S – Jesus responded to them, “My Father is still working, and I am working also.” ¹⁸ This is why the Jews began trying all the more to kill him: Not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal to God. 

John 5:17–18 CSB

O – Commentary:

Jewish prayers often called God “Father,” as the Father of Israel; the issue here is that Jesus seems to treat his relationship to the Father in a special way (see e.g., Ex 4:22–23; Is 63:16; 64:8; Jer 3:19). Because Jesus appears to usurp prerogatives solely attributed to God (5:17—the right to work on the sabbath), his hearers think that he thereby claims a position equal to that of God, a claim that naturally sounds blasphemous to them

The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament

A – In hindsight, it is not a “big deal” that Jesus claimed a relationship with God and even equality.  In that day, it was truly a strong statement that the Jewish leaders would find offensive and punishable.  We cannot take for granted the “shift” that Jesus made in many aspects of life.  This one is central to our own faith today.  Jesus is God, in the form of a man, who came to earth and took the penalty of our sins on himself.  We can have a relationship with God because of him.

R – Heavenly Father, you are our Savior.  Thank you for sending Jesus to die for our sins so we may have relationship with you.  He paid a price that we could never pay. We choose that relationship today and move toward a genuine walk with you.