Wednesday in the Word...John 5:25-30 says...

Here is our "Wednesday in the Word" with John chapter 5 and verses 25 through 30 which read,

v.25 - "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."

This is what is referred to as an "already/not" statement.  Something has "already" happened but it is "not" fully revealed.  Jesus is giving us another true statement that we can stand upon with confidence and He doubles it up again with His "truly, truly."  The hour is connected to His presence.  Jesus is here now, already, but something is coming because of Him being here that will be fully recognized soon.  Jesus' presence and what will happen on the cross is not just for the living but also for the dead.  The grave is not a barrier to God.  We might think of the time in the grave or the decomposition that has occurred but Jesus is always looking at the soul and the spirit which are eternal.  There are those of His that have physical bodies in the grave but because they are His and they have heard His voice, they will be resurrected because of His death and resurrection.  Jesus is already here, but something is coming, His resurrection, that is a given which will provide a resurrection that has not yet happened.

v.26, 27 - "For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man."

Jesus is again giving us His words that He and the Father are one.  The Father has life in Himself and the Son has life in Himself.  Jesus is God.  The greatest evidence that we have of God and that there is a God is found in one called Jesus.  Jesus tells us there is a God and Jesus tells us that He is God.  We may look to science, nature, emotions, and a host of others things to point to God and that there is a God but Jesus, the One who came, the One who died, the One who rose again and ascended into Heaven is the strongest evidence that we stand upon.

Jesus tells us that He has the power to judge.  He helps us to keep our view of God full.  God is truth and love.  Truth brings an evaluation of what is right and what is wrong.  Love brings the motive in which this truth, this judgment, is brought.  Jesus didn't just come to heal people physically but to heal us spiritually by us confessing our sinfulness, calling out to Him as our Savior, and committing to live now a life of denying self, taking up who He is to even our death, and daily following His words and ways.

v.28, 29 - "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."

The resurrection of the dead is of all of us.  It is not just of the Christians but also of those who are not Christian.  All will hear Jesus' voice, even those who have rejected His voice.  The deeds spoken here in context are not physical good deeds and bad deeds.  This is not a verse to support any type of argument for justification by works.  The context lets us know that the good deeds are connected to believing on Jesus as the Son of God.  The bad deeds are connected to rejecting of Jesus as the Son of God.  Those who believe will experience eternal life in His presence.  Those who do not believe will experience an eternal life of judgment.  This is Jesus giving us another John 3:16 all over again.  Note one more time that the grave is not a barrier for Jesus.

v.30 - "I can do nothing on My own initiative.  As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me."

Let us go back to verse 19 and the start of this discourse from Jesus:

v.19 - Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner."

How intertwined is the Father and the Son.  How many times Jesus speaks of this connection to His hearers and to us.  Jesus brings judgment but His judgment is just, right, full of integrity, and love.  Jesus' judgment is backed by the Father who sent Him with this task of truth and love revealed to mankind.  

In the next passage, next Wednesday, Jesus will unveil 4 witnesses that point to Him.  The question is, "Will I accept these testimonies that point to Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God?"  Let us pray.

"Heavenly Father, how clear Jesus, the Son, is, that who He is, You are and who You are, He is.  Jesus is nothing less than God with us, Emmanuel.  I am so thankful that the grave is not a barrier to You.  Our physical life is not what is in Your sights.  May we have Your eyes to see those around us for their souls and spirits to call out to You.  Amen."

Pastor Adam