Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of John 5:23
That all [men] should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father which hath sent him.
23. honoureth not the Father ] Because he refuses to honour the Father’s representative.
which hath sent ] Better, which sent. See on Joh 20:21.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
That all men should honour … – To honor is to esteem, reverence, praise, do homage to. We honor one when we ascribe to him in our hearts, and words, and actions the praise and obedience which are due to him. We honor God when we obey him and worship him aright. We honor the Son when we esteem him to be as he is; when we have right views and feelings toward him. As he is declared to be God Joh 1:1, as he here says he has power and authority equal with God, so we honor him when we regard him as such. The primitive Christians are described by Pliny, in a letter to the Emperor Trajan, as meeting together to sing hymns to Christ as God. So we honor him aright when we regard him as possessed of wisdom, goodness, power, eternity, omniscience – equal with God.
Even as – To the same extent; in the same manner. Since the Son is to be honored even as the Father, it follows that he must be equal with the Father. To honor the Father must denote religious homage, or the rendering of that honor which is due to God; so to honor the Son must also denote religious homage. If our Saviour here did not intend to teach that he ought to be worshipped, and to be esteemed as equal with God, it would be difficult to teach it by any language which we could use.
He that honoureth not the Son – He that does not believe on him, and render to him the homage which is his due as the equal of God.
Honoureth not the Father – Does not worship and obey the Father the First Person of the Trinity – that is does not worship God. He may imagine that he worships God, but there is no God but the God subsisting as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He that withholds proper homage from one, withholds it from all. He that should refuse to honor the Father, could not be said to honor God; and in the like manner, he that honoreth not the Son, honoreth not the Father. This appears further from the following considerations:
- The Father wills that the Son should be honored. He that refuses to do it disobeys the Father.
- They are equal. He that denies the one denies also the other.
- The same feeling that leads us to honor the Father will also lead us to honor the Son, for he is the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, Heb 1:3.
- The evidence of the existence of the Son is the same as that of the Father. He has the same wisdom, goodness, omnipresence, truth, power.
And from these verses we may learn:
1. That those who do not render proper homage to Jesus Christ do not worship the true God.
2. There is no such God as the infidel professes to believe in. There can be but one God; and if the God of the Bible be the true God, then all other gods are false gods.
3. Those who withhold proper homage from Jesus Christ, who do not honor him even as they honor the Father, cannot be Christians.
4. One evidence of piety is when We are willing to render proper praise and homage to Jesus Christ – to love him, and serve and obey him, with all our hearts.
5. As a matter of fact, it may be added that they who do not honor the Son do not worship God at all. The infidel has no form of worship; he has no place of secret prayer, no temple of worship, no family altar. Who ever yet heard of an infidel that prayed? Where do such men build houses of worship? Where do they meet to praise God? Nowhere. As certainly as we hear the name infidel, we are certain at once that we hear the name of a man who has no form of religion in his family, who never prays in secret, and who will do nothing to maintain the public worship of God. Account for it as men may, it is a fact that no one can dispute, that it is only they who do honor to the Lord Jesus that have any form of the worship of God, or that honor him; and their veneration for God is just in proportion to their love for the Redeemer – just as they honor him.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 23. That all men should honour the Son, c.] If then the Son is to be honoured, EVEN AS the Father is honoured, then the Son must be God, as receiving that worship which belongs to God alone. To worship any creature is idolatry: Christ is to be honoured even as the Father is honoured therefore Christ is not a creature; and, if not a creature, consequently the Creator. See Joh 1:3.
He that honoureth not the Son] God will not receive that man’s adoration who refuses to honour Jesus, even as he honours him. The Jews expected the Messiah as a great and powerful Prince; but they never thought of a person coming in that character enrobed with all the attributes of Godhead. To lead them off from this error, our Lord spoke the words recorded in these verses.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
That his Son might be honoured by all men, Psa 2:11,12; Php 2:10, with the same honour which is given to the Father; for the Son is sent by the Father, not as one inferior to him, as a servant is sent by his master, but as an equal is sent by his friend, Joh 4:34; 6:38; 7:28. And look, as a great prince, when he sendeth his ambassador, expects that those of whom he is sent should give him honour, and the same honour as to himself; so doth the Father: so that
he that honoureth not the Son, honoureth not the Father which hath sent him. It is a text which reflects dreadfully upon such as honour not Christ, especially, the Jews and Socinians, who professedly do not honour him with the same honour with which they yet pretend to honour the Father, and are concluded by this text not in truth to honour the Father.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
23. honour the Son as . . . theFatherAs he who believes that Christ in the foregoing verseshas given a true account of His relation to the Father must ofnecessity hold Him entitled to the same honor as the Father,so He here adds that it was the Father’s express intention in makingover all judgment to the Son, that men should thus honor Him.
honoureth not the Fatherdoesnot do it in fact, whatever he may imagine, and will be held as notdoing it by the Father Himself, who will accept no homage which isnot accorded to His own Son.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
That all men should honour the Son,…. This is the end of all judgment, and the exercise of all authority, and power being committed to him; namely, that he might have the honour given him by men that is due unto him:
even as they honour the Father; that the same honour and glory may be given to the one, as to the other, which must never have been done was he not equal with him, since he gives not his glory to another, Isa 42:8. Indeed, all men do not honour the Father as they should; the Gentiles, who had some knowledge of God, glorified him not as God; and the Jews, who had an external revelation of the one, true, and living God, which other nations had not, yet were greatly deficient in honouring him, which made him complaining say, “if then I be a father, where is mine honour?” Mal 1:6. And Christians, who are favoured with a clearer revelation still of the Father of Christ, are much wanting in giving him his due glory; but in common he is honoured, though in an imperfect manner; nor is there so much danger of his losing his honour, as of the Son’s losing his; the reason is this, though the Son is in the form of God, and equal with him, yet by taking upon him the form of a servant, by becoming man, he has veiled the glory of his divine person, and made himself of no reputation; and by reason of this was reckoned by many, or most, as a mere man: wherefore, by agreement, that judgment, power, and authority, which equally belonged to the Father, and the Son, the exercise of it is put visibly and openly into the Son’s hands, that he might have his due honour and glory from all men, whether they will or not: from true believers in him he has it willingly, by their ascribing deity to him, by putting their trust in him, by attributing the whole of their salvation to him, and the glory of it, and by worshipping him: and he will be honoured by all men at the last day; they will be obliged to do it; for all judgment being committed to him, and he being Judge of all, every knee shall bow to him, and every tongue shall confess that he is Lord, to his own glory, and to the glory of God the Father; see
Isa 45:23.
He that honoureth not the Son; that denies his divine sonship, or his proper deity; that detracts from the dignity of his person or office; that shows no regard to him in point of salvation, or of obedience:
honoureth not the Father which hath sent him; they are so the same in nature and perfections, in power, will, affections, and operations; and their interests and honours are so involved together, that whatever dishonour is done to one, reflects on the other: and indeed, whatever is done in a way of disrespect to the Son, as incarnate, and in his office capacity, highly reflects on his Father, that sent him in the fulness of time, in human nature, to obtain eternal redemption for his people, according to a rule often expressed by the Jews, “a man’s messenger is as himself”;
[See comments on Mt 10:40].
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
That all may honour the Son ( ). Purpose clause with and present active subjunctive of (may keep on honouring the Son).
He that honoureth not the Son ( ). Articular present active participle of with negative . Jesus claims here the same right to worship from men that the Father has. Dishonouring Jesus is dishonouring the Father who sent him (John 8:49; John 12:26; John 15:23; 1John 2:23). See also Lu 10:16. There is small comfort here for those who praise Jesus as teacher and yet deny his claims to worship. The Gospel of John carries this high place for Christ throughout, but so do the other Gospels (even Q, the Logia of Jesus) and the rest of the New Testament.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Which sent Him. A phrase peculiar to John, and used only by the Lord, of the Father. See Joh 4:34; Joh 6:38, 39; Joh 7:16, 28, 33, etc.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “That all men should honor the Son,” (hina pantes timosi ton huion) “In order that all men and things may honor the Son,” to the same extent, and for the same reason, that they honor the Father, Mat 6:9. As the Father should be hallowed for who He is and does by all men and all things, so should the Son, Rev 5:9-14.
2) “Even as they honor the Father.” (Kathos timosi ton patera) “Just as they all honor the Father,” for I and my Father are one, in nature, purpose, and the trinity, Joh 17:21. The clear implication and assertion is that such as do not honor, or respect the person and integrity of the Son dishonor His Father who sent Him, Joh 3:16-17.
3) “He that honoureth not the Son,” (ho me timon ton huion) “He who honors not the Son,” of the Father, who commanded that men hear and give heed to Him, Deu 18:15-18; Mat 3:16-17; Mat 17:5.
4) “Honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.” (ou tima ton patera ton pempsanta auton) “Honors not the Father who has sent him.” Joh 3:16; Joh 3:18; Gal 4:4-5.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
23. That all men may honor the Son. This clause sufficiently confirms the suggestion which I threw out a little ago, that when it is said that God reigns in the person of Christ, this does not mean that he reposes in heaven, as indolent kings are wont to do, but because in Christ he manifests his power and shows himself to be present. For what else is the meaning of these words, that all men may honor the Son, but that the Father wishes to be acknowledged and worshipped in the Son? Our duty, therefore, is to seek God the Father in Christ, to behold his power in Christ, and to worship him in Christ. For, as immediately follows, he who honoureth not the Son deprives God of the honor which is due to him. All admit that we ought to worship God, and this sentiment, which is natural to us, is deeply rooted in our hearts, so that no man dares absolutely to refuse to God the honor which is due to him; yet the minds of men lose themselves in going out of the way to seek God. Hence so many pretended deities, hence so many perverse modes of worship. We shall never, therefore, find the true God but in Christ, nor shall we ever worship Him aright but by kissing the Son, as David tells us, (Psa 2:12😉 for, as John elsewhere declares,
He who hath not the Son hath not the Father, (1Jo 2:23.)
Mahometans and Jews do indeed adorn with beautiful and magnificent titles the God whom they worship; but we ought to remember that the name of God, when it is separated from Christ, is nothing else than a vain imagination. Whoever then desires to have his worship approved by the true God, let him not turn aside from Christ. Nor was it otherwise with the Fathers under the Law; for though they beheld Christ darkly under shadows, yet never did God reveal himself out of Christ. But now, since Christ has been manifested in the flesh and appointed to be King over us, the whole world must bend the knee to him, in order to obey God; for the Father having made him sit at his right hand, he who forms a conception of God without Christ takes away the half of him.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
23. Even as they honour the Father Alike should they be adored; both as one Deity, and inasmuch as the Son is the representative of the Father.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“That all may honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He who does not honour the Son, does not honour the Father who sent him.”
Why then has the Father given this power and privilege to the Son? It was ‘That all may honour the Son as they honour the Father’. God’s purpose is that He, Jesus Christ, will have equal honour with the Father. This can mean nothing other than equality of status, and thus oneness of being. Who else could have equal honour with the Father?
They thus need to take care what attitude they take up to Jesus, for ‘He who does not honour the Son, does not honour the Father who sent him’. Because of His relationship with the Father their attitude towards Him will make clear their attitude to and position before God. As He will say elsewhere, He has revealed God’s power in such a way that to reject His work is to be in danger of blaspheming against the Holy Spirit (Mar 3:22-30).
There can be no doubting now the claims of Jesus. His words were very different from those He would use with the crowds. To them He taught simply yet firmly, allowing the truth about Himself to slowly dawn in their hearts, for He wanted no false disciples. But here He was facing the theologians, and put the matter clearly and in theological terms. They have challenged whether He is equal with God, and instead of backing down He has boldly asserted that equality as the Son of the Father. He does the same works as the Father, He has power to give life in accordance with His own will just as the Father has, and He has been appointed judge of all so that all judgment is in His hands, and He has equal honour with the Father. What more could He say?
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Joh 5:23 . The divine purpose which is to be attained in the relation of mankind to this judicial action of the Son. Observe the Present Subjunctive .
] for in the Son, who judges, we have the appointed representative of the Father, and thus far (therefore always relatively, Joh 14:23 ) He is to be honoured as the Father. Comp. what follows. How utterly opposed to this divine intention was the procedure of the Jews, Joh 5:18 ! It is incorrect, however, to take , as Baeumlein does, as causal (see on Joh 13:34 , Joh 17:2 ), because the whole context turns upon the equality of the Father and the Son.
] i.e . in this very respect, that he does not honour the Son, who is the Sent of the Father.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
23 That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.
Ver. 23. He that honoureth not the Son ] As Jews and Turks do not. Nor Papists, that (upon the matter) despoil him of his threefold office, and so deny the Lord that bought them.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
23. ] This being so, the end of all is, the honour of the Father in and by the Son . He (the Son) is the Lord of life, and the Judge of the world; all must honour Him with equal honour to that which they pay to the Father: and whosoever does not, however he may imagine that he honours or approaches God, does not honour him at all; because He can only be known or honoured by us as ‘THE FATHER WHO SENT HIS SON.’
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Joh 5:23 . This extreme prerogative is given to the Son This is one purpose, though not the sole purpose, of committing judgment to the Son; that even those supremely and inalienably Divine prerogatives of giving life and judging may be seen to be in Him, and that thus Deity may be honoured in and through Him. The great peril threatening the Jews was that they should deny honour to the Son, and hereby incur the guilt of refusing honour to the Father. In denouncing Him for breaking the Sabbath they were really dishonouring the Father. . a supposed case, therefore : actual negation. To dishonour the Father’s messenger is to dishonour the Father. Having explained the relation of His work to the Father’s, and having declared that life-giving and judging are His prerogatives, Jesus now, in Joh 5:24-30 , more definitely shows how these powers are to be exercised in the spiritual regeneration, and in the resurrection and final judgment of men. Joh 5:24-26 . The voice of Jesus gives life eternal. , , however incredible what I now say may seem.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
even as. Greek kathos.
not. Greek one. App-105.
sent. Greek pempo. App-174. One of the characteristic words of this Gospel. See note on Joh 1:22 and the Characteristic Words chart for John book comments.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
23.] This being so, the end of all is, the honour of the Father in and by the Son. He (the Son) is the Lord of life, and the Judge of the world;-all must honour Him with equal honour to that which they pay to the Father:-and whosoever does not, however he may imagine that he honours or approaches God, does not honour him at all;-because He can only be known or honoured by us as THE FATHER WHO SENT HIS SON.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Joh 5:23. , all men) Rom 14:11, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue confess to God.-, should honour) either willingly, escaping judgment through faith: or unwillingly, feeling the wrath of the Judge.[106]
[106] Pro 16:4, The Lord hath made all things for Himself, yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.-E. and T.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Joh 5:23
Joh 5:23
that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father.-The Father committing his authority and judgment to the Son and so empowering the Son to speak and act for him demands that the Son should receive the honor that the Father does.
He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father that sent him.-The only method of approach to the Father is through the Son and so he who rejects the Son rejects the Father.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
all men: Joh 14:1, Psa 146:3-5, Jer 17:5-7, Mat 12:21, Rom 15:12, 2Co 1:9, Eph 1:12, Eph 1:13, 2Ti 1:12, *marg. Psa 2:12, Isa 42:8, Isa 43:10, Isa 44:6, Mat 28:19, Rom 1:7, 1Co 1:3, 2Co 13:14, 1Th 3:11-13, 2Th 2:16, 2Th 2:17, Heb 1:6, 2Pe 3:18, Rev 5:8-14, Mat 10:37, Mat 22:37, Mat 22:38, 1Co 16:22, Eph 6:24, Luk 12:8, Luk 12:9, Rom 6:22, Rom 14:7-9, 1Co 6:19, 1Co 10:31, 2Co 5:14, 2Co 5:19, Tit 2:14, Isa 43:11, Isa 45:15, Isa 45:21, Zec 9:9, Tit 2:13, Tit 3:4-6, 2Pe 1:1
He that: Joh 15:23, Joh 15:24, Joh 16:14, Joh 17:10, Mat 11:27, Rom 8:9, 1Jo 2:23, 2Jo 1:9
Reciprocal: Exo 15:2 – exalt him Exo 23:21 – my name Deu 5:7 – General Jdg 11:27 – the Judge 1Sa 2:30 – them Est 6:6 – whom the king Psa 50:4 – judge Psa 50:6 – God Psa 68:20 – unto Psa 72:15 – daily Psa 94:2 – thou Isa 48:11 – I will not Isa 51:5 – mine Isa 52:13 – he shall Mic 4:3 – he shall judge Zec 13:7 – the man Mat 2:2 – worship Mat 2:11 – worshipped Mat 10:40 – and he that Mat 25:42 – General Mat 28:17 – worshipped Mar 9:37 – receive me Mar 12:6 – They Luk 5:24 – power Luk 10:16 – despiseth him Luk 17:16 – fell Joh 1:34 – this Joh 2:11 – manifested Joh 5:18 – God was Joh 7:16 – but Joh 8:42 – If Joh 9:24 – Give Joh 10:30 – General Joh 11:4 – that Joh 17:21 – as Joh 20:28 – My Lord Act 3:13 – hath Act 10:36 – he is Act 17:31 – he hath appointed Rom 14:9 – Lord 2Co 1:3 – the Father of our Phi 2:6 – thought Phi 2:11 – to the Col 2:2 – of the Father 1Ti 1:12 – I thank 1Pe 1:21 – gave 1Pe 4:5 – that 1Jo 4:9 – God sent Rev 1:6 – to him Rev 3:21 – and am Rev 7:11 – and worshipped Rev 14:16 – he Rev 21:23 – the Lamb
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
3
Men are required to recognize the close relationship between the Father and the Son, in order to receive the favor of either of them.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
The Apologists Bible Commentary
John 5
23so that all will honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.
CommentaryJesus now reveals the reason that all judgment has been given to Him: So that all will honor the Son just as they do the Father. This statement must have taken the Jews’ breath away. No prophet or angel had ever uttered such words. It seems inconceivable that any creature could ever do so. Even a powerful angelic being or a lesser, created “god,” sent to earth to represent the Father would never say that judgment had been given to him so that all would honor him equally with the Father. Honor him, perhaps, but certainly not to the same degree as that rendered to the Almighty God who created him. To claim equality of honor with the Father – indeed, to claim equality with the Father in any area whatsoever – is a tacit claim to equality with God. It would be so in any context, but it is particularly cogent in one in which Jesus is answering the Jews’ accusations of blasphemy (verse 18). The claim that the Father has placed all judgment in the hands of the Son because the Father wishes all to honor the Son just as they honor Him places the Son well outside the role of a mere representative or functionary. While ambassadors in ancient times were received as though they were the king they represented, they were not accorded equal honor, and certainly would have never claimed it for themselves. The honor given the Son, however, does not detract from that given the Father. The implication here is that honoring the Son also honors the Father – for while “every knee will bow” at the name of Jesus, it will be to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:9-11). The loving unity of Father and Son, which Jesus has been explaining throughout this passage, points to the fundamental truth that the One God has revealed Himself completely in the person of His one and only Son, and this complete revelation is only possible because the Father and the Son are essentially One. Thus, by giving all judgment to the Son, the Father wishes that all would honor the Son as they do Him – for the Father knows that His glory – which He will not share with another (Isaiah 42:8) – is not compromised when shared with His Divine Son. This statement is followed by one even more breathtaking: “He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.” Jesus is making reverence of the Father dependent upon reverencing Him. Those who would weaken the first half of this verse are still confronted by the second. For regardless of how one might wish to understand “honor” or “even as,” Jesus says here that those who do not honor Him fail to honor the Father. We may consider whether one who honors the Father, but does not honor Abraham, or Moses, or even one of God’s angels, could reasonably be said to fail to honor the Father. In a theistic universe, such a statement belongs to one who is himself to be addressed as God (cf. 20:28) or to stark insanity. The one who utters such things is to be dismissed with pity or scorn, or worshipped as Lord. If with much current scholarship we retreat to seeing in such material less the claims of the Son than the beliefs and witness of the Evangelist and his church, the same options confront us. Either John is supremely deluded and must be dismissed as a fool, or his witness is true and Jesus is to be ascribed the honors due to God alone. There is no rational middle ground (Carson , p. 255). But all things now, and at the final judgment, are committed to the Son, purposely that all men might honour the Son, as they honour the Father; and every one who does not thus honour the Son, whatever he may think or pretend, does not honour the Father who sent him (Henry ).
Grammatical Analysis`ina panteV timwsi ton`uion kathwV timwsi ton patera`o me timwn ton`uion ou tima ton patera ton pemfanta auton. hINA PANTES TIMSI TON hUION KATHS TIMSI TON PATERA hO ME TIMN TON hUION OU TIMA TON PATERA TON PEMPHANTA AUTON. So that all shall honor the Son just as they honor the Father. The [one] honoring the Son honors not the Father the [one] having sent Him. TIMSI ?Honor, value (Vine ). ?To honor, to have in honor, to revere, to venerate (Thayer ). ?To honor, revere someone (BAGD ). KATHS ?According as, just as, even as (Thayer ). ?Indicating comparison, just as (BAGD ). ?Just as, in comparison to … KATHWS hHGAPHSEN ME hO PATHR ‘the same way the Father loved me’ Jn 15.9 (Louw & Nida ). KATHS may have the meaning simply “as,” when not followed by an explicit or implied hOUTS. Thayer and BAGD both recognize am implied hOUTS in this verse, therefore taking the meanings indicated above.
Other Views ConsideredJehovah’s Witnesses objection: An independent Jehovah’s Witness website called The Trinity Exposed Website (TEW) wrote the following comments about this verse. This website has since been removed, most likely in response to Watchtower guidelines regarding the Internet. However, this argument is still current among some Witness apologists. Beginning of TEW JOHN 5:23: Some say that this verse implies that Jesus is Jehovah because we are instructed to “honor” the Son “just as” we honor the Father. Is this true? Because we are to honor the Son “just as” we honor the Father, does this make Jesus Jehovah? Some will say YES!! They even take it a step further. They say that the Greek word here rendered “just as” means “to the exact degree, perfectly the same.” Is this true? Let’s take a look. First let it be said, that it does not say to “worship the Son just as we worship the Father.” Yet , still some imagine it means this. The reality is though, that it says to “honor” the Son. What does this mean? The Greek word translated “honor” is “timao.” It means to “hold in estimation, respect, honour, to revere.” (The Analytical Greek Lexicon by Moulton pg. 405, Strong’s Greek Dictionary pg. 72) It is also used at Matthew 15:4 of the way you should view your parents: “For example, God said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Let him that reviles father or mother end up in death.’ Christians certainly are not to “worship” their parents are they? Next, the Greek word translated “just as” is “kathos.” Just what does this word mean? Does it mean to the “exact degree?” No. This word means “according as, in the manner that.” ( Vines Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words pg. 385; The Analytical Greek Lexicon Revised 1978, by Moulton pg. 208) Notice it does not say to the same exact degree. We see proof that “kathos” literally cannot mean “to the same exact degree” in 1John 2:6 where it appears: “He that says he remains in union with him is under obligation himself also to go on walking just as that one walked.” This verse is telling us that Christians need to walk just as Christ, the perfect man walked. Now the question is: “Can anyone walk “exactly as, to the exact degree” that Jesus walked? Are we perfect? Better still, if Jesus is God, how can we walk “exactly to the same degree” as God? We cannot! Clearly then, to honor the son just as we honor the Father does not mean that Jesus is Jehovah. End of TEW John 5:23 (copied September, 1999). Response: The first point raised, regarding TIMAW, is something of a red-herring. I am unaware of any commentator of note who renders TIMAW “worship,” or suggests that this verse teaches us to worship the Son just as we worship the Father (though other verses point us in that direction). Most, however, rightly associate giving honor equally to the Father and Son as valuing, esteeming, or adoring the Father and Son equally, and thus Jesus is answering his accusers with yet another tacit claim to equality with God, though – once again – in such as way as to demonstrate His unity with the Father. The inseparability of the adoration of the Father from that of the Son prohibits any notion that ‘next to’ and ‘besides’ God as Father, the Son as ‘a second party’ must be honored as God. For by giving all things into the hands of the Son, the Father does not retreat to a position behind the Son, but posits himself as present in the Son. God is not two, but one (Ridderbos , p. 197). The definitions of TIMAW provided by TEW are essentially correct, though TIMAW can carry the connotation of “valuing someone” (cf., Matthew 27:9; so Vine, Moulton & Milligan , Thayer, and BAGD). Thus, in addition to honoring, esteeming, and reverencing the Son, it may also be that we are to value the Son just as we value the Father. The key to interpreting the text, however, is in the term KATHWS, for if it does not mean “just as, to the same degree as,” then even if TIMAW meant worship, it could still be argued that the Son is not equal with the Father. On the other hand, if KATHWS does mean “just as, to the same degree as,” then Jesus telling us to reverence the Son just as we reverence the Father is yet another proclamation of His essential equality with God. Introducing Matthew 15:4 at this point really does nothing more that take attention away from the immediate context, for while we are indeed told to “honor” our parents, we are not told to do so “just as” we honor the Father. Our parents do not “work” on the Sabbath, see everything their Father in Heaven is doing, do whatever the Father does, give life to whom they will, or claim all judgment has been given into their hands. While TEW’s point regarding Christians not worshipping their parents demonstrates that TIMAW does not literally mean “worship,” it fails to address the difference in reverence and honor the Bible teaches us to render to our parents and that which we render to God. We must reverence God above all others, as the Jews understood and believed; which is why Jesus’ call to honor the Son just as the Father would have struck them as yet another claim to Deity. The lexical evidence for KATHWS meaning “just as” has been presented in the Grammatical Analysis, above. TEW’s citation of Vine is incomplete, as Vine also lists “even as” under KATHWS. Further the Watchtower’s own New World Translation renders KATHWS as “just as” in both John 5:23 and 1 John 2:6. Regarding TEW’s comments on 1 John 2:6, Dave Sherrill writes: Our inability to attain perfection does not circumvent or short-circuit our obligation before God to strive for it. In such a situation, our sin magnifies our need for, and the glory of, our Savior. We need a Savior who can save us from our own “righteousnesses”, tainted as they are by sin, as much as from our sin. Such a Savior is one we can truly honor “just as we honor the Father.” Jesus Christ is such a Savior. He is the only Savior (Dave Sherrill, John 5:23, ). Throughout his first epistle, John exhorts us to live as Christ did. John writes that if we are in Christ we will not continue to sin (3:6-7), we will keep His commandments (5:2), and that “love is perfected in us” (4:17). Though we will never be completely like Christ, God promises us that He will complete the work He started in us (Philippians 1:6) and conform us to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29), so that we may – someday in Glory – live without sin, be perfect in love, and walk “just as” He walked.” Thus, KATHWS in 1 John 2:6 means precisely the same thing it does in this verse: “Just as, even as.” Thayer and BAGD list both 1 John 2:6 and John 5:23 as examples of this meaning. In an another book written by the Fourth Evangelist, we have a scene in which every creature renders the Father equal honor with the Son, and the context points clearly to that honor being a part of worship: And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, “To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor [TIMH] and glory and dominion forever and ever.” And the four living creatures kept saying, “Amen.” And the elders fell down and worshiped (Rev 5:13-14). We may note that in this passage, the Father and Son are distinguished from “every created thing” (PAN KTISMA – “that which is created [by God], creature [created by God] … every creature in heaven Rv 5:13” [BAGD ]). If every creature ‘created by God’ honors the Father and the Son, the Son cannot be ‘created by God,’ as the Watchtower teaches. Finally, the Watchtower itself teaches that both the Father and the Son should receive the “greatest honor:” By reason of his being Creator, Jehovah God is worthy of the greatest honor from all his intelligent creatures. (Rev 4:11) …. Whereas Jehovah God and his Son merit the greatest honor, there are relationships among humans that also call for honor (Insight 1, pp. 1135-36). Thus, it seems that the independent apologist who authored TEW’s entry on this verse (as well as anyone who continues to advance the interpretation presented there) is somewhat out of step with the teaching of his Organization on this subject. However, we may ask whether Witnesses who follow the Watchtower’s teaching (rather than an independent apologist) do in fact honor the Son equally with the Father, and if they do, how they reconcile giving the greatest honor to Jehovah God and to one of his creatures, given that the Watchtower says that Jehovah God is deserving of the greatest honor because He is the Creator.
Fuente: The Apologists Bible Commentary
Joh 5:23. That all may honour the Son even as they honour the Father. These words express the purpose of the Father in giving all judgment to the Son. They remind us of the closing words of Joh 5:20, which also express His purpose, but there is a significant difference between the two verses. There we read that ye may marvel, here that all may honour: there it is the confusion and amazement of foes, here it is the honour rendered by all whether foes or friends. It is true, indeed, that the judgment of Joh 5:22 implies condemnation, and that, by consequence, this verse might seem to relate to foes only and not obedient subjects in the kingdom of God. But the all is rightly introduced, for when judgment has compelled the honour of unwilling adoration, much more may it be expected that willing hearts will see the unity of the Father and the Son, and will honour the Son even as they honour the Father.
He that honoureth not the Son, honoureth not the Father which sent him. It was in their zeal for the honour of the Father, as they supposed, that the Jews refused to honour Him who was Gods Son. But so truly one are the Father and the Son, that all who dishonour the Son dishonour the Father. The Father orders all things as the does that He whom He sent into the world may receive equal honour with Himself; and all who refuse honour to the Son resist the Fathers purpose. Similar words are found in one of the earlier Gospels (Luk 10:16), yet no teaching is more characteristic of the fourth.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Ver. 23. And what is the Father’s will in transferring to Jesus the two highest attributes of divinity, making alive, judging? He wills that the homage of adoration which humanity renders to Him should be extended to the Son Himself. The Father loveth the Son (Joh 3:35); this is the reason why He wishes to see the world at the feet of the Son, even as at His own. The equality of honor, says Weiss, must correspond with the equality of action. The word , to honor, does not directly express the act of adoration, as Reuss remarks. But in the context ( as), it certainly denotes the religious respect of which the act of adoration is the expression. And in claiming for His person this sentiment, in the same sense in which it is due to the Father, Jesus authorizes, as related to Himself, worship properly so called, comp. Joh 20:28; Php 2:10 that every knee should bow at the name of Jesus; and the Apocalypse throughout.
The Father is not jealous of such homage. For it is He whom the creature honors in honoring the Son because of His divine character; as also it is to God that honor is refused, when it is refused to the Son. There is a terrible warning for the accusers of Jesus in these last words of the verse. Jesus throws back upon them the charge of blasphemy; they must learnthese zealous defenders of the glory of Godthat when they accuse Him, Jesus, as they are doing, because of the miracle which He has performed in the midst of them, it is God to whom the outrage which they inflict upon Him is addressed, and that the treatment to which they subject this weak and poor man touches the Father Himself, who places Himself in closest union with Him. This menacing close of Joh 5:23 is an anticipation of the severe application which is to terminate the discourse (Joh 5:41-47).
The second cycle Joh 5:21-23 was a still very general development of the abridged cycle Joh 5:19-20. In the third cycle, Joh 5:24-29, Jesus now shows the progressive historical realization of these two works of making alive andjudging, which the Father has conferred upon Him. Until this point (Joh 5:21-23) He has attributed them to Himself only under the abstract form of mere competency. Now we behold this twofold power of saving and judging really in exercise, first in the spiritual sphere, Joh 5:24-27; then, in the outward domain, Joh 5:28-29.
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
The reason for this delegation is that all may honor the Son as they honor the Father. Subordination usually results in less honor. The Father has guaranteed that the Son will receive equal honor with Himself by committing the role of judging entirely to Him. Therefore failure to honor the Son reflects failure to honor the Father. Conversely honoring the Son honors the Father (cf. Php 2:9-11). God will not share His honor with another (Isa 42:8; Isa 42:10-12). Consequently for Him to share His honor with the Son must mean that the Son and the Father are one in essence.
"The ’religious’ people who say that they worship God, but who deny the deity of Christ, have neither the Father nor the Son!" [Note: Wiersbe, 1:306.]
These people include Muslims, Jews, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Unitarian Universalists, if they believe what their churches teach.