John 5: Honor the Father by Honoring the Son

Today’s reading is John 5.

The Jews got upset at Jesus because He was performing miracles on the Sabbath and even seemed to be encouraging others to work on the Sabbath. So, Jesus said, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” And this really flew all over the Jews. They moved from persecuting Him to seeking to kill Him because He “was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God” (John 5:18, ESV).

Wait. Did you catch that? Some today tell us Jesus never claimed to be divine. However, the Jews in John 5 wanted to kill Him because when He got done talking, they thought He claimed to be divine. Why didn’t He just tell them, “No, no, no, you’ve got it all wrong. I didn’t mean I am divine. I didn’t mean I’m God. There’s no need to kill Me.” I don’t know about you, that’s what I would have said if folks started threatening to kill me for claiming to be divine. But Jesus didn’t. Why not? Because He did claim divinity.

In fact, after John states this desire to kill Jesus had been provoked, Jesus doubles down on the Father and Son talk. Jesus is the Son. He is the Son of Man. He is the Son of God. Because He is the Son of Man, He has the authority to judge. Because He is the Son of God, He has the power to call the dead to life. He’s the Son, so He can do nothing on His own and must abide by the authority of the Father. However, He is the Son so He has the authority of the Father.

Here is the key. Do you want to honor the Father? Honor His Son. Look, don’t tell me you love me and then tell me you want nothing to do with my kids. If you don’t love my kids, you don’t love me. I don’t care what you say. Jesus makes the same point. If we honor the Father, then we’ll honor His Son. If we don’t honor the Son, no matter what we are doing, we aren’t honoring the Father.

Certainly, we could stop here and will have made the most important point. But, perhaps we should also note where Jesus ends up in John 5:43-44. The Jews were busy receiving glory from one another. Because of that, they didn’t honor Jesus. But that also meant they were not seeking the honor or glory that comes from the Father. Do you see the point? If we want to honor the Father, we need to honor the Son. AND if we want the Father to honor us, we need to honor His Son.

How are you doing at that?

Tomorrow’s reading is John 5.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier sparked by this post.

PATHS:
Discuss Today’s Meditation with Your Family

How does John 5 prompt or improve your hope in God?

Jesus: Son of Abraham

Today’s reading is Matthew 1.

Jesus is not only the Son of David, He is the Son of Abraham. He is not only the rightful heir to the throne, He is the rightful heir to the promises of God.

In Genesis 12:1-3, God promised Abraham:

Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed (ESV).

Jesus left His Father’s house and came into a far country (see John 1:14). God’s promise is Jesus will become a great kingdom (see Psalm 2). God will bless Him and make His name great (see Philippians 2:9). Jesus will become a blessing for all the families on the earth, not just the Jewish families (see Matthew 28:18-20).

However, the part of these promises that matters the most for us: God will bless those of us who bless Jesus and curse those of us who dishonor Him. As Jesus says in Matthew 10:32-33:

Everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven (ESV).

This confession is not merely in word, but also in deed. If we acknowledge, confess, bless Jesus in front of others in words, in deeds, in suffering, in patience, in obedience, in teaching, He will acknowledge us before the Father. And the Father will bless us. If we deny Jesus before others in words, in deeds, in pleasure-seeking, in procrastination, in self-will, in keeping our mouths shut, He will deny us before the Father. And the Father will curse us.

Bless Jesus today. He is the Son of Abraham. He is the heir of the promises.

Tomorrow’s reading is Matthew 1.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier sparked by this post.

Discuss the Following Questions with Your Family

1. What are your initial reactions to the chapter and the written devo above?
2. What do you know about God’s promises to Abraham?
3. What is your favorite part of God’s promises to Abraham? Why?
4. What can we do today to bless Jesus?
5. What do you think we should pray for and about in light of this chapter and today’s post?