Commentary - John 5:18-24

Bird's-eye view

In this dense and glorious passage, the Lord Jesus responds to the murderous rage of the Jews, a rage kindled by His apparent Sabbath-breaking and His claim to have God as His own Father. Their accusation was that He was making Himself equal with God, and it is crucial to see that Jesus does not deny the charge. Rather, He explains the nature of His equality. This is not the equality of two independent contractors, but the equality of a Father and a Son within the unified Godhead. Jesus reveals a profound mystery: His submission is His glory, His dependence is His power, and His unity with the Father is absolute. He unpacks His divine prerogatives, showing that He is the source of life and the arbiter of all judgment. This section is a foundational text for a robust Christology, demonstrating that the Son's work is the Father's work, and to honor one is to honor the other. The passage culminates in a magnificent promise of the gospel: hearing and believing this very word about the Son results in a present possession of eternal life, a complete deliverance from condemnation.

What we have here is a high-stakes theological showdown. The Jews correctly understood the staggering implications of Jesus's words. He was claiming a unique, filial relationship with the Father that no mere man could claim. His defense is not a retreat, but a doubling down. He explains that His equality is one of perfect, harmonious operation. The Son does what He sees the Father doing. This is not the action of a subordinate in rank, but of one who is of the very same substance and will. The authority to give life and to execute judgment are divine actions, and Jesus claims them both as His own. This is the bedrock of our faith: the one who speaks these words is God the Son, and to trust Him is to pass from death to life.

Outline

Context In John

This passage is the theological core of the controversy that begins with the healing of the lame man at the pool of Bethesda in John 5:1-9. That healing, performed on the Sabbath, ignited the conflict. The initial charge was Sabbath-breaking (John 5:16), but it quickly escalated. When Jesus defended His action by saying, "My Father is working until now, and I am working" (John 5:17), He was claiming a shared divine work with the Father that transcended the Sabbath laws applicable to men. Our text, beginning in verse 18, is John's editorial explanation of why this statement was so inflammatory: it was a direct claim to equality with God. Jesus's subsequent discourse is therefore a defense and an exposition of this very claim. It sets the stage for the rest of the Gospel, where the identity of Jesus as the divine Son, one with the Father, is the central theme and the primary point of conflict with the unbelieving world.

Key Issues

The Logic of the Godhead

We must be careful not to read this passage with our modern, democratic, and individualistic assumptions. When we hear "equal," we think of two separate beings with the same rank. But the Bible speaks of the Trinity, a profound and mysterious unity. The Son is equal to the Father in substance, power, and glory, but He is still the Son. The Father is still the Father. There is an order within the Godhead that does not imply inferiority. The Father is the fountainhead of the Trinity, the Son is eternally begotten of the Father, and the Spirit eternally proceeds from the Father and the Son. When Jesus says He can do nothing "from Himself," He is not confessing weakness. He is confessing His perfect, eternal, and unbreakable union with His Father. His will is not a separate will that He must subjugate; His will is the Father's will. Their operation is one. This is not a contradiction; it is, as the old theologians would say, a high mystery. It is the logic of a triune God, not the logic of three separate gods or three parts of a god. It is one God in three Persons, and their relations to one another are essential to who God is.

Verse by Verse Commentary

18 For this reason therefore 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.

John, our narrator, gives us the legal charge sheet. The desire to kill Jesus was not a new thing, but it was intensified. There were two counts. First, He was "breaking the Sabbath." In their view, He was nullifying it, treating it with contempt. But the second charge was the real bombshell. He was calling God His "own Father." The Greek is emphatic and personal. He wasn't just saying God is the Father of all mankind; He was claiming a unique, exclusive sonship. And the Jews, to their credit, understood exactly what He meant. They were not fuzzy-headed modernists. They knew that this claim was tantamount to "making Himself equal with God." They saw it as blasphemy worthy of death, and from their premise, they were right. If Jesus were not who He said He was, then He was the greatest blasphemer in history. There is no middle ground with a claim like this.

19 Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing from Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in the same manner.

Jesus's defense begins with one of His solemn declarations, "Truly, truly." He does not deny their charge of equality. He explains it. The Son's action is not independent action. He can do nothing "from Himself," or out of His own initiative as a separate being. Why? Because He is not a separate being. His work is a perfect mirror of the Father's work. He "sees" what the Father is doing. This is not the seeing of an apprentice watching a master from a distance. This is the language of eternal, intimate, and complete unity of will and action. "Whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in the same manner." The work is identical. The manner is identical. This is not the statement of a lesser being; it is the statement of a co-equal being whose operations are perfectly and eternally united with the Father. It describes the eternal relation between them, in which the Son's will is also the Father's, even as He received it from the Father.

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.

The engine of this perfect unity is love. The eternal relationship within the Godhead is one of infinite, mutual love. Because the Father loves the Son, there are no secrets between them. The Father "shows Him all things." This is a continuous, complete self-revelation of the Father to the Son. The "greater works" He refers to are greater than the healing of the lame man. He is about to name them: raising the dead and judging the world. These are works that will provoke astonishment and marveling. Jesus is telling them, "You think this healing is a big deal? You haven't seen anything yet. The Father is going to display My glory through even greater, undeniably divine works."

21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes.

Here is the first of the "greater works." Raising the dead is an exclusively divine prerogative. The Old Testament is clear that God alone gives life (Deut 32:39). Jesus claims this power in the most explicit terms. "Just as the Father raises the dead," so also "the Son also gives life." The parallel is exact. But notice the stunning addition: "to whom He wishes." This is not a delegated or mechanical power. This is the exercise of sovereign will. The Son possesses the authority and discretion to impart eternal life to whomever He chooses. This is a claim of absolute sovereignty, a claim that could only be made by God.

22 For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son,

Here is the second "greater work." Judgment is also a divine prerogative. Abraham called God the "Judge of all the earth" (Gen 18:25). But Jesus says something startling. The Father, in a sense, steps back from the role of judge and has committed it entirely to the Son. This does not mean the Father has abdicated His sovereignty, but rather that He exercises His sovereign judgment through the Son. Why? Because it is fitting that the one who became man to save men should also be the man who judges men. The entire authority to execute the final verdict on every human life has been placed in the hands of Jesus Christ.

23 so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.

This verse gives the ultimate purpose for the Son's authority in life-giving and judgment. It is so that the Son will receive the same level of honor as the Father. The honor due to God is absolute, unconditional, and total. Jesus claims that very honor for Himself. This is the heart of the matter. You cannot claim to honor God the Father while dishonoring God the Son. The two are inextricably linked. To reject the Son is to reject the Father who sent Him. There is no pathway to the Father that bypasses the Son. This is a devastating blow to any religion that wants to acknowledge a generic "God" but refuses to bow the knee to Jesus Christ as Lord. To deny the Son is to be, in reality, an atheist with regard to the Father.

24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who 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.

After laying out His staggering divine claims, Jesus concludes with another solemn "Truly, truly," and offers the sweet fruit of the gospel. The conditions are straightforward: to "hear" His word and to "believe" the Father who sent Him. Hearing here means more than just auditory perception; it means to receive, to understand, and to obey. Believing is to trust, to rely upon. Notice the two are linked; you cannot believe the Father without hearing the Son's word. And what is the result? It is threefold and glorious. First, the believer "has" eternal life. This is not a future promise but a present possession. The moment you believe, you have it. Second, the believer "does not come into judgment." The final, damning verdict of the court has been cancelled. The trial is over. You will not face condemnation. Third, the believer "has passed out of death into life." This is a definitive, once-for-all transition. You were in the realm of spiritual death, and you have been transferred into the realm of spiritual life. This is the great exchange of the gospel, made possible only because the one speaking is the sovereign, life-giving, judging Son of God.

Application

This passage forces us to a decision point, just as it did for the Jews in the first century. There is no room for a "nice teacher" Jesus here. A man who says these things is either a lunatic, a liar, or the Lord of the universe. He claims the right to give life and to execute judgment. He claims honor equal to God the Father. Our entire eternal destiny hangs on how we respond to these claims.

For the believer, this passage is a deep well of assurance. Our salvation is not based on our performance, but on the word of the one who holds all authority. Because He gives life to whom He wishes, and He has wished to give it to us, our life is secure. Because all judgment has been given to Him, and He is our advocate and savior, we will not come into condemnation. We have already passed from death to life. This should fill us with profound gratitude and a desire to give Him the honor He is due, not just with our lips, but with every facet of our lives.

And for the Church, this is a potent reminder of the Christ we proclaim. We do not preach a junior partner God. We do not preach one of many ways to the Father. We preach the Son, without whom no one can know the Father. We preach the sovereign Giver of Life and the righteous Judge of all. Our message must be as exclusive and as absolute as His, because it is His. We must call all men to honor the Son, even as they honor the Father, for in doing so, we are offering them the only possible way to pass from death into life.