John 5:25, commentary and pictures

The hour He spoke of is both now and to come, a present giving of life to the dead in sin and a future raising of all who lie in the graves. Those who are dead now are those asleep in trespasses and sins, bound in carnal security with no natural love for God or heavenly things. He can give them life because as Son of God He has life in Himself even as the Father has, and His voice carries divine power to call the dead to live. All who hear Him in faith, repentance and conversion are aroused to newness of life, created anew by the Holy Spirit, clothed in His righteousness and delivered from the bondage of sin. At His return that same voice will call all who are in the graves to come forth, the righteous to the resurrection of life in immortal vigor and the wicked to the resurrection of judgment.

Context and Spiritual Revival

The saying was given in the discourse that followed the healing of the paralytic and impotent man at Bethesda, after the Jews charged Jesus with breaking the Sabbath. It was uttered at the second Passover in the midst of uproar and sharp controversy over the true claims of the Sabbath law. He had healed on the Sabbath on purpose, to free the day from the burdens heaped upon it, and when accused He answered that His Father works and He works, claiming equal right with God to do a work equally sacred and of the same character as His Father's.

The hour coming and now is means two works held together: a present giving of life to the spiritually and bodily dead among His hearers, and a future raising of all who are in the graves. The present dead are those in the slumber of sin, dead in trespasses and sins and bound in carnal security. By nature they have no love for God and no natural thought of heavenly things, palsied by transgression and sunk so low under broken law that spiritual life seemed impossible.

Hearing the voice of the Son of God now arouses those spiritually dead into newness of life. By the Holy Spirit new tastes and new motives are created, bondage to sin is broken, the sinner is converted from the error of his ways, and through response to His invitation in faith, repentance, and conversion they are restored. Those who thus hear and live accept the garment of Christ's righteousness and show a changed, transfigured life, hungering to partake of the divine nature, breaking from sin, submitting to be trained for service, panting after God and longing for His life-giving power. Wearing His easy yoke and learning His meekness surrounds them with peace, and being made partaker of this divine principle is a pledge of resurrection to eternal life. Whoever receives His word in faith is delivered from sin and given eternal life, so that Satan cannot hold him in spiritual death, by the same word-power that gave life to the first man and raised the young man at Nain and will raise the body from the grave.

This present miracle is illustrated by the conversions of Bunyan and Newton, reclaimed from sin to become witnesses to the uplifted Saviour. It still works in remarkable conversions, rescuing people weakened by addiction and temptation and making them alive when they hear and respond. The present life comes as human faith and effort prepare the way by responding to His requests and removing hindrances, as those at Lazarus's tomb moved the stone and afterward unbound him. Doubt, unbelief, and resistance hinder His work in assemblies and congregations, for He does not force cooperation, yet His power is not lacking when hindrances are removed.

Christ's Life-Giving Authority

The declaration reveals true nobility, for the speaker is the Son of God, equal with the Creator and honored by angels, speaking with kingly majesty in words clear and plain that declare His mission and the duty of the world. He has life in Himself even as the Father has life in Himself, that life having been given Him by the Father, so that His own voice gives life to the dead who hear it. That divine power to give life is grounded in His identity as both Son of God and Son of man, sharing the Father's life-giving power, and it works both in the hour already present and in the coming resurrection when all in the graves will come forth, some to life and some to condemnation. To awaken the spiritually dead requires as great an outlay of power as to raise the physically dead, and Christ has life in Himself to do it and will accomplish what He pledged.

With that life He has authority to execute judgment, having been made Judge of His accusers and Judge of all the world when He came as Redeemer, so that all judgment is committed to Him as the Son of man. From His decision there is no appeal, and all men are responsible to Him. He is fitted to be both Advocate and Judge because He took the burden of humanity to save men from sin, tasted human affliction and temptation, and victoriously withstood Satan. By personal experience He is acquainted with the warfare between good and evil that has gone on constantly since Adam's fall, so He understands human frailty and will deal with men wisely, justly, and graciously. He is the one mediator between God and men, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, the Rock of ages rent on purpose that every tried and tempted soul may find a sure hiding place, and only by Him can anyone enter the kingdom of heaven.

As the Father raises the dead, the Son calls them by His voice to come to life, and those who hear His word and believe the Father who sent Him have everlasting life and pass from death to life. That promise belongs with the assurance of the future resurrection, when the dead will hear Christ's voice and come forth, the good raised to life and the evil to judgment. The present working of that power answers the denial of bodily resurrection, and tells those who profess to believe in resurrection power that it is already at work among them bringing spiritual life to those dead in sin, while that same power will raise the body from the grave. His resurrection establishes that everyone who believes in Him will be resurrected. His giving of life to the dead who heard Him and came forth was evidence of His divine mission, yet Israel's rulers closed their hearts to the Messiah and failed to heed what His works revealed.

Future Resurrection and Response

The coming hour is when all who are in the graves shall hear His voice and come forth, those who have done good unto the resurrection of life and those who have done evil unto the resurrection of judgment and damnation and condemnation. The Son has life in Himself even as the Father has life in Himself, with power to raise the dead by His voice and authority to execute judgment because He is the Son of man. Those who hear His word and believe the Father who sent Him have everlasting life, and the dead who hear the voice of the Son of God shall live.

At His return and coming on the cloud of the Son of Man, His voice will call the righteous dead from Abel and from Adam through the last saint to die, including the sleeping saints. Descending wrapped in flames of fire to the sound of the trumpet and silver trumpet, He gazes on the graves of the sleeping saints, raises His eyes and hands to heaven, and cries Awake! Awake! Awake! ye that sleep in the dust, and arise. Then there is a mighty earthquake, the graves open, and the dead come up bodily, restored to immortal life and vigor with the effects of sin removed and clothed with glorious immortality. In the same moment the living saints are changed in a moment and caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air, recognized by one another. The sleeping saints hear His voice and rise from death to live again.

God already regards this promised resurrection as accomplished, for the dead live to Him and He is their God. The risen saints will not resume mortal life or earthly marriage, but will be His people and share a close and tender relationship with Him.

Jesus Himself is the resurrection and the life and the author of the resurrection, standing with the keys of death as conqueror of the grave with right and power to give eternal life even while Himself soon to die on the cross. During His ministry the dead heard His voice and lived, and the hour that now is was seen in the raising of Lazarus by the voice of the Son of God. The hour that is coming is the general resurrection of all the righteous at the last day, of which the raising of Lazarus is a representation. Faith is to be directed to Jesus Himself and strengthened in regard to His power, for he that believes in Him yet lives though dead, and whoever lives and believes in Him never dies.

The verse belongs to a solemn, sacred message calling for preparation to meet Christ, who gives everlasting life to everyone who sees the Son and believes on Him, raises him up at the last day, and will come again to receive believers unto Himself.

The verse shows His inseparable connection with the Father, that He could do nothing of Himself independent of God or against His will, but only what He sees the Father do. It teaches man to consider himself likewise inseparably bound to his heavenly Parent, responsible to God who holds all destinies, appointed and endowed to do God's work and warranted to claim his Master's blessings and promises while faithful to that stewardship. If exalted in his own estimation, depending on his own wisdom and power and separating himself from Him whom he professes to serve, he will be called to account for unauthorized acts.

The fifth chapter is to be studied and lived out daily as a source of knowledge for godliness and for distinguishing truth from falsehood, testifying of Christ and pointing to eternal life. Its truth is of special interest to give enlightening to those who need to be reconverted before they can become righteous. Its instruction for the soul saves only when received light is valued and shared with others, for the hour is both coming and already present when those who hear Him will live.