John 5:24-29
2nd Sunday in End Times

November 8, 2009

John 5:24-29 (New International Version)

²⁴"I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. ²⁵I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. ²⁶For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. ²⁷And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.

²⁸"Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice ²⁹and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.

Today is the second Sunday in End Times. On this Sunday we reflect on the things that God tells us are going to happen on Judgment Day, things that seem almost impossible. On Judgment Day times is going to end. On Judgment Day the world as we know it will be destroyed. On Judgment Day every person that has ever lived will stand before God’s Judgment throne. All these things sound impossible. But they will happen.

Perhaps the one thing that sounds most impossible is what Jesus talks about in our sermon text for today. On the last day all the dead are going to be raised. Have you ever wondered about that? When you drive by the cemetery or when you see someone lying in the casket, it just seems impossible that that could ever happen. But that’s exactly what Jesus tells us is going to happen.

THE DEAD ARE GOING TO BE RAISED!

I. In the “first” resurrection,

II. In the second resurrection.

Is there something that I just said that struck you as funny, or strange? The theme for my sermon today is “the dead are going to be raised.” That doesn’t sound strange because we know that is what the Bible says. But, perhaps, what may sound strange are the words of my first part “in the first resurrection.”

Did you know that the Bible talks about a first resurrection? In the book of Revelation chapter 20 we read these words about believers: They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years...This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years.”

What is the first resurrection about which John writes and through which Christians will reign with Christ and not suffer the second death, namely, hell? Jesus explains that in our sermon text for today. 24"I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. 25I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. 26For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself.”

A time is coming and has already come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. What is this time to which Jesus is referring and what is this hearing that brings life? You know the answer to both of these questions. The time to which Jesus is referring is obviously the New Testament period. People heard Jesus teach the truths of God’s Word and through the Bible we still hear Jesus speaking. Through the voice of the Savior in the gospel God creates faith in peoples’ hearts. That’s the first resurrection. It’s a person’s conversion to faith.

Now, why is that called a resurrection? Recall what Paul tells us in his letter to the Ephesians. “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins.” In other words, by nature we came into this world as unbelievers. We were spiritual corpses. We could not love God, believe in him, or serve him. We were dead. But through our Savior’s voice in the gospel the Holy Spirit has brought us to faith! And what is it that we hear our Savior say that brings us to spiritual life? “Come, let us reason together says our Lord, though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red as crimson, they shall be like wool;” “Come to me all you who are weary and heavy burdened and I will give you rest;” “Son, daughter be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven;” “I will forgive their sins and remember their wickedness no more.” It’s through these gospel promises and invitations that the Holy Spirit uses the Savior’s voice to create in our hearts the faith, the conviction that all these things are true. When, by God’s grace, we believe these things we are brought from spiritual death to spiritual life. That’s how the dead are raised in the first resurrection.

Knowing that God has raised us to faith in Jesus, what are we to do as we await Judgment Day? First of, let’s guard against laziness in hearing the Savior’s voice. If the Devil and our own sinful flesh can get us away from the Word, we will be cut off from the Savior’s voice and lose the spiritual life we have. Then we would be dead again. Secondly, we need to guard against the pride that says that we chose to believe in Jesus or that we gave our hearts to Jesus! That kind of talk is Devil talk. Just as a dead body cannot breathe, sit up, talk or walk, souls that are spiritually dead can’t choose to believe in God or live a Christian life. Faith is a gift from God. Let’s give credit where credit belongs. Thirdly, let’s remember that passing from spiritual death to spiritual life, the first resurrection, means that we don’t have to fear the second death, namely hell, because already now by faith in Jesus we have eternal life. Think about that! We don’t enjoy the fullness of heaven right now, but it is ours right now. What that means is we can look forward to the second resurrection on Judgment Day when the dead are raised.

II.

Jesus speaks of that second resurrection in our sermon text. "Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29and come out-those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.

The thought of Judgment Day can be frightening. On Judgment the judge is coming! If you’ve ever had to stand before an earthly judge, you know what a frightening experience that is. Think of what it’s going to be like on Judgment Day we will all stand before God’s judgment throne. Judgment Day is also a frightening thought because it will also be a day of destruction. Jesus tells us that when he comes back, the world as we know it will be destroyed. Death and destruction are not happy thoughts. But what makes judgment day most frightening even to Christians who still sin every day, is the fact that that’s the day all people will have to answer for what they’ve done in this life. It will all be exposed. The question on everybody’s heart and mind is “Will I be condemned to hell or will I be taken to heaven?”

Jesus answers that for us. On Judgment Day all the dead are going to be raised. That’s the second resurrection. All those who have done good will rise to life and all who have done evil will rise to condemnation.

To our Lutheran ears this sounds like work righteousness as though our eternal life depends on our doing good. But that’s not what Jesus is saying. Recall throughout the Scriptures God clearly teaches that heaven is a gift won by Jesus and received only through faith. How did Jesus win heaven for us? He lived the perfect life we could not and then he died on the cross to wash away all our sins. When God brings us to believe that, then we have participated in the first resurrection, conversion, and then we can look forward to rising to life in the second resurrection. We will rise to life because we will be covered in the righteousness of Christ.

On Judgment Day, Jesus is going to present the necessary evidence to all the world that his judgment is right, that we are his believers. That evidence is the good works we did to thank him for giving us salvation. You see, unbelievers can’t do good works that are pleasing to God. Without faith it’s impossible to please God. But through faith in Jesus God accepts the good that we do as pleasing.

In many of his letters Paul makes that connection between the first resurrection and our life of good works that Jesus will mention in the second resurrection. Listen to what he says in Romans 6: 1What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.5If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. 6For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. 8Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.11In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Or consider what he writes in Ephesians 2: 1As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast.10For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Or consider what he wrote in Colossians 3:1-4: 1Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above not on earthly things. 3For you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

The good we do flows from our faith by which we are saved alone. In the second resurrection they will be offered as proof of that saving faith.

So dear friends, we can look forward to Judgment Day. On that day we are going to see and experience something that seems impossible. The dead are going to be raised. For us who have already been raised with Christ through faith, it will be a resurrection to life eternal. Thanks be to God! Amen.