“My Father is working until now, and I am working.” John 5:17
There was no doubt and no ambiguity about what Jesus was saying here: “Only God works on the Sabbath. I am working on the Sabbath. Go figure!” That’s what he is saying!
And that is exactly what the Jewish leaders did: “This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God” (5:18).
Jesus was “making himself equal with God.” It is not the case that Jesus was a remarkable person, so the church imposed on him the idea that he was the Son of God. This was his own claim, clearly articulated and understood. And it was for this reason that he was crucified! It is often asked, “How did Jesus become God?” The real question is: “How did God become Jesus?”
Notice Jesus does not say, “Oh, you misunderstood me. I didn’t mean that I am equal with God.” He does the opposite, piling on statement after statement, laying out to an audience of people who want to kill him what being equal with God actually means! What follows is the most marvelous statement of how God the Father and God the Son are wonderfully and perfectly one.
What does unity look like? In a marriage? In a church? In a business? The answer is right here in John 5. If you want to know what unity looks like, you can’t do better than to look at the perfect union of God the Father and God the Son.
Respond to John 5:18 “[Jesus] was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.”