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Before we proceed, gentlemen, a small word about the piece of paper that you have in front of you, that lists certain features of chapter five and then chapter six. This is not meant to be an analysis of the contents of those two chapters. It is simply a way of indicating to you that these two chapters have a lot of ideas in common. Yes, at the same time, though they have ideas in common, the ideas generally put two different points of view. And for that mean- for that reason, I've, uh, listed some of those details on this piece of paper. Take number two in each, uh, list. Christ declines to use the means of healing, namely the pool, and cures the man simply by his word. Yet in the first miracle in chapter six, Christ goes out of his way to use the means of feeding the crowd. First of all, asking the apostles how they're going to get enough food for this company. Though he himself knew what he was going to do, but first of all, asked them to suggest. And when it all exceeded the means that they thought they had, somebody made, uh, I for a joke, I suppose, the, uh, observation that there was a little boy there with five loaves and two fishes, but what are there amongst the multitude? And to their surprise, our Lord took that altogether inadequate means, but used that means. And so you'll see a deliberate contrast in the two miracles. One, he doesn't use the means, and that is not just a detail. It, uh, uh, it, um, emphasizes the point that chapter five is making, that Christ is the source of life. Doesn't need to use means. But in chapter six, he is the means of life and uses the means of the five loaves and two fish, even though, being son of God, he multiplies those means beyond all expectation. In other words, I'm trying to persuade you now and again to look at scripture not just as a succession of details, and there's no harm in doing that, but to read it coherently. Because these two chapters give us our Lord, but a very balanced view of our Lord, being both the source of life, not needing to use any means, and the means of life, who does use means. And that's not a contradiction, but a part of the wonders of our Lord. So now in chapter five, we've had the initial miracle, literally, and then seen its spiritual application. We consider the fact that he did it deliberately on the Sabbath, and how he then explained why he did it on the Sabbath, and that what he was so doing was not wrong. Now we come to the great statement. The Jews had accused him of calling God his father, making himself equal with God. So far from saying, no, you've misunderstood it, I didn't mean that. Our Lord proceeds to make statements that emphasize, more than perhaps any others you'll find anywhere in the surrounding context, of his absolute equality with the father. He's answering the Jews that stood before him, of course. So chapter, uh, five, verses nineteen to, uh, twenty nine, the Lord's statement of his equality with the Father. Verses thirty to forty seven, the evidence for his claim, the witness that his claim was true. We have already considered, therefore, verses nineteen and t- uh, and 20, uh, and twenty of chapter five, With a tremendous statement that while on the one hand the Son can do nothing of himself, it's the father who initiates. Nonetheless, on the other hand, what he sees the father doing, whatever that is, these things the son also does in like manner. And the relationship is one of love between the father and the Son. And from the point of view, uh, of the Father, he will show Christ greater works than he has hitherto done. Our Lord is talking in the context of chapter five, that you may marvel. Now we come to specify two areas in the following verses, Two areas in particular. These two areas are stated twice over, and they are the areas of life giving and And judgment. judgment. You will see those two topics raised in verses twenty one and twenty two On the basic theme of equality of the Son with the Father. For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to, oh, but pray notice the final phrase, to whomever he will. The mystery of the ga- Godhead goes beyond us, doesn't it? And therefore we always have to be careful what we say in this area. But while the Son can do nothing of himself, yet when it comes to giving life, it here says he gives life to whom he will. He's sovereign in his action. So then, in the area of life, the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so, and in the same way, the Son also quickens whom he will. Followed by verse twenty two, the question of judgment. For neither doth the Father judge any man, but he hath given all judgment unto the Son, that all may honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father which sent him. It It is is obvious how our Lord is responding to the criticism of the Jews that he was making himself equal with God. Precisely so, says Christ. I am equal with the Father. By the Father own desire, purpose, and loving gift. So then, equality with the Father in these two areas of life and judgment, and we ought perhaps to ponder, uh, just a moment. Why put those two areas together? Life and judgment. Why those two? Well, ultimately, gentlemen, as the book of the Revelation tells us, there will be a final judgment. There will be those whose names are written in the book of life, and those whose names are not written in the book of life. Christ will be the judge. The difference between eternal life and eternal death. Not eternal extinction, not eternal annihilation, but death. Perishing. This is the f- the area of the final judgment, isn't it? Ponder, therefore, because Christ is the source of life. But now notice the motivation. The Father has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Fa- the, uh, honor the Son even as they honor the Father. And to enforce it, he puts the opposite way round. He that honoureth not the Son, honoureth not the Father which sent him. It's in the context of our Lord's statement of his equality with God. The earlier thought of the th- uh, uh, uh, of the purpose of the Father, that all you may marvel. Now it's a question of honoring. It is a perilous thing indeed, isn't it, to deny the deity of the Lord Jesus. And of all people that need to be reminded of that, uh, thing are the academic theologians. If you don't honor the Son in the context of this chapter, you don't honor the Father. And you see, it's a question of honoring the Son, even as they honor the Father. God is not offended when we honor his dear Son in the same terms as we honor the Father. It is the purpose of God that we should. So now we've had our Lord's equality with the Father stated in the two realms, one of life-giving and one of judgment. Now our Lord enlarges upon those two themes, those two areas. First of all, and in the same order, the question of life, life-giving. Verse twenty four and twenty uh five and twenty six. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word and believeth him that sent me has eternal life and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour comes and now is. When the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live. And as, uh, many gospel preachers have said, so I don't need to enlarge upon it, gentlemen, but just to show, uh, that they are biblically based. The hour for getting eternal life is now, of course. Now is coming, and now is. When the dead, that is, of course, the spiritually dead, shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live. And in that living, he specifies it. Verse twenty four, he that hears my word and believeth him that sent me. One, has eternal life. Two, doesn't come into judgment, presumably in the sense of condemnation. And three, has passed out of death into life. As though they were two domains, the area of the dead and the area of the living. This is a magnificent thing, is it not? And if you say, how can our Lord say this? Then the twin themes, the Father's given to him to give life, the Father has made him judge. Gentlemen, the wonder of our gospel is that Jesus is the final judge. Come to him today, believe on him in the sense of these verses, and he can tell you you have eternal life, you have passed out of death into life, you will never come into condemnation. How has he any right to say it? Well, he's the final judge. From him there is no appeal. You can't go behind Christ and appeal to God, you know. What a magnificent gospel it is. The one to whom judgment is given, and the final judgment will be in his hands, can give you his verdict now. That is amazing, is it not? And does away with all that, uh, popular notion that you can't know until the final judgment. Nonsense. We can know it now. And notice then the order of events. Verse twenty five, verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour cometh and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live. Now, there may well come occasions in your life, gentlemen, when you are thinking about diverse doctrines of Christianity. It is good that we use our minds and think them through. But there is a version of Christianity that says that the unregenerate man is so absolutely dead he couldn't hear anything. And so Christ first has to give him life, and then the man can begin to hear. That isn't the order of this verse, is it? When the dead shall hear first, and they that hear shall live. I'm personally, uh, gratified to know our Lord put it that way and not the other way round. He didn't say the hour is coming and now is when those that hear the s- voice of the Son of God, but the other way around. The hour is coming when the dead shall, one, hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live. Not the dead shall hear, uh, shall receive life from Christ, and those that live shall hear, not that way round. And again, how can our Lord say this? For as the Father has life in himself, even so gave he to the Son also to have life in himself. Christ is a source of life, as is the Father. Now the, um, further statement on judgment. Verse twenty seven, and he gave him authority to execute judgment because he is the Son of Man. Don't be surprised at this. For the hour comers come when all that are in the graves, we are talking now about the physical death, shall hear his voice and shall come forth, they that have done good unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done ill unto the resurrection of Of judgment. judgment. Because he is the judge at the final judgment. He doesn't now say, marvel not at this, for the hour cometh and is already, when those that are in the grave shall hear his voice. This is talking about the, uh, final judgment. It's talking about the physically dead. When the graves shall give up the dead that are in them, and the sea shall give up the dead that are in them. And they shall hear his voice and come forth. This then the statement of our Lord's equality with the Father, and the two major respects in which he has equality with the Father. That is not saying there are no other areas, but here two major areas in which he has equality with the Father. That's his statement. But the question that naturally arises, and which our Lord now faces, is... What evidence has he to show that what he says is true? Has he any witness to him? Or do we have to accept it just because he says so? Notice once more, therefore, chapter th- uh, uh, five verse thirty. I can of myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge. Though the Father has given him all authority to execute judgment, once more, as with the miracles, he cannot do anything of himself, so he doesn't do miracles of himself. He doesn't judge of himself. As I hear, I judge. Mm-hmm. And my judgment is just because I seek not mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. Oneness with the Father, and the Father it is that takes the initiative. You say, what do you mean by that? Well, it says in verse twenty six, the Father has life in himself, so he gave to the Son to have life in himself. It wouldn't do to put it the other way around, as the Son has life in himself, he gave to the Father to have life in himself. No, of course not. Within the Godhead, the Father takes the initiative. The Son is the perfect expression of the Father. So in the case of judgment, my judgment is righteous because I seek not mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. He's no arbitrary, self-appointed dictator. He is, uh, seeking the Father's will in all that he judges, and subject to the Father's will. And so when it comes to evidence, if I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. We're talking here about evidence, witness, as in a court case, the judge will call upon witnesses to give their testimony as to the truth or falsehood of the charges brought against the prisoner in the dock. So our Lord is using the word witness, testimony, evidence, if you like. And if I bear witness of myself, my witness is not valid. The Greek word true, and more particularly the Hebrew word emet, carry many connotations. You'll see. When it comes to witness, well, in the, according to the Old Testament law, men is man's own witness. Uh, well, it might be, uh, he might be saying the truth, but in a case of law, it's, it's, it's not valid. You must have, according to the legal system, if I nearly said we descend to le- to legal things, I mustn't say that. I, I don't want, if we expand to legal things. Do you see? In cases of the law court, you see, uh, you mustn't put anyone to death on the witness of one person, according to the Old Testament. At the word of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. Plurality of witness. And here our Lord says what he repeats i- i- i- in chapter eight. the discussion repeats it at any rate. If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not valid. It would be perfectly true and correct. It wouldn't be false, but it wouldn't be valid. It is another that bears witness of me, and I know that the witness which he witness of of me is true, and that other, of course, is God. For time's sake only, uh, for time's sake, I merely refer you to the discussion in chapter eight, verses twelve following. Where it says, again, therefore, Jesus spoke unto them, saying, I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life. The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest witness of thyself. Thy witness is not, well, English says true, but it means it is not valid. Jesus' reply to that was, even if I bear witness of myself, my witness is true in the sense of being, uh, not false. It's accurate, do you see? For I know whence I came and whither I go. But then he adds, you see, in verse sixteen, yea, and if I judge, my judgment is true, for I'm not alone, but I and the Father that sent me. Yea, and in your law it is written that the witness of two men is true, is valid. I am he that bears witness of myself, and the Father that sent me bears witness of me. Two witnesses, therefore. But notice that different use of meaning of connotations of the word true. Because, in a sense, uh, if I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true in the sense of not valid, not legally valid. Doesn't mean it's false. In chapter eight, he puts the other side. I- if I bear witness of myself, my witness is a- accurate. It is true. It's true to the fact. May not be valid in a law court, but it is actual true to the fact. For I know where I come from and whither I go. I, I illustrate it to my own feeble mind by supposing people living in the year of grace fourteen hundred, when in Europe we lived oblivious of the fact that Australia and New Zealand existed. It was a happy time in hi- English history. We have in Ipswich a a a rather ancient house. It's called the Ancient House, and in the second floor it has bay windows, and the bay windows underneath the grass are all beautifully sculptured, uh, uh, I don't know what it is, clay or whatever it is, into forms and figures and whatnot. And the four big bays, uh, of this building, you see, uh, they have represented the four continents of the Earth. I was brought up in that town, you see. It was built before we discovered the others, you see. Well, anyway, uh-huh. Suppose, uh, then somebody living in the fourteen hundreds in Britain, you see, and a stranger comes along, and the English inform him that if you stand looking at the sun at midday, you can be sure the sun got up on your left and went da- goes down on your right. Gets up in the east and goes down in the west, you see. Gets up on your left hand, goes down on the right. And the man says, that's not so in my country. Oh? No, he says, if in my country you stand facing the sun at midday, then you may be sure the sun got up on the right hand side and goes down on the left. Would you have been right to believe him? I'm not giving you encouragement to believe anything a a Australian or New Zealander says, but in that, if it's the only one that says it, would you have been right to believe him? You'll see, and the answer is, of course. And he would give the, the same, uh, perhaps replies our Lord did. Well, if you don't believe, I, I, I, I, that is true, for I know where I come from and whither I'm going. Our Lord's witness was true in the factual sense. It wasn't necessarily legally valid if you're going to take the, the tight requirements of a court of law. And so facing Jews on the streets of Jerusalem, our Lord is facing the facts as they are. They're not going to take his just because he says it. They want to know what evidence, what witness have you to support your claim? And our Lord admits, do you see, the, uh, uh, actual situation, if I bear witness of myself, my witness is not valid. True in that sense. Sorry, language is so complicated, but there you are. Uh, um, the word true in scripture can mean one or have different connotations. Uh, uh, it is another that bears witness of me, and I know that the witness which he witness of me is true, witnesses of me is true, that is the Father. And he's going to come back to ver- that in verse thirty six. But the witness which I have is greater than that of John, for the works which the Father had given me to accomplish, the very works that I do, bear witness of me that the Father has sent me. But meanwhile, he quotes another witness, verse thirty two. uh, sorry, verse thirty three, verse thirty four, verse thirty five. You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. And very valuable witness it was. He was the voice in the wilderness crying, prepare the way of the Lord, appointed by God to be the doorkeeper, so to speak, of the fold of Israel that should re- recognize and introduce the Messiah to the people of God. God's appointed witness, you see, and you have sent to John, and he has borne witness unto the truth, and that is valuable. For then to have somebody else other than the Lord Jesus to stand there, and in the name of God, and as a prophet, uh, authenticated by God, to give his witness to Christ. That is very useful. It is useful for your unconverted friend, atheist, to quote yourself as a witness. I know Jesus is true. How do you know? Well, I was a wife beater and an alcoholic, and I wasted several fortunes on the lottery, uh, uh, do you see, and so on, so on, and I was in prison, and uh, then I heard the gospel and Christ saved me. I know he's true. That kind of thing is a very powerful witness, isn't it? Mm-hmm. But if I were to push you and say, uh, ha ha, and uh, what do you deduce from that? Do you say? And where does his power come from? You say from Jesus. Oh, I see. Uh, how do you know that Jesus is the Son of God, though? In other words, what am I saying? For what our Lord is saying here. The b- uh, John bore witness to the truth, but the witness which I receive is not from man. Howbeit I say these things that you may be saved. Ponder it, gentlemen, because, because Jesus is the Son of God, he is God incarnate. Ultimately, he is his own evidence. The witness he receives ultimately is not from man. Let me at least illustrate what I think the thing means. If one of these days you get home to heaven, and amidst all the glory of of archangels attending on you, and perhaps you're not used to that at breakfast time to have, oh, some of you are maybe, I don't know, uh, an archangel attending to you and so forth and so on, and you're bewildered a little bit by the glory. You say, I wonder, well, which one of all these is God? Do you see? Well, ask Michael the Archangel. Tell me, Michael, which one of these is God? Uh, well, if you're dependent on Michael the Archangel to tell you who God is, you'd be a little sorry for God, wouldn't you? And you would say, what of author- what authority have you got to tell me who's God and who isn't Michael? Well, he says I'm the first. Oh, you are a creature of God. So you're not independent of God. In that sense, gentlemen, there is no independent witness to God in the whole universe. Is there? By definition, there isn't. Because God is the creator of everything. There is nothing independent in that sense, to give you an independent piece of a witness and advice. God is his own. That doesn't mean that it's no good giving your testimony. Doesn't mean that you are not to cite the creation around you as evidence for God's existence. Doesn't mean you dismiss John the Baptist as altogether unnecessary. But ultimately, of course, God is his own evidence, and so am I, says Christ. John was a lamp and that burneth and shineth, and you were willing to rejoice for a season in his light. But the witness which I have is greater than that of John, for the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I do, bear witness of me that the Father has sent me. And the Father which sent me, he hath borne witness of me. So his witness then is the witness of the Father, because the Father has given him works to do. Do you see? God is the ultimate witness, and he's given the Savior works to do, and the works bear witness that the Father has sent him. So the works bear witness. And the Father which sent me has borne witness, yes, on notable occasions, at his baptism to start with. At, um, the grave of Lazarus. Again in John chapter twelve of this very gospel. Now comes the charge to the Jews that stood by him. You have neither heard his voice at any time nor seen his form, and you have not his word abiding in you. Remember, gentlemen, John has been telling you that our Lord is in conversation with Jews, not with men of the world. He's in conversation with Jews, and they're religious Jews, and they're condemning him because he broke the Sabbath. These are highly religious Jews. And when our Lord talked about that, that my father works hitherto and I work, they are outraged because to them he appears to be claiming equality with the Father. Well, he was equal with the Father. But to them, that is blasphemous. So our Lord is now talking about the witness that he has, his works and the Father's voice. Um, they have the works. Why can't they see the works? And what the works imply as to who Jesus is. He reminds them that they have not seen God's, uh, form at any time. Read Deuteronomy, when Moses advises the Israelites, pray do remember that when God appeared to you at Sinai, uh, you heard his voice, but you saw no form. And they are, uh, warned not to make, attempt to make any form of God, any idol to resemble the form of God. You saw no form. Israel at that time heard the voice of God. Now our Lord is saying to these people, they not only not seen, uh, witness seen the form, they haven't heard his voice. Not in that physical way as Israel heard it at Mount Sinai. But further, you have not his word abiding in you. That is a charge to Jews, religious Jews. He's not talking to an atheist. The seriousness of the charge rests on this, that it was Jews he was talking to. They're accusing him of blasphemy for claiming equality with God. Gentlemen, he says, the word of God doesn't abide in you. How do you stand there accusing me of blasphemy when you haven't even God's word abiding in you? You might be tempted to think that of certain of your friends that you meet who are highly religious and not converted and antagonistic to the gospel. And you will think that for all their religiosity, they don't have the word of God abiding in them. And our Lord as gives them the evidence that they haven't. For whom he sent, him you believe not. If Jesus is the son of the Father, he's equal with the Father, he is God incarnate, and you don't believe him. You don't believe God. How could it be that these folks don't believe God, have not his word abiding in them? For religious people, this is a very serious charge. Notice, therefore, we come on now to the question, Jesus claimed equality with the Father. How could it have been that local religious, highly religious Jews didn't believe him. You sit here, gentlemen, this is the year of grace two thousand and seven. You must remember that our Lord's contemporaries who actually saw him walking along the street and heard him preach, multitudes did not believe him true. You must therefore ask why they didn't believe him true. How can you, in this twenty first century, say you've got it the right way around, when his contemporaries, for the most part, didn't believe him? Do you see the point? Now our Lord turns to analyze and to state why, in spite of the witness that the Father had given him of his, of the works to do, they didn't believe. Why didn't they believe? Because they hadn't the word of God in them. Mm-hmm. Um. Verse thirty nine, You search the scriptures. It is true that the Greek could be translated as an imperative, search the scriptures, but I don't think it is an imperative. I think it is talking the fact these religious Jews, they search the scriptures diligently. And if you will read the Talmud, you don't need to read it, but if you, if you read the Talmud, um, and other such Jewish literature, you will find rabbis expressing themselves that if you study the scriptures so long, you have eternal life by just dint of studying scripture. And their massive learning of scripture and interpretation of it was thought by them to be the means of eternity. You g- you g- you have eternal life by the sheer dint of studying scripture. You say, but wait a minute, half a minute. We give away Gospels of John. What are you talking about? And we tell the people, if you want eternal life, read this gospel, s- study this gospel. Yes, yes, yes. Isn't the study that merits the eternal life. The Word of God presents the Lord Jesus, calls upon you to believe, but you don't get eternal life by just studying it, and that's that. You have to take the next step and believe, yes? Now listen to our Lord. You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life. And that's not true. Now, I pray gentlemen don't misunderstand what I'm saying. I'm not denying that scripture is the word, inspired word of God. The words I speak unto you, they are spirit, they are life. That we shall read in chapter six. But here, these, uh, Jews, these Pharisees studied scripture because they thought that in just studying the scripture, they got eternal life. That's not true. The scriptures are they that point to me, says Christ, and you won't come to me that you might have a life. When I first came to Northern Ireland, there was a preacher. Indeed, I heard him preach when this hall wasn't a hall, but a mu- but a wooden hut. And a very entertaining preacher he was, you'll see. Uh, it was difficult to keep from guffawing out loud when he preached, but he was a very theological preacher, more theological than many of the others that preached. He knew his doctrine, but he had a quaint manner of putting things, to say, and I learned, you see, from him the the following analogy: if you should come, to me one of these days, uh, uh, by a roadside in the middle of the country and seeing me embracing a signpost that says on it Belfast, and you stop the car, of course, and greet me. Lovely day, yes, yes, mm-hmm. Uh-hum. Uh, are you quite well? Ye- yes. Well, what are you doing? Well, he says, I say I've got Belfast here. Uh, and you see, I've been measuring it up. Belfast is a foot and a half long, and it's composed of these signs, you see. Now I got Belfast. Isn't it beautiful? And I'm hugging it, kissing it. Would you attempt to explain to a man who's got that far in mental decay that, of course, you haven't got Belfast, you've got a pointer to Belfast. Our Lord is saying, you study scripture as if in them you had eternal life. Notice the term in. Christ is the source of life. In him is life. In that sense, not in scripture. Scripture is the ones that point to me. You want eternal life, you'll have to come to me. That you might have life. And you will not come to me. Therein is the trouble. We may not be in that self dan- se- self same danger, gentlemen, but sometimes we do have to remind ourselves that the important thing is our relation to the God beyond scripture. This is his inspired word, yes. We shall hear Christ in the very next chapter say, the words I speak to you, they are spirit, they are life. But we must distinguish between treating scripture as a book by the study of which, mere by studying it, that is eternal life, and scripture as the living word of God that points us to Christ that we might form a union with him, yes? Now, verse forty one, I receive not glory from men, but I know you that you have not the love of God in yourselves. What does that mean? Well, if I might, uh, uh, put it into simple language, I'm not trying to win your vote, gentlemen. In talking as I am, I'm not anxious to get you on my side and get the majority on my side. I'm not wanting, not canvassing your vote, gentlemen. My person, my, uh, uh, my honor, my reputation doesn't depend on you. I receive not glory from men, but I know you. Now notice the second term. It's not that they don't have the word of God in them merely, but they don't have the love of God in them, then they would love the one whom the Father sent. I am come in my Father's name, and you received not me. Extraordinary. That shows they didn't have the love of the Father then, because the Son is the perfect representation of the Father. Another will come in his own name, oh, and him you will receive. They will indeed. And one day, in a very big way, a la two Thessalonians two, Another shall come, parading himself above all that is called God and is worshipped. And apostate Israel will welcome him. Verse forty four, how can you believe? Now, again, I must be careful lest my prejudices lead me to extreme statements. I said before, let me say it again. The order of events in salvation are one that the dead hear the voice of the Son of God, and hearing they live. It is not that dead people are so dead in chest and sins that first of all Christ has to give them life, and they that live then manage to hear. It's the other way around. First the dead hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear live. So here, when it says, how can you believe? Notice the re- uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, how can you believe? Notice the reason is not because God hasn't elected them, and therefore it's impossible for them to believe. Do notice the reason given. How can you believe, which receive glory one of another, and the glory that cometh from the only God you seek not. That is what made life a, a belief impossible for them. They sought glory for men. It wasn't merely, what nonetheless was true to the fact, that in many of their rabbinical gatherings, they became a contest for who was the best man of explaining this detail and that detail. And if in the end a young chap was able to, uh, outshine the rabbi who was the chief and acknowledged leader of the group, and the young man could puzzle him and stump him, and he hadn't got an answer, and the young man had got the answer, eventually the young man took his place as the leading rabbi. And it was a question very much of competition in theological and biblical study. But of course, it was in addition to that, the power of the established view, the power of the establishment. You receive glory from one another, and the glory that comes from the only God you don't seek. Gentlemen, in theology, as in science, there is a perpetual danger of people being afraid of the establishment view. If you dare say you believe in the virgin birth, oh, you are therefore marked down as being substandard intellectually. Wow. And because there is an establishment view, happens in the realm of science. There's many a scientist who's working on a narrow field like scientists have to do, God bless them, and he is working, how would you do anything new or to make any discovery if you weren't working on a very narrow field to start with? Yes, yes, yes, understandably so. Who doesn't have to therefore stand up and be counted as to whether he believes in a God creator or in theistic evolution or what, and keeps quiet because in those circles, to come outright out and say you believe in a creator will go straight against the establishment view. As in that, so in theology. How can you believe? The impediments to belief, ge- gentlemen. Things that make it impossible for some people to believe. Not that they're not elect, but the glory that comes from the only God, that they don't seek. It's more important that they should adhere to the establishment view and get the honor and respect that comes from that. Finally, think not that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one that accuseth you, even Moses, on whom you have set your hope. These were religious Jews, I repeat it, do please, these are not atheists, religious Jews studied Moses day after day, night after night, and set their hope on Moses. Now our Lord says, if you believe Moses, you will believe me, for he wrote of me. But if you believe not his writings, how shall you believe my words? That comes echoing down in Christendom, doesn't it? Even to academics scripture. If you don't believe Moses, how will you believe my words? In the academic study of scripture, there is unfortunately a lot of unbelief in Moses. Yeah. So what have we had in chapter, uh, 5? Christ, the source of life. A miracle to start with. We saw its literal meaning. The means of healing that God had given, but some people too weak to take advantage of the means. And this man in particular. And Christ comes to him, and the man thinks that Christ will perhaps give him a helping hand to get down into the pool. And Christ says, nonsense, man. I don't need any pool. I don't need any means. He just speaks the word. Because he is the source of life. So he doesn't use the means. And we notice the, uh, uh, application of it to the great fact of salvation. Christ is the source of life. He gives us eternal life by his word, not by any means that we use. Then his explanation of why he did it on the Sabbath. It was no accident. He was the perfect representative of the Creator. And just as the Sabbath was there to remind people to cease from their own works and look to the Creator. So now he himself is doing this task, given this th- th- to do this miracle by the Lord himself, that men should come to see who he was, equal with the Father. My Father has been working all these centuries, and I work in the work of maintaining and the work of redeeming. Then the great statements of his equality with the Father, and in particular in the two realms of life-giving and of judgment. And finally in this chapter, the evidence for his claim. Subsidiary evidence, as you might call it, of people like John the Baptist, the God-appointed witness to Christ. Very helpful, very, very necessary, very good. But in the end, God is his own evidence. For logically, it must be so. There's nothing independent of God, and seeing Jesus is the Son of God, Christ is his own evidence. And we need to grasp it. On the other hand, because he is one with the Father, the Father has given him works to do, and these works demonstrate him to be the Son of God. Why couldn't people believe? Well, he's now talking to religious Jews. I repeat it, I keep on repeating it. It is important, not talking to atheists. That for all their religion, for all their study of the Old Testament, they don't have the word of God in them, and they have no love of God in them. You say that's not true of every Jew, was it? Well, certainly not. This very gospel is going to tell you. There were others, his own sheep, and when he entered the fold, introduced by John the Baptist, the doorkeeper, and he entered the fold and began to speak, his sheep heard his voice. Sheep galore there were. They're the Marthas and Marys of this world, and the Andrews and the Nathaniels, and uh, Peter and John and James, and multitudes heard his voice and recognized the true shepherd. But there were a lot of religious people, such as these ones here, who didn't recognize his voice, considered him a blasphemer, and our Lord details now to them the reasons behind their unbelief. They don't have the word of God in them. They don't have the love of God preeminent. They search Moses, but Moses is the one that points to Christ. If they had read their Moses the right way round and the right side up, they would have seen it. Moses spoke of him. You remember that it was the cu- sub- subject of the conversation to two disciples on the road to Emmaus, who were going home disillusioned because Jesus, they thought of him as a deliverer, political deliverer, and he had failed them. He had let himself be crucified. They were going home absolutely, uh, disappointed, disillusioned. And our Lord said, you fools and slow of heart to believe, after all the prophets have spoken, and beginning in Moses and the Psalms and the prophets, he expounded them into scriptures, the things concerning himself. How that the Christ had to suffer first and then enter his glory. Their hearts burned within them. Gentlemen, little word in your ear, Josie, from an old doddery old man. Don't neglect your Old Testament, will you? And particularly rejoice and expound those parts that speak of the coming Messiah. Yes? Because when believers will see it, you know, they will see it is the word of God. Allow me a personal word. I have many times in the course of my life expounded the tabernacle, simple fashion. I even had it to atheists in Russia. Marvelous tool it was to use to talk with God to atheists. It is a marvelous tool to use with Roman Catholics, for various reasons. But what has interested me is when I've been simply expounding some part of the tabernacle before a Christian congregation. Uh, and preachers do occasionally look at the congregation, you know, studies their fa- studies their faces. Sometimes that can be very off-putting, but, but at times you'll see when the Holy Spirit takes something from the Old Testament and it evidently speaks of Christ, you can see it go over their face. It's not that they've gained, merely gained some more truth. You see the imprint of the Holy Spirit. That's the word of God. Doing that, gentlemen, you've done a marvelous thing. You have helped a believer to see that this is the word of God, the living word of God, and it points to Christ. And you have built into them a tremendous foundation for faith. But then let us cease, uh, and take our break for lunch.