NLT Study Bible - Gospel of John - Flipbook - Page 18
John 5:33
1779
5:19
John 8:28; 12:49;
14:10
5:21
John 11:25
bzoopoieo (2227)
John 6:63
5:22
John 3:17; 5:27
5:23
1 Jn 2:23
5:24
John 3:15; 20:30-31
1 Jn 3:14; 5:13
5:25
John 4:21; 6:63, 68
5:26
John 1:4; 6:57
1 Jn 5:11-12
5:27
John 9:39
Acts 10:42; 17:31
5:29
Dan 12:2
Matt 25:46
Acts 24:15
canastasis (0386)
John 11:24
5:30
John 5:19; 6:38
5:31
John 8:13-14
5:32
John 8:18
J esus replied, “My Father is always working,
and so am I.” 18So the Jewish leaders tried
all the harder to find a way to kill him. For
he not only broke the Sabbath, he called
God his Father, thereby making himself
equal with God.
19So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth,
the Son can do nothing by himself. He does
only what he sees the Father doing. What
ever the Father does, the Son also does.
20For the Father loves the Son and shows
him everything he is doing. In fact, the Fa
ther will show him how to do even greater
works than healing this man. Then you will
truly be astonished. 21For just as the Father
b
gives life to those he raises from the dead,
so the Son bgives life to anyone he wants. 22In
addition, the Father judges no one. Instead,
he has given the Son absolute authorit y to
judge, 23so that everyone will honor the Son,
just as they honor the Father. Anyone who
does not honor the Son is certainly not hon
oring the Father who sent him.
24“I tell you the truth, those who listen to
my message and believe in God who sent
me have eternal life. They will never be con
demned for their sins, but they have already
passed from death into life.
25“And I assure you that the time is com
ing, indeed it’s here now, when the dead will
hear my voice—the voice of the Son of God.
And those who listen will live. 26The Father
has life in himself, and he has granted that
same life-giving power to his Son. 27And
he has given him authorit y to judge every
one because he is the Son of Man. 28Don’t
be so surprised! Indeed, the time is coming
when all the dead in their graves will hear
the voice of God’s Son, 29and they will rise
again. Those who have done good will crise
to experience eternal life, and those who
have continued in evil will crise to experi
ence judgment. 30I can do nothing on my
own. I judge as God tells me. Therefore, my
judgment is just, because I carr y out the will
of the one who sent me, not my own will.
Witnesses to Jesus
31“If I were to test if y on my own behalf, my
testimony would not be valid. 32But some
one else is also testifying about me, and I
assure you that everything he says about
me is true. 33In fact, you sent investigators
The Jewish Leaders (5:9-18)
John 1:19-24;
2:18-20; 7:1, 10-13,
35-36; 9:13-34;
11:45-54; 12:41-43;
18:28-36; 19:6-8, 1216, 31, 38; 20:19
Acts 6:10-12; 7:5458; 12:11; 21:11;
25:1-3, 7; 26:1-11;
28:17-24
2 Cor 11:24
Jesus experienced numerous conflicts with Jewish leaders throughout his public ministry.
These opponents viewed themselves as defending the Temple and its sacrifices or the synagogue and its teachings. In Jesus’ final week in Jerusalem, these debates intensified (Matt 23)
and contributed to the case against him.
When John wrote his Gospel, Christians were being persecuted by local Jewish synagogues,
and the language of their debate spilled over into John’s Gospel (see Acts 14:19; 1 Thes 2:14;
cp. Gal 1:13-14). The Greek term translated “the Jewish leaders” could be literally translated
“the Jews.” This word took on a technical meaning: It refers to the Temple leadership who confronted Jesus, judged him, and orchestrated his crucifixion (see 1:19; 2:18; 5:9-18; 9:18-22).
This is important because the NT—and particularly John’s Gospel—has often been seen
as anti-Semitic. But the truth is that Jesus, who was himself a Jew, did not wrestle with “Jews”
in general. His antagonists were the “Jewish leaders”—the brokers of religious power in firstcentury Jerusalem.
5:17 My Father is always working, and
so am I: Although work was prohibited
on the Sabbath, even rabbis agreed that
God worked on the Sabbath in giving
life (births) and in taking life (deaths).
The heart of Jesus’ defense was to
compare himself to God; the Jewish
leaders objected to this claim of divine
privilege.
5:19-30 Jesus claimed that his work on
the Sabbath was the same as God’s work
on the Sabbath. Jesus claimed to be
equal with God, doing the things God
does. Yet he submitted to God’s will, doing only what . . . the Father willed.
5:21 Most Jews firmly believed in resurrection but viewed it as something God
alone could accomplish. Jesus claimed
that he gives life.
5:27 Son of Man is a title Jesus used for
himself.
5:22 In addition to giving life, Jesus
claimed the absolute authority to judge,
which belongs to God alone.
5:31-40 God’s law requires more than
one witness in a trial (Deut 17:6), so
Jesus acknowledged that his own
testimony was admissible only when
confirmed by other witnesses. Thus, he
introduced a series of witnesses for his
defense.
5:23 the Father . . . sent him: In the
ancient world, a person could send
an authorized representative to seal
a contract or make an authoritative
decision. Jesus claimed to be God’s
representative, so obeying him is the
same as obeying God, and dishonoring
Jesus is dishonoring God.
5:24 Jesus is the giver of life as well as
the judge (see 5:21-22), but he never
works independently of the Father.
5:32 The first witness for Jesus’
defense was God himself. Jesus might
have had in mind God’s voice at his
baptism (Mark 1:11) or the presence
of God that enabled Jesus to perform
miracles.
