Sermon
No Wonder We Call Him 'The Savior'
October 6-7, 2001
Pastor Donald Sheley

Let's take our Bibles as well as our notes from our bulletin, and today we're going to continue our study that we started some months ago in the gospel of John. We have come to John 5:16, and if you're using the red pew Bible it's page 717, if you'd like to join with us there. As we've observed, you will recognize and agree with me that this is one of the most profound portions of Scripture that we're about to discuss today. It's exceedingly deep. It's in an arena of logic that's different than we English-speaking people think. It has to do with Jewish thought, and I'm asking that God may His word very clear to our hearts.

We live in an interesting moment of history; a time when millions of people are deeply interested and concerned about their spiritual welfare, and we hear from across the nation that churches are being filled with people today, and have been since the great event. Realizing that the foundations of life in America, as we know it, have been shaken to their very foundations. They're looking for foundations that stand secured. It's interesting to observe the trends and the emphasis now that's given in many of the television programs. It's now the opportunity to sing a hymn, and we pray the prayer God bless America, and it's interesting that Christians are given the opportunity to give their testimony almost unrestrained. It's a time when People's attention is turning Godward.

I was watching a program the other evening. It was a gathering of a number of people being interviewed by the interviewer, and it seemed if I picked up the theme of the event, was to encourage people to love one another and accept one another even though we have differences: Jews, Christians, and Muslims. And they were sitting there, the Jews, Christians, and the Muslims, and as I listened to the interviewer and his request was: Did this affect your faith in any way? How has your faith held you up during this difficult time? How meaningful has your faith been?

I thought as I listened. First of all, if I were the Jewish person sitting there I'd have to realize one thing, I don't have a savior, because 2000 years ago as a nation we nailed Jesus to the tree, and therefore they're still awaiting their messiah. They meet the calamities of life without the assurance of a savior who loves them.

If I were a Muslim sitting there, and I observed, I wouldn't have a savior either because all I would have is a prophet, and his name is Mohammed.

And then I listened to the testimony of the Christian. She was the lovely wife of the man who took the initiative on the plane heading back thinkingly, possibly to strike one of the major governmental institutions, and it was her husband that took the initiative to wrestle those hijackers and finally bring the plane down before it reached its destination. A lovely lady -- a little child 31/2 years of age, a little baby 11/2, and a new baby to be born in January -- but she was radiant, absolutely radiant. And the question was, has this affect your faith? Oh no, I want you to know that I believe that God is in charge of everything. And I believe that God plans and He has a program, and she said I believe that God had my husband on the plane that day to do what he did. And she said I have no anger, I have no hatred, I believe in a God that is a God of love, and a God of purpose, and a God of mercy, and I'm totally at peace. And you could just see it radiate in her faith. She loves Jesus Christ with all of her heart and during the time of calamity, and the time of distress, she has a Savior and that makes all the difference in the world.

I think the study we have today is so fitting because I've entitled it 'No Wonder We Call Him Savior'. It's in this passage that Jesus Christ makes some claims that were absolutely phenomenal, His claim to deity, and He totally angered the people who listened. Let's take our Bible. We're in John 5:16. It begins with these words:

For this reason. What reason? Well, in the early portion of this chapter you remember Jesus had walked into the pool at Bethesda, found a man that had been ill for 38 years, went to him, healed him, told him to take up his mat and go home. To the Jewish mind to heal on the Sabbath was an act of work, thus, a violation of the restrictions that they had given to the Sabbath, and it qualified for death. They had it that if someone was ill if you gave any kind of medication that assisted the healing process, you were guilty of working on the Sabbath. And that's why when Jesus healed on the Sabbath they were so highly irritated, in fact, inflamed. They believed that Christ had worked in the act of healing, and thus, they were ready to kill Him.

Look at what it says. For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath day.
But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working." Now we as English thinking people say He's simply saying My Father works and so do I. But if we were standing there as Jewish people trained in Jewish thought, when He associates His name that closely with God, He's claiming equality with God. That's what they hear in their mind.

When He says My Father and I worketh, they now say to Him in the next verse now we want more than ever to kill You, not only because You have
broken the Sabbath, but You have blasphemed. You have made Yourself equal with God. That's the accusation.

Well let's go back to verse 17 when He said My Father worketh and I work. What's He talking about? Well here's His claim. He knows that God created and He was with the Father in the creation, created the world in six days and on the 7th day He rested. He knows that. But that was in the creative process from which He rested. He has spent all of His time since creation sustaining and caring for the world that He made. Every morning the sun comes up, and every evening the moon takes its place in the skies. The planets travel their orbits, the rains come, the seasons come and go, and God is sustaining. This is His universe. He's always at work. He's always in the process of providential governmental affairs that deal with His universe. He's still sovereign of the universe. He still gives out mercy and grace. He doesn't say now this is Sunday so there's no grace today. The logic that Christ is using is the Father always is at work sustaining His universe, dealing with us in love, and mercy, and compassion. He's always working, and so do I. And if you're accusing Me of breaking the Sabbath and working, you're making an accusation directly at God because His work is My work, and My work is His work.

You're standing there, you're a Jewish person, and you say that peasant Galilean is claiming to be God, because He's saying that His work is the work of God, and God's work is His work. They are one. In another portion of John He says, I and My Father are one. I am in the Father and the Father is in Me. So Jesus is saying if you're going to accuse Me of working on the Sabbath, you'll also have to accuse God who is always at work sustaining, showing mercy, and showing grace.

Then He takes the next step. It says in verse 18, Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God. Now let me make just a suggestion here. There are cults around us that preach a gospel that isn't the gospel. They say that Jesus Christ was not divine. I had a lovely gentleman in the second service at 8:30 this morning, and after the service he came up to me and said, Pastor, thank you for saying that. He said, I spent five years in the darkness of Jehovah Witness. He said, I never believed when I was a part of that group -- I was a missionary for them -- I never believed that Jesus Christ was divine. He said, but at my job some Christians who really loved Christ started a little Bible study and they so radiated the love of Christ, and they were so gracious. Even though I was arrogant, he said, and I was defiant when they told me that Jesus was divine. He said, I came to the belief and I believe with all my heart Jesus Christ is the divine Son of God.

There are those who do not believe He's divine. When we study this passage together you'll see that He claims deity. That's what He was nailed to the cross for, for blasphemy, which was making Himself equal with God. Look at the next verse. Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Most assuredly I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. And those who try to argue the point of Christ not being God -- look at, right there it says He can't do anything of Himself. In other words they accuse Him of the imperfection of being limited in power and authority, but that's not what this verse is saying. What Jesus is saying is, I cannot act independently from God. My will is His will, and I came to do His will. If there were two wills there would be two supreme beings. That's illogical. There's only one Supreme Being. My will is His will and I came to do that will. I don't act independently. When I act, I seek with purpose to do exactly the divine will of the Creator, and He does that.

Now in this particular passage I was thinking, years ago when I went to Bible college, about 50 some odd years ago, I was taught a theory that it took me a few years to get out of my mind. And the theory was called the Kenosis theory, and kenosis is a Greek word which means self emptying. In other words, from the Philippian passage it says He emptied Himself and took upon Himself the form of a servant and became like unto man. I was taught that when Jesus became a human being He gave up some of His deity to do it. He set aside some of His attributes of deity to become human. That's not true. Jesus Christ is fully God and perfect man. This verse does not support that argument. What Jesus is simply saying is My Father's will and My will are in total harmony. They are one. I and the Father are one.

Now you're a Jewish person and you're listening to this peasant Galilean, and this is what He's saying, My work and the Father's work are identical. My work, My will, and the Father's will are identical. Then He goes a step further. Look at the next verse; "For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel." He is simply saying, the same knowledge that My Father has, I have because He shares it. There's nothing He withholds from Me. Our knowledge is the same. So he is claiming now omniscience, all knowledge. My Father does not in any way withhold from Me. He shows Me everything.

Then He goes on a step further; "For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will." Now the Jewish mind was trained this way -- they knew that God raised people from the dead. They could go back in the Old Testament and substantiate that on two specific occasions. So they knew that God had the power to raise the dead, and He claims that same power. That power that He has to raise the dead is the same power I have. And He manifested that when He stood there at the grave of Lazarus and said, Lazarus, come forth. He could walk up to the little mother of Nain, and she's got her only son in that coffin, and He says to the boy in the coffin, arise. The same power that God had the that the Jewish mind knew in the Old Testament, the Christ of the New Testament had that same power to raise the dead.

But He also claims something else, He said, as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to him. His point is the sovereignty of God. God selects as to who He's going to show His divine mercy to. He's the sovereign God of the universe, and Jesus is claiming divine sovereignty. Now listen to His claims. First of all, His work is the same as God. His will is the same as God. His knowledge is the same as God. His power is the same as God, when it comes to the raising of life. And He is saying, God, sovereignly makes His choices and he always chooses right. You say, when did that happen? When Jesus walked into that pool that day, I'm sure that there were many, many, maybe it could've been hundreds of people, waiting for the moving of the water so they could get in and be healed. Now He's Jesus. All He would have had to have done is walked into that poolside scene and say, all of you go home; you're all healed. That's what I would have liked for Him to do. I've often walked down the halls of hospitals and gone there to pray, and I say, Jesus, I just wish I could walk into every one of these rooms and heal every one of them. But I can't. It's interesting, Jesus selects one-a man 38 years ill, and says take your bed and go home. And He walks out and leaves the rest of them in their pain.

You say, I don't understand that. I don't either. But that's the sovereign choices that God makes, and even though this finite mind said I would have healed them all, the eternal mind said I'll demonstrate My glory to one person. When I get to heaven I think it's this matter of sovereignty, where God makes choices that seems so difficult for this human mind to grasp, but He's still God, and He does everything perfect.

Now listen. His works are the same, His will is the same, His power is the same, His knowledge is the same, His sovereignty is the same, and the next one rocks them right to the bottom. Look at what He says: "For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. Now again, I'm a Jewish person and I'm standing you're listening to this peasant Galilean and He's saying these things. He is claiming deity. He saying that He's equal with God. He is God. And now He tells me that He's my judge, because in ancient thought it was always in the mind of the Jew that God would judge mankind. That's what they were taught. And here's this Galilean standing there and saying today you accuse Me, and you'll reject Me, and ultimately you'll nail Me to a cross, but someday you will stand before Me and I will be your judge. Now the crowd a solemn and quiet. Someday He'll be the judge and those who rejected Him with all stand before Him.

I heard a story many years ago. It was story of a man who lived in the community where he had to cross this bridge to make his way home. And somehow in the nighttime He misstep and he fell into the river, and he's crying out for help. And there's a man that hurries to his assistance, jumps in the water and rescues him. And He says thank you Sir, and the rescuer disappears in the darkness. A few months later the same man who had fallen into the river is now in court because he has a violation on his hand. As soon as He walks into the courtroom he notices that the judge was the man who saved him from the water, and he immediately start saying, Sir, you were my savior. You saved me. And immediately the judge says, Sir, then I was your savior, but today I'm your judge.

We have a Savior, ladies and gentlemen, who is none other than the divine Son of God, who came to this world in a miraculous birth, lived a sinless life, and He died a vicarious death at Calvary. He rose from the dead and He every lives with the Father to make intercession for us. He is our Savior and we call Him Savior. And one of these days we'll stand before Him, because the Bible says that every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess. We who know Him as Savior now, who have put our trust and our faith in Him, not only enjoy the peace, not only enjoy the gift of eternal life here and now, but when that day comes when we stand before Him, He'll be our Savior. He judged our sin at Calvary because He died for our sin, and we've excepted that judgment for sin because He's now our Savior. When we stand before Him we will hear those wonderful words, well done thou good and faithful servant. No wonder we call Him Savior. Because He was everything He claimed to be. God in human form manifesting His grace and His power and His compassion in dying for us to be our Savior.

I sat there and watched that program and I said to my heart, thank you dear Jesus that I'm not in a religion that doesn't have a Savior, that I have the faith and a God who loves us so much He came in the person of Christ to die for us, and He is our Savior. And on that day He'll claim us for His own. No wonder we call Him Savior.

Now if you're here today and you don't have that personal relationship with Jesus Christ, you've not put your trust and your faith in Him, you can do that in this moment. You can just simply bow your heart and your head and say, Jesus, I don't reject You like the people of Your day did. I don't reject Your claims. I believe that You're everything You said You were -- the divine Son of God. And Jesus, I put my trust in You as my Savior and my Lord, and I open my heart and I invite Your precious Spirit to come live within me now. I acknowledge You as my Savior. If you say that prayer and you mean it from the depths of your being, you'll walk out that door and He too is your wonderful Savior. Amen?

Let's pray. Lord Jesus, You claimed, You tried to make it as clear as You could to the people who stood around You. You identified Yourself so clearly, and yet they rejected You and finally nailed You to a cross. But in dying on that cross You took our sins and You became our Savior. We shall forever be grateful for what You did, Lord Jesus. To know You is to know peace in troubled times, it's to have confidence when everyone else is filled with fear, and it's to have a future when others doubt what tomorrow holds. You're a wonderful Savior, and we love You, dear Christ. And everybody said, amen. God bless you. God bless you.