Friday Devo
Scripture:
John 5
16 So the Jewish leaders began harassing Jesus for breaking the Sabbath rules. 17 But Jesus replied, “My Father is always working, and so am I.” 18 So the Jewish leaders tried all the harder to find a way to kill him. For he not only broke the Sabbath, he called God his Father, thereby making himself equal with God.
19 So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.
16 So the Jewish leaders began harassing Jesus for breaking the Sabbath rules. 17 But Jesus replied, “My Father is always working, and so am I.” 18 So the Jewish leaders tried all the harder to find a way to kill him. For he not only broke the Sabbath, he called God his Father, thereby making himself equal with God.
19 So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.
Commentary:
5:16 Jesus’ Jewish opponents were putting their merely human religious tradition above genuine love and compassion for others, which the OT commanded (e.g., Lev. 19:18) and Jesus exemplified. It was Jesus, not these Jews, who was truly obeying the Scriptures.
5:17 My Father suggests a far closer relationship with God than other people had (see 20:17). When Jesus says, “My Father is working until now, and I am working,” he implies that he, like the Father, is lord over the Sabbath. Therefore this is a claim to deity. These Jews recognize what he is claiming (see 5:18). While Gen. 2:2–3 teaches that God rested (Hb. shabat) on the seventh day of creation, Jewish rabbis agreed that God continually upholds the universe, yet without breaking the Sabbath. (In John 7:22–23 Jesus makes a different argument about healing on the Sabbath; see also note on 9:14.)
5:18 making himself equal with God. Jesus was claiming to be the Son of God, not in the way that ordinary human believers are sons of God but in the sense of one who was equal to God in his nature and in every way, yet who related to God in a Father-Son relationship (see note on 1:14). If Jesus had been merely a man (as his Jewish opponents thought), then this claim would have been blasphemy on Jesus’ part.
5:19 Jesus’ claim that the Son can do nothing of his own accord, taken with vv. 17–18, affirms two themes: (1) Jesus is equal to God, i.e., he is fully divine (vv. 17–18); (2) the Father and the Son have different functions and roles (v. 19), and the Son is subject to the Father in everything he does, yet this does not deny their fundamental equality. See notes on vv. 21, 22, 23; 20:28. Only what he sees the Father doing may imply that Jesus had a unique ability to see the Father’s providential activities in the events of everyday life, activities that are ordinarily invisible to human beings.
5:17 My Father suggests a far closer relationship with God than other people had (see 20:17). When Jesus says, “My Father is working until now, and I am working,” he implies that he, like the Father, is lord over the Sabbath. Therefore this is a claim to deity. These Jews recognize what he is claiming (see 5:18). While Gen. 2:2–3 teaches that God rested (Hb. shabat) on the seventh day of creation, Jewish rabbis agreed that God continually upholds the universe, yet without breaking the Sabbath. (In John 7:22–23 Jesus makes a different argument about healing on the Sabbath; see also note on 9:14.)
5:18 making himself equal with God. Jesus was claiming to be the Son of God, not in the way that ordinary human believers are sons of God but in the sense of one who was equal to God in his nature and in every way, yet who related to God in a Father-Son relationship (see note on 1:14). If Jesus had been merely a man (as his Jewish opponents thought), then this claim would have been blasphemy on Jesus’ part.
5:19 Jesus’ claim that the Son can do nothing of his own accord, taken with vv. 17–18, affirms two themes: (1) Jesus is equal to God, i.e., he is fully divine (vv. 17–18); (2) the Father and the Son have different functions and roles (v. 19), and the Son is subject to the Father in everything he does, yet this does not deny their fundamental equality. See notes on vv. 21, 22, 23; 20:28. Only what he sees the Father doing may imply that Jesus had a unique ability to see the Father’s providential activities in the events of everyday life, activities that are ordinarily invisible to human beings.
Questions:
- The challenges on Sunday were simple... HEAR Him, and then OBEY Him. This is the way of the believer; to put yourself in a place to be able to hear God through His Word and the Whisper of the Holy Spirit, and then DO what He is telling you to do. This is what we see modeled over and over in the New Testament and in the book of Acts. Is this what your life models? What does your level of obedience say about your love for Christ?
- This is your choice; to listen and obey or to go your own way. You have before you two paths. One is ordinary and safe and easy, but one is extraordinary. It might be difficult and scary, but it's so worth it, filled with rewards you can't even imagine. Which path will you take?
Prayer Topics:
- That you would listen for His voice today.
- That you would be quick to obey.
This Week's City 7:
Try to commit to memory!
7. How can I trust that the Bible is still God’s Word today? I trust the Bible is still God’s Word today because Jesus rose from the dead, proving He was God and said His words would never pass away. Through the Holy Spirit, God inspired the writing of the Scripture, determined the canon of Scripture and protected the copying of Scripture so that we might know Him and worship Him to this day.
(Matthew 24:35; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Revelation 22:18-19)
(Matthew 24:35; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Revelation 22:18-19)
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