Jesus the Son of God – Simply True

When Jesus comes among us, he is eager for us to have a life like his own—full of certainty and love. As the Son of God, he’s is always enjoying his Father’s company and purpose. And he’s come so we will be able to do the same.[i]

But Jesus encounters people who are self-absorbed and opposed to what he does. Even his disciples are dull. Bringing us to know God as Father is not an easy job. It’s contested territory!

We’re looking now, at the early chapters of John’s Gospel, and particularly, at two confrontations Jesus has with opponents. These encounters, and the conversations that follow, show us how we should be thinking about God as our Father.

In the first event, Jesus heals a man who’s been paralysed for 38 years.[ii]

But he does it on a Saturday—Israel’s tightly regulated Sabbath. And their leaders object. But Jesus says his Father is working! Our Creator God might have stopped creating on the seventh day but he hasn’t stopped caring for what he’s made. Especially looking after his people.

Israel should know that God is Father to their nation, and that he can be called on for help.[iii] But they’re not expecting him to do anything!

Here’s a man, crippled for decades. Seemingly, not expecting anything to change. And Jesus sees that the Father wants to heal him. So, he does!

God’s people should be able to see that a miracle like this is nothing less than their Father God in action. And therefore, they should be recognising Jesus as the one sent to do his work.

Jesus is setting out the reasons why people should believe in him, but in doing so, of necessity, he must tell us about his Father.[iv] Here’s what he shows us.

The Father tells the Son what he’s doing—because he loves his Son. That’s why there’s been a miracle. In fact, Jesus tells us that he doesn’t do anything unless he sees that it’s what the Father wants.[v] People should see his good works and give glory to his Father in heaven.

And the Father raises the dead. Only God can do this of course, but Jesus will do it too. He’ll do it for Lazarus. But he’ll also do it for all of us who trust in him for salvation. Jesus is doing work that marks him out as the beloved Son of the Father‚ equal with God.

And the Father has life in himself. As Jesus also has. And then, the Father judges us. And Jesus has been given this authority—so we should have reverence for Jesus in the same way we have reverence for the Father.

Jesus is doing the kind of thing Israel’s Father does[vi]—healing, judging, giving life. But people won’t recognise the Father in what is happening. They’re being willfully blind.

It’s the same now. We wonder how to commend Jesus to people. This should be an easy thing to do because Jesus is very commendable! Why then is it difficult?

There may be many reasons why people take time to recognise who Jesus is, but underneath this, people are deciding what to think about God. Is he good? Can I trust him? Is he our Father?

It’s easy to forget that behind all we can see and do is a loving Father who wants to communicate with us. We prefer our own works—things we can see and control—even the religious regulations that are being raised in this case. We try to make them the issue. We want to show that we are the ones who are right.

We need to follow Jesus in his argument with these detractors. It may be that the reason we don’t understand Jesus is because we want a Jesus who’s human rather than one who reveals an ever present and gracious Father.

The Father hasn’t forgotten the human race. He hasn’t left everything to us. We’re not alone. Jesus has come to show us that the Father is always working.

The second encounter Jesus has with opponents happens after he miraculously feeds more than 5000 people—starting with just a few loaves and fish.[vii]

In this case, Jesus is confronted with what we could call ‘bread and circuses’ people[viii] They’re not interested in God. They just want to be fed and entertained.

In fact, the crowd would like Jesus to become their king.[ix] One day’s work by this man and thousands go home happy. Think of the difference he could make to the economy!

On the next day, Jesus explains that he’s the ‘bread’ they need. But everything he says about himself is couched in what his Father is doing. They’re not going to get a human Jesus without an unseen Father.

These people want everything to be domestic—Jesus just being a nice lad—the son of people they know.[x] And they are grumblers. Everything should be pleasing to them.

They are like a lady who told me she liked God ‘with skin on’. She didn’t want to grapple with anything unseen.

It could be that we are happy with a human Jesus—especially, one who can do super-human things, but not really want to know him, or who sent him.

So, look at the several ways Jesus links this encounter to his Father in heaven.

It’s the Father who gives his Son to us—as ‘bread’, so we can live forever.[xi] The Father has loved the world.[xii] Given that we all have to die, eternal life is surely something we would all line up for! Jesus wants us to see the generosity of his Father.

And, it’s the Father who gives certain people to his Son. Jesus must love this fact because he mentions it four times—the Father wills it, the Father attracts us to Jesus, the Father teaches us who he is, and then, the Father gives us to his Son.[xiii] And we’re special to the Son because we’re the Father’s gift to him.

We’re being given to the Son in readiness for a wonderful future we will share with him—as his Bride. So, we have every reason—like Jesus—to relish our being given by the Father to the Son.

And then, the Father has sent his Son to us because it’s the Son who knows the Father intimately.[xiv] He’ll be able to really reveal the Father. The Father is the source of his life. And the Father is the source of the life Jesus has come to give to us.[xv]

So, Jesus is not among us merely to hand out free meals. He’s here to reveal what life really is, and how to have it. He’s bringing us to his Father, and preparing us to be the Bride the Father wants to give to him.

All this is better than a free lunch! It’s the way Jesus brings us to share the life that he has before the Father—full of certainty and love.

There’s more Jesus says about his Father in these early chapters of John’s Gospel.[xvi] For example, his critics have a different father to him—the devil![xvii] The alternatives are stark. It’s important we listen carefully to Jesus or we’ll end up in the wrong family!

But Jesus knows that we won’t understand him until we have ‘lifted him up’—meaning, until we have killed him.[xviii] The scene is set for the final revelation of the Father—in the humiliation of Jesus on a cross. And we’ll return to this next time.

[i] John 1:14-18

[ii] John 5:1-17

[iii] Exod. 4:21-23; Deut. 32:6; Isa. 63:16; 64:8

[iv] John 5:17-47

[v] John 5:30; 8:28

[vi] John 5:36

[vii] John 6:22-59

[viii]The reference to bread and circuses is first used to describe Rome’s rulers handing out free wheat and arranging chariot races to deter people from asking serious questions.

[ix] John 6:15

[x] John 6:41-43

[xi] John 6: 32, 40

[xii] John 3:16

[xiii] John 6: 37, 44-45, 65

[xiv] John 6:46

[xv] John 6: 57

[xvi] John 8:12-59

[xvii] John 8:37-47

[xviii] John 8:12-30