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How Many GODS?
A. INTRODUCTION... We are back in John’s Gospel, and today deep into theology. Theology is God-talk. Jesus did miracles to help people. He gave teachings to guide people in their daily life. But in today’s scripture Jesus focuses on his relationship with God. For two years I’ve been writing my next book, My Jesus. As with today’s scripture, I am looking closely at who he was, is, and why. Early Christianity began with the same debate. Was Jesus fully God? Fully human? Half and half? The “adoptionist” view was that Jesus was fully human, but God said, in effect, if I ever had a son, I would want him to be like Jesus. Christianity settled on the view that Jesus is fully God AND fully human. All of each run through him.
C. SUMMARY. Back up a bit. Jesus gives this lengthy teaching in response to controversy. He had dared to heal a man on the Sabbath, breaking one of the Ten Commandments. Jesus explained that his “Father” never stopped working. His critics took this to be Jesus equating himself with God, blasphemy against the strict monotheism (one God) of Judaism. Jesus launches a detailed explanation in defense of his claim. In sum, Jesus cannot/does not do anything on his own. He is authorized, delegated, empowered by his Father, living and acting as the Father’s son. He is the long awaited “Son of Man” for whom the Jewish people had been waiting. His purpose is twofold: to bring LIFE and to exercise JUDGEMENT, always in concert with his Father. His closing argument is that in the legal system one’s own testimony requires corroboration from other witnesses. For his own witnesses, Jesus calls on John the Baptist, and notes that John had acknowledged Jesus as “the One.” And, Jesus says, God’s word (the scriptures) also “testifies on my behalf”, identifying Jesus as God’s chosen one. And we, like the man healed, witness to the power and purpose and effectiveness of Jesus.
D. KEY POINTS
- Lines of Authority. Old westerns, war movies, etc. often include scenes where some unlikely suspect claims to speak for the Chief, the General, the President, whomever is in charge. Maybe even more so nowadays, we struggle to know who or what we can trust. Email scams, internet conspiracies etc. echo the old TV show “Who Do You Trust?” Jesus was challenged on this repeatedly. “By what authority,” he was asked often, “do you do and say such things?” “Who do you think you are?”, his critics demanded, “equating yourself with God, working on Sabbath, breaking our rules, challenging our traditions?” In effect, “you’re a nobody.” That becomes a central issue for Christianity. Jesus’ answer is twofold. First, he draws his authority directly from his Father, God. Second, the proof of that is in his words and deeds. He proves his “authority” by being someone we would want to follow. Every good team has someone who is “good in the clubhouse.” It is not always the star player. But it is someone that others want to hear and to follow. It is a precious gift for those who have it AND those who recognize it.
- Our WITNESS. Many churches include “witnessing” and “testifying” as part of worship. It is based on the legal requirement that a person can only testify to what they have witnessed. In such churches a typical testimony would be, “This is what God has done for me.” Prayers answered, guidance given, strength found, healing done, intervention happened – always a firsthand “testimony.” That is the ultimate test of Jesus’ relevance. Does Jesus impact our lives? If so, how? We become the contemporary proof of Jesus’ validity. If Jesus is who he says he was, do we represent that well?
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