John 5

Regarding the father...

John 5:19-47

John 5:24

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. (use)

Hearing and believing are the conditions to receive eternal life. There is no mention made of repentance. The word "repent" so prominent in the Gospel of Matthew in the Kingdom offer is not found once in the fourth Gospel. Faith and repentance, however, are inseparable.

Gaebelein, A., 1922. Arno Gaebelein Annotated Bible.
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John 5:18

This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. (use)

John 5:19

So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise." (use)

The doctrine of the Trinity, though clearly revealed in Scripture and affirmed in the ecumenical creeds, is mysterious and beyond human comprehension.

Deyoung, K., 2016. Distinguishing Among the Three Persons of the Trinity within the Reformed Tradition.
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God is the he who is they. How this is so is a mystery. But that it is so is a biblical fact.

Packer, J.I., 2013. Taking God Seriously. pg. 41
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Let us therefore keep Christ before our eyes, as he was sent into the world by the Father to be a Redeemer. The Jews beheld in him nothing higher than human nature, and, therefore, he argues that, when he cured the diseased man, he did it not by human power, but by a Divine power which was concealed under his visible flesh. The state of the case is this. As they, confining their attention to the appearance of the flesh, despised Christ, he bids them rise higher and look at God. The whole discourse must be referred to this contrast, that they err egregiously who think that they have to do with a mortal man, when they accuse Christ of works which are truly divine. This is his reason for affirming so strongly that in this work, there is no difference between him and his Father.

Calvin, J., 1555. Commentary.
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This placing of himself on a level with God was the blasphemy which the Jews resented. Jesus knew what he said, and saw the impression his words produced, and took no steps to correct it. Two classes of result naturally followed. Some said, "He blasphemeth," "He hath a devil," and the high priest subsequently, in reply to a similar utterance of the Lord, rent his clothes; but other some felt concerning him that the relation between him and the Father was, so far as they knew, absolutely unique.

Spence-Jones, H.D.M., 1880. The Pulpit Commentary.
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John 5:29

and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. (use)

These are the ‘greater works’ which He foretells in John 5:20 , and they are greater than the miracle of healing which had originated the whole conversation. To give life at first, and to give it again to the dead, and not only to revivify, but to raise them, are plainly competent to no power short of the divine; and here Jesus calmly claims them.

Maclaren, A., 1904. Expositions of Holy Scripture.
maclaren-1904-exp~john5-21

John 5:22

For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, (use)

not that the Father hath resigned the government, but he is pleased to govern by Jesus Christ; so that man is not under the terror of dealing with God immediately, but has the comfort of access to him by a Mediator.

Henry, M., 1896. Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible. UK. John
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He is authorized to appoint and settle the terms of the new covenant, and to draw up the articles of peace between God and man; it is God in Christ that reconciles the world, and to him he has given power to confer eternal life. The book of life is the Lamb's book; by his award we must stand or fall.

Henry, M., 1896. Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible. UK. John
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Matthew 25:31–32

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. (use)

...he would not be fit, was he not God equal with the Father; the thing he had suggested, and which he supports and maintains in this vindication of himself.

Gills, J., 1748. Exposition of the Bible Commentary.
gills-1748-exposition~john-5v2

Acts 10:42

And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. (use)

The Father pronounces judgment on no one. This office he has committed to the Son. The power of judging the world implies ability to search the heart, and omniscience to understand the motives of all actions. This is a work which none but a divine being can do, and it shows, therefore, that the Son is equal to the Father.

Barnes, A., 1884. Albert Barnes Notes on the Whole Bible.
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2 Corinthians 5:10

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. (use)

Jude 1:5

Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. (use)

Jude insists that the Saviour can also be the Destroyer.

Sidebottom, E.M., 1982. James, Jude, 2 Peter. New Century Bible Commentary series. pg.85
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2 Timothy 4:1

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: (use)

John 5:25

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. (use)

John 5:28

Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice (use)

"Aslan is a lion- the Lion, the great Lion." "Ooh" said Susan. "I'd thought he was a man. Is he-quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion"..."Safe?" said Mr Beaver ..."Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you.

Lewis, C.S., 1950. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, London.
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John 5:39

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, (use)

...we present you with this Book, the most valuable thing that this world affords. Here is Wisdom; This is the royal Law; These are the lively Oracles of God.

COE., 1953. The Coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
coe-1953-coronation~a1

Joshua 1:8

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. (use)

...whereas the truths of God should rather be quoted from our Bibles than from our ministers, for there is the original of them.

Henry, M., 1896. Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible. UK. Mark
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Psalm 119:105

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (use)

In regard to this Great Book, I have but to say, it is the best gift God has given to man. All the good the Savior gave to the world was communicated through this book. But for it we could not know right from wrong. All things most desirable for man's welfare, here and hereafter, are to be found portrayed in it.

Lincoln, A., 1864. Reply to Loyal Colored People of Baltimore upon Presentation of a Bible.
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Proverbs 30:5

Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. (use)

Nehemiah 8:2

So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month. (use)

It has been said that the best reason for the serious study of the Bible- for learning how to read it well-is written across the history of Western culture: see what happens when people misread it, read it badly, or read it on false assumptions.

Alter, R., 1987. The Literary Guide to the Bible.
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Acts 1:16

Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. (use)

In one of our more recent studies, we acknowledged the fact from Sunday school of old that the whole Bible is a book about Jesus. And in the Old Testament we have Jesus predicted; and in the Gospels, we have Jesus revealed; and then, in the Acts of the Apostles, we have Jesus preached; and in the Epistles, we have Jesus explained; and then, in the book of Revelation, we have Jesus expected.

Begg, A., 1997. It is Finished.
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Acts 17:11

Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. (use)

How firm a foundation, you saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith in his excellent Word! What more can he say than to you he has said, to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

Keith, G., 1787. How firm a foundation.
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2 Timothy 3:16

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, (use)

To tremble before the Word of God leaves me content to be odd in a culture that fails to recognize the authority of that Word. But it also affords me a place to shelter.

Carson, D.A., 2019. But That's Just Your Interpretation! Themelios 44.
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Hebrews 4:12

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (use)

We will either place ourselves under the Bible or we won't. It's not easy. It's not a once-for-all decision; it's a commitment that will be challenged daily.

DeWitt, D., 2019. How Do We Explain Talking Donkeys and Burning Bushes?
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Revelation 22:7

And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book. (use)

The Bible speaks with one voice. It sets forth one plan of salvation, makes one diagnosis of the problem of the human condition, presents one history of redemption, and offers one Savior.

Lawson, S., 2018. The Moment of Truth: Its Reality.
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Topics and Themes

Key Verse

John 5:24

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. (use)