John 5:20 tells us that the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he does, so the Son acts in complete unity with the Father. Jesus says this to the religious leaders in Jerusalem who were angry that he healed a man on the Sabbath and called God his own Father. Here he explains why his works carry the Father’s authority and why greater works are still ahead.
For the Father has affection for the Son, and shows him all things that he himself does. He will show him greater works than these, that you may marvel.
John 5:20 (WEB)
What John 5:20 Means
The phrase “the Father has affection for the Son” describes a close, personal love, not a distant approval. Jesus is saying that the relationship between them is marked by openness. The Father does not keep his purposes hidden from the Son.
The next idea, that the Father “shows him all things that he himself does,” explains how the Son knows what to do. He is not improvising or acting on his own initiative. Everything he does flows from what he has seen the Father doing, which is why earlier in the same passage he says the Son can do nothing by himself.
The final promise, that the Father will show him “greater works than these,” points forward. The healing that stirred the controversy is only a sign of more to come. The verse does not promise that every believer will see the same works, and it should not be read as a guarantee of any particular experience. Its focus is on the Father and Son and the trust that surrounds their relationship.
The Context of John 5:20
John’s Gospel was written to show that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing in him brings life. Its readers are mostly early Christians and those considering faith. The author presents Jesus as one who speaks with a authority that the Jewish leaders did not expect, and John 5 shows that clash clearly.
Just before verse 20, Jesus defends his healing on the Sabbath by saying that the Father is still working and so he works too. The leaders hear this as a claim to equality with God. Verse 20 explains that claim: the Son’s works are not rebellious but the visible result of his deep connection with the Father. Read in that setting, the verse answers the charge of blasphemy rather than simply describing a warm family bond.
Key Phrases in John 5:20
John 14:10
Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I tell you, I speak not from myself; but the Father who lives in me does his works.
(WEB)
In this verse Jesus says that his words and works come from the Father who dwells in him. It echoes the unity described in John 5:20 and shows that the Son’s action is an expression of the Father’s presence rather than a separate source of power.
John 5:19
Jesus therefore answered them, “Most certainly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father doing. For whatever things he does, these the Son also does likewise.
(WEB)
The verse immediately before John 5:20 explains that the Son can do nothing by himself and only does what he sees the Father doing. Reading it alongside verse 20 makes the reason for the Son’s authority clearer and more personal.
A Short Prayer From John 5:20
Father, thank you for the love you have for your Son and for the way you share your work with him. Teach me to watch for what you are doing around me and to follow your lead rather than my own hurried plans. When I feel the pull to prove myself, remind me that I am already held in your affection. Give me the patience to wait for your direction and the courage to act when you make it clear. Let my life reflect the trust that shaped Jesus’s life. Amen.
