Jesus is Speaking - are you listening?

The Voice of Jesus has Power to give Life to those who are spiritually dead ()

Explanation: In His continuing lesson to the Jewish leaders, Jesus reveals a very important truth. He discloses to them the Truth that the spiritually dead were hearing His voice. He stated that the “time was coming, and is now here” when this would take place. He refers to Himself as the Son of God and in that capacity and with that Authority, those who are dead actually hear His voice.

Illustrate:

Argument: The Jewish leaders actually serve as an example. They are spiritually dead and they “hear” the voice of Jesus, but they do not listen. They willfully reject the Son of God and remain spiritually dead. The reality is that all of humanity is spiritually dead (), and remain so unless, as individuals, they respond in saving faith. The dead who live do more than simply hear the Word of God. They respond to the call of God (Eph 2:4,5)

Application: You are under the Word of God - you hear the Gospel message. The Bible declares that faith comes from hearing, and that everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved. Is the Holy Spirit convicting of your need to repent and believe?

The Voice of Jesus has Power because He is the One with all Dominion & Authority ()

Explanation: Jesus has just made an incredible declaration. He has stated that those who are spiritually dead will be raised to life if they respond in faith to His Voice. Jesus backs up His statement by declaring His absolute Authority in these issues of life and death.

Argument: It is worth noting that when speaking of resurrection (25), Jesus used the title Son of God, but when speaking of judgment (27) he spoke as the Son of Man. (Guthrie, D. (1994). John. In D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, & G. J. Wenham (Eds.), New Bible commentary: 21st century edition (4th ed., p. 1037).

As the Son of Man, Jesus is the 2nd Adam; He is the perfection of Man, subjected to like temptations, but without sin. Jesus is perfectly suited to judge mankind. And by switching from the Son of God to the Son of Man, Jesus was drawing their attention to where the Prophet saw this figure receiving Dominion and an Everlasting Kingdom.

Application: make no mistake about the Authority of the Voice of Jesus. He has the power of life and death, and He will be the Judge who will render the correct sentence for each and every person.

The Voice of Jesus is so Powerful it will bring all of the dead from their graves at the Judgment ()

Explanation: Jesus draws their attention to the End times. Where He had spoken of a coming time that now was (v. 25), He now tells them of the hour that is yet to come (v. 28), a clear reference to the End. At the time of His Return, the Voice of Jesus will bring the dead from their graves. Jesus emphasizes that not all the dead will take part in the same Resurrection. One group will be raised to Life, the other group will be raised for condemnation.

Example: When Jesus voiced the command, “Lazarus come out,” (), the man named Lazarus who had been dead 4 days came out! That is incredibly powerful Authority! And if Jesus had not limited His command to Lazarus, all of the dead at that time would have come forth.

Argument: At the end, Jesus will call all of the dead, and they will come out of their graves. While this passage does not clearly show the time difference between the 2 resurrections, there will be a time span of a 1,000 years. The righteous dead will be raised immediately at Christ’s Return (; ), but the unbelievers will not be raised until after the Millennium (, ) where they will face the Great White Throne judgment. All the unbelievers, along with Satan, will be cast into the Lake of Fire.

[The Camp Fire, the raging wildfire in Northern California, which started Nov. 8, 2018 has already destroyed entire towns, burned up over 146,000 acres, and claimed over 71 fatalities. Due to the rapid spread of the fire, most people were surprised. While many died, there are numerous videos of people fleeing the fire in what amounts to incredible rescue missions.]

There will be no escape for unbelievers at the White Throne Judgment. If a person does not have his or her name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, he or she will experience eternal punishment in the Lake of Fire.

Today’s Christless message is basically, “God created the world. He wants you to be nice and fair. He wants you to be happy. He’s not very involved in your life, but He’s there in case you have a problem. And if you are basically a good person, then you can go to heaven when you die.” This is Moralistic, Therapeutic Deism.” (The Christ-Centered Expositor, Tony Merida, p. 63)

Application: God has a desire to be in a Redeeming Relationship with persons. This is only made possible by the Propitiatory death of Jesus whereby He satisfied the wrath of God for our sin penalty. This is not fire insurance. It is a grace relationship derived from God’s love and His glory.