We continue in our study of John in John Chapter 5, beginning with verse 31 throughout the rest of the chapter, with an extended confrontation of Jesus with the Pharisees. He loved nothing more than driving them crazy by claiming to be God; or more importantly for their understanding, the Messiah.
And let’s be honest. Any guy who claims to be God is a nut, unless he is God. If he is God, everything changes. Jesus is in a pattern here in the Book of John. He heals someone on the Sabbath. Those people go tell other people and attract the attention of the fundamentalists among them. They get upset. They gather a growing number of people who are upset. And they begin to follow Jesus, and confront him, trying to trap him, ultimately, so they can accuse, arrest, and have him crucified, and in their way of thinking, done away with. And yet we see as we study this book, Jesus is always in control knowing exactly what he is doing, leading them exactly where he wants them to go. But all at the same time helping us understand that Christ is indeed the promised Messiah, rooted in the history and prophecy of Scripture, fulfilling all the covenants and promises of God.
Here’s what we understand at the very end of this. Everything changes if Jesus is indeed God. If he is God, he is the Messiah. If he is the Messiah he is the Redeemer. And if he is the Redeemer and he died and rose again, then he has actually purchased an atonement for our sin. We can know God, be right with God, and everything radically changes.