When the Pharisees persecuted Jesus for healing the man on the Sabbath, he answered, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working” (John 44:17). Immediately the Jews were offended that he had called God is Father. This was considered sacrilegious. No one called God Father. Giving God that titled was equivalent to making one’s self equal with God.
Jesus knew exactly how the Pharisees would perceive his statement. Jesus was indeed calling himself equal to God (John 1:1-3). Jesus goes on to say, “The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father do; whatever he does, the Son also does in like manner” (John 5:19).
Some have cut off Jesus’ sentence in the middle quoting, “The Son can do nothing.” But that is stopping mid sentence and gives an inaccurate account of Jesus’ words ( 2 Tim 2:15). Jesus is not declaring his inability to work miracles. He is declaring that he does nothing without the Father. In fact he says, “What he sees the Father do, whatever he does, the Son also does.
God the Father and God the Son work together in unity. The Son is the exact representation of the Father in every way (Hebrews 1:3). What we learn about the Son we are learning about the Father.
