The 5th chapter of John is one of the seminal passages of the Bible that deals with THE DEITY OF CHRIST. The passages deals with some of the most astounding events  of the developing ministry of Jesus. It comes in the context of Jesus' healing powers- specifically His healing of the paralytic- the OT prophecies had claimed that Messiah would be a healer.

 

The growing tide of the Jewish opposition in response to this display of Messianic power were both unreasonable and is indicative of what happens when sin overrides an intelligent persons otherwise rational approach to issues in life.  We cannot fault the Jewish nation alone  for their refusal to understand- they were representative of the rest of the human race even to this day in dealing with God.

 

We get a report of Jesus’s unambiguous claim to deity- and this flies in the face of liberal theology that claims that somehow Jesus somehow evolved a realization of messianic calling in the process of His ministry on earth- that is completely refuted here- He knew what his mission on earth was from the beginning.

 

The gospel of John affirms Jesus’s claims to deity by quoting Jesus himself.

Note that after a year of scrutinizing Jesus, His accusers could not find one positive issue by which he could be denied the Messiahship. The only issue they could find was that He did good on the Sabbath- His explanation of why He could do so enraged them.

 

When Jesus  used the term "My Father" (v. 18) the Jews recognized clearly that it conveyed His claim to deity. A year earlier He had used the same term with the same result (2:16) and also in the recounting of the healing of the paralytic lowered through the roof that John does not cover. So, two years in a row, at the passover, jesus had claimed to be God! The "persecute" of verse 16 means "chase after". They decided to hound him from this point.

 

In verses 19-24 Jesus explains the Father/Son relationship. Note that Jesus made the claim, not by boasting, but by declaring His abilities to be within the will of the Father. Verse 19 describes the perfect harmony they enjoyed as well as Jesus' dependence on the Father. The end of verse 20 shows that they even know what each other is thinking of doing!

The word "loves" here in verse 20 is notably not agape as in verse 3:35 of John- this is phileo, which emphasizes the deep emotional bond between the Father and Son.

 

Verse 21 is an amazing verse- Jesus had not yet raised anyone from the dead- so this was quite a claim- who else has ever claimed this in advance and vindicated himself with  performance?  He claimed this to be proof of:

 

1.     His Sonship to God the Father(v. 21)

2.     His right to judge (v. 22)

3.     His right to offer eternal life(v. 24)

4.     His right to preside over the resurrection of the justified(v.28)

5.     His right to preside over the resurrection of the unjust (v.28)

 

 

 

 We see the unwillingness of man to change from a system with which he is comfortable- Jesus calls for changed lives and men then as now resist this. Jesus represented a new system of man relating to God through forgiveness, and imputed righteousness where there was none by faith.

 

The life Jesus speaks of in verse 25 is ETERNAL life. It is hard to grasp, but this is so beyond the temporal life that they shouldn't be mentioned in the same sentence. We tend to want to read this verse as referring to mortal life, but it cannot literally be so. Verses 28-29 make it clear that the righteous (believers) are not condemned but resurrected into life. Unbelievers are resurrected unto judgment. These two resurrections are separated by the millenium. (Rev 20:4-5)

 

Jesus Christ's claims to deity

 

1.Possessions claimed. These are claims that would be inappropriate if made by one who is less than God, and therefore blasphemous.

 

a. His claim to possess the angels:

 

1. Matthew 13:41, Luke 12:8‑9

 

2. these same angels belong to God: Luke 15:10

 

b. The claim to possess the Kingdom

 

1.at the table Luke 22:30

 

2.at the trial John 18:36

 

c.    He had the attributes of deity.

 

           1.   Omnipotence (Matt. 28:18).

           2.   Omniscience (John 1:48).

           3.   Omnipresence (Matt. 28:20).

           4.   Truth (John 14:6).

           5.   Immutability (Heb. 13:8).

 

 

2. Prerogatives claimed. This authority would be impossible for anyone less than God.

 

a. Claimed to have authority to forgive sins.

 

1. John 5- The forgiving and healing of the paralytic

 

2. Mark 2:1-12 “No one can forgive sins but God alone”

 

b. Claimed to be the judge of the world

 

1. Matthew 25:31‑46.  Divides the sheep from the goats

 

2. Determines eternal destiny

 

3. Determines the spiritual condition of men's hearts.

 

c. Claimed to have authority to redefine the status of God's law

 

1. Status of the Sabbath Mark 2:27‑28

 

2. Claimed to be the fulfillment of the law.

 

3. "You have heard it said.... but I say" passages. Jesus places his words on the level of the old testament scriptures. He also never said "The word of the Lord came to me saying" as did the prophets

 

d.   He performed the works of God.

 

           1.   He creates (John 1:3).

           2.   He sustains the universe (Col. 1:17).

           3.   He forgives sin (Luke 7:48).

           4.   He raises the dead (John 5:25; 11).

           5.   He judges (John 5:27).

6.     He sends the Holy Spirit (John 15:26)

 

 

e. He is seen as an equal with the Father and the Spirit.

 

           1.   With the Father (John 10:30 14;16).

           2.   With the Father and the Spirit (Matt. 28:19; II

                Cor. 13:14).  The Greek construction makes it an even stronger case.

 

3. Privileges claimed. These are relationships to God that are available only to God Himself within the trinity

 

a. John 10:30 "I and the Father are one"

 

b. To know and see Jesus is to see the Father. John 14:7‑9

c. He Himself claimed to be God.

 

           1.   At His trial (Mark 14:61-62; Luke 22:70).

           2.   He claimed equality with the Father (John

                5:17,18,23,24; 8:19,58; 10:30-33; 14:9).

3.   He asked for and received worship.

                a.   The Leper (Matt. 8:2).

                b.   The man born blind (John 9:35-39).

                c.   The disciples (Matt. 14:33).

                d.   Thomas (John 20:27-29).

 

 

4 Preexistence claimed.

 

1. John 8:58. "before Abraham was, I Am" (Exodus 3:14‑15)

2. John 3:13"No one has ascended from heaven but the son of man"

 

       a. Mt. 26:23. "You will see the son of man seated at the right hand of power, coming on the clouds of heaven"

       b. Simultaneity and coexistence with God‑ John 14:23. "If a man loves me he will keep my commands, And my Father will love  him and we come to him and make our abode with him"

       c. John 20:29. Accepted Thomas' worship." My Lord and my God"

       d. Power over life and death‑ I Samuel 2:6. Psalm 119, John 5:21 Jesus claims this power for himself "as the Father, the Son gives  life to whom he will".

 

John II:25 "I am the resurrection and the life."

 

       c. I am the Alpha and the Omega‑attributes ascribed only to God earlier in Rev.

 

5. Presuppositions of Christ‑ other revealing reasons

 

               a. He never denied the charges made by the Pharisees that he claimed to Be God. To allow a lie to be perpetuated would not be in keeping withGod's holiness.

               b. He accepted Peter's estimation of Him as "The Christ the Son of the Living God"

               c. He linked His will with that of the Father John 5:2‑18

 

The witness of secondary sources

 

1. The witness of John

               a. The word was made flesh and dwelt among us.

               b. The word was  with God and the Word was God

 

 

2. The witness of the writer of Hebrews

               a. Exact representation of the invisible God. Hebrews 1:3

                       ( "character tes hupostaseos auton")

               b. Hebrews 1:3 God created the world through him

               c. v. 3 Upholds all things by the word of his power

               d. v. 8 The Son is addressed as God

               e. Superiority to angels, men, high priests. He is God.

 

 

3. Witness of Paul

 

               1. Christ's deity declared

                       a. Col. 1:15‑20 the Son is the image (eikon) of God

                       b. Col. 1:17 In Him all things hold together

                       c. fullness (Pleroma) of Godhead dwells bodily

                       d. Col. 2:9 Whole fullness of deity dwells fully

 

               2. Christ's claims confirmed ( Matthew 25:31‑46)

                       a. 2 Timothy 4:1, 2 Corinthians 5:10 speak of the Judgment seat of Christ

                       b. These OT passages declare that God is the judge of all the earth (Genesis 18:25)  and the judge of the nations (Joel :12)

                       c. Philippians 2: 5‑11 the form (morphé) of God means all that is the essence of God

                       d. Philippians 2:6 the preexistence of Christ

 

4. Witness from general argument

 

               a. The title Lord is one of the highest sense. The apostles use Old Testament passages in reference to Christ

                       1. Acts 2:20‑21

                       1 Romans 10:13 (Joel 2:31‑32)

                       3. 1 Peter 3:15 (Isaiah 8:13)

 

               b. Other uses of kurios (LORD) in the NT for God the Father as well as God the Son

                       1. Used to denote the Father‑ MT.1:20. Mt. 9:38, Mt. 11:25, Acts 17:24, Rev. 4:11

                       2. Jesus‑ Luke 2:11, John 20:28, Acts 10:36, 1 Corinthians 2:8. Philippians 2:11, James 2:1, Rev 19:16

 

5. The witness of the resurrection

 

a. The resurrection was evidence that God confirmed the earthly ministry of Christ.

 

b. Resurrection identified Jesus as the Son of Man

c. No denial by Jews of the empty tomb

d. Jews saw resurrection of Messiah as the end of the world

e. Christianity as a historical event was determined by the resurrection.

f. 500 witnesses proclaiming the resurrection changed the world

g. The martyrs gave their life for truth, not a conspiracy

 

6. the witness of the fulfillment of Prophecy.

 

           1.   On Good Friday 33 prophecies were fulfilled.

           2.   Psalm 22 contains 57 parallels to Christ's

                crucifixion.

           3.   There are around 300 prophecies fulfilled by

                Christ at His first coming.  If only 48 of these

                were fulfilled by the same person, it would be a

                probability of 1 out of 1 followed by 181 zeros.

 

7.   Conclusion:  What are the alternatives?

                a.   That He was not an historical figure is

                     contrary to evidence.

                b.   That He was just a good, moral man will not

                     hold water because of His claims and

                     teachings.  Example: He lied many times if

                     He was not who He said He was.

                c.   C. S. Lewis says there are only three

                     alternatives:

                       "I am trying here to prevent anyone

                       saying the really foolish thing that

                       people often say about Him: `I'm ready to

                       accept Jesus as a great moral teacher,

                       but I don't accept His claim to be God.'

                       That is the one thing we must not say.  A

                       man who was merely a man and said the

                       sort of things Jesus said would not be a

                       great moral teacher.  He would rather be

                       a lunatic --on a level with a man who

                       says He is a poached egg--or else He

                       would be the devil of men.  You must make

                       your choice.  Either this man was, and

                       is, the son of God: or else a madman or

                       something worse."  (From MERE

                       CHRISTIANITY, pp. 40-41)

 

                       Jesus was either a Liar, a Lunatic, or

                       Lord of all.