Authority:

John 5:19-20 "...So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel..."

Context:

- The Jews though it was their religious duty to kill Jesus.

- His punishable crimes included breaking the Sabbath and making himself equal to God.

How did Jesus know what to do?

- The Father showed Him.

- Jesus did nothing of His own accord, but only what He saw the Father doing.

How do we know what to do?

John 15:5 "...I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing..."

- abide in Christ (take up residence, live with Him).

- we do nothing with eternal significance apart from Christ.

Eternal Life:

John 5:21-24 "...For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, 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. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life..."

Who gives life?

- the Father and the Son.

Who gets life?

- the one the Son chooses.

Why is dishonoring the Son also dishonoring the Father?

- Jesus was sent by the Father.

- failure to honor an ambassador is failure to honor the one who sent them.

Who has eternal life?

- whoever hears the words of Jesus and believes the sender.

Faith Work:

John 5:25-29 "...Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment..."

Are those who died without contact with Jesus excluded from eternal life?

- the dead will hear his voice.

- those who hear will live.

Is eternity the same for all who hear?

- those who have done good - resurrection of life.

- those who have done evil - resurrection of judgment.

Is it faith or is it works that lead to the resurrection of life?

Ephesians 2:8 "...For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,..."

Ephesians 2:10 "...For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them..."

- saved by grace through faith, but created for good works.

Matthew 25:31-46 “...When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. ... he will separate people one from another ...he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

- eternal life or eternal punishment according to what was done to the least of these.

James 1:22 "...But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves..."

- hearing without doing is deception.

James 2:17 "...So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead..."

- without works, faith is not alive.

The Will and Glory of God:

John 5:30-37 "...I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not deemed true. There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen,..."

Who bore witness to the validity of Christ?

- John the Baptist.

- the works that the Father gave.

- the Father himself.

- the scriptures.

John 5:38-42 "...and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. I do not receive glory from people. But I know that you do not have the love of God within you..."

What did the Jews lack?

- the abiding word.

- belief.

- life.

- the love of God.

What did they miss in their study of scripture?

- the connection between scripture and the presence of Christ.

- they didn't connect their knowledge with reality!

John 5:43-47 "...I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?...”

What was the underlying problem that led to disbelief?

- seeking personal glory, glory from one another.

- not seeking the glory from God.