The Hour is Here Now

John 5:25-29

²⁵“Very truly, I tell you, the 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. ²⁶For just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself; ²⁷and he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. ²⁸Do not be astonished at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice ²⁹and will come out—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.”

Just before this section, Jesus spoke words that will help us to understand. In vv. 22-24, Jesus said, ²²“The Father judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son, ²³so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. ²⁴Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgment, but has passed from death to life.”

The fact that Jesus speaks of people in their graves, or physically dead in v. 28, tells us that He is speaking of those who are spiritually dead in v. 25. Ever since humanity’s fall into sin with Adam, everyone has been born spiritually dead. Now with the arrival of the Messiah, we, who were dead spiritually can be made alive by listening to the voice of the Son of God.

Paul teaches the same thing in Ephesians 2:4-5 ⁴“But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us ⁵even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.“

Then in vv. 26-27, Jesus states that God the Father has given him authority to execute judgement. Further He says that the reason for this is because Jesus is the Son of Man. It is interesting that He alludes to Himself as the “Son of God” in v. 25, but here, He uses “Son of Man”.

There are two possible meanings to this. “Son of Man” could be a reference to Jesus’ being born a human, as well as being the Son of God. Since Jesus is 100% divine and 100% human, He understands both sides and is uniquely qualified to execute judgment.

Or the “Son of Man” could be a direct reference to Daniel 7:13-14 ¹³“I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. ¹⁴And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.”

Either way, the one who will judge humanity at the end of this age is Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Jesus then tells us that the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice and will come out. Those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.

After Jesus was resurrected, He stayed with His follower for forty days to teach and train them before being lifted to heaven. We know that salvation is not dependent on doing good or bad works. It is through faith – To accept Jesus Christ as one’s lord and savior. So, He is saying that those who have accepted Him will come out of their graves to the resurrection of life, while those who did not accept Him will come out of their graves to the resurrection of condemnation.

We who have been saved can look forward to when Jesus returns and we go to our eternal place where we will live with the Lord and other believers in a wonderful place full of light and joy, where there will be no tears and hurts.

But today’s sobering passage reminds us that everyone will be resurrected into eternity. Ones who died not accepting Jesus Christ will be resurrected to eternity of condemnation, apart from God and light and joy. Passages like 2 Thessalonians 1:9, Matthew 25:41 and Revelations 20:14-15 describe what this eternity of condemnation will be like.

There are too many people that are headed to a dark eternity – Many that are close to us. They still have time to accept Jesus, and it is our role to be witnesses for Jesus, so that their eternal destination might change from dark to light.

Now is the time that salvation is available to all. As Jesus said, “the 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.” We are the ones who can makes sure that the people who are spiritually dead can hear the voice of the Son of God, before it is too late for them.

(the above is a summary of the message shared by Pastor Shun Takano during our worship of June 22, 2025.)