John Bible Study - Lesson 14
Read the passage
below using the 2 different Bible translations:
John
5:16-30 New International Version (NIV)
The
Authority of the Son
16 So, because
Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to
persecute him. 17 In his defense Jesus said to
them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I
too am working.”18 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.
19 Jesus gave them
this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by
himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever
the Father does the Son also does. 20 For the
Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him
even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. 21 For
just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son
gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. 22 Moreover,
the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23 that
all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the
Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.
24 “Very truly I
tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal
life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to
life. 25 Very truly I tell you, a time is coming
and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God
and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father
has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in
himself. 27 And he has given him authority to
judge because he is the Son of Man.
28 “Do not be
amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will
hear his voice 29 and come out—those who have done
what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise
to be condemned. 30 By myself I can do
nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek
not to please myself but him who sent me.
John
5:16-30 New Living Translation (NLT)
Jesus
Claims to Be the Son of God
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. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him
everything he is doing. In fact, the Father will show him how to do even
greater works than healing this man. Then you will truly be astonished. 21 For
just as the Father gives life to those he raises from the dead, so the Son
gives life to anyone he wants. 22 In addition, the
Father judges no one. Instead, he has given the Son absolute authority to
judge, 23 so that everyone will honor the Son, just
as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son is certainly not
honoring the Father who sent him.
24 “I tell you the
truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have
eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have
already passed from death into life.
25 “And I assure
you that the time is coming, indeed it’s here now, when the dead will hear my
voice—the voice of the Son of God. And those who listen will live. 26 The
Father has life in himself, and he has granted that same life-giving power to
his Son. 27 And he has given him authority to judge
everyone because he is the Son of Man. 28 Don’t be
so surprised! Indeed, the time is coming when all the dead in their graves will
hear the voice of God’s Son, 29 and they will rise
again. Those who have done good will rise to experience eternal life, and those
who have continued in evil will rise to experience judgment. 30 I
can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells me. Therefore, my judgment is
just, because I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will.
Note:
Here are the 3
questions for you to answer. I have given some basic answers below the
questions to help you understand the passage. Answer the questions first yourself
before you look at my answers. Take a moment before you begin and ask God to
help you understand what you are reading.
3
questions to answer:
1. Content: What
is this passage about?
2. Lesson: What
do I learn from this passage?
3. Application: How
can I apply what I have learned to my life?
Answers
to the questions above and some background:
Content: What is this passage about?
·
The
Jewish leaders harass Jesus for breaking the Sabbath rules and calling God His Father
·
The
Jewish leaders wanted to kill Jesus because He called God His own Father and
made Himself equal with God
·
Jesus
explains why He is doing good on the Sabbath
·
Jesus
explains that He has authority to work and heal on the Sabbath
·
Jesus
goes further to explain that the Father has given Him authority to give life,
raise people from the dead, and to judge
·
Jesus
explains how one can receive eternal life
·
Jesus
prophesizes about the end times
Lesson: What
do I learn from this passage?
·
Israel’s
religious leaders were more concerned about following the letter of the law and
their own traditions rather than living by the spirit of the law
·
God
designed the Sabbath to be a delight not a burden to His people
·
The
law: Remember the Sabbath by keeping it
holy, meant for ordinary work to stop so people could focus on loving and
worshipping God
·
Over
the centuries the Jewish teachers added many of their own rules to God’s law
·
In
the last lesson we understand that the man Jesus healed did not break God’s
law, he simply carried His mat
·
Jesus
affirmed His authority to heal on the Sabbath by saying “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too
am working.” God never ceases to protect, preserve and direct His creation
·
When
we don’t honor Jesus we are not honoring God
·
Followers
of Jesus know His voice:
John
10:27 New International Version (NIV)
My
sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
·
Followers
of Jesus will never be condemned for their sins but will have eternal life
·
Jesus
has the power to raise the spiritually and physically dead
·
The
Father, Son and Holy Spirit continue to work together to redeem and restore
humanity from the day sin entered the world
·
Jesus
called God His Father thereby affirming their special relationship
·
We
must understand the special Jesus has with the Father:
·
Jesus
has the mind of God.
Jesus is both fully
God and fully man:
(excerpt from Dr. Paul
Enns)
The two natures of Christ are inseparably united
without mixture or loss of separate identity. He remains forever the God-man, fully God and fully man, two distinct natures in one Person forever.
Though Christ sometimes operated in the sphere of His humanity and in other
cases in the sphere of His deity, in all cases what He did and what He was
could be attributed to His one Person. Even though it is evident that there
were two natures in Christ, He is never considered a dual personality. In summarizing the hypostatic union,
three facts are noted:
(1) Christ has two distinct natures: humanity and deity
(2) There is no mixture or intermingling of the two natures
(3) Although He has two natures, Christ is one Person
Jesus
proved His claim to equality with God in 3 ways:
1. His absolute oneness
with His Father
2. His divine
privileges that belong only to God
3. The testimony to
His divine authority
·
When
Jesus said that “The Son can do nothing
by Himself”, He was affirming His perfect obedience and submission to His
Father, even to His death on the Cross
·
When
Jesus said “Whatever the Father does the Son also does”, He was affirming His
complete dependence on His Father. Jesus did not act on His own, but made sure
that whatever the Father wanted to accomplish through Him happened.
The
3 aspects of Jesus’ relationship with the Father:
1. Love and perfect
community
2. Mutual
knowledge, understanding, cooperation and dependence on God
3. Power and
authority and desire to carry out the Fathers plan
The
things the Father gives Jesus authority to do:
·
Give
life, free people from the bondage of sin, give eternal life, give a new
spiritual life and perspective, help pass people from death to a new life in
Him
·
Judge
all people (separate God’s people from those who reject Him)
·
Free
God’s people from His wrath and condemnation
·
Yet
the truth we must all face is that those who reject God will be judged, remain
under God’s wrath and will face the payment for their own sin which will lead
to spiritual death
Application: How
can I apply what I have learned to my life?
·
Get
to know Jesus so that you will in tune with His will for your life
·
Accept
the fact that you can’t earn favor with God or try to be righteous on your
accord in order that God will grant you eternal life
·
Try
to understand why God sent Jesus and learn that He came to fulfill God’s
purpose and plan of Salvation
·
Understand
how God is working in you and through you for His kingdom purpose.
Don’t forget:
John’s main purpose
in writing this Gospel:
·
To
tell the world that Jesus is the Messiah for the Jews and Gentiles
·
The
events were recorded so that we might believe and have eternal life
John 20:30-31 New International Version (NIV)
The Purpose of John’s Gospel
30 Jesus performed many other signs in
the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that
Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have
life in his name.
Questions
to ponder:
·
What
will I do with the knowledge I have?
·
Will
I put my knowledge and faith into action?
·
How
do I view the Sabbath, and do I use that time to honor, love and worship God?
Have a great
week…………….Dave
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