John 5:23

“That all men should honour the Son, etc.] This is the end of all judgment, and the exercise of all authority, and power being committed to him; namely, that he might have the honour given him by men that is due unto him: even as they honour the Father; that the same honour and glory may be given to the one, as to the other, which must never have been done was he not equal with him, since he gives not his glory to another, (<234208>Isaiah 42:8 48:11). Indeed, all men do not honour the Father as they should; the Gentiles, who had some knowledge of God, glorified him not as God; and the Jews, who had an external revelation of the one, true, and living God, which other nations had not, yet were…”

“honour the Son as . . . the Father--As he who believes that Christ in the foregoing verses has given a true account of His relation to the Father must of necessity hold Him entitled to the same honor as the Father, so He here adds that it was the Father's express intention in making over all judgment to the Son, that men should thus honor Him. honoureth not the Father--does not do it in fact, whatever he may imagine, and will be held as not doing it by the Father Himself, who will accept no homage which is not accorded to His own Son.”

“That all men should honour ... - To honor is to esteem, reverence, praise, do homage to. We honor one when we ascribe to him in our hearts, and words, and actions the praise and obedience which are due to him. We honor God when we obey him and worship him aright. We honor the Son when we esteem him to be as he is; when we have right views and feelings toward him. As he is declared to be God John 1:1, as he here says he has power and authority equal with God, so we honor him when we regard him as such. The primitive Christians are described by Pliny, in a letter to the Emperor Trajan, as meeting together to sing hymns to Christ “as God.” So we honor him aright when we regard him as possessed…”

“That all men may honour the Son, even as they honour the Father - Either willingly, and so escaping condemnation, by faith: or unwillingly, when feeling the wrath of the Judge. This demonstrates the EQUALITY of the Son with the Father. If our Lord were God only by office or investiture, and not in the unity of the Divine essence, and in all respects equal in Godhead with the Father, he could not be honoured even as, that is, with the same honour that they honoured the Father. He that honoureth not the Son - With the same equal honour, greatly dishonoureth the Father that sent him. John 5:24”

“5:23 the Father . . . sent him: In the ancient world, a person could send an authorized representative to seal a contract or make an authoritative decision. Jesus claimed to be God’s representative, so obeying Jesus is the same as obeying God, and dishonoring him is dishonoring God.”

“all men: Joh 14:1; Psa 146:3-5; Jer 17:5-7; Mat 12:21; Rom 15:12; Co2 1:9; Eph 1:12, Eph 1:13; Ti2 1:12 \*marg. Psa 2:12; Isa 42:8, Isa 43:10, Isa 44:6; Mat 28:19; Rom 1:7; Co1 1:3; Co2 13:14; Th1 3:11-13; Th2 2:16, Th2 2:17; Heb 1:6; Pe2 3:18; Rev 5:8-14; Mat 10:37, Mat 22:37, Mat 22:38; Co1 16:22; Eph 6:24; Luk 12:8, Luk 12:9; Rom 6:22, Rom 14:7-9; Co1 6:19, Co1 10:31; Co2 5:14, Co2 5:19; Tit 2:14; Isa 43:11, Isa 45:15, Isa 45:21; Zac 9:9; Tit 2:13, Tit 3:4-6; Pe2 1:1 He that: Joh 15:23, Joh 15:24, Joh 16:14, Joh 17:10; Mat 11:27; Rom 8:9; Jo1 2:23; Jo2 1:9 John 5:24”