notice that he says,
These things.
Plural.
It wasn't just this one minor infraction.
There was a number of things that Jesus was doing on the Sabbath.
And to really get the full picture,
we kind of have to look at some of the other gospel records.
They tell us of some of the times where Jesus has already had run-ins
with the Pharisees, the religious leaders,
back in Galilee,
and over this particular issue of keeping the Sabbath.
You may remember some of those encounters.
You may remember the time when Jesus and his disciples
were in a sense pulled over by the religious leaders
because they were,
Jesus' disciples were picking grain out of the field
while they were walking along on the Sabbath.
They considered that work.
So, there was that run-in.
Then there was the time when Jesus was at the synagogue with,
and there was a man who had a shriveled hand there.
And the Pharisees, the religious leaders,
they were just hovering like vultures,
waiting to see,
is Jesus going to do the work of healing this man on the Sabbath day?
If he does, we'll nail him to the wall for it.
There was that encounter.
And already back then,
the gospel writers, the other ones,
tell us that the Pharisees were plotting to kill Jesus.
And so, probably these things are in the backdrop
as we come to our passage today.
And then, this healing of the man at the pool in Jerusalem
just kind of adds to the kindling
and sparks the flame,
which causes the fire that this head-on collision
is going to bring about.
So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath,
these kinds of things,
and repeatedly,
the Jewish leaders began to persecute him.
Now, that word persecute,
that's a strong word.
They began to go after him
with intensity,
with intentionality.
And what was their goal?
I mean, certainly they harassed him.
They said all kinds of things to him.
They tried to humiliate him in public,
in front of other people.
But their goal was to kill Jesus.
And John tells us this in verse 18.
After he said what's in verse 17,
for this reason,
for saying this,
they tried all the more to kill him.
So, they were already trying to kill Jesus
before he said what's in verse 17.
And now that he said that,
they're trying all the more.
So, persecute is the right word.
The Jewish leaders were persecuting him.
They wanted to do anything that they could
to get to him
and to see him killed.
Now, of course,
they were also religious leaders.
And so, they didn't just go and hire hit men
and all that kind of stuff.
They were going to start by using the tools
that they had available to them.
Mainly, at this point,
it's the legal challenge.
Breaking the Sabbath law.
So, they were going after Jesus.
And in my Bible,
my translation,
it says,
they began to persecute him.
And that word's not actually in the original.
That's,
it's an interpretive decision that they've made.
Literally,
it's the Jewish leaders were persecuting him.
Probably more of a sense of
continuously over an unspecified period of time.
They were going after him.
Verse 17,
In his defense,
Jesus said to them,
My father is always at his work to this very day,
and I too am working.
So, some of the language here is thought to have a bit of a legal sense to it.
In his defense,
my translation says,
I don't think Jesus was actually on trial
in a formal sense,
but certainly in an informal sense,
he was.
I mean,
the religious leaders had come around,
and they were bringing an accusation against Jesus.
And it's not written out for us here,
but you can just hear it.
You can imagine the kind of thing that they're saying to Jesus.
Who gave you the authority to be working,
to be doing these kinds of things like you're doing on the Sabbath?
And Jesus' response is not what we would expect him to say.
At least it's not what I expect him to say.
I would expect Jesus to say something like,
Well, with all due respect,
I have not been breaking the Sabbath law.
I'm not guilty,
because the stuff that I'm doing is not regular work.
And the way that work has been defined by the elders over the years in tradition
goes way beyond what God originally intended
when he first gave the law or the command to keep the Sabbath day holy.
That's what I would have said.
And I think that that is probably true.
We can kind of piece that together from other places as well.
But it's not what Jesus says.
Maybe he did say it.
Maybe that isn't recorded here.
This is just the part we get, though.
This is the thing that stood out the most from what Jesus said.
You've been working on the Sabbath.
Who gave you the authority to be doing this?
What are you doing?
Breaking the law.
Jesus says,
My Father is always at his work to this very day.
And I, too, am working.
Now, if Jesus wasn't at trial and we were his lawyers,
this is the moment where we go,
Oh, boy.
I imagine Peter just thinking to himself,
I mean, we don't know what he's thought.
This is speculation.
But, oh, man, Jesus, like,
this is not going to help our case.
I mean, Jesus doesn't deny that he has been working on the Sabbath.
I am working, he says.
So this is not the response that we're expecting.
What does Jesus mean when he says this?
My Father is always at his work to this very day.
And I, too, am working.
Well, it seems as though Jesus is admitting to the fact that he's been working on the Sabbath.
And at the same time, it seems as though he's offering a reason for why he's not guilty of breaking the Sabbath law.
But it's maybe not the reason that we were expecting.
For sure, it's not the reason the religious leaders were expecting.
So what does Jesus mean when he says this?
My Father is always at his work to this very day.
And I, too, am working.
I think to kind of get at that,
it probably is helpful for us to first answer the question,
did Jesus actually break the Sabbath law?
And I would say the answer to that is no.
We can remember those words of Jesus,
which he said in the Sermon on the Mount,
Matthew 5, verse 17.
He said,
Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have not come to abolish them,
but to fulfill them.
In verse 19 of that same passage,
Therefore, anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands of the law
and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven.
So Jesus already has this mentality,
this attitude,
and has been teaching that we are to obey the law.
Absolutely you are.
The law was given by God.
If we think back to how the law was given to Moses,
specifically when it comes to this commandment pertaining to the Sabbath,
that was one of the Ten Commandments.
And God himself etched those words onto the stone tablet with his finger
and gave them to Moses.
So Jesus is saying,
Don't think that I've come to say that we just ignore that.
Absolutely you are to obey the commands that God has given.
And it's a big no-no to teach someone else to just set those commands aside.
So was Jesus telling this man to disregard the Sabbath
and do what was unlawful on the Sabbath when he told him to pick up his mat?
My answer is no.
Because he knew that the way that the elders and the rabbis had defined work
went way beyond what the Sabbath law was intended to involve
as it was originally given by God.
Now at this point we might wonder,
well, maybe, I mean, as it comes to the Sabbath law,
isn't Jesus above the Sabbath law?
I mean, is he expected to keep it anyway?
Or can he do as he pleases on the Sabbath because of who he is?
This is a trickier question.
We do hear from the other Gospels,
Jesus say that the Son of Man, referring to himself,
is Lord of the Sabbath.
And even the way he talks here,
my Father is always at his work to this very day,
and I too am working.
We could get this sense that Jesus is above the law,
that this law doesn't pertain to him.
But I think it's so important that we remember
that Jesus is truly God,
and at the same time,
he is truly man,
truly a human being.
And that comes with implications.
And probably the place that we see this most clearly
and how it relates is in Galatians chapter 4,
verses 4 and 5,
where Paul says this.
He says,
But when the fullness of the time came,
God sent forth his Son,
born of a woman,
born under the law,
so that he might redeem those who were under the law.
So what Paul is telling us there
is that Jesus was born of a woman.
He was sent by God into this world
and born as a physical,
flesh and blood human being.
Not only that,
but he was born under the law.
As a man,
as a human being,
he was under the authority
of God's law,
which he had given
a long time ago
through Moses.
And so,
yes,
he had to submit
to the law of God
as a man.
That was required.
In fact,
the plan of salvation
depends upon it.
Look at what Paul says
in Galatians chapter 4.
He was born,
sent forth his Son,
born of a woman,
born under the law,
so that he might redeem
those who were under the law.
So he needed to keep the law
perfectly
in order to be
that spotless lamb
who would take the place,
who could be a substitute
and take the curse of the law
upon himself
so that we might be redeemed
and set free
from the penalty
of the law,
which we deserve
because of our sins.
The third thing
to consider here
is that
Jesus knew better
than anyone else
what it meant
to keep the Sabbath
holy.
Jesus has already
had a number of run-ins
with the religious
leaders
over this issue,
which we've talked
about already.
There was the man
with the shriveled hand
in Mark chapter 3.
Look at what Jesus
said to the Pharisees
there as they were
ready to pounce on him
for working on the Sabbath
by healing this man.
He said,
which is lawful
on the Sabbath?
To do good
or to do evil?
To save life
or to kill?
On another occasion
with a different man,
a different Sabbath,
it happened again.
They were there,
the Pharisees,
the experts
in the law,
and Jesus asked them.
This is Luke 14,
verse 3.
Is it lawful
to heal
on the Sabbath
or not?
Of course,
they didn't want
to say anything
because they knew
that Jesus
would embarrass them
if they did
because he knew
what was lawful
even better
than they did.
verse 5
of that same account.
Jesus answers
the question
with a question.
He says,
if one of you
has a child
or an ox
that falls
into a well
on the Sabbath day,
will you not
immediately
pull it out?
The implied
answer
in both
of these cases
is the same.
Jesus knew
what keeping
the Sabbath
holy meant,
what kind
of work
was permitted
and what kind
was forbidden.
His point
was essentially
this.
It is lawful
to do good
on the Sabbath.
It is lawful
to save
a life
on the Sabbath.
It is lawful
to do the work
of healing
on the Sabbath.
In fact,
it might be
that he's even
saying something
a little more
than that.
To leave
this man
here with
his hand
like this
when I
have the
power
to heal
him,
to set
him free,
would be
evil.
It's either
good or evil.
Which one
is lawful?
The good.
Jesus knows
better than
anyone else
what is lawful
on the Sabbath,
what it means
to keep
that day
holy,
what God
intended.
And so
when we bring
all of these
things together,
I think the
clear answer
is that
Jesus did
not break
the Sabbath
law.
He may have
broken the
laws that
were imposed
by men
and added
later on
to kind of
spell out
or fill
out what
constituted
breaking the
Sabbath law,
but he did
not break
the law
which God
had given.
But what
surprises me
most is that
Jesus says
absolutely
none of that
in this
moment.
Why are you
working on
the Sabbath?
He doesn't
say any of
that.
Maybe he
did and
it's just
not recorded
and this
is the
one thing
that was
recorded.
It's
possible.
After all,
this thing
does stand
out.
Why are
you working
on the
Sabbath?
Who gave
you the
authority to
be doing
this?
Jesus'
answer is
this.
My
father is
always at
his work
to this
very day
and I
too
am working.
what an
answer to
give.
What does
it mean?
First of
all, we
notice that
Jesus does
not deny
that he's
been working.
Yes, I
am working,
he says.
I have
been healing
people.
I have
been teaching.
I have
been casting
out demons
on the
Sabbath.
I have
been working.
So has
God, my
father.
He's not
guilty of
working on
the Sabbath
and he
works on
the Sabbath
as implied,
stated,
and neither
am I
guilty for
working on
the Sabbath.
like, what
kind of an
answer is
this?
This is
surprising.
Literally, my
father is
working until
now or
right up to
this moment,
we might
say.
And so am
I.
It's the
Sabbath day.
This is the
day that he
has done
this healing
and he
says,
my father,
God, my
father, he's
working today.
So am
I.
You have
to know
that this
really got
the religious
leaders worked
up and we're
going to see
that in a
moment.
But what
does Jesus
mean by
this?
Well, there's
some religious
background that
we should
probably understand
here.
I guess the
rabbis of
Jesus' day had
been having
this whole
discussion,
theological
discussion.
Does God
keep the
Sabbath?
It's kind
of a
ridiculous
discussion in
one sense.
Is he
guilty of
breaking the
Sabbath?
Well, some
would say
he carries
things on
the Sabbath
because he's
carrying the
universe.
He's sustaining
the world.
He's working.
He's accomplishing
his sovereign
purposes.
He doesn't
take a day
off from
that stuff.
If he did,
the universe
would be in
trouble.
He works on
the Sabbath,
they said.
And so,
how can he
not be guilty
for that?
For breaking
his own
law?
The way that
they were
reasoning it
out was they
were saying
things, and
this is kind
of ridiculous,
but saying
things like,
well, maybe
he's not
guilty of
carrying
something from
one place
to another
because he's
everywhere at
once.
And so,
if he's
everywhere,
then he
can't really
carry something
from one
place to
another.
He's already
there.
So, he
kind of gets
off the
hook that
way.
You can
kind of
see the
legalistic,
ridiculous
mentality of
their
reasoning.
But the
rabbis were
right about
two things.
First, they
were right
that God
doesn't take a
day off from
his work.
I mean, he
took a day
off from
the work of
creating the
universe.
On the
seventh day,
he rested.
But since
then, God
continues to
work every
day, sustaining
the universe,
holding everything
together,
sovereignly
directing it
according to
his plan and
purposes.
That's something
he does every
day, constantly.
They were
also right that
God is not
guilty for
working, even
on the
Sabbath day,
for doing
that kind
of work.
But the
reason he's
not guilty
is because
the law
doesn't apply
to him.
As Jesus
said in
another
gospel, the
Sabbath was
made for
man.
That law,
that requirement
does not
apply to
God.
And Jesus,
I think,
is leveraging
that truth.
He's bringing
that truth to
bear on this
conversation.
My father,
God, is
always at
his work.
He's always
working.
And he's
not guilty
for it.
But then the
rest of his
argument is,
neither am I.
I too am
working.
And implied,
I'm not
guilty either.
Well, how
does that
work?
There's an
implied statement
in there.
And there's
various
interpretations of
this, but this
is my
understanding of
it.
They're bringing
their accusation,
you've been
working on the
Sabbath, Jesus
is giving his
defense.
He's saying,
God is not
guilty of
working on the
Sabbath.
I'm not
guilty of
working on
the Sabbath,
and I have
been working
on the
Sabbath.
And I
think the
implied statement
is because
the work I
am doing
is his
work.
The works
that I am
doing, they
are his
works.
And so
the Sabbath
law doesn't
apply to
his work
as it
applies to
just ordinary
works of
men.
That's my
take on it,
my understanding
of it.
You see this
clearly with the
miracles that
Jesus did.
Only God can
heal a person
in the ways
that Jesus
has been
doing.
So yes,
in a very
real sense,
the works
that he
is doing
are the
very works
of God.
An analogy
that might
help us to
kind of
think of
this could
be that
of a
son who's
apprenticing
under his
father.
You can
imagine a
father owning
a bit of a
carpentry
business,
taking orders
for, you
know,
crafting fine
furniture at
the workshop
or something
like that.
And in a
very real
sense, if
the son
is his
son is
his apprentice,
when his
son is
working on
the table,
he is
doing his
father's
work.
It's
for his
father's
business.
It's what
his father
is up
to.
It's his
father's
company.
And the
father could
look at the
customers and
say,
yep, I'm
working on
that table
right now.
And even
in that
moment, it's
true, even
though it
might be
the son
that's
the one
who's
actually in
the shop
doing a
part of
that work.
That'd be
maybe one
way to
think of
it.
Another way
that might
be helpful
is to
think of
it in
terms of
the
prophets.
We know
that the
prophets
were specially
chosen by
God to
speak the
words of
God to
people.
Now, they
didn't just
speak on
God's
behalf,
whatever came
into their
heads to
say.
No, they
actually, God
actually put
his own
words in
their mouths
such that
when they
opened their
mouths and
spoke, it
was God who
was speaking
through them.
And I
think Jesus
is implying
here with
this, that
it's the
same when it
comes to
his works.
when he
does his
works, when
he does
those miracles,
when he
drives out
demons, it
is actually
God who
is at
work in
that moment
doing his
works through
him.
And I
think it,
not in the
same sense as
we might say
that any of
us are doing
God's works,
but in a
very special
sense, in
an exclusive
sense, in
a sense that
it's only
had by
Jesus, by
the prophets,
by the
apostles, as
we'll see.
So this is
what Jesus
says in
his defense.
And the
religious leaders,
the Jewish
leaders, they
go wild when
they hear this.
Verse 18,
for this
reason, because
he said this,
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.
So this
just
caused them
to go,
well, in
his words,
all the more
they tried
to kill him.
They just
wanted to
get this
guy.
Why?
Not only
because he
said this,
it says,
not only
that, but
he was
breaking the
Sabbath, at
least in
their view,
or their
Sabbath laws,
he was
breaking.
But that
wasn't the
big thing.
The big
thing was
that he
was even
calling God
his own
father.
You can
imagine what's
going on in
their minds,
like, how
dare he?
I mean,
they're probably
thinking back
to Numbers
15, where
the man
was, the
Lord told
Moses to
stone him
to death
for picking
up sticks,
for gathering
sticks,
deliberately just
going out,
defying the
Sabbath law,
doing work on
the Sabbath
day.
They're thinking,
Jesus is just
like that guy.
He deserves
to die.
He's, he's,
he's blaspheming.
He's putting
himself on the
same level as
God, calling
God his own
father.
I mean, they,
they're not
stupid.
They picked up
that Jesus
wasn't just
saying that,
that God
was kind
of his father
in the general
sense, that
he's the
father of
Israel, or
the, that
were his, all
his children.
No, he was
saying God is
his own
father.
Like, you're
James, son
of Zebedee,
I'm Jesus,
son of
God himself.
That's like
saying you're
divine, putting
yourself on the
same level as
him.
How dare you?
They wanted to
kill him.
And the
tension continues
to rise.
In, in the
weeks ahead, we're
going to see how
Jesus, he's
going to go on
and say a
whole bunch
more here.
And this
next section
is a gold
mine.
So we're just
going to
slow it down
and really
try to
draw out
what we
can from
the words
of Jesus.
But what's
here in
these, in
these few
verses for
us today?
Well, I
think the
first thing
that we
notice is
that there's
no commands
given.
I don't
even think
this passage
is really
so much
about whether
or not we
should keep
the Sabbath
as Christian
Gentiles.
I mean,
this passage
just isn't
really about
us.
It's, it's
really all
about Jesus
and what
happened to
him when
he came
into our
world almost
2,000 years
ago.
But I don't
think that
means it's
irrelevant to
our lives
today as
Christians.
I think
John and
through John
God has
put this
in here for
a very
specific reason
to cause
us also
to, to
come in
to ask
this big
question which
is written
all over
this section,
this question
of who
is Jesus?
This is what
the religious
leaders are
wrestling with.
who is
Jesus?
They're
trying to
come to
their answer.
They've
painted him,
they've got him
pegged and
categorized and
figured out as
a guilty
lawbreaker and
a blasphemer who
deserves to
die.
But of course
as we look
more closely at
the religious
leaders we know
that's not the
complete story.
we know
that they
see Jesus
as a threat
to their
position,
to their
authority.
They don't
like Jesus
because he
shines the
spotlight on
them and
exposes the
ugliness of
their religiosity
and the
evil and
selfishness and
pride in
their hearts.
So there's
something more
going on
here.
that's who
they think
Jesus is
and they're
not stupid.
They know
what Jesus
is claiming.
They know
what his
words mean
when he
says,
my father,
that he
is putting
himself
essentially on
the same
level as
God.
He's claiming
to be the
divine son of
God.
God,
it's against
the backdrop
of this that
we see this
truth come
out,
this truth that
John's been
trying to show
us right from
the beginning
of his
gospel,
that Jesus
is the
divine son
of God.
That's one
of the answers
to this
question of
who is
Jesus.
This question
was something
of who is
Jesus is
something that
the religious
leaders stumbled
over.
But as
Jesus is about
to say in
the weeks
ahead,
it's one of
the most
important
questions,
not just
for them
to answer,
but for
all of us
to answer,
for all
people to
answer,
for me to
answer,
for you
to answer.
And so I
want to ask
you today,
what is your
answer to
this question?
who is
Jesus?
Do you
believe that
he is the
divine son
of God?
Have you
answered this
question?
Or are
you putting
off answering
this question?
Perhaps
sitting on
the fence,
waiting for
a later time
to answer
this question?
I want to
encourage you
not to
put this
off any
longer,
if that's
you.
This is
one of the
most crucial
questions for
all people.
Who is
Jesus?
If he is
the son,
the divine
son of
God,
it has
massive
implications
for our
lives.
Our
eternity
is at
stake.
So I
want to
encourage you
if you
have not
answered that
question,
to answer
that
question.
Finally,
if you do
believe in
Jesus,
you are
born again,
as Jesus
has said,
you belong
to him.
I want to
encourage you
and remind
you that
this is
the question
that we
must bring
to our
world and
encourage them
to answer
with everything
that we
can.
Who is
Jesus?
We ought
to bring
this question
to our
unbelieving
co-workers,
neighbors,
family,
friends.
it's not
just the
most important
question for
you to
answer,
it's the
most important
question for
them as
well.
Eternity
hangs in the
balance for
them.
And it
falls,
it has
been given
to us by
Christ to
bring this
question up
with people,
to point
them as
John is
pointing us
here,
towards
answering it
and seeing
the truth
of who
Jesus is.
And Jesus
has already
made it clear
that we
will not
always be
appreciated
for doing
this.
In fact,
later on
to his
disciples,
not too
long before
he is
crucified,
we'll say
this to
them,
John 15
verse 8,
if the
world hates
you,
keep in
mind that
it hated
me first.
If you
belonged to
the world,
it would
love you
as its
own.
As it
is,
you do
not belong
to the
world,
but I
have chosen
you out
of the
world.
That is
why the
world hates
you.
Remember
what I
told you,
a servant
is not
greater than
his
master.
If they
persecuted
me,
they will
persecute
you
also.
May fear
not keep
us
from
sharing and
from speaking
the good
news of
our
master,
Jesus,
the son
of God.
Let's
pray.
Father in
heaven,
thank you
for your
word.
thank you
that we
get to
be the
fly on
the wall
and see
a little
bit of
what happened
and hear
what Jesus
said that
day.
We love
you,
we love
him,
and we
ask that
you would
teach us
to live
the way
that you
want us
to,
to follow
him in a
way that
honors you
and brings
glory to
his name
and to
yours.
We ask
this in
Jesus'
precious name,
amen.