18 Because of this, the Jews tried all the harder to kill Him. Not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.

19 So Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing by Himself, unless He sees the Father doing it. For whatever the Father does, the Son also does.

— John 5:18-19

1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

2 And by the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on that day He rested from all His work.

3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on that day He rested from all the work of creation that He had accomplished.

— Genesis 2:1-3

27 All creatures look to You to give them their food in due season.

28 When You give it to them, they gather it up; when You open Your hand, they are satisfied with good things.

— Psalm 104:27-28

Thoughts on Today’s Reading

Grace, joy and peace to you from God.

God worked six days to create the universe and He rested from His work of creation on the seventh day which is called the Sabbath. He desires man to find delight and enter the same rest with Him on the Sabbath. Babies are born, crops grow, and the wind blows on the Sabbath just like every other day. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit constantly work together to redeem and restore humanity from sin’s curse. In this very moment, the Lord Jesus Christ is “sustaining all things by His powerful word.”

Confronted by Jewish religious leaders concerning healing a lame man on Sabbath, Jesus revealed His union with His Father and specific ways He exercised His authority as God’s Son. Jesus explained His equality with God. Jesus emphasized the absolute truth of His claims by stating, “Truly truly I tell you.” Jesus exercises submission to His Father in everything He says and does. Jesus never seeks to do His own will. Jesus’ dependence on His Father keeps Him from acting on His own, but allows Him to actively accomplish His Father’s plan. The harmony between God and Jesus cannot be overstated, while the distinctiveness between them remains mysterious.