Who will judge the nations? Jesus or the Father?

Question

Who is the judge of the nations?

“For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. And he (The Father) has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.” ‭‭John‬ ‭5:22, 25, 27-29‬ ‭

Evidently those who are His pass from death to life not going to the judgment:

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” ‭‭John‬ ‭5:24‬ ‭

Another text:

“I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom:” ‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭4:1‬ ‭

Who is judging? The previous passage says the Father will judge NO ONE.

“Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ/God;” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭14:10‬ ‭

(Some translations say God, others Christ)

It says it’s Christ’s judgment seat here:

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” ‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭5:10‬ ‭

Who is the judge of the nations? Because the OT says it’s God:

“Arise, O God, judge the earth; for you shall inherit all the nations!” ‭‭Psalm‬ ‭82:8‬ ‭

“Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?”” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭18:25‬ ‭

In speaking of the Son and of His inheritance:

“Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”” ‭‭Psalm‬ ‭2:8-9‬ ‭

It seems very clear that God is the judge of all the earth. But the NT doesn’t seem to place the Father in the judgment seat.

““When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. Then the King (Jesus) will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭25:31-32, 34‬ ‭

The Father is mentioned but the judging is done by the King, King Jesus on his glorious throne.

Who then therefore is the judge? Jesus of the NT or God of the OT? Or...

Answer 1

Jesus is the Judge; He judges under the authority given to Him by the Father.

The New Testament repeatedly identifies the Father as the source of Jesus' authority. For example, from 1 Corinthians 15:

23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.

24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.

25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.

26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.

From the broader context of the chapter it is the Father who puts all things under Jesus.

An Analogy of Delegation

(the characters in this analogy are by no means comparable to Deity)

In my employment I regularly authorize company expenditures. Most of the time though, it is someone who reports to me who actually physically clicks an approve button in our computer system.

Who approved the expenditure? Did I or did my employee? The answer is yes. That is how delegated authority works.

Conclusion

The Gospel of John is clear that the authority to Judge is held by Christ. It is to Him who atoned for our sins to whom we will be required to give an accounting.

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A Post-Script on the Nature of God

I do not believe it is necessary to engage in debate on the relationship between the Father and the Son in order to answer this question.

As Jesus Himself taught (see John 17:11), He and the Father are united--they are on the same page about how the plan is to be carried out.

What does this mean for judgement? Whether we stood before the judgement bar of the Father or the Son the decision made would be exactly the same.

I believe it is Jesus Christ we will meet at the judgement, and that returning to the presence of the Father--a promise made to the righteous--will be through Jesus Christ.

Answer 2

God is in Christ.

"To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation." (2 Corinthians 5:19)

And Christ is the only one worthy to judge us, having been one of us, lived among us, and died to atone for our sins.

In answer to the question asked in Revelation:

"And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?" (Revelation 5:2)

The answer is given:

And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four [and] twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation" (Revelation 4:5-9)

The Lamb is worthy to open that book and loose its seals. And what does that book contain? Judgments. Chapter 6 is all about those judgments, culminating with these words:

"For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?" (Revelation 6:17)

Answer 3

Numerous responses already - but nevertheless there is something to add. Another perspective. Another view - one that is quite often not seen, let alone understood.

In Gods eyes, there are ‘people’, ‘man’ - and there are nations. When looking at ‘man’, there are two groups, righteous and unrighteous. When looking at nations, there are two groups - Jew and Gentile.

And Jesus came to redeem both! Both ‘man’ and also ‘nations’. That’s what the basis of the temptation in the wilderness was. Satan offered Jesus the nations - because he knew that was why Jesus came - and - they were his to give!.

The cross redeemed man - the nations are yet to be redeemed. That’s what the second coming will achieve. You need to understand Babel. Clearly. At Babel, God gave the nations away! Because they (man) rejected him. But, as with ‘man’ he had a plan to redeem them as well - using his nation! His chosen people. That’s why Israel is pivotal in or for ‘the end times’!

This verse ...

JOHN 5: 22 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son

Is talking about ‘man’ - not nations! The Father judges no man - So yes, God will judge the nations. And they will be judged through Jesus, based on the ‘leader’ of those nations. The King - that is, how the ‘leader’ of the nation ‘is’ or ‘goes’ determines the ‘fate’ of the nation. We see this crystal clear in the Old Testament. When the Israelites king was ‘good’, did ‘right’, all went well (for everyone else). - But if not .....[].

This ‘nations’ and the judgement of the nations is yet to be. It is something we will come to after this present ‘age’ comes to an end. And in this judgement, it will result in two groups, the righteous (sheep) and unrighteous (goats).

Answer 4

It's pretty clear from Matthew 25:31-46 that Jesus will judge the nations. Notice vs31, "But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne."

And at vs32, "And all the NATIONS wo;; be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; vs33, and He will put the sheep on His right and the goats on the left."

"BUT" In the Old Testament there is a "plethora" of verses that say the Lord God will be the judge. Here are a few of them. "Psalm 96:13, "Before the Lord, for He is coming; For He is coming to judge the world in righteousness, And the peoples in His faithfulness."

Psalm 98:9, "Before the Lord; for He is coming to judge the earth; He will judge the world with righteousness, And the peoples with equity." And Isaiah 33:22, "For the Lord is our judge, The Lord is our lawgiver, The Lord is our king; He will save us--"

Psalm 50:6, "And the heavens declare His righteousness, For God HIMSELF is judge." One more, Micah 4:3, "And He will judge between many peoples And render decisions for mighty, distant nations, Then they will hammer their swords into plowshares."

So to answer your question, "Who will judge the nations? Jesus or the Father?" The Bible says, "The Lord God Himself."

Answer 5

Even though Jesus has been given (originally not his because, if it is, it does not make sense to say "has been given") all the judgment as recorded in John 5:22, his own statement in John 5:30 says his judgment is not his own judgment but that of the one who sent him.

Acts 17:31 says that God has set a day where He will judge the whole inhabited earth by a man he has appointed (that man is Jesus, John 5:22)

The Father is the Judge of the whole world, whether in the OT or in the NT. Genesis 18:25 and Hebrews 12:23.

Answer 6

What About Judgment?

Who will judge the nations, Jesus or the Father?

Answer: Neither.

Suppose we thoroughly review some of the passages that relate to this question. First, let us examine the counter-argument, one which seems air-tight. Three passages describe everyone standing before the Judgment Seat of God or Christ:

Romans 14:10, 12: “For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. … Each one of us will give an account of himself to God.”

2 Corinthians 5:10: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”

1 Peter 4:17: “For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?”

From these it might seem that there is no way out, that everyone will stand before God in judgment. But is that true? Well, yes and no.

We must ask: If we have been baptized into Christ, have all our sins not been washed away just as we have been promised? How can this be? Well, let us carefully deconstruct the preceding verses in contrast to several others that are also relevant.

We need to recognize (and something many people fail to appreciate) that upon His Resurrection, Christ ascended into heaven in great glory and honor to become the King of all Creation (Mk 16:19, Acts 1:11, Heb. 1:3, 8:1, 10:12, 12:2). In doing so, Christ now sits on His Throne governing everything that transpires on Earth. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords (1 Tim. 6:15, Rev. 17:14, 19:6).

That is, we are all standing before Christ’s Throne right now, although we may seldom view things from that perspective. We have lived before the Seat of Christ all our lives.

Now, let us consider what the New Testament has to say about the faithful. Note the many times that God has proclaimed (or has necessarily implied) that while we walk in the Light, we are not to be judged:

John 3:18a: “He who believes in Him is not judged" (emphasis added).

Are we to view John 3:18a as mere hyperbole regarding the faithful? As noted in the OP, only two chapters later we read:

John 5:24: “Truly, truly, I say to you, the one who hears [obeys] My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life” (emphasis added).

How do we reconcile these things? Why would Christ ever make such claims (those emphasized in Jn. 3:18a, 5:24)? Of course, He is addressing those who have exercised obedience to His Word: the faithful. Take a look at the next passage that speaks to the status of the saints:

Romans 8:1: “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (emphasis added).

Has Paul not clearly stated that there is now no condemnation to those who have “clothed themselves with Christ?” What does that mean? It means that there is nothing to judge in our walk with Christ. And, if there is nothing to judge, then how do we stand before a judgment seat (other than we do right now)?

If there is judgment, some form of condemnation is inevitable. Those in Christ, however, should understand that they have passed from being slaves of disobedience to become slaves of righteousness (Rom. 6:18) as children of God. Consider Paul’s Letter to the Colossians, which argues the point more emphatically:

Colossians 1:21-22: “And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet [Christ] has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before [the Father] holy and blameless and beyond reproach…” (emphasis added).

We were once alienated and hostile to God. We were “engaged in evil deeds” just as the text reads in verse 21. That is how God sees everyone outside of Christ, irrespective of whether we consider them “good” or “bad.” What we happen to think is irrelevant.

Precisely who stands in God’s righteous judgment when they are holy, blameless, and beyond reproach? If this is not true, how do words have meaning? Paul’s letter to the saints at Corinth appears to echo the same sentiment as those in his Letter to the Colossians from a moment ago:

1 Corinthians 6:11: “You were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God!” (emphasis added).

As before, note the similarity of the words to Col. 1:21-22: “washed,” “sanctified,” “justified.” Of course, those who have not been washed (baptized), sanctified (set apart), and justified (removal of condemnation, guilt, and sin) are filling up the measure of their wrath before the Throne of God right now.

We, who exist in such a perfected state, will never stand in judgment. If you believe otherwise, ask yourself this question: Does being washed, sanctified, and justified, not equate to spiritual perfection?

Here are another set of relevant passages:

1 Thessalonians 4:17: “Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.”

Where is there any mention of judgment here? Are we to insert words that do not exist such as: “Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up to judgment and later be together with them in the clouds…”? How does such reasoning not imply that we are to stand in judgment for sins that have been washed by the blood of the Lamb? Read what the writer of Hebrews has to tell us:

Hebrews 9:28: “[So] Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him” (emphasis added).

How can anyone read this and not understand that Christ will appear a second time without reference to sin, just as the writer explicitly states? What does it mean to appear “without reference to sin”? Do judges adjudicate cases when there are no charges and no case? Elsewhere, the apostle Paul reveals the destiny of the saints when absent from the physical body:

2 Corinthians 5:8: “[We] are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.”

How is anyone “at home with the Lord” while standing in judgment? These are questions that beg to be asked!

Now, let us observe some grim passages to the lost:

Romans 2:5: “[Because] of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God…” (emphasis added).

Naturally, Romans 2:5 is addressing the faithless who are – present tense – “storing up wrath for themselves” because they have not been cleansed. They have refused salvation and are therefore incapable of pleasing God. At the moment of their death, they stand guilty, and this is exactly what we read:

John 3:18b: “[He] who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed [obeyed, cf. Jn. 3:36, NAS] in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (emphasis added).

Christ is witness to every sinful act that has ever been committed. On the other hand, there is nothing but “glory and honor and peace” (Rom. 2:10) for those who have attained everlasting life:

Matthew 25:34: “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’”

Do we ever read the King saying, “Now, stand in judgment for all the deeds you have committed in the body”? While the wording differs considerably, this passage is reminiscent of 1 Thessalonians 4:17 where we are told that “we will meet the Lord in the air.” In Matthew’s account, the “sheep” have been metaphorically separated from the “goats” (Matt. 25:32-33) – the “goats” of course, those who will face the Wrath of God (cf. Lk. 16:19ff).

Nowhere is there the slightest hint of any damnable detour. The saints will always be with the Lord while the faithless are to be cast into the Lake of Fire. There is a definite sense of immediacy to the passage in Matthew:

Matthew 25:41: "Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels'" (cf. Matt. 7:23).

Of course, it is Christ who will proclaim the words against them, but the damage has been done here, now. Suppose we now return to another passage that we considered at the outset of this discussion:

Romans 14:10, 12: “For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. … Each one of us will give an account of himself to God.”

We have already demonstrated that Christ’s Kingdom was inaugurated on Pentecost. The Lord’s Prayer tells us to pray to God: “Holy be Your name, Your Kingdom come...” The reason that we should still pray this is that, while the gates of the Kingdom were opened on the Lord’s Day in the first century A.D., the Kingdom has been coming since that time.

Every day, another person is baptized to become the latest citizen. There seems little doubt that when the totality of the Kingdom has finally arrived, God will bring the world to an end (2 Pet. 3:10).

Nonetheless, the gates of the Kingdom were opened long ago, and, as noted previously, we are all living our lives before the Seat of Christ because He reigns over all the Earth. Each time a person is saved, they have “put on Christ” (Gal. 3:27, cf. Matt. 22:13) as a royal citizen (1 Pet. 2:9).

All others remain slaves – slaves of sin (Rom. 6:16), their consciences continually bearing witness against them (1 Cor. 8:10, 1 Cor. 10:25, 29, 1 Tim. 1:5, 1 Tim. 3:9, Heb. 13:18).

Lastly, we should observe the third of the three passages from the outset:

1 Peter 4:17: “For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?”

We should appreciate what this means. Imagine you are a police officer and your task is to maintain law and order while arresting criminals. With whom does the law begin? It begins with you, the law enforcement officer because you are a representative of the law. You are expected to know precisely what the law dictates and how it is to be discharged.

It is the same with the faithful. Yes, the judgment definitely begins at the household of faith. That is because, according to the words of the apostle Paul, the faithful are to judge the world through their righteous behavior, just as the police officer represents an orderly society as he enforces regulations:

1 Corinthians 6:2a: “Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world?”

How can saints judge the world? Well, we are accomplishing this very task all of our lives in Christ. Based on the words of Scripture, we are expected to behave as “role models” to the rest of the world according to God’s “gold standard”: His Word. If we do not do this, we are no longer walking in the Light and have become like the world, lost in our sins.

We should now understand why neither the Father nor Christ will be a "judge" per se. It is because we are being contrasted to the Word of God every moment:

John 12:48: “He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day” (emphasis added).

We will be tested in Christ because that is what this life is: a test. We can either choose Satan, that is, "the world," or we can choose God and Life. The great news for the steadfast believer is that they are saved as long as they walk in the Light because Christ and His Sacrifice continually perfects us:

1 John 1:7: “[But] if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (emphasis added).

If there is any ambiguity in this verse, God appears to have anticipated it:

1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (emphasis added).

The Bible is the "gold standard" against which the lost will be cast into Hell. Our behavior at this very moment is cleansing us while at the same time condemning all others around us.

And, it is conformity to, or neglect of God's Word that does both.