John Calvin Commentary John 5:19

"Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father doing: for what things soever he doeth, these the Son also doeth in like manner." — John 5:19 (ASV)

Jesus therefore answered. We see what I have said, that Christ is so far from vindicating himself from what the Jews asserted, though they intended it as slander, that he maintains more openly that it is true. And first, he insists on this point, that the work which the Jews criticized was a divine work, to make them understand that they must fight with God himself, if they persist in condemning what must necessarily be attributed to him.

This passage was debated in various ways in ancient times between the orthodox Fathers and the Arians. Arius inferred from it that the Son is inferior to the Father, because he can do nothing of himself. The Fathers replied that these words indicate nothing more than the distinction of the person, so that it might be understood that Christ is from the Father, and yet that he is not deprived of intrinsic power to act.

But both parties were in the wrong. For the discussion does not relate to the simple Divinity of Christ, and those statements which we shall immediately see do not simply and of themselves relate to the eternal Word of God, but apply only to the Son of God, insofar as he is manifested in the flesh.

Let us therefore keep Christ before our eyes, as he was sent into the world by the Father to be a Redeemer. The Jews saw in him nothing higher than human nature. Therefore, he argues that when he cured the diseased man, he did it not by human power, but by a Divine power concealed under his visible flesh.

The state of the case is this. As they, confining their attention to the appearance of the flesh, despised Christ, he instructs them to rise higher and look at God. The whole discussion must be referred to this contrast, that they are gravely mistaken who think that they are dealing with a mortal man when they accuse Christ of works that are truly divine. This is his reason for affirming so strongly that in this work, there is no difference between him and his Father.