John 5:17-47 EQUAL PERSONS The Jews were upset when Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath day. Actually, their hostility was so great they tried to find a way to kill Him. Jesus' answer to them was to point out to them the fact that God the Father works on the Sabbath day to bless people, and He did the same as His Father. Those who opposed Him had no difficulty recognizing the claim of the Lord Jesus Christ to be deity. For this they were further incensed in their anger against Him. This truth regarding the Lord Jesus Christ is still being challenged and attacked today. John chapter 5 has much to say about the deity of Christ and the equality of the Father and the Son.
When the words, "Verily, verily" are used, this is an emphatic statement meaning "Most assuredly I say unto you." There is no question about the veracity of the following statement when those words are used. In using the first of three "verily, verily" statements the Lord Jesus says the Father and Son cooperate in all they do. They are united in that activity. They do not act independently of each other even though each Person of the Godhead has unique roles to fill. The second of these statements in verse 24 refers to the work the Lord Jesus does in the presentation of the Gospel with the expectation that people who hear Him should believe on Him. The third again indicates the cooperation of the Son and the Father in raising people from the dead at the resurrection of life and the resurrection of damnation.
As the Lord continued to speak to the Jews, He gave them seven ways He is equal with the Father. They are equal in all they do. That would mean both are omnipotent. They are also equal in what they know, so both are omniscient. The Jews had evidence already and they would see more and greater proofs of Jesus' deity when they saw Him raise people from the dead and being the Judge of both the living and the dead. Resurrecting power is unique to God who alone has power to give life. Only God who knows the hearts of all men, is qualified to properly judge all things with perfect judgment. Both the Father and the Son are to be honored equally. Each has the authority over everything and equal honor is to be given to each one. Our generation of people have dishonored the Lord Jesus and dishonored the Father. Yet because of God's grace there is still offered the blessing of receiving eternal life that both are equal in giving. The self- existence of both means that neither is subject to the other in their eternal existence. Both are eternal in themselves.
The Lord Jesus was speaking personally when He said, "I say unto you." He has the right to expect us to listen to Him when He gives a clear presentation in very simple terms as to how one receives everlasting life, the life of God and is assured of freedom from the consequences and damnation of sin. It is very important for us to speak to the people in Christ's name and tell them what He said and what He meant when He gave this promise of everlasting life. When He speaks of the impact of the Gospel now, when people hear the voice of the Son of God - He is speaking of spiritual life given to those dead (separated from God) in trespasses and sins. When He spoke of the resurrection of physical bodies, He refers to Himself as the Son of Man both in resurrection and judgment. He knows us because He was one of us. Though He was in fashion as a man, He is the Son of Man who came down from heaven to give us His kind of life. To receive Him is to live. To reject Him means eternal damnation.
There were four witnesses about Jesus to those Jews which they could believe if they were willing to. Whether they did or not, those witnesses left them without excuse. We also are without excuse in our day because we have the testimony of those same witnesses in written form. The Father gave witness to who the Lord Jesus is in audible words spoken on at least three occasions. Also, the works of the Father and Son in creation as well as other ways testify as to who Jesus is without the need of words. John the Baptist was another witness who spoke plainly when He identified Jesus as the Lamb of God and as the Lord who he went before to open the way. Scriptures long ago foretold of the coming Messiah and over 300 of those prophecies were fulfilled when the Lord Jesus Christ was here in the flesh. Those scriptures still tell us of Him who is the same in the past, present and future.
To reject any, let alone all of those witnesses is to set one's self up against God, all that has been revealed and all that can be understood by faith. When this happens, a person has narrowed the world of their knowledge and experience to the limitations of their own finite intellect. Such a person aligns themselves against every person who lives by faith, against God's holy word and against God Himself. They also put themselves into the extremely limited sphere of every existentialist who thinks he is his own god, and his god is who the feeble man of limited mind says he is. A god of the imagination is only that. It is not real. It leaves one with no reason for existing, no meaning in living and no future as far as that person is concerned. The awakening of such people after death must be terrifying. The Lord Jesus expected people to believe on Him because of the support of the witnesses that were right there for them all to see. We have a right to expect people to believe the message of the Gospel if we present it scripturally, in fellowship with God and empowered by the Holy Spirit.