“19 Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. 20 For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will marvel. 21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes.
22 For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, 23 so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father.
Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.
24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
25 Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; 27 and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, 29 and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment’” John 5:19-29.
One of the unique characteristics of John’s Gospel is the long speeches or discourses from Jesus. This is Jesus’ first discourse — and it’s amazing! Remember that John is writing in the year 100 AD, and he has had a long time to reflect on what he heard Jesus say and what Jesus meant. For more than one-half century, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, John extracted deeper and deeper meaning and understanding about what Jesus said. These are remarkable claims spoken by Jesus because they absolutely reveal that He is the promised Messiah. The clearest claim is that Jesus is the Son of Man (verse 27). This title, the Son of Man, first appeared in Daniel 7:13 — “I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days, and was presented before Him.”
The Jews took this title from Daniel and gave it to the Chosen One of God who some day would come as the Messiah Son of Man who is waiting in heaven until God sends Him to earth to bring His Kingdom and to rule over it! And what Jesus had just done when He healed the paralyzed man in the temple gate, as reported by John just a few verses earlier, clearly is still yet another statement by Jesus that He is truly the Son of Man, the long-awaited Messiah!
And did you notice Jesus’ repeated claims to raise the dead and to be their judge? “21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life”, Jesus said, “even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes… 25 for an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; 27 and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man” John 5: 21, 25-27. This was also another dramatic confirmation of the Old Testament God who alone has the right to raise the dead and to be their judge: “See now that I, I am He, and there is no god besides Me; It is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded and it is I who heal, and there is no one who can deliver from My hand” Deuteronomy 32:39.
Here John is reporting Jesus’ words that represent nothing less than the most dramatic and unique courage of Jesus, words that Jesus had to have known would be hugely blasphemous to the Orthodox Jewish leaders who would have wanted nothing less than the death of Jesus for such claims!
So dear friends the choice is so obvious for us all: Either you and I believe that what Jesus said — and demonstrated — is true, or we consider Jesus to be a liar. Our response, of course, must be clearly demonstrated not just in our verbal professions of faith, but most surely in our daily — life-long — choices and actions. As Jesus Himself said of our choices: “Whoever is not with Me is against Me; and whoever does not gather with Me scatters.” Matthew 12:30. Pray on your knees today that You will LIVE a faithful life. Repent of your sins and turn to Jesus in prayer.
Oh dear Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner. I am sickened by my casual and self-destructive choices I make, choices in life that encourage me to turn my back on You repeatedly.
I repent of all my sins and pray that, by Your grace, I may follow You faithfully and be available every moment in my life, to do everything You tell me to do. In the name of Jesus, the Son of Man, I pray. Amen.
From the Bible:
“The woman said to him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I who speak to you am He’"
John 4:25-26.
“And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven” Mark 14:62.
“No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man” John 3:13.
“But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the man who was paralyzed—“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home”
Luke 5:24.
“So the crowd answered him, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man”
John 12:34?
“And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” Matthew 8:20.
“I and the Father are one.” The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God” John 10:30-33.
“In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God”
2 Corinthians 4:4.
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