Why were the Jews so angry with Jesus in this passage?

The Jews were angry because Jesus had healed a man on the Sabbath and told him to carry his bed, which they saw as breaking their rules about rest. When they challenged Him, Jesus called God His own Father and spoke of working as the Father works. They understood this as Jesus making Himself equal with God. So their anger was not just about the Sabbath, but also about His claim to a unique relationship with God, which they saw as blasphemy and a reason to seek His death.

What does Jesus mean when He says, "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work"?

When Jesus says this, He is pointing out that God did not stop all activity after creation but continues to sustain and govern the world, caring for people at all times. By saying, “and I work,” Jesus is putting His own actions, including healing on the Sabbath, in line with God’s ongoing work. He is not acting independently or carelessly; He is doing the same kind of life‑giving work the Father does. This shows both His obedience to the Father and His sharing in the Father’s divine work.

What does it mean that the Son can do nothing of Himself but what He sees the Father do?

Jesus is not saying He is weak or clueless. He is showing His perfect unity and harmony with the Father. The Son does not act on His own apart from the Father’s will. Instead, everything He does matches what the Father does and wants. This means His miracles, His teaching, and even His judging are not separate projects. They are the Father’s works carried out through Him. It shows both His full obedience as Son and His sharing in the Father’s power and purpose.

How does this passage say a person receives everlasting life?

Jesus says that whoever hears His word and believes in the One who sent Him already has everlasting life. That person “shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life.” This means eternal life starts in the present for those who trust God through Jesus. They move from a state of spiritual death to real life with God. The key is not just hearing the sound of His words but taking them to heart in faith, trusting the Father who sent the Son to save and not to condemn.

What is the meaning of the dead hearing the voice of the Son of God and living?

Jesus speaks in two connected ways. First, He says the hour “is coming, and now is,” when those who are spiritually dead in sin will hear His voice in the gospel and live. When people truly hear Him in faith, they receive new spiritual life. Later He also speaks of a future hour when all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come out, some to life and some to condemnation. So His voice both brings present spiritual life and will one day call every person to bodily resurrection and judgment.

What does this passage teach about resurrection and judgment?

Jesus teaches that the Father has given Him authority to raise the dead and to judge everyone. There will be a future time when all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come out. Those who have done good will rise to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. Their works show what they truly believed and loved. Jesus is the one who will decide their final state, and His judgment is just because He seeks only the will of the Father.

Why does Jesus say all judgment is committed to the Son?

Jesus says the Father has given all judgment to the Son so that all people will honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Judgment here includes ruling, deciding, and bringing the final sentence. By placing this in the Son’s hands, God makes it clear that no one can truly honor God while ignoring or rejecting Jesus. Facing Jesus as Judge is inescapable. It also means that the same one who offers life and mercy now will be the one who fairly judges every person in the end.

What does it mean that whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father?

Jesus makes it clear that you cannot separate your view of God from your view of Him. To honor the Father rightly, you must also honor the Son whom He sent. If someone claims to respect or worship God but rejects Jesus, treats Him lightly, or denies who He is, that person is not truly honoring God. God Himself has tied His honor to His Son. So the way we respond to Jesus reveals whether we are really honoring the Father who sent Him.

How can this passage guide how I live and believe today?

This passage invites you to take Jesus’ words very seriously. It calls you to listen to His voice, trust the Father who sent Him, and rely on Him as the giver of life and the coming Judge. Knowing He shares perfectly in the Father’s will can give you confidence that His promises of life are solid and His judgments are fair. In daily life, it encourages you to honor Jesus openly, rest your hope on Him rather than yourself, and remember that your choices and actions flow from what you believe about Him.

John.5.16

John 5:16

KJV

And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day.

The Father and the Son

And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day.

But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.

Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

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.

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.

For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.

For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:

That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.

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.

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.

For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;

And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.

Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,

And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.

Cross References

No cross references available for this verse.