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Articles, Bible studies, and sermons that contain John 5:17:
John 5:17-19
Excerpted from: The Fourth Commandment (Part 3)The charge does not accuse Him of healing, but of breaking Sabbath regulations. In both cases, Jesus repudiates the charge by arguing (1) that the works of salvation are contemplated by the Sabbath Commandment (That would have to be Deuteronomy 5:15, where redemption is the focus of the keeping of the Sabbath.) and (2) that what Jesus did—being contemplated by the Sabbath—is equivalent to God doing the same thing. It was this that really angered the Jews, because they correctly surmised that He not only had "broken the Sabbath" but (in their eyes) did something far worse in "blaspheming God" by making Himself equal with God.
The concept behind Christ's reply is that God is not a man that He should break the Sabbath. God is not a man that He should lie. (You are probably familiar with that.) God is not a man that He would break the Sabbath either. From what we have seen, it ought to be obvious that Christ did not regard the Sabbath as a time of idleness. He certainly looked at it far differently than the Jews did. And He admitted that what He was doing here, in John 5, could be construed as work.
But what kind of work is it? Since He equated Himself with God, what He was saying is that He was doing THE WORK OF GOD. That is His justification. "My Father is working until now"—and He didn't break the Sabbath!
It's interesting that the word answered in verse 17 also appears in verse 19. It's the only place in the New Testament that this particular word is translated, "answered." The words "answer" or "answered" appear many, many times; but this is the only two times that [this particular word] appears. The reason I bring that to your attention is because it is a particularly strong word. What it means is that Jesus was heatedly defending Himself. It is showing that He considered their accusation to be "personal," if I can put it that way; and He is reacting to it very strongly.
What came out of His mouth was, "My Father has been WORKING till now. He works ON THE SABBATH!" What we have to figure out is what kind of work does God do on the Sabbath? This is important to understanding the principle of the kind of work that is permitted on the Sabbath. What does God do that Jesus is copying?
Jesus is saying, "I am copying what I have seen my father do. Therefore, I am NOT breaking the Sabbath—because God does this on the Sabbath!"
EssaysDid Christ's Resurrection Change the Day of Worship? (Part One)
SermonsFour Warnings (Part Three): I Never Knew You
Jesus and the Feast (Part One): Alignment With God
God the Father (Part 1)
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