Resurrection and Judgment
John 5:24-30
A few years ago, a TV AD FOR LIFE INSURANCE showed a businessman walking across a busy city street. He leaped for the curb as a car veered toward him. Somewhat ruffled, he said, “That was close! I didn’t think I was going to make it.” Suddenly two men in white suits joined him on the busy street, and one of them said, “You didn’t!”
As the three men began walking together, the businessman remarked that at least he had peace of mind because his family was covered by insurance. But the real punchline came at the end of the ad. While the man and his two escorts were riding an escalator up into the clouds, he said with relief, “I’m sure glad we’re going up!”
That last line was meant to provide some comic relief, but for the thoughtful person it raises the serious issue of heaven and hell, of resurrection and judgment. It reminds us of Jesus’ words in John 5 that indicate not all people are “going up.” He said that some would experience “the resurrection of life” and others “the resurrection of condemnation.”
Here in John 5 Jesus claims to be the one who raises the dead and judges them. Jesus’ words here in John 5 are his response to the Jewish religious leaders in Jerusalem after He healed the man at the pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath day. This healing prompted the Jews to accuse Him not only of breaking the Sabbath, but also of claiming to be equal with God (5:19).
Jesus answers their charge by reinforcing His claims to be God. Jesus claimed to be equal with God in His nature as the Son of God (5:17-18), in His works which He does just as the Father (5:17, 19), in His love and knowledge (5:20), in His power to give life to whom He wishes (5:21), in His authority to judge (5:22), and in His honor in worship (5:23).
In verses 24-30 Jesus elaborates on His power as the Son of God to give life and on His authority as the Son of Man to judge. We saw last time that Jesus speaks of two types of resurrection. There is a spiritual resurrection and there is a physical resurrection.
Jesus gives eternal life right now (5:24-25).
In verses 24-25 Jesus claims to give spiritual life, eternal life to people right now. That eternal life comes to people when they hear Jesus’ word and believe. So He said in verse 24-25
24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.
25 “Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.
Jesus raises people from spiritual death to spiritual life right now as they hear and believe. Eternal life is a gift of God that we can have now and forever. We don’t have to be unsure about whether we have eternal life. 1 John 5:13 says, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.”
I am sure that the Jews who heard Jesus say these words were astounded. On what basis could Jesus claim to give eternal life? Jesus makes it clear that the power of Jesus to raise the dead and give eternal life comes from His relationship to the Father.
Jesus gives life and judges because of His relationship to the Father (5:26-27).
26 “For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself,
In verse 26, Jesus explains why He can impart life to those who hear His voice: “For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself ….” Life is inherent in God. He spoke all life into existence in the original creation. Even so, Jesus says, the Father “has granted the Son to have life in Himself.”
In John 1:4, John wrote, “in Him was life,” that is, in the Word, the only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, was life. Jesus doesn’t say that life comes from the Father through the Son, but rather that just as the Father inherently has life in Himself, so also He granted or ordained that the Son has this same inherent power of life in Himself. It is another claim that Jesus shares full deity with the Father.
At the same time, the verse distinguishes the Father and the Son and shows that the Son is eternally subject to the Father. It is by the authority of the Father that the Son has life in Himself. And in verse 27 Jesus says that is also true of His authority to judge:
27 “and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.
The Father has given the Son the authority to judge. The reason given here is “because He is the Son of Man.” The reference to the Son of Man goes back to Daniel 7:13-14, where the prophet saw one like the Son of Man coming up to the Ancient of Days. He was given everlasting dominion, glory and a kingdom so that all the peoples and nations might serve Him. Jesus is that Son of Man. He is the Word made flesh who dwelt among us and we beheld His glory. He is eternal God in human flesh. He is uniquely qualified to judge humanity because He is both the all-knowing God and at the same time He is a man who understands by experience what it is like to be human (Heb. 2:17-18; 4:15). So this term, “Son of Man” speaks both of Jesus’ divinity and of His humanity. Jesus can judge perfectly and compassionately because He is the Son of Man.
So we have seen that Jesus gives eternal life right now, that He has the authority to do so because of His relationship with the Father, and thirdly we see:
Jesus will raise the dead in the future and judge them (5:28-30).
Jesus will raise all people to face judgment. This we see clearly in verses 28-30.
28 “Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice
29 “and come forth–those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.
30 “I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.
Jesus says, “Do not marvel at this.” What Jesus is going to say is shocking. Those who heard Him say it that day could not believe it. He knew their unbelieving hearts. So Jesus warns them not to scoff or marvel at this. What He says is not only truly amazing, but it is amazingly true!
Listen to Jesus’ words closely: “the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth.” Hear whose voice? The Son of God from verse 25 and the Son of Man from verse 27. In the future Jesus Himself will give the command and every dead person from every people group from all ages will arise from the dead! Whether their bodies were buried or burned or drowned or eaten by scavengers or blown apart by a bomb, all will be raised to face judgment.
And verse 29 indicates there will be two categories of resurrection: the resurrection of life and the resurrection of condemnation–“those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.” It’s the same thing that Daniel prophesied in Daniel 12, “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt.”
Other Scriptures also indicate that there will be two types of resurrections. Believers will be raised at the second coming of Christ (1 Thess. 4:13-18; Rev. 20:4). They will not face judgment for condemnation (John 5:24), but they will be judged for rewards in heaven (Rom. 14:10; 1 Cor. 3:13-15; 2 Cor. 5:10). Unbelievers will be raised at the end of the millennium to be judged as condemned and cast into the lake of fire which is the second death (Rev. 20:11-15).
Jesus is plainly teaching that this life is not the end of our existence. Either there is life beyond the grave for every person—both the righteous and the wicked—or Jesus is wrong. He says that both those who did good and those who did evil will be raised and judged.
What is the basis for this judgment? On what will people be judged? According to verse 29, it will be our deeds. Jesus distinguishes between “those who have done good,” and “those who have done evil.” The rest of scripture confirms this judgment of our works:
[Rom 2:6-8] 6 who “will render to each one according to his deeds”: 7 eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; 8 but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness–indignation and wrath,
[2Co 5:10] 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things [done] in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
[Rev 20:13] 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.
If we are judged according to our works, does that means that we must gain salvation by our works? Of course not. To think that we would have to ignore what we just read in verse 24. It is not those who have done good who have eternal life and will not be condemned, but it is those who hear the word of Christ and believe. John has stressed this throughout his gospel so far:
[John 1:12] 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
[John 3:16] 16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
[John 3:36] 36 “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
In chapter 6 when the people ask Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” (6:28), Jesus answers “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent,” (6:29). We are saved by faith not by good works. We are saved by believing in Jesus Christ. But that believing will always result in good works.
John Piper puts it this way:
This doesn’t mean that we are justified by our good works, or that God is on our side because of our good works, or that we are united to Christ by our good works. It means the reverse: If you are justified by faith, your faith will produce good works, and if God is on your side, he will empower you to do good works, and if you are united to Christ you will bear the fruit of good works. And in this way, your good works become the evidence, the confirmation, the verification at the judgment that you were justified by faith alone, and that God was on your side by grace alone, and that you were united to Christ before you did any good work.
Jesus knows those who believe in Him and He works through them to do what is good. That is why His judgment is a righteous judgment. John 5:30: “I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.” Here again we see that Jesus’ authority to judge is found in His unique relationship with His Father. He says, “I can of Myself do nothing.” As we saw in verse 19, when Jesus said, “the Son can do nothing of Himself,” He wasn’t saying that He has no power to act on His own; Rather, He has neither the will nor the desire to act independently of the Father due to His divine nature and His love for His Heavenly Father. There is absolutely no room in Jesus’ heart for selfishly seeking His own will, apart from the Father’s will. He is God so it is His nature and desire to act and judge as God.
It is not like the Father is going to stand next to Jesus to whisper in His ear how He should judge in particular cases, leaving the Son to simply announce His Father’s verdicts. Although He is in complete, voluntary subordination to the Father, His judgment on the Last Day will be His own. But it will match the Father’s judgment perfectly, because both Father and Son share the divine attribute of perfect justice and righteousness.
Here is the point: Unless Christ returns first, we will all die. Your body will be buried or burned or otherwise face corruption. But that is not the end. You are going to be raised from the dead someday. Your decomposed body will obey the voice of the Son of God. And you will rise from the dead and face Him—the One who was humanly tempted just as you are; the One who was despised, rejected, and suffered more than we could ever know; the One who died for the sins of the whole world on the cross; the One who was raised from the dead and lives forever as Lord of Lords. And this Jesus will look at your life—not for perfection but simply for the evidence that you believed.
The important question today is: Will my resurrection be one unto life or unto condemnation? Will it be one of joy or one of judgment?
You can be sure today of the resurrection of life on judgment day. Those who have experienced the spiritual resurrection now will experience the resurrection of life on that day. What must you do? Believe in Jesus Christ. You can to that today, just by asking. It’s as simple as ABC.
Admit God you are a sinner. Repent. Turn from your sin. (Rom. 3:23; Acts 3:19)
Believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died for your sin (Acts 16:31)
Confess Jesus Christ as Lord (Romans 10:9,13)
If God is calling you today.
Then trust in Christ without delay;
Tomorrow it may be too late.
For death’s grim hand could seal your fate. -Sper
