14-24.
Ρἴδιον ἔλεγε τὸν Θεὸν, ἴσον ἑαυτὸν ποιῶν τῷ Θεῷ.
Tao
, ... 19. ἀπεκρίνατο p Rom. viii 32. 1Cor
οὖν ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, “'᾽Αμὴν ἁμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ob δύναται vii. 2. ὁ υἱὸς ποιεῖν Tad’ ἑαυτοῦ οὐδὲν, ἐὰν py τι βλέπῃ τὸν πατέρα q viii. 28;ix
ποιοῦντα: ἃ yap ἂν ἐκεῖνος tou, ταῦτα καὶ 6
J ; x. 18.
ca ς , α ULOS ομοίως ποιει.
2ο. " ὁ γὰρ πατὴρ Φιλεῖ τὸν υἱὸν, καὶ πάντα δείκνυσιν αὐτῷ ἃ αὐτὸς τν. ο.
ποιεῖ: καὶ ' μείζονα τούτων δείξει αὐτῷ ἔργα, ἵνα ὑμεῖς θαυµάζητε. s xiv. τ.,
21. ὥσπερ yap ὁ πατὴρ ἐγείρει τοὺς 22.
καὶ ὁ υἱὸς οὓς θέλει ζωοποιεῖ.
The passage 19-30 divides itself thus: vv. 109, 20 exhibit the ground of the Son’s activity in the Father’s activity and love for the Son; vv. 21-23, the works given by the Father to the Son are, generally, life-giving and judging ; vv. 24-27, these works in the spiritual sphere; vv. 28-29, in the physical sphere; and ver. 30, reaffirmation of unity with the Father.—Ver. 19. The fundamental proposition is οὐ δύναται 6 vids ποιεῖν ad’ ἑαυτοῦ οὐδέν. ‘The Son can do nothing of Himself.” This is not, as sometimes has been supposed, a general statement true of all sons, but is spoken directly of Jesus. δύναται is moral not physical ability—though here the one implies the other; but cf. ver. 26. So perfect is the Son’s sympathy with the Father that He can only do what He sees the Father doing. He does nothing at His own instance. That is to say, in healing the impotent man He felt sure He was doing what the Father wished done and gave Him power to do.—a γὰρ » ποιεῖ, as Holtzmann observes, the force of the repetition lies in ὁμοίως, pariter, ‘in like manner ”’.—Ver. 20. And the Son is enabled to see what the Father does, because He loves the Son and shows Him all that He Himself does. The Father is not passive in the matter, merely allowing Jesus to discover what He can of the Father’s will; but the Father δείκννσιν, shows Him, inwardly and in response to His own readiness to perceive, not mechanically but spiritually, all that He does; πάντα apparently without limitation, for ποιεῖ is habitual present as φιλεῖ in previous clause, and cannot be restricted to the things God was then doing in the case of the im- potent man. Besides, a merely human sonship scarcely satisfies the absolute 6 πατήρ and 6 vids of this passage.—kat µείζονα . . . Oavpalnre, the Father through the Son will do greater works than the healing of the impotent man; cf. xiv. 12; “that ye may marvel”;
A Wien pests) νεκροὺς καὶ ζωοποιεῖ, * οὕτω | xi, ος. 5) 5
“odd€ γὰρ 6 πατὴρ κροαν ο
this seems an inadequate motive, but ver. 23 explains it. In the following passage, spiritual quickening is meant in vv. 21-27, while in vv. 28, 29, it is the bodily resurrection that is in view.— Ver. 21. ὥσπερ yap . . . ζωοποιεῖ. This is one of the ‘greater works” which the Father shows to the Son. The Jews believed in the power of God to give life and to raise the dead; see Deut. xxxii. 39; 1 Sam. ii. 6; Is. xxvi 1g. In our Lord’s time there was in use the following prayer: ‘‘Thou, O Lord, art mighty for ever; Thou quickenest the dead; Thou art strong to save; Thou sustainest the living by Thy mercy; Thou quickenest the dead by Thy great compassion; Thou makest good Thy faithfulness to them that sleep in the dust; Thou art faithful to quicken the dead. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who quickenest the dead.” There is there- fore no need to ask, what quickening of the dead is here meant? What was meant was that the power which they all believed to be in God was likewise in the Son. He quickens οὓς θέλει, {.6., no matter how dead the person is; even though he has lain as long useless as the impotent man. The question of the human will is not touched here, but it may be remarked that the will of the impotent man was consulted as the prime requisite of the cure.—Ver. 22. But not only does the Son quicken whom He will, but He also judges; οὐδὲ γὰρ... vig. ‘For not even does the Father judge any one, but has given all judgment to the Son.” ‘For since He knows Himself to be the sole mediator of true life for men, He can also declare that all those who will not partake through Him of this blissful life, just therein experience judgment whereby they sink into death.” Wendt, ii. 211; and cf. νετ. 27. οὐδὲ yap introduces the fresh statement, that He judges, not only as the reason for what goes before, but on its own account also, as an additional fact to be noticed. It would seem an astonishing thing that