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.
31 “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. 32 There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is true.
33 “You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. 34 Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved. 35 John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.
36 “I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, 38 nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. 39 You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
41 “I do not accept glory from human beings, 42 but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. 43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. 44 How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?
45 “But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. 46 If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. 47 But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?”
Read John 5:16-47 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
During one of the earlier challenges that Jesus faced from a group of Jewish leaders regarding His actions on the Sabbath, Jesus shares some amazing, profound ideas about both Himself and about God the Father.
In Jesus’ response, He shares where He has placed His focus and where He receives His power. He tells them, “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. 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. 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.” (v. 19-21)
Jesus tells these leaders in Jerusalem that they would see even greater things than the healing that had just taken place. These leaders wouldn’t see God working through Jesus because they were paying attention to God the Father and expecting Him to work directly, but because Jesus was entirely focused on the Father and on doing His will, they missed out on what God was really doing in their generation. This focus Jesus had on the Father gave Him the connection and the power (through the Holy Spirit) to do amazing things for God’s glory.
This power even extended onto giving life to others who had lost theirs. While this could be seen as figurative, there are cases where Jesus does resurrect individuals who had died, and a few verses later, Jesus touches again on the idea of death and resurrection by saying, “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 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.” (v. 28-29)
The promised resurrection that will happen can only take place as Jesus describes it if there are “those who have done what is good” and “those who have done what is evil”. This idea runs contrary to popular opinion that either believes there will be no resurrection, or that if a resurrection takes place, it will takes everyone to the same place. (Technically people believe there is a distinct split and both a heaven and hell, but never at a funeral do we hear people talking about the destiny of hell for an individual who has done evil or who has not placed their hope, trust, and belief in Jesus. Hell in most people’s minds is reserved for the “other” group(s) of people that we don’t like.)
But Jesus focuses our attention onto a time when there will be a resurrection that divides people based upon what they have done. The problem is that everyone has done evil except for Jesus, and without God’s help, there is no one who has exclusively done what is good. Even the best actions of a well-intentioned sinner don’t count for much in the final picture.
The only hope we have is to take the gift Jesus has offered to us to replace our lives with His. Jesus has done what is good, and His sacrifice makes a way for us to be included in the group of “those who have done what is good”. The only thing we can do that truly is good is placing our faith, hope, trust, and belief in Jesus, and then focus our lives on being like Him, loving like Him, and accepting like Him.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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