The Gospel of John – Lesson 12 – John 5:16-30

16 So the Jews began to persecute Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. 17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working right up to the present time, and I am working too.” 18 This is why the Jews tried all the more to kill him, because he was not merely breaking the Sabbath, but was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. 19 Jesus answered them directly, “Amen, Amen, I tell you: The Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing. Indeed, the Son does exactly what the Father does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing. 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, so also the Son gives life to those he wishes. 22 “In fact, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23 so that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. 24 Amen, Amen, I tell you: Anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He is not going to come into judgment but has crossed over from death to life. 25 “Amen, Amen, I tell you: A time is coming and is here now when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who listen will live. 26 For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he has granted the Son to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to execute judgment, 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 will come out. Those who have done good will rise to live, but those who have practiced evil will rise to be condemned. 30 I can do nothing at all on my own. I judge only as I hear. And my judgment is just, for I do not seek my own will, but the will of him who sent me.

Imagine what it would be like to always do the right thing. It would be great to know that every decision you make is the right one and that every action you take will always be for the best. As your reputation for doing the right thing became known, I imagine many people would look to you to help them make decisions in tough situations. But always doing the right thing could also cause much resentment. People could grow jealous of your abilities. They would grow tired of you always being right. Sometimes people would let their sinful pride get the better of them and do the opposite of what you suggested.

We don’t have to worry about always being right. We’re sinful human beings. We’ll often take actions to satisfy our desires even when we know that what we’re doing is wrong. But Jesus is the Son of God. He is always right in every situation. But often, doing the right thing turned people against him. In our last Bible study from John 5:1-15 we learned how Jesus healed a man who had been unable to walk for 38 years. It was a wonderful act of kindness and love by Jesus. How could anyone find any fault in Jesus for doing this good deed? But the leaders of the Jews hated Jesus for his action. Their hatred reached the point that they wanted to kill him. The reason for their hatred was that Jesus had done this work on the Sabbath Day. According to the Law that God gave the Israelites at Mt. Sinai they weren’t supposed to do any regular work on the Sabbath Day.(See Exodus 20:8-10) But their reasons for hating Jesus went even further. They also felt Jesus was guilty of blasphemy because he called himself the Son of God. By calling God his Father and himself the Son of God, he was making himself equal to God.

But Jesus showed them that he was right in everything he did. For one thing, the Jews took the good command God gave them concerning the Sabbath Day and added all their own rules and regulations to it. God didn’t say that all work on the Sabbath Day was wrong. Jesus said in Luke 14:5, “Which of you, if your son or an ox would fall into a well on a Sabbath day, would not immediately pull him out?” The answer was obvious. If a child or an important work animal fell into a well on the Sabbath, no one would leave them there until after the Sabbath was over. They would immediately show compassion and go to work to rescue them. In the same way, Jesus was right to show compassion to a disabled man and heal him on the Sabbath Day.

This amazing miracle also served another purpose. Jesus proved he wasn’t speaking blasphemy when he called himself the Son of God. No human being could have done what Jesus did. Only God could have performed such a great work. Miracles like these also fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies about the Savior. Isaiah 35:5-6 said “Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy.

Jesus always said and did the right things. Despite this, many people still rejected Jesus as the Son of God. We give thanks to our Lord that he has opened our eyes to see the truth about Jesus. We believe that he is the true Son of God and our Savior. We believe that we have life in his name.

Discussion Questions

1 – Why did the Jewish leaders want to kill Jesus?
They believed he had spoken blasphemy by calling himself the Son of God. They ignored that Jesus had continually proven his identity by his powerful miracles and by his fulfillment of all the Old Testament prophecies of the Savior.

2 – Jesus had already performed many amazing miracles during his public ministry. In verse 20 he promised even greater things were still to be shown. What greater things was he talking about?Jesus would prove he is the true Son of God when he gave his life on the cross to take away our sins and when he defeated death by rising from the grave. Finally, he will return in all his glory on the Last Day as the judge of all mankind. He will take all those who are his to live with him eternally in heaven.

3 – We normally think of our eternal life as beginning at the moment we die. What does Jesus say about this in verse 24?
Jesus said, “Amen, Amen, I tell you: Anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He is not going to come into judgment but has crossed over from death to life.” From the moment we first believe in Jesus as our Savior we have the sure promise of eternal life. It is true we don’t physically take possession of our eternal life until after our earthly life ends. But as long as we remain in Christ through faith in him this eternal gift from God is ours even now and will not be taken away from us.

4 – Jesus said the Father has entrusted all judgment to his Son. According to God’s Word that we’re studying today, what can we be sure of concerning all the Son’s judgments?
The Father and the Son are in full agreement in everything they do. There is no disagreement between them. When Jesus says that all who believe in him as their Savior will have eternal life in heaven we can be sure that this is also the will of our heavenly Father.

If you have any questions about the Word of God we studied in this lesson please contact Pastor Greg Tobison. You can send your questions to
revgtobison@gmail.com.