A Study of John's Gospel

John 5:19-20: Jesus and God the Father

In verse 19 Jesus opens His discourse by saying, "Truly truly...". "Truly" in the Greek is actually the word "amen." So John records Jesus as saying, "Amen amen...". This word is used at the beginning of a discourse to emphasize the importance and truth of what is about to be said. And in a language that does not have exclamation points, words or phrases are repeated for emphasis. This is why when we see words or phrases repeated, particularly in ancient Hebrew (OT), but in Greek (NT) as well, it is like the ancient version of the exclamation point in present day English. It is interesting from a literary perspective to note that the other three gospels use a single "amen," (31 times in Matt., 13 times in Mark, and 6 times in Luke), but John uses the double "amen," or as we read it in English "truly, truly" 25 times. This means what Jesus is about to say is very important and truthful, so we should pay attention.

Some theologians have put forward the idea that verses 19-20a are a parable derived from Jesus' experience growing up and learning the carpentry trade from Joseph. Others have said this is not a parable, but rather, a concept that would have been understood by the people Jesus spoke to because they grew up in a culture where sons would typically learn the trade of their fathers. This second position seems more likely because "the Son" is not used generically of Jesus in the gospels. It is an undeniably Christological expression, and the way Jesus used it would have been understood that way by His first century audience. In addition to this, this discourse follows the statement Jesus just made about His unique relation to God the Father. The main point Jesus is making in verse 19-20a is that He is equal with the Father, but He does not operate independently of the Father. He is not an alternate deity. He and the Father are One.

For this reason He says, "the Son can do nothing of His own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing." Jesus says this to communicate that His healing of the disabled man on the Sabbath is the will of God the Father; otherwise He wouldn't have done it or been able to do it. And His reference to Himself as the Son refers to His unique identity as the one and only Son of God, which He also communicated to Nicodemus in John 3:16.

Jesus does nothing independently of the Father. And everything Jesus does, He does willingly, not under coercion. He is fully equal with God the Father (Jesus is Yahweh), but as God the Son, He is subordinate in role. This touches on the doctrine of the Trinity. This is a difficult concept for us to grasp because we each exist as one being made up of one person. But the one true God, Yahweh, is one Being who exists as 3 perfectly unified persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Each member of the Trinity is fully God and fully equal in Deity, but they fulfill different roles. The will of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is perfectly unified, so nothing any member of the Trinity does is done under compulsion (this includes the cross), so Jesus is subordinate only in His role as Son, but fully equal in Deity. The Father is not the Son and the Son is not the Holy Spirit, but the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are Yahweh. This concept is complex, but not illogical. And we should not be shocked to discover there are aspects of the God of the universe's nature that bend our finite minds at least a little bit.

But the main point in this verse is that while the Jewish leaders are accusing Him of violating Yahweh's law, Jesus tells them He could only do what He did because it was God the Father's (Yahweh's) will. As D.A. Carson puts it while quoting Bühner, "The Father initiates, sends, commands, commissions, grants; the Son responds, obeys, performs his Father's will, receives authority. In this sense, the Son is the Father's agent, though, as John goes on to insist, much more than an agent". God the Son will never contradict or overturn the will of the Father, therefore, as the one and only, unique Son of God, He has not violated Yahweh's law. He is not claiming to be a different but equal deity. He is the perfect representation of the Father's work and desires. He is Yahweh. And more than that, He is not guessing at what the Father's will is. Everything He does is directed by the Father.