John 5:27

Ver. 27. “ And he hath given him power also to execute judgment, because he is son of man. ”

Jesus had said in John 5:22, in an indefinite way, that all judgment is committed to Him. This word all judgment included, of course, both the present moral, internal judgment and the final, external judgment. It is under these two aspects, taken together, that this idea is reproduced in John 5:27, which thus forms the transition from the work of the spiritual resurrection and judgment (John 5:24-26), to that of the outward resurrection and judgment (John 5:28-29). Jesus adds to the idea of John 5:22 a new limitation: that the function of judge is committed to Him inasmuch as He is Son of man. The second καί also, although omitted by B, is perhaps authentic. It emphasizes the relation between the character of judge and that of Son of man. What is this relation? It has been understood in a great variety of ways. According to Lucke the meaning is: Because He is the Messiah and judging is (according to Daniel 7) a Messianic function. But in that case the article before the words Son of man could not be wanting. Without the article, this expression signifies simply: a son of man. Keil denies this and thinks that the absence of the article may be explained by the fact that the words are here the predicate, designating a quality, rather than a person. He explains therefore: Because He is mediator between God and man, author of salvation and consequently judge; for judgment forms a part of the salvation. But the absence of the article is not justified by this, and the idea of salvation is arbitrarily introduced here. Beyschlag understands: Because He is the perfect man, the ideal man, fitted to serve as the standard for the moral worth of all others. But the article could not, any more than in the other case, be wanting with this meaning. The term, Son of man, without the article sets forth simply the quality of man which He shares with all other men. Lange: Because, as a son of man, He can have compassion on our weakness. But this would be to deny to God the feeling of compassion, while the Scriptures say expressly: “Like as a Father pitieth...., so the Lord pitieth.... for he knoweth our frame ” (Psa 102:13).

Heb 2:18 cannot be cited as parallel, since the question there is of intercession, not of judgment. De Wette: Because the Father, as being the hidden God, cannot judge. Reuss, nearly the same: “In the system. God, in Himself, does not place Himself in contact with the world which He is to judge; He makes Himself man for this.” This reason would apply to the God of Philo not to the God of Jesus Christ and of St. John; the latter is a Father, who is in direct relations with the world and humanity; He begets children for life (John 1:13); He loves the world (John 3:16); He even testifies by outward miracles in favor of the Son; He draws souls to Christ, etc. Such a God might also, if He wished, judge the world. Besides, as Luthardt observes, the opposite of the hidden God would not be the Son of man, but the revealed God, the Word, the Son of God, or, speaking absolutely, the Son. Meyer and Weiss: Because Jesus is, as man, the executor and proclaimer of salvation, on which depends the decision of each man's destiny. There is the same reason against this explanation, as against that of Keil. The quality of man is made prominent here for the purpose of explaining, not the dignity of Saviour, but that of judge. Holtzmann: Because He can make the revelation of the divine holiness shine forth before the eyes of men through the fact of His human appearance. But God is able directly to manifest His holiness to the human conscience, as is many times seen in the Old Testament. Hengstenberg: to recompense Him for becoming man. Strange reward! In this embarrassment, the Peschito (Syr sch), some Mjj. (E. M Δ.), and Chrysostom have recourse to a desperate expedient; they connect these words: “because he is son...” with the following verse: “Because He is a Son of man, marvel not.” But what is there in the context leading us to suppose an astonishment respecting this point? Is it then so difficult to grasp the thought of Jesus? The judgment of humanity is a homage rendered to the holiness of God; but this homage, in order really to make reparation for the outrage committed, must proceed from the race itself which has committed the offense. Judgment, in this view, is exactly on the same line with expiation, of which it serves as the complement. Expiation is the reparation freely offered by believing humanity; judgment is the satisfaction which God takes from humanity which has refused Him this reparation. In the one, as in the other, of these acts, a man must preside.