John 5:22Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

We need great carefulness in all things, beloved. We shall give the strictest account for both our words and our deeds.

Our deeds do not end with the present life. Another life will meet us, and we shall stand before the dread judgment seat.

“We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,” says Paul, “so that each may receive according to what he has done in the body, whether good or evil” (2 Cor 5:10).

Let us always keep this judgment seat in mind. In this way we shall be able to remain continually in virtue.

One who drives the thought of that day from his soul rushes into the abyss, like a horse that has thrown off the bridle. “His ways are always ruinous,” says Scripture.

Christ, having wrought many signs, proved that He can bestow benefits. But since He did not persuade them or draw them to render Him fitting honor, He says that the Father has given all judgment to the Son. Thus fear of judgment might incline them to render Him honor. For we men, especially the more senseless among us, are usually taught what is necessary more by fear than by benefits. Understand the words "the Father has given judgment to the Son" in this way: He begot Him as Judge. In the same way, when you hear that He gave Him life, you understand that He begot Him as Living. Since the Father is the cause of the Son's being, it is said that everything the Son has He has received from the Father, as having it from Him by nature.

“For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son.”

He brings forward another God-befitting and wondrous work, persuading by many arguments that He is God by nature and in truth.

Indeed, to whom else could judgment over the universe belong, if not to the one God who is over all?

The divine Scriptures call upon Him for this, saying, “Arise, O God, judge the earth” (Ps 81:8), and again, “For God is judge; He humbles one and exalts another” (Ps 74:8).

Yet when He says, “Judgment has been given to Him by the Father,” He does not say this as one outside its possession.

He says it as man, and according to the divine economy, teaching that all things must be referred to the divine nature.

A little earlier we thought that the Father does something which the Son does not do, when He said, "For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all that He Himself does" (Jn 5:19). It seemed as though the Father acted and the Son watched.

Such was a carnal understanding, weakening our thought, as though the Father did what the Son did not do. The Son, then, would look on while the Father showed what was being created by Him.

Thus it seemed that the Father did what the Son did not do. Yet now we see that the Son does something which the Father does not do.

How He moves us and draws our thought onward. He pulls it this way and that. He does not allow it to remain in one carnal place. By moving it, He trains it. By training it, He purifies it. By purifying it, He makes it receptive. By making it receptive, He makes it perfect.

What are these words doing with us?

What, then, does what follows mean? "For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father" (Jn 5:22-23). He added this as though returning to the point of the preceding statement.

This demands serious thought. Be attentive.

The Son gives life to whom He wills. The Father gives life to whom He wills. The Son raises the dead, as the Father raises the dead. "For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son" (Jn 5:22).

If the dead must rise in the judgment, how does the Father raise them if He judges no one? Certainly, He has given all judgment to the Son. Yet in that judgment the dead rise. Some rise to life, others to punishment.

If the Son does all this, and the Father does not, because "the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son," this seems to contradict what was said: "As the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom He wills."

Therefore They raise together. If They raise together and give life together, then They also judge together. How, then, is it true that "the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son"?

Yes, these questions compel thought. May the Lord gladden us and grant their solution.

So it is, brethren. No question brings joy by its solution unless it first strains the mind. May the Lord Himself guide us, so that He may disclose Himself, at least a little, in the questions He has set before us.

For He has covered His light with a cloud. It is hard for us, like an eagle, to fly above every cloud that has covered the whole earth (cf. Sir 24:3), and to behold the purest light in the Lord's words.

Perhaps He will disperse our mist by the heat of His rays and deem us worthy to see Him a little in what follows. Let us set these questions aside and look at what comes next.

What does this mean? He spoke of the resurrection of the dead, saying that as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son gives life to whom He wills.

But why did He immediately add, as something weighty, concerning judgment: "For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father"?

Was it not because He was speaking of that resurrection of the dead which will take place at the future judgment?

"For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father" (Jn 5:22-23).

A little earlier we thought that the Father does something which the Son does not do, when He said, "For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all that He Himself does." It seemed that the Father acted and the Son looked on.

So a carnal notion entered our mind, as though the Father did what the Son did not do. The Son, then, looked upon the Father showing what comes into being through Him.

And now, just as the Father seemed to do what the Son did not do, we see the Son doing something which the Father does not do.

How He turns us in different directions and tunes our mind. He leads us here and there. He does not allow us to remain in one place of the flesh. Through turning, He trains us. Through training, He purifies us. Through purification, He makes us able to receive. Having made us able to receive, He fills us.

What are these words doing with us? What was He saying? What does He say?

A little earlier He said that the Father shows the Son everything He does. Then I saw the Father acting and the Son waiting. Now again I see the Son acting and the Father idle.

"For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father" (Jn 5:22-23).

What then? When the Son judges, will the Father do nothing and not judge? What does this mean? How must I understand it?

Lord, what will You say? O Word, You are God, and I am a man. Do You say that the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son?

Elsewhere I read You saying, "I judge no one. There is One who seeks and judges" (cf. Jn 8:15, 50). Of whom do You say, "There is One who seeks and judges," if not of the Father?

He searches out your injustices. He judges your injustices. How, then, should we understand here, "The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son"?

Let us ask Peter and hear his answer from his Epistle: "Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example, that we should follow in His steps. He committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth. When He was reviled, He did not revile in return. When He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously" (1 Pet 2:21-23).

How is it true that "the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son"?

Here we are perplexed. Being perplexed, we grow weary while seeking the truth. Growing weary, we are purified. Let us strive, as far as we can, by His gift, to enter the deepest mysteries of these words.

Perhaps we act rashly, wishing to examine and enter into the words of God. But why were they spoken, if not for us to enter into them? Why did they sound forth, if not for us to hear them?

Why were they heard, if not for us to understand them? Let Him encourage us, and let Him give us what He Himself deems worthy. Even if we do not reach the spring, let us drink from the little stream.

See, John himself has flowed to us like a little stream. He has brought the Word to us from the heights. He has brought Him down and, in a certain way, spread Him out over the plain.

He did this so that we would not tremble before Him in His loftiness, but would cling to Him in His humility.

Without doubt there is a sure and solid meaning, if somehow we can grasp it, why "the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son."

This was said because no one except the Son will appear before men at the judgment. The Father will be hidden, and the Son will be manifest.

In what form will the Son be manifest? In the form in which He ascended. For in the form of God He was hidden with the Father. In the form of a servant He was manifest to men.

Therefore "the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son" refers to what is visible. The Son will judge in that visible judgment, for He Himself will appear to carry out judgment.

Scripture reveals with complete clarity that He Himself will appear. On the fortieth day after His resurrection He ascended into heaven before the eyes of His disciples (cf. Acts 1:3, 9).

Then the angelic voice said to them, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him go into heaven" (Acts 1:11).

In what way did they see Him ascend? In the flesh which they touched and handled. They touched its scars to be assured of the resurrection.

In that body He came to them and departed from them after forty days. He showed Himself to them in truth and not in any deception. He was not a phantom, not an apparition, not a spirit.

Rather, as He Himself said without deceiving them, "Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have" (Lk 24:39).

Yet that body was already worthy of the heavenly dwelling. It was not subject to death and not changed by time. As it had grown from infancy to mature age, yet grew no stronger afterward, so from mature age it did not decline toward old age.

He remains as He ascended into heaven, so that He may come to those to whom He willed His word to be preached before He comes.

Therefore He will come in human form. The impious will see this form, and those placed at His right hand will see it. Those separated and placed at His left hand will also see it (Mt 25:34, 41).

As it is written, "They shall look on Him whom they pierced" (Jn 19:37; Zech 12:10). If they look on Him whom they pierced, they will see the body which they pierced with the spear. The Word cannot be pierced with a spear.

Thus the impious will be able to see what they were able to wound. They will not see God hidden in the body. After the judgment, those who will be at His right hand will be able to see Him as God.

This, then, is what He meant when He said, "The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son."

For the Son will come to judgment, manifest to men in a human body. He will say to those at His right hand, "Come, blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom" (Mt 25:34).

He will say to those at His left hand, "Depart into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels" (Mt 25:41).

See, that form of man will be seen by the pious and the impious, by the righteous and the unrighteous, by believers and unbelievers. It will be seen by those filled with joy and by those filled with sorrow.

It will be seen by those full of hope and by those thrown into confusion. See, they will behold Him in the form of man.

When this form is seen at the judgment, and when the judgment is completed, of which it is said that the Father judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son, what will follow?

This is said because the Son will appear at the judgment in the form which He received from us. What, then, will follow afterward?

When will the form of God be seen, which all believers thirst to behold? When will that be seen which in the beginning was the Word, God with God, through whom all things were made (Jn 1:1, 3)?

When will that form of God be seen of which the Apostle says, "Being in the form of God, He did not consider equality with God robbery" (Phil 2:6)?

For that great form, in which above all the equality of the Father and the Son was revealed, is ineffable and incomprehensible, especially for the weak. When will it be seen?

See, on the right hand are the righteous, and on the left are the unrighteous. Both will alike see the man. They will see the Son of Man. They will see Him who was pierced.

They will see Him who was crucified. They will see Him humbled. They will see Him born of the Virgin. They will see the Lamb from the tribe of Judah.

But when will they see the Word, God with God? He will indeed be present even then, but the form of a servant will be manifest (Phil 2:7).

The form of a servant will be shown to servants. The form of God (Phil 2:6) will be kept for sons.

Therefore let the servants become sons, those who are at the right hand. Let them come to the eternal inheritance once promised, in which the martyrs believed without seeing it.

For the sake of that promise they shed their blood without hesitation. Let them come there and behold there. When will they come there? Let the Lord Himself say: "And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life" (Mt 25:46).

See, He spoke of eternal life. Did He tell us that there we shall see and know the Father and the Son? What if we live forever, but do not see the Father and the Son?

"For He has given all judgment to the Son"; Jn 5:22. He gave it to Him as begotten, not as to one who received a benefit. See: He did not will to take you away from His Son, but gives Him to you as Judge. But it is fearful lest a sterner judge appear. Consider what Judge you will have. For the Father has given all judgment to Christ. Therefore He will be able to punish you, who were redeemed by His death, for whom He offered Himself in sacrifice, and whose life He knows was redeemed by His death.

Therefore the Divinity is perfect, unchangeable, and immutable. According to its foreknowledge, it predestined everything that does not depend on us, appointing to everything its proper and fitting time and place.

For this reason "the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son" (Jn 5:22). Certainly the Father judges, and the Son as God, and the Holy Spirit.

Yet the Son alone, as man, will descend bodily and sit on the throne of glory (Mt 25:31). For descent and sitting belong only to a circumscribed body. He will judge the world in righteousness (Acts 17:31).

How are we, according to piety, to understand the words of the Gospel: "The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son"? And why does the Lord say elsewhere, "I judge no one"; Jn 8:15, but "the word that I have spoken will judge him"; Jn 12:48? As God, neither the Father nor the Son will judge anyone. A man too becomes a judge for men, not for animals. The Father gave judgment to the Son not because the Son is God, but because He became man. He will judge all by comparing His human life with ours. His word will also judge, that is, the teaching which He manifested through deeds, according to what is written: "all that Jesus began to do and teach"; Acts 1:1. Cf. St.

Again He passes from what is lofty to what is lower. Here too the word “gave” must be understood in a manner worthy of God.

Jesus Christ speaks so not only to heal the weakness of the Jews, as has been said. He also speaks so that we may know the cause, and see that the Son is not unbegotten. Thus we do not fall into the sickness of Sabellius.

Sabellius thought that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit were one and the same. He absurdly taught that the Holy Trinity is one person.

When did the Father give judgment to the Son? The answer may be this: before every “when.” One ought indeed to answer directly: together with the Son’s birth. But when was the Son born, if the Father was not born?

That all judgment has been given to Him is shown by both nature and birth. Only one nature without differences can possess all things. Yet even birth cannot possess anything unless it is given.

All judgment has been given to Him because He gives life to those whom He wills.

But it cannot be seen that judgment has been taken away from the Father because He does not judge. For the judgment of the Son is from the judgment of the Father. By Him all judgment has been given to the Son.

As for the discourse of Jesus Christ on the resurrection of the dead and the judgment of men, it may be divided into the following parts. In verses 21-24 the general thought is given distinctly. In verses 25-27 He speaks of spiritual resurrection and judgment. In verses 28-30 He speaks of the future bodily resurrection and the final judgment of the world. Verses 21-24. Between resurrection and enlivening, verse 21, there is this difference. The first denotes the negative concept of the destruction of death. The second denotes the positive concept of communicating to man the powers for a new life. But in the following words, "so also the Son gives life to whom He wills," the concept of enlivening also includes the concept of resurrection.

"The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son." In later discourses the Lord said that He would judge the whole human race at His Second Coming.

At present He came not to judge sinners, but to save them. Nor is there any need to judge them now, because each one condemns himself.

Whoever believes in the Christ sent by God is justified. Whoever does not believe pronounces sentence upon himself.

Therefore, when Christ said that the Father had given all judgment to the Son, He was speaking of the future Dread Judgment.

"The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son." Judgment is understood here as condemnation; Jn 3:17 and following. It is opposed to enlivening, or moral and spiritual resurrection, verse 21. Therefore it first means moral judgment in the present life over unbelievers. Since this judgment inevitably entails condemnation also at the universal judgment on the day of judgment, that final judgment is also understood. According to the pre-eternal counsel of God, the work of redeeming mankind is appointed to be accomplished by the Son of God. Therefore the authority also belongs to Him to carry out judgment, undoubtedly in union with the will of God the Father. This judgment falls on those who do not believe in Him as Redeemer.

Verses 21-22. It is explained wherein consists the greater thing which, as was said, the Father will show in the Son, to the amazement of men. It consists in the resurrection of the dead and the judgment of the universe. Is resurrection here to be understood as the bodily resurrection of the dead, or as the correction of those morally dead? Among the ancients Ammonius, and among the moderns Eckermann and others, understand it as moral correction. In defense of this opinion, they say that in Scripture the dead also means those morally dead. They also say that the action of resurrection is assigned to the present time, not the future: ζωοποιει, εγειρει, και νυν εςι, verses 21, 22, 25. But the dead are shown here to be those "who are in the tombs," verse 28.

The Father has given judgment to the Son: a great mystery of mercy. God, clothed in corruptible human flesh and bearing in the flesh all man's burdens and sufferings, is the Judge of His brethren according to the flesh. "The Lord measures all things by His sufferings, as by the science of love for mankind, so that from His own He might know ours. He knows how much we can be examined, and how much we should be forgiven, when our weakness is considered together with suffering"; Gregory the Theologian. Or let us express this mystery in another way. God is absolute truth. Yet He judges man while taking into account all the weaknesses and frailties of both man's flesh and spirit.

The Father judges no one, but from the beginning has given all judgment to the Son.

For the One who speaks of all authority and all judgment, and of all things beginning to be through Him (Jn 1:3), and of all things being delivered into His hands (Jn 3:35), allows no limitation of time.

None of these things will be true unless they belong to all time.

Therefore the Son is the One Who from the beginning executed judgment. He destroyed the tower of excessive pride and confused the tongues. He punished the whole earth with the wrath of waters. He poured fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah, God from God.