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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 yesterday's reading, we read about Jesus going to Jerusalem for a festival, a feast of the Jews. Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had. Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?" The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me." Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk." And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. And that day was the Sabbath. The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, "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.'" Then they asked him, "Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed and walk'?" But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place. 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 Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. For this reason the Jews 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 the Jews 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." My study bible has a note on the whole passage, which reads: "The discourse here shows the Father and the Son are so united in nature, will and action that the Son fully shares the divine attributes of giving life and executing judgment. This 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." Here, Jesus begins speaking of the intimate nature of connection between Father and Son.
"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 . . . " My study bible points out here that Jesus is speaking to the leadership about the Judgment that is to come. It says, "Christ in His glory will be the Judge of the world at the Second Coming." Jesus is expressing the tremendous sharing between Father and 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." Jesus is not only proclaiming His equality with the Father, but also expressing the Father's love for the Son, and therefore that the honor given the Son is also honoring the Father. Jesus' word, being the word given by the Father, is worthy of our faith. So much so, that by the bond of that faith, we may enter into the eternal life of Christ.
"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 gives a very emphatic and powerful affirmation not only of His relationship as Son to the Father, but also an expression of the Judgment. Even in these verses above, there are at least three affirmations about the Judgment, and the inevitable reality of that Judgment. It's a very vivid statement: in the Greek "most assuredly" is a double "amen amen" - and we're told the dead will hear the voice of the Son, and those who have heard will live. So in some sense we return to themes of those who can hear the word.
In a way, we begin today's reading by reflecting on the events in yesterday's reading, when Jesus found a paralytic waiting by the Sheep Gate, who needed healing. It is initiated by Jesus, asking, "Do you want to be made well?" This is the voice of the Shepherd, calling to one of His sheep. In today's reading, we get a repeated idea of the voice of the Son, God the Word, and how we hear God's word. While speaking of the power of life and Judgment, Jesus tells the leadership, "He who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life." "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." And "all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth." Looking at these words in this juxtaposition, we could read the words "and now is" as telling us that this is the time when "the dead" -- those who are in spiritual paralysis -- have the opportunity to hear His word and live, to come to life, as the paralytic who was able in yesterday's reading to take up his bed and walk. Over and over again, the Gospels will emphasize how we hear, if we have the capacity to hear, and Jesus will quote Isaiah repeatedly, saying, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" Today's reading ties in the power of life, of the Resurrection, and the power to hear. He who hears this word and trusts it, believes in it, enters into the eternal life of the Son. So, we keep coming back to how we hear, if we hear, when we hear -- but now it is tied to the power of Life itself, and to the Judgment, in the Son. Let us remember the hour is coming, and now is.
