John 5.18-21
“For this reason they tried 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. 19 Jesus gave them this answer: ‘Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. 21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.”
He is the Son of the Father – this, above all else, was what the Jewish leaders rejected. And this would enable even greater miracles (v.20) than the healing of the cripple in ch.5 – raising the dead is surely a reference to what would happen in ch.11. But I think Jesus wasn’t only talking about the raising of Lazarus – when he says ‘The Father raises the dead and gives them life … and so does the Son,’ he is talking about the new life you and I receive when we believe in him.
Lord, you have made us alive in a way we never were before we trusted you. Thank-you that we don’t have to wait for heaven to experience this new life.
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