John 5:19-47
Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. “For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will marvel. “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes. “For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. “For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. "Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.
“I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
“If I alone testify about Myself, My testimony is not true. “There is another who testifies of Me, and I know that the testimony which He gives about Me is true. “You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth. “But the testimony which I receive is not from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. “He was the lamp that was burning and was shining and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.
“But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish—the very works that I do—testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me. “And the Father who sent Me, He has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form. “You do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent. “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.
“I do not receive glory from men; but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves. “I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive him. “How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?
“Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope. “For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. “But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”
COMMENTARY
John 5:19-47
The beginning of this section, in According to John, introduces Jesus responding to the Jews that were now seeking all the more to kill... HIM. They, as a result of Him claiming God to be His Father, stepped up the level of intensity from persecution to out right premeditated murder. Jesus, with the ink now fresh on wanted posters, was no longer a pest but a problem and threat to their......... position, power, money, prestige, heritage, national security, etc. Hence, 'Let's kill him.' Be no mistaking, God was at the center of their religious lives but they neglected the most important issue.
19. Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them This whole section is Jesus speaking. He 'answered' them even though they did NOT ask a question. Let it be noted before we go any further that Jesus, the Son of God, not only answers your questions, He knows what you are questioning even though you are confident of your statement that is not yet a question. That is why the text of this section is overwhelmingly red, which is the pattern of major translations demarcating Jesus speaking. As we look at Chapter 5 as a whole, we note that it has 47 verses. The first 18 verses tell of the multifaceted cast in the situation that brings Jesus to speak of His very personal relationship with His Father. The last 28 verses speak of the divine relationship. “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. Don't you wish all earthly father/son relations worked out in this manner? Fathers, keep that in mind as we move through this section. Sons, pattern your life-long relation with your earthly father as Jesus did with His heavenly Father.
20. “For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will marvel. Interesting to note that one of the primary benefits of the Father loving and involving the Son is that WE may marvel. Yes, this is a relationship to behold. This relationship is a pattern for all Father / Son relationships. The Greek word θαυμάζητε translated 'marvel' in the New American Standard also depicts respect, honor, marvel, worship, wonder, admire and astonishment. The relationship between the Father and the Son provides an illustration that defines the object of our worship. 21. “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes. Note that the Father raises from the dead. This is key regarding Jesus' resurrection. His Father called Him forth. The resurrection of Jesus Christ will soon be regarded as the ultimate approval of His Father for the redemption of sin. Jesus is about the business of life and He has the authority or permission to bestow life on whoever He wishes. 22. “For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, 23. so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. When you step into a contemporary courtroom, this issue is brought out. The one who is 'honored' is the one who 'judges.' When we address 'your honor' in our courtrooms, we are addressing the judge. Therefore, the Son is the one who judges and is to be honored. His position of honor, however, was given to him by his Father. The Greek word τιμάω translated 'honor' in its various forms in this sentence means "to fix the value or to price." It also means "estimate, value, or esteem." This word is rarely used in the context of an 'award' as something 'to give as an honor.' The issue here is honor. What or who do you honor, or place a high price? 24. “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. This is an echo of John 3:16-17. The Son has the authority to proclaim in word, grant eternal life, provide escape from judgment, pull out of death and bring into life. Do you hear? And, to what are you listening? Do you believe? Who do you believe? You have this life (maybe) but do you have the next? Are facing judgment? Or, do you have a personal escort into the courtroom who is also the Judge Himself? Does your life depict death or life? Has there been a "passing" in your life? The Greek word means: to pass from one state of being to another. This is much like passing from North Carolina into South Carolina on the way to Atlanta, Georgia. It is like passing from one subject to another when writing or speaking. The Greeks also frequently attached a nuance of pursuing eagerly to the as you go passing. When you pass from death, there is a leaving of death. When you are now in LIFE, you are forever in LIFE. The Apostle Paul said it this way in his letter to the Colossians (1:13-14) "For He rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His dear Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." What have you left? Or, have you just added religion to your present state? Jesus calls you to relocate. 25. “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26. “For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; 27. and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. Did you catch that authority transfer? The authority to judge is once again articulated to be with the Son. You think that the Old Testament is rough as God judges the enemies of Israel, Israel itself and then Judah? The Son has the authority to execute judgment. The Greek word translated 'execute' means to separate, decide, distinguish, choose, elect, trial or interpret judgment. In the Son we now know the intent and perpetuation of judgment. Apart from the Son there is no understanding or experience of judgment. Why? For in the Son is the antithesis of judgment: LIFE. 28. “Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, 29. and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.
30. “I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. Isn't this great. The only begotten Son, who has been given the authority to judge, is humbly noting that He, Himself owes all that He is to His Father. All that He seeks is in total agreement with His Father. This is the model of all father/son relationships. This was the design, but sin twists and kills its intent and our hope. 31. “If I alone testify about Myself, My testimony is not true. Even though Jesus will one day soon return to His position at the right hand of His Father, he knows and makes sure that we know that this is not about Himself. This is from and about His Father. This is about the Father's kingdom and the Father's reputation. This is the Father's testimony and Jesus tells of His transfer of authority. It is not that Jesus says this about Himself, it is that His Father says this about Him. Therefore all Christians should follow Jesus' example for the basis of their being. It is not what we say about ourselves, it is what our Father says about us that is true regardless of how confident or abased we find ourselves. 32. “There is another who testifies of Me, and I know that the testimony which He gives about Me is true. 33. “You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth. 34. “But the testimony which I receive is not from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35. “He was the lamp that was burning and was shining and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. Jesus, having a very dear and high regard for John (the Baptist), is making sure that He validates John's ministry while qualifying its purpose. John (the Baptist) was sent to be a light shining in the wilderness, and to make a way for the coming of Jesus, the Light (According to John 1:6-8).
36. “But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish—the very works that I do—testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me. 37. “And the Father who sent Me, He has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form. 38. “You do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent. In this section we have a repeated term: testimony or testified. The Greek adds to the repetitiveness by using the same root, μαρτυρέω, for our English translation of 'witness.' As a result of proclaiming His Father, Jesus makes a striking statement to those known for their religiosity. They: 1. have never heard God's voice, 2. have never seen God, 3. do not have God's word in them, and 4. do not believe God. No wonder they were looking to kill Jesus. He completely tore down all of their professional and credentialed motives, religious traditions, national and ethnic pride. 39. “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; 40. and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life. Jesus further reveals their processes based on their motives in that their professional endeavors, even though well intended, provide barriers and distractions from the truth. Religion is a powerful tool in the hands of Satan, the Devil. Here is his main battleground. Satan will let you be ultra-religious, quoting the Bible from Genesis to Revelation including the Apocrypha, in order to keep you from knowing the Father and the Son. For this is eternal life: knowing God. Not just knowing about Him. 41. “I do not receive glory from men; 42. but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves. 43. “I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44. “How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?
