OUR FATHER WHO IS EXACTLY REFLECTED BY THE  SON OF GOD

The religious leaders of jerusalem were perplexed by Jesusˋ ministry. On one hand, He was performing miracles of healing that were indisputable but on the other had, He was not conforming to the standard they believed needed to be followed.

For example, Jesus was healing people on the Sabbath day when the religious tradition held that no work ( including miraculous healings ) should be done on the Sabbath.

Because of the challenge that Jesus represented to the established religious order, they attacked Him with accusations of breaking the Sabbath and blasphemy and they sought ways to permanently remove Him from the scene.

The book of John chapter 5 verses 16 - 23 records the grievances that the religious leaders had towards Jesus and the responses that Jesus gave to them to explain His work.

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.. .

The Lord Jesus, in response to the accusation against Him of calling Himself the Son of God and saying that God was His own father and thus making Himself equal to God, expounded for them the extent to which the Son of God is an exact representative reflection of God the Father;

• Every action the Son takes is an action taken by the Father first
• The Father reveals all His actions to the Son and the Son emulates them
• The Father gives life and the Son gives life to whom He pleases
• The Father does not judge but commits judgement to the Son
• Honoring the Son is tantamount to honoring the Father
• Hearing the words of the Son and believing the Father brings us eternal life
• Hearing the words of the Son and believing the Father excludes us from judgement
• Hearing the words of the Son and believing the Father moves us from death to life
• The dead can hear the voice of the Son and those who do will live
• The Father has life within Himself and had granted that the Son has life as well
• The Father gives the Son of God authority to judge because He is the Son of Man
• The Sonˋs voice will be heard from the graves and they will rise from the dead
• Those who did good rise to live and those who did evil rise to be condemned
• The Sonˋs judgement is just for He does not please Himself but only His Father

Amen.

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