Making Himself Equal With God
Making Himself Equal With God So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him. In his defense Jesus said to them, My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working. 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. John 5:16-18
John reveals Jesus’ emphasis on ‘real’ faith (“worship in spirit and in truth”) and how it contrasts with the world’s prejudices, traditions, and misplaced values. Jesus speaks to the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:1-42) and strikes a blow against prejudice and the assumptions religious people can harbor about the spiritual worthiness (and readiness) of others. A man aligned with an evil King (the royal official of John 4:43-54) shows what it means to have faith and take Jesus at his word. The religious leaders see the ‘sin’ of carrying a mat rather than the glory of God in Jesus’ healing of a man who has been an invalid for 38 years (John 5:1-18). Religion is confused by Jesus’ speaking to a woman of poor character and has trouble understanding what it means to be involved in God’s work (even when people are streaming out to speak to Jesus). The guardians of religious propriety are scandalized by the violation of their traditions rather than marveling at the breach of misery’s hold on a man’s life. Answering the prosecutors’ voiced charges of encouraging ‘work’ on the Sabbath, Jesus counters God is always at work, and as the Son of his Father, Jesus is working also. The heartless, shriveled soul of religion was exposed and its response was to strike out and to seek to extinguish the light. Getting Started 1. Have you ever made assumptions about another person only to learn you were mistaken? 2. What is your reaction to someone challenging your long-held and cherished beliefs? In the Word 1. Quickly review John 5:1-15. Have someone relate the story. List each person involved, their actions, their attitudes, and their reactions.
2. What “work” was being performed in John 5:1-15?
3. List to the two reasons why the text indicates the Jewish leaders wanted to kill Jesus (5:16-18)?
4. What is revealed about the relationship of the Son and the Father? Can one be accepted and the other rejected?
5. What is mentioned in the text as leading to eternal life? What is the relationship between the study of Scripture and eternal life?
6. Jesus states that what he does he does as he sees what his Father is doing (5:19). Is there any lesson or application for those who would be followers of Jesus?
7. After being accused because he encouraged the invalid to “work on the Sabbath,” Jesus discusses his work. What is Jesus’ work? What should be the work of those who follow him?
8. Whose glory did the religious leaders seek? Whose should they seek? What is revealed about the heart when we seek the glory of other people rather than God?
Application 1. This week pray that God will help you to see the opportunities he brings into your life to be involved in his “work” in this world.
2. Think about whose glory most motivates your words and actions. What do you need to say or do that you haven’t because of concerns about what others would think? How will you “work” so that what you do reflects what God is doing?
3. Pray for your community group to become more “outward” focused. Please pray for the new CG beginning on the Southside. Also, look at your group and make a plan for how you will reach out.
John reveals Jesus’ emphasis on ‘real’ faith (“worship in spirit and in truth”) and how it contrasts with the world’s prejudices, traditions, and misplaced values. Jesus speaks to the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:1-42) and strikes a blow against prejudice and the assumptions religious people can harbor about the spiritual worthiness (and readiness) of others. A man aligned with an evil King (the royal official of John 4:43-54) shows what it means to have faith and take Jesus at his word. The religious leaders see the ‘sin’ of carrying a mat rather than the glory of God in Jesus’ healing of a man who has been an invalid for 38 years (John 5:1-18). Religion is confused by Jesus’ speaking to a woman of poor character and has trouble understanding what it means to be involved in God’s work (even when people are streaming out to speak to Jesus). The guardians of religious propriety are scandalized by the violation of their traditions rather than marveling at the breach of misery’s hold on a man’s life. Answering the prosecutors’ voiced charges of encouraging ‘work’ on the Sabbath, Jesus counters God is always at work, and as the Son of his Father, Jesus is working also. The heartless, shriveled soul of religion was exposed and its response was to strike out and to seek to extinguish the light. Getting Started 1. Have you ever made assumptions about another person only to learn you were mistaken? 2. What is your reaction to someone challenging your long-held and cherished beliefs? In the Word 1. Quickly review John 5:1-15. Have someone relate the story. List each person involved, their actions, their attitudes, and their reactions.
2. What “work” was being performed in John 5:1-15?
3. List to the two reasons why the text indicates the Jewish leaders wanted to kill Jesus (5:16-18)?
4. What is revealed about the relationship of the Son and the Father? Can one be accepted and the other rejected?
5. What is mentioned in the text as leading to eternal life? What is the relationship between the study of Scripture and eternal life?
6. Jesus states that what he does he does as he sees what his Father is doing (5:19). Is there any lesson or application for those who would be followers of Jesus?
7. After being accused because he encouraged the invalid to “work on the Sabbath,” Jesus discusses his work. What is Jesus’ work? What should be the work of those who follow him?
8. Whose glory did the religious leaders seek? Whose should they seek? What is revealed about the heart when we seek the glory of other people rather than God?
Application 1. This week pray that God will help you to see the opportunities he brings into your life to be involved in his “work” in this world.
2. Think about whose glory most motivates your words and actions. What do you need to say or do that you haven’t because of concerns about what others would think? How will you “work” so that what you do reflects what God is doing?
3. Pray for your community group to become more “outward” focused. Please pray for the new CG beginning on the Southside. Also, look at your group and make a plan for how you will reach out.
