Why did the Jews seek to kill Jesus according to John 5:18? Setting the stage • Jesus had just healed a man who had been disabled for thirty-eight years (John 5:1-9). • He told the man, “Pick up your mat and walk,” an action performed on the Sabbath that immediately drew the attention and ire of the religious leaders (John 5:10-16). What John 5:18 actually says “Because of this, therefore, the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He was not only breaking the Sabbath, but He was also calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.” Two intertwined charges that fueled their hostility 1. Breaking the Sabbath • The fourth commandment demanded rest on the seventh day (Exodus 20:8-11). • Over time, layers of rabbinic tradition had accumulated, defining even compassionate acts of healing as “work.” • By telling the healed man to carry his mat, Jesus openly challenged those traditions (cf. Mark 3:1-6; Luke 13:10-17). • Jesus repeatedly testified that He is “Lord of the Sabbath” (Matthew 12:8), asserting His right to define true Sabbath rest. 2. Claiming equality with God • The text says Jesus was “calling God His own Father”—an exclusive, familial claim beyond the customary “our Father” used in corporate prayer. • The leaders recognized that such language placed Jesus on equal footing with God Himself, an offense they labeled blasphemy (Leviticus 24:16). • Similar outrage surfaces later: “You, a mere man, claim to be God” (John 10:33). Why these charges mattered so much to them • Their understanding of holiness saw any perceived Sabbath violation as rebellion against God’s Law. • Their view of monotheism could not conceive of the Eternal sharing His glory with anyone else (Isaiah 42:8). • For them, the combination of Sabbath violation and claimed divinity justified the death penalty, as their law prescribed for blasphemers. Scripture reinforces Jesus’ divine identity • John 1:1, 14 – “The Word was God… the Word became flesh.” • Philippians 2:5-6 – Christ Jesus “existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped.” • Hebrews 1:3 – “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His nature.” • Thomas’s confession captures it: “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28). The larger narrative arc • John notes the leaders’ murderous intent multiple times (John 7:1, 25; 11:53). • Each confrontation heightens the tension leading to the cross, where the same accusations—Sabbath lawbreaking and blasphemy—resurface (Matthew 26:63-66). Takeaway summary The Jews sought to kill Jesus because, in their eyes, He shattered their Sabbath traditions and unmistakably claimed equality with God. His works and words revealed His true identity; their hardened hearts perceived only lawbreaking and blasphemy. |
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