Bible ReadingJohn 5:17–3017 But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”
[42:05]18 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.
[43:49]19 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.
20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel.
21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.
[46:34]22 The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son,
23 that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.
[54:23]24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
[55:46]25 Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.
26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.
27 And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.
[58:01]28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice
29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.
30 I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.
[01:02:44]John 5:24“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”
[01:20:07]John 19:1–42Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. They came up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck him with their hands. Pilate went out again and said to them, “See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him.” So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!”
When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him.” The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God.” When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid. He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.”
From then on Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.” So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic Gabbatha. Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” So he delivered him over to them to be crucified.
So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but rather, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’” Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.”
When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture which says, “They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.” So the soldiers did these things.
But standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.
After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs would be broken and that they would be taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth—that you also may believe. For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken.” And again another Scripture says, “They will look on him whom they have pierced.”
After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took his body away. Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.
[01:19:24]Romans 2:4–84 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
6 He will render to each one according to his works:
7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life;
8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.
[01:07:30]Observation questions- What claims does Jesus make about his relationship with the Father in John 5:17–23, and why did those claims make the religious leaders want to kill him? [45:32]
- In John 5:24–25, what does Jesus say a person receives now when they hear his word and believe the Father who sent him?
- What future events does Jesus describe in John 5:28–30, and what two outcomes does he name?
- In Romans 2:4–5, what are God’s kindness, patience, and forbearance meant to produce? What happens when a person remains hard and unrepentant? [01:07:42]
Interpretation questions- Jesus says that honoring the Father cannot be separated from honoring the Son. What does this show about the idea that someone can believe in God while rejecting Jesus or treating him merely as a good teacher? [55:08]
- John 5:24 says that believers “have eternal life” and already “have passed from death to life.” How can this present assurance shape the way a Christian faces the future judgment?
- John 5:29 speaks of those who have done good and those who have done evil, while John 5:24 promises life through hearing and believing. How should good works be understood as the fruit of faith rather than a case people build to save themselves? [01:18:28]
- Romans 2 says that God’s kindness is meant to lead to repentance. What might it look like for a person to mistake God’s patience for permission to keep living in sin? [01:08:00]
Application questions- Jesus is not up for personal evaluation; he is the Lord and Judge of all. In what area of life are you most tempted to tell Jesus what is good, right, or true for you—your money, relationships, sexuality, habits, priorities, or something else? [48:03]
- A disciple brings all of life under the authority of Jesus and his word. When was the last time Scripture changed your mind, redirected a decision, or led you to take a concrete action? What might obedient change look like this week? [50:59]
- Is there something you already sense God calling you to do that you have delayed—repenting of a pattern, seeking forgiveness, being baptized, becoming meaningfully committed to the church, practicing generosity, or speaking honestly with someone? What is making that step difficult? [53:21]
- Jesus says that spiritually dead people can hear his voice now and live. Who in your life seems far from God but may need a patient invitation, a conversation, or prayer? What is one simple next step you could take toward them? [01:14:23]
- Final judgment means that evil, abuse, injustice, and hidden sin will not be ignored forever. Where do you need to entrust a wrong done against you to Christ’s perfect justice instead of carrying the burden of final vengeance yourself? [01:12:39]
- The coming judgment creates a godly fear that begins wisdom. If you remembered this week that you will give an account to Jesus, what would likely change in your choices, words, online life, or treatment of other people? [01:15:42]
- The secure answer before God is not a record of personal goodness but Jesus Christ and his finished work. When you think about standing before God, do you tend to trust your own performance, feel uncertain, or rest in Christ? What would it mean to answer simply, “Jesus”? [01:21:02]
