JOHN SERIES (8)

John 5:16–30 NIV

16 So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him. 17 In his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” 18 For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. 19 Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. 21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. 22 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted 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 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. 25 Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come 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 judge because he is the Son of Man. 28 “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned. 30 By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.

Big Idea: Jesus’ divine authority, rooted in the Father’s love, is demonstrated in His power to give life and His right to judge, demanding that we honor Him as we honor the Father.

I want you to place yourself in Jerusalem, on a Sabbath day, surrounded by the most learned and powerful religious leaders in the nation. The air is thick with tension. A man who has been a prisoner in his own body for thirty-eight long years is now walking, carrying the very mat that once symbolized his confinement. A miracle has happened. A life has been restored. But instead of a city-wide celebration, there is a courtroom-like interrogation.

The leaders are not focused on the man’s new-found freedom; they are focused on a broken rule. And when they finally confront the one responsible for this miracle, Jesus of Nazareth, He doesn’t offer a defense based on their laws. He offers a defense based on His identity. He tells them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.”

With that one sentence, the entire debate shifts. This is no longer about carrying a mat on the Sabbath. This is about blasphemy. John, the author, tells us that from this moment, they tried all the more to kill Him, because He was “making himself equal with God.” In their minds, Jesus had crossed a line from which there was no return.

And what does Jesus do? Does He apologize? Does He soften His language? Does He say, “Wait, you’ve misunderstood me”? No. He does the opposite. He leans in. He doesn’t retreat from their accusation; He defines it. The next several verses are Jesus’ own explanation of what it means for Him to be equal with God. He lays out for them, and for us, His divine job description. And in these few verses, we find the unshakable foundation of our faith.

1. Authority Founded on Love

Before Jesus ever speaks of His power, His might, or His authority to judge, He begins with the source of it all: an intimate, unbreakable, loving relationship. Look at verse 20 with me. “For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed.”

Church, do not read past that first phrase too quickly. “The Father loves the Son.” The specific Greek word John uses here for “loves” is

While the New Testament uses other words for love, phileō often carries a unique warmth. It’s the love of deep affection, of cherished friendship, of intimate fellowship. This is not the cold, formal language of a king commissioning a subordinate. This is the warm, personal language of a Father who delights in His Son. Jesus’ authority does not begin with a legal decree; it begins in the loving heart of the Father.

Because of this love, there is perfect transparency. The Father “shows him all he does.” There are no secrets in the Trinity. There is no part of the Father’s plan hidden from the Son. There is perfect unity, perfect knowledge, and perfect agreement. The authority Jesus operates with is not something He has seized for Himself; it is an authority that has been lovingly and openly entrusted to him.

This is why we can trust the authority of Jesus completely. It is not the arbitrary power of a tyrant. It is the holy power of a beloved Son who is in perfect, loving harmony with the Father. It is an authority that flows from the very center of divine love. And because of this love, Jesus tells the leaders—and He tells us—“You think the healing of this one man is amazing? You haven’t seen anything yet. The Father and I are just getting started. There are ‘greater works’ to come.” The love of the Father for the Son is about to be put on display in ways that will astound the world.

2. Authority to Make Alive (v. 21)

So, what are these “greater works” that will cause the world to stand in amazement? Jesus immediately defines the first one. It is the single greatest power in the universe: the power to give life to the dead. Verse 21 says, “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.”

The power being described here is a divine prerogative. Only God can create life from nothing. And only God can resurrect life from death. The Greek word for “gives life” is zōopoiei. It’s a dynamic, powerful term. It means “to make alive.” It is the act of taking that which is dead—lifeless, hopeless, decaying—and sovereignly breathing the life of God into it. It is the power of spiritual resurrection.

This is the “greater work.” Healing a paralyzed man is a staggering display of power, but it is a restoration of a physical body that will one day die again. Making a dead soul live—that is the work of eternity. That is the work of new creation.

From a Wesleyan perspective, this is the heart of the Gospel. We are born spiritually dead, “dead in our transgressions and sins,” as Paul says. We do not have the ability in ourselves to make ourselves alive. We cannot think our way to life. We cannot work our way to life. We cannot feel our way to life. We need someone with the authority of God Himself to reach into our spiritual graves and make us alive. That person is Jesus Christ.

Notice the authority in His words: “the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.” This speaks of His absolute sovereignty in this matter. But who is it that He is “pleased” to give life to? The rest of Scripture makes it clear: He is pleased to give life to any and all who will hear His voice and believe. He is the one who initiates, who calls, whose prevenient grace goes before us to awaken our dead hearts. And when we respond in faith, He performs the great miracle of regeneration. He makes us alive. This isn’t behavior modification. This is a resurrection of the soul. This is the greatest work of all.

3. Authority for the Sake of Honor

With the authority to give life comes a second, equally divine authority: the authority to judge. These two powers are two sides of the same coin. The one who offers eternal life must be the one who stands as judge over those who reject it. And in verses 22 and 23, Jesus makes one of the most staggering claims in all of Scripture.

Verse 22: “Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son…” The Greek word for judgment here is krisis. It’s where we get our word “crisis.” It means a moment of decision, a point of separation, a final sifting. Jesus is saying that the Father has handed the gavel of the universe to Him. Every soul that has ever lived will stand before the judgment seat of Jesus Christ.

But why? Why would the Father entrust this ultimate authority to the Son? Jesus gives the reason in verse 23, and it is a reason that must shake us and realign our worship. He says it is “…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.”

The purpose of Jesus’s authority is His own honor. The Father’s goal is that the Son would receive the very same level of honor, reverence, worship, and allegiance that the Father receives. This verse makes it impossible to drive a wedge between the Father and the Son. It makes it impossible to say, “I believe in God, but I’m not so sure about Jesus.” Or, “I respect Jesus as a good teacher, but I worship God the Father.” Jesus says that is an impossible equation. To honor one is to honor the other. To dishonor the Son is to directly dishonor the Father who sent Him.

You cannot separate your worship. You cannot hedge your bets. Jesus Christ is not an optional add-on to faith in God. He is the very center of it. The Father has so identified Himself with the Son that our response to Jesus becomes our response to God Himself. This is the crisis point for all humanity. The Father has made Jesus the judge so that no one can ever treat Him as anything less than God.

Conclusion

So, here it is. The job description of the Son of God, laid out by Jesus Himself.

His authority is founded on the intimate, unbreakable love of the Father. His authority is expressed in the divine power to make dead people live. And His authority is designed for the purpose of His equal honor with the Father.

These religious leaders thought they were putting Jesus on trial. But in reality, Jesus was putting them on trial. He was forcing them, and He is forcing us today, to answer the ultimate question: Who is Jesus? Is He just a man? A prophet? A good teacher? Or is He the beloved Son of the Father, the Giver of Life, and the Judge of all the earth, worthy of all our honor, all our worship, and all our lives?

The testimony is clear. The claims are staggering. He is God the Son. And everything in our lives, for time and for eternity, hinges on how we respond to Him.