Christ's Deity
To be true to the Scriptures,
we must reject all teachings that
deny that Jesus Christ and God are equal.
Here's Dr. Gene Getz:
In chapter 5, the Gospel of John,
we see this principle illustrated once again
in a very, very unique way
in relationship to this principle.
And that is that Jesus Christ and God are equal.
And we're just going to go right
into that chapter because it's unique.
And I've called this first setting the "Pool of Bethesda."
Because that's where it transpired.
So let's take a look at John chapter 5,
beginning in verse 1:
After this, a Jewish festival took place,
and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
By the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem there is a pool,
called Bethesda in Aramaic,
which has five colonnades.
[And] within these lay a large number of the disabled--
blind, lame, and paralyzed.
For those of you who have been to Israel.
And we've been there together, some of you.
We've been at this very place.
Where they definitely believe that they
have discovered the Pool of Bethesda.
By the way, John is the only author--
as far as the New Testament is concerned--
that makes reference to this pool.
But this was a large, large pool.
And some of you will also remember
that when we've been there, we went
into the church of St. Anne.
And that's a marvelous experience
because of the acoustics.
Where we gather together and sing Amazing Grace.
Or some other wonderful hymn--or truth, song.
And to sing in harmony.
Just perfect acoustics in that church.
But that church is built right next to what
they believe was the Pool of Bethesda.
And so Jesus has gone up for this Jewish festival.
And basically he finds this large group of people.
Who have this superstition that
an angel will come down and
make the waters move.
And if they can get into that water
that they'll be healed.
We believe that that's a myth.
But the fact is they believed it.
And so Jesus appears on the scene.
And he meets this disabled man.
So here's what we read then, picking up with verse 5:
One man was there who had
been disabled for thirty-eight years. ...
Now keep in mind that this is the third sign
or miracle that John has chosen to record.
And it's very significant, that it says
that he was ill as a disabled man
for thirty-eight years. That's a long time.
To not have walked. Not be able to function.
And I don't know if any of you
have ever been in a bed
where you can't get out of that bed for a week.
Maybe because of surgery.
That happened to me when I was
in junior high school
when I had my appendix removed.
And back then they wouldn't let you move.
Now they get you up the first day.
But because my appendix almost broke,
they kept me in a bed for seven days.
I couldn't get out.
And I remember when I got out of that bed,
fortunately the nurse was there. Because I fainted.
I just simply, for lying in a bed for seven days.
I was so weak that she caught me
as I was going down.
And it was because of being sedentary
for all that time.
Here's a guy that has been sick and
disabled for thirty-eight years.
Now something marvelous is going to happen here:
...When Jesus saw him lying there and realized
he had already been there a long time...
And of course Jesus knew that
because we know who Jesus Christ is.
But in his humaneness, when he
noticed and realized he had
already been there a long time:
...he said to him, "Do you want to get well?" ...
Well you can imagine how this man
would respond in a human way.
Because of the myth and because what he believed:
..."Sir," the disabled man answered,
"I have no one to put me into the pool
when the water is stirred up,
but while I'm coming, someone [else]
goes down ahead of me."
And that had happened. Probably month after month.
And perhaps year after year.
And he really believed that.
He believed that angels came down,
caused the water to bubble, and he would be well.
Well it's interesting that we see the
miracle take place.
And against that backdrop of the myth.
Notice what happened:
"Get up," Jesus told him, "pick up
your mat and walk." ...
Now notice: There's a very significant word:
...Instantly the man got well,
picked up his mat, and started to walk.
He didn't need the pool.
He didn't need bubbling waters.
He didn't need anyone to put him in the pool.
In other words, when Jesus said, "get up and walk"
after 38 years, he got up and he started to walk.
Now this is a very significant miracle
because of what happened
after a man had been there, or ill,
or disabled, for thirty-eight years.
Now notice the purpose. As I said,
this is the third sign or miracle that John chose.
To help us believe that Jesus Christ
is who he said he is.
So let's just review again the purpose of John:
Jesus performed many other signs
in the presence of his disciples...
Many, many signs.
In fact you read through the Gospel of John,
or the other Gospels,
Jesus worked many miracles in different places.
And so John says there are many of those:
...that are not written in this book.
[that is the book of John] But these are written...
We've looked at three miracles.
We've looked at three signs that were selected.
Water to wine. Which demonstrated that Jesus was
really the master of quality. It was the best wine.
We've seen that Jesus healed a
boy who was sick.
About 20 miles away from where Jesus was.
And he got well. Master of distance.
And here we see master of time.
See there's a reason why [John]--
or John, I should say--chose these miracles.
...these are written
so that you may believe that Jesus
is the Messiah, the Son of God,
and that by believing you may
have life in his name.
Now again, I've reviewed the miracles.
Let me just again state them
because they're so significant.
Let me give you just a little elaboration:
THE CHANGING OF WATER INTO WINE.
In this first miracle of his ministry,
Jesus revealed Himself as the
master of quality by affecting
instantaneously the change that the
wine produces over a period of months.
Or years. I sometimes like to say.
And I don't know what wine would taste
like that's aged for a thousand years.
But I assume it would be of the highest quality.
So this miracle was chosen for a
very specific reason. Now, the next miracle. Elaborating:
THE HEALING OF THE NOBLEMAN'S SON
By healing the boy who was more than
twenty miles distance from Him,
Jesus showed Himself the
master of distance or space.
And again we can say this:
Twenty miles was a long way in that day.
But you know something?
That boy could have been a thousand miles away.
He could have been a million miles away.
He could've been many light-years away.
And Jesus could have done what he did because:
We read in the beginning was the Word.
And the Word was with God. And the Word was God.
And all things that were created were made my Him.
This is the Lord of the universe that
is working these miracles.
And now we have this miracle
recorded here in John chapter 5:
THE HEALING OF THE DISABLED MAN
The longer a disease afflicts a man,
the more difficult it is to cure.
Jesus, by curing instantly an affliction
of 38 years standing, became the master of time.
So you see why John selected these
particular signs and miracles.
Now, belief is developing in the disciples. And in others.
But unbelief is also developing among
those who rejected him. And we see this:
The Jewish unbelief--right here in
John 5, in verse 9:
Now that day was [a] Sabbath,
and so the Jews said to the man who
had been healed, "This is the Sabbath.
The law prohibits you from picking up your mat."...
He's walking with his mat.
...He replied, "The man who made
me well told me, 'Pick up your mat and walk.'''...
The man. He didn't know who Jesus was--just a man:
..."Who is this man who told you,
'Pick up your mat and walk'?" ...
By the way, they knew who it was
because this was not the first time
Jesus had done this in Jerusalem. This kind of thing.
...But the man who was healed
did not know who it was,
because Jesus had slipped away into
the crowd that was there.
Now here you see rejection.
You see acceptance is a theme developing.
But you also you see rejection as a
theme that is developing.
And we see that happening.
And so we have persecution in John 5:16 to 18:
Therefore, the Jews began persecuting
Jesus because he was doing
these things on the Sabbath. ...
You see, to them the Sabbath was
more important than people.
Jesus said on another occasion:
I am the Lord of the Sabbath.
He said the Sabbath was made for man.
Not man for the Sabbath.
In other words, Jesus confronted this situation.
Because the religious leaders were
all concerned about a law.
But had absolutely no compassion or
concern for a human being. And you see this.
You see it developing throughout the Gospel of John.
...[So] Jesus responded to them,
"My Father is still working, and I am working also."...
And they didn't like that.
Because they knew what was happening.
What he was saying:
...This is why the Jews began trying
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 to God.
And we know he was equal to God.
Because he said I and the father are one.
So we have here
this rejection developing.
This unbelief. This deception.
And it's interesting, if you project ahead
to a little epistle that John wrote
after the church came into existence.
In 2nd John verse 7, we read these words:
Many deceivers have gone out into the world;
they do not confess the coming
of Jesus Christ in the flesh. ...
What does that mean? God was in Christ.
When Jesus came into this world.
The word became flesh and dwelt among us.
And we beheld his glory.
The glory of the only begotten of the Father.
Full of grace and truth.
Jesus Christ came in the flesh--
means he was one with God.
That's the Incarnation.
That's what John is talking about:
...This is the deceiver and the antichrist. ...
If anyone comes to you and does
not bring this teaching,
do not receive him into your home,
and don't greet him; for the one who
greets him shares in his evil works.
Now you have to understand
that John is dealing with a cultural situation
where the church would meet in homes.
That's the only place they could meet.
And basically, what he is saying here is:
You do not invite a deceiver--
someone who denies the deity of Jesus Christ--
into a teaching position.
Where they are training and teaching other people.
That's what he's talking about. House churches.
He's not talking about the fact:
You can't invite somebody into your home
who doesn't believe that Jesus is God.
And share with them. He's saying:
Don't give them a platform for
communication and teaching
because that's heresy. And it's wrong.
And so John later--years later,
when he wrote his little Epistle.
He warned against people who literally teach
that Jesus was just a human being.
A wonderful human being.
But he wasn't God in the flesh.
So this leads us to a question, and that is:
How many religious groups can you name
that claim to be Christian and yet deny
that Jesus Christ and God the Father are equal?
Well there are many religious groups
that even claim to be Christian.
But they do not believe that Jesus Christ is God.
Most of your cults, most of your "isms"
do not believe that Jesus Christ is God.
And so we need to be aware of that.
We need to have compassion for these people.
But we must never give them a platform
to communicate with other people, heresy.
To communicate with other people
that violate this principle. Here's that principle:
To be true to the Scriptures,
we must reject all teachings that deny
that Jesus Christ and God are equal.