FURTHER DISCUSSION OF JOHN 5:23

Affirming the Deity of Jesus Christ

By Dr. Maxwell Shimba, Shimba Theological Institute

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1. INTRODUCTION

John 5:23 is one of the most pivotal verses for understanding the deity of Jesus Christ and the essence of the Christian faith. This single verse encapsulates the divine equality between the Father and the Son and leaves no room for a diminished or merely human interpretation of Christ’s person.

To rightly interpret John 5:23, we must situate it within its broader context. The verse is part of a 27-verse discourse (John 5:19–46) — the longest uninterrupted monologue of Jesus in the Gospel of John — delivered after His miraculous healing of the lame man at Bethesda on the Sabbath (vv. 9–10).

The miracle itself becomes a theological statement: the divine Son acting in perfect harmony with the Father, unconstrained by human traditions. The Jewish leaders, blinded by their legalism, accused Jesus of breaking the Sabbath. Yet, as John 5:17–18 reveals, Jesus’ declaration “My Father is working until now, and I am working” provoked them even further — not only because He “broke” their Sabbath traditions but because He was “making Himself equal with God.”

This equality — not in function alone but in essence — is the very heartbeat of Christian theology.

“He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.” — John 5:18

As the great theologian Augustine observed:

“Behold, the Jews understood what the Arians do not understand.”

The religious leaders understood exactly what Jesus was claiming: not to be like God, but to be one with God.

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2. JESUS STATES HIS CASE

Jesus could have avoided conflict altogether by healing on another day or by clarifying that He was acting as a mere prophet. Instead, He intensifies His claim, affirming divine equality with the Father.

“The Son can do nothing by Himself; He can do only what He sees His Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise.” — John 5:19

This is not subordination; it is ontological unity. The Son mirrors the Father’s actions perfectly because He shares the Father’s nature.

Jesus then asserts that:

• The Father “shows Him everything” (v. 20),

• The Son “gives life to whomever He wills” (v. 21), and

• “All judgment has been entrusted to the Son” (v. 22).

This climaxes in verse 23 — a verse that makes explicit what the preceding verses imply:

“So 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.” — John 5:23

The Son’s divine prerogatives — giving life, executing judgment, and receiving equal honor — are uniquely divine attributes. To honor Jesus just as the Father is to worship Him as God.

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3. HONOR AS WORSHIP

The Greek word τιμάω (timaō) means to prize, revere, or esteem highly. It carries a sense of reverence indistinguishable from worship when applied to God. In fact, Scripture equates “honor” and “worship” when directed toward the divine (cf. Matthew 15:8–9; Revelation 4:9–11; 5:12–14).

Thus, when Jesus commands that the Son be honored “just as” (Greek: καθὼς, kathōs) the Father, He demands identical worship. The construction kathōs does not denote similarity but equality of degree and kind.

To worship the Father rightly is to worship the Son rightly — for their honor is indivisible. To withhold divine worship from the Son is, according to Jesus, to dishonor the Father.

As the Book of Revelation shows:

“Blessing and honor and glory and power be unto Him who sits upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, forever and ever.” — Revelation 5:13

The Lamb — identified in John 1:29 as Jesus — receives the same worship due to God on the throne. Heaven itself bears witness that Jesus Christ is not a creature but the Creator, worthy of divine adoration.

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4. DOES HONOR NECESSARILY INCLUDE WORSHIP?

Yes. The honor demanded in John 5:23 is divine worship, not mere respect.

If Jesus were not God, His command to be honored “just as” the Father would be blasphemous and idolatrous. But because He is God, co-equal and co-eternal with the Father, worshiping Him is not idolatry — it is obedience to God.

“All must honor Him with equal honor to that which they pay to the Father — and whosoever does not… does not honor Him at all.” — Henry Alford, Greek Testament Commentary

Thus, John 5:23 stands as a direct and irrefutable claim to deity. Jesus affirms that divine worship belongs equally to Him and the Father.

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5. THE DIVINE NATURE OF JESUS IN JOHN 5

Some argue that Jesus’ words refer merely to His human or priestly role. Yet the text itself refutes this. John 5:18 shows that the Jews wanted to kill Him precisely because He was “making Himself equal with God.” Jesus does not retract this statement — He expands upon it.

He claims:

• Unity in action: “Whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise” (v. 19).

• Equality in life-giving power: “The Son gives life to whomever He wills” (v. 21).

• Authority in judgment: “The Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son” (v. 22).

Each of these prerogatives belongs to God alone. Therefore, the Son’s right to receive the same honor as the Father flows from His divine essence, not from any temporary, humanly conferred office.

The honor of John 5:23, then, can only mean worship — the recognition of Jesus as God.

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6. “THE FATHER IS GREATER THAN I” — UNDERSTANDING SUBORDINATION

Passages such as John 14:28 (“the Father is greater than I”) do not deny Jesus’ deity. They describe functional subordination within the Economic Trinity — the order of roles in salvation history — not inequality of essence within the Ontological Trinity.

Just as a father may have greater authority than his son without the son being less human, the Father can have greater authority than the Son without the Son being less divine.

The Son eternally shares the same divine nature as the Father:

“I and the Father are one.” — John 10:30

To deny the Son’s equality is to deny the Father’s self-revelation, for the Father is fully revealed in the Son (John 14:9).

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7. CONCLUSION

John 5:23 is one of the most direct declarations of Christ’s deity in the New Testament. Jesus demands the same honor, reverence, and worship as the Father — not as a representative or prophet, but as God Himself.

To worship the Father without worshiping the Son is to dishonor both.
To honor the Son as God is to honor the Father who sent Him.

Jesus Christ, the eternal Word made flesh, is not merely a messenger of God; He is God manifested in human form.
As John declares at the opening of his Gospel:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” — John 1:1

And as Jesus affirms in John 5:23 — He is to be honored, worshiped, and adored “just as” the Father.

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