Posts
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 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 Saturday's reading, we were told that there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 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 thew 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 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. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these 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." My study bible says that when Jesus tells the leadership that the Son can do nothing of Himself, He proves that His every act and word is in complete unity with the Father and the Holy Spirit. The discourse tells us that Father and Son are completely united in nature, will, and action. "Thus," my study bible says, "the Son fully shares the divine attributes of both giving life and executing judgment. Christ's judgment is based on both faith (v. 24) and works (v. 29)."
"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." My study bible suggests that when Jesus speaks of the dead here, He's referring to both the spiritually dead, who will find life in Christ, and to the physically dead, who will rise in the general resurrection. "Christ confirms this statement by raising Lazarus from the dead before going to His own death." These last verses (including verse 24) are read at the Orthodox funeral service, "confirming the same reward for those who fall asleep in faith."
Life is the big message here, the power of life. Here is the subject of death and Judgment, but the real message is in the power of life that is a part of the identity of who Jesus is. He's the one who holds the power of life in mutual consent of the Father, in shared will. The healing of the man at the Sheep Gate (in yesterday's reading) is meant to be entirely tied not only to the healing made possible through a "holy man" (not something unknown), but rather to the entirely extraordinary: that this Healer is the One who has the power of life in Him, and needs no other to give that life. "As the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself." Along with life comes also the "authority to execute Judgment." This judgment comes as a result of the power of this life in the flesh, Christ's Incarnation as Son of Man. It is tied to the Cross, to the central event of Jesus' power in this world, Crucifixion, death, and Resurrection. The Son has life in Himself, but even He will do works that convey the power of Judgment, and this is His mission in the world as Son of Man. Christ Himself sets an example of faith and works; as Son He has always had the power of life, and as Son of Man He has the authority to execute judgment as well. Our Creator is therefore not a divine being who sits afar and watches, nor does He judge from afar. Our Creator is with us, as Son of Man, living a life as a man, one in which He will suffer and sacrifice His life for us, for the life of the world. It is an entirely active love, a "being" present always in the power of love and the power of life. He is always making all things new and working actively in us and with us with that power of life. That is the power of the I AM, the Burning Bush in its illustration of fire telling us about this burning energy that is always with us, always present, always at work. Let us remember our love we return to Him, and the works produced in that love that are always present and available to us to do each day. It is with us every moment of our lives, and lives through everything that is in this world, every part of our lives. As Son of Man, our God is also fully human; there is nothing in this world left out of His capacity for redemption, His reach, His healing energy.
