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Sermon

Jesus Declares His Divine Sonship, Part 2

Speaker
David Capoccia
Scripture
John 5:25-29

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In this sermon, Pastor Dave Capoccia finishes examining John 5:17-29 in which Jesus declares his divine sonship. John presents Jesus’ declaration of divine sonship so that you will not remain condemned in mere religious tradition but might find resurrection life in Jesus. In part 2, Pastor Dave covers John 5:25-29 and the final of three points in Jesus’ declaration:

1. Jesus’ Divine Sonship Justifies His Sabbath Work (vv. 17-18)
2. The Father and Son Are Intimately United (vv. 19-24)
3. The Son Gives Life and Exercises Judgment (vv. 25-29)
3a. Now, through the Gospel Message (vv. 25-27)
3b. Soon, through the Coming Resurrection (vv. 28-29)

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Note: This transcript and summary was autogenerated. It has not yet been proofread or edited by a human.

Summary

John 5:25-29 reveals Jesus’s declaration of His divine sonship and His God-given roles as lifegiver and judge. We are reminded that Jesus is fully God—of the same substance as the Father—as affirmed by Scripture and the early church at Nicaea. The passage teaches us that Jesus, even now, raises the spiritually dead to life through His gospel message, and that a future bodily resurrection awaits all people: one of life and one of judgment.

Key Lessons:

  1. Jesus’s voice has supernatural power to raise the spiritually dead to new life through the gospel message, and this work is happening right now.
  2. The Father has given the Son both the role of lifegiver and the role of judge, making Jesus the sole executor of God’s judgment over all humanity.
  3. Everyone will be resurrected—some to eternal life and some to eternal judgment—and a person’s deeds reveal what they truly believe in their heart.
  4. Salvation is free through faith in Christ, but genuine faith always produces visible fruit in how we live our lives.

Application: We are called to honestly examine whether we have truly heard and heeded the voice of the Son of God—not merely with intellectual assent or religious tradition, but with genuine repentance, faith, and a life that follows Jesus as Lord. We must not rest in church involvement, baptism, or moral conservatism as substitutes for a living relationship with Christ.

Discussion Questions:

  1. How does the distinction between “an hour is coming and now is” (v. 25) versus “an hour is coming” (v. 28) help us understand the “already and not yet” nature of Jesus’s saving and judging work?
  2. If works don’t save us but will be the evidence used at the final judgment, how should that reality shape the way we live each day?
  3. What religious traditions or external markers of faith might we be tempted to trust in instead of genuine, heart-level belief in and obedience to Jesus?

Scripture Focus: John 5:25-29 is the central passage, teaching that Jesus gives spiritual life now through His word and will raise all the dead in a future resurrection—some to life, some to judgment. Supporting passages include John 3:18, 3:36, 10:27-28, Daniel 7:13-14, and Psalm 2:12.

Outline

Introduction

God in heaven, like we were talking about in Sunday school this morning, we need you to open our eyes to your word. It is wondrous. It has life-giving truth in it. But unless you open our hearts to understand and to welcome the truth, it will not benefit us. It will only result in greater accountability and judgment.

God, I pray that you would open our understanding, cause us to love and accept these truths. Holy Spirit, I ask you to fill me, to empower me to speak this word in the way that Christ would have me speak it. Bless us all in this time. Transform us, we pray. Amen.

The Council of Nicaea and the Arian Controversy

Well, one of my passions is history. I love history, even church history. Thinking about today’s passage, there’s one event in church history that is particularly relevant. In AD 325, Christian church leaders from all over the Roman Empire met at what came to be known as the First Council of Nicaea. Nicaea is a city that’s in modern Turkey today.

These church leaders met to try and settle the Arian controversy that was dividing Christians everywhere at that time. What was the Arian controversy? Arianism was a movement centered around a certain teacher named Arius, who argued that Jesus, the Son of God, was not fully God but an exalted created being.

Arius’s trademark phrase was, “There was a time when the Son was not.” That is, there was a time in the past when the Son didn’t exist because God only begat him or created him later.

“Arius’s trademark phrase was, ‘There was a time when the Son was not.’”

Arius used various statements from the Bible to support his claim, especially statements about the Son being begotten or given life by the Father, or statements that seem to suggest that the Father was greater than the Son. Therefore, the gathered church leaders in 325 met in Nicaea and wrangled for more than a month over the question of how to describe biblically the relationship of God the Father and God the Son.

Were the Father and Son of different substance? Were the Father and Son of similar substance? Or were the Father and Son of the same substance, the same essence?

If the answer was anything but the same substance, then the Son might not be equal to the Father. He’s not the eternal God. But if the Son is of the same essence or substance, then he would have to be equal to God. He would have to be the one true God.

The Nicene Creed

Eventually, the council reached a consensus and published a document that came to be known as the Nicene Creed. Creed just means a formal statement of belief. A modified version of the Creed appeared in 381, and it became more popular. The Nicene Creed is the version most quoted today.

But the original Creed from 325 reads as follows. This is an English translation:

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of all things visible and invisible, and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father, the only begotten—that is, of the essence of the Father—God of God, light of light, very God of very God, begotten not made, consubstantial—that is, of the same substance—with the Father, by whom all things were made, both in heaven and on earth, who for us men and for our salvation came down and was incarnate and was made man. He suffered, and the third day he rose again, ascended into heaven. From then he shall come to judge the quick and the dead—that is, the living and the dead.

And in the Holy Ghost—that is, we believe in the Holy Ghost. But those who say, “There was a time when he was not,” and “He was not before he was made,” and “He was made out of nothing,” or “He is of another substance or essence,” or “The Son of God is created or changeable or alterable,” they are condemned by the Holy Catholic—that is, universal—and Apostolic church.

Nicene Creed (AD 325): “God of God, light of light, very God of very God, begotten not made, consubstantial with the Father.”

The Creed and Scripture

And that is the whole of the original Nicene Creed. Now, these ancient men in their Creed were not inspired by the Holy Spirit. The Creed does not equal Scripture, nor does it have Scripture’s same authority.

But is this Nicene Creed a faithful confession of what the Bible says about Jesus? Absolutely. According to the Bible, the man Jesus is the one true God.

And consequently, your eternal destiny—of either experiencing life forever or judgment forever—hinges upon what you believe about Jesus.

“According to the Bible, the man Jesus is the one true God.”

Setting the Stage: John 5

And let’s hear Jesus himself explain more of this monumental truth to us today. If you would take your Bibles and turn to John 5. Our message is “Jesus Declares His Divine Sonship, Part Two.”

I know it’s been a while since we’ve been in this chapter, so I’ll do some review. But we’re in John 5.

“Your eternal destiny hinges upon what you believe about Jesus.”

We read verses 1 to 30 earlier in the service. I’m going to read now verses 16 to 29. That’ll give us the most important context for the passage we’re focusing on today—verses 25 to 29. This is page 1064 if you’re using the Bibles that we’ve provided. Reading now John 5:16-29:

For this reason, the Jews were persecuting Jesus because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. But he answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I myself am working.” For this reason, therefore, the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him because he not only was breaking the Sabbath but also was calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

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. Whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. 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. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom he wishes.

For not even the Father judges anyone, but he has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and does not come into judgment but has passed out of death into life.

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. 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.”

Review: Jesus’s Sabbath Healing and Jewish Opposition

Recall that John 5:1-47 is one united section of narrative and teaching in John. In 5:1-16, our author, the Apostle John, presents Jesus’s third sign—miracle—in this gospel. Jesus heals a sick man by the pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem on the Sabbath. The miracle itself certainly is a clear sign in confirmation that Jesus is the Messiah of God. But Jesus specifically did the miracle on the Sabbath to reveal something about the Jews and something about himself.

For you will remember, the Jews—that is, the Jewish religious leaders—get very angry with Jesus about his healing on the Sabbath because Jesus, in doing so, breaks the Jewish religious tradition. God commanded in the Old Testament that Jews should not do any work on the Sabbath, meaning that they should not do regular farm work, commercial business, or household chores, but should rest instead and find refreshment and show trust in God.

“Jesus specifically did the miracle on the Sabbath to reveal something about the Jews and something about himself.”

But the Jewish rabbis, wanting to put a fence around God’s law and make sure that no one accidentally violated God’s commands—which would, in their thinking, result in the Jews’ acceptance and blessing from God—these rabbis eventually interpreted the Sabbath rule to also mean that one could not carry anything, no matter how big or how small it is to carry. You could not carry anything on the Sabbath. And you couldn’t even heal on the Sabbath. That would violate the tradition and risk violating the command of God.

Now, Jesus, for his part, could have exposed the unjustified ridiculousness of the Jews’ Sabbath tradition. That’s not what he chooses to do in this instance. Rather, Jesus takes the opportunity to reveal his divine sonship and equality with the Father. Indeed, in verses 17-29, Jesus declares his divine sonship. And then in verses 30-47, Jesus defends his divine sonship by pointing to multiple avenues of testimony.

Now, last time we were in the passage together, we began to see how Jesus declares his divine sonship. And we articulated our author John’s purpose in verses 17-29 in this way: Here’s the main idea. John presents Jesus’s declaration of divine sonship so that you—the audience, the readers, the listeners—will not remain condemned in mere religious tradition but might find resurrection life in Jesus.

Jesus’s declaration of divine sonship consists of three points. There’s an introductory point and two main points. And we looked at the introductory point and the first main point last time. This is more review.

Jesus’s introductory point appears in verses 17-18. And that point is number one: Jesus’s divine sonship justifies his Sabbath work. Jesus’s divine sonship justifies his Sabbath work.

The Jews were objecting to Jesus working on the Sabbath, even though God himself works every Sabbath to keep the world going, to be a blessing to his people. Jesus then reveals that God is Jesus’s own Father. Thus, it is entirely appropriate for Jesus, the Son, to do exactly what his Father does—even work on the Sabbath. Like Father, like Son.

Review: The Father and Son Are Intimately United

Well, the Jews did not miss what Jesus was claiming in such a response. Jesus was claiming nothing less than full equality with God. Unwilling to entertain this claim, even for a moment, from a violator of their religious tradition, the Jews were told in the text they sought all the more to kill Jesus, God’s own Son. But Jesus doesn’t back off. Rather, he further explains his introductory point with a second main point in verses 19 to 24.

This is number two: The Father and Son are intimately united. Jesus clarifies to the Jews that God’s Son never does anything on his own but joins the divine Father in every work that the Father himself is doing. Thus, by working on the Sabbath, Jesus is not making himself equal with God or asserting some right, abusing some right that does not really belong to the Son. It’s quite the contrary.

“God’s Son never does anything on his own but joins the divine Father in every work the Father himself is doing.”

Jesus is merely manifesting what has always been true about himself and the Father and accomplishing what a perfect Son must always do, since he and the Father are determined to work together. Jesus further clarifies that the Father loves and is so determined to honor his Son that the Father has given the Son even greater works to do than healing on the Sabbath—healing a mere sick man on the Sabbath.

What are these works? Jesus says it’s giving life and exercising judgment on the Father’s behalf. The intended results of these greater works is not simply so that people will marvel, but that all will give the same honor to God the Son as they should give to God the Father, even by believing and heeding the Son’s word to escape judgment and receive eternal life.

You see, Jesus has already clarified up to this point: there is no true believing in or honoring the Father without also believing in and honoring the Son. Father and Son are so intimately united that if you miss or reject Jesus, you miss and reject God. And therefore, you will never pass out of death—where you are—into life.

The Son Gives Life and Exercises Judgment

All this we have seen thus far. But Jesus has something further to say in declaration of his divine sonship. And this is what we see in verses 25 to 29. At first glance, these verses may seem like a simple repetition of what we’ve already heard in verses 19 to 24. But these new words from Jesus represent more than repetition.

In these verses, Jesus takes what he revealed generally about himself and the roles given to him by the Father, and he makes them more concrete. He’s declaring how both now and in the future the divine Son gives life and executes judgment. Again, our author John includes these words for us in his gospel so that we will not remain condemned in mere religious tradition but might instead believe and find resurrection life in Jesus.

So we arrive at our third point and the second main point in Jesus’s declaration of divine sonship. Number three: The Son gives life and exercises judgment. Now, since this is the only new point that we’re going to be covering today, I’ll give you two sub-points to go under it. How does the Son give life and exercise judgment?

“The Son gives life and exercises judgment.”

Now, Through the Gospel Message

Our first sub-point is in verses 25 to 27. 3A: Through the gospel message, the Son gives life and exercises judgment. We can see this for ourselves as we walk through the passage, starting at the beginning of verse 25.

“Truly, Truly” — Something Amazing to Believe

Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you.” This is the third time Jesus has used this phrase as a favorite phrase of his—the third time we’ve seen it in this chapter. Once again, this opener indicates that Jesus is about to say something amazing, something that’s hard to believe, surprising, shocking.

But it’s something worthy to be believed because it’s true. Believe what I’m about to tell you, Jesus says.

“Jesus is indicating he’s about to say something amazing, hard to believe, but worthy to be believed because it’s true.”

An Hour Is Coming and Now Is

What amazing truth does Jesus now declare? Well, next phrase in verse 25: “An hour is coming and now is.” This is another phrase that we’ve seen before, isn’t it? If you just glance back to John 4:23, Jesus used the same phrase when he was speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well.

John 4:23: “But an hour is coming and now is when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such people the Father seeks to be his worshippers.”

Back in John 4:23, Jesus revealed to the Samaritan woman that Jesus’s arrival on the Earth is already initiating a fundamental change in the nature of true and acceptable worship to God. “An hour is coming and now is.” By using that same phrase again here in John 5:25, Jesus reveals that something else new is happening now.

Now that Jesus is on the Earth, the hour is not simply coming, not simply be something marvelous happening in the future. No, it’s something marvelous happening right now and something marvelous that will continue to happen in the future.

“The hour is not simply coming — it’s something marvelous happening right now.”

What will be and even is happening now? The rest of verse 25: “When the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.” This is a more specific declaration of what we’ve already heard in verse 21 from Jesus about a greater work given by the Father to the Son to do.

Jesus told us, “The Son also gives life to whom he wishes.” But how does the Son give or impart life?

The Dead Hear the Voice of the Son of God

Verse 25 is giving us the specifics. He does it through his voice. All the Son must do to give life is speak. And to whom does the Son speak? Verse 25 says he speaks to the dead. The dead will hear his voice, and those who hear will live.

Now, that’s a strange statement, isn’t it? Because how well do dead people hear? Not very well. The dead don’t hear anything at all. You could go up to a casket at a funeral and shout at the body, “Wake up! Wake up!” I don’t recommend doing that. And guess what? That person will not wake up. He will not respond at all. And why? Because he’s dead. A dead person cannot hear you.

But Jesus says it’s different with him. His voice is no ordinary voice because he is no ordinary man. Notice it says in verse 25, “They will hear the voice of the Son of God.” That’s interesting. Jesus rarely uses the title “Son of God” for himself in the gospels, but he does so here. This title for Jesus not only expresses his full deity—as the Son of God, he must be God—but it also emphasizes his power.

You can be sure that when the Son of God speaks, even the dead will listen. But more than that, verse 25 says, “Those who hear the Son of God, the voice of the Son of God, they will live.” What on earth is this? Someone has a voice so powerful that it even raises the dead? That’s right. Jesus has that kind of voice.

“When the Son of God speaks, even the dead will listen.”

What exactly does Jesus mean by “dead” and “live” here? Is Jesus talking about physical resurrection, that Jesus can command people with his voice to come back to physical life? Well, certainly Jesus can do that and will do that. Even in this book, the last of the seven miraculous signs that John presents to us in this gospel—proving that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God—is Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead in John 11.

And do you remember how that happens? Jesus doesn’t pour some chemical over Lazarus’s body or zap Lazarus with some machine. What does Jesus do? How does he do it? He speaks. He cries out, “Lazarus, come forth!” And what does John 11:44 say? “The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth.”

Well, the dead indeed heard the voice of the Son of God, and the one who heard lived. That’s power. That’s authority. And I like one person’s observation. It’s a good thing that Jesus added “Lazarus” to the beginning of that command, or else all the dead would have come forth.

But back to John 5:25. Could Jesus be referring to his power to bring about physical resurrection with a word? Well, Jesus says, “An hour is coming and now is,” emphasizing that the time of the amazing reality he speaks of has already arrived. But no one has been physically raised from the dead at this point in Jesus’s ministry—at least as recorded in John’s gospel. And Lazarus’s raising is some time and narrative distance away.

Spiritual Resurrection Through the Gospel

Does that really qualify for “the hour is coming and now is”? More importantly, in just the previous verse, verse 24, Jesus said that those who believe his word have eternal life and have already passed out of death into life. So Jesus has already been talking about how he gives people life. That’s the best way to understand Jesus’s words in verse 25.

These are not references to physical resurrection but to spiritual resurrection. Jesus speaks to spiritually dead sinners and raises them to spiritual life and salvation. What does Jesus speak to these sinners? He speaks the truth about himself. He speaks the message of the gospel. It is the declared and received word of Jesus that coincides with new spiritual life.

This indeed is a reality that is, as Jesus says, coming and already is, because Jesus the preacher is here, and he’s declaring the message of the kingdom. He would entrust this same message, the same saving gospel, the message of the good news about the person and work of Jesus, to his Apostles after him and even to us today.

“It is the declared and received word of Jesus that coincides with new spiritual life.”

Even though Jesus is no longer physically on the earth, his voice—his life-giving voice—is still being heard through his gospel. Jesus is declaring in verse 25 that as part of his work as the faithful divine Son, he is raising to spiritual and eternal life, through his word, all the sinners—all the dead, spiritually dead sinners—who have been ordained to life by the Father.

Those Who Truly Hear Will Live

And one of the marks of these regenerated sinners is that they hear Christ’s word. If we look back to verse 24, we saw that same verb being used. It says, “Those who hear the word of the Son and believe in the one who sent him have eternal life.” The same idea here in verse 24 is appearing in verse 25.

We’re not talking about people who merely have the words of Jesus enter their ears, but people who listen to it, who heed it, who respond to it, who ultimately follow Jesus as a new master. Those are the ones who have been given new life by Jesus’s word.

Compare John 10:27-28. Jesus will say, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”

John 10:27-28: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give eternal life to them.”

Already we have a question that we can ask ourselves that the Spirit would want us to ask: Have I heard the voice of the Son of God through his Bible? And have I responded by heeding Christ’s word to believe in and follow after him?

The Father Gave the Son Life in Himself

Yet how can Jesus, the man, now exercise this extraordinary power of God, even to give life to the dead? Well, Jesus himself provides the answer in John 5:26.

John 5:26: “Just as the Father has life in himself, even so he gave to the Son also to have life in himself.”

If not interpreted carefully, this verse could easily seem like a “gotcha” verse confirming Arianism—that Jesus is not the same substance, not equal with the Father, and therefore is not God. Because look, the Arian might say, “The Father eternally had life in himself, but he had to give to the Son that quality. The Son didn’t have life in himself. The Father had to give it to him. Which means that the Son did not, or the Son must not be eternal. The Son is inferior to the Father. He’s a created being who needs life from the Father. Jesus is not God.”

Eternal Generation and the Trinity

But such an assertion from John 5:26 would be wrong for two reasons. First, and follow me on this: part of a biblical understanding of the Trinity is an affirmation of what theologians call the eternal generation of the Son. That is, that the Son is begotten from the Father, but not in time, in eternity.

After all, to truly be God’s Son, the Son must somehow be begotten or generated by his Father. That’s what a son is. Yet there never was a time when the Son was not begotten. The Son has been eternally established in a sonship relationship with the Father.

We could even say—but in a way we cannot fully understand—using the words of verse 26, the Father, who has life in himself, eternally gave to the Son so that the Son also might have life in himself.

This truth, by the way, is reflected in the Nicene Creed. Did you notice the very specific language where the writers say the Son was “begotten but not made”? The Son’s begetting is not like any begetting we know on Earth. He wasn’t begotten like people are begotten. There wasn’t any creation. There wasn’t any making of a new being who didn’t exist before.

No, the Son is eternally generated or eternally begotten.

“The Son’s begetting is not like any begetting we know on Earth. The Son is eternally generated or eternally begotten.”

Now, there’s a lot of mystery to that truth, but that’s what the Bible teaches us. And by the way, there’s a similar truth when it comes to the Spirit, called the eternal procession of the Spirit. But I’m not going to get into that right now.

All this to say, John 5:26 does not contradict biblical trinitarianism. It fits fine with that.

Roles Given to the Son in His Incarnation

But there’s a second and more important reason to counter any Arian assertion based on this verse. Verse 26 is most likely not talking about the fundamental internal workings of the Trinity at all, but instead these special external roles given by the Father to the Son as part of the Son’s incarnation work. We’re not talking about the nature of the Trinity. We’re talking about the work given to the different persons of the Trinity, and specifically the Son.

For notice the first part of verse 27 says something similar to what we see in verse 26. Look at verse 27 now: “And he gave him authority to execute judgment.” The Son’s role of having life in himself and giving that life to whomever the Son wishes is not the only role that the Father gave to the Son. The Father also gave the role of executing all judgment, the role of judging who is worthy of condemnation, who is condemned, and then carrying out the appropriate sentence of punishment for that condemned person.

So verses 26 and 27 together are talking about the roles given to the Son in his incarnation. Thus, verse 26 is not most likely talking about the Son’s essence but his work. The Father ordains that the Son should be the lifegiver for mankind. That’s what verse 26 is telling us.

“The Father ordains that the Son should be the lifegiver for mankind.”

The Son of Man from Daniel 7

And why are both these roles—lifegiver and judge—particularly appropriate for Jesus, the Son? Well, the end of verse 27 tells us: “Because he is the Son of Man.” At first glance, the reasoning Jesus reports here seems awfully simple. Jesus should play the role of lifegiver and judge of mankind because Jesus himself is a man.

Man is best judged by someone from his own kind. That makes sense that Jesus should be the judge.

Such thinking makes a certain amount of sense. But let’s not forget there is more to the title “Son of Man” than an expression of Jesus’s full humanity. It is that, but there’s a context to that title. The title “Son of Man” is also a reference to glorious and even divine messiahship due to what is written in Daniel 7:13-14.

I’ll read that to you. Daniel 7:13-14: “I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven, one like a Son of Man was coming. And he came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion, glory, and a kingdom that all the peoples, nations, and men of every language might serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away, and his kingdom is one which will not be destroyed.”

You see, Jesus is not given the role of lifegiver and judge of mankind simply because Jesus is a man, but because Jesus is the God-man, God’s chosen Messiah—even the very staircase between heaven and earth upon which angels ascend and descend, like Jesus said in John 1:51: “You will see the angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

Truly, as the one who is in himself the bridge between God and mankind, the Son is the perfect choice to be God’s lifegiver and judge for all men.

“As the bridge between God and mankind, the Son is the perfect choice to be God’s lifegiver and judge for all men.”

Already and Not Yet: Judgment Has Begun

Let’s now take a step back, though, to consider an implication in verses 25 to 27 together. If Jesus, as the faithful divine Son, is already about the business of spiritual resurrection by his supernatural voice—even his preached word and gospel message—what about the business of judgment?

After all, if Jesus determines not to give you the life that God gave to the Son to have in himself, what is Jesus doing with you? Hasn’t our author already told us in this gospel?

John 3:18. Jesus speaking: “He who believes in Him is not judged. He who does not believe has been judged already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

Or John 3:36. This time it’s John the Baptist speaking: “He who believes in the Son has eternal life presently, but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him presently.”

You see, brethren, there is an “already and not yet” quality to the Son’s ordained role with mankind. These great works the Father has given him—as we’ll see in a moment—Jesus’s work of spiritual resurrection is an anticipation of the full physical resurrection to come, the resurrection unto eternal life with God. He’s doing now what he’s going to do in an even greater way in the future.

“Jesus’s work of spiritual resurrection is an anticipation of the full physical resurrection to come.”

But now let’s consider the opposite side. Just as there is a waiting for all sinners a final judgment, there must be a judgment that has already begun and it’s currently being executed on all who refuse to hear and heed the Son. Ask yourself this: Who is executing that judgment? Is it not the one to whom the Father has already given over all judgment?

Because this one is the Son of Man. Brethren, the one ordering every person who dies in his sins to be thrown into hell is the Son whose eyes are a flame of fire and whose feet are like bronze that has been heated in a furnace, glowing. What could be more fearful to a religious person than to hear from the lips of the Savior, “Depart from me into the outer darkness. I never knew you, you who practice lawlessness.”

Yes, Jesus came primarily to save, not to judge. But he nevertheless has been appointed as God’s sole executor of judgment. Do not ignore this great Savior. Believe in Jesus, the Son. Heed his word so that you will not remain condemned.

If you haven’t done this, you are already condemned. Do not remain condemned in mere religious tradition, but instead find resurrection life in Jesus.

Soon, Through the Coming Resurrection

The Son gives life and executes judgment even now through the gospel message. But there’s more. Because what the Son does now is in one sense just a picture of the fullness to come.

We now come to our second sub-point in verses 28 to 29. The Son also gives life and executes judgment soon, through the coming resurrection.

Look at the beginning of verse 28: “Do not marvel at this.” This is a phrase that’s similar to what Jesus said at the beginning of verse 25. In verse 25, Jesus says his listeners should not disbelieve what he’s about to say. But in verse 28, Jesus looks back on what he just said, and he says again that you should not find it too incredible to believe.

That the Son of Man is already giving life and executing judgment. Why not? Well, Jesus is about to explain to us because the Son is going to do the same acts in an even greater way in the future, the same kind of work.

Let’s look at the rest of verse 28 and the first part of verse 29. “For an hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and will come forth.”

“The Son is going to do the same acts in an even greater way in the future.”

Notice the similarity and the differences here in verse 28 and the beginning of verse 29 to Jesus’s statement in verse 25. We again have the voice of the Son causing the dead to come forth from their tombs. But notice what’s different. “An hour is coming,” Jesus says, but he does not add “and now is,” which means that this is not a present reality but a future one.

All Who Are in the Tombs Will Come Forth

And which dead are coming forth? Not some who hear and heed Jesus’s word and thereby receive eternal life, but everyone. All who are in the tombs. Everyone who’s in the grave. Everyone who’s dead. And no worries that person’s body was cremated or disintegrated or whatever. The powerful Son of God is perfectly able to reconstitute those persons in resurrection.

Indeed, behold, in an even greater way, the power and authority of Jesus, the Son. He will speak, and all the dead will come forth. Not some, not most—all will come forth in resurrection.

Now, somebody’s not paying attention. What comes afterwards? This declaration up to this point may sound like wonderful news. Everyone’s going to be brought back to life in the end. That’s great, isn’t it?

“He will speak, and all the dead will come forth. Not some, not most — all will come forth in resurrection.”

Two Resurrections: Life and Judgment

Well, I’m afraid it’s only great for those who are in Jesus. But notice the rest of verse 29: “Those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.” The fact is that everyone is going to live forever. There is no truth to annihilationism—the idea that God’s final judgment on the wicked will consist in their being destroyed and finally put out of existence.

No, though every human soul has a definite beginning, every human soul will not see an end. Thus, the promise of eternal life in Jesus is not so much about longevity of existence but quality of existence. Notice Jesus reveals here that there are two kinds of coming resurrection: one of life and one of judgment.

“The promise of eternal life in Jesus is not so much about longevity of existence but quality of existence.”

What do those phrases mean? Other scriptures help fill in the details a bit, but the Bible is not totally exhaustive in describing what these are.

Those who one day receive the resurrection of life receive new glorified physical bodies that have been made fit for a delightful existence in God’s kingdom forever. We’re told in the Bible that Jesus’s resurrected body is a preview of the resurrection that is awaiting all God’s people.

They will receive bodies made for life in the fullest sense, designed even for dwelling in God’s presence in the new heavens and the new earth, without any sin or death or pain or tears or futility. Truly, to be part of the resurrection of life means joy beyond your ability to imagine.

But there’s another resurrection: a resurrection of judgment. And as you might expect, it is a resurrection that is completely opposite to the resurrection of life. Those who one day receive the resurrection of judgment also receive new physical bodies, but not for experiencing life in the greatest measure, but death instead.

These bodies are designed for punishment and pain, for the experience of maximum suffering under the burning holy wrath of God forever. These bodies are not designed for the kingdom of God but for the Lake of Fire, from which there is no escape and no relief from torment.

If the resurrection of life means joy beyond imagination, then the resurrection of judgment means horror beyond anyone’s worst nightmare.

Deeds Reveal What You Truly Believe

You do not want to be part of the resurrection of judgment. So here’s an important question: How do you know which resurrection you are headed toward? The answer, according to verse 29, might surprise you. It comes down to your deeds.

Jesus says those who did good receive the resurrection of life, while those who committed evil receive the resurrection of judgment.

But I thought salvation was by faith, someone might say. And didn’t you just say, Pastor Dave, that those who fail to believe in Jesus are the ones judged? Why does verse 29 now suggest that God in the end will establish salvation by works?

The answer is simple. God will not inaugurate salvation by works. He’s not going to change his mind at the last minute. But works are the clearest external demonstration of what you really believe, what’s in your heart.

After all, if you look around this room at all the other people here, how do you know who really believes in Jesus? You don’t, do you? Because you cannot see their hearts. You can get a pretty good idea, though, of what they believe based on how they live, what they say and do.

“Works are the clearest external demonstration of what you really believe, what’s in your heart.”

Our observations and interpretation of the evidence is not perfect, but we could still get a pretty good idea. But in the final judgment, there is a similar reality at play. There will be no room for one to protest to the judge that despite appearances, that person really did believe, so God should spare and accept that person.

The judge who has meticulously observed and recorded every person’s every deed in his books would simply say to such a protester, “Your record doesn’t lie. You showed what you believed. You showed what was in your heart by what you said and did. Therefore, there is no question that you are justly condemned as a law breaker, inside and out.”

The Son Oversees the Final Judgment

We should ask again: Who will oversee this final assessment of each person? Whose powerful voice will raise every person and place them either in the resurrection of life or the resurrection of judgment? The answer is Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God.

“Whose powerful voice will raise every person and place them either in the resurrection of life or judgment? Jesus of Nazareth.”

Can you see more now why even religious persons cannot ignore, play games with, or reject Jesus, the Son? He himself declares that the Father has appointed him the lifegiver and judge.

He’s already going about the business of spiritual resurrection and condemnation. But the full work of resurrection life and judgment is coming soon.

Application: Heed the Son and Find Life

What should you do? What should any sinner do? It is to heed the exhortation of Psalm 2:12. Psalm 2:12: “Do homage to the Son, or as other translations put it, kiss the Son, that he not become angry and you perish in the way, for his wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in him.”

Psalm 2:12: “Do homage to the Son, that he not become angry and you perish in the way. How blessed are all who take refuge in him.”

My friends, you must believe in the Son. You must heed his word. Don’t give lip service. Heed his word so that you will not remain condemned in mere religious tradition but find in him resurrection life instead—both now, spiritually, and in the future, physically and eternally.

Do not trust in your religious tradition, your man-made rules, your church involvement, your political conservatism, your baptism, your Bible knowledge. None of these things will save you. Rather, do you love, believe, and follow with a whole heart Jesus as your Savior and Lord? That’s the only way you can find life.

Do you believe in Jesus, and is it showing up in how you live? If Jesus were to break open your record book right now, the verdict would be obvious: “Yes, he clearly loves me. She clearly loves me. Believes in me. He’s no fake. She’s no fake.”

None of us would ever be good enough for God on our own. If it came down to our performance, even our righteous deeds are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). But Jesus offers his own righteousness to all those who turn from their sins and believe in him.

The Cost and the Gain

Won’t you take him up on that offer? It’s free and available for every one of you right now. He’s glad to give it to you. Know that even though it’s free, it will cost you everything. It will cost you your sins, yourself, your effort to earn God’s favor, your desires and plans for your life. It may even cost you your friends, your family, your health, your wealth, and your life.

But no matter what you lose, consider what you gain instead. You get Jesus. You get the Son of God. You get the resurrection life, the eternal life that only he has. And as a bonus, you get the church. You get a new family of brothers and sisters in the Lord. You get the Lord’s kind Providence, his love directing your life, caring for you all your days, even in the midst of suffering.

“No matter what you lose, consider what you gain instead. You get Jesus. You get the Son of God.”

Closing Exhortation

Isn’t that worth giving up everything, even the greatest treasures of this world? Because those things are quickly fading and passing away.

There’s some irony in this declaration of divine sonship from Jesus. He says all this in response to the Jews who are judging him as a Sabbath breaker and blasphemer who deserves death.

Jesus reveals in his response that far from being worried about their judgment of him, they ought to be concerned about his judgment of them because he is the Son of God. He has, even in this reply, given his enemies—those who are trying to kill him—a chance to repent, an opportunity to respond to the voice of the Son.

And he’s doing the same for all of us who hear this word today.

“Far from being worried about their judgment of him, they ought to be concerned about his judgment of them.”

How will you respond to his voice? I pray that it’s with repentance and faith, even with a commitment to follow him. Not perfectly—that’s never going to happen—but doggedly, determinedly, until he comes or until you see him face to face.

Closing Prayer

Let me close in prayer. Jesus, what can we say? What can we say in light of this incredible revelation? We see your goodness, and we see your severity at the same time. Oh, it is, as we’ve sung today, your grace is magnificent. It covers all our sins.

You raise the dead to life. You give them eternal life so that they can look forward to the final resurrection where there is only joy forever more.

Oh, but Lord, for those who trifle with you, Jesus, those who only give you lip service, what a fearful expectation of judgment. You would rather people turn and be saved. But you will execute judgment on your Father’s behalf, and that judgment will not err in the slightest, for you do not seek your own will but the will of him who sent you, and your judgment is just.

My Lord God, I thank you for salvation in Jesus Christ. I thank you for covering from the wrath of God. I thank you for life eternal. But I am so concerned, Lord. I’m so concerned for my brethren and the people who are listening to this message today.

Oh, Lord, may it never be that someone today who heard this message, who’s hearing this message, convinces themselves that they know you while they walk in darkness and therefore set themselves up for the greatest, terrifying surprise when they see you, Lord.

Thank you that salvation is not by works. But God, we want to be afraid of false belief. Let all those who call upon the name of the Lord depart from wickedness. Your word says, we know, Lord, your Spirit is in the business of sanctifying us.

We are not yet sanctified as we need to be, but you’re not done with us yet. We want to become more like you. We want to follow after you more faithfully.

And we believe your Spirit will continue that work in us. But Lord, if there’s any here who do not truly know you, who have not responded to your voice with true repentance and faith, I pray that they would do it today, right now. They would not waste any more time nor risk your judgment.

Glorify yourself in the salvation of sinners. You love to do that, and we love to see that.

For those of us who do know you, Lord, I pray that we would be so thrilled that we have such a Savior and that we might cling to you even more closely. In Jesus’s name, I pray. Amen.

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