The Life of Christ:
Man’s Need
of Resurrection
We have been studying the Life of the Lord Jesus Christ for over a
year. Some of you will remember that
last year on the day we call Easter, we looked at the Lord’s Birth to show how
it was necessary for him to come to earth in order to accomplish the work given
to him by the Heavenly Father. Part of
that work was to rise from the dead in order to seal the justification of all
who would believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
All of the events in the Life of the Lord were intimately related. They demonstrate the utter perfection and
resolve of the one God sent to accomplish salvation for his people. Yet, the life of Jesus on earth was not an
easy life. It was full of hardship and
confrontation, intrigue and exhaustion.
Last Sunday we saw the man at the Pool of Bethesda and how Jesus
had compassion on him. We saw the work
Jesus did for the one from among the multitudes by the Pool. We saw something of the compassion of the
Lord Jesus Christ for a man who had been afflicted physically for 38 years.
This single act of compassion in Jerusalem by the Pool named the
Place of Mercy, evoked a response from the leaders of the Jews towards the man
healed and towards the Lord Jesus Christ--once the Jews knew it was Jesus who
had healed the man and commanded him “to take up his bed and walk.”
The narrative continues to develop as Jesus and the leaders of the
Jews are now at odds. Jesus interacts
with them. Remember, Jesus is a little
over one year into a three+ year ministry.
He has two more years to go until he is crucified in Jerusalem at this
same feast. The main point of Jesus
instruction is relevant for us today. It
is Man’s need of resurrection.
Turn to John Chapter 5 and verse 16. This is the paragraph immediately
after the healing of the man at the Pool of Bethesda. We will look at this section under five
headings.
1. The Reason of the Offense
2. The Reply of the Lord
3. The Repercussions
4. The Right Understanding
5. The Resurrection Needed
1. The Reason of the Offense
John 5:16 ¶ For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought
to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath.
2. The Reply of the Lord
John 5:17 But Jesus answered them,
“My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.”
3. The Repercussions
John 5:18 Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him,
because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father,
making Himself equal with God.
4. The Right Understanding of
what they have seen
John 5:19 Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do
nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the
Son also does in like manner. 20 “For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him
all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these,
that you may marvel.
5. The Resurrection Needed
John 5:21 “For as the
Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to
whom He will. 22 “For the Father judges
no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, 23 “that all should honor the Son just as they
honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who
sent Him.
24 “ ¶ Most
assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me
has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from
death into life. 25 “Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is
coming, and now is, 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 to have life in Himself,
27 “and has given Him authority
to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. 28 “Do
not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves
will hear His voice 29 “and come forth —
those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done
evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.
Let’s look further at some important points from the text:
1. The Reason of the Offense
John 5:16 ¶ For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought
to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath.
Because Jesus had healed a man distressed for 38 years and told
him to take up his bed and get out of there, the leaders of the Jew were upset
with him. In there eyes, the Lord Jesus
had sinned by commanding another to break the Sabbath. Actually, the language is a bit stronger:
1. They persecuted him--They sought to bring pressure to bear upon
the Lord Jesus in order to extract a change in his attitudes and behavior, or
to drive him away. When that didn’t work....
2. They sought to kill him.
They wanted to be rid of this man who had the audacity to show mercy to
another on the Sabbath and the command him to rise and go away from the
Pool.
Observation: when people can’t have things on their own terms in
line with their own understanding of things, they often take out their
frustrations on others.
Jesus defends himself.
Turning the discussion from one of the man healed and himself to one
about God and his work......
2. The Reply of the Lord
John 5:17 But Jesus answered them,
“My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.”
Jesus is saying that at no time has the Father in Heaven ceased
working. As the one who holds all things
together, the one who sustains the world by the might of his power as well as
the one who brought it into existence, he has always been working, up to this
very moment. Then Jesus adds a word
about himself. He says, “And, I have
been working.” All Jesus was doing was part of the great work that had been
given to him to do. He was always on
call and on rigorous duty.
Jesus is telling the Jews that they misunderstood something about
the nature and work of God and the nature and work of himself. They should have seen the power of God that
operated through him as they considered the man who had been risen from being
as good as dead. They should have stood
in awe at what had happened in their midst.
But, their religious prejudices, kept them from seeing what was of true
importance. They were blind to the glory
that was manifest through the Lord Jesus Christ. The glory of God was eclipsed by the twisted
understanding of a small band of men.
The Jews became incensed, enraged.
They understood what was implicit in the claim of the Lord Jesus. John continues....he tells us of......
3. The Repercussions
John 5:18 Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him,
because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father,
making Himself equal with God.
They wanted to take his life.
They wanted to show themselves as the ones in control. They were the leaders of the Jews, Jesus was
a Jew, they wanted him to submit and just accept the status quo. Instead, Jesus told them what they did not
want to hear, but what they needed to hear.
For this they sought all the more to kill him. Their hatred of the Lord Jesus
intensified. They saw Jesus as now being
guilty of two things:
1. Breaking the sabbath and
causing others to do the same.
2. Blasphemy for making
himself to be equal with God.
Jesus graciously, in the face of their desires and knowing their
hearts, teaches them about......
4. The Right Understanding of
what they have seen
John 5:19 Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do
nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the
Son also does in like manner. 20 “For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him
all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these,
that you may marvel.
As the Son of God, he could not work on his own. He was bound to
do the will of his heavenly Father. What the Father does, or the concerns that
he has, the Son conforms to the Father’s will.
Jesus was not acting on his own, but in the power and authority of God
in heaven. He goes on to tell them that
in this the Father loves the Son and shows him all things on the divine
agenda. Jesus also warns them that
greater works are coming. He tells them
the purpose for the greater works. They
are that the Jews might be bewildered at the power and authority in the
ministry and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
They would stand in awe at the things to come.
Jesus teaches them about the intimate union between the father and
the son--a union of being and purpose, one with great communication and
fellowship, one of submission to do what God the Father desires and
requires. They were both working
together in mutual love to bring grace and mercy to many just as Jesus had done
in delivering the man at the pool, who had been as good as dead and raised to
life.
Jesus goes on to tie these physical lessons to the spiritual
reality that for all men......
5. The Resurrection is Needed
Remember the immediate backdrop is Jesus healing the man at the
Pool of Bethesda and the desire of the Jews to take the life of Jesus. What a lovely but tragic irony. Jesus
continued:
John 5:21 “For as the
Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to
whom He will.
Touching the man by the Pool, we noted the principle of God’s
dealings with men, “I will have mercy upon who I will have mercy and compassion
upon whom I will have compassion” This is what he did with the man by the Pool
when from among the army present he healed but one. It is up to God to determine who will be
raised up to life.
Jesus goes further in equating himself with God the Father by
showing the unique and prominent place that he has as an important person in
the Godhead who carries out a specific work.
He said:
22 “For the Father judges
no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, 23 “that all should honor the Son just as they
honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who
sent Him.
All judicial acts of God have been committed to this one who stood
before the leaders of the Jews teaching them about the Divine Trinity. They should have realized--This is the JUDGE
of all to whom we speak. And, they
should have understood what would happen to them because they were not showing
honor and respect to him. What is
dishonoring to the Son is so to the Father.
As they wanted to snuff out the life of the Lord Jesus, it follows that
they were snuffing out the influence of God among them. Disrespect of God was a
crime for which they were being accused by the one to whom all judgment has
been committed.
Jesus continued by talking about this judgment that was his to
deliver and execute:
24 “ ¶ Most
assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me
has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from
death into life.
Many Christians have memorized this verse for purposes of
evangelism. They use it as a declaration
of the effects of belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. Only those who believe in him can experience
the resurrection of the dead now. Only
those who believe in Him can be raised from spiritual death to life. He says, Has everlasting life. And has passed from death unto life. Jesus is not talking about the future after
this life is over, he is talking to the leaders of the Jews who he implicitly
views as being in need of the thing he describes. They are dead in one sense and alive in
another. They are dead spiritually and
in need of a resurrection--they need new life.
They need a work of mercy, just like the poor man at the Pool of Bethesda.
The Jews would not listen to his authoritative word--like the one
he gave to the man he healed to take up his bed and walk--and they would not
trust in him by faith to do his Father’s work.
Because they would not believe, they remained as deadmen. Judgment would certainly come upon
them--judgment from the one explaining these things to them. They would not pass from death unto
life.
Isn’t ironic that they were the ones who wanted to kill the Lord
Jesus Christ, but in reality they were the dead men in need of the life only he
could give?
Have you ever been to a funeral and thought you saw the corpse
move? Some imagine it, but it never
really happens.....WHY? The body is
dead. So too, the world is filled with
men and women busying themselves with the affairs of this life thinking they
are attending to the things that are real importance. If I were to tell people they were really
dead zombies walking around out of touch with what is of eternal importance,
they would look at me like I was crazy.
But this is what God’s Word says about men who refuse to repent and
believe.
Col. 2:13 talks about this very thing. The Apostle Paul is telling
the Christians in Colossae about their former life as the walking dead. “And
you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has
made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses.” They were as
good as dead, but in mercy God made them alive.
The spiritually dead need the resurrection as much as the
physically dead. Those who are only
spiritually dead can still hear the good news that Jesus came to save sinners
and can be found with faith. But, for
the physically dead, it is too late.
New life in the souls of a living person is needed in order to have hope
for the future. Jesus said, “Most
assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me
has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from
death into life.”
But he also went on.
Continuing his explanation to the Jewish leaders he said:
25 “Most assuredly, I say
to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of
the Son of God; and those who hear will live.
Some who are dead, will hear and live. This may be a prophecy about some of the
leaders to whom he was speaking. Even
the leaders who sought his death two years before the resurrection might hear
his voice and receive spiritual life and vigor. But, then to expand on the case a bit, Jesus
went on to talk about judgment that was to come. That hour is coming too.
26 “For as the Father has
life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, 27
“and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the
Son of Man. 28 “Do not marvel at this; for the hour is
coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29 “and come forth — those who have done good,
to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection
of condemnation.
The good in the context is that of believing and following the
words of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is God himself and has the right to command
all men everywhere--including people who are comfortable with their own
religious expression. After all, the
leaders of the Jews, if they possessed nothing else, possessed a settle
conviction within themselves that their religion was right, Jesus is telling
them it is wrong. They are dead, they
need life. And, he is telling them that
one day they will have to stand before him in judgment.
In this scene, he is before them answering why he gave mercy to an
undeserving sinner, in another future scene, they are going to have to answer
as to why they did not repent and believe.
The Bible tells us ? Acts 17:30 “...... commands all men everywhere to repent.”
Following the Lord Jesus Christ is not an option for mankind, God
commands it. Whether you were a leader
of the Jews around 30 AD, a Philippian Jailer in the 40s, or a human alive at
the beginning of the second millennium AD, or even ministers and priests ruling
the religious establishment of our day, the call is to repent and believe the
Gospel Mark 1:15.
Why? Because Jesus commands it.
What will you say when you stand before him in judgment? It doesn’t matter if you don't believe in the
judgment, Jesus did and still does and he is the righteous judge before whom
all men must come. When you are there, what will you say in response to what
you now know? When Jesus says, “Remember
Easter Sunday in the year 2000 when that chubby guy preached in the need of
spiritual resurrection and my command to repent, why didn’t you? What will you have to say for yourself? For this one time of hearing the gospel you
can be held accountable forever, unless you bow your knee in humble submission
to the Lord Jesus Christ.
God is still int he business of changing the minds of those who
oppose him in ignorance. The Apostle
Paul told Timothy to minister in this way, 2 Tim. 2:25 “in humility correcting
those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance,
so that they may know the truth....”
God is the one who gives the grace that sinners might turn from a
life of habitual sin where men are dead spiritually, to a life where men die to
sin, in order to be alive unto God, enjoying the benefits and blessings of life
in this world with purpose and then in the life to come.
The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead seals the
true resurrection that believers enjoy--the impartation of life to a dead
soul.
What will you do with God’s command to repent? Obey as God gives repentance and faith in
order to follow the Lord Jesus Christ or despise his words like the leaders of
the Jews who wanted to kill him? You
will be held accountable at some future time.
The hour is coming for judgment.
There are two resurrections.
Jesus had said, “those who have done good, to the resurrection of life,
and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.”
Which resurrection will you be in.
The one to life because you have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ. Or,
the one to condemnation. They are the
only options. Life or death? Resurrection life given by the Lord Jesus
Christ, or a life of condemnation apart from his comfortable presence.
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