The Two Resurrections (John 5:25–29)

Series: John: Life in Christ’s NameText: John 5:25–29

By: Shaun Marksbury Date: April 2, 2023

Venue: Living Water Baptist ChurchOccasion: AM Service

Introduction

By God’s providence, we’re studying this on Palm Sunday, the Sunday before we commemorate the resurrection of our Lord. There was quite a bit happening as Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of the donkey. We can read about it later, in John 12:12. There, in vv. 12–17, we read,

On the next day the large crowd who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and began to shout, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel.” Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written, “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.” These things His disciples did not understand at the first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these things to Him. So the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to testify about Him.

Though many didn’t know exactly what was going on, many seemed to expect Jesus to soon restore the kingdom to Israel. Since He raised the dead Lazarus, and declared Himself “the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25), many may have expected that He could open all the graves.

That scene comes later than where we are in the narrative, but it rings in our hearts as we read the text before us. Jesus has just shocked the Pharisees with claims that He was equal to the Father. Now, He will further shock them with His claims of coming judgment and resurrection.

We’re going to see today that there are two resurrections, one to eternal life with God, and the other to eternal damnation in hell. However, the main thrust of this passage is on the resurrection of life. So, to divide up this passage, our two points today is that Jesus will raise us to spiritual life (vv. 25–26) and Jesus will raise us to physical life (vv. 27–29). Let’s consider the first one.

First, Jesus Will Raise Us to Spiritual Life (vv. 25–26)

Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself;

Here, we see another double amen statement from our Lord, translated “truly, truly” here. This formula appears a few times in John (John 4:21, 23; 5:28), and it highlights another central truth that our Lord will reveal to them. This one pertains both to the nature of salvation and to one of the great eschatological or end-times hopes of the Old Testament — that of the resurrection of the dead.

In highlighting this, Jesus is going to focus on two raisings to life for the believer, one to spiritual life and one to physical life. As an aside, I titled this sermon “The Two Resurrections,” but these are not the two I mean! Those are the two kinds of physical resurrections our Lord grants, but here, He reveals that there is also a spiritual kind.

In considering these two verses, we’ll consider two points. First, we’ll see that this life, spiritually and physically, is only for those who believe. We’ll also note that this life only comes through Him, through Jesus. Let’s consider the first of these.

This life is for those who believe (v. 25)

Jesus describes this as a coming hour. While that many times refers to the hour of His work on the cross, it can also refer to other moments, like His coming glorification. Here, it definitely looks forward to the physical, bodily resurrection of the dead bodies of believers. Yet, He doesn’t end it there, giving us an example of the already and not yet.

He says that the hour is also “now.” He says that now “the dead will hear… [and] live.” The future sense may be understandable, but what does this mean today? This must mean that Jesus will take the spiritually dead and give them life.

Think about how a person is before they come to Christ. Well, Ephesians 2:1 says that believers were formerly dead in “trespasses and sins.” Yet, v. 5 there says that, because of God’s great love for us, “even when we were dead in our transgressions, [He] made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).” If we were dead, we need an act of God to bring us to life.

Consider that Jesus here says the dead hear His voice. In the future, we’ll hear Him descend with a shout, and we’ll talk about that. In the “now,” though, this refers to His voice through the call of the Holy Spirit. Just as Jesus commands Lazarus to come forth, He can command our dead hearts to come to life. It’s not that there’s necessarily a voice that we audibly hear — sometimes, His work through His written Word results in a sinner realizing his need for salvation and believing unto life. And, we see that, whether we’re talking about the bodily resurrection or the spiritual resurrection, the effectual voice of the Lord raises the dead to life!

Jesus refers to Himself in the third person in this verse as the one providing this. He’s the Son of God, which is that messianic title, linked to “the Messiah” or “the Christ” throughout John (1:49; 11:27; 20:31). The Jews interpreted this as a claim to deity, as we see in John 10:33–36. It’s because of this deity, though, that Jesus can grant life, which brings us to the next point.

This life comes only through Jesus (v. 26)

Jesus gives an explanation of what He means, which is why v. 26 begins with “for.” He says, “For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself.” Now, this may confuse you, because you might remember that John 1:4 said that the Son has life in Himself. Also remember that, last time, we noted that the Son, as He laid aside His glory in His incarnation, took on a human nature which learned subordination to the Heavenly Father. As such, the Son, in His humanity, would have to receive the authority to grant life.

This is why there can be no other through whom we can receive life. This also further explains what Jesus said a few verses ago. In v. 23, He said, “He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.” In the following verses, He says something similar. There are those who think there are multiple ways to God, but there is only one true way and many false ones; we must come to the Father through the Son, the only one who can give life.

If we believe, though, we can have assurance of spiritual life now. We have our hearts of stone turned to hearts of flesh. We have our spirits revived by the Holy Spirit. And we have the promise of something else:

Second, Jesus Will Raise us to Physical Life (vv. 27–29)

and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.

Jesus, in His humanity, receives authority from the Father. This authority is not just over the spiritual realm, as though that was a separate reality from the physical. The spiritual and physical coexist in reality, so the Son has authority over both. As such, He can raise people to both spiritual life and physical life, as we see later with Lazarus. Again, He is “the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25), and we see that here.

Note here that He, again referring to Himself in the third person, calls Himself “the Son of Man.” In v. 25, He called Himself the Son of God, but He’s not just that. The Son of man title is a reference to Daniel 7:13–14. In that case, the judgment is because Jesus is the chosen Messiah.

Yet, there may be also a hint here that the judgment is because Jesus chooses to identify with humanity. That’s also in view in the Daniel reference. Since He has experienced this life, He can judge us who have also lived it. Whichever way we consider this reality, He has the unique right to judge.

As such, in these verses, we see the kind of life authorized in Christ, and we want to find ourselves with Him. We will see that those who believe in Him receive life with Him, while those who reject Him receive life away from Him. Let’s consider the first of those.

Those who believe in Him receive life with Him (vv. 28–29a)

Jesus tells them not to marvel at what He says next. That’s an interesting turn of phrase, because, back in v. 20, He said, “For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will marvel.” Jesus would perform great works to cause them to marvel (same word), but if they believe, they shouldn’t marvel at what comes next.

Here, He says, “an hour is coming” without the “now is” of v. 25. This is only a future reality. He says this is a time “in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice and will come forth.” Again, He’ll evidence this later by calling Lazarus out of the tomb. After His crucifixion, in Matthew 27:52–53, we read, “The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many.” He can raise bodies from the tombs, and He can do so unto a resurrection of life.

Earlier, I mentioned that Scripture anticipates the resurrection of the dead. There’s a question in the oldest book of the Bible: “If a man dies, will he live again?” (Job 14:14). Yet even Job understood that even after his flesh rotted away, that from his flesh he would see his Redeemer (Job 19:25–27). The resurrection of the dead is a biblical expectation, then.

Abraham obviously expected it. In Genesis 22, the Lord gave him the surprising command to sacrifice his son, but Abraham recognized this as a test and that his son would be alright in the end. He told his servants to remain, saying, “I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.” The New Testament confirms in Heb. 11:17–19 that Abraham knew Isaac would be alright because, even if God allowed his son to die, he would physically raise his son from the dead.

Daniel had a similar expectation. In a verse that parallels this passage, Daniel 12:2, he says, “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.” He believed that there were two resurrections coming, one to life and the other to condemnation.

This wasn’t just a wild Jewish theory on what would happen to the body in the end. The New Testament affirms it in multiple places, as Jesus does here. In Acts 4:2, in the early church, we see the apostles preaching the resurrection of the dead in Jesus Christ. In 1 Corinthians 15:54–55, Paul quotes from both the prophets Isaiah and Hosea, saying, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” Those aren’t the only places, as MacArthur notes in his commentary:

In his second inspired letter to the Corinthians, Paul reminded them, “We know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Cor. 5:1). To the Philippians, as noted earlier, he declared that Jesus Christ “will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory” (Phil. 3:21; cf. v. 11). At the Rapture, “the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first” (1 Thess. 4:16). The apostle John also had the future resurrection of believers in mind when he wrote, “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is” (1 John 3:2).”

The question is who He raises and why. He says that they are those “who did the good deeds.” At first glance, it might seem like He is saying a person is saved by works, but He always teaches that it is by faith. In the next chapter, for instance, in John 6:29, He says, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” Now, if someone is believing in the gospel of Jesus and bearing the fruits of repentance, then they are, by definition, doing good deeds. Faith alone saves, but the faith that saves is never alone!

Belief in Christ is essential. That’s why the end of John 5:29 here hits with the warning: “those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.” That warning brings us to our final point.

Those who reject Him receive life away from Him (v. 29b)

This is the second resurrection, one unto death. Now, there is a question as to when all this occurs. The full interpretation of these verses rests on the question of the Millennium. There can certainly be a gap here (a time when a gap theory is actually helpful!). We see such a gap in Isaiah 9:6, which predicts of the Messiah, “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” That verse implies that, when the Messiah comes, He would establish the Messianic government on the earth, but that hasn’t happened yet. We are still awaiting the Messianic Reign of Christ, and that will arrive with His Second Coming.

It's actually this same gap that rests between the two resurrections. The Lord reveals this in Revelation 20. There, in vv. 1–6, we read about the events following Christ’s Second Coming;

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.

Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.

This is all still future (Jesus hasn’t returned, Satan still prowls around, and the kingdom has not been established on earth yet). Incidentally, this is the only passage that describes how long the Messianic Reign will be — 1,000 years, which is why we call it the Millennial Kingdom. Note that the Millennial Reign divides the two resurrections — the first occurs for the righteous saints, Old and New Testament, including the martyrs of the Tribulation, to enter into the Millennium. The others, meaning the unrighteous, have nothing to do with the Millennial Kingdom and will wait for their final judgment.

This might be a lot to take in if this is your first time considering this doctrine. For instance, the first resurrection of the dead is not the rapture (many Christians think that) since there are differences (there’s no bodily resurrection with the rapture and we meet the Lord in the air, not on earth). It might all get confusing, but what’s important today to learn is that there are coming the two resurrections, the two raisings of dead bodies, and one is unto life while the other is unto judgment.

We read about that judgment at the end of Revelation 20, and note how it also says that they will be judged according to their deeds. In vv. 11–15, we read,

Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

We don’t read of any deliverance for the people who face the white throne judgment. God has recorded every sin, every deed, every evil thought, and He promises to judge all of it fully. You might wonder why a resurrection of the body would be given to the damned, and the answer is this — they will need a form that can withstand the condemnation of the lake of fire, for the second death is an ongoing judgment. That’s why v. 6 said, “Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power;” we don’t want to be a part of the second resurrection and the second death.

Conclusion

There are coming two resurrections of the dead. Christians have historically affirmed this along with the Second Coming and the judgment of the Son. Both the Apostles’ and the Nicene Creeds contain their affirmation of these events. While there is some disagreement about the particulars of these events, those who deny the reality of the physical Second Coming and the future judgment do not hold to the historic Christian faith.

There are some who think that eschatology, the study of the end times, is unimportant. I’ve heard respected Bible teachers say they simply avoid it. Sometimes Christians will joke that they are not a premillennialist or and amillennialist or a postmillennialist; they are pan-millennialists, because they think it’s all going to pan out in the end! That’s true, but we see that the end times was a major point in the preaching and teaching of our Lord and His apostles.

The question before you today is whether you are going to participate in the first resurrection or the second. Are you going to be raised to life with God in Christ, or are you going to be raised to eternal judgment? The dividing line is where Jesus Christ is in your life — if you believe and trust in Him for salvation, you not only will be raised to new physical life in the kingdom, you receive new spiritual life today! If you reject Christ, however, it may be the last wicked act you do before the judgment. Repent and trust in Him for salvation from the wrath to come.