49 For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. 50 And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”
12:49
For [because]
The word “for” gives the reason for the previous verse. The teaching that unbelievers reject is the Father’s word and not only Jesus’ word.
I have not spoken on My own authority;
Jesus spoke on behest of the Father, not on His own. His message was not of human origin; it came from the Father Himself.
but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command,
Jesus is the Father’s ultimate revelation to the world; He is the Logos or Word. The Father spoke finally and decisively in Him (He 1:1-3). The Father, and no one else, gave Him “a command.” The Father is bound up in the message of the Son.
God’s “command” deals with eternal relationship to God, the offer of eternal life. Rejection of these teachings brings condemnation on a person. It is a rejection of God’s offer of eternal life.
what I should say and what I should speak.
The Father was precise in telling the humanity of Christ what to speak. To reject Jesus’ word is to disregard the Father’s word. Everything that Jesus said was perfect representation of what the Father wanted Him to say.
12:50
And I know that His command is everlasting life.
Jesus’ “command” requires faith in His right to grant “everlasting life.”
Therefore,
Jesus’ words are final.
whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”
Jesus’ words were the words of the Father. His words were precisely what the Father told Him to speak. The Son spoke in unqualified communication what the Father wanted Him to convey.
The Father’s instruction to the Son was to reveal everlasting life. There was no gulf between the Father’s plan and the Son’s.
PRINCIPLE:
The reason Jesus’ words are threatening is that they convey what God is all about.
APPLICATION:
Jesus spoke of eternal life. That was the message the Father wanted Him to communicate. It was not a message of His own making; it was the Father’s message. Jesus conveyed this message exactly as the Father gave it. That message leads people out of darkness and brings everlasting life.
In the final analysis God will judge us by what He says in His Word. He will not judge us by our perspective on things, by our good works, or by any system other than His extant statements in Scripture.
