The Most Startling Claim Ever Made, Part 1

We are embarking now on a passage that may be the Holy of Holies of the gospel of John. This is the inner sanctuary in a very real sense.

In John chapter 5, verses 17 to 47, that entire section, long section is one discourse. All of this section comes from the very mouth of the Lord Jesus Christ. And He is speaking to the Jewish leaders of Israel who are designated by John as the Jews. They want Him dead. They consider Him a blasphemer of the worst kind. They are convinced that He is a threat to their religion, their self-styled secure religious position and power. They see Him as scorning the conventional wisdom as dishonoring God, as threatening the sanctity of their religious system. He has already attacked the Temple with such passion that He evacuated the Temple all by Himself at the very height of a Passover celebration. That’s how He launched His ministry.