The Claims (5:19–47) - part 1 of 3

[19] 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.
[20] 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.
[21] For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom He will.
[22] For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:
[23] That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent Him.

This historical beginning in Jesus' public ministry has a third and final part that I will call Jesus' claims. There are three claims Jesus makes.

First Claim: He said he was equal to God (vv. 19–23).

Jesus didn't deny their accusation; instead, he agreed with it! If a man said something like this in the present day, we would think he was joking or crazy. There is no doubt that Jesus was not crazy, and there is no doubt that He meant what He said when He said it. He is either who He says He is, or He is lying. If He is lying, how do you explain all the good He has done for people in need? People don't want to trust liars. Jesus' followers were ready to die for Him.

Jesus said that His works were the same as His Father's. If it was wrong to heal a man on the Sabbath, then the Father was at fault. Jesus didn't do anything "of himself"; He only did what the Father was doing. The Father
and the Son worked together, doing the same deeds in the same way. "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30).

When our Lord arrived on earth as a man, He did everything the Father asked of Him. "Behold, I come to do your will, O God" (Heb. 10:9). He hid His glory and stopped using His divine powers on His own. Satan tried to convince Him to use His divine powers for Himself in the wilderness, but He wouldn't do it. He relied entirely on the Father and the Holy Spirit of God.

The Father not only showed the Son His works and let Him do them, but He also shared His love with Him (John 5:20). The first three Gospels start with the Father calling Jesus "My beloved Son." John 3:35 says the same thing. We often think of John 3:16, which talks about how much the Father loves the lost world, but we should also contemplate how much the Father loves His Son.

The Father shows the Son His works because He loves Him. The religious leaders who were blind could not see what Jesus was doing because they did not know the Father or the Son. The Father had even bigger plans for them, plans that would make them wonder. He may have been thinking of Lazarus' healing because He talked about raising the dead in John 5:21.

The Jewish leaders thought it was blasphemous for Jesus to say He could raise the dead; they thought only God could do that. They said that Jehovah had the three great keys: the key to open the heavens and provide rain (Deut. 28:12), the key to open the womb and give conception (Gen. 30:22), and the key to open the grave and raise the dead (Ezek. 37:13). The gospel accounts indicate that Jesus had not yet resurrected anyone; thus, making such a claim would provoke additional opposition.

John 5:21 can mean a lot more than just bringing people back to life physically. Jesus was definitely talking about giving spiritual life to people who were spiritually dead. He elaborated on this truth as documented in John 5:24–29.

Jesus said that He was equal to the Father in His works and in judging (John 5:22). To the Orthodox Jew, Jehovah God was "the Judge of all the earth" (Gen. 18:25), and no one would ever call himself that. But Jesus did! He said He was the Judge, which meant He was God. “Because He [God] hath appointed a day in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained” (Acts 17:31).

Our Lord asserted equality in another domain, specifically, equal honor with the Father (John 5:23). People should respect Him because He is the Judge. What a significant assertion: if one does not honor the Father, one does not honor the Son! People who say they worship God but don't believe in the deity of Christ don't have either the Father or the Son. We cannot know, worship, or serve the Father without Jesus Christ.