Jesus was the voice to raise the dead

JESUS WAS THE VOICE TO RAISE THE DEAD
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
John 5:28-2928"Do not be amazed at this, for a time
is coming when all who are in their graves will hear
his voice 29andcome out-thosewho have done what is
good will rise to live, and those who have done what is
evil will rise to be condemned.
The Coming Resurrection BY SPURGEON
“Marvelnot at this: for the hour is coming in the which all that are in
the graves shall hear His voice and shall come forth–they that have done
good, unto the resurrectionof life, and they that have done evil, unto the
resurrectionof damnation.”
THE doctrine of the Resurrectionof the dead is peculiarly a Christian belief.
With natural reason, assistedby some little light lingering in tradition, or
borrowedfrom the Jews, a few philosophers spelled out the immortality of the
soul. But that the body should rise again–thatthere should be another life for
this corporealframe–wasa hope which is brought to light by the Revelationof
Christ Jesus. Mencould not have imagined so greata wonder, and they prove
their powerlessnessto have invented it by the fact that still, as at Athens, when
they hear of it for the first time, they fall to mocking. “Canthese dry bones
live?” is still the unbeliever’s sneer!
The doctrine of the Resurrectionis a lamp kindled by the hands which once
were pierced. It is, indeed, in some respects, the keystone of the Christian
arch. It is linked in our holy faith with the Personof Jesus Christand is one of
the brightest gems in His crown. What if I call it the signeton His finger, the
sealby which He has proven to a demonstration that He has the King’s
authority and has come forth from God? The doctrine of Resurrectionought
to be preachedmuch more commonly than it is as vital to the Gospel. Listen

to the Apostle Paul as he describes the Gospelwhich he preached, and by
which true Believers were saved–“Ideliveredunto you,” says he, “first of all
that which I received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the
Scriptures. And that He was buried and that He rose againthe third day
according to the Scriptures.”
From the ResurrectionofChrist he argues that of all the dead and insists
upon it, that if Christ is not risen, both their faith and his preaching were
vain. The doctrine of the Resurrectionin the early Church was the main
battle-ax and weaponof war of the preacher. Whereverthe first missionaries
went they made this prominent–that there would be a judgment and that the
dead should rise again to be judged by the Man Christ Jesus, according to
their Gospel. If we would honor Christ Jesus the RisenOne, we must give
prominence to this Truth of God. Moreover, the doctrine is continually
blessedof God to arouse the minds of men. When we fancy that our actions
are confined to this presentlife, we are carelessofthem. But when we discover
that they are far-reaching, and that they castinfluences for goodor evil across
an eternal destiny, then we regardthem more seriously.
What trumpet call can be more startling? What arousing voice can be more
awakening than this news to the careless sinnerthat there is a life hereafter?
That men must stand before the Judgment Seatof Christ to be judged for the
things done in their bodies whether they were goodor evil? Such doctrine I
shall try to preachthis morning for just such ends–forthe honoring of Christ
and for the awakening ofthe careless.Godsend us goodspeed and abundance
of the desired results. We shall first expound the text and then, secondly,
endeavorto learn its lessons.
1. First we shall EXPOUND THE TEXT. No exposition will be more
instructive than a verbal one. We will take eachword and weighits
meaning. Observe then, first, in the text there is a forbidding to marvel.
“Marvelnot at this.” Our Saviorhad been speaking oftwo forms of life-
giving which belongedto Himself as the Son of Man. The first was the
powerto raise the dead from their graves to a renewednatural life. He
proved this on one or two occasionsin His lifetime, at the gates ofNain,
in the chamber of the daughter of Jairus and againat the tomb of the
almost rotting Lazarus.
Jesus had powerwhen He was on earth and has powerstill, if so He should
will it, to speak to those who have departed and bid them return againto this
mortal state and reassume the joys and sorrows and duties of life. “As the
Father raises up the dead and quickens them; even so the Son quickens whom
He wills.” After our Lord had dwelt upon that form of His life-giving

prerogative, He passedon to a seconddisplay of it and testified that the time
was then present when His voice was heard to the quickening of the spiritually
dead. The spiritually dead–the men who are dead to holiness and dead to
faith–dead to God and dead to Divine Grace.
The spiritually dead are the men that lie enshrouded in the grave clothes of
evil habits, rotting in the coffins of their depravity. They are deep down in the
graves of their transgressions. Thesemen, when Jesus speaks inthe Gospel,
are made to live! A spiritual life is given to them. Their dead souls are raised
out of their long and horrible sleepand they are enlivened with the life of
God. Now, both of these forms of quickening are worthy to be marveled at.
The resurrectionof the natural man to natural life is a greatwonder–who
would not go a thousand miles to see such a thing performed? The raising up
of the dead spirit to spiritual life, this is a greaterwonderby far! But albeit
that these are wonders and things which it is legitimate to wonder at by way of
admiration, yet there is a marveling of mistrustful unbelief which is insulting
to the Lord and is, therefore, forbidden.
Our gentle Master, as if to overwhelm the gainsayers who were astonishedat
His claims, addressedthem to this effect: “You need not marvel at these two
claims of Mine. I claim another powerof quickening which will much more
amaze you. There will happen before long an event which to you, at any rate,
will be more marvelous, still, than anything which you have seenMe do, or
which I claim to perform. There will come a time when all the dead that are in
their graves, multitudes upon multitudes in the valleys of death, shall all at
once, at My voice, startup to life and stand before My Judgment Throne.”
To you, dear Brothers and Sisters in the faith, the quickening of the dead is
not so greata marvel as the saving of dead souls. And, indeed, the raising of a
corpse from the grave is by no means so greata marvel as the raising up of a
dead soul from the sleepof sin. For in the raising up of a dead body there is no
opposition to the fiat of Omnipotence. Godspeaks and it is done. But in the
saving of a dead soul, the elements of death within are potent and these resist
the lifegiving powerof Divine Grace so that regenerationis a victory as well as
a creation–a complicatedmiracle–a glorious displayboth of Grace and power.
Nevertheless,to the few and to all who are still ruled by the carnal mind, to
the mere outward eye, the resurrectionof the body seems a greatermarvel for
severalreasons.
Comparatively few in our Savior’s day were quickened spiritually, but the
resurrectionshall consistof the quickening of all the dead bodies of men that
have ever existed! Greatmarvel, this, if you considerthe hosts of the sons of
Adam who have fattened the soil and glutted the worms and yet shall

everyone of them rise again! Souls were quickened in our Savior’s day as in
ours, one by one–here one and there one. Long years roll on. The whole
history of manhood interposes before the regenerationofall the electis
accomplished–butthe resurrection of the dead will take place at once!At the
sound of the archangel’s trumpet the righteous will rise to their glory! And
after them the ungodly will rise to their shame. The resurrection will not be a
gradual uprising, a slow development–forall at once the myriads shall swarm
on land and sea!
Conceive, then, what a marvel this must be to a mere natural mind! A
graveyard suddenly enlivened into an assembly!A battlefield, where tens of
thousands had fallen, suddenly disgorging all its slain! The suddenness of it
would amaze and startle the most carnalmind and make the miracle appear
greatbeyond comparison. Moreover, my Brethren, the resurrectionof the
dead is a thing that such men as the Jews couldappreciate, because it had to
do with materialism, had to do with bodies. There was something to be seen,
to be touched, to be handled–something which the unspiritual call a matter of
fact. To you and to me the spiritual resurrection, if we are spiritual, is the
greatermarvel, but to them the resurrectionseemedto be the more wonderful
because they could comprehend it and form some notion of it in their
unspiritual minds.
So the Savior tells them that if the two former things made them wonder and
made them doubt, what would this doctrine do–that all the dead should be
raisedagain in a moment by the voice of Christ? Beloved, let us humbly learn
one lessonfrom this. We are, ourselves, by nature very like the Jews. We
wonder mistrustfully. We unbelievingly wonder when we see orhear of fresh
displays of the greatness ofour Lord Jesus Christ. So narrow are our hearts
that we cannot receive His Glory in its fullness. Ah, we love Him and we trust
Him and we believe Him to be the fairestand the greatestandthe best and the
mightiest, but if we had a fuller view of what He can do the probabilities are
that our amazementwould be mingled with no small portion of doubt.
As yet we have but slender ideas of our Lord’s Glory and power. We hold the
doctrine of His Deity. We are orthodox enough, but we have not thoroughly
realized the fact that He is Lord God Almighty. Does notit sometimes seemto
you to be impossible that such-and-such a grievouslyungodly man could be
converted? But why impossible with Him who can raise the dead? Does it not
seemimpossible that you could everbe supported through your present
trouble? But how impossible with Him who shall make the dry bones live and
cause the sepulcherto disgorge? It appears improbable at times that your
corruptions should ever be cleansedawayand that you should be perfect and

without spot. But why so? He who is able to present, before His Throne, tens
of thousands of bodies which have long slept in the sepulcherand molded into
dust–what canHe not accomplishwithin His people?
O doubt no more and let not even the greatestwonders of His love, His Grace,
His poweror His Glory cause you to marvel unbelievingly, but rather sayas
eachnew prodigy of His Divine power rises before you, “I expectedthis of
such a One as He is. I gathered that He could achieve this, for I understood
that He was able to subdue all things to Himself. I knew that He fashioned the
world and built the heavens and guided the stars and that by Him all things
consist. I am not, therefore, astounded though I behold the greatestmarvels of
His power.” The first words of the text, then, urge us to faith and rebuke all
unbelieving amazement.
To the secondsentence I now callyour attention. The coming hour. “The hour
is coming,” says Christ. I suppose He calls it an hour to intimate how very
near it is in His esteem, since we do not begin to look at the exacthour of an
event when it is extremely remote. An event which will not occurfor hundreds
of years is at first lookedfor and noted by the year. And only when we are
reasonablynear it do men talk of the day of the month–and we are coming
very near it when we look for the precise hour. Christ intimates to us, that
whether we think so or not, in God’s thought the day of Resurrectionis very
near. And though it may be a thousand years off even now, yet still, to God, it
is but one day and He would have us endeavor to think God’s thought about
it, not reckonany time to be long, since if it is time at all it must be short and
will be so regarded by us when it is past and the day has arrived.
This is practicalwisdom–to bring close up to us that which is inevitable and to
act towards it as though it were but tomorrow morning when the trumpet
should sound and we should be judged. “The hour is coming,” says the Savior.
He here teaches us the certainty of that judgment. There are some events
which may or may not be. Emperors may live or die, their sons may ascend
their throne, or their throne may be broken into dust and scatteredto the
winds of Heaven. Dynasties may stand or they may wither like autumn leaves.
The greatestevents which we supposedto be inevitable may never occur.
Another wheel, which has not yet been seenby us in the greatmachinery of
Providence, may make events revolve in quite another fashion from what our
puny wisdom would foretell. But the hour of Resurrectionis certain, whatever
else may be contingent or doubtful.
The hour comes. It assuredly comes. In the Divine decree this is the day for
which all other days were made. And if it were possible that any
determination of the Almighty could be changed, yet this never shall be–for

“He has appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in
righteousness by that Man whom He has ordained. Therefore He has given
assurance unto all men, in that He has raisedHim from the dead.” “The hour
comes.” Reflect, my Brethren, that most solemn hour comes every moment.
Every secondbrings it nearer. While you have been sitting still in this House,
you have been borne onwards towards that greatevent! As the pendulum of
yonder clock continues unceasinglyto beatlike the heart of time. As morning
dawn gives place to evening shade and the seasonsfollow in constantcycle, we
are drifted along the river of time nearer to the ocean ofeternity! Borne as on
the wings of some mighty angelwho never pauses in his matchless flight, we
are carriedonward in our journey towards the judgment bar of God!
My Brethren, by that same flight are you also hurried on. Look to the
Resurrection, then, as a thing that always comes, silentlydrawing nearerand
nearer hour by hour. Such contemplations will be of the utmost service to you.
Our Lord’s Words read as if the one hour of which He spoke completely
drove into the shade all other events–asif the hour, the one hour, the last
hour, THE hour par excellence, the master hour, the royal hour–was of all
hours the only hour that was coming that was worth mentioning as being
inevitable and important! Like Aaron’s rod, the judgment hour swallows up
every other hour!
We hear of hours that have been big with the fate of nations. Hours in which
the welfare of millions trembled in the balances. Hours in which for peace or
war the die must be cast. Hours that have been calledcrises of history–and we
are apt to think that frequently periods such as this occurin the world’s
history. But here is the culminating crisis of all! Here is the iron hour of
severity, the golden hour of truth, the clearsapphire hour of manifestations!
In that august hour there shall be proclamation made of the impartial
decisions ofthe Lord Christ with regardto all the souls and bodies of men.
Oh, what an hour is this which comes on apace!
My dear Brothers and Sisters, now and then I covet the tongue of the eloquent
and now I do so that I might on such a theme as this fire your imaginations
and inflame your hearts!But let me pray you assistme now for a moment and
since this hour comes, try to think it very very near. Suppose it should come,
now, while we are here assembled. Suppose that even now the dead should
rise–thatin an instant this assembly should be melted into the infinitely
greaterone and that no eye should be fixed upon the forgottenpreacher–but
all fixed upon the greatdescending Judge, sitting in majesty upon His Great
White Throne! I pray you think yourselves as though the curtain were lifted
at this moment. Anticipate the sentence whichwill come forth to you from the

Throne of Righteousness!Consideras though at this precise moment it were
pronounced upon you! Oh now, I pray you examine yourselves as though the
testing days were here, for such an examination will be to your souls'benefit if
you are saved. And it may be to your souls'warning if you are unconverted.
But we must pass on. “Marvelnot at this: for the hour is coming in the which
all that are in the graves.”Notice this very carefully, “all that are in the
graves,” by which term is meant not only all whose bodies are actually in the
grave at this time, but all who were ever buried even though they may have
been disinterred and their bones may have mingled with the elements, been
scatteredby the winds, dissolved in the waves, or merged into vegetable
forms. All who have lived and died shall certainly rise again. All! Compute,
then, the numberless number! Count, now, the countless!How many lived
before the deluge? It has been believed, and I think accurately, that the
inhabitants of this world were more numerous at the time of the deluge than
they probably are now. Owing to the enormous length of human life, men’s
numbers were not so terribly thinned by death as they are now.
Think, if you will, from the times of the deluge onward, of all Adam’s
progeny. From Tarshishto Sahara men coveredthe lands. Nineveh, Babylon,
Chaldea, Persia, Greece, Rome were vastempires of men. The Parthians,
Scythians and Tartar hordes, who shall reckonup? As for those northern
swarms of Goths and Huns and Vandals–these were continually streaming as
from a teeming hive in the middle ages and Frank and Saxon and Celt
multiplied in their measure. Yet these nations were but types of a numerous
band of nations even more multitudinous! Think of Ethiopia and the whole
continent of Africa! Remember India and Japan and the land of the setting
sun–in all lands greattribes of men have come and have gone to rest in their
sepulchers. What millions upon millions must lie buried in China and Burma!
What innumerable hosts are slumbering in the land of the pyramids and the
mummy pits! Everyone, both greatand small, embalmed of old in Egypt–who
shall compute the number?
Hear you, then and believe–outof all who have ever lived of woman born, not
one shall be left in the tomb! All, all shall rise! I may well say as the Psalmist
did of another matter, “Suchknowledge is too wonderful for me. It is high, I
cannot attain unto it.” How has God marked all these bodies? How has He
trackedthe form of eachcorporealframe? How shall Jesus Christ be able to
raise all these? I know not, but He shall do it, for so He declares and so has
God purposed. “All that are in the graves shall hear His voice.” All the
righteous, all the wicked, all that were engulfed in the sea, allthat slumber on
the top of earth–all the greatones, all the multitudes of the sons of toil, all the

wise and all the foolish, all the beloved and all the despised–there shallnot be
one single individual omitted!
My dear Friend, it may be best for you to look at the question in a more
personallight–you will not be forgotten–yourseparatedspirit shall have its
appointed place and that body which once containedit shall have its watcher
to guard it till, by the powerof God, it shall be restoredto your spirit, again,
at the sounding of the last trumpet. You, my Hearer, shall rise again!As
surely as you sit here this morning, you shall stand before the once crucified
Son of Man! It is not possible that you should be forgotten. You shall not be
permitted to rot awayinto annihilation, to be left in the darkness of obscurity.
You must, you shall rise, eachand every one without a solitary exception. It is
a wondrous Truth of God and yet we may not marvel at it so as to doubt it,
though we may marvel at it and admire the Lord who shall bring it to pass.
Pass on. “All that are in the graves shall hear His voice.” Hear! Why, the ear
has gone!A thousand years ago a man was buried, and his ear–there is not the
slightestrelic of it left–all has vanished! Shall that ear everhear? Yes, for He
that made it hear at the first workedas greata wonder, then, as when He shall
make it hear a secondtime! It needed a God to make the hearing earof the
newborn babe. It shall need no more to renew the hearing earthe secondtime.
Yes, the ear so long lostin silence shallhear! And what shall be the sound that
shall startle that newly awakenedand fresh fashioned ear? It shall be the
voice of the Son of God! The voice of Jesus Christ, Himself! Is it not amazing
that that same voice of Jesus is now sounding in this very place and has been,
thousands of times, and there are men who have ears, who have yet never
heard that voice?
Yet when that voice shall speak to men who have no ears, they shall hear it
and rise to life! How deafmust those be who are more deaf than the dead!
What is their guilt who have ears to hear, yet hear not! And when the voice of
Christ sounds through the building againand againin the preaching of the
Gospel, they are no more moved by it than the slates which coverthem from
the rain. How dead, I say, must they be who are not moved by the Word of
God which arouses eventhe dead in their graves who have lain in it these
thousand years?!Ah, my Brethren, while this teaches us the dullness of
human nature and how depraved the heart is, it also reminds you who are
carelessthat there is no escape foryou! If you will not hear the voice of Jesus
now, you must hear it then! You may thrust your fingers into your ears today,
but there will be no doing that in the day of the lasttrumpet–you must hear,
then!

O that you would hear now! You must hear the summons to judgment! God
grant that you may hear the summons to mercy and become obedient to it and
live. “All that are in the graves shall hear His voice.” Whoeverthey may have
been, they shall become subjectto the powerof His Omnipotent command
and appearbefore His sovereignJudgment Seat. Note the next words, “and
shall come forth.” That is to say, of course, that their bodies shall come out of
the grave, out of the earth, or the water, or the air, or whereverelse those
bodies may be. But I think there is more than that intended by the words,
“shallcome forth.” It seems to imply manifestation, as though all along men
were here and in their graves hidden and concealed. But as the voice of God in
the thunder discovers the forests and makes the hinds to calve, so the voice of
God in Resurrectionshall discoverthe secrets ofmen and make them bring
forth their truest selfinto the light, to be revealedto all.
The hypocrite, maskedvillain as he is, is not discoverednow, but when the
voice of Christ sounds, he shall come forth in a sense that will be horrible to
him! He will be deprived of all the ornaments of his masquerade, the mask of
his professiontorn away. He shall stand before men and angels with the
leprosy upon his brow, an objectof universal derision, abhorred of God and
despisedof men. Ah, dear Hearers, are you ready to come forth even now?
Would you be willing to have your hearts read out? Would you wearthem on
your sleeve for all to see? Is not there much about you that would not bear the
light of the sun? How much more will it not bear the light of Him whose eyes
are as a flame of fire, seeing alland testing all by trial which cannot err? Your
coming forth on that day will be not only a reappearance from amidst the
shade of the sepulcher, but coming forth into the light of Heaven’s truth
which shall reveal you in meridian clearness.
And then the text goes onto saythat they shall come forth as they that have
done goodand they that have done evil. From which we must gather the next
Truth of God that death makes no change in man’s characterand that after
death we must not expect improvements to occur. He that is holy is holy, still,
and he that is filthy is filthy, still. They were, when they were put into the
grave, men who had done good–theyrise as men who have done good. Or they
were, when they were interred, men who had done evil–they rise as those that
have done evil. Expect, therefore, no place for repentance after this life, no
opportunities for reformation, no further proclamations of mercy, or doors of
hope. It is now or never with you, remember that.
Note, again, that only two characters rise, for, indeed, there are only two
characters who everlived! And, therefore, two to bury and two to rise again–
those who had done good–andthose who had done evil. Where were those of

mingled character, whose conductwas neither goodnor evil, or both? There
were none such. You say, do not the good do evil? May not some who are evil
still do good? I answer, he that does goodis a man who, having believed in
Jesus Christ and receivedthe new life, does goodin his new nature and with
his newborn spirit with all the intensity of his heart. As for his sins and
infirmities, these, being washedawayby the precious blood of Jesus, are not
mentioned in the day of accountand he rises up as a man who has done good,
his goodremembered, but the evil washedaway.
As for the evil, of whom it is assertedthat they may do good, we answer, so
they may do goodin the judgment of their fellow men and as towards their
fellow mortals, but goodtowards God cannotproceedfrom an evil heart. If
the fountain is defiled, every stream must be polluted, also. “Good” is a word
that may be measured according to those who use it. The evil man’s goodis
goodto you, his child, his wife, his friend–but he has no care for God, no
reverence, no esteemfor the greatLawgiver. Therefore, that which may be
goodto you may be ill to God, because done for no right motive, even perhaps
done with a wrong motive so that the man is dishonoring God while he is
helping his friend. God shall judge men by their works, but there shall be but
two characters,the goodand the evil. And this makes it solemnwork for each
man to know where he will be and what has been the generaltenor of his life–
and what is a true verdict upon the whole of it.
O Sirs, there are some of you who, with all your excellencesand moralities,
have never done goodas God measures good, foryou have never thought of
God to honor Him! You have never even confessedthat you have dishonored
Him. In fact, you have remained proudly indifferent to God’s judgment of you
as a sinner and you have set yourself up as being all you should be! How shall
it be possible, while you disbelieve your God, that you could do anything that
can please Him? Your whole life is evil in God’s sight–only evil. And as for
you who fearHis name, or trust you do–take heedunto your actions, I pray
you–seeing that there are only those that have done goodand those that have
done evil! Make it clearto your conscience,make it clearto the judgment of
those who watchyou (though this is of less importance) and make it clear
before God that your works are good–thatyour heart is right because your
outward conduct is conformed unto the Law of God.
I shall not keepyou much longerin the exposition, except to notice that the
mode of judging is remarkable. Those who searchthe Scriptures know that
the mode of judging at the Last Day will be entirely according to works. Will
men be saved, then, for their works? No, by no means! Salvationis, in every
case, the work and gift of Divine Grace. But the Judgment will be guided by

our works. It is correct, for those to be judged, that they should all be tried by
the same rule. Now, no rule can be common to saints and sinners, exceptthe
rule of their moral conduct–and by this rule shall all men be judged. If God
finds not in you, my Friend, any holiness of life whatever, neither will He
acceptyou.
“What,” says one, “ofthe dying thief, then?” There was the righteousness of
faith in him, and it produced all the holy acts which circumstances allowed.
The very moment he believed in Christ, he avowedChrist and spoke for
Christ and that one actstood as evidence of his being a friend of God, while all
his sins were washedaway! May Godgrant you Grace so to confess your sins,
and believe in Jesus–thatall your transgressionmay be forgiven you. There
must be some evidence of your faith. Before the assembledhostof men there
shall be no evidence given of your faith fetched from your inward feelings.
The evidence shall be found in your outward actions.
It will still be, “I was hungry and you gave Me meat: I was thirsty and you
gave Me drink: I was a strangerand you took Me in: naked and you clothed
Me: I was sick and you visited Me: I was in prison and you came unto Me.”
Take heed, then, as to practicalgodliness and abhor all preaching which
would make sanctity of life to be a secondarything. We are justified by faith,
but not by a dead faith! The faith which justifies is that which produces
holiness and, “without holiness no man shall see the Lord.” See, then, the two
classesinto which men are divided and the stern rule by which God shall
judge them. And so judge yourselves that you are not condemned with the
wicked.
The different dooms of the two classesare mentioned in the text. One shall
rise to the resurrection of life. This does not mean mere existence–theyshall
both exist, both exist forever–but “life” means, when properly understood,
happiness, power, activity, privilege, capacity. In fact, it is a term so
comprehensive that I should need no small time to expound all it means.
There is a death in life which the ungodly shall have, but ours shall be a life in
life–a true life–not merely existence, but existence in energy, existence in
honor, existence in peace, existencein blessedness, existencein perfection.
This is the resurrectionunto life.
As for the ungodly, there is a resurrection to damnation, by which their bodies
and souls shall come manifestly under the condemnationof God. To use our
Savior’s word, they shall be damned. Oh, what a resurrection! And yet we
cannot escapefrom it if we neglectthe greatsalvation! If we could lay us down
and sleepand never wake again, oh, what a blessing it were for an ungodly
man! If that grave could be the lastof him, and like a dog he should never

start againfrom slumber, what a blessing!But it is a blessing that is not yours
and never can be. Your souls must live and your body must live. O fear Him, I
pray you, “who is able to destroy both soul and body in Hell.” Yes, I sayunto
you, “fear Him.”
II. Our time is almostspent, but I must occupy the remaining minutes in
DRAWING LESSONS FROM THE TEXT. The first is the lessonof adoring
reverence. If it is so, that all the dead shall rise at the voice of Christ, let us
worship Him! What a Savior was He who bled upon the Cross!How
gloriously is He who was despisedand rejected, now exalted! O Brothers and
Sisters, if we could even get but to see the hem of this Truth of God, that He
shall raise all the dead out of their graves–ifwe did but begin to perceive its
grandeur of meaning, I think we should fall at the Savior’s feet as John did
when he said, “I fell at His feetas dead.”
Oh, what amazing power is Yours, my Lord and Master!What homage must
be due to You! All hail, Immanuel! You have the keys of Deathand of Hell.
My soulloves and adores You, You ever greatenthroned Prince, the
Wonderful, the Counselor, King of kings and Lord of lords! The next lessonis
consolationforour wounded spirits concerning our departed friends. We
never mourn with regardto the souls of the righteous, they are foreverwith
the Lord. The only mourning that we permit among Christians concerns the
body, which is blighted like a withered flower. When we read at funerals that
famous chapter in the Epistle to the Corinthians, we find in it no comfort
concerning the immortal spirit, for it is not required. But we find much
consolationwith regardto that which is “sownin dishonor,” but shall be
“raisedin Glory.”
Your dead men shall live! That decaying dust shall live again!Weep not as
though you had castyour treasure into the sea, where you could never find it
again. You have only laid it by in a casket, fromwhere you shall receive it
againbrighter than before. You shall look again with your owneyes into those
eyes which have spokenlove to you so often, which are now closedin
sepulchral darkness. Your child shall see you again! You shall know your
child–the same form shall rise. Your departed friend shall come back to you
and having loved his Lord as you do, you shall rejoice with him in the land
where they die no more! It is but a short parting–it will be an eternalmeeting.
Foreverwith the Lord, we shall also be forever with eachother. Let us
comfort one another, then, with these words.
The lastlessonis that of self-examination. If we are to rise, some to rewards
and some to punishments, what shall be my position? “Whatshall be my
position?” let eachconscienceask.How do you feel, my Hearers, in the

prospectof rising again? Does the thought give you any gleam of joy? Does it
not create a measure of alarm? If your heart trembles at the tidings, how will
you bear it when the realfact is before you and not merely the thought? What
has your life been? If by that life you shall be judged, what has it been? What
has been its prevailing principle up till now? Have you believed God? Do you
live by faith upon the Son of God? I know you are imperfect, but are you
struggling after holiness? Do you desire to honor God? This shall rule the
judgment of your life–whatwas its end and aim, and bent and object?
Imperfection there has been, but has there been sincerity? Has grace, Divine
Grace, that washes sinners in the blood of Christ, proved itself to be in you by
alienating you from the sins you loved and leading you to the duties that you
once neglected? NeedI press these questions? I know they are irksome to
those who cannot answerthem with comfort. Yes, I must even again press
them upon you! I beseechyou, this morning, put yourselves into the crucible
of self-examination, for from the refiner’s fire you shall not, at the last, be able
to escape!Ah, if I can say, “Yes, my God, with 10,000sins, yet since the day in
which Your Grace found me, I have soughtto honor You,” oh, happy, happy
thought to know in that dread hour that the blood has cleansedme and the
righteousness ofChrist has wrapped me and that I am safe!
But if I am compelled to say, “No, up to this moment I have not regardedGod.
My actions have had no respectto Him. A sense of His majesty has never
constrainedme to perform a single act and never withheld me from one
solitary sin.” Oh, then you are judged already! I pray you, tremble and flee to
Him who can purge you from all iniquity and yet present you faultless before
His Father’s Presencewith exceedinglygreatjoy!
I will ask you another question–if you do not feelhappy at the thought of
yourself, are you quite peacefulconcerning the raising of all others? Are you
prepared to meet before God those whom you have sinned with among men?
It is a question worthy of the sinner’s thought–of what must be the terrors of
men and womenwho will have to meet the companions of their sins! Was not
this at the bottom of Dives wishing Lazarus to be sent back to the world to
warn his five brothers lestthey should come into the place of torment? Was
not he afraid to see them there because their recriminations would increase
his misery? It will be an horrible thing for a man who has been a debauched
villain to rise again and confront his victims whom his lusts draggeddown to
Hell! How will he quail as he hears them lay their damnation at his door and
curse him for his lasciviousness!
“Oh, she is buried long ago,” yousay and you go gaily on in your mirth. But
she will see you and like a serpent’s eyes shall be her eyes as they shall flash

vengeance onyou in the light of eternity, counting you to have been the devil
that destroyedher! Let any man here who has sinned againsthis fellow,
tremble! Let anyone here who has sent another down to Hell, repent lest he,
too, perish! O Man, your sin is not dead and buried and the sinner whom you
joined hands with in iniquity shall rise to witness againstyou! The crime, the
guilt, the punishment and the guilty one shall alike live again and you shall
live foreverin remorse to rue the day in which you thus transgressed.
Another question, if it will be terrible to many to see the dead rise again, how
will they endure to see Him, the Judge, Himself, the Savior? Of all men that
ever lived, He is the one that you have need to be the most afraid of, because it
is He whom this day you ought most to love, but whom you forget. How many
times from this pulpit have I pleaded with you to yield yourselves to Jesus
Christ? And how frequently have you given Him a flat denial? It may be some
of you have not quite done that, but you have postponedyour decisionand
said, “WhenI have a more convenient seasonI will send for you.” When He
comes, how will you answerHim? Man, how will you answerHim? How will
you excuse yourselves? Youwould not have Him as a Savior, but you must
have Him as your Judge, to pronounce your sentence!You despisedHis
Grace, but you cannot escape His wrath. If you will but look to Jesus now, you
shall find salvationin that glance!But in refusing to do so you heap up for
yourself wrath when that terrible but inevitable glance shall be yours, of
which the Prophet says, “All the kindreds of the earth shall wail because of
Him.” O spurn Him not, then! Despise notthe Crucified! I pray you trample
not upon His blood, but come to Him, so that when you see Him on His
Throne you may not be afraid! Beloved, I might have continued to ask more
questions, but I shall close with these two. One of the best ways bywhich to
learn what will be our portion in the future is to enquire what is our portion
in the present. Have you life now? I mean spiritual life–the life that grieves for
sin, the life that trusts a Savior? If so, you shall certainly have the resurrection
to life. On the other hand, have you condemnation now? For he that believes
not is condemned already! Are you an unbeliever? Then you are condemned
now. You shall suffer the resurrection of damnation! How can it be otherwise?
Seek, then, that you may possessthe life of God, now, by faith and you shall
have it forever in fruition. Escape fromcondemnation, now, and you shall
escape from damnation hereafter! God bless you all with the abundance of
His salvation, for Christ’s sake. Amen. PORTION OF SCRIPTUREREAD
BEFORE SERMON–John5:1-29.

BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
The Two Resurrections
John 5:28, 29
B. Thomas
1. The effect of Christ's preceding discourse on his hearers was wonder.
"They marvelled."
2. The teachings and deeds of Christ were wellcalculatedto produce this
emotion in all.
3. Eachmanifestationof his power and glory was only introductory to
something greaterstill. "Marvelnot at this," etc. The two resurrections - the
resurrectionof life and that of judgment. Notice -
I. THEIR SIMILARITY.
1. In the physical condition supposed. The subjects of both are dead, and
describedas being in their graves. The gooddie as well as the bad. They lie
down and sleeptogether;their graves are often in close proximity to each
other, and their dust is mingled together. They are under the same physical
condition, that of mortality and complete dissolution.
2. Both are similar in their wonderful effects. Bothare resurrections. There
wilt be a quickening into life, into full conscious existence. There will be a
reunion of body and soul after a long separation;the physical effects will be
similar in both. The goodand the bad shall hear, and come forth.
3. Both are the result of the same Divine power.
(1) The Agent is the same in both. "The Sonof God." To raise the dead is the
prerogative of Divinity, and by the powerof the Son of God shall the goodand
the bad be raised. As the resurrectionforms a most important part of the
greatscheme of redemption, it most befittingly falls to the Redeemer's lot to
do it. He has the right and the power; and it will be exercisedon this occasion
on all, irrespective of character.
(2) The process in both is the same. "Shallhear the voice of the Son," etc.
There will be an outward manifestation - a voice - and there will be a
response. The same voice can awakethe goodand the bad. They would sleep
on forever unless calledby him. The voice of angels would be ineffective. But
all will hear and know his voice, and come forth. Even the Son of God never

addressedsuch a vastcongregationbefore at once, and never with such
unexceptional success.How many of his sermons missed the mark! But this
grand resurrection sermonwill not fail in a single instance. All shall hear and
come forth.
4. The subjects of both resurrections shallcome forth in their own and true
character. As good or evil. Neither the sleepof death nor the Divine process of
the resurrectioncanproduce any change in character. Whatevera man
soweththat shall he reap. The resurrection will not change this law, but help
to carry it out. Characterwill cling to us forever.
5. The subjects of both shall come forth in their true character - according to
the characteroftheir deeds. "They that have done good, and they that have
done evil." Characterin both casesis formed by actions;so that the
resurrectionwill be the same in its process to both classes. It will be fair to
both - a faithful reproduction, not merely of the physical and mental, but also
of the moral and spiritual self. Identity will be preserved intact. No one will
have any reasonto complain.
6. Both are similar in their certainty. The resurrectionof the goodand bad is
equally certain. "All that are in the graves shall hear," etc. There is an
absolute necessityfor both, and there is an adequate power. Divine physical
poweris irresistible; Divine moral power is not so. What is absolutely
necessarymust come to pass. The goodmust be raisedfor the purposes of
grace, the bad for the purposes of justice.
II. IS THEIR DISSIMILARITY.
1. Dissimilarin the characterof their subjects. The subjects of one are those
who have done good, the subjects of the other are those who have done evil.
And betweengoodand evil there is an essentialand an eternal difference - a
difference which neither eternity nor omnipotence canefface. Goodwill be
goodand evil will be evil at the last day, and the difference will be more
strikingly seen.
2. Dissimilarin their results.
(1) One is the resurrectionof life, the other is that of judgment. Those who
have done goodwill not be raisedto judgment, for they have passedfrom
death unto life. Therefore they must rise unto life; the highest, the truest life
of the soul - a life like that of Christ himself. The other is the resurrection of
judgment, of condemnation - the opposite of life.
(2) The one is a reward, the other is punishment. Life is the natural
consequence ofgoodnessand faith in Christ; still it is a reward and a Divine

favour. The resurrectionand its consequenceswill be a reward to the good,
but punishment to the wicked. It would be mercy to them to let them sleepon;
but justice demands their resurrectionto receive the wages ofsin, which is
death.
(3) The one will be followedby a glorious ascension, the other by horrible
descent. Those who have done goodwill come forth to rise forever in the ever-
increasing enjoyment of a pure, happy, and endless life; while those who have
done evil will rise to sink deeper in spiritual death. The reunion of body and
soul to the goodmust intensify their happiness. To the wickedit must intensify
their misery. What a difference there is betweenthe goodman being awaked
to join his family at the breakfasttable and at the mercy seat, and the culprit
being awakedin the morning to undergo the terrible sentence ofthe law! This
is but a faint illustration of the difference betweenthe resurrectionof life and
that of judgment.
LESSONS.
1. We have passedthrough many important crises, but the most important
and marvellous one is yet in store. "The hour is coming," etc. A most
important and wonderful hour! Time and eternity in an hour! We should live
continually in that hour.
2. The inseparable connectionbetweenthe present and the future. Our future
is in our present, and our present will be reproduced in the future.
3. The importance of welldoing in the present. Let us hear the voice of the
Son of man, now that we may welcome the voice of the Son of God in that
hour. The physical process ofthe resurrectionis entirely future, with which
we shall have nothing to do. The spiritual process is going on now, and by
Divine help we can shape our ownresurrection and determine whether it is to
be one of life or of judgment. - B.T.
Biblical Illustrator
The hour is coming in the which all that are in their graves shall hear His
voice.
John 5:28, 29
The generalresurrection
A. Beith, D. D.

I. The RESURRECTION.
1. Its subjects. All who are in their graves.(1)The almostuniversal customof
preserving the remains of the departed bears witness to the truth of the text.
No such custom obtains with reference to animals. The body was not formed
to die, and men cherish the hope of its recovering its lost immortality.(2) Our
text, therefore, gratifies the most sacredfeelings of the human heart. Our
separationfrom our loved ones is only temporary.(3) The same persons shall
rise. Momentous changes, indeed, take place; but what changes take place
betweeninfancy and old age!Yet it is the same personin whom they
transpire.(4) The analogyby which Scripture illustrates this mystery is that of
grain sownin the earth, which dies in order to live again.
2. The power by which it is accomplished. Christ's voice.(1)Notthe voice as
heard through pastors, etc. The seasonfor hearing, that for conversion,
sanctification, comfort, etc., is over. This we canrefuse to hear, but not
that.(2) The voice of the archangeland the trump of God, terrible, irresistible,
dead awakening.
3. The time.(1) It is determined in the counsels ofGod.(2) It will be at the
winding up of the affairs of time, "the lastday." The day of world's first
judgment came; so did that of Sodom, and Babylon, and Jerusalem;and just
as surely shalt this.
II. The JUDGMENT.All shall come forth.
1. The righteous.(1)They shall not taste of death.(2) Their bodies shall be
fashionedlike unto Christ's glorious body.(3) They shall obtain everlasting
blessedness.
2. They that have done evil.(1) The unbelievers who are condemned already to
have their condemnation confirmed.(2) They shall rise to be everlastingly
banished.
(A. Beith, D. D.)
The resurrection
J. Donne, D. D.
What Christ AVOWS and affirms is that He is the Sonof God, and that is the
first thing that was ever done in heaven — the eternal generationof the Son:
that by which He proves this is that there shall be a resurrectionof the body;
and that is the last thing that shall be done in heaven.

I. The DIGNITY of this resurrection. Marvel not at this — at your spiritual
resurrection, that a sermonshould work, or sacramentcomfort. Deem not this
a miracle. But there are things which we may wonder at. Nil admirari is but
the philosopher's wisdom; he thinks it a weaknessthatanything should be
strange to him. But Christian philosophy tells us that the first step to faith is
to wonder with holy admiration at the ways of God with man. Be content,
then, to wonder at this, that God should so dignify as to associate to His
presence the body of man. God is a spirit, every soul is a spirit, angels are
spirits, and therefore proportioned to heaven; so no wonderthey are there.
But wonder that God, who is all spirit, and is served by spirits, should have a
love for this body.
1. Beholdthis love even here.(1)The Father was pleasedto breathe into this
body at first, in the creation.(2)The Son assumedthis body in the
redemption.(3) The Holy Ghost consecratesthis body and makes it His temple
by His sanctification. So the whole Trinity is exercisedupon the dignifying of
the body.
2. This purpose of dignifying the body is opposed —(1) By those who violate
and mangle the body which God made in inhuman persecutions.(2)By those
who defile the garment Christ wore by licentiousness.Some ofthe Roman
emperors made it treasonto carry a ring that had their picture on it to any
place in the house of low office. What name canwe give that sin to make the
body of Christ the body of a harlot? (1 Corinthians 6:15-18).(3)By those who
sacrilegiouslyprofane the temple of the Holy Ghost by neglecting the duties
belonging to the dead bodies of God's saints.
3. Those exceedthis purpose who —(1) Pamper with wanton delicacies or
sadden and disfigure with lastings and disciplines His own workmanship.(2)
Who dishonour or undervalue the body or forbear marriage.(3)Who keep
any rag of a dead man's skin, or chips of their bones, or lock of their hair for a
relic, amulet, or antidote againsttemporal or spiritual calamities.
II. The APPROACHof this resurrection. The former resurrection Christ said,
"Now is";of this He said, "It is coming." In a sense this applies to death. The
resurrectionbeing the coronationof man, his lying down in the grave is his
sitting down on that throne where he is to receive his crown. To the child now
born we may say, "The day is coming";to him that is old, "The hour is
come";but to him that is dead, "The minute is come" — because to him there
are no more minutes till it do come.
III. The GENERALITYof this resurrection. It reaches to all that are in the
grave. God hath made the body as a house for the soul till He call her out; and

He hath made the grave a house for the body till He call it up. Shall none,
then, rise but those who have enjoyed a grave? It is a comfort for a dying
man, an honour to his memory, the duty of his friends, a piece of the
communion of saints, to have a consecratedgrave;but the word here is in
monumentis — i.e., in receptaclesofbodies of whateverkind. Some nations
burnt their dead, there the fire is their grave;some drowned them, there the
sea;some hung them on trees, there the air. The whole mansion of the dead
shall be emptied.
IV. The INSTRUMENT. The voice of the Sonof Man. In the spiritual
resurrectionit is the voice of the Son of God, lest the human vehicle should be
despised. Here it is that of the Sonof Man, who has felt all our infirmities, lest
we should be terrified at the presence of the offended God. The former we
may hear if we choose;the latter we must hearwhether we will or not. God
whispers in the voice of the Spirit; He speaks a little louder in the voice of a
man; but let the man be a Boanerges, yetno thunder is heard over all the
world. But the voice at the resurrectionshall be heard by the very dead, and
all of them.
V. The DIVERSE END.
1. You have seenmoral men, or impious men go in confidently enough; but
they will "come forth" in another complexion. They never thought of what
was after death. Even the best are shakenwith a considerationofthat. But
when I begin this fear in this life, I end it in my death, and pass away
cheerfully; but the wickedbegin this fearwhen the trumpet sounds, and never
shall end it.
2. Fix on the conditions "done good." To have known good, believedit,
extended it, preachedit, will not serve. They must be rootedin faith, and there
bring forth fruit.Conclusion: Remember with thankfulness the several
resurrections that God hath given you.
1. From superstition and ignorance, in which you in your fathers lay dead.
2. From sin and a love of it, in which you in your youth lay dead.
3. From sadness, in which you in your worldly crossesorspiritual temptations
lay dead; and —
4. Assure yourselves that God, who loves to perfectHis own work, will fulfil
His promise in your resurrectionto life.
(J. Donne, D. D.)

The doctrine of the resurrection
C. H. Spurgeon.
is peculiarly Christian. With natural reason, assistedby some light lingering
in tradition, a few philosophers spelled out the immortality of the soul; but
that the body should rise againis brought to light by Christ. It is the key-stone
of the Christian arch; for if Christ be not risen our faith is vain. It was the
main weaponof the early missionaries, and therefore should be oftener
preached. It is, moreover, continually blessedof God to arouse the minds of
men. We shall —
I. EXPOUND THE TEXT.
1. There is a forbidding to marvel at the renewing of natural life, as in the case
of Lazarus, etc., and at the quickening of the spiritually dead — both of which
are things which it is legitimate to wonder at by way of admiration, but not in
the spirit of insulting unbelief. But the greatermarvel is the general
resurrection. Yet to you it is less than that of the marvel of saving dead souls.
In the former there is no opposition to omnipotence, but in the latter the
elements of death are so potent that regenerationis a complicatedmiracle of
grace and power, Nevertheless,to the few the former is the greatestmarvel.
Let us be admonished by these marvelling Jews. Doesit seemimpossible for
that ungodly man to be converted? That you should be supported in your
trouble? That your corruptions should be cleansed? Doubtno more. Your
Saviour will raise the dead.
2. The coming hour.(1) "An hour," because nearto Him: since we do not
begin to look for an hour that is remote. It may be a thousand years off, but
with Him that is but as one day. Like Him, therefore, count it close, andact as
though it would come to-morrow.(2) "Coming," therefore, certain. Dynasties
may stand or wither; but the hour of resurrectionis sure, whateverelse may
be contingent or doubtful. Every secondbrings it nearer. Look at it, then, as a
thing that ever cometh —(3) the hour par excellence. We hearof hours which
have been big with the fate of nations, crises in history; but here is the
culminating crisis of all.
3. All "that are in their graves." Those before the flood, those after; from east,
west, north, south; mighty empires, etc., and you.
4. "Shallhear His voice."(1)Why, the ear has gone! But the God who gives
the earto the new-born babe, shall renew yours.(2)That voice now sounding
in this place is not heard by those who have ears;yet those who have no ears
shall then hear it. How deaf must those be who are more deaf than the dead.

You must hear the summons to judgment; God grant that you may hear the
summons to mercy.
5. "Shallcome forth." Notonly emerge, but be manifested. Hypocrisy will be
unmasked, and unobtrusive goodacknowledged.
6. "Those who have done goodand those who have done evil."(1) Deathmakes
no change in character, and we .must expect no improvement after death..(2)
Only two characters willrise. There are no mingled characters.(3)All will be
judged according to their works which have evidenced their faith.(4) They will
meet with different dooms.
II. DRAW LESSONS FROMTHE TEXT.
1. Of adoring reverence. If the dead are to rise at the voice of Christ let us
worship Him.
2. Of consolationto those who mourn departed friends. Weepnot as if thou
hadst castthy treasure into the sea, thou hast only laid it in a casketwhence
thou shalt receive it brighter than before.
3. Of self-examination.(1)What shall be your position?(2)How shall you meet
before God those whom you have sinned with before men?(3) How shall you
meet Him as your Judge who would have been your Saviour?
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
The resurrection
P. Grant.
I. THE EVIDENCE BY WHICH IT IS ESTABLISHED.
1. The express declarations of the commissionedservants of God (Hebrews
9:19; Job 19:25-27;Psalm 16:9-11;Isaiah26:19; Hosea 13:14;Daniel 12:2;
Matthew 27:52, 53; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17;1 Corinthians 15:1).
2. Our Saviour's own resurrection. If Christ did not rise, our faith is vain; if
He did, He can raise us, and His resurrection is a pledge of ours.
3. Let this evidence produce on your minds its legitimate impression, and
banish all uncertainty.
4. The folly of scepticismwill appear when we considerthat this is in harmony
with reason. Foradmitting God's infinite power, this is not impossible; and
granting His infinite goodness, it is certain.
II. THE AGENCY BY WHICH IT SHALL BE ACCOMPLISHED.

1. By hearing Christ's voice. The archangel's trumpet is a symbol of that in its
awakening power.
2. The mode is uncertain, but Christ has innumerable resources ofwhich we
have no knowledge.
III. THE IDENTITYOF THE BURIED WITH THE RAISED.
1. If new bodies were produced they could not be said to come out of their
graves. The word "resurrection" suggestssomething different from a new
creation. Besides,it would be contrary to equity that one body should do good
or evil and another be rewardedor punished.
2. Still "we shallall be changed," but not so as to lose our identity. The
glorified Christ is the same Jesus as "the Man of sorrows."We shall be like
Him, yet the same persons that we are now.
IV. THE UNIVERSALITY OF THE ACT.
V. THE IMPROVEMENT. The subjectsuggests —
1. A powerful motive to seek aninterest in the Christian salvation. We must
all die; and if we have not been savedwe shall rise to the resurrection of
damnation.
2. Comfort under the loss of near and dear relatives.
3. Confidence in the prospect of our own dissolution.
(P. Grant.)
The resurrectionbrought to light by Christ
T. De Witt Talmage, D. D.
I stoodon the top of the Catskills one bright morning. On the top of the
mountain was a crown of flashing gold, while all beneath was rolling,
writhing, contortedcloud. But after a while the arrows of light shotfrom
heaven, began to make the glooms of the valley strike tent. The mists went
skurrying up and down like horsemenin wild retreat. The fogs were lifted,
and dashed, and whirled. Then the whole valley became one grand
illumination; and there were horses of fire, and chariots of fire, and thrones of
fire, and the flapping wings of angels of fire. Gradually, without sound of
trumpet or roll of wheel, they moved off. The greenvalleys lockedup. Then
the long flash of the Hudson unsheathed itself, and there were the white flocks
of villages lying amid the rich pastures, goldengrain-fields, and the soft,
radiant cradle of the valley, in which a young empire might sleep. So there

hangs over all the graves, and sepulchres, and mausoleums a darkness that no
earthly lamp can lift; but from above the Sun of Righteousnessshines, and the
dense fogs of scepticismhaving lifted, the valleys of the dead stand in the full
gush of the morning of the resurrection.
(T. De Witt Talmage, D. D.)
The conquerorconquered
T. De Witt Talmage, D. D.
If I were to call on you to give the names of the world's greatconquerors, you
would say, Caesar, Alexander, Philip, and the first Napoleon. You have
missed the greatest. The men whose names have just been mentioned were not
worthy the name of corporalwhen compared with him. He rode on the black
horse that crossedthe fields of Waterloo and Atlanta, and bloody hoofs have
been seton the crushed hearts of the race. He has conquered his every land
and besiegedeverycity; and to-day, Paris, London, St. Petersburg, New York,
and Brooklynare going down under his fierce and long-continued assault.
That conqueror is Death. He carries a black flag, and takes no prisoners, He
digs a trench across the hemispheres and fills it with carcases.Had not God
kept creating new men, the world, fifty times over, would have swung lifeless
through the air; not a foot stirring in the cities, not a heart beating — a
depopulated world — a ship without a helmsman at the wheel, or a captain on
deck, or crew in the rigging. Herod of old slew only those of two years old and
under, but this monster strikes all ages. Genghis Khan sent five millions into
the dust; but this, hundreds of thousands of millions. Other kings sometimes
fall back and surrender territory once gained; but this king has kept all he
won, save Lazarus and Christ. The last One escapedby Omnipotent power,
while Lazarus was againcaptured and went into the dust. What a cruel
conqueror! What a bloody king! His palace is a huge sepulchre; his flowers
the faded garlands that lie on coffin lids; his music the cry of desolated
households;the chalice of his banquet a skull; his pleasure. fountains the
falling tears of a world. But that throne shall come down; that sceptre shall
break; that palace shall fall under bombardment, "For the hour is coming in
which all that are in their graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth."
(T. De Witt Talmage, D. D.)
The inevitableness of the resurrection
J. L. Nye.

An infidel German countess saidher grave never should be opened. She
ordered it to be coveredby a solid slab of granite; that around it should be
placed square blocks of stone, and that the whole should be fastenedtogether
by iron clamps. On the stone, by her order these words were cut, "This burial-
place, purchased to all eternity, must never be opened." Thus she defied the
Almighty. But a little seedsprouted under the covering, and the tiny shoot
found its way betweentwo of the slabs, and grew there, slowlyand surely until
it burst the clamps asunder, and lifted the immense blocks. Man's powerfails
even to secure a tomb from natural destruction; much less can it secure the
soul againstthat day in which eachone is to give accountof the deeds done in
the body.
(J. L. Nye.)
Evil
Archbishop Trench.
may be contemplated from two points of view, either on the side of its positive
malignity, its will and powerto work mischief, or else on that of its negative
worthlessness, and, so to speak, its good-for-nothingness;πονμρός
contemplates evil from the former point of view, and φᾶυλος from the latter.
There are words in most languages whichcontemplate evil under this latter
aspect, the impossibility of any true gain ever coming forth from it. Thus
"nequam" (in strictness opposite to frugi), and "nequitia" in Latin, "vaurien"
in French, "naughty" and "naughtiness" in English, taugenichts, "schlecht,"
schlechligkeitin German. This notion of worthlessnessis the centralnotion of
φαῦλος (by some idnetified with "faul," foul), which in Greek runs succesfylly
through the following meanings: light, unstable, blown about by every wind,
small, slight, mediocre, of no account, worthless, bad; but still bad
predominantly in the sense ofworthless. Φαῦλος, as used in the New
Testament, has reachedthis lateststage ofits meaning; and τα φαῦλα
πραξαντας, are setover againstτὰ ἀγαθὰ ποιήσαντες and condemned as such
to the "resurrectionof damnation."
(Archbishop Trench.)
The resurrectioncredible
Wycliffe's corpse was burnt to ashes, and these ashes were castinto the river;
carried into the sea, and thence dispersedin a thousand directions, can the
particles ever againbe reunited? The Christian philosopher sees no difficulty

in the case. Didany of these changes happen to the Reformer's body
irrespectively of those natural laws which God has ordained? And, if even so,
is it not just as easyfor Him to reverse their action as it was to give them that
actionoriginally? It is a well-knownchemicallaw, that, by the use of proper
agencies, bodies thoroughly dissolvedmay be recovered and restoredto their
pristine shape. A single illustration will suffice. If we throw a lump of solid
camphor into a vesselof spirits of wine, it will soonbe completely dissolved;
nevertheless, by diluting the spirits of wine with water, we may recover the
camphor in the form of a sediment; nay, with the loss of a few grains, we may
restore it to its original shape. So, too, of a silver vase dissolvedin aquafortis.
Beyond all controversy, these experiments are, in the eyes of the philosopher,
far less marvellous than the actof reconstituting a dispersed, disorganized
body; and yet, bearing in mind the infinite powerof Jehovah, we canconceive
it just as easyfor Him thus to restore originally as to create.
The future punishment of the wicked
A professorin one of our leading collegessome time ago went to the president
with his doubts upon the subject of endless punishment, and confessedthat he
could "hardly believe the doctrine." "I couldn't believe it at all," was the
president's reply, "if the Bible did not teachit."
Everlasting damnation
W. Baxendale.
A venerable minister preacheda sermon on the subjectof eternalpunishment.
On the next day it was agreedamong some thoughtless young men, that one of
them should endeavourto draw him into a dispute, with the design of making
a jest of him and of his doctrine. The wag accordinglywent, and commenced
by saying, "I believe there is a small dispute betweenyou and me, sir, and I
thought I would call this morning and try to settle it." "Ah," saidthe
clergyman, "what is it?" "Why," replied the wag, "you say that the wicked
will go into everlasting punishment, and I do not think that they will." "Oh, if
that is all," answeredthe minister, "there is no dispute betweenyou and me.
If you turn to Matthew 25:46 you will find that the dispute is betweenyou and
the Lord Jesus Christ, and I advise you to go immediately and settle it with
Him."
(W. Baxendale.)

COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(28) Marvel not at this—i.e., that He has Himself a source of life and authority
to judge. There shall follow from this “greaterworks,” atwhich they shall
marvel. There is an hour coming (here not with the addition “and now is,”
verse .25)when the victory over physical death shall also make manifest this
life, for “allthat are in the graves” shallhear His voice, and the final
judgment shall declare to the universe His authority to judge.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
5:24-29 Our Lord declaredhis authority and character, as the Messiah. The
time was come when the dead should hear his voice, as the Son of God, and
live. Our Lord first refers to his raising those who were dead in sin, to
newness oflife, by the power of the Spirit, and then to his raising the dead in
their graves. The office of Judge of all men, can only be exercisedby one who
has all knowledge, andalmighty power. May we believe His testimony; thus
our faith and hope will be in God, and we shall not come into condemnation.
And may His voice reachthe hearts of those dead in sin; that they may do
works meetfor repentance, and prepare for the solemn day.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
Marvel not - Do not wonder or be astonishedat this.
The hour is coming - The "time" is approaching or will be.
All that are in the graves - All the dead, of every age and nation. They are
describedas "in the graves." Thoughmany have turned to their native dust
and perished from human view, yet God sees them, and can regathertheir
remains and raise them up to life. The phrase "all that are in the graves" does
not prove that the same particles of matter will be raised up, but it is
equivalent to saying "all the dead." See the notes at 1 Corinthians 15:35-38.
Shall hear his voice - He will restore them to life, and command them to
appear before him. This is a most sublime description, and this will be a
wonderful display of almighty power. None but God can"see" allthe dead,
none but he could remould their frames, and none else could command them
to return to life.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
28. Marvel not at this—this committal of all judgment to the Son of man.

for the hour is coming—He adds not in this case (as in Joh5:25), "and now
is," because this was not to be till the close ofthe whole dispensationof mercy.
Matthew Poole's Commentary
Do not marvel at this powerwhich I tell you the Father hath given me, to
execute in the world justice and judgment; to raise some particular persons
from a natural death, and whom he pleasethfrom the spiritual death of sin:
for the hour is coming, when all those who are in the graves, shall, by an
archangel, Matthew 24:31 1 Thessalonians 4:16, hearmy voice, commanding
them to arise; and they shall obey my command.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
Marvel not at this,.... Either at the cure of the man that had been diseased
thirty and eight years, as some think; or at the Son of God being also the son
of man, as the Syriac version suggests;or rather at the dead hearing the voice
of the Son of God, and living upon it; and at his having authority to execute
judgment upon all, to govern and defend his own church and people, and in
the lastday acquit them, and to take vengeance onhis and their enemies, both
now and hereafter:
for the hour is coming, in which all that are in their graves shall hear his
voice. This respects the generalresurrection;for there will be a resurrection
both of the just and unjust, of all that are in their graves;and though all that
are dead are not in graves, or interred in the earth, as some are in the sea;yet,
because the greaterpart are in graves, this phrase is chosento express the
universality of the resurrection:and this is also a proof of the resurrectionof
the same body; for what else are in the graves but bodies? and what else can
come forth from them but the same bodies? and the time is hastening on when
these bodies shall be quickened, and hear the voice of the Sonof God; which
whether the same with the voice of the archangelin 1 Thessalonians 4:16;and
whether an articulate voice, or a violent clapof thunder, which is the voice of
God, or only the exertion of Christ's mighty power is intended, is not easyto
determine, and may be needless to inquire. Certain it is, that this voice of
Christ will be attended with almighty power, as the effectfollowing upon it
will show. The Jews observe (g), that
"there are three things which do not come into the world but "by voices";
there is the voice of a living creature, as it is written, Genesis 3:16, "in sorrow
thou shalt bring forth children", and as it is written, Genesis 30:22, "andGod
hearkenedto her"; and there is the voice of rains, as it is written, 1 Kings
18:41, "for there is a voice of abundance of rain", and it is written, Psalm
29:3, "the voice of the Lord is upon the waters";and , "there is the voice of

the resurrectionof the dead", as it is written, Isaiah40:3, "the voice of him
that crieth in the wilderness";''
but that was the voice of John the Baptist. It will be the voice of the Son of
God that will quicken and raise the dead.
(g) Zohar in Gen. fol. 70. 4.
Geneva Study Bible
{7} Marvelnot at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the
graves shall hear his voice,
(7) All will eventually appear before the judgment seatof Christ to be judged.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT Commentary
John 5:28-30. Marvelnot at this (comp. John 3:7), viz. at what I have asserted
concerning my life-giving and judicial power;for[218]the lastand greatest
stage ofthis my Messianicquickening work (not the work of the λόγος as the
absolute ζωή, to whom Baur refers the whole passage,John5:20 ff.; see, on
the contrary, Brückner) is yet to come, namely, the raising of the actually
dead out of their graves, and the final judgment.[219] Against the
interpretation of this verse (see on John 5:21) in a figurative sense (comp.
Isaiah26:19; Exodus 37:12;Daniel 12:2), it is decisive that οἱ ἐν τοῖς μνημείοις
would have to mean merely the spiritually dead, which would be quite out of
keeping with οἱ τὰ ἀγαθὰ ποιήσαντες. Jesus Himself intimates by the words οἱ
ἐν τοῖς μνημείοις that He here is passing from the spiritually dead, who thus
far have been spokenof, to the actualdead.
ὅτι] argumentum a majori; the wonder at the less disappears before the
greater, which is declaredto be that which is one day to be accomplished. We
are not to supply, as Luthardt does, the condition of faithful meditation on the
latter, for the auditors were unbelieving and hostile; but the far more
wonderful factthat is told does awaywith the wonder which the lesserhad
aroused, goes beyondit, and, as it were, causesit to disappear.
ἔρχεται ὥρα] Observe that no καὶ νῦν ἐστιν, as in John 5:25, could be added
here.

πάντες] Here it is as little said that all shall be raised at the same time, as in
John 5:25 that all the spiritually dead shall be quickened simultaneously. The
τάγματα,which Paul distinguishes at the resurrection, 1 Corinthians 15:23-24,
and which are in harmony with the teaching of Judaism and of Christ Himself
regarding a twofoldresurrection (Bertholdt, Christol. pp. 176 ff., 203 ff.; and
see on Luke 14:14), find room likewise in the ὥρα, which is capable of
prophetic extension.
οἱ τὰ ἀγαθὰ ποιήσαντες, κ.τ.λ.]that is, the first resurrection, that of the just,
who are regarded by Jesus in a purely ethical aspect, and apart from all
national particularism. See on Luke 14:14, and comp. John 6:39. It was far
from His objecthere to dwell upon the necessityof His redemption being
appropriated by faith on the part of the dead here spokenof; He gives
expressionsimply to the abstractmoral normal condition (comp. Romans 2:7;
Romans 2:13; Matthew 7:21). This necessity, however, wherebythey must
belong to the οἱ τοῦ Χριστοῦ (1 Corinthians 15:23;comp. Matthew 25:31
sqq.), implies the descensusChristi ad inferos.
εἰς ἀνάστ. ζωῆς]they will come forth (from their graves)into a resurrectionof
life (representedas local), i.e. to a resurrection, the necessaryresult of which
(comp. Winer, p. 177 [E. T. p. 235])is life, life in the Messiah’s kingdom.
Comp. 2Ma 7:14 : ἀνάστασις εἰς ζωήν; Daniel 12:2; Romans 5:18 : δικαίωσις
ζωὴς.
κρίσεως] to which judgment pertains, and judgment, according to the context,
in a condemnatory sense (to eternaldeath in Gehenna); and accordingly
ἀνάστασις ζωῆς does not exclude an act of judgment, which awards the ζωή.
As to the distinction betweenποιεῖν and πράττειν, see on John 3:20-21. John
5:30 further adds the guarantee of the rectitude of this κρίσις, and this
expressedin a generalway, so that Jesus describes His judgment generally;
hence the Present, denoting continuous action, and the generalintroductory
statementof John 5:19, οὐ δύναμαι, etc.
καθὼς ἀκούω]i.e. from God, who, by virtue of the continual communion and
confidence subsisting betweenHim and Christ, always makes His judgment
directly and consciouslyknownto Him, in accordance withwhich Christ gives

His verdict. Christ’s sentence is simply the declaration of God’s judgment
consequentupon the continuous self-revelationof God in His consciousness,
whereby the ἀκούεινfrom the Father, which He possessedin His pre-existent
state, is continued in time.
ὅτι οὐ ζητῶ, κ.τ.λ.]“I cannot therefore deviate from the κρίνειν καθὼς
ἀκούω;and my judgment, seeing it is not that of an individual, but divine,
must be just.”
τοῦ πέμψ. με, κ.τ.λ.]as it consequentlyaccords with this my dependence upon
God.
[218]Ewald renders ὅτι that: “Marvelnot at this, that (as I saidin ver. 1) an
hour is coming,” etc. But in ver. 25 the thought and expressionare different
from our text.
[219]It is not right, as is already plain from the text and ver. 27, to saythat in
John the judgment is always representedas an inner fact (so even Holtzmann,
Judenth. u. Christenth. p. 422). The saying, “The world’s history is the
world’s judgment,” only partially represents John’s view; in John the lastday
is not without the last judgment, and this lastjudgment is with him the world-
judgment. See on John 3:18.
Expositor's Greek Testament
John 5:28. And another reasonfor restraining surprise is ὅτι ἔρχεται ὥρα, etc.
It has been proposedto render this as if ὅτι were explanatory of τοῦτο, do not
wonder at this, that an hour is coming. But (1) τοῦτο usually, though not
invariably, refers to what precedes;and (2) when John says “Do not wonder
that” so and so, he uses μὴ θαυμάσῃς ὅτι without τοῦτο;and (3) the ordinary
rendering suits the passagebetter: Marvelnot at this [that my voice gives life]
because a time is coming when there will result from my voice that which if
not really greaterwill strike you more sensibly. The bodily resurrection may
be said to be greaterthan the spiritual as its consummation, completion, and
exhibition in results. Besides, the Jews ofour Lord’s time lookedupon the
resurrectionas the grand demonstration of God’s power. But here the οἱ ἐν
τοῖς μνημείοις shows that the surprise is to be occasionedby the fact that even
the physically dead shall hear.—πάντες … κρίσεως. That the resurrectionis
alluded to is shown by the change from οἱ νεκροί of John 5:25 to οἱ ἐν τοῖς

μνημείοις. Some rise to life, some to κρίσιν, which from its oppositionto ζωήν
must here be equivalent to κατακρίσιν. If it is askedwith regardto the
righteous, With what body do they come? much more may it be askedofthe
condemned. The entrance into life and into condemnationare determined by
conduct; how the conduct is determined is not here stated. For the expressions
defining the two types of conduct see on chap. John 3:20-21. That the present
receptionof life is the assurance ofresurrectionis put strikingly by Paul in 2
Corinthians 5:5. The fact that some shall rise to condemnation disclosesthat
even those who have not the Spirit of God in them have some kind of
continuous life which maintains them in existence with their personalidentity
intact from the time of death to the time of resurrection. Also, that the long
period spent by some betweenthese two points has not been utilised for
bringing them into fellowship with Christ is apparent. In what state they rise
or to what condition they go, we are not here told. Beyond the fact of their
condemnation their future is left in darkness, and was therefore probably
meant to be left in darkness.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
28. Marvel not] Comp. John 3:7. Marvel not that the Son cangrant spiritual
life to them that believe, and separate from them those who will not believe.
There cometh an hour when He shall cause a generalresurrectionof men’s
bodies, and a final separationof goodfrom bad, a final judgment. He does not
add ‘and now is,’ which is in favour of the resurrectionbeing literal.
all that are in the graves]Not‘whom He will;’ there are none whom He does
not will to come forth from their sepulchres (see on John 11:7). All, whether
believers or not, must rise. This shews that spiritual resurrectioncannotbe
meant.
28, 29. The intimacy betweenthe Fatherand the Sonfurther proved by the
powercommitted to the Son of causing the bodily resurrectionof the dead.
Bengel's Gnomen
John 5:28. Μὴ θαυμάζετε τοῦτο, marvelnot at this) They are greatthings
which He spake all along from John 5:21, and worthy of marvel; but greater
and more marvellous are the things which follow:τοῦτο, this, is to be referred
to what goes before. Jesus knew the feeling of wonder which had been just
now raisedin the mind of the Jews.—ὥρα, the hour) See note on ch. John
5:21. [It is termed an hour, not because thatwhole time is short, but because

its beginning is near.]—φωιῆς, the voice) 1 Thessalonians 4:16, “The Lord
Himself shall descendfrom heaven with a shout, with the voice of the
archangel, and with the trump of God.”
Pulpit Commentary
Verses 28, 29. - It is impossible not to draw a distinction betweenthe theme of
these verses and that of vers. 24, 25. The Lord announces an event which is in
the future altogether. The "and now is," which characterizedthe first
resurrectionof which he spoke, is here omitted. The descriptionof the
subjects of the resurrectionas those "in their graves," contradistinguishes
them from "the dead" of ver. 25 - a phrase which will suffer several
interpretations. The universality of the summons, and the impossibility of
neglecting it or ignoring it, form another marked contrastto the resurrection
already referred to. Marvelnot at this! At what? Clearly at the entire
statementthat the resurrectionof dead souls will be the undoubted issue of
accepting Christ's word and identifying it with the word of God. Marvelnot
that the judgment of the world is entrusted to "the Son," because he is both
Son of man as well as Son of God. "Marvelnot" is a relative word. It means
obviously that there is a greatermarvel still in store. Becausethe hour is
coming; always coming, though it seemethlong - coming swiftly, measuredon
the greatclock face ofthe universe. Geologicaltime, astronomicalaeons,
should before this have rebuked our impertinence about the delays of God,
and our shallow criticism of the fulness of the times. "One day is with the
Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." As compared
with geologicalannals, stillless with God's eternities, it is only the day before
yesterdaywhen Adam fell; it is only yesterdaythat Jesus died and rose again,
and tomorrow that he will come in his glory. The hour is coming when all who
are in the graves shall hear his voice. The same voice that wakes the
spiritually dead shall pierce the clods, shall find the buried dead, shall bring
once more into the world of the visible and tangible the long forgotten lived.
Every solitary life lives with him and before him. The organic clothing of the
spirit, which goes on, as St. Paul suggests (2 Corinthians 5:1) from the death
of the physical body till the coming of the Sonof Godwith glory, does not
render this statement more difficult, but more comprehensible. As far as this
world is concerned, those who are clothed upon with the house not made with
hands - those who are with Christ, are to all appearance dead, and in their
"graves,"in their memorial places;but they will all hear the voice of the Son,
and they will come, forth; they that have done goodthings, to the resurrection
of life; they that have practisedevil things, to the resurrectionof judgment.
They will come forth from these hiding places of fading memories. Even

tombs of prophets and kings are themselves buried, coveredby the graves of
the many generations that have followed. The grave hidden will come forth
into what we call the reality, visibility, tangibility, of things. The hour is
coming on apace when Deathhimself shall be dead, and the mystery of time
be finished. They that rise will divide themselves into two classes. The
anastasis willhave two forms. There is a "resurrectionof life" and a
"resurrectionof judgment." Those who have indeed passedfrom spiritual
death to life will not come into "judgment" (not κρίμα or κατάκριμα, but
κρίσις) when their anastasis is complete, their judgment is over, their life is
secure. When those who have not heard the voice of the Son of God, have not
come to the light, who are not of God nor of the truth - men who have
deliberately practised"evil things" without compunction or amendment, -
when these are calledfrom their tombs, from their shadowyhiding places,
into the presence of him who executes judgment, it will be to undergo the
(κρίσις) judgment (2 Corinthians 5:10). We must, indeed, all be made
manifest before the judgment throne of Christ, to receive the consequencesof
"the doing of well" and "the practice of evil." The issue of the one is life, and
of the other is judgment. The suggestionseemsto be that such judgment may
issue unfavourably, but the thought is centredupon the process ofthe
judgment. The effort of Reuss and others to draw a marked distinction
betweenthe eschatologyofthe synoptists and of John fails. Christ does not
representthe spiritual resurrectionas "greaterwork"than the physical
resurrection. On the contrary, white he speaks ofthe marvelling of his hearers
at his claim to quicken the spiritually dead, yet the ground of their marvel is
emphatically arrested(see ver. 28) until they should recognize to the full the
fact that, as Sonof Godand Son of man, he would callall the dead from their
graves. Thoma finds admirable justification for this representationby the
Johannist of the Messianic Judge, alike in the Book ofDaniel, in the synoptic
Gospels, in the Pauline Epistles, and Apocalypse!
Vincent's Word Studies
The graves (τοῖς μνημείοις)
Rev., better; tombs. Two words are used in the New Testamentfor the place
of burial, τάφος, and μνημεῖον or μνῆμα. The former emphasizes the idea of
burial (θάπτω, to bury); the latter of preserving the memory of the dead; from
μιμνήσκω, to remind.

PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
Passing from Deathunto Life
John 5: 19-29
Our text follows the familiar passage ofJesus healing the lame man by the
pool of Bethesda. Clearlythis was a great miracle. The man had been in that
condition for 38 long years. Obeying the command of Jesus, he took up his
bed and walked. His healing took place on the Sabbath day and he soon
encounteredlegalistic Jews who questionedthe carrying of his bed on the
Sabbath. Upon hearing Jesus had instructed the man to carry his bed, they
sought to slay Him because He had done these things on the Sabbath day.
Our text is literally Jesus’response to the legalists who challengedHis deity
and authority. Although it is given in response to extreme opposition, we also
discoverprofound truth and comfort in the words of Jesus. He speaks ofHis
relationship to the Father, the work of redemption, and eternallife afforded
all who believe. As we consider this conversationof Christ, I want to examine
the eternaltruths He reveals as we think on: Passing from Death unto Life.
I. The Preeminence of Christ (19-23)– Although Jesus spokein response to
the doubting legalists, we too must considerand respond to His preeminence
as well. Consider:
A. His Position(19) – Then answeredJesus and said unto them, Verily, verily,
I say unto you, The Son cando nothing of himself, but what he seeththe
Father do: for what things soeverhe doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.
Jesus confirms that He is not working independently. His works are consistent
with the will of God. He is working in cooperationwith His Father. This
openly declares His relation to the Father. It also confirms the deity of Christ.
Jesus is in essence saying that He and the Fatherare one.
 Many in Jesus’day could not acceptHis position as the secondperson
within the Godhead. They refused to embrace Him as the Christ, the Son of
the living God. The same is true in our day. This remains a major point of
contention for many. Salvation is impossible apart from Christ, and we must
see Him as He is!

B. His Power(20-21)– Forthe Fatherloveth the Son, and shewethhim all
things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greaterworks than these, that
ye may marvel. [21]For as the Fatherraiseth up the dead, and quickeneth
them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. Keep in mind the context of
the passage.The lame man had just been healed. Whether they wanted to
admit it or not, a greatmiracle had occurredin their midst. Jesus had simply
spokenthe word and the man was healed. His work was consistentwith the
will of the Father, and in cooperationwith Him.
P a s t o r C h r i s B e n f i e l d , F e l l o w s h i p M i s s i o n a r y B a p t i s t
C h u r c h
Page 2
 They marveled that such a physical miracle had takenplace. (I am sure we
would have as well.)However, Jesus declares thatHe will do greaterworks
than these. The Fatherhas powerto raise the dead and give life to whom He
chooses. Jesus declaresHe too shares that power. It is evident He is speaking
of spiritual miracles and work. We know Jesus has powerto raise the dead
physically, but the greatestof all miracles is that spiritual resurrection
brought about in salvation!John 17:2 – As thou hastgiven him power over all
flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hastgiven him.
C. His Prominence (22, 27) – For the Fatherjudgeth no man, but hath
committed all judgment unto the Son: [27] And hath given him authority to
execute judgment also, because he is the Sonof man. These soughtto condemn
Christ for healing on the Sabbath and pass judgment on Him for His actions.
Jesus declares thatall judgment has been committed to Him of the Father. He
speaks ofthe judgment that waits those who rejectHim as the Christ.
 Jesus came and offered Himself the atoning sacrifice for sin. Through Him
there is cleansing and restoration. Apart from Him there is eternaljudgment
and condemnation. He will stand as the righteous judge in the end. All will be
examined of Christ, and we are assuredthat He knows those who belong to
Him!

D. His Praise (23) – That all men should honour the Son, evenas they honour
the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Fatherwhich
hath sent him. Again this is further confirmation of His deity. The honor given
to the Fathermust also be given to the Son. If honor and praise are withheld
from the Son, they are also withheld from the Father. It is impossible to
worship God if we refuse to worship Christ. It is impossible to serve God and
deny the Son.
 This too remains a point of contention in our day. Many profess faith in God
but deny Christ. Some suggestwe all serve the same God, headed toward the
same afterlife, but travel different paths. You cannotseparate the Father and
the Son. You cannot please the Father, nor be acceptedofHim, apart from the
Son! 1 John 2:23 – Whosoeverdenieth the Son, the same hath not the Father:
(but) he that acknowledgeththe Son hath the Father also.
II. The Provisionof Christ (24) – Verily, verily, I sayunto you, He that
heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and
shall not come into condemnation; but is passedfrom death unto life. Many
who heard these words that day rejectedthem, but in this statementChrist
reveals His greatprovision for humanity. Notice:
C h u r c h
Page 3
A. The Revelation(24a) – Verily, verily, I sayunto you, He that heareth my
word… Although He was yet to bear the sins of humanity upon the cross of
Calvary, Jesus was sharing the gospelmessage. He was revealing Himself as
the Christ. Many could not comprehend all He said or receive who He was,
but He proclaimed the wayof salvation.

 As we considerthese words, the plan of God for redemption has been
fulfilled. Christ did bear our sin and the judgment of God for sin. He offered
His body the sacrificialatonementfor sin, died, was buried, and rose
victorious from the grave. The messageofthe gospelis being proclaimed
today, revealing Jesus as the Christ, Saviorof the world.
B. The Response(24a) – Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my
word, and believeth on him that sent me… Many in Jesus’day heard His
words, witnessedthe miracles, and pondered the truth, but few respondedto
His offer. It was certainlya blessing to hear the words of Christ and
comprehend what He said, but that alone wasn’t enough. By faith they had to
respond in belief.
 Is that not evident in our day as well? The gospelis being proclaimed as
never before, through church services, television, radio, internet, and yet
many do not believe what they hear. Christ died for the sins of humanity,
mine and yours included, but we must respond to the gracious offerof
salvationby faith. We must believe that Christ is who He saidHe was and did
exactly what He promised He would do. Knowing of Christ will not bring
salvation. Believing in His finished work by faith will.
C. The Redemption (24b) – Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my
word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not
come into condemnation; but is passedfrom death unto life. Jesus reveals the
blessing associatedwith saving faith in Him. All who receive Him, believing
He is the Christ, inherit eternal life. We no longerstand condemned before
God because ofsin. Our guilt is removed as our debt is paid in full. In Christ
we have passedfrom death unto life! Rom.8:1 –There is therefore now no
condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh,
but after the Spirit.

III. The Promise of Christ (25-29)– Here Jesus reveals the hope all believers
have in Him. A physical miracle is wonderful, but the promises in Christ
exceedthem all. Consider:
A. The Work of Salvation (25) – Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is
coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and
they that hear shall live. Mostlikely failed to graspthe truth Jesus spoke here.
They were considering His words in a physical sense. Jesus speaks of
C h u r c h
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the spiritual work that takes place within us as we are born againin Him.
Apart from Christ we are dead in trespassesand sin. We have no hope of life
eternal, only the certainty of coming judgment. In Christ we are quickened,
literally made alive in Him. The old man is castaside as we are resurrectedin
Christ. This physical body may suffer death, but the spirit is made alive to live
throughout eternity!
B. The Wonder of Salvation(26) – For as the Fatherhath life in himself; so
hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; Christ has already confirmed
His deity. Just as the Father possesseslife, He too possesseslife. This life is
unlike the physical life we possess. This life is eternal, holy, and righteous.
Christ has the powerto impart such eternal, righteous life to us. We have the
promise of dwelling in the presence of Godthroughout eternity, possessing the
righteousness ofChrist.
 I cannot explain the wonder of it all. It amazes me that God would love
humanity enough to offer such grace to us. Christ loved us enough to suffer
death so that we might inherit eternallife. The work of salvationis a wonder
of grace. Godworks in the hearts of sinful men, bringing light to darkness,
resurrecting us from eternaldeath and separationunto eternal life and

acceptance!Rom.5:21 – That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might
grace reignthrough righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christour Lord.
C. The Witness of Salvation(28-29)– Marvel not at this: for the hour is
coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, [29] And
shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrectionof life; and
they that have done evil, unto the resurrectionof damnation. Jesus speaksofa
day when the graves will release theirdead to stand before Him at His
command. Those who have believed on Him, receiving salvation, will be
resurrectedto life eternal. All who have rejectedChrist, refusing salvationin
Him, will be resurrectedto eternal death and damnation. In the end, salvation
in Christ will be the deciding factorthroughout eternity.
 Jesus provided redemption for humanity as He bore our sin upon the cross.
There is salvationin Him with the promise of eternallife. Apart from Christ
there is no hope, only eternal condemnation in hell.
Conclusion:Jesus is without question the Christ, Savior of the world. He
alone is the means of salvation. In Him there is life eternal. He came to pardon
our sin and reconcile us to God. There is no other way. Where do you stand
today? You have heard the gospel. Will you believe it and receive Christ by
faith? I rejoice to know that I have inherited eternal life in Him. I pray you
know Christ as your Savior as well. If not, come as He leads!
CALVIN
Verse 28
28.Wondernot at this. We may be apt to think that he reasons inconclusively,
in drawing from the last resurrectiona confirmation of what he had said; for
it is not an instance of greaterpower to raise up bodies than to raise up minds.
I reply, it is not from the fact itself that he makes a comparisonbetweenthe
greaterand the less, but from the opinion of men; for, being carnal, they

admire nothing but what is outward and visible. Hence it arises that they pass
by the resurrectionof the soul with little concern, while the resurrectionof the
body excites in them greateradmiration. Another effect produced by this
gross stupidity of ours is, that those things which are perceivedby the eyes
have a more powerful influence in producing faith than those which can be
receivedby faith alone. As he mentions the last day, that limitation — -and
now is — is not againadded, but he simply declares that the time will one day
arrive.
But another objectionsprings up; for though believers expectthe resurrection
of bodies, yet they cannotrely on their knowledge ofit, so as to conclude that
souls are now rescuedfrom death, because bodies will one day rise out of the
graves. And among ungodly men, (103)what would be reckonedmore
ridiculous than to prove a thing unknown (to use a common phrase) by a
thing less known? I reply, Christ here boasts of his power over the reprobate,
so as to testify that the Fatherhas committed to him the full restorationof all
things; as if he had said, “WhatI now tell you that I have commenced, I will
one day finish before your eyes.” And, indeed, when Christ now, by the voice
of his Gospel, quickens souls which had been sunk in perdition, it is a sort of
preparation for the last resurrection. Again, as he includes the whole human
race, he immediately makes a distinction betweenthe electand the reprobate.
This division shows that the reprobate, as they are now summoned by the
voice of Christ to come to judgment, will also, by the same voice, be dragged
and brought to appear at his tribunal.
But why does he mention those only who are shut upin graves, as if others
would not be partakers of the resurrection, whether they have been drowned,
or devoured by wild beasts, orreduced to ashes?The answeris, that as the
dead are commonly buried, by the figure of speechcalledsynecdoche, he
employs a part to denote all who are alreadydead. And this is more emphatic
than if he had said simply, the dead; for those whom death alreadydeprived
of life and light the grave withdraws, as it were, from the world.
Shall hear his voice. The voice of the Son means the sound of the trumpet,
which will sound at the command by the powerof Christ, (Matthew 24:31; 1
Corinthians 15:52.)For though an angelwill be a herald or forerunner, (1
Thessalonians 4:16,)this does not hinder what is done by the authority of the
Judge, and as it were in his own person, from being ascribed to himself.

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