“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. 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. For as the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; and hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at this; for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 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."—John 5:24-2924Verily, 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. 25Verily, 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. 26For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; 27And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. 28Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 29And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. (John 5:24‑29).
THE chief thought of the fifth of John is the value of the word of the Lord Jesus Christ—the absolute, intrinsic value of Christ's word. The Lord lays great stress on this, and on what the effects are of hearing His word. In certain cases blessing unspeakable follows the hearing of it, because it is believed and accepted; in other cases—and, ah, how many they are—because His word is rejected now, that word brings untold misery another day, for He has to judge then those who will not give ear in this day. There is coming a day when those who will not listen to His word now, must and shall listen to it, when at the sound of His name every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall own Him Lord. But, oh, what a terrible thing only to own the Lordship of Christ when compelled to by His power; only to bow to Him when too late; only to listen to His voice when that voice says, "Depart!”
The difference between this day and that is just this, that the very One who now says, “Come unto me," will then say," Depart from me," and those who will not listen when in grace He says "Come,” must listen when in judgment He says "Depart.” In righteousness He says both; the voice is as righteous that graciously says "Come," now, as it will be when it says "Depart," then.
“Oh, but," you say, "I thought He was a Saviour, and not a Judge." So He is a Saviour, but you will not have Him. He is not your Saviour; you do not want Him; you reject Him; but I beg you to ponder the fact that if you do not own Him as a Saviour now, you must meet Him as a Judge then.
Reader, you are committed to making your choice, either to hear His voice in grace now, or to put it off, to procrastinate, and to risk hearing that voice in judgment—for hear it you must and shall. “The hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth." Oh, will you procrastinate any longer? Will you put it off till death overtakes you, and you go down into the grave as you have lived? From the depths of the grave will you rise before Him in your uncleanness? Will you rise in your ungodliness? Will you rise in your sins? Will you rise before Him in your Christless state, only to hear that voice say, "Depart"?
But very likely you say, “Why do you thus speak? I am not dead." Let me ask you," Has your heart in reality and truth ever bowed to the Lord Jesus Christ? Have you obeyed His voice? Has your soul been drawn to Him, to own and acknowledge Him? Have you heard Him whisper in your ear the words, "Thy sins are forgiven thee"? You reply, "No," then, my friend, you and Christ are total strangers—you and Christ have never met—you are dead, yea, dead!
Listen, now, the Saviour's voice is speaking in this twenty-fifth verse. "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." The hour is coming, and now is: that voice still speaks. The Saviour's eye is now fixed on you with the greatest earnestness. His heart is yearning over you with tenderest love; it is His voice speaking to you through His Word. His voice is heard in that of the preacher, and by the pen of the writer—for what is an Evangelist, a Gospel preacher? He is only a pipe of communication, a channel between the reservoir of the Water of Life up there, and the heart of the poor thirsty sinner down here. The voice of Jesus is speaking to you, will you not listen to it? What does He say? "The hour cometh, and now is;” but remember there is always an end to an hour. This hour of grace has been extended, in the lovely plenitude of the mercy of God, for more than 1800 years, till this present moment, that His grace may meet you, that you may hear His voice, ere the sand in that hour-glass runs out, and then comes another hour—the hour of His judgment. When the last grain of sand in the hour-glass shall have run out, the hour of His grace is at an end; the glass is turned, and another hour begins. That second hour is very, very near, but the first hour still lasts—the sand has not all run out yet. His voice still speaks, and tell me, shall it not now reach your heart, though up till this moment you have been dead?
Till Christ came the truth had never come out that man was dead. But now this solemn truth is asserted by the Lord, and also the simple, but wondrous, way and moment in which the soul, dead in trespasses and sins, passes into life. And when is that moment? The moment the soul hears the voice of the Son of God. "They that hear shall live." What a wonderful change. Verse twenty-four is the effect of hearing Christ's word. See what importance He attaches to hearing His word. The word that bids you come to Him; the word that bids you acknowledge you are among the dead. Will you not heed that word to-day? Did not the thief hear the voice of the Son of God? and what was the result? He owned his own condition, he owned the power, and the dignity, and the person of the One hanging by his side, and what did he get? A present, an instant, an eternal salvation was in possession of the dying thief that day; he heard and believed the word of the Lord, and the very day that Jesus entered Paradise, so did that thief.
Do not say, You press things too much; you are too personal. It is quite true, I am personal, for it is you I am addressing, because you are still unsaved, still unconverted. "I say unto you," the Lord says. Now, intensely personal. You have fixed on you now, at this very moment, the soft tender glance of the Lord Jesus, and He is speaking to you; listen to Him. "Verily, verily,"—there is something coming of special sweetness now,— “he that heareth.” “He,” that is individual again, “he that heareth my word.” Do you hear that word?
Do you acknowledge the truth of your position? Do you say, “I know that word dead' fits me, that terrible word dead' "? It is a terrible word, indeed, “dead! dead! DEAD” Then listen, “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." “Is passed! IS passed! “How sweet! If you have never heard His voice before, you have heard it now; will you listen to it?
Faith ever turns to God, and the believing soul acknowledges that Christ brings the word of God. The soul that hears the voice of the Son of God, learns the heart of the Father who sent the Son. The awakened sinner hears the word of Jesus, and finds out that the Father loves him; and what is the consequence? "hath, everlasting life." That is the present thing. What does Christ say the feeblest believer has got? Eternal life! Dear trusting soul, your heart may rejoice in it, you have eternal life. I would not dare tell you so, but the Lord Jesus tells you so. "Verily, verily,” says Christ; could you doubt Him? Tell me, long doubting heart, can you longer doubt the word of Jesus? If I have any doubts at all, rising like a dark cloud before my soul, those two words, “Verily, verily," must surely drive them all away; those words are simply ravishing to the soul who is content with the word of Christ.
And not only is there eternal life for the present, but for the future I have this, “Shall not come into condemnation," or judgment. The Lord Jesus came under judgment for you,—the Lord Jesus was condemned for you,— God, in righteousness, has condemned His beloved Son on the cross, that He may not have to condemn you. The one who believes in Jesus has eternal life as a present reality, and “shall not come into judgment" as a future prospect. How can God condemn you for sins for which He has already condemned Christ? The death of the Lord Jesus has forever settled the question of sin for those who believe. You have nothing to do but to receive Christ, and to enjoy for time and for eternity the fruit of the victory of Christ for you, tasting all the sweetness of it as a present reality.
Who shall condemn? Will Christ, who died for us? No; He has been condemned for us, and there is "now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." For the present, then, I have everlasting life; for the future there is no terror, no condemnation; and when I look at the past, what does the Lord say?— is passed from death unto life. How does this all come about? It is the hearing His voice that produces this mighty change. Where were you, unbelieving? Among the dead: and now, believing, you are among the living. What were you? — "Condemned already." What are you? — “Not condemned," and never shall come into condemnation. You have cleared the dark, deep billows of death, and your feet are planted on the shores of immortality, in resurrection-life with Christ. You have in one single moment, I say, by simple faith, cleared, and cleared forever, the gloomy sea of death, and the pit of hell, and your feet are standing on the blooming shores of immortality, and eternal life in Christ!
Ponder again, dear reader, the Lord's emancipating words, " Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth in him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but is passed from death unto life.” When my soul is filled with the word of Christ, what room is there for a doubt to come in? Do you ask me, "Are there no clouds in the future? Do you not shrink back from the judgment-day?” Not I! I shall be glad to be there, for I shall be with, and like, the Judge. I shall be like Christ when I am there. I go in for the first hour. Are you going in for the second hour? — the hour of His judgment; and "the hour cometh." It has not yet come, thank God, but it "cometh." Then all that are in their graves shall come forth.
I speak not now of that bright and glorious morning, that morning without clouds, when the saints of God shall hear His voice and rise out of their graves to meet Him in the air. For all do not rise together. There is a thousand years between the resurrection of the just and the resurrection of the wicked dead. The resurrection of the just is the morning when the Lord shall come into the air, and we shall hear the voice we have known and loved, and shall rise to meet Him. All the people of God, from every land, and of every age, shall hear His voice. The sea, too, shall give up those whom it holds, and we shall rise together, to be forever with Him; but the book of Revelation tells us, “The rest of the dead lived not again till the thousand years were finished." The saints rise—the rest of the dead are left behind for judgment.
The second hour is ushered in by the resurrection of the just dead, and ended by the resurrection of the wicked dead. Christless soul, what a future is yours if you are found among the latter “I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God." How do they stand? They stand as on earth, body and soul reunited. Then, oh! what will that be for you, you who have rejected Christ? You stand before Him in your sins. You stand before Him in your ungodliness. You stand before Him, having despised all His offers of mercy. You stand before Him unsaved, unwashed, unclean, unholy. You rise from the grave. Whom do you see? Whose voice has called you from the dead? The voice of the Son of Man.
At whose word have you come from the dust, O wicked Christless soul? At the word of the Son of Man. “The hour of his judgment has come, and who shall be able to stand?" You rise and you see Him, the one you have despised and rejected now, whose voice you will not listen to now, and He is your Judge. Is there no pardon? you ask. None. No mercy? None, none. No way of escape. No; the door is closed, and closed forever. There is no escape, no salvation, no pardon, no mercy, no way of escape. By your unbelief you really compel the Lord to judge and condemn you. He cannot save you then! He can only say "Depart." If you will not hear Him now, when He says "Come," you must hear Him in another hour, when He can only say "Depart.” He has often said "Come." He will say "Depart” but once; for you will obey Him instantly, as you flee from His face to the lake of fire, your eternal abode. Will you risk it? Oh, tell me, tell me, will you risk it? Will you risk rising before Him with all your sins upon you, only to be eternally shut out from His presence? Oh, if you are unsaved, undecided, Christless still, let me entreat you. Turn, turn. Receive Jesus—hear His words, listen to His voice. Believe on Him now.
W. T. P. W.