John 5:21

As the Father. The comparison is in itself an implication of the equality of the Son with the Father. The Jews believed rightly that resurrecting the dead was a divine prerogative; in claiming the same power Jesus asserted His deity.

The Son quickeneth. Undoubtedly this applies both to Jesus’ power to raise the dead “at the last trump” (1 Cor. 15:52) and to His power to give new life to every Christian experiencing the new birth (see ch. 3:3). Not until much later does Jewish literature indicate that the resurrection was considered to be a work of the Messiah; in the present discourse, however, Jesus was not emphasizing His Messiahship, but rather His deity.