By Mary Fairchild
The following is the phonetic reading of the expository teaching of Pastor Jim Mooberry.
John 5:19-29; “Jesus’ Equality With God” 1986
“Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel. For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them: even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. For the Father judgeth no man but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: That all men should honoureth not the Father which hath sent him. Verily, verily I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” John 5:19-29
We begin a new chapter in the Gospel of John, John 5 and that chapter began a new section in John’s gospel. The growing rejection of Jesus Christ by the nation is becoming apparent. In chapter 5 we begin the development of the unbelief over Jesus Christ in Israel. We become face to face with the hostility of the Jews who are seeking now to kill him. Chapter 5:18 explicitly says “For this cause the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him.” Now the event that triggers the outbreak of this hostility was the healing of the lame man in chapters 5:1 and following. There the antagonism finally breaks loose. Now it has been festering ever since Jesus began his ministry and he cleansed the temple…remember back then, that he entered into the temple and he overturned the tables of the money changers…he shot everybody out of the temple… he wrecked what they had going there in the way of commercialism and graft right in God’s house and from that point on the Jews hated him. And so there has been this hostility towards him and now finally it breaks loose and what outraged the religious leaders is that Jesus healed this man on the Sabbath. There human traditions and rules that they had added to God’s word concerning the Sabbath and everything else had made the Sabbath a ball and chain around the people’s neck. They couldn’t do anything on the Sabbath, hardly…. Now, this was not God’s original purpose. God’s original purpose in the Sabbath was to give man a day to rest and to worship Him and to have a day of relaxation. Now the Jews had made it such a legalistic stumbling stone that it was worse than all the other days.
Now, it was symptomatic of the legalistic works system and salvation that the Pharisees and the rest of the Jewish leaders had put the nation under and it brings to focus the complete hatred for Jesus Christ by the Jews. That’s why I believe that Jesus purposely challenged them at this point. He deliberately healed people on the Sabbath over and over to bring them to the point of conflict so that they might possibly see where they had gone wrong, but instead they rebelled and sought to kill him.
In the last chapter… Jesus had just countered the Jews objections about his merciful act on the Sabbath with statements contained in verses 17 and 18: “But he answered them, my Father is working until now and I myself am working. For this cause the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him because he not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God his own father MAKING HIMSELF EQUAL WITH GOD.” They understood what he meant. If he was the son of the Father, then he must possess the same nature as the Father. It’s the same thing in human relationships; our children possess our natures. If he was claiming to be “the Son of God,” then he was claiming to have the same nature as the Father making himself a possessor of deity. There response to it was that it was blasphemy and they sought to kill him.
Now we continue as Jesus continues his discourse on equality with the Father. This is the clearest yet, in John, pertaining to Jesus’ claims to be God in the flesh. And that.. is John’s purpose. John 20:30-31—what he told us, the reason he wrote this gospel is … the reason he included the material is to demonstrate to anyone who read it that Jesus in deed was the Son of God and that by believing in him one might have eternal life.
So, today we are faced with three infallible proofs of Jesus Christ’s deity. 1) In the form of His person vs. 19 and 20, 2) His prerogatives vs. 21 to 23, and 3) His power vs. 24 to 29. Let’s look first at his person in vs. 19 and 20 as he continues his discourse with the Jews. “Jesus therefore 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 for the Father loves the Son and shows him all things that he himself is doing and greater works than these will he show him that you may marvel.” Jesus replies “It is not blasphemy for the Son to claim equality with the Father for they are in complete unity.” Now, you look at this verse and you see that if their will is the same and if their works are the same then if one is God the other is God. … three things I want you to see in this: 1) the title “Son.” Over and over, eight times in ten verses Jesus refers to himself as “the Son.” The Son of God, the Son of man, the Son. Now, that’s familiar to us but it would be startling to them. They might understand him saying “a son of God.” But never, “THE Son of God.” The “only.” Especially, when he takes that title “the Son of man.” For that is a title right out of the Old Testament in Daniel 7. There in that vision of world history, which shows the successive kingdoms that would come to power in history and then finally, God’s kingdom superceding them all. In that vision in heaven there is one who is called the Son of man and he comes up to the Ancient of Days (the Father) and is given a kingdom. …. For Jesus to call himself “the Son of man,” along with “the Son of God,” and “the Son,” is claimed to be the Messiah, God in the flesh. The “Son,” “The Son.” Notice also, that co-working equals co-essence. Look in verse 19 again, “He says, 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.”
Jehovah Witnesses and Unitarians and others have tried to make this verse say that Jesus did not claim to be God only God’s servant. He can’t do anything of himself… But that’s not what the verse means. Let me paraphrase it for you: Jesus is saying, “I and the Father are one indivisible essence and our acts are inseparable.” The Son does nothing separate from the will and the work of the Father. You see, it involves the doctrine of the TRINITY. Compare verse 17: “He answered them in saying, My Father is working until now and I myself am working.” The same works. Why? Because they are of the same essence. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. THREE PERSONS/ONE GOD: ONE ESSENCE. The Son can do nothing independently or separately from the Father or he would be another god and that’s impossible. So, he does not work independently or separately from the Father but he works the same works that the Father works. When he says the Son can do nothing of himself he’s not referring to his ability or his power “I cannot do these things by myself.” He’s saying something about his will, “I will not work apart from the Father because He and I are one.” His works demonstrate his deity.
Chapter 10:38, Jesus appeals to the Jews and he says, “Listen, though you do not believe me believe the works that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me and I in the Father.” He says my works should tell you that I and the Father are one. His works demonstrate his deity. Then, the third thing you will notice here is this unique relationship that he has with the Father in verse 20: “For the Father loves the Son and shows him all things that he himself is doing and greater works than these will he show him that you may marvel.” It shows us the eternal love within the Trinity. There is a unity of heart and affection which eternally existed and exists today and exists forever between the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Now, the greater works that he speaks of are explained in the following verses: the raising, the dead, and following judgment. But the power to do these things resides in the Son as well as the Father: Verse 21, “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life even so the Son also gives life to whom he wishes. So, Jesus tells the Jews you have not misunderstood me. I am in full union and unity with the Father. My works are in essence the Father’s works.
The early church father Augustine wrote concerning this verse, “Our Lord does not say whatsoever the Father doeth the Son does other things like them, but he says whatever the Father doeth the Son does the very same thing. If the Son doeth the same things and in like manner then let the Jew be quiet and the Christian be believing and the heretic be convinced that the Son is equal with the Father. Because of his person we can see his claim to deity.”
The second thing that he brings up is his prerogatives in verses 21-23: Not only his person declares his deity, but his prerogatives declare them. “Just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life even so the Son also gives life to whom he wishes.” Where not even the Father judges anyone but he is given all judgment to the Son in order that all may honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son, does not honor the Father who sent him. HERE ARE THREE KEY CLAIMS TO DEITY. Because, if there is a God, he must be able to claim these three things….
1) If there is a God he must be the originating cause of all life; he must be the who give life to everything because despite of what our so-called scientists say today, life only comes from previous life. .. and so, he must be the originating cause of all life if he is God.
2) And if there is a God he must be the standard by which everything is judged. Nothing could sit upon judgment of God for he would have to be greater than God.
3) He must alone deserve worship and honor as the sovereign of the universe.
These are exactly the three things that Jesus Christ claims as his prerogatives. Notice, first of all, he gives the prerogative to give life verse 21, “Just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life he even so the Son also gives life to whom he wishes. This is the prerogative of God. The Jews would instantly recognize what he is saying for in Deuteronomy 32:39 in the law God says, “See now that I am he and there is no god besides me it is I alone who puts to death and gives life.” Jesus says the Son, I also, give life to whom I wish. It is a prerogative of God. Notice, also, he has the prerogative to judge verse 22, “For not even the Father judges anyone but he has given all judgment to the Son.” Note that he doesn’t say “as the Father judges so I judge. Here the Son is given preeminence. Judgment is committed to his hands…. Mankind will never be able to point a finger at God and shout “how can you judge me?” “You don’t know what it’s like to be human… you don’t know what it’s like to be tempted…” They can never say that because judgment has been committed to the God-man. Hebrews 4:15 is a verse of comfort to the Christian but it cuts both ways, “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weakness but one who has been tempted in all things as we are yet without sin.” He can sympathize with us because he himself is a man. He understands humanness. But that also cuts both ways he is also the perfect judge. No one can say to him “You don’t understand.” He understands and yet he has the wisdom and omniscience of God.
He is the judge. He is the occupant of the judgment thrones that are spoken of in Scripture. None other than the Son of God. Now, all of the judgments are future, yet, except for one. The only judgment that has already taken place is spoken of in the next verse when it says that a person who comes to faith in Christ is removed from their judgment. Why? Because judgment has already fallen on a substitute. The only judgment that is passed is the judgment that occurred at the Cross where God judged the sins of the world in Christ.
The future judgments
1) The Bema: the judgment seat of Christ. That really is a seat of reward where service in the life of the Christian is reviewed and reward is given it’s not a judgment of condemnation but it is the judgment of he Son of God he is the judge.
2) The judgment of the nations spoken of in Matthew 25 when Jesus Christ returns to the earth to inaugurate his kingdom he judges the nations that are there to see whether they are worthy to enter into the kingdom. Again, it is the Son of God who occupies the throne.
3) The last, terrible judgment, spoken of in Revelation 20:11-15: “And I saw a great white throne and him who sat upon it (Jesus) from whose presence earth and heaven fled away and no place was found for them and I saw the day of the great and the small standing before the throne and books were opened and another book was opened which is the book of life. And the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books according to their deeds… if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, the lamb’s book, those who have come to him for salvation he was thrown into the lake of fire. You know who it is who is sitting on that throne? The Son.
“All judgment has been given to me.” He is the judge: a prerogative of only God. Jesus is the benchmark of judgment, he is the standard by which everyone is measured. Your response to him and his claims determine your judgment. He has the prerogative of giving life. He has the prerogative to judge, and finally he has the prerogative to receive honor.
KJV John 5:19-29, “Jesus’ Equality With God” by Pastor Jim Mooberry 1986; Village Church of Bartlett, IL.