Put your trust in Jesus; recommit your life to Jesus because He is the only One the grave could not hold. He died for your sins, and He rose. His resurrection is not merely proof that He is powerful. It is the foundation of your resurrected hope.
John 5:18-29 – 18 This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
19 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. 21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. 22 For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
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.
What is the most terrifying reality of human existence? When I asked this to my 9-year-old son, Arius, without hesitation, he said, “That we’re all gonna die.” He is right. Death is the one appointment on your calendar you cannot reschedule. You can postpone a business meeting, delay a vacation, change careers, move to another city and start over, but you cannot negotiate with the grave. We are all walking toward a final destination with an eternity we cannot avoid.
The Problem
No one knows what lies beyond the grave and that terrifies us. People need to know that philosophy can offer guesses and religion can offer rituals, but neither can say with certainty what happens when we breathe our last breath because no man came back from the dead to tell what lies beyond the grave, except One, and His name is Jesus.
In John 5:18–29, that same Jesus declared that one day at His voice, every dead will rise either to face eternal judgment or receive eternal life.
The Big Idea
The final word does not belong to the grave; it belongs to Jesus, and one day, every cemetery, every ocean floor, and every forgotten plot of earth will surrender its dead to the voice of Jesus Christ. Therefore, the question is not whether you will be resurrected, because you will. The question is, at the resurrection, will you face eternal judgment or receive eternal life?
John 5:18–29 argues that it depends on whether you hear His voice today, believe in Him, and receive the life that Jesus possesses, proclaims, and produces. Let’s study God’s Word and see what it means that Jesus possesses, proclaims, and produces life.
Jesus Possesses Life (John 5:18-21)
Jesus possesses life because He is equal with God, as seen in John 5:18–21. The context of John 5:18 is that Jesus healed a paralyzed man on the Sabbath. The religious leaders considered that a crime punishable by death. To defend His actions, Jesus said in John 5:17, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” His statement was not merely about working on the Sabbath; it was a divine claim of equality with God.
John 5:18 tells us that this is how the Jewish leaders understood it, “This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.”
Instead of backing down, Jesus doubles down John 5:19–20a, “19 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing.” In that culture, a loving father who was a master craftsman would take his son beside him, show him his work, and teach him how to do it. Using that picture, Jesus declared that He acts in perfect harmony with the Father, and then he continues in John 5:20b, “And greater works than these will he [the Father] show him [the Son], so that you may marvel.”
We are told what these greater works are in John 5:21, “For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.” Unlike Buddha, Moses, Muhammad, and all other religious figures who pointed beyond themselves to seek life, Jesus points to Himself.
Jesus does not say, “I can teach you about life,” “I can point you toward life,” “I can pray that God will give you life.” He says, “The Son gives life” because John 1:4 says, “In him was life, and the life was the light of men.” Jesus possesses life in Himself; He is self-existing, self-generating life.
Gospel Truth
You cannot give what you do not possess. The dead religious man you might be praying to or praying through cannot do anything, let alone give life. Only Christ can do that because He possesses life in Himself.
The difference is like a man standing beside a dry riverbed holding an empty bucket. He can tell you about water, describe what it looks like, and tell you where people used to find it. But he cannot give you water because he has none. But imagine if you are standing beside a spring. You don’t need someone to tell you where the water came from; the spring is the source. Jesus is not merely pointing toward the source of life— Jesus is the source. This is why Hebrews 1:3 declares, “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature…”
Application
Don’t look to philosophy to find the meaning of life. Don’t look to good works or religious rituals either. Only Christ can give life. This leads us to the second truth.
Jesus Proclaims Life (John 5:22-27)
Jesus proclaims life because He is exalted by God as seen in John 5:22–27. John 5:22 reads, “For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son” because as explained in John 5:23, “that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.” The reason honoring the Son was so important to God that He handed the gavel of judgment over to Him is because God desires that all may honor Jesus. That is the idea of worship, adoration, and exaltation— so that every knee shall bow before Him and confess Him, Lord.
Jesus, in John 5:24 says it starts by hearing His Word, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” Notice the language— “has passed,” not will pass someday, not might pass.
Also, not because of good works but hearing Christ’s word and believing moves us from death to life; John 5:25 explains how it all work, “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.” In other words, our natural state is spiritual death; dead people can do nothing, good or bad. When we hear His voice that He died for our sins to offer us eternal life, and we put our faith in Jesus and not in our works or religion; we move from death to life.
John 5:26 highlights the nature of this life, “For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.” However, for those who reject Jesus, John 5:27 says, “And he [the Father] has given him [the Son] authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.” Jesus is not merely the giver of life; He is the Judge of it. Many love the forgiving Jesus but do not realize that He is also the judge to execute judgment.
Imagine a doctor looking at you and saying, “You have a disease that will kill you, but I have the cure.” You don’t need another opinion. You need to listen to the one who has the cure. Jesus is not merely offering advice to dying sinners. He is proclaiming life.
Gospel Truth
You don’t believe, obey, then get saved; rather, you believe, and immediately you are saved, and the Holy Spirit empowers you to obey.
Application
Today He is proclaiming life. He is saying, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one can go to the Father except through Me.” If you hear His voice and believe, you receive eternal life. If you don’t, know this: the voice you dismiss today is the voice you will hear on the last day, but that day it will proclaim judgment, not life.
Jesus Produces Life (John 5:28-29)
Jesus produces life because He is eternal God as seen in John 5:28–29a, which reads reads, “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.” Notice one word— all. Not some, not a few. All. The Christian will rise, and the skeptic will rise. The righteous, the wicked, the famous, the forgotten, the rich, the poor, the powerful and the powerless will rise. All will rise to face Jesus.
John 5:29 continues, “those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.” Jesus first explains two resurrections and then two destinies: a spiritual resurrection and a physical resurrection. Both resurrections are governed by the exact same voice: the voice of the Son of God, irrespective of the belief of the people.
The first funeral I ever attended was the funeral of the grandfather of my Muslim classmate in Pakistan. I was about 12 years old. Later, I discovered that Muslims and Christians bury their dead the same way but in different cemeteries. One day Christ will speak, and the cemetery will not ask whether the person believed in Jesus or not. The grave will simply obey the voice of Jesus.
The question is not simply: “What will happen when I die?” The more important question is: “Do I hear His voice now?” because Jesus says in John 5:25 that there is an hour that “is now here.” There is a resurrection happening right now. Dead hearts are being made alive. Sinners are being called to repentance. People who have been running from God are being called home, and people who have trusted themselves are being called to trust Christ.
Gospel Truth
If you have never trusted Jesus, you are spiritually dead because of sin. You cannot save yourself. Your morality cannot save you, your religion cannot save you, and your good works cannot save you. Only Jesus can. The Son of God took on flesh, came into this world, lived the righteous life you could not live, died the death you deserved, and rose from the grave in victory. The One who walked out of His own tomb is the One who will one day call you out of yours.
Application
If you hear His voice today, don’t harden your heart. Don’t wait for the resurrection of your body to discover that you needed the resurrection of your soul. Physical death is not our deepest problem; spiritual death is. You can live seventy, eighty, or ninety years and never truly live. You will live only if Jesus moves you from death to life.
Closing Thought
As I close, imagine standing in a cemetery on the last day. For thousands of years, humanity has followed the same pattern: people are born, people live, people die, and people return to dust. And then suddenly, the silence is shattered. Not by an earthquake. Not by an explosion. But by a voice. The voice of Jesus Christ. The voice that once said, “Lazarus, come out.” The voice that once said, “Little girl, arise.” The voice that once said, “Peace, be still.” The voice that once said, “Your sins are forgiven.” That voice will speak again. His voice will pierce the silence of every grave. The dust will hear Him. The ashes will hear Him. The forgotten bones will hear Him. The ocean floor will hear Him, and the dead will rise. Every person will stand before Christ. There will be a resurrection of life and a resurrection of judgment; no third category. No middle ground. No second opportunity after death.
Action Step
Don’t wait until the grave hears His voice. Listen to His voice now. If you believe in Him, He will move you from death to life because He possesses life, proclaims life, and produces life. Therefore, to believers, the Bible, in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 says this, “16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.”
Appeal
Put your trust in Jesus; recommit your life to Jesus because He is the only One the grave could not hold. He died for your sins, and He rose. His resurrection is not merely proof that He is powerful. It is the foundation of your resurrected hope.
The grave does not have the final word. Jesus does. Death does not have the final word. Jesus does. The cemetery does not have the final word. Jesus does. The Bible says, because He lives, you will live also.
The question is not whether you will be resurrected. The question is: will you be resurrected to life— or resurrected to judgment? If you want to be resurrected to life, then hear His voice today, believe in Him, be saved, and move from death to life.
Inductive Bible Study: Observation, Interpretation, Application
Observation: What Does the Text Say?
- In John 5:18, why were the Jewish religious leaders seeking to kill Jesus after He healed the paralyzed man on the Sabbath? What specific claims did He make that escalated their anger?
- In John 5:19–20, according to Jesus, how closely aligned are the actions of the Son with the actions of the Father?
- In John 5:25 & 28, what are the two types of “voices” and resurrections that Jesus describes in these verses? Who is included in the final resurrection mentioned in verse 28?
Interpretation: What Does the Text Mean?
- In John 5:26, how does Jesus’ claim that “the Son gives life to whom he will” distinguish Him from other historical teachers, prophets, or religious figures? What does it mean for Jesus to “have life in himself?”
- Why is it impossible, according to John 5:22-23, to truly honor or worship God the Father while rejecting the absolute lordship and identity of Jesus Christ?
- The Sunday message notes that physical death is merely a symptom, while spiritual death is our deepest tragedy. How does John 5:24 connect hearing Jesus’ Word and believing to a spiritual “passing from death to life?”
Application: How Should This Change Us?
- When facing existential fears like mortality, uncertainty, or grief, where do you find yourself instinctively looking for comfort (e.g., philosophy, control, busyness, religion) How does knowing that Jesus possesses life change how you face those fears?
- In what practical areas of your daily life is it tempting to compartmentalize—treating Jesus as a helpful teacher or savior, but hesitating to fully submit to Him as your absolute Master and Judge?
- John 5:25 speaks of spiritually dead hearts hearing His voice and living now. How can you cultivate a daily posture of actively “hearing? and responding to Christ’s voice in your routine?
- If every person you interact with this week is walking toward an inevitable eternity, how should that reality reshape your conversations, priorities, and urgency in sharing the gospel?