John 5:18
John 5:1818Because of this, the Jews tried all the harder to kill Him. Not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.
JWs acknowledge that the Jews accused Jesus of "making himself equal to God" in , but argue this was a false charge that Jesus never endorsed. The Watchtower teaches that Jesus responded by emphasising his subordination to the Father (), proving he did not claim deity. "Son of God" is understood as a title of appointment and honour, not an ontological claim to share God's nature.
records that the Jews understood Jesus' claim to have God as "his own Father" (Greek: patera idion) as "making himself equal to God." The narrator reports this as a factual observation, not a misunderstanding the reader should dismiss. In John's Gospel, "Son of God" is the very claim the Jews considered blasphemy punishable by death — makes this explicit: "you, being a man, make yourself God." Jesus' response in does not deny equality; it explains its nature: the Son does everything the Father does (v. 19), gives life as the Father gives life (v. 21), judges as the Father entrusts judgment (v. 22), and receives the same honour as the Father (v. 23). When Thomas later confesses "My Lord and my God" (), Jesus commends his faith without correction — unlike the angel who rebukes worship in .