Message by Larry Thacker Jr. from January 22, “Honor the Son”
We continue our study of the book of John in Chapter 5, verses 18-24. Jesus has just healed the sick man at the pool of Bethesda, and the Jewish leaders want Him dead. What has He done that’s so bad? He healed a man on the Sabbath day, then told him to pick up his palate and walk. In so doing, he broke the rules for what could and could not be done on the Sabbath, a day on which no one was supposed to do any work. But that’s not all, He then claimed to be doing the work of His father, which the Jews clearly understood as a statement of equality with God. This was blasphemy and carried the death penalty.
Jesus now elaborates on His claim, with every word taking for Himself those qualities that properly belonged only to Yahweh. This is a problem passage for anyone who says that Jesus never claimed to be God. He says in verses 22-23, “For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.
How then do we honor the Son? We start by believing what He said, which leads us to the inevitable conclusion, He is God. If He is God, then let us honor Him as God by heeding His words and doing what He said.
