And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
The Father has placed all judgment of the world in the hands of Jesus, making Him the Judge to whom all people are accountable, and this authority was given to Him when He came to earth as Redeemer because He is the Son of man. He is fitted for this office because He took human nature and lived among men, tasting affliction and temptation and victoriously overcoming the powers of darkness on their behalf. Therefore He knows human weakness and the circumstances of every case, and judges not as man judges but with perfect wisdom, justice, and tender compassion, so that no one can question His decisions. He stands at once as Advocate and Judge, having given His own life and poured out His blood to ransom those whose cases He decides, and His decision is final with no appeal. At last He will exercise this given authority openly before the universe, raising the dead by His voice to the resurrection of life or of condemnation according to their works and welcoming the redeemed into His presence to receive their reward.
Setting and Authority Granted
The saying was given after the healing at Bethesda, when Jesus was arraigned before the Jewish dignitaries for His life on a charge of breaking the Sabbath, and it belongs to a great and precious discourse in which He threw back their accusations and their claim to prescribe His work and to question and judge His acts of mercy, declaring Himself to be their Judge. By the same prerogative He defended His disciples against the charge of Sabbath-breaking. That discourse followed the Jews' accusation that He had broken the Sabbath in healing the impotent man at the pool of Bethesda.
The Father has put all judgment of the world into the hands of Jesus because He is the Son of man, so He is the Judge of the Jewish rulers and of all people and all are responsible to Him. This authority was placed in His hands when He came to earth as Redeemer, having taken the burden of humanity to save men from sin and its consequences. It belongs to Christ Himself, not merely to His teaching.
He who judges is divine and human united, God manifest in the flesh with the fullness of the Godhead. He is the Son who is in the bosom of the Father and declares the unseen God, who lives by the Father with their life one and has life in Himself, having been given by the Father to have life in Himself and to communicate His own life to humanity. He is the head of every man as God is the head of Christ, and those who are Christ's belong through Christ to God. He is the divine Witness sent from the Father whose testimony is to be accepted as truth because of who He is, not because it agrees with preconceived opinions, and His resurrection establishes Him as witness to the resurrection of all who believe.
In its context this authority to execute judgment belongs to His work of giving life and raising the dead, for the Son has life in Himself and power to give life, and the dead who hear the Son's voice will live. All who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth to the resurrection of life if they have done good or to the resurrection of condemnation if they have done evil. This promise concerns both an immediate raising from the dead and the general resurrection of the righteous, for He is the author of the resurrection who holds the keys of death as conqueror of the grave and has the right and power to give eternal life. The dead rising to immortal life have their life with God certain in His purpose, which He sees as already accomplished. By the same power those dead in trespasses and sins hear the Son of God's voice and come forth, for Christ is now the restorer of the spiritually dead, able to renew minds and lives as He did for Bunyan and Newton.
Qualified Through Human Experience
He was given authority to execute judgment for the precise reason that He is the Son of man, because He took human nature and the burden of humanity upon Himself and lived among men as one made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest, a brother touched with the feeling of human infirmities. He accepted humanity and lived in it a pure, sanctified life, and on that ground the Father appointed Him judge. His fitness to judge rests on His having endured its hardships and trials, having suffered temptation from Satan and overcome the powers of darkness, experiencing the struggle of human life and winning the victory on humanity's behalf.
In that humanity He tasted the very dregs of human affliction and temptation and victoriously withstood Satan on behalf of man, without which victory there would be no salvation. He measured the power of every subtle temptation and bore every weakness to which people are subject, passing over the ground humans must pass. He became acquainted by personal experience with the warfare between good and evil that has gone on constantly since Adam's fall, facing temptation and enduring Satan's fiercest attacks. He lived a pure, sanctified life while thus tried, and overcame the powers of darkness on behalf of man.
Therefore He understands human frailty, weakness, affliction, temptation, and sin, and is qualified to deal with men all-wise, just, gracious, righteous, and tenderly compassionate. He knows the circumstances of every case, does not see as man sees or judge as man judges, but judges righteously. As the one who took humanity upon Himself He tests the character of all as the touchstone of all hearts, the revealer of hearts and exposer of sin. So at the judgment of the great day no one can question the justice of His decisions.
He stands at once as Advocate and Judge, having taken the burden of humanity to save men from sin and its consequences, having given His own life and poured out His blood to ransom transgressors from the penalty of God's law and to save those whose cases He judges. He knows the value of human souls, and will not shut anyone out of heaven unless the safety of heaven requires it. He is the one mediator between God and men, the Way, the Truth, and the Life through whom alone any can enter heaven, the Rock of ages broken that every tried, tempted soul may find in Him a sure hiding place. His decision as judge is final, with no appeal from it.
Final Judgment and Assurance
As Judge of the whole world He will judge before the universe, declaring the reward of those loyal to God and the condemnation of transgressors. He will reward obedience to God's commandments and judge transgressors according to their works. This public judgment will vindicate and glorify God's government, reveal the value of eternal life, and let all created beings see the results of sin.
The Judge is God manifest in the flesh, recognized by the redeemed as their own Teacher and Redeemer. He still bears the marks of the crucifixion when He welcomes them into His presence. The same Christ who gave His life for people and moved them to repentance will receive them and give them their crowns.
When the Son of Man appears sitting on the great white cloud at His coming, He exercises this given authority by His voice to call the dead to life. The voice of the Son of God calls forth the sleeping saints, raising the precious dead from Abel down to the last saint who dies, and clothes them with glorious immortality. The living saints are changed in a moment and caught up with them. Then God will be their God and they shall be His people in a close and tender relationship in accordance with the divine plan.
This gives assurance to tempted and struggling souls, for He will deal justly and tenderly with each soul He judges. He created and redeemed them, and He is the only judge of His people's righteousness. His righteousness covers those who love and trust Him.
The Father has placed all judgment of the world in the hands of Jesus, making Him the Judge to whom all people are accountable, and this authority was given to Him when He came to earth as Redeemer because He is the Son of man. He is fitted for this office because He took human nature and lived among men, tasting affliction and temptation and victoriously overcoming the powers of darkness on their behalf. Therefore He knows human weakness and the circumstances of every case, and judges not as man judges but with perfect wisdom, justice, and tender compassion, so that no one can question His decisions. He stands at once as Advocate and Judge, having given His own life and poured out His blood to ransom those whose cases He decides, and His decision is final with no appeal. At last He will exercise this given authority openly before the universe, raising the dead by His voice to the resurrection of life or of condemnation according to their works and welcoming the redeemed into His presence to receive their reward.
Setting and Authority Granted
The saying was given after the healing at Bethesda, when Jesus was arraigned before the Jewish dignitaries for His life on a charge of breaking the Sabbath, and it belongs to a great and precious discourse in which He threw back their accusations and their claim to prescribe His work and to question and judge His acts of mercy, declaring Himself to be their Judge. By the same prerogative He defended His disciples against the charge of Sabbath-breaking. That discourse followed the Jews' accusation that He had broken the Sabbath in healing the impotent man at the pool of Bethesda.
The Father has put all judgment of the world into the hands of Jesus because He is the Son of man, so He is the Judge of the Jewish rulers and of all people and all are responsible to Him. This authority was placed in His hands when He came to earth as Redeemer, having taken the burden of humanity to save men from sin and its consequences. It belongs to Christ Himself, not merely to His teaching.
He who judges is divine and human united, God manifest in the flesh with the fullness of the Godhead. He is the Son who is in the bosom of the Father and declares the unseen God, who lives by the Father with their life one and has life in Himself, having been given by the Father to have life in Himself and to communicate His own life to humanity. He is the head of every man as God is the head of Christ, and those who are Christ's belong through Christ to God. He is the divine Witness sent from the Father whose testimony is to be accepted as truth because of who He is, not because it agrees with preconceived opinions, and His resurrection establishes Him as witness to the resurrection of all who believe.
In its context this authority to execute judgment belongs to His work of giving life and raising the dead, for the Son has life in Himself and power to give life, and the dead who hear the Son's voice will live. All who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth to the resurrection of life if they have done good or to the resurrection of condemnation if they have done evil. This promise concerns both an immediate raising from the dead and the general resurrection of the righteous, for He is the author of the resurrection who holds the keys of death as conqueror of the grave and has the right and power to give eternal life. The dead rising to immortal life have their life with God certain in His purpose, which He sees as already accomplished. By the same power those dead in trespasses and sins hear the Son of God's voice and come forth, for Christ is now the restorer of the spiritually dead, able to renew minds and lives as He did for Bunyan and Newton.
Qualified Through Human Experience
He was given authority to execute judgment for the precise reason that He is the Son of man, because He took human nature and the burden of humanity upon Himself and lived among men as one made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest, a brother touched with the feeling of human infirmities. He accepted humanity and lived in it a pure, sanctified life, and on that ground the Father appointed Him judge. His fitness to judge rests on His having endured its hardships and trials, having suffered temptation from Satan and overcome the powers of darkness, experiencing the struggle of human life and winning the victory on humanity's behalf.
In that humanity He tasted the very dregs of human affliction and temptation and victoriously withstood Satan on behalf of man, without which victory there would be no salvation. He measured the power of every subtle temptation and bore every weakness to which people are subject, passing over the ground humans must pass. He became acquainted by personal experience with the warfare between good and evil that has gone on constantly since Adam's fall, facing temptation and enduring Satan's fiercest attacks. He lived a pure, sanctified life while thus tried, and overcame the powers of darkness on behalf of man.
Therefore He understands human frailty, weakness, affliction, temptation, and sin, and is qualified to deal with men all-wise, just, gracious, righteous, and tenderly compassionate. He knows the circumstances of every case, does not see as man sees or judge as man judges, but judges righteously. As the one who took humanity upon Himself He tests the character of all as the touchstone of all hearts, the revealer of hearts and exposer of sin. So at the judgment of the great day no one can question the justice of His decisions.
He stands at once as Advocate and Judge, having taken the burden of humanity to save men from sin and its consequences, having given His own life and poured out His blood to ransom transgressors from the penalty of God's law and to save those whose cases He judges. He knows the value of human souls, and will not shut anyone out of heaven unless the safety of heaven requires it. He is the one mediator between God and men, the Way, the Truth, and the Life through whom alone any can enter heaven, the Rock of ages broken that every tried, tempted soul may find in Him a sure hiding place. His decision as judge is final, with no appeal from it.
Final Judgment and Assurance
As Judge of the whole world He will judge before the universe, declaring the reward of those loyal to God and the condemnation of transgressors. He will reward obedience to God's commandments and judge transgressors according to their works. This public judgment will vindicate and glorify God's government, reveal the value of eternal life, and let all created beings see the results of sin.
The Judge is God manifest in the flesh, recognized by the redeemed as their own Teacher and Redeemer. He still bears the marks of the crucifixion when He welcomes them into His presence. The same Christ who gave His life for people and moved them to repentance will receive them and give them their crowns.
When the Son of Man appears sitting on the great white cloud at His coming, He exercises this given authority by His voice to call the dead to life. The voice of the Son of God calls forth the sleeping saints, raising the precious dead from Abel down to the last saint who dies, and clothes them with glorious immortality. The living saints are changed in a moment and caught up with them. Then God will be their God and they shall be His people in a close and tender relationship in accordance with the divine plan.
This gives assurance to tempted and struggling souls, for He will deal justly and tenderly with each soul He judges. He created and redeemed them, and He is the only judge of His people's righteousness. His righteousness covers those who love and trust Him.