John 5:19 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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John 5:19

Comments

But then he adds this illustration. He speaks to them as if they were simpletons, children in the kindergarten class. He could have said, ‘I know exactly what my Father thinks’, but instead he illustrates it as though he is saying, ‘I was in my Father’s house. I was in heaven. I know all the conversations in heaven. I am one of the family with my Father. I know everything that is talked about and planned. And because I have heard it all, I can repeat it here. From eternity I have been a member of the household, so I and my Father think and speak and do the same.’ It really is quite a talk-down, but it is gently done. The Son and the Father are the same, and they do and think the same, and the Holy Spirit. This is what our forebears used to call the concert of the Trinity, the synchrony of the Trinity, the harmony of the Trinity: one God, three distinct persons. The great mystery of the Godhead put in such simple terms.The implication is this, ‘You Jewish leaders, you do not like me, and you are against me. You need to understand, that if you find me distasteful, and if you are against me,’ says Christ, ‘you are also against the Father, because we are exactly the same, and we are doing the same things, and the will of each, is the same, divine will.’

Application

Questions

‘The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do.’ What does he mean? Does he mean he is less divine than the Father? No, that is not implied. It means simply this, the Son is equal with the Father, but he will never act independently of the Father - that is the meaning of the words. ‘The Son can do nothing of himself,’ not, the Son cannot do anything unless the Father infuses into him the power. The sense is, the Son would never do anything of which the Father didn’t approve – and, come to that, the Holy Spirit didn’t approve – because there is one God, three Persons in one Godhead, equally divine, but working in complete harmony. No conceivable disagreement between them. Their views are one, and their views are perfect. Furthermore, The Son of God has come in human flesh. He has become a representative man, with many limitations. And therefore he is establishing that he is more than that, he is divine, and he is aware, as the Son of God, though he is seen in the weakness of human flesh, he is totally aware of what the Father thinks, and what the Father desires. So the Father shows him everything and he sees the Father’s will.

Outline

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Introduction

John 5:19 Commentary and Bible Study