John 5:19-24 English Standard Version
The Authority of the Son
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, that the Son does likewise. 20 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. 21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. 22 For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, 23 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. 24 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.
During His ministry on earth as a man, Jesus obeyed the Father. He acknowledges the Father’s authority. Then there is a shift in authority spoken in terms of judgment. God the Father judged according to the law, as in keeping the law. Judgment has passed to the Son who tells us here that His Word is given and we must hear His word by faith and believe by faith.
The point is made in verse 21 that the Son will give life to whomever He wills. Jesus expresses this in verse 24 as in hearing His Word, not reading and believing but hearing and believing.
Psalm 119:25 King James Version (KJV) My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word.
Psalm 119:25 English Standard Version (ESV) My soul clings to the dust; give me life according to your word!
Quicken and quickening are archaic terms used in the KJV and earlier versions of the New Testament. The RSV and ESV have substituted life in its place to emphasize the change from dead in our sins to our life in Christ. The same problem exists for both terms, how does one give life to something that is already alive?
We have covered the kingdom of the dust, ruled by the Prince of the Power of the Air, Satan. Clinging to the dust is our sin nature before we were born again. Now we have been born in the Spirit having placed our faith in Jesus’s work on the Cross. That which was obedient to Satan through no fault of their own have entered into the Kingdom of God where Christ rules and reigns, in our hearts.
Now, having been given spiritual eyes and ears, we can now hear His Word by the Power of the Spirit who tells us all the things that Jesus is saying to us. It is no longer a mental exercise, it is an exercise of faith.