John 5:19 BSB — MannaFest

John 5:19

So Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing by Himself, unless He sees the Father doing it. For whatever the Father does, the Son also does.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father doing: for what things soever he doeth, these the Son also doeth in like manner.

KJV

Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.

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Commentary

4 voices

Ambrose of Milan

Exposition of the Christian Faith 4.5.60 (397)

Let unbelievers meditate on the fact that, both by nature and sovereignty, the Son is one with the Father and that his power at work is not at cross-purposes with the Father, inasmuch as "whatever the Father does, the Son does as well." For no one can do in the same way the same work that another had done unless he shares in the unity of the same nature, but at the same time also is not inferior in the method of working.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)

The Son can do nothing of himself - This is not his imperfection, but his glory, resulting from his eternal, intimate, indissoluble unity with the Father.

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

It was the copy of that great original; it was Christ's faithfulness, as it was Moses's, that he did all according to the pattern shown him in the mount.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Albert Barnes

1798–1870

Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)

The Son can do nothing of himself - Jesus, having stated the extent of his authority, proceeds here to show its “source and nature,” and to prove to them that what he had said was true. The first explanation which he gives is in these words: “The Son” - whom he had just impliedly affirmed to be equal with God - did nothing “of himself;” that is, nothing without the appointment of the Father; nothing contrary to the Father, as he immediately explains it.

Modern Voices1 voice

Bill Johnson

Healing (Core Values article, Bill Johnson Ministries)

Jesus, who was entirely God, modeled life with the limitations of a man. His life was an illustration of what one man could do who had no sin and was entirely empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

37 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
ἀπεκρίνατο	apekrinato	Answered	G611 →
οὖν	oun	therefore	G3767 →
ὁ	ho	<the>	G3588 →
Ἰησοῦς	Iēsous	Jesus	G2424 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
ἔλεγεν	elegen	was saying	G3004 →
αὐτοῖς·	autois	to them;	G846 →
ἀμὴν	amēn	Amen	G281 →
ἀμὴν	amēn	Amen	G281 →
λέγω	legō	I say	G3004 →
ὑμῖν·	humin	to you;	G4771 →
οὐ	ou	not	G3756 →
δύναται	dunatai	is able	G1410 →
ὁ	ho	the	G3588 →
υἱὸς	huios	Son	G5207 →
ποιεῖν	poiein	to do	G4160 →
ἀφ᾽	aph᾽	of	G575 →
ἑαυτοῦ	he'autou	Himself	G1438 →
οὐδέν,	ouden	no [thing],	G3762 →
ἐὰν	ean	only	G1437 →
μή	mē	unless	G3361 →
τι	ti	anything	G5100 →
βλέπῃ	blepē	He shall see	G991 →
τὸν	ton	the	G3588 →
πατέρα	patera	Father	G3962 →
ποιοῦντα.	poiounta	doing.	G4160 →
ἃ	ha	whatever	G3739 →
γὰρ	gar	for	G1063 →
ἂν	an	maybe	G302 →
ἐκεῖνος	ekeinos	He	G1565 →
ποιῇ,	poiēa	shall do,	G4160 →
ταῦτα	tauta	these things	G3778 →
καὶ	kai	also	G2532 →
ὁ	ho	the	G3588 →
υἱὸς	huios	Son	G5207 →
ὁμοίως	homoiōs	likewise	G3668 →
ποιεῖ.	poiei	does.	G4160 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
John 8:28
So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing on My own, but speak exactly what the Father…
leads to
- John 5:30
  I can do nothing by Myself; I judge only as I hear. And My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- John 6:38
  For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but to do the will of Him who sent Me.
Through
John 14:10
Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words I say to you, I do not speak on My own. Instead, it is the Father…
leads to
- John 10:38
  But if I am doing them, even though you do not believe Me, believe the works themselves, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I am in…
- Acts 10:38
  how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him.
Through
John 12:49
I have not spoken on My own, but the Father who sent Me has commanded Me what to say and how to say it.
leads to
- John 14:10
  Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words I say to you, I do not speak on My own. Instead, it is the Father…
- John 8:26
  “I have much to say about you and much to judge. But the One who sent Me is truthful, and what I have heard from Him, I tell the world.”
- John 17:8
  For I have given them the words You gave Me, and they have received them. They knew with certainty that I came from You, and they believed that You sent Me.
- Deuteronomy 18:18
  I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I will put My words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him.