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

Christ Enthroned, attributed to Manuel Panselinos, 1290.  The Protaton, Mount-Athos, Greece.  Scripture Book is open to selection from Matthew 11:29-30:  "Learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls, for My yoke is easy"

 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 set 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 has already declared His equality with the Father, which enrages the leadership.  My study bible comments on the statement that the Son can do nothing of Himself.  It notes that this proves that Christ's every act and word is in complete unity with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  Christ's discourse in today's reading reveals the united condition of the Father and the Son -- that they are united in nature, will, and action.  Therefore, my study bible says, the Son fully shares the divine attributes of both giving life and executing judgment.  Christ's judgment, as we read in today's reading, is based on both faith and works.

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who set 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."   My study bible comments that Jesus reference to the dead ("The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God") indicates both the spiritually dead -- who will find life in Christ, and to the physically dead -- who will rise in the general resurrection.  It notes that Christ confirms this statement by raising Lazarus from the dead (11:38-44) before He goes to His own death.

Jesus expresses the notion of judgment, and Christ's authority to execute judgment as given by the Father.  Jesus says that He has been given this authority, because He is the Son of Man.  Let us note the unique importance of this statement, as it indicates more about the "condescension" of Christ coming to us and living with us as human being.  It is simply because He has done so -- lived a human life as the Son of Man -- that He has been given authority by the Father for judgment.  We often hear the expression "to walk a mile in someone else's shoes," indicating that we can't really know and understand another person unless we experience life in their place, from their perspective or point of view and life experience.  Well, this is expressed by Christ in speaking of the investment of authority for judgment by God the Father in He who has lived as Son of Man.  Our God has come into the world, lived as one of us, suffered terrible injustice and given great love, sacrificed out of love for us all.  He knows and understands the conditions of this world, the temptations we face, the difficulties and the struggles.  And it is only through such a life of fullness as human being that He is given authority for judgment.   Let us understand that Christ's judgment is not the same as our judgment, for He also knows what is in human beings, He knows the heart in ways we might not even be aware of ourselves and our motivations (2:23-25).  In Acts of the Apostles, when the Apostles must choose one to take the place of Judas, they pray, "You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all" (Acts 1:23-26).  Thus, those who knew Christ better than anyone else, having lived with Him as disciples for three years, affirm this quality of the One to whom judgment is entrusted.  What this teaches us about is yet another facet of the love of God, that judgment is not left to some cold and exacting measurement standard, but rather to the One who loves us and knows us better than anyone else -- and who understands our lives, our struggles, and all the things that impact us.  There is nothing, even judgment, in which love is left out of the equation.  We can be certain, as well, that no chance, no possibility or potential, is left unexplored for each of us, because all of this is perceived in the understanding of the One who is also the judge, and who has lived as one of us.  It is this just judge to whom we turn in prayer, the One who knows our hearts and sees more deeply into ourselves than we can of ourselves, who listens and who knows, and in whom we can put our trust -- for that is what faith really is.  Let us marvel at this revelation, that even God will not trust judgment except to the Son who has lived as one of us, and through this mission to us as Jesus, for this also tells us about love, and God's nature as love.  In the next chapter, Jesus will say, "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out" (6:37).  He turns no one away who comes to Him.  Let us remember that kind of love.  The icon above is called Christ Enthroned.  It is the place He receives upon completion from His mission as Son of Man, the place from which He judges.  (Sometimes in such icons the Scripture is open to show simply Alpha and Omega - Α Ω in the Greek, after Revelation 1:8, 1:11, 21:6, 22:13.)  But this icon tells us what kind of judge He is:  "Learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls, for My yoke is easy" (from Matthew 11:29-30).  He always calls us to learn, to grow with Him, to come to Him, and He turns no one away who responds to His call.   He is the God who has walked in our shoes.