John 5:22 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son,

NIV: Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son,

NASB: For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son,

CSB: The Father, in fact, judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son,

NLT: In addition, the Father judges no one. Instead, he has given the Son absolute authority to judge,

KJV: For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:

NKJV: For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son,

Local religious leaders are incensed at Jesus for at least two reasons. First, He is violating their traditional views of the Sabbath (John 5:16). Second, He is claiming to be equal to God (John 5:18). Rather than run from these claims, Jesus is in the process of explaining how He does, in fact, possess all the qualities of God. In prior verses, Jesus claimed the same works (John 5:19) and love (John 5:20) as God. He has also claimed the divine right of power over life and death, and the ability to choose when to use it (John 5:21). Later, He will claim equal honor to God the Father as well (John 5:23).

Now Jesus claims to have the power of divine judgment. This thought will be repeated (John 5:27). God's sovereignty includes the right to judge all things (Genesis 18:25). Jesus declares that the right to issue verdicts has been given to Him by God. This foreshadows Christ's eventual judgment of all mankind (Revelation 20:11–15). This authority intertwines with the power over life and death (John 5:21).

John 5:16–29 begins Jesus' response to local religious leaders. After healing a man on the Sabbath, Jesus is attacked for violating traditions related to the Mosaic law and for claiming to be equal to God. In this passage, Jesus claims many of the attributes of God the Father. Among these are the power, judgment, love, and honor of God. Jesus also states that those who reject His message dishonor God and only those who believe Him will have eternal life. In the next passage, Jesus will support these claims by referring to various forms of evidence, all of which prove His ministry to be true.

Jesus again returns to Jerusalem, as required for the various feast days. While there, He heals a man who had been crippled for nearly forty years. Since this occurred on the Sabbath, local religious leaders are angry. In fact, they are more upset with Jesus for working on the Sabbath than amazed at His miracle. In response, Jesus offers an important perspective on evidence. Jesus refers to human testimony, scriptural testimony, and miracles as reasons to believe His declarations. Christ also lays claim to many of the attributes of God, making a clear claim to divinity.

Chapters 1 through 4 showed Jesus avoiding major publicity. Here, in chapter 5, He will begin to openly challenge the local religious leaders. This chapter is Jesus' first major answer to His critics in this gospel. The fact that Jesus is willing to heal on the Sabbath sets up a theme of His upcoming disagreements with the Pharisees. Jesus also provides an important perspective on the relationship between evidence and faith, which He will expand on in later chapters. This chapter also establishes a key point made by Jesus' critics: His claims to be God.

The disciple John wrote the gospel of John decades after the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke were written. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls "signs"— to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.

Accessed 5/18/2024 8:06:52 PM