For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself

Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will. For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.

Most assuredly, I say to you, the 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 as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth -- those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation."

- John 5:19-29

In the previous reading, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost (or the Feast of Weeks). There by the Sheep Gate was a pool called Bethesda, where there were many waiting to be healed when the water was stirred. The first one in the water was said to be healed. Jesus saw a man who had been infirm for thirty-eight years, and asked him, "Do you want to be made well?" The man told Him all go to the water before him. Jesus told him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk." And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. It was the Sabbath day. When the leadership saw the man, they said, "It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed." He answered them, "He who made me well said to me, 'Take up your bed and walk.' " But he didn't know who Jesus was, and so couldn't tell the temple authorities about Him. Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, "See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you." The man departed and told the leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well. For this reason they persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working." Therefore they sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.

Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel." John's Gospel gives us Jesus' words about the equality and union of Father and Son. These words are unequivocal. The Son is completely dependent upon the Father, and yet the Father shares through love "all things that He Himself does." Jesus promises "even greater works than these, that you may marvel." As my study bible puts it, Father and Son are "united in nature, will and action."

"For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will. For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him." Even the power of life and death is also in the hands of the Son. The power of Judgment is also that power, and so great is the Father's love for the Son that the Father has given Judgment over to the Son -- so that "all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father." When Jesus tells us that "He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him," it is more than a statement about having given the power of life and death and of Judgment. It is also a statement about the truth He bears and the works He does. They are so united in nature, will, and action that he who sees the Son also sees the Father. Jesus reveals the Father to the world.

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. " So deeply does Christ represent the Father that it is through faith in His word that Judgment happens. Through this bond, the power of life becomes an everlasting gift.

Most assuredly, I say to you, the 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 as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth -- those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation." Jesus warns them of the time to come, in which Judgment happens, and the dead hear the voice of the Son. Life and death as we know it is certainly not true life and death, not the complete picture, nor the full knowing of what life is all about. Rather, in the power of life and death is also the call to new life.

My study bible notes that "judgment is based on both faith and works. The two can be distinguished, but they cannot be separated. Those who respond to the Son of God in faith and who do good will receive the gift of eternal life." For me, the salient point here becomes this power of life and death -- or rather the power to give life. What is this life? What does it mean to be called from the dead? For Jesus to possess this power is in itself a remarkable and extraordinary statement about Himself. And it also calls us toward something to which we must listen. In the power of Judgment is the power of life. Life, then, becomes something much more than merely existence. It is the power of revival, renewal, of transcending all things, all evil and hurt, all disaster, whatever it is that diminishes the quality of what it is to be truly alive, in every sense of the word. So the power of Judgment here becomes Jesus' great restorative power to call us toward a life in which all is vivified, a life in which the power of the Kingdom becomes something of infinite potential. And the bond that creates this gift is simply faith. That is, a kind of a loving trust, such that it represents and remains a part of loving bond between Father and Son. Just as Jesus represents the Father in the world, so those who lay claim upon this bond with Christ do so in "nature, will and action" to an extent that is available to them as human beings. That is, through the transformative power of spiritual life, leading to works that are good in God's sight, or that reflect God's will. So let us take in hand the nature of union in the bond of faith: it doesn't mean we follow the rules, but rather it does its transforming work in us and through us, so that we, too, reflect God's love. This may mean almost any form of God's love may manifest through an infinite variety of the personality and potential of each human being who comes to know this love. God's call is for each of us. How do you meet it?