John 5:19-23 (WEL) So Jesus answered and said to them, “Very truly, I say to you, the Son is not able to do anything on his own, only what he sees the Father do, for whatever he does, the Son does the same. 20 “For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing, and he will show him greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. 21 “Just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whomever he wants. 22 “For the Father judges no one but has delegated all judgment to the Son, 23 “So that all should honor the Son in the same way as they honor the Father. The one who does not honor the Son doesn’t honor the Father who sent him.
V19 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Very truly, I say to you, the Son is not able to do anything on his own, only what he sees the Father do, for whatever he does, the Son does the same.
Jesus states that God the Father and God the Son are one God but two persons. Jesus is not saying that He must be told every step of thoughts, words, desires, and/or actions. He is saying that I received a commission to be Messiah. Messiah for the first coming is the Passover Lamb mission to affect salvation to the Jew first and then the Gentile.
Some examples:
God the Father cannot lie, so the Son cannot lie.
God the Father wants everyone to believe the Gospel, so also the Son.
God the Father wanted Jesus to do miracles, teach about Himself, etc., so also the Son.
(Zondervan King James Version Commentary, New Testament):
“Because of who and what He was, it was not possible for Jesus to act except in dependence on the Father who sent Him. Such dependence (see 5:30) and Jesus’ emphasis that the Father had sent Him (5:23, 24, 30, 33, 36, 37, 38) pointed to His role not only as the Son but also as the agent of the Father’s will. As Jesus’ defense in this chapter reveals, because He is the beloved Son, He is the familial choice to act as the Father’s agent, a legal form of representation. In the Jewish institution of agency, the one sent is as the one who sends, and the validity of Jesus’ authority to act and transact business on behalf of the sender (the Father) rests on the fidelity of the agent (Jesus) to the will of the one who sent Him.”
V20 “For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing, and he will show him greater works than these, so that you will be amazed.
The reason and motive for the Father doing so is the Father’s love for His Son. As a human, Jesus needed to have an education. The education Jesus received on Earth from God the Father was perfectly tailored for Jesus to have all the tools and abilities to do as His Father commissioned Him.
Principle: Fathers are to teach children as this example shows.
Principle: God tailors our spiritual education to serve Him, too. It is termed progressive sanctification.
Sanctification is an act of God to separate evil from good, change attitudes, priorities, motives, etc.
Progressive means it is a little at a time.
Justification is an instant sanctification from death to life, from spiritually death to spiritually alive, from eternal wrath of God to eternal life with God.
Glorification is also an instant sanctification where we lose our sin flesh nature and its desires, for a new body having only godly desires.
All will be amazed because only God can do miracles like Jesus did: cast out demons, stop storms with a word, heal at a touch or word, raise the dead, forgive sins, and His own resurrection.
V21 “Just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whomever He wants.
Jesus gives a concrete example of what God the Father commissioned, authorized, and infused with the ability to do so. Again, this shows the one essence of the Trinity. There is one God, three persons. The essence of God is the stuff that He is—spirit (John 4:24) and the character traits of God both communicable and incommunicable.
V22 “For the Father judges no one but has delegated all judgment to the Son.
God the Father is a delegator, not a nano-manager.
All judgment:
Christian believers—the Bema Seat judgment for rewards (Romans 14:10-12, 1 Corinthians 3:10–4:5, and 2 Corinthians 5:1-10).
Disbelievers—White Throne judgment (Revelation 20:11-15).
V23 “So that all should honor the Son in the same way as they honor the Father. The one who does not honor the Son doesn’t honor the Father who sent him.
The reason is that Jesus, God the Son, should be honored exactly as they honor the Father. God the Father wanted Jesus, His only begotten Son, to have the preeminence (Colossians 1:18-19). The Jews honored God, at least verbally, so that same honor must be given to the Son. Jesus continues to reveal His deity.
We learn:
- Jesus’s attitude concerning His Father.
- Some of the ministries that the Father commissioned His Son to do.
Questions:
- Do you honor the Son as you honor God the Father?
- Do you delegate duties as a leadership style?