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

 

 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 [the Old Testament Pentecost, also called the "Feast of Weeks," which commemorates the giving of the Law to Moses], 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.  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 refers to Christ's teaching here that the Son can do nothing of Himself, and comments that this proves that His every act and word is in complete unity with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  This discourse (continuing from yesterday's reading, above) reveals that the Father and the Son are completely united in nature, will, and action.  So, therefore, we understand that the Son fully shares the divine attributes of both giving life and executing judgment.  My study Bible continues by saying that Christ's judgment is based on both faith and works, as the following verses in today's reading also indicate.

"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 says, "The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God."  My study Bible comments that the dead here refers both to the spiritually dead, who will find life in Christ, and also to the physically dead, who will rise in the general resurrection.  He confirms this statement when He raises Lazarus from the dead (John 11:38-44) before He goes to His own death. 

 

 Jesus' authority and unity with the Father and the Holy Spirit is allied with issues of life and death.  Life itself is therefore in His hands, for in the judgment the reality of the resurrection of life and the resurrection of condemnation are both included.  In the Revelation, the Lord says several times, " I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last" (Revelation 1:8, 11; 21:6; 22:13).  These statements are also tied in with the authority of judgment, meaning also of life and death.  In Revelation 21:6, He adds, "I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts."  It is this fountain of the water of life on which everything rests, for those who truly thirst and those who do not.  This is the same "living water" of which He spoke to the Samaritan woman at John 4:14, and revealed Himself to her.  She and her townspeople received Him gladly.  But here Jesus speaks openly to the religious leaders in Jerusalem, and they do not hear Him gladly.  This is already a type of example of the judgment, but in which time intersects with the eternal to give us a picture of what it means to reject the grace of Christ, and to refuse this water of the fountain of life.  Perhaps in each of our own lives we can see moments in which we also experience a sort of "intersection" of the eternal converging in moments of our own earthly time; in a moment of sudden insight, the perception of grace, a resolution for repentance.  It is this that is emblematic of the experience of participation in the life of Christ, who also underwent human death for us, and experienced His Passion.  We, too, might find moments of deep distress become pivotal moments when -- even in hindsight -- we realize our faith was at work and with us then, whether we recognized it or not.  Moments of deep prayer at such periods have such effects which often we only realize later.  God is with us through all of it, through life and death, moments of change and even deep distress -- for it is in those times that we may choose our faith, or run from it.  Which way does the paralytic in the story begun in yesterday's reading go?  Which way will the leadership go?  So much pivots on that offering of the fountain of life, the words of Christ, and how -- and whether or not -- we receive them. 

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

 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.  This is understood to be the Old Testament Pentecost, also called the Feast of Weeks, which celebrates the giving of the Law to Moses.  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."   If we look at the previous verses (from yesterday's reading, above) we see that the religious authorities have understood Jesus' claim to equality with God.  My study Bible comments that here, Jesus' declaration that the Son can do nothing of Himself proves that His every act and word is in complete unity with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  The discourse here, it says, reveals that the Father and the Son are completely united in nature, will, and action.  Therefore, the Son fully shares the divine attributes of both giving life and executing judgment.  

"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."  In these verses, Christ reveals that His judgment is based on both faith ("he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me") and works ("those who have done good, to the resurrection of life").  My study Bible comments on Christ's words, ". . .the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of Son of God."  "The dead," it says, refers both to the spiritually dead, who will find life in Christ, and also to the physically dead, who will rise in the general resurrection.   It notes that Christ confirms this statement by raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11:38-44) before going to His own death. Verses 24-30 of this chapter are read at the Orthodox funeral service; confirming, my study Bible notes, the same reward for those who fall asleep in faith.

As is frequent in John's Gospel, today's reading gives us transcendent realities about Christ.  In the words of Jesus, He reveals His relationship to the Father, and it is this revelation that is the ultimate wedge between Himself and the religious authorities.  Jesus says, "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."  This statement of total equality with God will be something that is so blasphemous to the ears of the religious leaders that it will prove to be their given reason for finding a way to put Jesus to death.  But for today's purposes, let us consider the words of Christ that follow, for He speaks of this power of judgment and of the nature of judgment.  He says, "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 promises both a resurrection of life and a resurrection of condemnation.  The resurrection of condemnation we understand as meaning, effectively, the product of rejection of faith.  That is, a life lived without concern for the things that faith would teach or lead us to do.  Note that, as is repeatedly emphasized by my study Bible, faith and "works" are inseparable from one another.  One must accompany the other or betray the absence of faith in the "good."  Also, since we are not the Judge, we are not the Son of Man, none of us can determine what this judgment is for any of us.  That is for the "Heart-knower," Christ, to whom the "authority to execute judgment" has been given alone.  (In Romans 2:1, St. Paul writes, "Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.")  So when we read these things in language that is framed for our understanding, we have to accept our own limitations in terms of what judgment is and means, for we cannot know the fullness of the heart and the soul.  We don't even know ourselves that well, let alone others, nor can we fathom the fullness of life without the restrictions of time and space, for this is the perspective of God.  But we can, for ourselves, consider what it is to do good and to do evil.  We can understand that the "resurrection of condemnation" is, in effect, for those who reject faith in the good.  From the beginning of John's Gospel, Jesus is spoken of as the Light, the very eternal existence of the good, from before time.  We can also understand from St. Paul's letter to the Romans that faith, and "doing good," applies to all, for, he writes, "when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them) in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel" (Romans 2:14-16).  What this means, according to my study Bible, is that because the conscience of human beings is given by God ("the law written in their hearts"), it has the same power to lead a person to God as the law does.  Moreover, according to St. John Chrysostom, those who are able to follow their conscience to God are more virtuous than those with the law, for they do not have the advantage of explicit instructions but still desire to please God.  We note also that "good works" are those done to please God, not to flatter oneself.  So judgment, therefore, is really about a depth of acceptance of the light that is apprehensible to each one; and, on the other hand, rejection of the light -- including that which is given through one's exposure to the life of Christ and His teachings -- is also fundamentally a question of the depth of the heart and Christ's judgment alone.  Certainly we know that there is a quality within our own disposition, our receptivity to hear and know truth, and what the good is.  (Jesus teaches, "Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him" - Mark 4:24-25.)  The fundamental question of judgment comes down to our own God-given capacities for discernment, or conversely, rejection of the good -- and the actions that follow each.  There is a depth to us, in that "secret place" of the heart where we know and are known.  Let us endeavor to find there "our Father who sees in secret" (Matthew 6:6), past all of the pressures of life and the demands to conform to a different image for ourselves, and hearken to that which opens us to the resurrection of life.

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

 

 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 

 

On Saturday 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."  In our previous reading, Jesus had declared His equality with God the Father, by saying to the religious authorities, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."  In today's reading, He begins to further elaborate that equality and its various aspects.  My study Bible comments on Jesus' statement that the Son can do nothing of Himself, that this proves that Christ's every act and word is in complete unity with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  Moreover, it says, Christ's subsequent discourse (the text of today's reading, plus another verse to come) reveals that the Father and the Son are completely united in nature, will, and action.  Therefore, the Son fully shares the divine attributes of both giving life and executing judgment. 

"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.     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 shows here that His judgment is based on both faith (he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me) and works (those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation).    Jesus says that the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God:  My study Bible explains 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.  Christ confirms this statement by raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11:38-44) before Jesus goes to His own death.  This passage is read at the Orthodox funeral service, confirming the same reward for those who fall asleep in faith.

In Saturday's reading, we commented on Christ's speaking about working, that "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."  In today's passage, He not only affirms and elaborates on His own equality with God, but He also affirms that our own faith and works are, first of all, inseparable from each other -- especially in the sight of Christ's judgment, but that they are also crucial and necessary to that judgment.  In other words, our own faith and belief must inform our works -- works meaning the things we do in our lives.  As belief and works are linked to one another, so then judgment is based on what we do.  In other words, it is based on how we put our faith or belief into the actions we choose in life.  This is not an affirmation of outward works determining who we are, for this is a question of how God discerns what we have chosen to do in our lives, the One who sees into the heart.  It is only God who can see us and know us more deeply and intimately than we know ourselves.  So when we think of works in this context, we should not think of what it is to perform outward deeds that appear good to other human beings.  In the Gospels, Jesus famously condemns those who do things simply to be seen by others, who "love the praise of men more than the praise of God" (John 12:42-43).  But we are, like God the Father, Son, and Spirit, creatures whose lives consist of both being and doing:  it is that inner love of God that should inform what we do in life, and this is what Jesus is talking about.  Doing, our action, becomes the basis of judgment:  "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."  In this way, as my study Bible explains, we creatures are like God.  Jesus, as divine 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."  As Christ "learns" in some sense from the Father, and is shown works to do, so we are also to learn our own "works" from our love of God, our communion with God, our prayers and worship.  It seems crucially significant that we understand that Christ's judgment is life itself, and moreover, the power of judgment is entrusted to Him because He is the Son of Man ("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").  In other words, His mission as Incarnate Son, and His life as fully human among us, qualifies Him for this authority.  We will not be judged except by One who has lived as one of us, among us and with us, both fully human and fully divine, and there is no other than this unique and uniquely-qualified authority.  It is out of love that we are known and seen, out of love that Jesus becomes one of us, out of love that authority for judgment is based on this saving mission.  Christ dignifies work with the faith He offers to us, and our capacity to do good based on that faith.  What we do is significant, important, not simply for us, but in the grand plan of salvation, for we are invited in to be "like God" who is always working, in the same way that Jesus does what He sees the Father do.  It is often said that mercy is love in action.  Let us remember that we are called to be "like God" in this respect (Matthew 25:31-46). 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 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 to 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 (according to patristic tradition, this is understood to have been the Old Testament Pentecost, known also as the Feast of Weeks, the commemoration of the giving of the Law to Moses), 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.  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 to life."   Jesus' response to the charges of making Himself equal with God is to emphasize the relationship between Himself and the Father.   In fact His emphasis is on the love between them, which results in the gifts of Father to Son.  My study Bible comments that as the Son can do nothing of Himself, it is proof that Christ's every act and word is in complete unity with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  It says that the discourse which Jesus begins here reveals that the Father and the Son are completely united in nature, will, and action.  Thus, the Son fully shares the divine attributes of both giving life and executing judgment.  Christ's judgment, as we read hear, is based on both faith ("he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me") and works (verse 29, at the end of today's reading).

"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 says, "The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God."  My study Bible comments on this verse 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.  Christ will confirm this statement in the raising of Lazarus from the dead (John 11:38-44) before going to His own death.  

 

In today's reading, Jesus expresses His depth of relationship to the Father:  all that the Father has, He has granted to the Son.  In particular, Jesus mentions that the Father has life in Himself, and has also granted the Son to have life in Himself.  Moreover, the Father has given Christ authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.  Let us take these two statements and look closely at what Jesus is saying for us (for clearly, these words are for us; Jesus needs no one to declare Him to Himself).  This great gift of life, of being a creator and giver of life, is a gift to us.  He says that the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth.  This speaks of the Resurrection and also of Judgment.  But how often do we realize that this power of life in Christ is a gift which He shares with us also day to day?  Christ's nature remains His nature; that is the power of life, the power of Resurrection, the power to always be making all things new (Revelation 21:5).  But as we are able to participate in His life -- through prayer, through worship, through faith and its many expressions -- so we are also able to pray for this renewal of life that is in Christ.  Do we need a second chance?  Do we need forgiveness?  Did we take a wrong turn and need a new path?  Do we need to start over, or to give up a bad situation for Christ's guidance through it?  All of these things are part of the power of life and resurrection in Christ, in which we may participate.  Moreover, Jesus says that the Father has given Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man.  What is the Son of Man?  This is a mysterious title from the Old Testament apocalyptic literature.  But what it seems to imply is that this Son of God is also Son of Man as He has lived His life as also fully human.  Therefore He knows us thoroughly and He knows our lives and struggles and what it is to live in this world.  As Son of Man, He can be a true and just judge.  He has lived life fully as one of us.  In that sense His judgment is true, and we may seek that judgment for ourselves and not be afraid of it.  We may reach to Him as He has reached to us in every possible and thorough way, as one of us.  And let us look to the love of the Father and the Son for one another, and understand that this is the pattern that is set in heaven, the pattern through which Christ lives and reaches to us, in this love that rules in heaven (even as He has taught us to pray to Our Father, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven").  So we may turn and participate in the life He offers, and find that love not only for ourselves, but to learn and to share it with others as we learn from Him. For this love and life constitute the greatest gift of all, from Father to Son, to us.

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

 

 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 (considered to be the Feast of Weeks, or the Old Testament Pentecost, commemorating the giving of the Law), 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 a 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."   Here Jesus expresses His unity with the Father, emphasizing and delving deeper into the very thing which the religious leaders condemn (in yesterday's reading, above).  That the Son can do nothing of Himself, my study bible says, proves that His every act and word is in complete unity with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  Christ's discourse to them here reveals that the Father and the Son are completely united in nature, will, and action.  So, the Son fully shares the divine attributes of both giving life and executing judgment. 

 

 "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."  As Christ has just stated that one of the prerogatives of God, that of judgment, is also shared by the Son, here He affirms that Christ's judgment is based on faith ("he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me") and works ("those who have done good . . . and those who have done evil").  My study bible also comments on the statement, "The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God."   It 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.  Christ will confirm this statement by raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11:38-44) before He goes to His own death.  

The attributes of God the Father are all well-known to the religious leaders to whom Jesus speaks.  That is, God's prerogatives of judgment, of knowing the heart, knowing and forgiving sin, and even the power of life itself.  But here, Jesus explicitly lays out His unity with the Father, and that it exists not simply in some form of identity or being in which Christ holds the same knowledge as the Father.  Rather, Christ is saying that God the Father's authority has been extended also to the Son, and that they are united also in their prerogatives.  As my study bible puts it, they are united in nature, will, and action.  Christ, as Son, shares the power of judgment, life, and resurrection.  He explicitly states that God the Father 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."   This is not simply an incredible theological revelation regarding the Son.  It is also a deep and powerful revelation that Christ has been given authority to execute judgment because of the Incarnation; that is, "because He is the Son of Man."  So, while Christ, as a human being, has incensed the leaders with what they think is blasphemy in equating Himself with God, what He is actually stating here is that God the Father has given Him the authority of life and particularly of judgment precisely because He has become human, and fully shares life with us human beings.  It is, in effect, the Incarnation itself which has, in some sense, qualified Him for this authority.  It is Christ's very mission to us which seems to be the defining and guiding factor in this divine sharing of authority on the part of God the Father.  Therefore we should understand that this mission of love into our world, so that God the Son experiences life as one of us, becomes a defining reality for both the creation and the Creator.  It is this deep act of love, which will involve the ultimate sacrifice of His own life as a  human being, which confers the authority of judgment to Jesus the Son.  It gives us an absolute assurance that the very foundation of all creation, of all existence, is based on a justice that surpasses all law to be based first, last, and foremost  in love.  How precious are our lives are to God!  And how much does this seem to contrast with what we can sometimes see in our world?  Where life is cheap, where death comes easily, for the price of a few dollars, for empty-minded teenagers with handguns, for the worst forms of exploitation such as modern slavery and human trafficking, we should see the reality of the true denial of God and God's gifts of love and life to us all.   The sadness of easy violence, be it in settings of war, or just around the corner, makes our world so much less than what has gone into our creation as persons, by a God who loves us so much that He sacrificed His human life for us.  If God the Father gives all authority for judgment to the Son simply because He has lived as one of us, then consider with what love we are protected and held and even guided spiritually in our lives, if we would but reach to have access to it.  For we each are promised a Helper, and a guardian angel, and an entire communion of saints waiting to hear our prayers and to pray with us, even the Mother of God, Mary, who loved her Son and prompted His first sign to the world in John's Gospel (in this reading).  Let us call on that help in a world beset by things that deny the reality of God's great gift of precious life.  For God's love can reach everywhere, even to a heart that can't find love elsewhere in the world.  When Jesus says that "the Son gives life to whom He will," we should remember that He came so that we would have an abundance of life (John 10:10) -- and that this applies to wherever we need His help and wherever we are, in the here and the now, to revive us when we truly seek His way to live.