For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.
19 Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Fatherdoes, the Son does likewise. 20 The Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing; and he will show him greater works than these, so that you will be astonished. 21 Indeed, just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whomever he wishes. 22 The Father judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son, 23 so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. 24 Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgment, but has passed from death to life.
- Jesus describes God as his father. This unique appellation annoyed the religious leaders.
- What the Father does, the Son does, even including initiating the resurrection of the dead.
- And yet they are not the same person. The Father sends the Son. This raises the question of the nature of the Trinity. More than the Synoptics, John gives us a lot of material about the Father, Son, and Spirit.
- Father, Son, and Spirit are all divine. They are all God in nature, or essence.
- Yet the Son and the Spirit proceed from the Father. The Son is begotten, not made. The Father is their origin. Further, we see in John a consistent pattern of obedience: Son to Father. This is not limited to the time of Jesus' earthly ministry. It is true also of time in eternity. The Son is incarnate, not the Father. And the Son will turn the kingdom over to the Father at the end (1 Cor 15). So the members of the Trinity are equal in nature, but not in order (rank).
- Thirdly, the members of the Trinity have different attributes. The Father cannot become flesh. No one can see God (the Father), but whoever sees Jesus sees God (1:18; 14:9). Whereas Father and Son communicate verbally, there is no such communication between Spirit and Father or Son (as far as I can see in Scripture -- though they must be "in communication" somehow).
- If this is confusing, three points may help:
- We must avoid the extremes of Tritheism and Modalism.
- Tritheism = three separate Gods
- Modalism = one person, revealed in different ways. (Think of water in its three states.)
- "God" in the NT nearly always refers to the Father.
- The Son is subordinate to the Father. Equality of nature isn't the same thing as equality of rank. (You are just as human as your boss at work, and equal before the law, but definitely not equal in terms of your company and employment. God calls the man to be a spiritual leader in the home, yet this hardly means that his wife and children are less than 100% human.)
- Moreover, Jesus claimed that the Father had entrusted all judgment to him. No wonder the leaders were determined to do away with him!
- If we truly honor God, we must also revere his Son (v.23). There are two implications:
- We must become intentionally become followers of Christ. No one is a Christian by virtue of being a nice person.
- We must continue to follow Jesus on an ongoing basis.
- All who believe cross over from death to life (v.24).
- Obviously this does not happen the moment we have faith, otherwise Peter's reply to the big question in Acts 2:37 would have been inane.
- Crossing over involves hearing the word of Christ, and responding.
- For more on the transition from death to life, read Romans 6:1-7.
25 “Very truly, I tell you, the hour is coming, and is now here, 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, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself; 27 and he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. 28 Do not be astonished at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and will come out—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.
- At the last day, all will rise.
- Whereas the “crossing over” from death to life of verse 24 is spiritual, the resurrection of verse 25 is physical.
- At Jesus’ voice the dead will rise bodily (vv.26-29). See also Daniel 12:2.
- The apostle Paul speaks further of this transformation in 1 Corinthians 15.
- This resurrection will be followed by judgment (v.27ff).
- There are not two separate resurrections (events), but one (with two possible outcomes).
30 “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just, because I seek to do not my own will but the will of him who sent me.
- Again, notice the obedience and subordination of the Son.
- Jesus consistently seeks to obey the will of the Father. How about you and me?
- Jesus always carried out the will, and conveyed to mankind the words, of his father (v.30; see also 6:38, 8:29).
31 “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. 32 There is another who testifies on my behalf, and I know that his testimony to me is true. 33 You sent messengers to John, and he testified to the truth. 34 Not that I accept such human testimony, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35 He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. 36 But I have a testimony greater than John’s. The works that the Father has given me to complete, the very works that I am doing, testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me has himself testified on my behalf. You have never heard his voice or seen his form, 38 and you do not have his word abiding in you, because you do not believe him whom he has sent.
- Re: testimony (v.31): "But no one is to be believed when he testifies about himself" (Ketubbot 2:9).
- In rejecting the testimony of John the Baptist, who clearly pointed to Christ, the people of Israel were even more guilty (v.33ff).
- Jesus' ministry itself is a testimony to his truthfulness (v.36). In short, there is no excuse for rejecting Jesus Christ.
39 “You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify on my behalf. 40 Yet you refuse to come to me to have life. 41 I do not accept glory from human beings. 42But I know that you do not have the love of God in you. 43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; if another comes in his own name, you will accept him. 44 How can you believe when you accept glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the one who alone is God? 45 Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; your accuser is Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 46 If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. 47 But if you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?”
- Jesus dismissed his listeners’ religion as completely bogus (vv.37ff).
- They had never heard his voice, his word.
- They had never seen his form. Their conception of God was grossly inaccurate.
- Despite all their Bible study, they rejected the Christ of whom the scriptures testify.
- They did not have the love of God in their hearts.
- Their error is underscored in that they accept those who speak in their own name (by their own authority, misrepresenting God), while refusing to accept Christ, who truly spoke the truth of God.
- They sought praise from one another, but did not genuinely seek the approval of God.
- Despite their claim to follow Moses (see also 9:28), they did not in fact believe what he wrote concerning the Messiah.
- The verb in verse 39 has been rendered two ways: you study or study. This is because in the Greek, the second person plural form of the present active imperative is identical to the second person plural form of the present active indicative. The ambiguity does not exist in Aramaic, the original language of exchange.
- Jesus does not accept praise from men (vv. 41,44). That is, his decisions are not motivated by the approval of others -- to which he is indifferent. (Of course we may praise Jesus, as we praise God, and this offering is accepted and acceptable [Heb 13:18], but that's a different sense of the word.)
- Moses spoke of Christ (vv.45-47).
- See, for example, Numbers 24:17-19 and Deuteronomy 18:15-19.
- The O.T. is the foundation of the N.T. This means that unless we are diligent students of the O.T. Law, Prophets, and Writings, we will never truly master the N.T.
- Thus, although the Jews challenged the validity of Jesus' claims, Jesus has refuted them by demonstrating that there are in fact four witnesses to his truthfulness: John the Baptist, the Word of God, the works of Jesus, and God himself.
Application
- Do I honor the Son in my daily life?
- If I have been a Christian for some time, do I appreciate the fact that I have crossed over from death to life? When I pray, how often am I thanking the Lord for my salvation?
- Do I diligently study the scriptures? And if so, am I willing to "come to Christ," or do I insist on Christianity on my own terms?
- Do I accept "praise from men"? When we receive positive feedback, we ought to be gracious, and without false modesty. And yet we are never to base our confidence or salvation on the approval of others.