God has ascended with a mighty shout.
….The Lord has ascended with trumpets blaring.
Sing praises to God, sing praises;
….sing praises to our King, sing praises! Psalm 47:5-6 NLT

John 5:18-23 (<<click here to read the passage)

Modern-day may be a bit different but for generations, it was not unusual for offspring to take on the occupations of their parents. Educators, law enforcement, medical professionals, you name it, there are many examples of carrying on the family tradition. I’m a third-generation pastor. I know of chiropractors whose fathers were chiropractors, nurses whose mothers were nurses, educators whose parents were educators. Those who worked in trades often had the same outcome.

Part of the story, I’m sure, is that often as the son or daughter grew up, the lifestyle and mindsets of their parents concerning their vocation were ingrained in their psyche. They already have a leg up on everyone else because they have seen it lived out every day of their lives.

Jesus learned from and took after His Father, as well. Yes, they were one in essence and nature – Jesus Himself said in John 10:30, “The Father and I are one.” NLT

But throughout the Gospels, Jesus consistently pulls Himself away from the crowds and His disciples to spend quality time with His Father.

Here are just a few passages where Jesus did just that.

After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone. Matthew 14:23 NLT

Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray. Mark 1:35 NLT

One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night. At daybreak he called together all of his disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles. Luke 6:12-13 NLT

Jesus was like His Father, through and through, because He spent great amounts of time with Him. He communicated with Him about everything. He sought Him out for guidance and comfort during difficult times. The Father’s character and mindset was lived out every day in Jesus’ life.

The Jewish leaders chaffed under this aspect of who Jesus was because they just couldn’t accept it. To them it was blasphemous. It was so offensive that by this time they were trying to figure out a way to kill Him! Verse 18 lays out their frustration, “…he not only broke the Sabbath, he called God his Father, thereby making himself equal with God.” NLT

Though they flat out rejected it, Jesus tried to explain,

“I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing… In addition, the Father judges no one. Instead, he has given the Son absolute authority to judge, so that everyone will honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son is certainly not honoring the Father who sent him.” v19-20a, 22-23

The Son was just like His Father. When they rejected Jesus, they blindly rejected the Father as well.

Lord Jesus, may we take to heart the truth of who You are. And in turn, may we reflect the You in our lives, too. May we get in the habit of spending some much time in communion with You that Your light shines regularly through our lives. Amen.

May 18th, 2021, Tues, 7:21 pm