This Sunday is Mother’s Day…so, uh…Happy Mother’s Day!….but we’re going to be continuing in our study of John. Sorry about that. We’ll be reading John 5:16-47 – a fairly long and dense passage.

Jesus finds himself in the midst of a growing hostility from the religious leaders in Israel. The passage we’ll be reading is a long monologue where Jesus is responding to his critics.

This section is where the majority of our Christology comes from, because within this text Jesus makes some bold and startling statements about himself.

It’s a lot to try and unpack in one teaching, much less a short entry like this. Suffice it to say that Jesus is in trouble because the religious leaders rightly pick up what Jesus is laying down – he makes himself equal to God. Jesus never denies that, but instead drives the point home with the force of Scripture. If you get the chance, read Daniel 7 and see if you pick up any similar language being employed by Jesus. The same applies to Daniel 12:1-2.

It seems pretty clear that Jesus is identifying himself as the mysterious Ruler, the Son of Man, whom Daniel foretold.

Jesus points to the witnesses that testify about him in v31-40. He mentions God, John the Baptist, his own good works and teachings, and Scripture. How persuasive would those witnesses be for you? If you had been there when Jesus was ministering, what might have convinced you that He is Messiah? It’s an interesting thought experiment.

Jesus closes his speech with some harsh warnings for his critics. According to v42, what is it that they lack which seems to be the root of their unwillingness to believe Jesus as at least God’s messenger?

I’m looking forward to digging into this text with you on Sunday – hope you can join us!

Click here for a pdf of the teaching slideshow.