The Meaning of John 5:22 Explained

John 5:22

KJV: For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:

YLT: for neither doth the Father judge any one, but all the judgment He hath given to the Son,

Darby: for neither does the Father judge any one, but has given all judgment to the Son;

ASV: For neither doth the Father judge any man, but he hath given all judgment unto the Son;

KJV Reverse Interlinear

For  the Father  judgeth  no man,  but  hath committed  all  judgment  unto the Son: 

What does John 5:22 Mean?

Verse Meaning

This verse probably explains the former one rather than restating it, which the NIV translation implies. The roles of the Father and the Son are parallel in John 5:21, but there is a distinction between them in this verse. The Father and the Son both give life, but the Father has committed all judgment to the Son (cf. Acts 17:31).
"This was something new to Jews. They held that the Father was the Judge of all people [1], and they expected to stand before him at the last day." [2]
The Son"s giving life is in preparation for His judging. Judgment here probably includes discriminating as well as announcing final condemnation. This verse clarifies the roles of the Father and the Son whereas John 3:17 deals with the primary purpose of the Son"s incarnation.

Context Summary

John 5:19-29 - The Father Working Through The Son
The relationship of our Lord to the Father was such that He felt Himself competent to fulfill all the functions of the Divine Being. Is it God's prerogative to raise the dead? It is also Jesus Christ's. The Son quickeneth whom He will, John 5:21. Is it the divine right to be the judge of man? It is also the Redeemer's right. See John 5:22. Is it the peculiar attitude of God to be the fountain of life, so that life, inherent, underived, and perennial, is ever arising in His nature, sustaining here an angel and there a humming-bird? This is also an attribute of our blessed Lord. So hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself, John 5:26. The entire sum of the attributes of Deity are resident in the nature of the Son of man. But though all divine attributes were his, and might have been called into operation, He forebore to use them, that He might learn the life of dependence and faith, the life which was to become ours towards Himself. He did nothing apart from the Father, John 5:19, etc. No vine ever clung more closely to its trellis, and no child to its mother, than He to the Father. See Galatians 2:20; Hebrews 12:2. [source]

Chapter Summary: John 5

1  Jesus on the Sabbath day cures him who was diseased thirty-eight years
10  The Jews therefore object, and persecute him for it
17  He answers for himself, and reproves them, showing by the testimony of his Father,
31  of John,
36  of his works,
39  and of the Scriptures, who he is

Greek Commentary for John 5:22

He hath given all judgment unto the Son [την κρισιν πασαν δεδωκεν τωι υιωι]
Perfect active indicative of διδωμι — didōmi state of completion (as in John 3:35; John 6:27, John 6:29; John 10:29, etc.). See this prerogative claimed for Christ already in John 3:17. See the picture of Christ as Judge of men in Matt 25:31-46. [source]
For the Father [οὐδὲ γὰρ ὁ πατὴρ]
The A.V. misses the climax in οὐδὲ ;not even the Father, who might be expected to be judge. [source]
Hath committed [δέδωκεν]
Rev., given. The habitual word for the bestowment of the privileges and functions of the Son. See John 5:36; John 3:35; John 6:37, John 6:39; John 10:29, etc. [source]
All judgment [τὴν κρίσιν πᾶσαν]
Literally, the judgment wholly. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for John 5:22

John 5:36 Hath given []
See on John 5:22. [source]
John 8:50 But I seek not mine own glory [εγω δε ου ζητω την δοχαν μου]
As they did not seek the glory of God (John 5:44; John 8:4). And judgeth The Father judges between you and me, though the Son is the Judge of mankind (John 5:22). “It is only the δοχα — doxa (glory) that comes from God that is worth having” (Bernard). [source]
Revelation 2:7 Will I give []
This phrase has a place in every one of these Epistles. The verb is John's habitual word for the privileges and functions of the Son, whether as bestowed upon Him by the Father, or dispensed by Him to His followers. See John 3:35; John 5:22, John 5:27, John 5:36; John 6:65; John 13:3; John 17:6. Compare Revelation 2:23; Revelation 3:8; Revelation 6:4; Revelation 11:3. [source]

What do the individual words in John 5:22 mean?

Not even for the Father judges no one but - judgment all has given to the Son
οὐδὲ γὰρ Πατὴρ κρίνει οὐδένα ἀλλὰ τὴν κρίσιν πᾶσαν δέδωκεν τῷ Υἱῷ

οὐδὲ  Not  even 
Parse: Adverb
Root: οὐδέ  
Sense: but not, neither, nor, not even.
Πατὴρ  Father 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: προπάτωρ 
Sense: generator or male ancestor.
κρίνει  judges 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: κρίνω  
Sense: to separate, put asunder, to pick out, select, choose.
οὐδένα  no  one 
Parse: Adjective, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: οὐδείς 
Sense: no one, nothing.
τὴν  - 
Parse: Article, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
κρίσιν  judgment 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: κρίσις  
Sense: a separating, sundering, separation.
δέδωκεν  has  given 
Parse: Verb, Perfect Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: διδῶ 
Sense: to give.
τῷ  to  the 
Parse: Article, Dative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Υἱῷ  Son 
Parse: Noun, Dative Masculine Singular
Root: υἱός  
Sense: a son.