Sunday school lesson on Honor

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Sunday school lesson on Honor

Introduction

A. Like Father, Like Son

People who know my father often say that Ibear a very strong resemblance to him. We lookvery much alike, and people can match us up asparent and child in a crowd.

I also resemble my father in other very notableways that have nothing to do with our appear-ance. For example, I inherited my father's energyand work ethic, and people are often surprised athow much I will take on. I also share some of histastes and interests: we both like auto racing, andboth of us eat way too much candy.

In many respects a person who knows me wellwill also come to know many things about my fa-

they, as his traits are reflected in my life. Weoften say that someone is a "chip off the oldblock" when a child is very much like a parent.In such cases we can learn a lot about someonejust by looking at his or her children. This fact isevident to teachers and youth workers, whooften see kids do and say things that they couldhave learned only at home.

Jesus frequently appeals to this principle inthe Gospel of John to discuss His "sonship"—Hisunique identity as God's only-begotten Son.While we often think of Jesus' "sonship" in termsof His virginal conception, etc., Jesus usuallymentions the sonship issue to highlight His com-plete unity with, and obedience to, the Father.As such we learn what God is like by looking atJesus.

B. Lesson Background

Our text today follows the story of the healingat Bethesda (John 5:1-9). While in Jerusalem for afeast (v. 1), Jesus visited a pool where many sickpeople gathered for medical care. There He met aman who had been lame for 38 years. To thegreat surprise of the crowd—and especially tothe surprise of the man himself—Jesus com-manded him to rise, take his cot, and walk.The miracle generated controversy, however,because it took place on the Sabbath. That wasthe weekly day of rest, when Jews were not per-mitted to work (v. 9). Some Jewish authoritieswho believed that carrying cots and healing wereworks prohibited on the Sabbath confronted theman and learned what Jesus had done.

When those authorities challenged Jesus, Hejustified His actions by noting God's power atwork (v. 17). If God chooses to work on the Sab-bath, who can object? The Jews considered thisblasphemous. So they conspired to kill Jesus for"making himself equal with God" (v. 18). Jesus'comments in our printed text are a response tothis persecution.

lights something that God does. While Jesus isequal to the Father in nature, He is completelyobedient to Hint in service. An implication ofthis fact is that any complaint about Jesus' wordsor actions is ultimately a complaint against Godthe Father.

Jesus portrays himself, in a way, as God's ap-prentice. In Jesus' day sons normally follow thefamily trade. Such trades include farming, fish-ing. and carpentry. Often a boy is apprenticed tohis father, who teaches him the skills of the job.Jesus, as the faithful Son. follows His F'ather'severy step. The result is that Jesus perfectly im-plements the Father's will. "I do nothing of my-self; but as my Father halls taught me, I speakthese things" (John 8:28).

FROM THE SAME TIMBER

"He's cut from the same timber" is a familiarold saying. A variation of this is "He's cut fromthe same piece of cloth." These are usually saidof blood relatives who have the same character-istics. It could be two brothers or a father andson. The mannerisms, virtues, and qualities ofone individual show up equally as well in theother.

My wife and I have two daughters. In manyways the older daughter resembles me (fortu-nately she's prettier than I ant!): the youngerdaughter resembles my wife. It is sometimes un-canny how my older daughter has many of thesome characteristics that I do. Obviously thereare some things that she has copied from myown behavior. But some things have gone be-yond more copied behavior. I remember howamazed I was when she was a preschooler. and Isaw her do some things that I know she hadnever seen me do. Some things have simply beengenetically progranuned into her that she proba-bly has little control over.

If such things are true between an earthly fa-ther and his children, we should not be sur-prised that Jesus says that the same is truebetween himself and God the Father. The divineSon of God does the same things as His Father.John relays to us that whatever the Father does.these are the same things the Son does. "Like father, like son" is just as true in the spiritual senseas it is in the human world. Thus when we obeythe Son, we also obey the Father.

20. For the Father loveth the Son, and show-eth him all things that himself doeth: and hewill show hint greater works than these, that yemay marvel.

Jesus shows His unity with the Father throughfaithful service, and the Father shows that unityby revealing all things to Jesus. If Jesus is, in asense, the apprentice, then God is the caringmentor who teaches Jesus everything He knows(compare Luke 2:52).

The word for at the beginning of this verse hasthe sense of "because" as an explanation of whatJesus has just said in verse 19: He is able to dothe Father's works because God loves Him andshows Hint everything. In the immediate contextthis would refer to the healing of the man atBethesda (John 5:1-9); the greater works wouldthen refer to the surpassing miracles yet to come.These include the raising of Lazarus (John 11:39-44) and, ultimately, Jesus' own resurrection. Thegreater works must also include the granting ofeternal life, as we see in verse 21, next.

THE APPRENTICE

In 2005, the television show The Apprentice is all the rage. The formulais unique and clever; there has never been a tele-vision show quite like it.

A handful of contestants compete with one an-other for the sole privilege of becoming DonaldTrump's apprentice. The competition also in-volves cooperation since the participants mustwork in teams. Their tasks include everythingfrom selling lemonade to designing lines ofclothing to fixing up old motels—whatever thewriters of the show can dream up.

The team that loses each week must then pre-sent itself before Trump in the dreaded "board-room." It is a dark and somber place. It is theplace where the losing team must answer for itsfailure. It is a place where one person each weekwill hear Trump say the words that no one wantsto hear: You're fired!

Trump picks his apprentice through a processof elimination. In effect his apprentice is the onewho has failed the least. How different it is withJesus! He never failed at a single task; He provedhimself to be God through His own resurrection.Jesus, as the Father's "apprentice" (if it's appro-priate to use that term for Him), has the Father'scomplete confidence. That's where our confi-dence should be as well.

21.For as the Father raiseth up the dead, andquickeneth them; even so the Son quickenethwhom he will.

The ability to raise the dead belongs to Godalone. It is He who controls the final destiny ofevery human being (compare 2 Kings 5:7).Jesus obviously is claiming this divine powerfor himself. Yet the exact meaning of the phrasethe Son quickeneth whom he will needs to be ex-amined. In a physical sense the phrase couldrefer to the upcoming resurrection of Lazarus.Some suggest that Jesus is referring to the heal-ing power that He has just demonstrated atBethesda—although the man who was lame wasnot physically dead, his life was restored towholeness in a remarkable way.

In view of the discussion to follow, it seemsthat Jesus is most likely claiming that He evenshares God's power to grant eternal life, not justphysical healing. This being the case, it is hardlyrelevant to accuse Him of breaking the Sabbath(John 5:16). If He has ultimate authority overeternal judgment, He certainly can heal someonewhenever He wants!

B. Trust (v. 22)

22.For the Father judgeth no man, but hathcommitted all judgment unto the Son.

The Jewish authorities have taken it uponthemselves to judge Jesus a sinner and a blasphe-mer. They reach this judgment because He doesnot meet their expectations. But God has notcalled them to judge the world; rather, God hasgiven the power of judgment unto the Son.Following verse 21 the judgment in questionclearly refers to the final judgment at the LastDay. That is when God will assign eternal re-wards and punishments. For this reason Chris-tians treat Jesus' teachings as the ultimateauthority.

At first glance this verse would seem to con-flict with John 3:17. There Jesus says that He didnot come to judge the world, but rather to savethe world. The tension is resolved easily whenwe note the difference between Jesus' purposeand His role. In terms of purpose, John 3:16 tellsus that Jesus came to earth to proclaim and pro-vide salvation. Two verses later, however, Johnclarifies that "he that believeth not is condemnedalready" (3:18). This means that those who donot accept Jesus' teaching have no other hope ofsalvation.

Consistent with this emphasis John 5:22stresses Jesus' role as judge. Although Jesuswants everyone to be saved—so much so that Hedied for the world—He eventually will sit in judgment to condemn those who reject Him.

C. Honor (v. 23)

23.That all men should honor the Son, evenas they honor the Father. He that honoreth notthe Son honoreth not the Father which hathsent him.

This verse is a warning to those who denyJesus' claims or who criticize His actions. Com-mon sense tells us that only a fool would showdisrespect to a judge who is about to pass sen-tence. The opponents of Jesus should thereforecarefully consider what they are saying aboutHim.

Any disrespect these opponents show to Jesusautomatically dishonors God. This is so becauseJesus is God's designated agent who speaks onthe Father's behalf. Ironically the Jews have beentrying to protect God's honor by persecutingJesus. In fact that very persecution shows disre-spect for God's authority.

Death and Life (John 5:24-29)

A. Importance of Belief (vv. 24, 25)

24.Verily, verily, I say unto you, He thatheareth my word, and believeth on him thatsent me, hath everlasting life, and shall notcome into condemnation; but is passed fromdeath unto life.

Eternal, everlasting life is something that be-gins in this world. When we accept Jesus accord-ing to the biblical plan of salvation, we pass fromdeath unto life. The word death as used hererefers to separation from God, while life refers tothe relationship with God that comes throughChrist. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a mankeep my saying, he shall never see death" (John8:51; compare Colossians 1:13).

Physical death will not change this relation-ship, although it will finalize our decision. Thosewho accept Christ have everlasting life that be-gins now. They begin to enjoy the benefits of sal-vation and will continue to enjoy God's loveeternally in the age to come. (See question #2,page 17,1

25. Verily, verily, I say unto you. The hour iscoming, and now is, when the dead shall hearthe voice of the Son of God: and they that hearshall live.

Following the teaching of the Pharisees, mostancient Jews believe that God will one day judgethe world. When He does He will resurrect allgood Jews for eternal life in a renewed world (compare Acts 23:6-8). Jesus affirms this beliefbut revises the doctrine at key points. The hourof judgment, when the dead will hear God'svoice, is right now. IS:, yet il/li #3. 1Those who are spiritually dead but choose to lis-ten to Jesus' words are granted eternal life. Thosewho are (or were) spiritually dead include peoplelike the Jews, the man at Bethesda, and Jesus'disciples. It also includes all other, later readersof John's gospel (us!) who must make a decisionabout Jesus.

The Pharisees naturally attribute the power ofresurrection to God alone. Yet Jesus establishesHis own role and authority in the judgment. It isthe Son who proclaims the arrival of the hour ofjudgment and salvation.

HEARING AND LIVING

A couple of years ago, there was a series oftelevision commercials featuring cell phones andphone service. In numerous variations a mantalking on a cell phone would move to differentlocations and ask, "Can you hear me now?"The commercials thus depicted the techniciantrying to discover locations where the cell-phonetransmission wouldn't reach. The point of thecommercials was that that particular phoneservice was superior to that provided by othercompanies having inadequate technology orequipment. That Can you hear me now? phrasebecame a cultural staple for a brief time.

"To hear," however, means more than merelylistening. When a parent is laying down the lawto a child, the parent may say, "Do you hearwhat I'm saying?" This is not a question of justhearing. It means, "Do you recognize the signifi-cance of what I am saying, and is it going tochange your behavior?"

The old message from the herald, "Hear ye,hear ye," meant more than just mere listening.The herald was providing information thatshould result in action. The U.S. Army uses thephrase HUA (pronounced who-alt). This standsfor Heard, Understood, Acknowledged. "To hear"properly leads to obedience.

That is the impact of what Jesus is saying:"They that hear shall live." Merely listening isnot sufficient. If we properly hear the words ofJesus, we will incorporate them into our thinkingand modify our behavior accordingly. Those thathear appropriately shall then live because theiractions will be in tune with God's will. —J. B. N.

B. Son of Man (vv. 26, 27)

26, 27. For as the Father hath life in himself;so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; and halts given him authority to executejudgment also, because he is the Son of man.Sonic have suggested that the phrase Son ofman is used here in the general sense of "ahuman being." That is the way that God uses thisterm to refer to the prophet Ezekiel numeroustimes (example: Ezekiel 2:1). This approachwould suggest that Jesus is given power to judgehuman beings because He, as a man. can sympa-thize with our experiences and temptations (seeHebrews 4:15).

While this may be the case as far as it goes, itseems likely that John has a more specific idea inmind. Following Daniel 7:13, 14, many ancientJews believe that God will send a special agent tojudge the world at the end of time. This agent isto be called the Son of man.

We see this title used in the Gospel of John tohighlight Jesus' divinity and authority (see John1:51; 3:13, 14; 6:27, 53; 8:28; 13:31). By callinghimself Son of man in a unique sense, Jesus isclaiming to he the one whom God has appointedto judge the world at the end of time.

C. His Voice (v. 28)

28. Marvel not at this: fur the hour is coming,in the which all that are in the graves shall hearhis voice.

As noted earlier, eternal life is a present real-ity; it is something that those who accept Jesuscan begin to experience in the here and now.Jesus clarifies, however, that His authority togrant life goes beyond this world and into eter-nity. Whereas "the dead" in verse 25 referred tothose who are spiritually dead, Jesus now speaks of the situation of those who have physicallydied—those who are in the graves.

Even in the face of death, we can be confidentin Christ's power to save. We know that we willone day hear his voice and rise to eternal life (seethe next verse). Jesus thus has authority overboth our present and our future. Hallelujah—what a Savior!

D. Our Status (v. 29)

29. And shall come forth; they that havedone good, unto the resurrection of life; andthey that have done evil, unto the resurrectionof damnation.

Those who respond positively to Jesus and Hiscall in the current life will be glad to hear Hiscall in the next world. "And this is the will ofhim that sent me, that every one which seeth theSon, and believeth on him, may have everlastinglife: and I will raise him up at the last day" (John6:40; compare 6:54).

The same hope does not belong to those whoreject Him. Their resurrection will be one ofdamnation. Indeed they have been condemnedalready. "And this is the condemnation, thatlight is come into the world, and men loveddarkness rather than light, because their deedswere evil" (John 3:19).

We must stress that the phrase done good isnot referring to a system of salvation by works.In this context the phrase done good is definedby verse 24: "He that heareth my word, and be-lieveth on him that sent me, bath everlastinglife." See also Jesus' declaration in John 6:29:"This is the work of God, that ye believe on himwhom he bath sent."

By contrast, those who challenge Jesus' claimsand refuse to accept Him will stiffer eternal judg-ment. Jesus regrets this situation, but it cannotbe otherwise in view of God's justice. The choice
is ours.

Conclusion

A. Don't Argue with the Judge

A good friend of ours is a police captain. Ionce asked him what we should do if a police-man came to our house or we were stopped for atraffic violation. He said, "In one word, 'cooper-ate.' You're not going to argue with a cop, sodon't." My wife very recently profited from thisadvice when she parked momentarily in a firelane to pick up a large item in a store. A policeofficer came in looking for her, and she avoidedan expensive fine by listening quietly and fol-lowing his orders.

Jesus offers similar advice in our passagetoday. God is the boss, and He has given Jesus allauthority to judge us. We're not in a position toargue with Him or to question what He says. Ifwe want to stay out of trouble. our only hope issimply to follow His instructions. Make no mis-take: there won't be any arguing about the situa-tion on Judgment Day!

But people foolishly try to argue with God,don't they? Such arguments can take severalforms. The most serious way we argue with Godis through sin itself. God, the judge and lawgiver,has defined what sin is. He has commanded usto avoid it. When we go ahead and commit sinanyway, we are saying, in effect, "I know betterthan You do, God." Thus our sin becomes our ar-gument against Him and His will.

Such sin is obvious when we break one of the"Thou shalt not" commandments. A less obviousway to argue with God is in resisting His will foron after we become Christians. Jonah knew God'sdirection for his life but chose to do somethingdifferent (Jonah 1:3). Is God calling you into aparticular ministry or service? Don't argue—go!

B. Prayer

Lord, please help an to live lives that willhonor Christ the way that Christ honored You. Intimes of temptation and stress, help us rememberthat eternal life is a gift we already have in thisworld. Keep us mindful at every moment that thethings we do now have eternal consequences. In

Jesus' name, amen.

C. Thought to Remember

We experience the blessings of resurrectionlife in every moment that we honor Christ.

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