John 5:18-47

HIGHLIGHTED PASSAGE John 5:21-29 21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. 22 For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son, just 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. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. 25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.   COMMENTARY When the Jews complain about Jesus healing on the Sabbath, Jesus says He is God, and just as God has worked ceaselessly from the beginning, so has he. Jesus extends his unity with Yahweh in verses 19-47. Not only does he share in the Father's ceaseless work for the benefit of the whole world and all people, and God's chosen people in particular, Jesus shares in all the other critical elements of divine status and work; Jesus connects himself with the work and attributes of God, which the Jews readily acknowledge as belonging to God alone. These are what make Yahweh, Yahweh, the one and only true God. The Son shares completely in what the Father is doing (5:19)The Son has full access to the divine mind and will (5:20)The Son has authority just like the Father to grant resurrection unto life (5:21-22)The Son will be honored just as the Father is honored (5:23) Here we mustn't mistake Jesus as saying that the Father is Yahweh and he is only now equal to Yahweh. As John writes in the first verse of his gospel, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God," This means Jesus is not another god, but one Person within the divine Being, who reveals His name to the Israelites in the exodus as "Yahweh." John 5 shows that everything the Jews hold to be true about Yahweh is equally and fully true of Jesus. Jesus' words in John 5 focus particularly on the future day of resurrection and judgment. Many Jews believe there will be a day when God raises His people from the dead and beckons them into a new paradise for all eternity. This day will also be a day of judgment, over which God presides and judges all who have lived in opposition to Him. Jesus declares that the Father entrusts this authority and role to Him. His voice will raise the dead. His voice will pass judgment. And his voice will beckon His people unto eternal life.  Jesus closes by pronouncing judgment on those who oppose him. Since He fully shares in the divine identity and work, those who oppose Him do so because they do not know Yahweh.   QUESTIONS 1. Jesus says on several occasions (and in verse 24) that those who believe in him will receive eternal life. What event do verses 25-29 describe that relates to this declaration? Why should this matter to us?   2. According to verse 29, who will be raised from the dead and what will happen to them afterward?    3. On what does Jesus rely in verses 30-47 to verify his testimony that He is who He says He is?   4. What is the significance of Jesus' statement, "Moses wrote of me," in verses 46 and 47?