For I have not spoken from my own authority, but the Father himself who sent me has commanded me what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. Thus the things I say, I say just as the Father has told me.”
John 12:49-50 NET
John began his gospel account by declaring that the Word was God (John 1:1-3) and that the Word was made flesh (John 1:14). Throughout John’s gospel, he stressed the unity and equality of the Father and Son, Jesus (John 10:30; 14:9).
But he also made it clear that Jesus, the incarnate Son, was acting in obedience to the Father. We find here that the Father had sent the Son and that the words Jesus spoke were not his own but were the words that the Father had given him to speak.
In saying this, Jesus makes it clear that what he has been speaking to the people are the very words of God. They have an authority that exceeds that of any human words. And that makes our response to his words a matter of life and death.
Jesus uses the word “commandment” twice in this passage. The Father commanded Jesus what to say. What Jesus tells us to do is not a suggestion but a command. His words carry the same weight as the words God gave to Moses on Sinai.
Jesus also said that God’s commandment is eternal life. The words themselves are just words. It is what you do with them that matters. To obey the words the Father commanded Jesus to speak results in eternal life. But to hear and disobey these words results in judgment from God (John 12:47-48).
Take Jesus’ words to heart. Meditate on them. Obey them. And in them, you will find eternal life (John 17:3).
