Gary Burge in his commentary on John’s Gospel:

In my academic community, the Jewish/Christian dialogue is predicted on the notion that together we will find religious commonalities that do not offend the other party.  To speak otherwise is to “blaspheme” the process of interfaith discourse (cf. John 5:18).  In the university marketplace of ideas, Christian religious belief is generally held suspect because most assume that lurking beneath the surface is an absolute argument for truth that wants to upend secular systems of thought and faith.  They are right.

 

In a pluralistic society it is a truism that absolute claims to religious truth will lead to certain conflict.  More precisely, the “higher” my claims for Christ—that is, the more I affirm his divinity, his exclusive relationship with God—the more separation and alienation I will feel.  It is foolish to think I can have it otherwise.  Jesus was judged as a blasphemer, the incriminating designation of someone who trampled on pure religious truth.  Jesus was crucified for the strength of his disclosure about himself.  But the same is true of Jesus’ followers as well as the church of John that cherished (and lived out) this chapter.

 

John 5 poses a terrible question for me:  Am I willing to be labeled as a blasphemer to the religious canons of my day when my hour comes?  Is my church equipped to do this?  Are we ready to be judged and expelled, to experience social shame and public damning in the name of religion because we are holding on to an absolute faith in Jesus, the Son of God?  As Hoskyns says, we will be charged with religious “egotism”. 

This Sunday morning is the first of many Lord’s Day services in Idaho Falls for taking a good, detailed look at the last 30 verses of red print in John 5.  There is no passage of Scripture like this.