"Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God." John 5:18
There are many passages of the bible that are often misrepresented by those who want to refute the claims of Christ's divinity, therefore, it will be helpful to examine such passages and see whether they actually are saying what they are purported to be saying about the deity of Christ. The most common of these passages is found in the passage above. The two charges of the Jews against Jesus were for breaking the Sabbath and saying that God was His Father. According to them, saying that God was His Father was the same as saying that He was equal with God. It is important to note that Jesus did not refute their accusation, therefore, it can be reasonably implied that He agreed with their charge. Nowhere in the bible do we see Jesus denying that He was the Son of God? Indeed, it was for this claim that the elders of Israel tried Him and found Him guilty of blasphemy in their kangaroo court of injustice.
To be clear, the Jews, with whom Jesus was speaking understood very clearly that any claim by anyone to being the Son of God was a claim of equality with God. This is clearly illustrated in the trial of Jesus Christ when the elders of Israel asked Him, "Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?" Mark 14:61. Jesus' answer to this question was, "I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven." Upon this response to their question, they found Him guilty of blasphemy, and on this account they crucified Him. But what was the charge against Him? "He made Himself equal to God because He said that God was His Father." This means that saying that God was His Father was understood by the Jews to mean equality with God. So by accepting that He was the Son of God, He was simply telling the Jews who questioned Him, that He was equal with God.
Now, returning to the original point of Jesus saying that the Father who sent Him is greater than Him. Was this a rebuttal by Jesus Christ of the accusation of the Jews against Him that He was claiming equality with God? This cannot possibly be the case because we find Jesus accepting worship elsewhere in the bible where He was called Lord, and God by Thomas. "And Thomas answered and said unto him, My LORD and my God." John 20:28. Also in John 9:38, Jesus received worship from the blind man who He restored sight to. "And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him." Since Jesus clearly is seen accepting worship, without stopping those who worshipped Him, it will be inconsistent of Him to say that He is not God, since only God is qualified for worship.
So what exactly did Jesus mean when He told the Jews in John 5:18 that the Father that sent Him was greater than Him? To answer this question will require that we understand the concept of God, and the dual nature of Christ. Since we have seen that Christ never forbade those who worshipped Him from doing so, it is logical to also conclude that Jesus claimed He was God. What this means is that in Him dwelt two natures, a divine nature and a sinless human nature. The implication of this is that in His divine nature, He was equal with God, but in His human nature, He was subordinate to the Father. When the concept of God is truly understood, there will be no difficulty in understanding what Jesus Christ meant when He said that the Father who sent Him was greater than Him. Micah 5:2
Toni
