Back to Home Page | Back to Index |

John Chapter Five

 
All Should Honor The Son (5:16-30)
 
INTRODUCTION
 
1. The ministry of Jesus was not without controversy...
  a. One reason was because He healed on the Sabbath - Jn 5:16
 b. Another reason was because He made Himself equal with God - Jn
 5:17-18
 -- Prompting the Jews to seek to kill Him
 
2. Yet He they sought to kill, they should have honored - Jn 5:22-23
 a. Even as one should honor the Father
 b. For failing to honor the Son, they did not honor the Father who
 sent Him
 -- Indeed, all should honor the Son!
 
[Do we honor the Son today? Truly honor the Son? We certainly should,
and in our text we note several reasons why Jesus should be held high in
our estimation of Him...]
 
I. WHY WE SHOULD HONOR THE SON
 
 A. THE SON WILL RAISE THE DEAD...
 1. Among the "greater works" Jesus would do included raising the
 dead! - Jn 5:20-21
 2. We have record of Jesus raising three people from the dead
 a. The daughter of Jairus - Mk 5:21-43
 b. The son of the widow of Nain - Lk 7:11-17
 c. The brother of Mary and Martha, Lazarus - Jn 11:1-44
 3. One day, Jesus will raise all from the dead! - Jn 5:28-29
 a. Those who have done good, to the resurrection of life
 b. Those who have done evil, to the resurrection of
 condemnation
 -- Just as in Adam all die, so in Christ all shall be made alive!
 - cf. 1 Co 15:22
 
 B. THE SON WILL JUDGE THE WORLD...
 1. The Father has committed judgment to His Son - Jn 5:22
 a. Jesus has authority to execute judgment, because He is the
 Son of Man - Jn 5:27
  b. Jesus will exercise righteous judgment, because He seeks the
 Father's will - Jn 5:30
 2. One day, Jesus will judge all mankind! - cf. Ac 10:42; 17:31
 a. His words will judge us in the Last Day - Jn 12:48
 b. We will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ - Ro
 14:10; 2 Co 5:10
 -- Knowing we will one day stand before the Judge, should we not
 honor Him now?
 
 C. THE SON OFFERS EVERLASTING LIFE...
 1. To those who hear His Words, and believes in the Father who
 sent Him - Jn 5:24
 a. They shall not come into judgment (i.e., condemnation)
 b. They shall pass from death (spiritual) to life (eternal)
 2. The time for this offer is now ("the hour is coming, and now
 is") - Jn 5:25
 a. When those who are dead (spiritually) will hear the voice of
 the Son of God (via the gospel)
 b. Those who hear (obey) will live (be saved)
 3. The Son has power to give life - Jn 5:26
  a. Because the Father has life in Himself
 b. And the Father has granted the Son to have life in Himself
 -- That Jesus offers the gift of everlasting life is certainly
 reason to honor Him!
 
[Many other reasons to honor the Son could be given, but these certainly
suffice. How should we honor Him? From our text, we can glean at least
three ways...]
 
II. HOW WE SHOULD HONOR THE SON
 
 A. BY HEARING HIS VOICE NOW...
 1. One day, we will hear His voice - cf. Jn 5:28-29
  a. Whether alive or dead
 b. Whether we want to or not
 c. Either to a resurrection of life, or to a resurrection of
 condemnation
 2. How much better that day will be, if we hear His voice now
 - cf. Jn 5:24-25
  a. We can have everlasting life!
 b. We will not come into judgment (condemnation)!
 c. We can pass from death to life!
 -- Will we honor the Son by listening to His words of life?
 
 B. BY OBEYING HIS VOICE NOW...
 1. It is not enough to simply "hear" His Words
 a. We must be "doers" of His Words - Mt 7:24-27
 b. Otherwise, why bother to call Him "Lord"? - Lk 6:46
 c. Only by abiding in His word are we truly His disciples - Jn
 8:31
 2. Jesus is the author of eternal salvation to all obey Him - cf.
 He 5:9
 a. Obeying His call to believe in Him - Jn 8:24
 b. Obeying His call to repent of sins - Lk 13:3
 c. Obeying His call to confess Him before others - Mt 10:32-33
 d. Obeying His call to be baptized - Mt 28:19; Mk 16:16
 e. Obeying His call to remain faithful - Re 2:10
 -- Will we honor the Son by heeding His voice now, today?
 
 C. BY SEEKING THE FATHER'S WILL NOW...
 1. Jesus sought His Father's will in all that He did - Jn 5:30
 a. His "food" was to do the Father's will - Jn 4:34
 b. He came down from heaven to do the Father's will - Jn 6:38
 c. He glorified the Father by doing the work He was given to do
 - Jn 17:4
 2. Jesus wants us to do His Father's will
 a. Otherwise we will not enter the kingdom of heaven - Mt 7:
 21-23
 b. Otherwise we will not be part of His family - Mt 12:46-50
 -- We can best honor the Son by emulating His example in doing the
 Father's will!
 
CONCLUSION
 
1. All should honor the Son today...
 a. He is certainly worthy of honor - cf. Re 5:12
 b. Just as the Father (He who sits on the throne) is worthy - cf. Re
 5:13
 
2. All will honor the Son one day...
 a. By responding to His voice at the resurrection - Jn 5:28-29
 b. Every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess - Ro 14:10-11;
 Ph 2:9-11
 
For those willing to honor Him today by heeding His voice, they will be
honored together with Him in That Day! - cf. 2 Th 1:10-12

The Insufficiency Of The Scriptures (5:37-40)
 
INTRODUCTION
 
1. The all-sufficiency of the Scriptures is an important doctrine...
 a. For the Scriptures are completely adequate - 2 Ti 3:16-17
 b. God has provided all that we need for life and godliness - 2 Pe
 1:3
 c. We do not need further revelation, we have the faith delivered
 "once for all" to the saints - Ju 3
 -- Thus we have that which is able to build us up and give us our
 inheritance - Ac 20:32
 
2. Yet there can come a time... when the Scriptures are insufficient...
 a. When despite its power, the Word of God is unable to save
 b. When despite diligent study, it does not benefit those who search
 through it
 -- There can be a time when the Scriptures are insufficient!
 
3. We find such an occasion in the gospel of John...
 a. When Jesus was confronted by unbelieving Jews - cf. Jn 5:16-18
 b. Who had rejected various sources bearing witness to Jesus - cf. Jn
 5:33-36
 
[In what serves as our text (Jn 5:37-40), we learn when and how the
Scriptures can be insufficient, as it proved to be in the case of the
Jews...]
 
I. HOW THE SCRIPTURES PROVED INSUFFICIENT FOR THE JEWS
 
 A. THEY DILIGENTLY SEARCHED THE SCRIPTURES...
 1. As indicated in our text - Jn 5:39
 a. The KJV has Jesus commanding them to search the Scriptures
 b. The ASV, NKJV, NASB has Jesus acknowledging their study of
 the Scriptures
 c. "The form here can be either present active indicative
 second person plural or the present active imperative second
 person plural. Only the context can decide. Either makes
 sense here, but the reason given 'because ye think' (clearly
 indicative), supports the indicative rather than the
 imperative." - Robertson's Word Pictures
 2. The Jews were diligent students of the Scriptures
 a. Moses was read in the synagogues every Sabbath - cf. Ac 15:
 21
 b. "Hillel used to say, 'More law, more life...He who has
 gotten himself words of law has gotten himself the life of
 the world to come' (Talmud). In their zeal for the
 Scriptures the Jews had counted every letter of them,
 expecting to find life in the laws and precepts..."
 - McGarvey's Fourfold Gospel
 -- One could hardly be a more diligent student of the Scriptures
 than the Jews!
 
 B. YET THE SCRIPTURES DID NOT BENEFIT THEM...
 1. They were unwilling to believe in Him of whom the Scriptures
 testified - Jn 5:39-40
 2. Failing to believe in Jesus led to the Father's Word not
 abiding in them - cf. Jn 5:38
 -- Unwilling to believe in Him of whom the Scriptures testified,
 the Scriptures proved insufficient to be the Word of life for
 them!
 
[How sad that many Jews who had the benefit of receiving "the oracles of
God" (Ro 3:1-2) and studied them so diligently fell short of receiving
their true benefit. Yet the same occurs often today...]
 
II. HOW THE SCRIPTURES CAN BE INSUFFICIENT FOR US TODAY
 
 A. WE MAY BE DILIGENT STUDENTS OF THE SCRIPTURES...
 1. Indeed we should be diligent students of the Word!
  a. The gospel is God's power to save - Ro 1:16
 b. The Word of God is living and powerful - He 4:12
 c. The Word is able to save our souls - Ja 1:21
 d. The Word is able to make one born again - 1 Pe 1:22
 e. The Word is able to help us grow - 1 Pe 2:2
 f. The Word is able to give us that inheritance among those
 sanctified - Ac 20:32
 2. Many people are diligent students of the Word!
 a. Every denomination has its scholars, people well-versed in
 the Word
 b. People read the Bible daily, study it in church frequently
 c. Some can even quote entire sections from memory
 -- Many are like the Berean Jews in their study of the Scriptures
 - Ac 17:11
 
 B. YET THE SCRIPTURES WILL NOT BENEFIT US...
 1. If we do not have faith - He 4:1-2
 a. We may come short of our promised rest
 b. Like the Israelites who fell in the wilderness
 2. If we are not doers of the Word
 a. If we are only hearers, we deceive ourselves - Ja 1:21-25
 b. If we are only hearers, we will not stand in times of trial
 - Mt 7:24-27
 -- Unless we believe and obey the Word of God , it remains
 insufficient to save us!
 
CONCLUSION
 
1. The Word of God is truly all-sufficient..
 a. To do the work God designed it do - Isa 55:10-11
 b. To bear fruit in the noble and good heart - Lk 8:11,15
 
2. Yet "people of the Book" (as the Koran calls Jews and Christians)
 should take heed...
 a. The Word cannot bear fruit in some hearts - Lk 8:12-14
 b. We must let the Word lead us to Him Who is the giver of life - cf.
 Jn 5:40
 
Indeed, "the all-sufficiency of the Word" must be understood in its
context, for the Word alone does not save. To be saved we also need
faith (Jn 8:24), we need blood (Ep 1:7), we even need water (Ep 5:26),
the last being an allusion to baptism where the Word, God's grace,
Christ's blood and our faith comes together to provide remission of
sins! - cf. Ac 2:38; 22:16

－－《Executable Outlines》