sermon021410

John 5:25–29 (ESV)

25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

·         It’s about Jesus

·         Brothers and Sisters of New Hope, in the difficulty of these passages, it is easier to get caught up in other matters and lose that focus

·         Throughout this journey there is a thematic question that I approach, work through, and leave my studies with; “What Does The Passage Tell Us About Jesus?”

·         Jesus speaks in a monologue about Himself; He is not interrupted but completes what He has to say.

·         We are made aware of Jesus and the Father in verses 19 through 24 of this monologue.

·         Next week, if the Lord is willing, we will hear about ‘Witnesses to Jesus’ verses 30-47

·         But here in these verses they speak of Jesus and Judgment

·         Recall verse 22; The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son,

·         John 5:25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.

·         Jesus is able to speak to dead people and grant them life!

·         Truly, truly (amen, amen) here is a declaration by Jesus that is not debatable.

·         What is to follow is emphatic and important.

·         An hour is coming, and is now here!

·         This is a statement that seems to be a paradox.

·         A paradox is a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd, but in reality expresses a possible truth.

·         How does that apply here?

·         The statement; the dead refers to the spiritual dead who hear the message of Jesus, the message about Jesus, believes, and act upon it,

·         That is, brothers and sisters, put that belief into everyday practice

·         The hour of the believer’s resurrection, your resurrection, is here and now.

·         What do you mean by that, pastor?

·         Allow the Word of God to explain; using two references;

·         One is in Ephesians and the other is in Colossians

·         Turn to Ephesians 2, starting at verse 1;

·         Ephesians 2:1–6 (ESV)

·         1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

·         We are studying the book of Ephesians in our Growth Group and your group may have studied this or you will study it very soon.

·         And from Colossians chapter 2 verse 13

·         Colossians 2:13 (ESV)

·         13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,

·         Therefore, saints, because you are now saved, thus an hour is now here!

·         And to that, the church can say Amen.

·         But the paradox is there because the passage says; truly, truly, I say to you, and hour is coming, and is now here.

·         An hour is coming, in the sense that the resurrection of your physical bodies is yet future.

·         Again, going to the Word of God, to comment on this

·         Looking now at 1 Corinthian and Philippians

·         1 Corinthians 15 is a long read but a necessary reading, starting at verse 35

·         1 Corinthians 15:35–54 (ESV)

·         35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” 36 You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. 38 But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. 39 For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. 40 There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory. 42 So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. 43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. 47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. 50 I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”

·         And the reference in Philippians is much shorter;

·         “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. ” (Philippians 3:20–21, ESV)

·         The verse ends with the statement; ‘and those who hear will live.’

·         Now the critic could say, pastor, the people who Jesus is speaking to or who are listening as Jesus is speaking would not have these letters of Paul

·         My answer is ‘true that!’ so let us go to the Scripture that they would have had and see if there is something there to help them understand this resurrection stuff.

·         Open your bibles to the Old Testament book of Ezekiel chapter 37.  Listen and follow along, I am reading from the English Standard Version.

·         Ezekiel 37:1–14 (ESV)

·         1 The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.” 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. 11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”

·         The people of Jesus day would have access to this scripture.

·         One additional observation; the title ‘Son of God’ only appears here and three other places in this gospel.

·         For those who are listening to the recorded message, they are John 10:36, 11:4, and 19:7…

·         And those who hear will live, Jesus said; “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

·         During this coming week, find yourself a quiet place or give yourself a quiet moment and reflect that God almighty has blesses you with his amazing grace and rich mercy and abundant love and you are alive spiritually.

·         Just say to yourself; “I’m saved!”

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·         But why is Jesus able to speak to dead people and grant them life?  Verse 26

·         John 5:26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.

·         There is no argument on the first part; the Father has life in himself,  BUT

·         Again, the quick-minded critic, would probably say that this verse shows that Father created the Son!

·         And again the Scripture is it’s best defense listen again to the prologue

·         John 1:1–4 (ESV)

·         1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

·         John 1:14 (ESV)

·         14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

·         Thus the Father authorize the Son to be able to give life to others

·         John 5:27 And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.

·         This verse is unique in the Greek because it is the only place in the New Testament where the direct articles are not used

·         An actual literal reading of this would be; ‘And he has given Him authority to execute judgment, because He is Son Man.’

·         Once again the Old Testament helps here.  Listen

·         Daniel 7:13–14 (ESV)

·         13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.

·         Jesus is the divine Son of God, but He is also ‘the Word made flesh’ and is truly human, Son of Man, thus the Father has granted Him the authority to carry out the final judgment of every human being.

·         And His judgment is final.  No appeals, no objections, and there is not a higher court to take your case to.

·         Everyone who is within the sound of my voice, hear me now!

·         Today, if you (you who are saved and also you who are not save), if YOU hear His voice, do not harden your hearts!

·         Also John 5:28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice

·         John 5:29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

·         Daniel said it in the Old Testament; Daniel 12:2 (ESV) 2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

·         And Jesus will fulfill it; ‘an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear His voice

·         Do not marvel at this.  At what?

·         The fact that now the spiritually dead hear His voice and are saved

·         The fact that He has the authority to execute judgment.

·         Because, an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

·         Every living person who has died will hear His voice.

·         The voice of the Son is powerful enough to generate spiritual life now; it is also powerful enough to call forth the dead, when that hour comes.

·         Notice the statement ‘those who have done.’ And it end with the word ‘good’ or ‘evil’

·         Works, your works, are a function of who you are in the Lord.

·         They are not the basis on which you are judged but they are evidence of true faith, false faith or no faith.

·         Jesus said you recognize them by their fruit.  A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit

·         Does your life style reflect who you are and even more whose you are?

·         I am not talking about a snap shot of your good moments or bad moments but your life style, your way of living.

·         The answer to this question is YES IT DOES!

·         Does your life style reflect what you believe and what you do not believe?  Again the answer is YES IT DOES!

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·         For the believer, the Saint, the Christian, the one who accepts Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who dies in the Lord, there is a second resurrection; those who have done good to the resurrection of life.

·         For the one who is not saved, has not accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and dies outside of the Lord, there’s a second death; those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

·         John would write about this in the book of Revelations

·         Revelation 20:11–15 (ESV)

·         11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

·         Everyone will hear Jesus!

·         To the one who has not believe, my prayer for you is that you will hear His voice while it is day and I ask my brothers and sisters in the Lord to join me in this prayer.

·         Jesus starts this passage off with the statement Truly, truly, to let us know that it is serious and should not be taken lightly.

·         Will you give yourself to Him today?

·         Will you begin a life that is an eternal life today?

·         Will you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord?

·         Will you believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead?

·         For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved!

·         Saved from that future judgment

·         Saved from condemnation

·         Saved from the lake of fire

·         Saved to eternal life

·         I close with this from Revelation, I’m looking forward to the moment when I will say;

·         Revelation 21:1–4 (ESV)

·         1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

·         Revelation 21:22–27 (ESV)

·         22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25 and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. 26 They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. 27 But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

·         Worthy is the Lamb, the precious Lamb of God!

·         Let us pray!