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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
Yesterday, we read 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 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. 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." Jesus begins the discourse on the nature of the relationship between Father and Son. The first thing we understand is His total dependence, as Son, upon the Father. This is not only unity of power but also unity of will. The will of the Father and of the Son are rooted in love, and the nature of this power is life itself. Jesus immediately links the power of life with Judgment: all judgment is given to the Son, and thereby the power of life is also in the Son.
"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." My study bible says that the dead refers both to the spiritually dead, who will find life in Christ, and to the physically dead, who will rise in the general resurrection. The great sign of this will come as the seventh sign in John's Gospel, the raising of Lazarus from the dead (11:38-44). Jesus connects His word with Him who sent Me, the Father. In this sense, His word is the offer of life itself.
"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." The judgment that has been given to the Son also rests in the fact that He is the Son of Man. As Incarnate Son, fully human and fully divine, and having experienced human death, the risen Christ will have all authority for judgment.
Jesus speaks of His relationship with the Father. As Son, He shares unity with the Father (and the Holy Spirit) in nature, will, and action. He speaks of love as the basis and essential "glue" of this relationship: it is the Father's love for the Son that creates such unity: He shows the Son all things, and in turn the Son is completely dependent upon the Father. It reminds us once again that the Son has been given to the world in order to bring the gift of life to the world - out of love for the world (John 3:16). But this gift is ultimately bound up with the judgment, and it depends, really, on how we respond to the gift. The gift of life is in the words He's given from the Father, which are given to us. How do we respond? Jesus will live His life as human being, experiencing the worst the world has to give, the struggles we face, even death -- and that is one of great suffering, enormous pain, anguish, and humiliation. And not absent from that death is the uncertainty of how we will respond, what will happen to His followers, the pain of His disciples, and those who love Him and watch from a distance, including His mother. He knows what human life is about, and life in this world. He is here to offer us life itself, an everlasting life. It all depends on how we respond to this offer. In Luke's Gospel, Jesus asks, "When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?" Life and death are in His hand, and the words of life are given to us. All of it is tied up with the love of the Father and the unification of Father, Son, and Spirit. But so much depends on us. One may wonder, how great is that love that waits upon our return?
