John 5:27 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.

NIV: And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.

NASB: and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man.

CSB: And he has granted him the right to pass judgment, because he is the Son of Man.

NLT: And he has given him authority to judge everyone because he is the Son of Man.

KJV: And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.

NKJV: and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.

The title Son of Man carries great weight in the Jewish worldview. Daniel 7:13–14 presents a vision of a Promised One, in the form of a man, but with all the power and authority of God. This figure is referred to as "one like a son of man," and this phrase was commonly used as a reference to the Messiah. When used in this kind of context, the phrase "Son of Man" is not just a claim to power, but to prophecy and divinity. John uses the phrase a dozen times in this Gospel, and it's seen some eighty times in four Gospels combined.

In prior verses, Jesus has been making exactly those sorts of statements. He has claimed to possess the attributes of God (John 5:19–23), and the power over life and death (John 5:26). This fulfillment of prophecy is one reason Jesus scolds the Pharisees for ignoring the Word of God. According to Jesus, the evidence these men need to acknowledge Him is in the Scriptures already (John 5:39). And yet, those who will not accept Jesus will not accept God. Those who reject Christ are rejecting the Father (John 3:18, 36).

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—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 more or less avoiding 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 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 gospel of John was written by the disciple John, decades later than the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. 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”—in order to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in all of the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.

Accessed 5/5/2024 5:13:15 AM