In John chapter 5, Jesus moves from performing miracles to proclaiming divine truth. After healing the man at the Seda, he now speaks, not as a teacher or prophet, but as the eternal Son, equal with the Father, holding life and judgment in his hands. In this message, Pastor Harry Barens explores one of the most profound declarations of Jesus' deity in all of Scripture. Here, the Son reveals his perfect unity with the Father, giving life to whom he will, executing judgment with righteousness, and calling every heart to worship. It's a passage that invites us to stand in all of Christ's glory and to see him not merely as Savior, but as Lord of all. Join Pastor Harry as he unpacks the authority of the Son.

Hello and welcome again to the Takeaway. I'm your host, Pastor Harry Barrens, and today we're going to be looking at the authority of the Sun as we go further into John chapter 5. Now, before we get started, I want to do a quick recap. We've seen the how, the why, and now we're going to see the who. But what do I mean by this? Well, in John chapter 3, we saw Jesus with Nicodemus. And Nicodemus asked, how can these things be? His perspective was centered on the how. How can a man be born again? How can we obtain salvation? How can these things be true? In other words, what must a man do to obtain? Nicodemus wanted to understand the method. But as we've seen, the scriptures don't stay focused on the how. They move us toward why. We learned that the why is even more important than the how. The why transcends the how. Why God does what he does is more important than how he does it. And we are called to settle our hearts and minds on this truth. It's all for his glory. God is doing what we cannot do, he is making possible what is impossible with man. That's what he told Nicodemus. That's what he told the rich young ruler who asked, How can I obtain eternal life? Jesus said, With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. And now, here in John chapter 5, the whole narrative shifts again. John is turning our perspective away from how we can act to get what we want, toward why God acts to get what he wants. And now John will show us who God is doing that through. It's not through us. We don't have the ability to offer God the glory he deserves. We are not holy as he is holy, but Jesus is. And now the narrative centers on the deity of Christ, who he is, and how he fulfills the very thing that God himself desires, making possible what was impossible. Now, before we go into this section, we're about to see something powerful, a wonder that leads to worship. Remember what Jesus told the woman at the well in John chapter 4? The Father is seeking those who will worship him in spirit and truth. And that's exactly what he produced in her life: worship that overflowed in testimony and glorified God. But now in chapter 5, Jesus is going to reveal even greater detail what God is doing through his son to produce the same wonder and worship in us. So as we continue, I don't want us to approach this text as students gathering information about God. I want us to come as worshipers standing before him. In John chapter 5, when Jesus begins to speak, heaven opens. The miracle of Besseda revealed his power, but these words reveal his person. This is not a lesson about faith or healing. This is a revelation of deity. Now here, Jesus speaks not as a prophet or a teacher, but as God himself, equal with the Father, holding life and judgment in his hands. This is holy ground. Like when Moses stood before the burning bush and God said, Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground. And before we look at what Jesus says, we must quiet our hearts. We're not here to gain knowledge, we're here to gain wonder. Wonder that leads to worship, all that leads to adoration, reverence that leads to obedience. Because in this passage, the word made flesh lifts his voice and shows us the glory of God. And if we listen rightly, our response will not just be understanding, it will be worship. So recognize this before we even begin. Jesus is about to reveal who he is, just as the Father revealed who he was to Moses in that burning bush. We are standing on the same holy ground. We're not just going to hear, you're not just going to hear my sermon. You're about to hear Jesus' sermon. He is going to tell you who he is. I'm not going to tell you who he is. We're simply going to break apart what he's saying about himself. But make no mistake, Jesus is defining himself here. And to read this scripture rightly is to let Jesus define himself as he chooses for his glory to produce all and wonder in us that leads to worship for him. So before we go any further, let's pause for a quick prayer. Father, we want to thank you for your word. I thank you for the holy ground we are standing on. Please open our eyes and our ears to what your son Jesus is about to say. May we receive it, be transformed by it, and become the people you desire, those who worship in spirit and in truth. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright, so let's get into it. In our last message, we saw Jesus heal a man who had been helpless for 38 years. One simple command rise, take up your bed and walk. That single command revealed his authority to speak life into the impossible. And when he was questioned for doing it on the Sabbath, Jesus made a claim so bold it shook the entire religious world. In John 5 17, he said, My Father is working until now, and I am working. Now notice he didn't defend himself. He didn't say, You've misunderstood me. He actually intensified their accusations. He declared, The Father works, and as the Father works, I work. That statement was revelation. It was Jesus declaring his equality with God. He was saying that the Father's continuous work in sustaining creation is the same work he is doing. If God ever truly rested in the way man does, the universe would collapse. Life would cease to exist. So Jesus says, My Father is still working, and I am too. In other words, I share in his work because I share in his nature. Colossians 1.17 says it this way: He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Now, that statement in John 5.17 is the spark. And what follows in verses 19 to 29 is the explosion of truth that follows. Now, that first claim, my Father is working until now, and I am working, that was revelation. But these next verses are glory revealed. Because now Jesus begins his own sermon, a divine explanation of who he is, what he does, and why he alone has the authority to give life and to judge. In the healing of the layman, we saw grace in action. Now, in these words, we see glory unveiled. The Son doing what only God can do, giving life to the dead, executing judgment on all humanity, and demanding honor equal to the Father. J. Vernon McGee said it perfectly. If you don't see the deity of Christ here, you are blind. Jesus stands shoulder to shoulder with the Father, not as a servant, not as a prophet, but as an equal. This passage is the hinge of John's entire gospel. From this point forward, everything John says and does will confirm this truth, that he and the Father are one, one in work, one in will, and one in worship. So with that in mind, let's read John 5, 19 to 29 together. So 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, the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than this, these will he show him, so that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that 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. Truly, 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. 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. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself, and he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. Now, before we start unpacking these verses, I want to pause and ask something simple but honest. How many times have you read this section and just kept going? Maybe you've read it a dozen times, but never stop to digest what Jesus is really saying here. We often think we understand it and move right past it. But this is one of the most profound revelations of Christ's deity in all scripture. So as we walk through these verses slowly, with open hearts, prepare to be challenged. This is going to stretch what you thought you knew about Jesus, about salvation, and about yourself. Because here, Jesus isn't just declaring that he's the Son of God, He's defining what that means. Now it's easy to say, I believe Jesus is God in the flesh, but here Jesus defines that statement on his own terms. And like Moses at the burning bush, our right response is to fall on holy ground and listen as he speaks. I am who I am. So let's start in verse 19. So 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, the Son does likewise. Now that statement, truly, truly, we have seen this before, and we'll now see it again multiple times here in these verses. It is a statement from Jesus that means, listen up, for what I'm about to say is absolute truth. Now that phrase, the son can do nothing of his own accord, that doesn't mean limitation. It means unity. Jesus isn't saying I can't, he's saying I don't act independently. I act in perfect harmony with the Father. This is perfect submission, not weakness. It's divine oneness. Everything the Father does, creation, healing, sustaining life, raising the dead, the Son does likewise. That's not imitation, that's participation. It's co-equality, co-eternity, co-glory. Jesus is revealing that his actions are the visible expression of the invisible Father. In verse 20, Jesus goes on, for 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. Now that's beautiful. The Father loves the Son. And the word for love here is Phileo. It's a it's affection, delight, intimacy. It's not simply the word for duty or covenant love, agape, but the warmth of deep joy and satisfaction. What this shows us is that everything Jesus does flows out of divine affection. The works of Christ are the overflow of the Father's delight in the Son. So when Jesus heals, when he forgives, when he raises the dead, it's not cold obedience. It's love in motion. It's the love within the Trinity overflowing into creation. To see Jesus act is to see the Father's heart revealed. As he says later in John 14, 9, whoever has seen me has seen the Father. And now look again at the end of verse 20. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. And that word marvel, that word is critical. Jesus has used it before. Remember what he told Nicodemus. Do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again. Nicodemus's marvel was the marvel of confusion. He stood before divine truth, trying to fit it into human reason. That kind of marvel ends in doubt. But here in John 5, Jesus speaks of a very different kind of marvel. He says, The Father will show him greater works, so that you may marvel. Now, this is a marvel of revelation, the all that leads to worship, the marvel that opens the eyes of faith. He's not trying to impress us, he's awakening us. Every miracle, every act of mercy, every word that proceeds from his mouth is meant to move us from curiosity to conviction, from wonder to worship. Nicodemus marveled and questioned, but the true believer marvels and bows. Because when we stand in awe of who Jesus is, the Son who does what only God can do, that's when the glory of God is revealed in us. Throughout John's gospel, this idea of marvel be oh it becomes a doorway. People marvel at his power, but only some pass through that door into worship. Jesus' purpose here isn't applause, it's adoration. He's saying, The Father will show me greater works, resurrection, judgment, eternal life, so that you will not just be amazed, but be transformed, so that your marvel leads to faith and your faith leads to worship. This is where revelation begins to turn into glory. We are moving from seeing his miracles to seeing his nature, from what he does to who he is. And it all begins with this the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. Now that is that's divine unity on display. The eternal Son mirroring the eternal Father. Every act, every word, every miracle, every judgment flows from the perfect love within the Trinity. So now let's look at verse 21. For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. Now that's a staggering statement. Only God gives life. Only the Creator can breathe breath into the dust and bring forth being. Yet here, Jesus claims that same divine power as his own. He's not saying I have access to life. He's not saying I can ask the Father to give life. He's saying I give life. And not only that, he gives life to whom he will. That's sovereignty, that's deity, that's personal authority, not borrowed power. This isn't potential power. This is possessed authority. He gives life to whom he wills because his will is perfectly aligned with the Father's will. It's the same will because they share one nature. Deuteronomy 32, 39 says, See now that I, even I am he, and there is no God beside me, I kill and I make alive. Now hear that again alongside Jesus' words. As the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. Jesus is echoing the very language God used to describe himself. This is not just authority from God, it's authority as God. He's not an agent performing miracles on God's behalf. He's God in flesh, executing the divine prerogative of life and death. When Jesus says he gives life to whom he will, he's revealing something deeply theological and beautifully comforting. Salvation isn't random. It's not earned. It's redemptive purpose in motion. The Son's will is the Father's will. And the Father's will is this is that the Son would redeem a people for his glory. That's why Jesus says later in John chapter 6, verses 37 to 39. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out, and I will raise him up on the last day. So here's the order that unfolds from John 5 into John 6. The Father gives a people, the Son redeems those people, and the Spirit draws them in faith, and none are lost. Grace never fails. Now, I want you to hear this as personally as Jesus meant it. If he alone gives, then the question every heart has to ask is, has he given life to me? How do I know he has willed life for me? And the answer comes later in John 6 44. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. So if you have ever heard his voice and come to him in faith, then that wasn't you finding God. That was God finding you. That was his will bringing you to life. Your faith is not proof of your strength, it's evidence of his mercy. Those who look to Christ will never be cast out because salvation doesn't rest in how tightly you hold him, it rests in how securely he holds you. And that's the beauty of sovereign grace. It doesn't create fear, it creates worship. It leads to reverence, not pride. It moves us to wonder. Because even now, though we believe, his full glory is still veiled from us. Scripture says in 1 Corinthians 13, 12, for now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. We are his bride, and like a bride before the wedding, we are covered, not hidden from him, but protected by his righteousness. We see his holiness through the veil of grace. We behold his glory through faith. But one day, when this mortal body is raised in immortality, the veil will be lifted. As Revelation 19 says, the bride will finally stand face to face with her bridegroom, pure, unveiled, and glorified. That's what sovereign grace leads to. Not distance, but union, not fear, but face-to-face glory. And even now, 2 Corinthians 3 tells us that with unveiled hearts, we are being transformed from one degree of glory to another. And every glimpse, every glimpse of that glory deepens our worship. Let me paint this picture one more time. We, the church, are the bride. He is the bridegroom. His holiness would consume us if seen in full. That's why he covers us with his righteousness. So we can look on him, on look on his beauty and live like a bride who can see her husband through the veil. We see him through the covering of his blood. That veil protects us from the consuming glory of God. And when the union is complete, when the veil is lifted, we'll see him face to face, holy, righteous, and true. That's what his blood has made possible. That's what it means when Jesus says the Son gives life to whom he will. That's not just life after death, it's life now, spiritual life, eternal life, resurrection life. He gives life because he is life. Now let's move on to verses 22 to 23. For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that 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. Now here Jesus takes it even further. Not only does he give life, he will also judge all. The one who offers grace now declares that he alone has the authority to determine eternal destiny. That's not equality by permission, that's deity by nature. The Father has entrusted all judgment to the Son so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. That means the very reason God delegates judgment is to ensure the Son is glorified. Every decision of divine justice, every verdict of heaven, every final word spoken over humanity will magnify the glory of Christ. So to honor the Son is to honor the Father. To reject the Son is to reject God Himself. That's why the cross is not optional, it's unavoidable. You can't bypass Jesus and still claim to know God. You can't say, I love God while rejecting the one he sent. That's what Jesus meant when he said, Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. And Philippians 2, 9 to 11 echoes this reality. Therefore, God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Every knee, believer and unbeliever alike, will bow to the name of Jesus. Every tongue will confess his Lordship, some in joy, others in judgment, but all to the glory of God. That's the point. The Father gave the Son authority to judge, not because the Father was unwilling, but because he desired to display his own glory through the Son. Judgment and grace both serve the same divine purpose, to magnify Jesus. Now think about this. When Jesus says the Father judges no one, he's not saying the Father has no part in judgment. He's saying judgment is now carried out through the Son. The same way creation was carried out through the Son, the Word spoke and it was. Now the Word will speak again, and judgment will be. It's all through him. That's why he's called the Word of God, because every work of God, creation, redemption, resurrection, judgment, flows through the Word, the Son, the visible image of the invisible God. This is what John wants us to see from the opening of his gospel. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And in chapter 5 here, that truth steps into view with full authority. Jesus isn't just performing miracles, he's making divine declarations. He's saying, the Father has given me all authority to give life and to judge. And the reason is crystal clear that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. That's the purpose of salvation. That's the purpose of judgment. That is the purpose of creation itself, that the Son might be glorified. So when Jesus gives life, it's for his glory. When he judges, it's for his glory. When he saves, when he condemns, when he speaks, when he acts, it's all for his glory. And that's why this passage is so holy, because it reveals not just what Jesus does, it reveals who he is. And now in verse 24, he says again, truly, 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. Notice the tense here has eternal life, has passed from death to life, not will have, not might have someday, but has. Eternal life isn't something we're waiting to receive. It's something we already possess in Christ. It's not a future promise, it's a present reality. Whoever hears his word and believes the Father has already crossed over. The bridge has already been walked. The judgment has already been lifted. The verdict has already been declared. Not guilty. Faith in the Son moves us immediately from death into life. It isn't instant and irreversible because it is grounded not in the ability of man, but in the authority of and grace of God. If salvation if salvation could be lost, it would rest on our faithfulness. But because salvation is given by the Son, it rests on his faithfulness. That's why in John 10, 28, Jesus says, I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. Do you see the connection? In chapter 5, he says, the one who hears and believes has eternal life. And in chapter 10, he says the same eternal life can never be taken away. It's not fragile. It's not conditional. It's secure. Because the Son Himself holds it. Let's say it plainly. If salvation could be earned, we wouldn't need Jesus. If it could be lost, we would absolutely lose it. But because it's his gift, by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, we stand secure. So when Jesus says he does not come into judgment, he's not saying we'll never face accountability. He's saying the judgment of condemnation condemnation, the verdict of guilt, has already been carried out on the cross. It was laid upon him. He bore it, he absorbed it. The wrath that was ours has already been spent on him. So when we stand before God, we don't face wrath, we face reward. We don't stand in fear, we stand in faith, because our judge has become our savior, and his verdict over us is life. That's what it means to have passed from death to life, not just surviving death, but being made spiritually alive now, with eternal life that will never fade. That's the present tense of grace. That's what makes this passage so powerful. You're not waiting for eternal life, you're living it right now. Now let's move on to verse 25 to 27. He says, again, 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. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself, and he has given him authority to execute judgment because he is the Son of Man. Now, let's pause right there. Death. Our human understanding of death is almost always physical. We think of a body in a tomb, a heart that has stopped beating. But Jesus is talking here about something far deeper. He's describing spiritual death, a living death, men and women walking, breathing, working, but spiritually lifeless. That's what he's saying. The dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. And that truth is echoed later in Ephesians 2, 1 to 10, where Paul writes, And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked. You were walking, but dead, moving, but without life, breathing, but without God. That's all of us before salvation, dead in sin, enslaved to the passions of the flesh, following the course of this world. Paul says, You were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind. But then come those two glorious words. But God, but God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ, by grace you have been saved. That's what Jesus is talking about here in John 5. When he speaks, the dead hear, and those who hear live. Dead people can't respond on their own. If he's talking about physical death, we know that's impossible. But if he's talking about spiritual death, and he is, then this is the miracle of new birth. The same voice that called Lazarus out of the tomb is the same voice that calls sinners out of darkness into life. He speaks and his word creates what it commands. That's what grace does. And that's why salvation is not earned. It's spoken, it's not achieved, it's received. It's the result of divine authority and divine compassion working together. When Jesus says an hour is coming and is now here, he's talking about this present age, the age of grace. Right now, the spiritually dead are hearing the voice of the Son of God through the proclamation. Of his word. And those whom the Father draws, those who hear that call, are made alive. And he goes on for as the Father has life in him, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. That's a profound truth. Only God has self-existent life. Life that isn't derived, sustained, or dependent on anything else. The Father has life in himself, and he has granted that same life to the Son, not as a gift to a creature, but as a recognition of shared essence. It's the Father delighting in the Son, saying, Everything that is mine is yours. And then in verse 27, he says, And he has given him authority to execute judgment because he is the Son of Man. So just as the Father gave him authority to give life to whom he wills, he has also given him authority to judge whom he wills. That's the twofold expression of divine sovereignty, life and judgment, both resting in the hands of Jesus Christ. This is what Philippians 2 celebrates. Though he was in the form of God, he did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant. Therefore, God has highly exalted him and given him the name above every other name. He humbled himself as the Son of Man, and the Father exalted him as the Son of God. And now, as the glorified Son of Man, he possesses both the power to save and the right to judge. That's divine order, that's divine love, that's divine authority. And this is the glory Jesus is revealing right here in John 5. The Son speaking life unto the dead, holding the authority of the Father and executing judgment as the righteous king. So what we're seeing in these verses is not just theology, it's relationship. It's the love of the Father expressed through the power of the Son, the Son's obedience, bringing glory back to the Father, and the Holy Spirit making that glory known to us. It's the mystery of the Trinity unfolding before our eyes. And the purpose of it all is this that we might hear his voice, that we might live, and that our lives might glorify him who gave us life. Now we come to verses twenty-eight and twenty-nine. And here Jesus brings everything he said to its ultimate conclusion. Now notice something powerful here. Back in verse 20, Jesus said, The Father will show him greater works so that you may marvel. That marvel was an invitation, a wonder to worship, to stand in all of his grace. But here in verse 28, he says, Do not marvel at this. Same word, different reason. The first was meant to stir faith. This one is meant to silence doubt. He's saying, Don't be shocked when I raise the dead. You've already seen me give life. The first marvel was to move you into worship. This do not marvel is to remind you that resurrection is not a fantasy, it's a certainty. So we have two kinds of marvel in this passage. One that invites faith and one that demands accountability. What we marvel at now is in worship, the world will one day marvel at in fear. The same voice that called Lazarus from the tomb will one day call every soul that has ever lived to stand before him. This is the final act of divine authority, the resurrection of all humanity. Everyone will rise. No one will escape his call. Verse 28 describes the physical resurrection that mirrors the spiritual resurrection we saw earlier in verse 25. The first resurrection is happening now, spiritual life being spoken into dead hearts. But the second resurrection is still to come, when all who are in the graves will literally hear his voice. Revelation 26 says, chapter 20, verse 6 Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God in Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. So those who have experienced that first resurrection, the spiritual one, will never face the second death. We've already been raised from the dead in Christ. We've already passed from death to life. And the physical resurrection that awaits us will be the completion of that grace. But for those who reject him, who refuse to hear his voice now, there will be a resurrection to a resurrection. It's a resurrection to judgment, and that judgment will be eternal. Let's clarify something important here. Hell is not the absence of God, it's the presence of his justice. It's not eternal separation from him, it's eternal exposure to his righteous wrath. God is omnipresent, he fills heaven and earth. So hell is not the absence of God's presence. It's the absence of his grace. It's his holiness without a covering. It's his truth without mercy. And that's why salvation matters so deeply, because only the blood of Jesus covers us. Only his righteousness shields us from the consuming holiness of God. Without that covering, we would face what Pharaoh faced in Exodus, what Paul describes in Romans 9, when God raised Pharaoh up to display his power and his justice for the sake of his glory. So what Jesus is saying here is that every resurrection, life, or judgment reveals the truth about our faith. The resurrection of life will display the evidence of grace. The resurrection of judgment will expose the rejection of truth. When Jesus says, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, he's not teaching salvation by performance. He's describing the evidence of redemption, the fruit of faith born of grace. The good he speaks of is the life that flows from faith. And the evil he speaks of is the life that flows from unbelief. So, in the end, every resurrection reveals what was real. Faith will show itself in fruit. Rejection will show itself in rebellion. Salvation is not earned by works, but it will always be evidenced by them. What we believe in life determines what we rise to in eternity. Verse 20's marvel invited us to behold his grace. Verse 28's do not marvel warns us to take seriously his judgment. And verse 29 reminds us that faith which saves always bears fruit that endures. This is the closing movement of the passage, the final unveiling of Christ's authority. This is the voice that commands galaxies and forgives sinners, the voice that judges kings and comforts the broken. The voice that once said, Let there be light, and now says, Come forth. That's the voice of the Son. That's the voice of God. So in summary, in John chapter 5, verses 1 to 18, we saw grace revealed. A man healed, made whole, lifted from helplessness by one simple command, rise, take up your bed and walk. That was grace in action. But here in John 5, 19 to 29, we've seen glory unveiled. The Son standing shoulder to shoulder with the Father, equal in power, equal in authority, equal in glory. This passage is one of the most defining declarations of Jesus' deity in all of Scripture. It is Jesus Himself declaring, I am the one who gives life. And the one through whom the Father is glorified. He is not merely a messenger from God. He is not simply a reflection of God. He is God, the giver of life and the judge of all. He alone can say, 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. This is the assurance of the believer. If salvation could be earned, we would never deserve it. If it could be lost, we would all lose it. But because it is his gift, by grace alone, through faith alone, and Christ alone, we stand secure. We were once dead, but now we live. We were once condemned, but now we are covered. And we were once blind, but now we behold his glory. Physical death for the believer is no longer a threat. It's a doorway, a doorway into glory, into union, into the unveiled presence of the one who gave us life. That's the promise. That's the power. That's the authority of the Son. Let's pray. Father, thank you for revealing your glory through your Son. Thank you that in Jesus we see not only your power to create, but your mercy to save. Thank you that the same voice that spoke creation into being now speaks life into dead hearts. Help us to never take lightly the truth that all judgment and all life rest in your hands. Let that truth humble us, comfort us, and move us to worship. And Lord, for those who hear his voice today, may they not harden their hearts. May your spirit draw them to repentance, to faith, and to life everlasting. We thank you for Jesus, the Son who gives life, the Son who judges righteously, and the Son who reigns forever in glory. In his name we pray. Amen. Now in our next episode, we'll continue through John chapter 5. Jesus' words will take us even deeper into the revelation of who he is. We'll look at how he answers his accusers and reveals the witnesses that testify on his behalf, the Father, the Scriptures, and His own works. It's a powerful reminder that unbelief isn't a lack of evidence, it's a lack of surrender. So join me next time on the takeaway as we continue with the witness of the word. Now, as always, I want to thank you for joining us today. And I hope this episode has helped you take a step closer in your relationship with Jesus and that you now have a deeper understanding of just how much God loves you and wants you to know Him. If today's message encourages you, would you please take a moment to follow the takeaway and share this episode with someone who needs to hear it? Your support helps us reach more people with the hope of the gospel. And if this ministry has been a blessing in your life, we would love to hear from you. Just leave a quick word of encouragement or share how these messages are impacting your walk with Christ. It's our desire that this ministry be a tool to reach the loss and equip the saints for a life that brings glory to God. So God bless, and we'll see you next time on the takeaway.