The Claims (5:19-47) - part 2 of 3

[24] Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
[25] Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
[26] For as the Father hath life in Himself; so Hath he given to the Son to have life in Himself.
[27] And hath given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of man.
[28] Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice,
[29] And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

Today, we discover the second of three claims Jesus makes in this early part of His earthly ministry. 

Second Claim: He said he had the power to bring the dead back to life (vv. 24–29).

Jesus said "verily, verily" again before His words (see John 5:19, 24–25). You will find Jesus using this serious way of speaking more than twenty times in John's gospel. It was as if He was saying, "Listen to this! . . . What I'm going to say is very important!"

In this interesting paragraph, Jesus talked about four different resurrections. He described the resurrection of lost sinners to eternal life (see John 5:24–25; Eph. 2:1–10). The sinner who is lost is as dead and helpless. No matter how an undertaker gets a body ready, it is still dead, and no corpse is "deader" than any other corpse. If you're dead, you're dead! The sinner who is lost can't save himself, and he definitely can't give himself life.

How do people who are spiritually dead come back to life? By listening to God's Word and putting your faith in His Son. Jesus healed the man who couldn't move at the pool with His Word (John 5:8). He spoke God's Word every time He brought someone back to life (Luke 7:11–17; 8:49–56; John 11:41–44). His Word is "living and powerful" (Heb. 4:12) and can bring sinners back to life. "Everlasting life" means they can never die spiritually again or be condemned (Rom. 8:1). To hear and believe His Word leads to salvation; to reject it leads to condemnation (John 12:48).

The second resurrection is the one that happened to our Lord (John 5:26). Our life comes from something else, but His life is "in Himself." John 1:4 says, "In Him was life." He is "the Prince of life" (Acts 2:24; 3:15), so the grave could not hold Him. Jesus gave up His life and then took it back (John 10:17–18). He can give life to everyone who trusts Him because He has life in Himself.

The third resurrection is the future resurrection of life, when people who believe in Jesus are brought back to life (John 5:28–29a). 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 and 1 Corinthians 15 explain this miraculous truth. Remember that resurrection is not the same as reconstructing. It doesn't mean that God "puts the pieces back together again." The resurrection body is a new, glorified body that is perfect for the new heavenly environment. For the believer, death is not the end, and he will not live in heaven as a spirit without a glorified body. God saves the whole person, body and all (Rom. 8:23; Phil. 3:20–21). When Jesus Christ comes back in the air and calls His people will experience this resurrection of life.

The fourth resurrection He talked about is the resurrection of condemnation (John 5:29b). This resurrection is only for the lost, and it will happen right before Jesus Christ brings in the new heaven and the new earth (Rev. 20:11–15). What an amazing thing it will be when the dead, "small and great," stand in front of Jesus Christ! The Father has given the Son the power to judge (John 5:22) and has given Him the power to carry out that judgment (John 5:27). Today, Jesus Christ is the Savior, but one day He will be the Judge.

The title “Son of man” used in John 5:27 refers to Daniel 7:13–14 and is a definite messianic title. It appears twelve times in John's gospel and more than eighty times in all four gospels. The Jews knew this title from Daniel, and they knew Jesus was claiming to be the Messiah and Judge.

Believers will receive resurrection bodies to reign with Christ in glory. Unbelievers will be given resurrection bodies—but not glorified bodies—that they might be judged and then suffer eternal punishment in those bodies. Bodies that were used for sin will suffer the consequences.

The fact that Jesus has the authority to raise the dead is proof that He is equal with the Father, and therefore He is God.