I Can of My Own Self Do Nothing - John 5:30

The apostle John wrote how Jesus said, “The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father has life in himself; so has he given to the Son to have life in himself. And has given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation”, and in chapter five and verse thirty of his book, John shared how Jesus said, “I can of my own self do nothing” where we read:

I can of my own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which has sent me.

The verse reads, “I can of my own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge:”. John began with the words, “I can of my own self” or “I, Jesus, of His own personal self is unable and incapable to” “do nothing” which means “make ready, produce and perform not one thing”: “as I hear” which means “in the manner and likeness I, Jesus, am endowed with the faculty of hearing, perceive and understand”, “I judge” or “I, Jesus, separate, put asunder, pick out, select, choose, approve, esteem and prefer”. John shared how Jesus told those listening to Him that He was “incapable” of doing anything by His “own self”, but in the likeness of what He “perceived”, He thereby “separated, selected and chose”.

The verse continues, “and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which has sent me.” John added the words, “and my judgment” which means “and my, Jesus', separating, putting asunder, picking out, selecting, choosing, approving, esteeming and understanding” “is just” or “is righteous, observing divine law, upright, virtuous and in keeping with the commands of God”; “because I seek not my own will” which means “since and on account that I, Jesus, do not strive for, crave, demand or require my, Jesus', own personal wishes, purposes, commands, precepts, choices, inclinations, desires and pleasures”, “but the will of the Father” or “nevertheless and notwithstanding the striving for, craving, demanding or requiring belonging to the Father who is God” “which has sent me” which means “who has dispatched and assigned me, Jesus”. John shared how Jesus declared the “righteousness and uprightness” of His “judgment” on account that He did not “look for the fulfilling” of His own “will” but rather His Father God's.

When we consider John's words in this verse, we learn how Jesus was dependent upon what His Father God said about situations and circumstances, and therefore, His “apprising and understanding” of things were according to what God thought about them. Jesus subjected Himself to the “Father's will”, and because He aligned with Him, He always “judged” according to the “will of God” and not toward His own. God loves every person, and He knows everything about them. He sent His Son Jesus to demonstrate His willingness to have everyone forgiven of their evils and wrongs so they might live with Him forever. Let all who read these words “hear” the words of Jesus and yield themselves to Him as their personal “Savior and Lord”.

Next time John shares how Jesus says, “if I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".