19 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. 21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. 22 The Father judges no one, but has given all judgement to the Son, 23 that all may honour the Son, just as they honour the Father. Whoever does not honour the Son does not honour the Father who sent him. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgement, but has passed from death to life.
25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, 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 execute judgement, because he is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgement.
No Judgement
Jesus’ authority to judge is established in this passage. He has been given authority by The Father to bring sentences of life or death on the people of earth. Those whose hope is in Jesus will receive life and those whose hope is in themselves or something other than Jesus will be condemned to death. We know from Revelation that John knows of eternal life and eternal death. Death, for him, is not just the cessation of life but it is an eternal condition of distance from God.
So the question is whether we know the Son and know life? This life comes to those who believe and is not a reward after death but a different life in this life. Some people are zombies, they are dead even though they walk and talk with the rest of us. Jesus’ authority to pronounce life or death leaves them dead. Others know abundant life in this life. I was talking to my mother who was sick in bed last night and still I was refreshed by her conversation because it was filled with life from God. Does the quality of your life suggest that you are truly alive?
I am thankful that as I walk to school I can take the shame and the guilt that I carry from my past and I can cast it on Jesus. I can take all the things that would kill me and suck the life out of me and I can cast them on God because he cares for me. Jesus has given me a verdict of not guilty and I am living in that. If I look too far into the future I sometimes become anxious, but God brings me grace for each moment. I live in the moment with Jesus and Jesus refreshes my soul and brings me life.
Prayer
You have raised us from death into a new life. It is a quality of life which is present right now. We are not yet a completed work, but we are a work that has been started and is in progress. I thank you that you bring life from the Father to all who believe.
Questions
- How was Jesus’ authority questioned earlier in chapter 5?
- How is Jesus’ authority established?
- If Jesus removes the sentence of death from his hearers, what does he bring in its place?
- Do you feel dead or alive? How does that reflect or mask reality?
- What is the life that Jesus brings? What are its qualities? How do you show them?
Plymothian 
1. The Pharisees had questioned Jesus’ authority to heal in the Sabbath.
2. Jesus had healed a man and had also made Himself equal with God by calling God His Father.
3. Jesus brings life!
4. Right now, I feel dead because I’m pretty tired this morning. 🙂 But I know that in Christ I have eternal life to come and His sustaining hand in my life now.
5. Jesus brings life that is abundant and sufficient – I don’t need anything else!
1. Jesus’ authority was questioned by the Pharisees, who grew angry at his claims that he had power over the law and was equal with God.
2. Jesus establishes his authority as the Son by claiming power over life and death, and foretelling the future manifestation of this power.
3. He offers life, he says, to everyone who believes in God and receives Jesus’ message.
4. Even though I know I am alive in Christ, every time I take my focus off of God, I struggle with lies of guilt and stress, which can feel like being dead inside.
5. The life that Jesus brings is not only future freedom from punishment, but freedom from the power of sin and guilt in the present. The closer I grow with God, the more natural it becomes to access this power. I think it is most obvious in me when I can be honest about my failures and struggles with myself, God, and others, realizing that God loves me and is using and changing me even in my current non-perfect state. I think the ability to find peace in this is a major part of the life that Christ brings.
Earlier in chapter 5 Jesus’ authority is questioned when the Jews judge him for healing on the Sabbath. Here, Jesus establishes his authority by showing that God the father has given him the right to judge and to give life. In place of certain death, Jesus offers eternal life in the presence of God. Since I have been saved, I mostly feel alive but because I am still sinful in a fallen world, I sometimes feel dead too. Usually these feelings are emotionally driven, they are not logical. Like a slave who has just been freed or a soldier suffering PTSD, I sometimes feel weighed down by the world. Fortunately this never has to last long because I know Jesus lives in me. Lately, Jesus has encouraged me to acknowledge people, even the ones I hardly know. He wants me to be less concerned with my own image and pursue others for Christ. I want people to ask me why I care so much so I can point them in the right direction. This doesn’t just come from what I know but also the spirit of God which is flowing through me.
1. Jesus’ authority is being questioned by the Pharisees and also by the Jews who were persecuting Jesus and seeking to kill him.
2. Jesus states that the Father has established his authority when he says that the Father “has given all judgment to the Son”, “has granted the Son also to have life in himself”, and “he has given him authority to execute judgment.”
3. New life now (Jn. 10:10; Gal. 2:10) and eternal life later (Jn. 5:24)
4. “Feeling” is a fickle word because it can change like the wind. If the question of feeling relates to my salvation, then I would say “alive”; if it relates to my spiritual life being on fire for Christ, it varies from time to time but mostly “alive”; if it relates to my physical well-being, it varies (today I am dead tired, running on 5hrs of sleep the past 2 nights in a row). Knowing, however, is a different story; I know that I once was dead and I am now alive by the grace of God through Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:1-10). Free from the bondage of sin and free from the gates of Hell. PRAISE GOD!
5. See above.
1) Earlier, Jesus had been questioned, because He healed on the Sabbath and put Himself as an equal with God.
2) His authority has been established through God giving Him the authority!
3) He brings hope and new life!
4) My “feelings” are constantly changing, but lately I’ve been feeling a bit dead. I’ve been struggling with different doubts and questions. My feelings have been masking the reality that Christ is present in my life and that He is my Peace when I am questioning and anxious.
5) The life that Jesus offers is a hope for today and for tomorrow! The way I live my everyday life reflects the new life He has given me.
Praise God for raising us from death in sin and giving us new life through Christ! I feel alive in this dying world because of the hope of new life Christ has given us through His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead. The new life that Jesus brings is free from sin, suffering, and death. It is full of all that is good and whole and satisfies us with God’s perfect love. God calls us to show the hope of the new life we have in Him to the world around us each day so that all people might come to have the same hope in Christ.
Jesus established his authority by completing miraculous works of healing. He gives life, abundant life, found in him alone. I often feel spiritually numb, not necessarily dead, but sometimes I feel abundantly alive! The life that Jesus brings is filled with the fruits of the Spirit and eternal hope for life with Christ!
1. Jesus’ authority was questioned by the Pharisees because He had healed on the Sabbath (breaking the law) and had called Himself equal to God.
2. Jesus explains that His authority comes straight from the Father and that He does nothing outside of God’s will. He has the power over life and death.
3. Jesus removes death from us and gives us life, which carries over into eternity.
4. Whether I feel “dead” or “alive” certainly is impacted by my emotions and mood, but over all I certainly do feel very alive. Jesus has given me life and life abundantly! This “feeling” is very consistent with reality because Christ has made us alive in Him. I am so thankful for the gift of eternal life, plus the fact that He sustains each breath!
5. The life that Jesus brings is freedom from the power and penalty of sin and the ability to live in Him–eternally! He awoke my dead and depraved soul and caused me to live in Him (Gal. 2:20). Now life has purpose and meaning.
Both Christ’s identity and authority are established by His miracles and teachings, though challenged in chapter 5 when He heals on the Sabbath. He brings life, hope, healing, and opportunities in place of death. I go back and forth between feeling dead and alive; we are always changing. I love how an artist “sleeping at last” puts it in one of his songs: “I’m feeling somewhere between victory and a white flag.” We don’t really know how we feel! I feel like being too dramatic either way could mask reality and a good constant but not extreme feeling of being alive in Christ best reflects reality.
Jesus has given me life. I feel hopeful and joyful. Even as I write this, i am dealing through some insecurities, yet I do not feel destitute or lost. I know that the Lord is with me, he holds my right hand.
The pharisees had questioned him because he had healed the lame man on the Sabbath, and they questioned his authority to do so. Jesus establishes his authority by saying that God had given him the authority. He offers life to those that accept his message. I know that I am alive because I am alive in Christ. Jesus offers eternal life to those that accept his message.
Jesus’ authority is established by how He claims to be the Son of God and how He has been performing marvelous works. His whole life was a fulfillment of prophecy, so His words could be trusted just as His prophecies made through the prophets long ago came to fruition. Also, Jesus clearly states that His authority comes from the Father.
1) by him healing the lame man on the Sabbath
2)by claiming that he is the son of God and performing many miraculous signs
3) Jesus would bring rescue to us.
4) I am alive because Christ has made me alive in this world and gives me strength to live each day.
5) Eternal Life, by living in such a way to show that this life here on earth is not my home….eternity is.
1) His authority was questioned when the Pharisees thought he was undermining the law by healing a man on Sabbath.
2) Jesus’ authority is established by God who gave him the power of judgment over the people of the earth
3) We receive the sentence of life with him in its place
4) Right now I feel alive, but there are many seasons in my life where I feel dead and cover that up out of shame or guilt
5) The life that Jesus’ brings is to acknowledge his power and realize that our point on this earth is to bring glory to him. This is not an easy life, it is actually really hard. This life isn’t necessarily happy, but it is full of joy.
Jesus established his authority by claiming his power came from the Father. I know I am alive in Christ. I like the question Mr. Worrall asked, “Does the quality of your life suggest that you are truly alive?” This made me stop and try to look at my life as an outsider. How would people answer this question by looking at my life? Is Christ flowing out of me in my words and actions? I became convicted on somethings.
I find the way Jesus speaks sometimes hard to follow. I can get though that He is saying His authority comes from God Himself, as evident in His ability to heal. In place of death, Jesus brings life, and life abundantly :). I feel more alive at times than at other times, but I don’t typically feel dead. I feel most alive when I feel I am using the gifts God has given me and am exactly where I should be.
5. Life in Jesus Christ brings with it the knowledge of absolute Truth of Justice, Wisdom, Peace, Love and Righteousness. These are hard things to grasp for the sin of man can only define these things as separate in sometimes in contradiction or opposition to one another. However, life in Christ goes to show us that these characteristics of Christ grow and manifest themselves throughout different situations in life, in which we can ask, What do I want to do? What would Jesus do? and in this process of thinking the Spirit may push us to conform greater to the likeness of Christ.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” -Jesus
There is peace in my soul because of this verse. I am imagining the feeling of passing through death to life. As I am writing this a song was over the speakers and the lyrics go “Jesus Christ whom demons fear and angels sing.” I feel alive!
1. Jesus broke norms (again) for healing a man on the sabbath.
2. God has given His Son Authority.
3. Life!!!
4. I am Alive! The only way i feel alive is by feeling Jesus taking my punishment daily.
5. It is a life that values the truth of this world. Jesus broke all the norms in His time, and He is asking all His followers to break social norms today by seeing the lies in this world.
2. Jesus establishes his authority by claiming he has power over life and death which he does.
3. He has given us LIFE
5. Jesus brings us everlasting life and His rightouesness. This looks like us being more like Jesus every day!
In Jesus Christ, with the authority given to him by the Father and in His very person – eternal God and eternal Man – I too have found eternal life and a relationship with the Father. It is overwhelming to think that Jesus Christ has taken me and has joined me to Himself, allowing me to become a part of the beautiful and unique relationship He has with the Father. Even more overwhelming is to think of this in light of who I am and what I deserve – a very sinner who deserves judgement and wrath and death. Yet Jesus Christ chose to bring me into relationship with Him, into union with Him, and I am astonished by this. Nothing that I could ever do will “grant” me entrance into the Kingdom – the presence of God. Rather, it is solely because of Jesus Christ.
I often have to remember this and think of what this means. I have to remind myself that my life is not my own. I have been made new and am continously being transformed in the likeness of the Son. I must allow this – the best part of who I am, daughter of the Father through union with the Son – to be resembled in every one of my actions and thoughts. And it should not be out of mere obligation, but out of overwhelming gratefulness. How can I show this on a day to day basis? At this moment I am focusing in my relationship with others – how can I show Christ’s love and what He is doing in me through my relationship with those around me, whether they are believers or not?
1. How was Jesus’ authority questioned earlier in chapter 5?
The Jews questioned him doing miracles on the Sabbath and claiming to be the Son (equal) with God.
2. How is Jesus’ authority established?
He claims to be the Son of God and describes all the powers and authority he has been given by the Father. He talks about how he does the work of the Father, all showing that he has supreme authority.
3. If Jesus removes the sentence of death from his hearers, what does he bring in its place?
Life and righteousness!
4. Do you feel dead or alive? How does that reflect or mask reality?
I’ve just gone through a phase in life of feeling so overwhelmed by all the sin in this world, I felt dead. I was so scared all the time, thinking of all the terrible things that could happen to me or someone else in this life. But praise God!, he has been reminding me that he triumphs over all. Nothing in this life will conquer Jesus and his work on the cross. I am secured in eternal life with Christ. This makes me feel very alive!
5. What is the life that Jesus brings? What are its qualities? How do you show them?
Well, the passage doesn’t really describe the life given here, but we know that it is life. And if we know the character of God, we know that it is good and eternal, never fading, not snatched away.
Earlier in the passage, the religious leaders question Jesus’ right to do what they perceive to be work on the Sabbath, and then are outright enraged by His authoritative claim that God is His father. Ironically, it is exactly this father/son relationship that leads to Jesus’ authority in Heaven and on earth.
In place of death, Jesus brings life- both abundantly on earth, as well as eternally in Heaven- to those from whom the sentence of death is removed.
I am blessed to be able to say that I feel alive. This time last year I felt quite dead; buried in darkness, sin, and anger, and I could neither climb my way back to life, nor find the drive to ask Jesus to rescue me. Thankfully, wonderfully, He doesn’t always wait for His children to ask for His intervention. Sometimes, He just saves. And we are alive.
The life that Jesus brings is characterized by so much grace and joy- an overwhelming outpouring of the fruit of the spirit. This reflects in the believer possessing these qualities, and growing in them, as well as the believer experiencing these from God, and desiring to share that with others.
1. His authority was questioned by the religious leaders when he healed a man on the Sabbath.
2. God the Father.
3. LIFE!
4. Alive! I am alive because Jesus has made me alive in Him.
5. Jesus’ life that He gives is everlasting! It will never go out. It gives me hope and joy! I show this life in my everyday life and I will live it for the rest of eternity.
Jesus demands authority by saying that he is one with the Father. What the Father does, the Son also does.
I feel quite alive. Sometimes I feel too alive, with the temptation to wish that I felt so deeply and vividly as I often do.