The Reality of the Resurrection

We'll take your Bible this morning, turn with me to John, John chapter 5. We are still proceeding in our series, Christ the Son of God, Believe and Live. We will be in verses 25 through 29. Your Bible could possibly have the paragraph break at verse 24, but we're going to be in verse 25 through 29. Now we're continuing in this portion of Scripture. When I say continuing, there's one portion of Scripture that all goes together. This is that event between Jesus and the religious leadership. Now you should remember, in verses 1 through 17, Jesus really created a situation when He healed the crippled man there on the Sabbath.

Of course, the Jewish leadership saw this a violation of the Old Testament law. Then in verses 17 through 24, we saw how Jesus really escalated the situation by declaring that He was not bound by their legalistic rules concerning the Sabbath, and He also declared equality with God. Wednesday night we built on what we've been looking at in verse 24. We saw how these truths that we've been learning are fleshed out in conversion. We learned that those who receive eternal life move positionally from death to life. Now in our verses this morning, we will be continuing in this exchange between Jesus and the religious leadership.

Jesus introduces in a more in-depth way because He's already introduced it, but He goes in more in-depth in the subject of the resurrection. Now you might not realize it, but the resurrection of the dead was a hotly debated subject in Jesus' day. I need to give you a little history so that it would be in your mind and you will understand why this was a slightly tenuous situation. Now two of the main religious parties, the Pharisees and the Sadducees, differed on the subject of the resurrection. The Pharisees held to the entire Hebrew Bible as the Word of God.

What I mean by that, they would have looked at the Old Testament scriptures as we know it and they would have tested and held to that as the written Word of God. Now the Pharisees, they came out of, they emerged as the dominant party in Jewish life because of how they handled Israel coming out of Babylonian captivity. They correctly identified that Israel had abandoned God's law and they understood that the punishment of God, the judgment of God was because of that abandonment. Now they believed in resurrection and this would have come from their acceptance and understanding of the entire Old Testament scriptures.

Now the Sadducees were the more affluent of the two. They were more acceptable of Greek influence and Greek thought and they saw Greek influence as really an economical benefit. They were considered more liberal in their theology and their beliefs and they held only to the Pentateuch. Now the Pentateuch are the first five books of the Bible. They only held to those as authoritative scriptures. Because of this, they did not believe in bodily resurrection. They also didn't believe in certain other things like angels and other things that we do not have time to get into. But what am I showing you?

The two main religious groups, religious groups in Jewish life in Jesus' day hotly debated this subject of resurrection. Now we see this illustrated in Paul's testimony in ministry. I hope you understand Paul was a Jew of Jews and he was also a Pharisee. Now when Paul was arrested and he was before the Jewish council, he brought this issue, this difference up before the council. If you know the situation, he was really being sly like a fox. Acts chapter 23 verse 6 through 9, Paul perceived that one part of the council were the Sadducees and the other part were the Pharisees.

He cried out in the council, he says, "Brothers, I'm a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial." In other words, he threw that hot topic out there right in front of him. When he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The assembly was divided. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection nor angel nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledged them all. Then a great clamor arose and some of the scribes of the Pharisees stood up and contended sharply. We find nothing wrong with this man. Now what do we see?

Paul used that to his advantage, but in using that to his advantage, he revealed for us the difference in the understanding, interpretation, and belief on this subject of the resurrection between the Pharisees and Sadducees. This was hotly debated in Jewish life and a very popular debate. Of course, the belief in the resurrection is found all throughout the Scriptures. You might not know it, but Abraham, the father of the Jewish faith, believed that God could raise Isaac from the dead. We see that in Genesis 22, verse 5, and also in the New Testament in Hebrews 11, verses 17 through 19.

Job, Job spoke of the resurrection in Job chapter 14, verse 14. And later on in the New Testament, Jesus taught on the resurrection not only right here, but in other verses, Luke chapter 14, verse 14. And the apostles taught on the resurrection as well. As a matter of fact, Paul defended the doctrine of the resurrection in 1 Corinthians, so much so that he devoted one entire chapter, chapter 15, to defending the doctrine of the resurrection. So what am I showing you? I'm showing you the reality of the resurrection. Now, that's the title of the message this morning, the reality of the resurrection.

That is the subject at hand right here, starting in verse 24 on down to verse 29. Now, I said that this is truth that he's introducing. He's really not introducing truth because he's been alluding to the truths about the resurrection all along in these verses, starting in verses 19. So we're going to look at the reality of the resurrection. Now, let me give you the three main truths that we're going to look at. The main truths we'll look at are, number one, the spiritual resurrection out of verse 25. The spiritual resurrection out of verse 25. And number two, we will study the power of resurrection in verse 26 through 27.

The power of resurrection in verse 26 through 27. And then number three, the physical resurrection in verse 28 through 29. You could abbreviate those truths, the spiritual, the power, and the physical resurrection. And really, we're just taking these verses, we're dividing them, and we're letting the truth come to the surface. We will see how Jesus has been alluding to this direct teaching really all along, starting in verse 19. As you're continuing to write those notes down, I will go ahead and read the verses starting in verse 25.

Jesus says, "Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and now is when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear shall 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 shall hear His voice, and shall come forth those who did the good deeds to the resurrection of life, and those who committed the evil deeds to the resurrection of judgment." To the resurrection of judgment.

Now, before we dive into these verses, I will refer you to the beginning of verse 25. This is very familiar language, truly, truly. We saw this previously in verse 24. We saw this previously in other verses, verse 19. This is a habit of Jesus. Now, I want to touch on this one more time. What Jesus is saying is, He is saying in an emphatic manner, "What I'm saying to you, what I'm teaching to you is very true. It is extremely important, and you really need to take notice." So with Jesus' example in our minds, I want us to really take notice as to what we're looking at. So truth number one, the spiritual resurrection.

"Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear shall live." Now, all the translations that we study virtually say the same thing. But what we see here is in verse 25, Jesus is teaching on spiritual resurrection. This is not the first time Jesus had mentioned resurrection. Earlier in verse 21, Jesus declared that both the Father and the Son have power to give life. What is that speaking of? Spiritual resurrection. Both of these verses are dealing. Verse 25 and verse 21 are dealing with the giving of spiritual life. So let's break this verse down.

We're going to notice four things out of this verse. Notice the timing of the resurrection, the timing of this resurrection. What does he say? "An hour is coming, and now is." Now, notice there is a seeming contradiction in the language. An hour is come, and now is. An hour is coming, and now is. This hour refers to the current time when people would be resurrected or brought to new life in Christ. The miracle was being fleshed out in Jesus' ministry, as we have already seen at that time. Now, this hour to come refers to the end times. Philippians chapter 3, verses 20 through 21 speak of this.

Paul says, "But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly bodies to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself." Jesus is speaking of, Paul is speaking of, resurrection. But we see the timing of resurrection. There is resurrection now, and there is resurrection to come. We've already been witnessing resurrection all along. Jesus has been resurrecting the dead. Isn't that what happened when Jesus went to Samaria? That woman, that sinful woman there at the well, she went from death to life.

We learn in verse 24, "Wednesday night." She went from being in a position of death and a position of life. But yet we see that there is a resurrection to come. See the timing of the resurrection. Second, I want you to notice the object of the resurrection. Now is coming, and now is, "When the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God." Now, who is the object here? It's the dead. Isn't that what the text says? "When the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God." We're talking about dead people. These are unbelievers. These are those who are outside of Christ.

Ephesians chapter 2, verse 1 speaks of this, "And you were dead in the trespasses and sins." What's Paul talking about? When they were lost and without Christ, they were dead. Romans 6, 13 says, "Do not present your bodies to sin as instruments of righteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life." That's the exact same truth that we saw in verse 24. So what do we see? The object of those who are being resurrected. Those dead people. Those lost people. Those who are without Christ. And then third, notice the who of the resurrection.

"And our is coming, now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God." Now who is the who of this resurrection? It's none other than Jesus. These people, these dead people are hearing the voice of the Son of God. And then fourth, notice the reason of the resurrection. Right there at the end of verse 25. "And our is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear it shall live." Well the reason of the resurrection is that they may live. This is a repeat of what we have previously learned in verse 24. We dealt with this verse 24 Sunday morning and Wednesday night.

"These are those who hear the voice of God and they believe." They pass from death to life. And remember what we learned. This is an internal hearing. People hear the word of God in two manners. They hear it with physical ears. Many of them are not converted. But those who are converted hear it with internal ears. And that's what Jesus is dealing with here. And this is the reason of the resurrection that people, dead people may live. This is the spiritual resurrection.

And what needs to be seen here in verse 25 is nothing more than John teaching that those dead, those dead people, those who are in their sin, those who are lost and without Christ are resurrected to new life. Now lots of people break these verses down in different ways. But I think for us this morning that there are several key words we need to see. The first key word is here. I think we really need to understand that there are some who hear physically the word of God, but they do not understand it. They do not comprehend it.

But yet there are those who hear the word of God with that internal ear, and that is the voice of God coming and speaking to them. And we need to understand the difference in the two. And I think the other key word is death. I think we really do not realize that those who are without Christ are dead. That lost husband or wife, that lost son or daughter, they might be religious and they might do good things. They might have a good life. They might even better their life. But those who are without Christ are dead. And then the next key word I think that we need to see is life. No man, no woman, no young person has life without Christ.

You see, they hear the word. They are in death and then they are moved to a place of being in life. They are resurrected is what Jesus is teaching. And this is almost a carryover from verse 24. That's why some Bible commentators break the paragraph at verse 24. The same truths are taught about conversion. Man is resurrected. They are moved positionally from death to life. Now I want you to contrast something in your mind. This is for application because we must apply the text no matter where we are in the word of God.

But I want you to think about this, contrast this, contrast what we're learning here about conversion, that those who go from death to life are positionally moving from a condition of death to being in Christ in life. Contrast with that with so much of what we hear. How many churches urge people to make a profession of faith? How many churches urge people to say the sinner's prayer? Never having heard the internal voice of God. How many people are urged to join the church, to be baptized, and they've never heard the voice of God. They've never said, "God has done a miracle in my life.

I agree with God and I accept by faith the work that He wants to do in me." And He has made me a, He's taken me from being dead to being alive. Contrasted. That's why our churches are so full of people who profess to know Christ, but they're still dead. They do not possess Christ. And that's why you can't get them to live for God. You can't get them to obey God's Word. Half the time you can't get them to commit to the things of church and the things of God and kingdom work. Why? Because they are not in Christ. And we need to understand spiritual resurrection.

And I'm afraid many churches have resorted to man-made efforts to have physical results because they do not have the Spirit and the Unction and the power of the Holy Spirit to be able to do what God can only do. I don't know if you realize it, but we cannot move anyone from death to life. We're hopeless. If you're counting on me, if you're counting on Brother Chris, Keith, if you're counting on this church to save your son or your daughter, I hate to disappoint you. Only God can. Now God can use us. And I trust that He does. But we see the spiritual resurrection. Let's move on. Let us notice truth number two, the power of resurrection.

The power of resurrection. There's a break right here with verse 26. Notice the New American says, "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." Now these verses can really be called the how. How all these things can happen. Now what all things are you talking about? Verse 24, verse 25. How does this happen? I like how D.A. Carson deals with this verse. He says, he gives an explanation as to how the Son can exercise divine judgment and generate the resurrection of life. It's found in verse 26.

Let's notice a couple of things out of this verse. Notice the Father gives the Son life. "For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself." This is very similar to what we see in verse 21. Go back to verse 21. "For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to those whom He wishes." The Son gives life in verse 21. But now we see that it's the Father who gives the Son life in verse 26. And we must understand that the Father can give life to Jesus because He is life. He has life. God the Father. Jeremiah 10.10 says, "But the Lord is the true God.

He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earthquakes and the nations cannot endure His indignation." What is Jeremiah speaking of? God the Father has and possesses life. We see that He gives life to the Son. Second, let's notice the Father gives the Son authority. He gives the Son authority. Verse 26, "And He gave Him authority to execute judgment because He is the Son of man." Now Jesus told us this at the end of the Gospel of Matthew, Matthew 28, verse 18.

There at the Great Commission, Jesus says, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me." Of course, this is at the end of His earthly ministry, but here in John 5, it's really basically the beginning of His ministry. But notice what the Father gave Him authority for. Notice what the Father gave Him authority for. First to execute judgment. Now all of the translations say the same thing. Notice the text. And He gave Him authority to execute judgment. Again, as like before, this is almost a repeat. We see the same teaching in verse 22.

Of course, this speaks of the Great White Throne Judgment, which is found in Revelation 20, verses 11 through 15. This is the judgment of those who are not in Christ. But also, He has the authority to execute judgment in all things. Are we not learning that He is executing judgment in the life of the church in the book of Revelation and our study of the seven churches? So the Father gives Him the authority to execute judgment. Second, notice His title. And He gave Him authority to execute judgment because He is the Son of Man. Now you might not notice this title, but this title, Son of Man, is Jesus' favorite title of Himself.

This comes from Daniel's writings. Daniel wrote extensively concerning the Messiah. And Daniel speaks of the Messiah being the Son of Man. And in Daniel chapter 7, verse 14, Daniel talks about the authority and the dominion and the glory of the coming Messiah. Now what needs to be seen here in these verses? What needs to be seen is that Jesus can give life or enable one to move from death to life because He has been given life and He has been given supreme authority. He has been empowered. He has been enabled. Of course, this is all done under the authority of the Father. Let me pause and explain that.

Jesus does all these things under the Father's authority. The Son being equal with the Father is still under the authority of the Father. One commentator that I read said that Jesus is the emissary of the Father. You might not know what that word emissary means. It means a person sent on a special mission. Jesus was sent on that special mission. Equal with God the Father in nature, but yet different in role and still subjecting to the Father's authority. And He had the power of the resurrection. And that's why Jesus could do what He says He does. See you and I must understand the application of this in our own lives.

Listen, I've already alluded to it. If you were hoping and you're desiring that God would use me or Brother Keith of this church to lead your son or your daughter to Christ, your hope could be misdirected. Now God uses people. And I pray that God uses me. But it is only Christ and Christ alone who will save your son, save your daughter, save your husband, save that neighbor, save that friend. Because the authority of the Father has been given. And we've learned that He can give life. And many churches and many ministers are misdirected here. They do not need the power and the work of the Spirit.

They did not need Jesus Christ to do this work because they can do it for them. How many churches when children get to a certain age will make sure that they accept Christ and pray the sinner's prayer. All void the work of the Spirit and the power and the work of the Son. We cannot dictate when men and women are converted. No. We hope and we trust and we pray and we wait on what? The power and the work of the Spirit. God taught me that years ago. And I remember jotting it down as these truths were coming to light. And I began to realize and listen, the sovereignty of God in salvation. And listen, Jesus is the power of the resurrection.

And the sovereign God that we love, God the Father has given this power to His Son. And so we trust and pray that He is the one and know that He is the one who brings this spiritual resurrection. Now let's move on. Let's notice truth number three. Let's notice the physical resurrection. This is a little more lengthy. But let's notice the physical resurrection, verse 28 and 29. Do not marvel at this for an hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs or the graves shall hear His voice and shall come forth. Those who did the good deeds to the resurrection of life and those who committed the evil deeds to the resurrection of judgment.

Now whereas the spiritual resurrection studied in verse 25 speaks of a spiritual change here in verses 28 to 29, we're learning of a physical bodily resurrection. Now let's break these verses down. You'll notice some truths, four truths out of these verses. First the timing of the resurrection. The timing of the resurrection. Do not marvel at this for an hour is coming. Now Jesus is saying here that a time of resurrection is coming, but unlike the previous resurrection spoken of the spiritual resurrection. This resurrection in verse 28 is a future resurrection. He says an hour is coming. Now notice he says do not marvel at this.

Simply he says do not be amazed, do not be astonished at this. What is he saying? There is a timing and one day there will be a resurrection. Second notice the object of the resurrection. Do not marvel at this an hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs, those are the object of this resurrection. These are those who have died and their bodies have been buried. Now we know there are many different ways in which people are buried. We know that sailors have buried individuals at sea. We know that people's bodies are destroyed in natural calamities. But what do we see? Those who have died, we see that those bodies are spoken of here.

Those are the object of this resurrection. This is spoken of in a future tense. On that day there will be two people resurrected and given resurrected bodies for this time and for this occasion. Go back to the verse. Do not marvel at this an hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs shall hear his voice. Now let me show you these people who are resurrected. First there's the righteous or the saved. Those who are in heaven with the Lord Jesus. Second Corinthians 5 verse 6 through 8. So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. What is Paul talking about?

When we're here on this earth we are away from the Lord. But then he goes on to say, "For we walk by faith not by sight." Yes, we are of good courage and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. Paul is saying when we leave this body we go to be with the Lord. So I want you to know that there is a resurrection of those who are righteous and with the Lord. And then second this applies to the wicked, the lost, those who are in Hades and separated from God. We see that exemplified in the story of the rich man of Lazarus. Luke 16 verse 22 through 23.

The poor man died and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham's side. That is the Jewish conception of that day of paradise or heaven. The rich man also died and he was buried and in Hades he lifted, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and he saw Abraham far off and Lazarus by his side. What do we see? That is a picture that exemplifies what happens to those who are outside of Christ and they die outside of Christ. Now what are we seeing here? The object of the resurrection. Go back. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming, that's the timing in the future, in which all who are in the tomb shall hear his voice.

So those in Christ and outside of Christ, they are the object of the resurrection. The A. Carson says the voice of the Son of God is powerful enough to generate spiritual life now. It will be powerful enough to call forth the dead. You see that? One third I want us to see the who of the resurrection. Do not marvel at this, an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tomb shall hear his voice. The who of the resurrection. Notice the end of verse 28 speaks of who calls everyone from the grave. This is the Lord Jesus. Now this is not the same hearing which is spoken of in verse 24 and 25.

In verse 24 and 25, this is a calling unto salvation, but here this is a command by a sovereign God to call the dead out of the grave. And then fourth, notice the separation of those who are resurrected. The separation. Do not marvel at this, an hour, that time in the future is coming, when all who are in the tomb shall hear the voice, the voice of Jesus, and shall come forth. And now the separation, those who did the good deeds to the resurrection of life, and those who committed the evil deeds to the resurrection of the judgment. First, notice those who did the good deeds. Their deeds are fruits, which indicate that they are in Christ.

Now this does not teach a works based salvation. No. They did good deeds. These are Christian fruits and they indicate that they are in Christ. Ephesians chapter 2 verse 10 speaks of this. And they are resurrected, notice, to life because they are in Christ and shall come forth those who did the good deeds to the resurrection of life. They are in Christ. They have been resurrected spiritually and now they are resurrected physically and they are resurrected physically to life. But then second in this separation, those who did evil deeds. Their deeds are fruits, which indicate that they are not in Christ.

We saw this taught in John 3 verses 18 through 19. And they are resurrected to the judgment. This is none other than the great white throne judgment. Those who did the good deeds, the fruits, to the resurrection of life, that's in Christ. And those who committed the evil deeds, the fruits, to the resurrection of judgment. They are called out of Hades for that great white throne judgment. And what needs to be seen here is that all who have died will be resurrected to either life or judgment. No one is excluded. No one is excused. Notice verse 28. There is one key word here.

Do not marvel at this hour, do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming in which all, all who are dead, all who are in the tomb, the King James, all who are in the grave, there is no escape. This is inclusive. And see, in application, we must understand that people that we know and love have an appointment for this day. It does not matter. Rich or poor, great or small, famous or not so famous. We must understand that our loved ones and our neighbors and our friends, they all have an appointment for this day. But also we must understand that you have an appointment for this day and I have an appointment for this day.

But see, the great question is, what part of the resurrection will you be a part of? Will you be resurrected from Hades? That place of holding, that place of punishment for that final judgment where you will be cast into the lake of fire? Or will you be resurrected from being in the presence of God to go to that beam of seed, the scripture calls it, to be rewarded for the deeds done in the body? So the question is, what type of resurrection will you be a part of? And we must understand that people that we know, people that we love, people that we look at will experience a physical resurrection.

I'll tell you a story and then we'll move to the conclusion. In my limited amount of time in church life, I have met a few different types of preachers, ministers, evangelists, ministers of music and traveling musicians. I've met a few. But I'll never forget, I was talking to a somewhat famous in Baptist circles, traveling minister, music minister who travels with evangelists. We were talking about some goings on in the life of the church. And I don't remember what precipitated this comment that I made, but I remember looking him in the face and I said, you know, no one ever goes to hell at a funeral or a gospel song.

He took him by surprise and he looked. He's right. See, we enjoy talking about the spiritual resurrection. But it's sad in the life of many churches that's been warped and perverted. And we do not even want to focus or study or realize the physical resurrection. And what I'm showing you is is we need to knock the sugar coating off and realize that every person, rich or famous, big or small, they will be resurrected physically for that day, a day of judgment, either the great white throne judgment or the judgment seat of Christ that for the Christian. And why do I tell you that story?

I'll tell you that story because somehow, some way we gloss it over. We forget about it. We move it on. See that's always for somebody else. No actuality to be truthful. I have loved ones who will be physically resurrected on that day and they will be called right out of Hades. See. What we need to see is the reality of the resurrection. As I close, I want to tell you that there are two ways that it needs to be studied. Now listen close. First, we need to understand the spiritual resurrection because in understanding the spiritual resurrection, Jesus starts starting around verse 19 and he's building up to it through these verses.

We need to understand spiritual resurrection because if we understand spiritual resurrection, then we'll understand conversion. We'll deal with our sons and our daughters. We'll deal with our neighbors and our friends and we'll have a healthy biblical evangelism. You understand? We need to understand spiritual resurrection and in understanding spiritual resurrection, we will deal with souls properly. And I hope you realize that there are people who are unskilled workmen, even heretics who do not deal with souls properly. And the second thing in closing is we need to open up our eyes to the reality of this physical resurrection.

And that day is coming and it's coming sooner than we know because listen, that will keep us sober. Sober, sober minded, sober in our judgment. That will keep our feet to the floor and it might keep our knees on the floor because listen, it's a sad thing. But every man and woman, boy and girl, every person who has ever lived is included in verses 28 to 29. And listen, I am so glad. I can praise my Lord. I can thank Him and I can worship Him and I never get over it because I have experienced spiritual resurrection.

And I know on that day when He shouts, when He calls, I will come out of the grave if He does not come first and I will come out of the grave in good deeds because of Christ. So the reality of the resurrection. Let's pray. Lord Jesus, I pray that you will erase errors.