Day 5

August 26, 2023

Day 5: Gospel of John Chapter 5

As you read through chapter 5 of John today, are you a little bit startled? Is your perception of Jesus shaken up a little bit? Do you see the stark contrast between who Jesus says He is and how people today describe Him? Any unbiased historical scholar will admit that, yes, Jesus really did live 2,000 years ago; there’s enough references to Him outside of the Bible to prove that. They’ll even admit that Jesus was an influential teacher. He had a lot of good ideas and at the very least, Jesus deserves a spot among the other great moral teachers humanity has seen. The scholars will say that Jesus was a wise, compassionate man who wanted to make the world a better place. But God? Not a chance! That’s why John chapter five is so startling. Read through and count the number of times Jesus identifies Himself with God the Father. “The Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise” (5:19, ESV). The point is, when a person makes a claim like this, you either believe that person or you dismiss them as being crazy. You don’t patronize them by saying, “Well, he has few good ideas, but he’s a bit touched in the head, if you know what I mean!” Either Jesus was God, or He was a madman on the loose. Who do you say He is?