If Jesus Is A Really Good Teacher, You Can't Pick and Choose What You LIke and Don't Like!!! John 5:16-23

The Authority of the Son

16 So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him. 17 In his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” 18 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.19 Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. 21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. 22 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23 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.

As we said in the beginning of the gospel of John, there is no other gospel which takes more time explaining the nature of who Jesus is than the fourth gopsel.  And part of what John offers is a look at the relationship between God the Father and God the Son.  The term Father and Son are used quite often in this gospel. 

"Jesus calls God ‘the Father’ or ‘my Father’ 107 times and refers to himself as ‘the Son of God’ or simply ‘the son’ in context with ‘the Father’ around 30 times. John 5:18 shows that his contemporaries understood him to be ‘making himself equal with God’." (Theopedia)

There is no chance that Jesus doesn't know how offensive this will be to the Jewish leaders.  Jesus is answering their questions directly and without fear of their reprisal. He is basically saying that everything he does is in concert with the Father's will and design. Everything he does is by the Father's power.  He can do everything the Father does, as the Son has complete knowledge of what the Father is doing and no secrets are hidden from him. 

"Jesus explained that His work was a perfect reflection of the work and will of God the Father. Jesus showed us exactly what the work and will of God is." (Guzik)

Finally, Jesus goes as far as to say just as the Father raises the dead, so will the Son.  Jesus uses the example of resurrection to show the religious leaders that the same power he used to heal the paralytic would be the power and authority he would have to raise the dead. 

"In this Jesus appealed to ultimate power. It’s hard to think of greater power and authority than of that to raise the dead. The religious leaders didn’t want to think much about Jesus’ ability to heal a paralytic; they focused on Him as a Sabbath breaker. Yet the power of Jesus went far beyond the power to heal." (Guzik)

Most of the secular world is okay with saying Jesus lived. They are comfortable saying he was a good moral teacher, or even a prophet. But there is only one problem with these trite notions. Jesus didn't leave that option open to us. If he was a good teacher, one needs to take all of what he taught at face value. If he is a good teacher then what he taught about His relationship with the Father was completely true. He was lying about this, he would not be consiudered a good teacher.  If Jesus was a good or moral teacher, one could never come to an honest conclusion that Jesus considered himself completely equal to His father in EVERY WAY! 

How does Jesus' teaching separate Christianity from every other world religion? Why do you Jesus' healing the parylitic and making these claims today made the religious leaders so mad? What are they afraid of? Why do you think non believers don't want to believe the Son is equal to the Father?