s find fault with He has merely acted as the
Father's agent.

From this statement the Jews concluded that He made Himself equal with
God. And they were justified in so concluding. It is only on this
understanding of His words that the defence of Jesus was relevant. If He
meant only to say that He imitated God, and that because God did not
rest on the Sabbath, therefore He, a holy Jew, might work on the
Sabbath, His defence was absurd. Our Lord did not mean that He was
imitating the Father, but that His work was as indispensable as the
Father's, was the Father's. My Father from the beginning up till now
worketh, giving life to all; and I work in the same sphere, giving life
as His agent and almoner to men. The work of quickening the impotent man
was the Father's work. In charging Him with breaking the Sabbath they
were charging the Father with breaking it.

But this gives Jesus an opportunity of more clearly describing His
relation to God. He declares He is in such perfect harmony with God that
it is impossible for Him to do either that miracle or any other work at
His own instigation. "The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He
seeth the Father doing." "I can of myself do nothing." He had power to
do it, but no will. He had life in Himself, and could give it to whom
He pleased; but so perfect was His sympathy with God, that it was
impossible for Him to act where God would not have Him act. So trained
was He to perceive the Divine purpose, so habituated to submit Himself
to it, that He could neither mistake His Father's will nor oppose it. As
a conscientious man when pressed to do a wrong thing says, No, really I
_cannot_ do it; as a son who might happen to be challenged for injuring
His father's business would indignantly repudiate the possibility of
such a thing. "What do I live for," he would say, "but to further my
father's views? My father's interests and mine are identical, our views
and purposes are identical. I _cannot_ do anything antagonistic to him."
So Jesus had from the first recognised God as His Father, and had so
true and deep a filial feeling that really it was the joy of His life to
do His will.

This, then, was the idea the Lord sought to impress on the people on the
first occasion on which He had a good opportunity of speaking in public.
He cannot do anything save what is suggested to Him by consideration of
God's will. Even as a boy He had begun to have this filial feeling.
"Wist ye not that I