John 5:24-47
Today’s last many verses (vv. 30, ff.) are often referred to as the “fourfold (or fivefold) witnesses: John the Baptist, the works, the Father, and Scripture (and Moses as the fifth). Both the Old Testament and the New Testament (Deuteronomy 17:6 and II Corinthians 13:1) ask for two or three witnesses. Jesus goes even further in claiming testimonies about Himself, acknowledging four (or five) witnesses.
I am intrigued by Jesus’ two comments about the dead: Truly, truly, I say to you, an 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. (v. 25); and …an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear His voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. (vv. 28b-29) In His first comment Jesus says …an hour is coming, and is now here. In the second comment He does not include …and is now here, but He does include that the dead will …come out. Jesus seems to be saying that the dead can hear Him (and respond?) in His present tense (alive on earth), but that’s as far as it goes – hearing Him (and possibly responding?). But His second comment is purely future tense – only in the future, presumably at His crucifixion will they …hear His voice and come out. So is this how God has dealt with those “saints” (and sinners?) who preceded Jesus, that they have been kept in some sort of “limbo” state, later to hear Jesus’ voice while He is on earth and to be released when He has died? As I looked online at a number of sources that seems to be the Roman Catholic teaching. Is Jesus confirming that teaching in these verses? Intriguing…!
See also: May 5 / John 5:24-30; May 6 / John 5:31-47
Another potential interpretation of “the dead” might be the spiritually (as opposed to physically) dead. With that interpretation, Jesus could be saying that those who are spiritually dead (which would be everybody prior to coming to faith in Christ) have an opportunity to hear His voice — not just while He was physically on earth, but ongoing now. Those who hear and accept Him find life; those who refuse to hear remain (spiritually) dead. Then at the final resurrection, those who listened and did good will rise to life, but those who refused to listen and did evil will rise to judgment.
One additional thing to note here: actions/deeds/works matter. While it is quite evident that one cannot earn one’s way into heaven by works of the law (Rom 3:20; Gal 2:16), it is also true that faith without works is dead (James 2:14-26), and Jesus is quite clear here that what we do will serve as the basic evidence for what kind of resurrection we will see on that Day. This is one place where (some of?) the reformers went too far with “sola fide” (faith alone).
Your first comment is reasonable, John. My Study Bible had suggested that. However, the second reference to the dead is clearly those “who are in the tombs”. So Jesus could be distinguishing between those living here and now who are (spiritually) dead (v. 25) and those who have passed on as “in the tombs” (v. 28). I think I’m saying the same thing Lou just said…!
I suspect Jesus was speaking both of those physically as well as spiritually dead in that He repeats and rephrases, not to contradict but to clarify.
I say ditto to John about the reformers going too far on “faith alone”, just like the Roman church at the time had gone too far on works. James said it, faith without works is dead. We could reverse that too, works without faith is dead.
I was wondering the same thing about the two verses you mention, Fred. We could also interpret the first comment (an hour is coming, and is now here) perhaps as referring to all of us who are dead to sin but still alive to hear Jesus’ message. But it does seem that the second comment about those in tombs refers to those who have already died before Jesus’ time who will be judged perhaps according to the old law. Interesting.
I would suggest that no one (including all the Old Testament characters) is judged simply according to the Law, but that salvation is (and always has been) by faith. If that were not so, than there would be no Old Testament saints, since no one can (or ever could) keep the Law perfectly.