Go to Jesus to Receive Life

In the second half of John 5, Jesus has just healed a man at the edge of the pool of Bethesda on a Sabbath day. The religious leaders are furious. They want to kill him because he broke their tradition and because he claims to be equal with God. Instead of rejecting them, Jesus answers them. He explains who he is, where his authority comes from, and above all what the true life he came to give looks like.

The title of this passage fits in one sentence: go to Jesus to receive life. This life is not merely a matter of breathing. It is a living relationship with God, nourished every day, not only on Sunday morning.

If you feel like you are merely surviving spiritually, running after rules without ever tasting God's presence, this chapter is for you. It tells you where life comes from, how to receive it, and how to keep walking in it this week.

1. Jesus Does Everything the Father Does, Because the Father Loves Him

In verses 19 and 20, Jesus says: "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. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing."

The foundation of the unity between Jesus and the Father is not a duty tied to a role. It is not: "I am the Christ, so I must be righteous, so I must know the Father's thoughts." The foundation is love. The Father loves the Son, so he shows him everything he does. The Son loves the Father, so he obeys everything he is shown.

This changes everything for you too. Your relationship with God is not first of all a list of rules not to cross. It is a relationship of love. God loves you, he reveals to you what he does and what he desires, and you respond in turn by loving him. If you try to please God through sheer discipline without ever remembering that he loves you, you will burn out.

2. Eternal Life Is a Living Relationship with God

In verses 21 through 26, Jesus affirms that the Father has put into the Son's hands the power to give life and to judge. "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."

Eternal life begins now. It is not merely a duration, it is a quality of life: being in relationship with God, walking with him, listening to him, speaking to him.

Ask yourself this simple question: how much time each week are you actually turned toward God? If you come to worship on Sunday at 10:30 and you do not turn to him again until the following Sunday, you are living about an hour and a half out of one hundred sixty eight. The rest is as if you were dead. You are riding a roller coaster: euphoric on Sunday, flat all week, running on empty by Saturday night. It is exhausting.

Compare it to your family. If you lived under the same roof as your spouse and only spoke to them an hour and a half a week, the relationship would soon be nothing but a memory. It is the same with God. The life he gives you is measured by the depth of your relationship with him.

3. Jesus Has the Authority to Give Life and to Judge

In verses 22 through 30, Jesus says the Father has given all judgment to the Son, so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He also announces that a day is coming when all the dead will hear his voice and come out of their tombs: some to the resurrection of life, others to the resurrection of judgment.

On the day of judgment, the question asked will not be, "How many good things did you do?" The question will be, "Did you believe in Jesus Christ and receive the forgiveness of your sins?" Whoever has been declared righteous before God through faith enters into life. It is that simple, and that radical.

You do not have to ask yourself whether you are good enough. No one is. What you have to do is turn to Jesus, believe in his sacrifice and his resurrection, and receive the life he gives.

4. Four Witnesses Confirm Who Jesus Is

In verses 31 through 40, Jesus presents four testimonies that confirm his identity.

John the Baptist (v. 33-35): he pointed to Jesus as the Christ. He was "a burning and shining lamp."
The works of Jesus (v. 36): the miracles he performs testify that the Father sent him.
The Father himself (v. 37-38): God bears witness in the hearts of those who receive the word.
The Scriptures (v. 39): "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me."

The religious leaders' problem was not a lack of information. They knew the Scriptures better than most. But they did not want to come to Jesus to have life. They read the Bible as an end in itself, not as a road leading to Christ.

5. The Final Obstacle: No Love of God in the Heart

In verses 41 through 44, Jesus puts his finger on the true root of their refusal: "You do not have the love of God within you." They sought the glory that comes from man, but they did not seek the glory that comes from the only God. How could they believe under such conditions?

This word is not only for them. It reaches us too. Is my Christian life fed by a genuine love for God, or by a desire to be well regarded, to appear spiritual, to tick the boxes of a good believer?

In verses 45 through 47, Jesus ends by saying that Moses himself accuses them. They claim to believe Moses, but Moses wrote about him, and they do not believe him. The law was never meant to be a way to save yourself. It has always been a guardian that leads to Christ. It shows you how much you need a Savior.

6. How to Go to Jesus This Week

Going to Jesus is concrete. There is no need to pretend, no need to force yourself to perform. It begins right where you are, with what you already understand.

Return to the cross and the resurrection. Meditate on what Jesus did for you.
Ask for the help of the Holy Spirit. Without him, the Bible remains a foreign text. With him, it becomes food.
Hold on to one verse, one sentence, one image from the sermon that touched you. Return to it every day this week.
Pray simply. Speak to God as a Father who loves you, not as an examiner.
Reach out to a brother or sister from church. "I'm stuck on this passage, can you pray for me?" That kind of message weaves life together.

Key Takeaways

The relationship between Jesus and the Father rests on love, not duty. So does your relationship with God.
Eternal life is not a future duration. It is a living relationship with God that begins today.
At the judgment, what matters is having believed in Jesus and received his forgiveness.
The Scriptures bear witness to Christ. They are not an end in themselves, they lead to him.
The real obstacle to faith is often the absence of love for God in the heart, replaced by the pursuit of human honor.

Personal Application

How many hours this week have you actually spent turned toward God, outside of Sunday worship?
Do you live your faith as a relationship of love, or as a list of rules to follow?
When you read the Bible, are you seeking Jesus, or only information to remember?
Is there, in your life, a search for human approval that is taking the place of love for God?
What sentence or verse from this sermon will you carry with you every day this week?

Verses Cited

John 5:19-47, the Son does what the Father does, he gives life and he judges
John 5:24, passing from death to life
John 5:39-40, the Scriptures bear witness to Jesus
John 5:42-44, no love of God in the heart
Ephesians 2, children of wrath by nature, saved by grace

FAQ

Does eternal life begin after death or right now?

According to John 5:24, whoever believes in Jesus has already passed from death to life. Eternal life is a quality of relationship with God that begins today and continues after physical death. It is not only a future duration, it is a present communion.

Why does Jesus say he does nothing of his own accord?

Jesus is describing the relationship of love he lives out with the Father. The Father shows him what he does, and the Son, out of love, acts in perfect agreement with him. This is not weakness, it is the model of a unity founded on love, the very unity God calls you into with him.

How do I read the Bible without falling into dead knowledge?

Ask for the Holy Spirit's help before you open the text. Look for Jesus in what you read, not only for information. Hold on to what touches you, return to it during the week, and talk to God about it. The living Word is received in prayer, not in intellectual performance.

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