…the Son can do nothing of his own accord but only what he sees his Father doing. Jesus

By Dean Collins

If it was true for Jesus, then it has huge implications for us as his followers! If Jesus could do nothing on his own accord, then what makes us think we can wander off on our own path and accomplish anything of value? Yet over and over, we default to trusting ourselves over trusting in the promises and provision of God.

He came to do the Father’s business

Right after Jesus healed the man at the pool of Bethesda, the religious leaders began making plans to kill Jesus. It wasn’t because the man took up his bed and walked on the Sabbath that they were so upset. People broke the traditions and interpretations of the Pharisees on a regular basis. And even though the scribes and Pharisees didn’t like Jesus doing his miracles on the Sabbath, what they were really angry with was that by claiming that he and his father were working together, he claimed to be equal with God. And that really set the Pharisees off.

John took the rest of chapter 5 to give a deeper explanation of who Jesus was and what he came to do. At the end of Luke chapter 2, we read about Jesus at age 12 explaining scripture to the rabbis in the temple. What Jesus said at age 12 was consistent with what he said at age 30; “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” Here in John 5, Jesus takes this teaching one step further. He must be in the Father’s house because he came to do the Father’s business.

Choose to follow Jesus

We know from the gospels that Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness being tempted by Satan. We also know from the writer of Hebrews that Jesus fully understands our struggle with temptation because he was tempted as we are. When Jesus chose not to give into temptation, he stayed within his Father’s will and made it possible that he might be the sinless sacrifice that would take away our sins and all the sins of the world.

When we choose to sin, we are choosing to do things on our own instead of following Jesus. Anytime we sin, we are wandering off on our own. Because of the blood of Christ shed for our sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit who now lives in us, we can in fact choose to follow Jesus just as Jesus chose to follow his Father’s will.

The essence of the Sermon on the Mount is Jesus teaching us how to not wander off on our own but rather to align our thinking and our behavior with his life which reflects the ethics and actions of the Kingdom of God.

Later in John 14 just hours before Jesus would take our place on the cross, he told his disciples that after the Holy Spirit had come, we would be able to do even greater things than the disciples had seen. He declared that when we pray in his name, we can pray bold prayers that would change the world. But none of the wonderful things God wants to do through us is possible if we divert to doing things on our own and our way. Only a life submitted to the will of God can achieve the results that Jesus said were possible.

Father, forgive us for the many times and ways we have turned our back on you thinking that we can do better on our own than we can when we align ourselves with you. Today, we ask that you forgive us and fill us with your Spirit that we might have the courage to surrender everything to you. We know that then you take our weakness and fill us with the courage and strength to follow you wherever you lead. In Jesus name,
Amen

Your Time with God’s Word
John 5:19-30; Luke 2:47-49; Hebrews 4:15 ; John 14:12-14 ESV

Photo by Mads Schmidt Rasmussen on Unsplash
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