David Bahn – Reflections

John 5:19, 25

¹⁹So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.

²⁵“Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.

There is an unfathomable difference between submission and compliance. Compliance is external; submission is of the heart. Compliance has to do with living within boundaries; submission has to do with living within a purpose. Compliance is an act of the mind and will; submission is a matter of being. Jesus is in submission to the Father in his earthly ministry – total, perfect, complete, and joyful submission.

Make no mistake about this man: he is no errand boy who is simply cow-towing to the whims of a feckless despot. Jesus is in complete submission to the Father. They have conspired to redeem the world they have made, and they are delightfully united with the Holy Spirit in making that happen. Jesus is under the mission of God. So is the Father and the Holy Spirit.

This mission, however, will require the complete and total submission of Jesus, the Son to the Father. It will require the Holy Spirit to be sent by both the Father and the Son. But more important – and because Jesus is in perfect submission to the Father, he is also in perfect harmony. He can say the most outlandish things. He is at once only able to do what the Father says, and at the same time able to pronounce the verdict: He will command the dead to rise and they will.

Theologians have long argued about the mystery of Christ: how it is possible for Jesus to be true God and true Man. There are profound truths that accompany that confession. But in the end we can rejoice that Jesus was in perfect submission to the Father, and that he will one day call us and all the dead to life.

In the mean time, perhaps we can re-think our understanding of what it means to submit to God: to be in submission to Him and His mission to save the world. That’s a worthy submission.

John 5:19-29

¹⁹So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father^[d] does, that the Son does likewise. ²⁰For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. ²¹For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.²² The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, ²³that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. ²⁴Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

 ²⁵“Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hearthe voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. ²⁶ For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. ²⁷And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. ²⁸Do not marvel at this, foran hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice ²⁹and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.