Church Fathers Commentary John 5:21-23

"For as the Father raiseth the dead and giveth them life, even so the Son also giveth life to whom he will. For neither doth the Father judge any man, but he hath given all judgment unto the Son; that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father that sent him." — John 5:21-23 (ASV)

St. Augustine of Hippo: After saying the Father would show the Son greater works than these, He proceeds to describe these greater works: For as the Father raises up the dead and quickens them, even so the Son quickens whom He will. These are clearly greater works, for it is a greater miracle for a dead man to rise again than for a sick man to recover. We must not understand from these words that some are raised by the Father and others by the Son, but that the Son gives life to the same ones whom the Father raises. And to prevent anyone from saying that the Father raises the dead by the Son—the Father by His own power, and the Son, like an instrument, by another's power—He clearly asserts the Son's power: The Son quickens whom He will. Observe here not only the Son's power, but also His will. The Father and Son have the same power and will. The Father wills nothing distinct from the Son; rather, both have the same will, just as they have the same substance.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: For to will is the free power of a nature, which, by the act of choice, rests in the blessedness of perfect excellence.

St. Augustine of Hippo: But who are these dead whom the Father and Son raise to life? He is alluding to the general resurrection that is to come, not to the resurrection of the few who were raised to life so that others might believe, such as Lazarus, who rose again only to die later. Having said, For as the Father raises up the dead and quickens them, to prevent us from taking the words to refer to the dead whom He raised for the sake of a miracle and not to the resurrection to eternal life, He adds, For the Father judges no one. This shows that He was speaking of the resurrection of the dead that will take place at the judgment.

Alternatively, the words, As the Father raises up the dead... refer to the resurrection of the soul, while the words, For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, refer to the resurrection of the body. The resurrection of the soul takes place by the shared substance of the Father and the Son, and is therefore the work of both together. The resurrection of the body, however, takes place through the dispensation of the Son’s humanity, which is a temporal reality and not co-eternal with the Father.

But see how the Word of Christ leads the mind in different directions, not allowing it any worldly resting place. By a variety of movements, it exercises the mind; by exercise, it purifies it; by purifying, it enlarges its capacity; and after enlarging, it fills it. He said just before that the Father showed the Son whatever He did. So I saw, as it were, the Father working and the Son waiting; now again, I see the Son working and the Father resting.

For this—namely, that the Father has given all judgment to the Son—does not mean that He begot the Son with this attribute, as is meant in the words, So He has granted the Son to have life in Himself. If that were so, it would not be said, The Father judges no one, because, in begetting the Son as His equal, the Father judges with the Son.

What is meant is that in the judgment, it is not the form of God but the form of the Son of Man that will appear. This is not because the Father—who has given all judgment to the Son—will not judge. Indeed, the Son says of Him later, There is one who seeks and judges. Rather, it means that no one will see the Father in the judgment. Instead, all will see the Son, because He is the Son of Man—even the ungodly, who will look on Him whom they pierced.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: Having said that the Son quickens whom He wills, so that we might not lose sight of His divine origin (His nativity) and think that He was acting on the basis of His own unbegotten power, He immediately adds, For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son. In that all judgment is given to Him, both His nature and His divine origin are shown, because only a self-existent nature can possess all things, and a begotten nature cannot have anything except what is given to it.

St. John Chrysostom: Just as the Father gave Him life—that is, begot Him as living—so He gave Him judgment—that is, begot Him as a judge. The word "gave" is used so that you do not think the Son is unbegotten and thus imagine two Fathers. It says "all judgment" because He has the authority to award both punishment and reward.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: All judgment is given to Him because He quickens whom He wills. Nor can this judgment be seen as taken away from the Father, since the reason He does not judge is that the judgment of the Son is His own. For all judgment is given from the Father. The reason He gives it appears immediately after: That all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father.

St. John Chrysostom: So that you do not infer from hearing that the Father is the Author of His power any difference in substance or inequality of honor, He connects the honor of the Son with the honor of the Father, showing that both are the same. But should people then call Him the Father? God forbid. Whoever calls Him the Father does not honor the Son equally with the Father, but confuses the two.

St. Augustine of Hippo: At first, the Son appeared as a servant, and the Father was honored as God. But the Son will be seen to be equal to the Father, so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. But what if people are found who honor the Father but do not honor the Son? That cannot be. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.

It is one thing to acknowledge God as God, and another to acknowledge Him as the Father. When you acknowledge God the Creator, you acknowledge an almighty, supreme, eternal, invisible, and immutable Spirit. When you acknowledge the Father, you in reality acknowledge the Son, for He could not be the Father if He did not have the Son. But if you honor the Father as greater and the Son as less, then to the extent that you give less honor to the Son, you take away from the honor of the Father. For you in reality think that the Father either could not or would not beget a Son equal to Himself. If He was unwilling, He was envious; if He was unable, He was weak.

Alternatively, the phrase that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father refers to the resurrection of souls, which is the work of the Son as well as of the Father. But the resurrection of the body is meant in what comes after: Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. Here, the word as is not used; the man Christ is honored, but not as the Father who sent Him, since with respect to His humanity He Himself says, My Father is greater than I.

But someone will say, "If the Son is sent by the Father, He is inferior to the Father." Leave your worldly ways of thinking and understand a "sending," not a separation. Human examples can be misleading, but divine realities bring clarity. Even so, a human example testifies against you: if a man wishes to marry a woman but cannot win her over himself, he sends a friend—perhaps one greater than himself—to plead his case for him. But see the difference in divine matters. A man does not go with the one he sends, but the Father who sent the Son never ceased to be with the Son, as we read, I am not alone, but the Father is with Me.

However, the Son is not said to be "sent" because He is born of the Father, but because of His appearing in this world as the Word made flesh, as He says, I came from the Father and have come into the world. Or, it refers to His being received into our individual minds, as we read in Scripture, Send her, that she may be with me and may labor with me.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: The conclusion, then, stands firm against all the fury of heretical minds. He is the Son because He does nothing of Himself. He is God because whatever the Father does, He does likewise. They are one because They are equal in honor. He is not the Father because He is sent.