John 5:19-27
Jesus' Special Relationship with His Father
19 Jesus 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. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. 21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. 22 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted 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 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. 25 Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.
John 10:25-33
Conflict Over Jesus' Claims
25 Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
31 Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, 32 but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?”
33 “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”
Jesus made many profound statements about His relationship with God...These claims got Him in trouble with the Jewish High Priest, the Sanhedrin and others...Two of them are that the Father and I are One...And then another similar statement is that what the Father does the Son also does...These are bold and profound statements about His relationship with God...It is what a Son might say about His True Father...
When Jesus says that He and the Father are One He is claiming to be equal to God...How else can you explain it, unless He is the Son of God and does only what God has told Him to do -when God Jesus to earth?...In Jesus saying these statements seems to mean as we read through the four gospels that He shares the same Divine Nature as God the Father...Now this is a radical claim, especially in light of the previous Jewish understanding of God (before Jesus came) that God is One and Indivisible...But we do know that in the Old Testament, God would be sending an Anointed One to earth and we do not know exactly the Power of the Messiah...
As we read the gospels we see how close God and Jesus are...Jesus does tell us that there is Only One True God when He is praying to be Glorified by His Father...In these verses, we see Their Special Relationship and how long they have been together and have been One...Jesus says in His High Priestly Prayer: “Father, the hour has come...Glorify your Son, that Your Son may Glorify You...For You granted Him Authority over all people that He might give Eternal Life to all those You have given Him...Now this is Eternal Life: that they know You, the Only True God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent...I have brought You Glory on earth by finishing the work You gave Me to do...And now, Father, Glorify Me in Your Presence with the Glory I had with You before the world began...
When Jesus says, "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing on His Own; He can do only what He sees the Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does" (John 5:19), may lead us to believe that Jesus knew what His Father wanted Him Perfectly to do on earth...He always follows God's Will...This suggests that Jesus' knowledge is derived from God, and maybe all of His knowledge is from His Father...
This might mean that Jesus does everything that God the Father does, but in a different way...Jesus came to earth to live and die for our sins, which is what the four gospels teach us...While God the Father is the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe....Yet, St. John tells us that all things are made through Jesus...A Creator of sorts...However, both Jesus and God the Father are working towards the same goal: to bring us into a relationship with both of Them and to give us eternal life with Them...
Jesus' statements and actions on earth reflected the actions of God His Father...Jesus came and healed the sick...He raised the dead in each of the gospels, just as God can do...Jesus went around forgiving others of their sins, just as God the Father forgives sins...Jesus teaches about love, mercy, grace, forgiveness, kindness, and justice, just as God the Father does...Jesus gave Himself up on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins...Each of our sins put Jesus on the Cross...This is one of the reasons God sent Him to earth...Jesus would die for each of our sins, and mankind's sins...
So the statement "Whatever the Father does, the Son also does" means that Jesus is completely United and One with God the Father when God sent Him to earth to dwell among us...Jesus is Fully Human and Fully Divine, and He acts on behalf of God the Father in being our Savior...We can read the gospels and see the Special Relationship They have...