The Jews Testify to The Deity of Jesus Christ
John 5:16-18:
“Therefore, the Jews began persecuting Jesus because He was doing these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus responded to them, “My Father is still working, and I am working also.” 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 with God”
“ho pater mou heōs arti ergazetai kagō ergazomai”, Jesus says to the Jews, “My Father”, and not “our Father”, or “your Father”, literally, “He keeps on working till now”, even on the Sabbath Day. This enraged the Jews, because to them, Jesus was not only guilty of violating the Sabbath Day Commands of the Old Testament, but also says that He was not alone in doing so, but, God the Father was also actively Working (ergazetai, the present tense) with Him. Not only so, but the Jews also understand Jesus by saying “ho Pater Mou”, that He was here claiming a special, unique relationship with the Father, as “patera idion”, “one’s own Father”, exclusively.
And in saying what He does, Jesus is here “making Himself equal with God the Father”, and thereby Himself God.
It is very clear here, exactly what the Jews are saying, “ison heauton poiōn tōi theōi”, literally, “making Himself God the Father’s equal”. The Greek here is, “isos (ison)”, where the Unitarian Greek scholar, Dr Thayer says in his lexicon, “to claim for one's self the nature, rank, authority, which belong to God”. The Jews here understand Jesus’ language as being blasphemy, as they considered Him to be a mere human, Who is claiming for Himself equality with God the Father, and thereby making Himself, God. They would know of what Isaiah says, “To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal? says the Holy One” (40:25), and 46:5, “To whom will you compare me, and consider my equal, and compare me, as if we were the same?”
Jesus goes on to say in verse 19, “Then Jesus replied, “I assure you: The Son is not able to do anything on His own, but only what He sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, the Son also does these things in the same way” (all the verbs here in the Greek, and in the present, continuance tense). And, in 14:10, “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words I say to you, I do not speak on My own. Instead, it is the Father dwelling in Me, performing His works”. Jesus here clearly says, that what He is doing, is exactly what the Father is doing, because the Father Who “dwells (menōn, present, continuance tense)” in Him, is “performing (poiei, present, continuance tense) His works”.
Note, Jesus does not try to correct the response of the Jews, He does not say to them, that He was saying no such thing, or, did not mean to be understood in they way that they were thinking. Jesus did not respond to these Jews by denying that He is equal to God the Father, which is very clear testimony from Jesus Himself, that He is coequal with God the Father. In fact, in verse 23, Jesus actually confirms what the Jews say on His “equality” with the Father.
“that all should Honour the Son just as they Honour the Father. He who does not Honour the Son does not Honour the Father who sent Him”
“Honour” is the Greek “timáō”, “honour, reverence, esteem, value, prize”. Also, “to exalt, glorify”. In Isaiah 42:8, it says, “I am Yahweh, that is My Name; I will not give My Glory to another or My Praise to idols”. The Hebrew word here “kâbôd” translated as “Glory”, is also used for, “honour, reverence, glory”.
If, as some teach, that Jesus Christ is a created being, and not equal to the Father, and therefore not God. If this were true, Jesus could never have referred to the Father as “My OWN Father”, which makes Him “equal with the Father”. Jesus would have most certainly rebuked and corrected the Jews, for making Him into God, when He is no more than a “representative” of the Father while He was on earth. Neither, as a created being, by the Father, can Jesus have said, that everyone should “Honour” (esteem, exalt, glorify”, Him, in the “same way” (kathōs, “according as, just as, even as”) as they Honour the Father. And, those who don’t “Honour” Jesus, do not “Honour” the Father, Who sent Him.
NO mere created being, regardless of how “exalted” they are in their position as representing God, has ever spoken as Jesus has done. It would rightly be considered as the highest blasphemy.
For those who still point to one of their favourite verses, John 14:28, that Jesus Christ Himself says, “the Father is greater than I”, and, therefore shows that He is not God. These other passages in John’s Gospel, and elsewhere clearly shows, that Jesus is speaking in John 14:28, as The Messiah, The Mediator, between God and man, post Incarnation, when He took upon Himself the “very nature of humans”, while remaining in the “very nature of God”, as Philippians 2:5-8 is clear. John says in his Gospel, 1:1, “and the Word was God”, not “god, or god-like, or divine”, but “God”, in exactly the same way that the Father is “God”, in the same verse. In verse 14, John says, that “the Word (God) became flesh, and lived among us”, which means, the God-Man. Paul says the same in 1 Timothy 3:16, in the Original, and not the corrupted reading, that, “Theos ephanerōthē en sarki”, that is, “God was revealed in the flesh”. God cannot cease to be God, so, in “becoming flesh”, He remained “God”, as is clear from “huparchōn” (Philippians 2:6, literally, “He was and is”, the present as the imperfect), eternally in the “very nature of God”. This “Mystery” is seen in Hebrews 2:9, “But we see Him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus”, on the “subordination” of Jesus Christ “for a little while”, while on earth. “lower than the angels”, which this verse goes on to explain, “because of the suffering of death”, which the heavenly hosts do not experience. Jesus Himself speaks of this temporary “subordination”, to the Father, in John 17:5, “Now, Father, Glorify Me with your own self (para seautōi, along with yourself) with the Glory which I had (hēi eichon, which I have always had) with You before the world existed (pro tou ton kosmon einai, before the existence of the Creation)”.
Those who still argue that Jesus Christ is not coequal with the Father, and therefore Himself Almighty God, The Great I AM. Are fighting against the very clear Teachings of the Holy Bible, and rejectors of Biblical Truth!
John 5:16-18:
“Therefore, the Jews began persecuting Jesus because He was doing these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus responded to them, “My Father is still working, and I am working also.” 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 with God”
“ho pater mou heōs arti ergazetai kagō ergazomai”, Jesus says to the Jews, “My Father”, and not “our Father”, or “your Father”, literally, “He keeps on working till now”, even on the Sabbath Day. This enraged the Jews, because to them, Jesus was not only guilty of violating the Sabbath Day Commands of the Old Testament, but also says that He was not alone in doing so, but, God the Father was also actively Working (ergazetai, the present tense) with Him. Not only so, but the Jews also understand Jesus by saying “ho Pater Mou”, that He was here claiming a special, unique relationship with the Father, as “patera idion”, “one’s own Father”, exclusively.
And in saying what He does, Jesus is here “making Himself equal with God the Father”, and thereby Himself God.
It is very clear here, exactly what the Jews are saying, “ison heauton poiōn tōi theōi”, literally, “making Himself God the Father’s equal”. The Greek here is, “isos (ison)”, where the Unitarian Greek scholar, Dr Thayer says in his lexicon, “to claim for one's self the nature, rank, authority, which belong to God”. The Jews here understand Jesus’ language as being blasphemy, as they considered Him to be a mere human, Who is claiming for Himself equality with God the Father, and thereby making Himself, God. They would know of what Isaiah says, “To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal? says the Holy One” (40:25), and 46:5, “To whom will you compare me, and consider my equal, and compare me, as if we were the same?”
Jesus goes on to say in verse 19, “Then Jesus replied, “I assure you: The Son is not able to do anything on His own, but only what He sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, the Son also does these things in the same way” (all the verbs here in the Greek, and in the present, continuance tense). And, in 14:10, “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words I say to you, I do not speak on My own. Instead, it is the Father dwelling in Me, performing His works”. Jesus here clearly says, that what He is doing, is exactly what the Father is doing, because the Father Who “dwells (menōn, present, continuance tense)” in Him, is “performing (poiei, present, continuance tense) His works”.
Note, Jesus does not try to correct the response of the Jews, He does not say to them, that He was saying no such thing, or, did not mean to be understood in they way that they were thinking. Jesus did not respond to these Jews by denying that He is equal to God the Father, which is very clear testimony from Jesus Himself, that He is coequal with God the Father. In fact, in verse 23, Jesus actually confirms what the Jews say on His “equality” with the Father.
“that all should Honour the Son just as they Honour the Father. He who does not Honour the Son does not Honour the Father who sent Him”
“Honour” is the Greek “timáō”, “honour, reverence, esteem, value, prize”. Also, “to exalt, glorify”. In Isaiah 42:8, it says, “I am Yahweh, that is My Name; I will not give My Glory to another or My Praise to idols”. The Hebrew word here “kâbôd” translated as “Glory”, is also used for, “honour, reverence, glory”.
If, as some teach, that Jesus Christ is a created being, and not equal to the Father, and therefore not God. If this were true, Jesus could never have referred to the Father as “My OWN Father”, which makes Him “equal with the Father”. Jesus would have most certainly rebuked and corrected the Jews, for making Him into God, when He is no more than a “representative” of the Father while He was on earth. Neither, as a created being, by the Father, can Jesus have said, that everyone should “Honour” (esteem, exalt, glorify”, Him, in the “same way” (kathōs, “according as, just as, even as”) as they Honour the Father. And, those who don’t “Honour” Jesus, do not “Honour” the Father, Who sent Him.
NO mere created being, regardless of how “exalted” they are in their position as representing God, has ever spoken as Jesus has done. It would rightly be considered as the highest blasphemy.
For those who still point to one of their favourite verses, John 14:28, that Jesus Christ Himself says, “the Father is greater than I”, and, therefore shows that He is not God. These other passages in John’s Gospel, and elsewhere clearly shows, that Jesus is speaking in John 14:28, as The Messiah, The Mediator, between God and man, post Incarnation, when He took upon Himself the “very nature of humans”, while remaining in the “very nature of God”, as Philippians 2:5-8 is clear. John says in his Gospel, 1:1, “and the Word was God”, not “god, or god-like, or divine”, but “God”, in exactly the same way that the Father is “God”, in the same verse. In verse 14, John says, that “the Word (God) became flesh, and lived among us”, which means, the God-Man. Paul says the same in 1 Timothy 3:16, in the Original, and not the corrupted reading, that, “Theos ephanerōthē en sarki”, that is, “God was revealed in the flesh”. God cannot cease to be God, so, in “becoming flesh”, He remained “God”, as is clear from “huparchōn” (Philippians 2:6, literally, “He was and is”, the present as the imperfect), eternally in the “very nature of God”. This “Mystery” is seen in Hebrews 2:9, “But we see Him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus”, on the “subordination” of Jesus Christ “for a little while”, while on earth. “lower than the angels”, which this verse goes on to explain, “because of the suffering of death”, which the heavenly hosts do not experience. Jesus Himself speaks of this temporary “subordination”, to the Father, in John 17:5, “Now, Father, Glorify Me with your own self (para seautōi, along with yourself) with the Glory which I had (hēi eichon, which I have always had) with You before the world existed (pro tou ton kosmon einai, before the existence of the Creation)”.
Those who still argue that Jesus Christ is not coequal with the Father, and therefore Himself Almighty God, The Great I AM. Are fighting against the very clear Teachings of the Holy Bible, and rejectors of Biblical Truth!
