Considering the thought flow of John 5:19–30, does verse 30 introduce a new topic?

This text is from a letter written by David Gooding.

You have been working, I see, on elucidating the thought flow of John 5:19–30; and you remain unsure whether John 5:30 ends the first phase of his defence, or whether it introduces a new topic.

As I read the passage, I would start certainly at John 5:19, where Christ begins his defence with the Jews who sought to kill him because he called God his own Father, and thus made himself equal with God. So in John 5:19 he makes the point that he can do nothing but what he sees the Father doing.

Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.

On the other hand, what things the Father does, the Son does also in like manner. And then, to ram home what he has said, verse 20 adds: 'For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel'.

So our Lord is developing the argument that he does nothing independently of the Father. But, on the other hand, whatever he sees the Father doing, he does in like manner. What is more, the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he does, and even greater works will he show him, so that when the Son, following the Father, does these same great works, the people will marvel.

So what are these works that the Father shows the Son?

The Father gives life: 'For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will' (John 5:21). So that is the first side of the work that the Father shows the Son.

The other side of the work is given in John 5:22: 'For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgement unto the Son'.

So not only does the Son give life to those whom the Father gives life to, but at the same time he is to be the judge, and will judge all those whom the Father judges.

That is, therefore, the basis of John 5:24: 'Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life'.

John 5:24 therefore repeats the 'Verily, verily' because this is an astonishing statement by the judge. Standing on two feet, in the land of Palestine, he is able to predict what the final verdict of the Final Judgment will be because he is going to be the judge.

This is to inform them that not only has he the ability to foresee and settle the Final Judgment because he will be the judge at the Final Judgment, but even in the here and now, 'Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live' (John 5:25). He is talking presumably of the spiritually dead. They hear the voice of the Son of God and they live. They receive eternal life.

In John 5:26, our Lord explains it once more: 'For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself'.

We should notice that when our Lord said, 'the Father has life in himself', it does not simply mean that God is alive. It is calling to the source of God's life. God doesn't get life from anywhere outside of himself—he is himself the source of all life. Even so, he has given to the Son also to have life in himself. Christ doesn't get the life from outside of himself. He is the source of life.

He has just demonstrated it with the man at the pool. Christ didn't need to use the means to get him into the pool. By simply speaking the word he communicated the life and the man got up and walked. In that same way, not only has the Father given to the Son to have life in himself; but the Father has also given the Son authority to execute judgment, 'because he is the Son of man' (John 5:27). And once more we have our Lord emphasizing the two sides of his ministry. He is able to give life; and he has been commissioned of the Father to execute the judgment.

So thus far, from John 5:19 onwards, our Lord is emphasizing the dual ministry that the Father has given him. On the one hand to give life; on the other hand, to be the judge.

In the light of that, John 5:28 moves onward and talks now, not merely of giving spiritual life to those who are spiritually dead, but points forward to the resurrection: to the hour in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice and shall come forth. That is, he not only has the power to give spiritual life. When the hour comes, he will raise the dead and reanimate their physical bodies.

And so we come to the John 5:5:29. When he raises the dead, there shall be those who have done good—Abraham, Isaac, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Jehoshaphat, and so forth—thousands of them. They were not perfect, but they put their faith in God. They were justified by faith and tried to live and behave as God would have them. They were not sinless, but they were covered by the sacrifice of Christ. Those who have done good from Old Testament days shall rise. Similarly, those who have done evil. And one can think of plenty of examples of those who did evil in the Old Testament—notable of them would be Pharaoh of Egypt. He didn't care anything about Jehovah, and defied him and perished.

Now the question arises, and you raise the question yourself, whether verse 30 continues with the thought flow of the previous verses, or whether it starts a distinct subset. In my Bible, which is a Revised Version, the revisers have indicated their idea that John 5:30 starts a new subset of the general subject. And yet, it is true that John 5:30 follows on where our Lord has been making the point all the way through, that he is utterly dependent on the Father. He does not do anything but what the Father first shows him; he does not act independently of the Father.

In other words, he is certainly equal with God, but he is dependent on the Father. The Father tells the Son what to do; the Son doesn't tell the Father what to do. And this is certainly true in verse 30 of our Lord's judgment:

I can of myself do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgement is righteous; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.

So this introduces what you call 'the passage on witnesses'; but, while it introduces a comparatively new topic, it is in harmony with what has gone before: our Lord's dependence on the Father, as the true Son of the Father.

I think that thus far I have answered your questions, though I fear I shall not have completely satisfied you with my answers. I am just making a contribution to your thinking.

Warmly in Christ,