EQUAL!
So the Jewish leaders tried all the harder to find a way to kill him. For he not only broke the Sabbath, he called God his Father, thereby making himself equal with God. —John 5:18
Original Word: ἴσος, η, ον
Part of Speech: Adjective
Transliteration: isos
Phonetic Spelling: (ee’-sos)
Short Definition: equal, identical
Definition: equal, equivalent, identical. http://biblehub.com/greek/2470.htm
This verse above and others (John 1:1; Colossians 1:15-18; Hebrews 1:1-14; I John 1:1-2), show us that the Son is equal to the Father. The Jewish people understood what He was saying in the verse above and wanted to stone Him for it. They wanted to stone Him again in John 10:31-33—“Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?” “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.” So it was in John 8:56-59 —“Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.” “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!” “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.
How amazing is it that Jesus, God in the flesh (John 1:14), equal to the Father, was willing to come to this planet, take the punishment for our sins on the cross, die and rise again from the dead so that we could be saved from our sin. Truly, how great the love of God is for us (I John 4:7-16). Let us ponder anew that the Creator and Sustainer of all things… loves us! Bask in that reality!
Dear Father in heaven, I marvel at Who Jesus is and how that You sent Him to this planet to take on a body, live among us, die for us, rise again for us that we could be forgiven of our sin, live for Him now and be with Him in glory one day. Oh, thank You for Your great love for us. May joy fill my heart continually over knowing this and may I live a life of gratitude.