John 5:25-29

Signs: The Gospel of John, John 5:25-29

Overview
v.25: “truly, truly”—three times in his conversation with the Jews Jesus uses this statement. It’s a point of emphasis and a declaration, an oath to the truth of what he is saying.
“…an hour is coming and is now here”—there will be an ultimate time of resurrection to come, and this also can refer to the Jesus miracle in the resurrection of Lazarus (John 11)
“…the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God…” All people, without exception, will be raised from the dead by Jesus. This isn’t just speaking to those who are raised into eternal life, but judgment as well. We see this in v.v.28-29: “all who are in the tomb…”
v.26: Jesus is again asserting his relationship and equality with the Father, and his own deity. All Jews affirmed God as the “giver of life” (Gen. 2:7)—only God has the power of life in Himself. He is life, Who is and always will be. Jesus claims this of himself; life is in Him as it is in the Father.
v.27: Jesus has the authority of judgement. He came as a man—humbly (Phil. 2:5-7) as the sacrifice for our sins. He is the “one without sin, who can cast the first stone.” He came as the Lamb of God to take away our sins. He returns as the Lion of Judah, “to judge the living and the dead.” (Rev. 19:11-18)
v.v.28-29: “Do not marvel at this…”, translated for us: “Why are you so surprised?” These two verses tie back into v.25, giving us the context and description of “the dead.”
“who have done…” this doesn’t mean that we are justified by our good works—it’s that our actions are the best evidence to our faith. If you are in Christ it is evident in your actions (John 15:5; Galatians 5:22-23.) Grace doesn’t negate action.
“We do not deny that the faith which justifies us is accompanied by an earnest desire to live well and righteously, but our confidence cannot rest on anything but God’s mercy.” -Calvin

Jesus and the Resurrection
John is revealing (again) to his readers the supremacy and deity of Jesus—because he wants them to “believe that Jesus is the Son of God…and in believing in His name, have eternal life.”
If Jesus doesn’t come back first—we are all going to die. Facts.
Jesus is teaching that there is a life after death—the dead will all be raised, some to eternal life and some to eternal judgement.
We will all stand before God and give an account of our lives. (Romans 14:12)
He will look at our lives, not for perfection, but for the evidence of a life the is “abiding in the Vine”—trusting and resting in the finished work of Christ on the cross and in the hope of His resurrection.
There is a resurrection. For those who believe this is a source of hope and joy, for those who do not it is a source of uncertainty and fear.
For those who: “By grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone,” have believed—this is our “living hope” and it should also be the driving force for us to live out the Great Commission, to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. (2 Tim. 4:1-2)
We have Jesus’ own words—we do not have to guess at what tomorrow holds: eternal life or judgment. He is the life, the way, the truth—the resurrection. The question is, as always, do we believe?