John 5 - Jesus, the Authority over Men
These pulpit notes are provided unedited and will thus contain some grammatical or typographical errors.
[INTRODUCTION]
You and I have an appointment with destiny.
Indeed, all of mankind and all of creation are together moving inexorably toward a future which is entirely outside of our control.
Although secular doomsday prophets foresee a future ending in climate catastrophe, population collapse, global nuclear annihilation, or any number of other nightmares, there is a force at work which is far more powerful than any of these.
And whereas some may believe we can take drastic action to turn back climate change, or bring about world peace, or otherwise secure our collective future, the actual course of events which lie before us are entirely beyond our ability to alter.
1 Thessalonians 5:2-3 For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
Whether acknowledged by men or not, all of civilization is awaiting a common fate. The Lord has reserved a day of his own choosing when he will bring to an end this sin-cursed world and inaugurate a new day in which only righteousness reigns.
And, as we will learn in our passage this morning, God the Father has appointed his Son, Jesus Christ as the sole authority to execute the events of that day.
As we learned last week, Jesus, God the Son, is the Son of God who sits upon David’s throne. He rules over a universal and everlasting kingdom. And whereas he has saw fit to allow competing figures in the present day where the affairs of men are concerned, there is coming a day when he will put down all rule and authority. A day when all men must stand before his throne and answer to his authority.
2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.
Matthew 25:31-32 ¶ “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
As you can tell from those two passage, this day will not only see Jesus honoured for who he is as Lord over men, but that day will also see a division, or judgment made among men. All appear before the judgment seat of Jesus and he will separate some for eternal life, and some for eternal judgment.
Look in verse 27 of our text in John 5:
John 5:26-29 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 execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.
This is the destiny to which all men and women are headed. This is the appointment which all of creation must keep. All things are moving steadily and unalterably toward the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. When that Kingdom is finally consummated, a reckoning will take place which will determine who enters in, and who is cast out. And, Jesus is the one commissioned to make that judgment.
[TRANSIT]
In other words, the appointment which you and I have with destiny is actually an appointment to stand before the authority of Jesus.
For the remainder of our time this morning we are going to consider the authority of Jesus under four headings:
- The source of Jesus’ authority
- The scope of Jesus’ authority
- The effect of Jesus’ authority
- The exercise of Jesus’ authority
1. The Source of Jesus’ Authority
The Bible is very clear that God is the source of all life.
Genesis 2:7 then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.
Job confesses in Job 12:
Job 12:10 In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.
God alone has the power to give life of all mankind because God is the fount of life. He is not dependent upon any source outside of himself for life or being, but is the self-existent, self-sufficient life-giver (the aseity of God).
Naturally then, with the sole ability to give life comes the sole discretion to give life. God gives and God takes away. He gives life to whom he will. In other words, God is the authority over life.
I think we instinctually understand and accept this – that God is the life-giver. But I want you to see something incredible in our text. Look first in verse 21:
John 5:21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.
Jesus here claims that he possesses the same life-giving power and authority as God the Father. How is it that Jesus could have the same life-giving authority as the Father? Look at verse 26:
John 5:26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.
God, the self-sufficient, self-existent, fount of life who has the power and authority to give and take life, has granted this exact power and authority to the Son. That is why John could say of Jesus in chapter 1:
John 1:4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
And make no mistake, the ability to give life or not give life is a matter of authority. Look again at verses 26-27:
John 5:26-27 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 execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.
We will explore the connection between life-giving and authority and judgment in a moment, but first simply consider that we must all one day stand before Jesus, as the authoritative Son of God, who has the power to give eternal life, because God the Father has granted this all to him.
GIVEN / GRANTED / GIVEN
Look at your text, in verses 22, 26, and 27:
John 5:22 For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son,
John 5:26-27 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 execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.
The source of Jesus’ authority lies in the fact that he has been given life-in-himself from God, the life-giver, so that Jesus can give eternal life to whomever he will, just as God gives life to whomever he wills.
John 5:21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.
So listen, as far as our souls are concerned, our eternal destiny is in the hands of God, who has delegated all such power and authority to his Son. Our eternity is now determined by how we respond to Jesus.
John 5:12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
As far as:
2. The Scope of Jesus’ Authority
Look in verses 22, 23, and 28:
John 5:22-23 For the Father judges no one, but has given 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.
John 5:28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice
God the Father has delegated all authority to the Son to judge all men. With that authority comes the ability to give eternal life to whomever the Son chooses.
That’s why Paul can say:
2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.
Six-hundred years earlier the prophet Daniel looked forward to the day when Jesus Christ, the Son of God would receive this power and authority over mankind. In his vision recorded in Daniel 7, he saw what appeared to be a man, called “one like a son of man” standing before God to receive power and dominion.
Daniel 7:13-14 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
This is Jesus. He is the Son of Man who has been given dominion and glory and a kingdom so that all might serve him. Look in John 5:26-27:
John 5:26-27 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 execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.
So, the source of Jesus’ authority over mankind? It is rooted in the fact that God has granted him to have life-in-himself so that he shares the divine prerogative to give eternal life to whomever he wills. The scope of his authority? It extends over all of mankind.
When the Apostle Paul walked through Athens and saw the various altars dedicated to a host of so-called gods, he shared with that city the divine source and universal scope of Jesus’ authority and he ought to be responded to:
Acts 17:24-31 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for “‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed his offspring.’ 29 Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. 30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”
God has fixed a day when all men must stand before Jesus, whom he has appointed as the authority over all of mankind. We must all stand before Jesus, because, as far as our salvation is concerned, he is the sole source of eternal life.
When Jesus prayed to the Father toward the end of his earthly ministry, he said this:
John 17:1-3 “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
So, we’ve seen the divine source and universal scope of Jesus’ authority, now I let’s consider the practical effect of Jesus’ authority.
3. The Effect of Jesus’ Authority
We’ve already seen in Daniel’s vision that
Daniel 7:14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him…
But look in our text in John 5 and see how John states this same truth:
John 5:22-23 For the Father judges no one, but has given 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.
The effect of God the Father’s delegation of all power over eternal life, and all authority over men, to Jesus is that all men must now honour the Son just as they would honour the Father. A concept of relationship with God which does not include honouring and obeying the Son is wrong.
1 John 2:23-25 No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.
God has inseparably connected glorifying him, with obeying Jesus;
Philippians 2:9-11 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Jesus said plainly in John 15:
John 15:23 Whoever hates me hates my Father also.
God the Father has tied eternal consequences to how one responds to Jesus.
John 3:35-36 The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
A refusal to obey the Son means no eternal life; it means wrath. Life and death, wrath and mercy are tied up in what one does with Jesus.
Look in John 5:24:
John 5:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
And here we have some good news…
Whereas we began by saying that the collective future of mankind lies in events entirely beyond our ability to alter, namely the coming judgment at the hand of Jesus, the good news is, we can a change how we come out of that judgment.
That is, how we respond to Jesus now determines how we will experience that judgment.
John 5:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
This morning, will you believe that Jesus is the Son of God who has been sent by the Father with the power to give life, and authority to judge? Will you believe what God has testified concerning his Son?
1 John 5:9-13 If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son. 10 ¶ Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. 11 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.
This morning, would you have eternal life? Would you avoid the wrath to come? Will you escape the judgment which awaits all mankind? Would you like to pass from death to life?
Then believe in Jesus.
Jesus had an exchange with Martha that went like this:
John 11:24-25 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,
The effect of Jesus authority is that all must bow the knee to him. All must honour him as they honour the Father. All must obey him. All must serve him. All must believe his word. Is that you this morning?
Look again at verse 21:
John 5:21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.
Jesus’ authority means he can give life to whom he will. But note that this is not arbitrary. He defines “whom he will” in verse 24. Look at it:
John 5:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
Jesus divinely appointed authority to give life and to judge should not only convince us that all must answer to him but should assure us that he can fulfill his promises. If you will believe in Jesus this morning, believing all that he has claimed to be, you will receive eternal life. You will pass from death to life.
This has an immediate effect in that he will give you the Holy Spirit now. You will have your sins forgiven and be adopted into the family of God immediately. And it will also have a future effect in that when Jesus returns to execute judgment, you will be raised, not to judgment or wrath but to eternal life.
John 5:28-29 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.
So, believe in him now. Choose to obey him now. Honour him now. Follow him now. Worship him now. Why? Because God has set him forth as the one to be believed, obeyed, honoured, followed and worshiped. Submit to his authority now, become his disciple now, and you will receive life now, and have no fear at his coming. Instead, you will be one who is resurrected to eternal life in his presence.
Matthew 25:31-34 ¶ “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
[CONCLUSION]
All of civilization is headed in one direction. All things are moving toward an inescapable appointment with Jesus Christ. He will return and seal the eternal fate of every human being. That judgment will be determined by how men have chosen to respond to him.
Although we have no ability to alter or avoid God’s plan to judge the earth through his Son, we do have the ability to determine on what side of that judgment we will fall.
To believe that Jesus is God’s Son, sent to atone for our sins, and worthy of our honour and obedience will result in eternal life. To do anything other than that will result in eternal judgement.
This morning will you believe in him? If so determine to live in obedience to Christ. Make that first move of obedience by being publicly baptized in his name. Then, by the power of the Holy Spirit whom he will give you, seek to honour him with your life. Not in order to earn salvation, but because you know, without a doubt, that he has saved you.
This morning, if you are already a Christian, are you living as one who honours the Son? You’ve professed faith in Jesus, but does your life show it? Do you love him? Do you honour him? Do you obey him? Do you worship him? Do you follow him? Keep these questions in mind as we take a few moments to reflect in preparation for the Lord’s Table.