Video Teaching
Verse-by-Verse Commentary
Full Transcript
Video Teaching
Commentary
16 So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him.
- Historical Context of Sabbath Observance
- The leaders’ legalistic view is informed by history. The Sabbath is one of the Ten Commandments, and the Old Testament penalty for breaking it was death (Exo. 31:14-15 and 35:2)
- Israel’s failure to keep the Sabbath contributed to their 70 years in exile (2 Chron. 36:20-21, Lev. 26:33-35, Jer. 25:11-12)
- The exile ended about 500 years before the time of Christ, but it was a massive event in Israelite history. A significant part of their communal self-understanding was wrapped up in that period of exile.
- This led to taking the law so seriously that they created a series of laws concerning what activities were allowable and which ones weren’t that were so complex that they even dictated what could and couldn’t carry on the Sabbath.
- In the Babylonian Talmud (b. Shabbat 94b), there is a series of laws concerning Muktzeh (laws concerning whether items should be handled at all) and Hotza’ah (laws concerning the carrying of items) on the Sabbath. Some items, like a hoe, are Muktzeh (translated: set aside) because they are tools of labor and have no Sabbath-appropriate purpose. Other items, like a sleeping mat, are permitted for use but are subject to Hotza’ah laws, which prevent you from moving the items from a private dwelling into a public area. The mat had a Sabbath-appropriate purpose (sitting or lying down), but the man was carrying it in the streets, so it was a violation of law.
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.
- “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.”
- Jesus equates himself to God with this statement, which the leaders recognize and are infuriated by.
- …not only was he breaking the Sabbath,
- Jesus consistently taught the Sabbath’s purpose was misunderstood.
- His disciples plucking grain on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:3-8).
- Teaching that one would rescue a child or a donkey from a well on the Sabbath (Luke 14:5).
- Jesus teaches, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath,” and that He is the “Lord of the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27-28)
- The Sabbath is a means to draw closer to God, not an end. It was established at creation to teach humans to rest in God.
- Jesus consistently taught the Sabbath’s purpose was misunderstood.
- Christian Sabbath (Sunday)
- The Christian Sabbath moved from Saturday to Sunday, as seen in Acts 20:7.
- The logic: the old Sabbath represented rest in the old creation, while Sunday—the day of Jesus’s resurrection—signifies the start of the new creation.
- Modern Christians are more at risk of neglecting the Sabbath than of taking it too seriously. Many have redefined Sabbath away from a particular day or to include any sort of rest, rather than rest specifically intended to grow closer to God.
- There’s an opportunity to value the Sabbath not just as a brief moment of rest in a busy day or a random vacation, but as a day that God intended for us as a tool and means for our benefit—a day of worshipful rest in 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.
- After the Sabbath conflict, Jesus explains His relationship with God the Father.
- This section uses a large amount of classic Trinitarian language, affirming that Jesus and the Father are distinct persons yet one being—both are God. To honor one is to honor both.
- “To believe and love the Trinity is to possess the key of theology.” -Charles Spurgeon, “Bread Enough and to Spare,” July 16, 1871.
24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. 25 Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.
- And he has given him authority…
- Jesus asserts His authority in response to earthly authorities challenging Him. He speaks with perfect judgment and discernment as God.
- When we encounter teachings or actions of Jesus we don’t understand or prefer, we must remember His divine authority. Our disagreement is our problem, not His.
28 “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned. 30 By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.
31 “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. 32 There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is true.
33 “You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. 34 Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved. 35 John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.
36 “I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, 38 nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. 39 You study[c] the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
- “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true…”
- Jesus admits that His own testimony would not be sufficient to prove anything, so he points to external witnesses.
- Deut. 19:15 and Num. 35:30 require two or three witnesses to establish any charge or execute judgment.
- Jesus admits that His own testimony would not be sufficient to prove anything, so he points to external witnesses.
- “I have testimony weightier than that of John…”
- John the Baptist testified to the truth, which was helpful, but Jesus relies on a weightier testimony: God Himself. God’s testimony is expressed in two ways:
- Miracles: Jesus’s works, given by the Father, testify that the Father sent Him.
- Scripture: The Old Testament points to Jesus constantly.
- John the Baptist testified to the truth, which was helpful, but Jesus relies on a weightier testimony: God Himself. God’s testimony is expressed in two ways:
- Jesus tells scripture experts that they study diligently thinking they have eternal life, but miss the point.
- “These are the very scriptures that testify about me…”
- “Again, we are taught by this passage, that if we wish to obtain the knowledge of Christ, we must seek it from the Scriptures; for they who imagine whatever they choose concerning Christ will ultimately have nothing instead of him but a shadowy phantom.” -John Calvin, Calvin’s Commentary on John
- Scripture is a means to an end (knowing God), not an end in itself. The words matter, like in a love letter, but their value lies in pointing to the author, God.
- There are many people that claim to know a lot about Scripture, but they haven’t found God in spite of all of their so-called knowledge.
- Bart Ehrman is a famous professor and atheist that uses his knowledge of early Christian documents to try to debunk Christianity.
- Amy Jill-Levine is a professor of the New Testament that is Jewish and does not believe in Jesus. In spite of that, she produces resources about Jesus to be used in churches.
- People inside the church today can also miss the point by treating scripture reading as a checklist item.
- When opening scripture, expect to encounter God, regardless of feelings. The goal is to seek God through it.
41 “I do not accept glory from human beings, 42 but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. 43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. 44 How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God[d]?
45 “But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. 46 If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. 47 But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?”
- God is the intended endpoint of everything we see.
- “I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts…”
- Everything in our lives is intended to point us to God, whether it be prayer, a walk in the park, or time with a friend. God is the ultimate end of everything that’s created. It’s should draw our attention to Him.
- “How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?”
- We are called to be means through which others see God’s goodness. Just as everything should draw our attention to God, we should draw other people’s attention to God, not to ourselves.
- “Our hearts are restless until they rest in you” -Augustine of Hippo, Confessions, Bk. 1.
- “I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts…”
- “…for he wrote about me.”
- “Indeed had they attended to His words, they ought and would have tried to learn from Him, what the things were which Moses had written of Him. But they are silent. For it is the nature of wickedness to defy persuasion. Do what you will, it retains its venom to the last.” -John Chrysostom, Hom. xli. 2.
Full Transcript
It is critically important to recognize the difference between ends in and of themselves and means to ends. An end is something that is good on its own terms; it doesn’t lead to anything else. It is the baseline of what you are seeking—a good thing that you can rest in. On the other hand, a means to an end is something that gets you closer to the end that you’re looking for. That’s a bit of an abstract definition, so it’s much easier to speak using examples.
My favorite example is a love letter. A love letter is a means to an end, and I don’t mean that in a sinister way. If you think about it, when someone receives a love letter—and people have since the beginning of time—they treasure it. They read it again and again, soaking in every word and every letter. Why do they do that? It’s not because they’re really big fans of the genre of love letters. They love the letter not for its own sake, but because of the person who wrote it. It’s just a means to an end, which is a relationship between two people. When they look at the letter, they remember the person that loves them, how good they are, how gracious they are, and how beautiful they are. That’s the point of a love letter.
Can you imagine if someone read a love letter and thought of it as an end in and of itself? How absurd and weird it would be. Imagine seeing one of your friends reading a handwritten love letter and you say, “Ooh, looks like someone’s got something special going on.” They respond, “What? Oh, no, I found this in the Walmart parking lot blowing around. I have no idea who wrote it, but man, it’s beautiful! I’ve read it every day for the past two weeks.” Yikes! That’s not a good thing. You would probably think your friend needs to get out more because they seem lonely. That’s the thing: when we treat means to an end as ends in and of themselves, it makes us weird. Our affections are disordered.
That’s what Jesus is going to talk about today. He’s going to talk about how we humans have this habit of looking at these means to seek a greater thing and turning them into ends in and of themselves.
We begin in verse fifteen, which is a bit of a bridge verse. It takes us from where we were last week to where we are this week. You’ll remember last week Jesus healed someone who had been paralyzed for thirty-eight years. The man was paralyzed, Jesus healed him, and then he got up and started walking around. The authorities saw him and they were upset: “What are you doing moving around on the Sabbath like that? You shouldn’t pick up your mat and walk. You should stop that. And who healed you, by the way? That’s not okay.” The man said, “I don’t know, I have no idea what the guy’s name was.” Later on, he runs into Jesus and learns His name. Then, in verse fifteen, the man went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well.
Why did he do this? We could speculate endlessly. Maybe he was afraid of them, or maybe he wasn’t too bright and didn’t really think it through. Who knows what his logic was? But I think it’s just a good reminder that sometimes even when you do a good thing, you don’t get anything out of it; it might even actively cause you trouble. You don’t do a good thing because you expect to be rewarded or because you think someone will help you out in return. You do a good thing because it’s the right thing to do. That’s what Jesus does. He helps this man, and this man turns around and makes life difficult for Him. That’s just how it is, and if it was that way for Jesus, sometimes it’s going to be like that for us. We can’t expect people to turn around and do us favors when things get difficult. Good things must be done because they are good in and of themselves.
Verse sixteen: “So because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him. In his defense, Jesus said to them, ‘My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.’ For this reason, they tried all the more to kill him, not only because he was breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.” We could look at some of this Trinitarian language—we haven’t seen that in a hot minute, though there was a lot of that in John 1. We’ll come back around to that in a second.
I want us to think about the logic of the Sabbath here because that’s what they’re angry about. They’re angry that Jesus healed on a Sabbath. It would be reasonable to assume some of them are insincere and just see Jesus as a troublemaker, but it would be crazy to assume they are all insincere. Some of them genuinely believe this and are upset. The Sabbath was serious. It wasn’t a recommendation from God; it’s one of the Ten Commandments. “Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.” If you look throughout the Old Testament, the recommended penalty for someone who did not keep the Sabbath was death. It was carried out in certain instances where people were going about business as usual on a Saturday trying to get ahead.
Especially during the time of the two kingdoms, as you see the Israelite kings rising and falling, you can see the consistent fall away of the Israelites from God’s ways. You start with King David, who was a great king, then King Solomon, who was pretty good, and then you just got a bunch of stinkers. Over time, they broke God’s law more and more. One of the listed things they were doing wrong was not keeping the Sabbath. This is one of the reasons God got angry and they were sent into exile. Their land was taken from them and they were sent across the continent because they broke God’s law and refused His ways. It was only about five hundred years before this that they were allowed to come back to their lands. Part of their history is that they fell away from God’s law so severely that they lost their home. You can imagine why they might take the law pretty seriously—so seriously that they’re making up “bonus” laws. There is nothing actually in the rules about the Sabbath that says miracles cannot happen on Saturdays, or that homeless people can’t pick up mats. They just added that stuff because they thought bonus laws were better than not enough laws.
Jesus has a different perspective. In Matthew 12, His disciples pluck grain from a field because they’re hungry. The authorities get angry, and Jesus says, “That’s not the point. You are missing it.” In Luke 14, they get angry at Jesus for doing good things on a Saturday again, and Jesus says, “If you had a kid that fell into a well or a donkey that fell into a hole on a Sabbath, wouldn’t you get him out?” Probably His clearest statement of what the Sabbath is supposed to be is in Mark 2:27-28. He says, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath,” and He says that He is the Lord of the Sabbath.
The Sabbath is a means, not an end. That doesn’t mean it’s not a good or important means, but the Sabbath exists to help us grow closer to God. It doesn’t exist in and of itself for itself. All the way back to creation, God made everything in six days and rested on the seventh. He didn’t rest because He was tired; God doesn’t get “tuckered out.” He did it for us, to teach us how to exist well. On that Sabbath day, we rest in Him.
Some people get confused about why Christians have Sunday as their Sabbath instead of Saturday. You can see in Acts 20:7 that the early Christians moved their Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. The logic was that the Sabbath was the day God rested in the old creation—it was the end of the old way—but now Jesus has come and was resurrected on a Sunday. This is the beginning of something new. We don’t belong to the old world anymore; we belong to this new creation that Jesus made. We’ve been doing it that way since the beginning.
The real point here is that Jesus sees the Sabbath not as an end in and of itself. He says they’re going about it all wrong. The goal is to grow closer to God through the Sabbath. To be fair, I doubt very many Americans today are at risk of taking the Sabbath too seriously. Culturally, we’re more likely to not recognize that it has any value at all. It’s mostly the “bad” weekend day. Saturday is the good one because you have the fun stuff, and Sunday is the one where you have to go to church and have work the next day. I think we have a lot to learn about the Sabbath and a real opportunity to take it more seriously as a valuable tool intended for our benefit. I don’t say that as someone who has it all figured out; my wife and I have had conversations this past year about how we can make this a more worshipful day where we really rest in God.
We pick up now where we get into more of that Trinitarian language.
“Jesus gave them this answer: ‘Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can only do what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. He will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. 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. Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that they 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. Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man. Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned. By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.'”
Massive section here. You can think about the creed we said earlier and how much of it finds its roots right here. Jesus is repeatedly saying, “Me and the Father do the same stuff.” We are in the same boat, we have the same strength. We are different persons, but we are one being on the same tier. We’re both God. But we could spend a lot of time on that. Instead, I would rather take this time to think about why He’s saying this. What’s the point? Why is He telling us that He has this authority and has been given this life unto itself? Why is He saying all of this?
He’s showing that His authority is real. When the authorities on this earth challenge Him and say, “Hey man, you are doing the Sabbath wrong,” He responds, “No, I have the authority to speak on this. I would know.” I’m not just guessing about this stuff. I have been given perfect judgment. I have been given perfect discernment. I am God. I am at one with the Father.
When we see Jesus in the scripture, I think this is a serious challenge. Sometimes we see Him do stuff that you wonder about. It’s not what you would have done, or maybe it’s not what you would have preferred Him to do. You think to yourself, “What’s He doing?” Sometimes people even theorize, “Well, here Jesus made a little bit of a mistake.” That’s not His deal. If we don’t like what He does, that’s our problem. Jesus is God. That’s the whole point when He does things or teaches us things; He acts with authority—not as someone who’s a random guesser or someone who’s got an intriguing theory for us to mull over, but as someone who has all due discernment, judgment, and authority.
He continues on looking at another “means” that people are failing to see as a means to a good end. Verse thirty-one: “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is true. You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. Not that I accept human testimony, but I mention it that you may be saved. John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light. I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish, the very works I am doing testify that the Father has sent me. And the Father who has sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form.”
In other words, what He’s saying here is, “I am not the one telling you that I am great.” I could do that, but it wouldn’t be particularly legitimate. You can’t be a reference for yourself; that’s not how it works. He says John told you—taking us all the way back to chapter one—and John was right, and that was helpful for you. But I am not relying on John’s testimony because he’s just another person, and people get it wrong sometimes. I have a better witness than that: God. Check the scriptures. That’s about me. If you are curious if I am legit, look at the scriptures and look at what I am doing. I am fulfilling the scriptures. I am the answer to the scriptures. I am what you’ve been waiting for. That book is about me.
Verse thirty-eight: “Nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. You study the scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life. I do not accept glory from human beings, but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. I have come in my Father’s name, but you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe, since you accept glory from one another, but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? Do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?”
This is a whole section about scripture because He’s talking to people who are supposed to be experts on scripture. These are people who spent their whole lives studying it, and He says, “You are supposed to know Him, but you don’t know me. You are missing the point.” This is not an end in and of itself; it is a means to an end.
By no means do I suggest that the words of scripture are not important. I think that’s a way people could mishear that. But think about the love letter again. A love letter is a means, and aren’t the words in a love letter important? They make a big difference. The words are important, but you don’t read the words for their own sake; you read them because of the person who wrote them. The scriptures are not an end in and of themselves. They are something intended to bring us closer to God. That’s their whole purpose. We read the scriptures to encounter God.
Yet, you can see all kinds of instances where people know the scriptures incredibly well but don’t know God. I think especially of Bart Ehrman. Bart Ehrman is a professor who specializes in early Christian documents, and he is an atheist. His whole deal is that he has studied all of these scriptures, and he uses what he knows to try to debunk Christianity. He has written book after book talking about why he thinks it’s illegitimate. He’s someone we’re going to talk about a little bit in the Advent study because a lot of his challenges, once you understand his methodology, are not so hard to take on. Nonetheless, he has been determined his whole life to debunk Christianity. He has studied the scriptures, but he doesn’t believe in God.
While looking him up, I ended up on his blog and saw one of his more recent Christmas posts. He was frustrated. He was frustrated at the way non-religious people act. He wrote, “Why do religious people give so much more of their possessions and of themselves than secular people? Why do religious people so much more frequently commit themselves to the good of others than secular people do? Why are so many secular people so obsessed with the fleeting pleasures of the flesh and the superficial enjoyments that the media crams down our throats? It is one of my perennial puzzles and concerns.”
How absurd! He spent his whole life convincing people not to believe in Jesus, and then he’s angry that some people don’t believe in Jesus and act like it. What did you think was going to happen, Bart? You goober. But taking him seriously, this is someone who recognizes that what he’s doing is unfulfilling. He is creating a world that he doesn’t want. Why? Because he’s an expert on the scriptures but doesn’t know God, so he’s missed the entire point.
There are other examples. I remember before I left the UMC, I saw a lot of stuff from Cokesbury. They were pushing one particular author for studies; they wanted everyone to buy her work. Her big selling point was that she’s Jewish, but an expert on the New Testament. Because she’s Jewish, she knows the cultural stuff, so you should do her studies to learn new things. You want me to learn about Jesus from someone who doesn’t believe in Jesus? You are missing the point. The point of Jesus is not that He’s this interesting cultural figure you might get some cool historical ideas about. The point is that He’s Lord. If you’ve spent your time studying the scriptures and you don’t believe, there is no reason to study them; it’s a total waste of your time.
It’s easy to see people outside the church that study the scriptures and yet have missed the point. But it happens in the church too. How often do we open the scriptures just because we’re “supposed to” that day, just checking a box? When we open the scriptures, we should expect to encounter God. That’s the point. They don’t exist as an item to check off on a checklist.
I’m not saying when we expect to encounter God, we should necessarily feel like we encountered God. Sometimes people expect a certain feeling or a level of enthusiasm to prove that God is there, but that’s wrong thinking. Feelings are fleeting. Sometimes you wake up on the wrong side of the bed. It’s not anything you did or anything wrong with the day; you’re just in a bad mood. Sometimes you feel close to God, and maybe sometimes you don’t. Feelings come and go. We should expect to encounter God regardless of what we feel. The goal of the scriptures is to seek God; it is a means to an end.
It’s true with so many things in the Christian life. Prayer is not an end in and of itself; it’s a means to an end, and that end is God. Coming to church is not an end in and of itself; it is a means to build our relationship with God. The goal of the whole Christian journey is to grow our relationship with God. When we start to see these individual things as their own ends, we get twisted up.
It’s not just the religious stuff that is intended to be a means to the end of growing our relationship with God. Think about all the other ways we could do that. Going outside and enjoying creation—creation exists to reflect the glory of God. By seeing that, we can grow closer to Him. When we spend time with a friend who is especially kind, we have the opportunity to see the kindness and mercy of God through them. We ourselves are means to the end of finding God. We are expected to behave in such a way that people see God’s goodness and mercy in us.
Really, the only true end is God. Everything is intended to draw us to Him, to help us to see Him better, to see His glory and His goodness. As we go about this holiday season, I’m sure you’re going to be stressed. You’ll be running around dealing with family and a million events. Whatever you’re wrestling with, remember to ask yourself that question: Is this an end in and of itself, or is it a means to an end? When you recognize that it is a means, ask yourself, “How can I see God in this?”
We will all constantly feel restless, frustrated, and confused until we find that one true end. We will be restless until we rest in God. Amen.