The Son can do only what he sees his Father doing

Posted by Yong Joo Park on 26 March 2023 in John, Matthew | ∞

John 5:19 [1]

¹⁹Jesus gave them this answer: ‘Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.

The reason Jesus did good works on the Sabbath was ‘My Father (God) is always at his work to this very day.’ (John 5:17). Jesus called God His own Father (John 5:17). The Holy Spirit conceived Jesus in Virgin Mary without a human male’s help. Therefore, it was literally true that God was His own Father. But they knew nothing about it and were offended, and blamed Jesus for the blasphemy (John 5:18). They needed Bible Study sessions for the explanation. Jesus explained in v19.

I. The Son can do only what he sees his Father doing

See v19.

¹⁹Jesus gave them this answer: ‘Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.

What Jesus does is not arbitrarily decided by Himself alone. Jesus depends [2] on what He sees the Father doing (19). What Jesus does is a divine work [3]. “They must fight with God Himself if they persist in condemning what must necessarily be ascribed to Jesus.” [3].

II. The importance to acknowledge the spiritual blindness

The Jewish leaders were spiritually blinded (John 9:39-41) but they thought and claimed they were able to see (John 9:41).

Nicodemus thought and claimed that HE KNEW JESUS had come from God (John 3:2). In contrast, John the Baptist (Mark 1:4-5) and Witness (John 1:8) was a kinsman of Jesus and was born 6 months before Jesus. But John claimed that HE DID NOT KNOW JESUS (John 1:31, 33) until he saw (John 1:32, 34) and heard (John 1:33) in spirit.

III. Spiritual sight: an example of John the Baptist & Witness

Only after John the Baptist & Witness heard and saw in the Spirit, he testified about Jesus saying, “This is God’s Chosen One.” (John 1:34).

What John heard:

“The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptise with the Holy Spirit.” (John 1:33)

What John saw:

‘I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.’ (John 1:32, 34)

IV. Some knowledge is given by God’s Sovereignty

As described in the previous section, John’s 'knowledge' of God’s Chosen One was obtained via God’s revelation.

Some knowledge is given by God's will & selection (Matthew 11:27).

... no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

When Peter said to Jesus, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’ in Matthew 16:16, Jesus said that this was revealed to Peter by His Father in heaven. See Matthew 16:17.

‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.’

V. How to truly know is how to receive the spiritual sight. The answer is the spiritual rebirth

Nicodemus thought and claimed that HE KNEW JESUS had come from God (John 3:2). In response, Jesus taught him saying, “NO ONE CAN SEE the kingdom of God UNLESS they are born again.” (John 3:3). That is, the true knowledge requires the spiritual sight, which is given through the spiritual rebirth.

The conditions of being born of God are written in John 1:12-13.

¹² Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—¹³ children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

natural descent (13a): physical birth [4]
human decision (13b): self-determination [4]
a husband’s will (13c): the choice of another person [4]

A video message that explains John 1:13 is here [5].

The messages on spiritual rebirth are

Spiritual Rebirth and Spiritual Sight (John 3:1-3) [6]
You must be born of water and the Spirit (John 3:4-8) [7]
Rebirth by God’s Sovereignty (John 3:9-11) [8]

References

The Holy Bible: New International Version. Anglicised. Revised and updated. ed. 2011: London: Hodder & Stoughton.
Borchert, G.L., The New American Commentary: John 1-11. 1996: Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
Calvin, J. and W. Pringle, Commentary on the Gospel according to John. 2010, Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
Gangel, K.O., Holman New Testament Commentary: John. Vol. 4. 2000: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
Park, Y. Bible Study on John 1:13. 2021 26/03/2023]; Available from: https://www.tiktok.com/@yongjoojohnpark/video/7012184323755363585.
Park, Y. Spiritual Rebirth and Spiritual Sight. 2022 26/03/2023]; Available from: https://comnc.org/no-rebirth-no-see/.
Park, Y. You must be born of water and the Spirit. 2022; Available from: https://comnc.org/you-must-be-born-of-water-and-the-spirit/.
Park, Y. Rebirth by God’s Sovereignty. 2022; Available from: https://comnc.org/rebirth-by-gods-sovereignty-and-unbelief-by-nicodemus/.