The Authority of Jesus

Explanation: As discussed previously, the Jews were upset that Jesus had broken the Sabbath by healing the invalid. Jesus’ defense was that the Father was at work, so He too was working. This statement by Jesus infuriated the Jews because they understood Him to be claiming equality with God.

The Jews understood that God had not stopped all work at the end of the 6th day; He simply stopped His creative work. If God completely stopped all of His work, the Universe would fall apart. So the effect of Jesus’ statement was that just like God, He was working and doing good, even on the Sabbath. The Jews saw this as blasphemy

Illustrate:

Argument: This is the critical turning point in the Gospel. At this juncture, the Jews start plotting on killing Jesus. They are unwilling to recognize His authority, even though they know about His miracles and His teaching. They were stuck in their own misconceptions. Their view of the Messiah was a messenger, not God Himself in the flesh!

Application: Do not let your personal ideas about Jesus get in the way of the Biblical Jesus. God is bigger than any of our boxes. Do not be like the Jewish leaders. They rejected the truth because it didn’t line up with their ideas.

The Display of Jesus’ Authority is seen through His love Relationship with the Father ()

Explanation: Jesus then tells them about His relationship with the Father. This is a distinction in personalities, not separate Gods. Jesus defends His healing of the invalid based on His unique relationship with the Father. Just as the Father is doing good, so Jesus does good. In the process of explaining His actions, Jesus talks about functional subordination. He tells the Jews He can only do those things that the Father is doing. Jesus and the Father are in complete harmony - there is no division or conflict between them.

Illustrate:

Argument: This subordination is based on love. The Son loves the Father and the Father loves the Son. The Son is not going off on His own and doing His own thing. While on earth, Jesus willing submitted to the Father’s authority. This does not destroy or damage the equality of the Son with the Father.

These leaders of the Jews have not acknowledged the miracles that Jesus had already performed. They were not willing to accept them for their intended purpose of validating Jesus as Messiah. So, as a result of their hardness of heart, Jesus informs them that God is going is going to show Jesus off by having Him do even greater works. The idea is “you don’t believe Me when I heal a lame man. Well, what are you going to do when I raise someone from the dead!?”

Application: If you have love for the Father, you will obey the Son. If you have love for God, you will see Jesus for who He really is - God in the Flesh, and the One with Authority over your life.

The Result of Jesus’ Authority is seen in His power of Life and Judgment ()

Explanation: Jesus gives the Jews another indication of His Deity. All good Jews knew that God alone had power over life and death (scripture ref from OT) and that God was the Judge (). In the OT, God raised 3 people from the dead through the agency of Elijah and Elisha, but these were at God’s direction, not the initiative of the prophets. Jesus is claiming an Authority that only God has! And just as God is judge over the earth, God has given judgment to Jesus. In these declarations, Jesus is giving the Jews another claim to Deity

Illustrate: Outrageous claims. Headline from the Washington Post (10/8/18): “The World Has Just Over a Decade to Get Climate Change Under Control, UN Scientists Say.” According to the UN report if we don’t take our global technologies back to the output level of the late 1800’s, life on this planet will be unsustainable by 2030.

Argument: Jesus back up His claim by the Resurrection. Later in the Gospel of John, Jesus will declare that He Himself is “the Resurrection and the Life” (). Three days after He was placed in a tomb, Jesus was Resurrected and appeared to many disciples ().

Paul tells the elites at Athens that God “has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead” ().

Are you under the Authority of Jesus?

Many of the Jewish leaders rejected Jesus’ claims of Deity. They refused to recognize Him as their Messiah, and they even plotted to kill Him. Eventually their hatred of the Authority of Jesus led to the Cross.

2,000 years later the Authority of Jesus is still the central issue for humanity. While it is a fact that the majority of people on the planet reject the claims of Jesus, their unbelief does not negate or remove his Authority. Each of those who reject Christ will bow before Him and acknowledge Him as Lord ().

Sadly, at that point in time it will not change their eternal destiny. It is only when we acknowledge His lordship and bow before Him in this life that brings us peace with God through Him () and secures the hope of Heaven

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