Smoodock's Blog

Jesus declared to those who were listening: “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” (John 5:25). One could consider this statement, as most scholars do, and conclude Jesus meant only the spiritually dead. Yet, if this is all Jesus meant, why would the Jewish authorities, who wished to kill him (John 5:18), simply stand by and do nothing. After all, they didn’t understand the spirit of Jesus’ words, and sought to place everything Jesus said into a physical context (cp. John 2:20-21; 1Corinthians 2:14). If Jesus hadn’t raised up the son of the widow of Nain (Luke 7:11-15) by this time, the Jewish authorities may have sought to take Jesus and kill him at that very moment, but they didn’t! Therefore, Jesus’ claim to raise the dead had both spiritual and physical implications.[1]

Without doubt, Jesus’ main consideration concerned the spiritually dead, as alluded to in the impotent man, prior to Jesus making him whole (John 5:6). Bethesda was full of folks who were in some manner deficient in their senses or their physical abilities. The impotent man, as everyone else, was helpless to change his condition, so they waited for the Lord to act (John 5:3). The dead know nothing, and are simply unaware of what goes on in the world (Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10; Psalm 6:5; 146:4). In the same manner those who are spiritually dead, know nothing of life in the Kingdom of God (John 3:3; cp.1Corinthians 2:9). Nevertheless, when they do hear the voice of the Son of God, they live (John 5:25). Only the living are able to hear, so, if one hears the voice of the Son of God, he is alive in the spirit.

Now, it is clear that these Jewish authorities were listening to Jesus, yet they were not reborn in the spirit, so even though they literally heard Jesus’ words, their spirits were not alive. What Jesus had in mind, however, was clear to every Jew living at that time. Hearing had the same meaning as the Schema, which all faithful Jews recited each day: “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5; emphasis mine). Hearing, in the sense Jesus used it, alluded to, not only hearing with the ears, but also acting upon what one heard (cp. John 5:8-9; Deuteronomy 6:5). The man-made-whole not only heard Jesus, but he picked up his bed and walked. Ancient Israel not only listened to the words: “The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!” but they were to **love** the Lord with all their heart, soul and strength. To hear Jesus, and becoming alive in doing so, affected one’s thoughts, one’s heart and one’s walk (John 5:25). To hear was to be changed.

Thus, just as the Father has life in himself, so does the Son. Jesus told the son of the widow of Nain: “Young man, I say onto you arise!” and the young man sat up and spoke (Luke 7:14-15). He told Jarius’ daughter: “Maid, arise!” and her spirit returned to her again (Luke 8:54-55). Finally, he said to the dead: “Lazarus, come forth!” and the dead man obeyed (John 11:43-44). The proof of the life in Jesus’ words is in the fact that he was literally able to raise the dead by commanding them to arise, and there was nothing that his enemies could say to deny the fact that the dead arose! In the same manner, then, Jesus is able to command the sinner, who is dead in his sins, to arise and those who hear and obey are alive forever (John 5:25-26; cp. Ephesians 2:1-6).

Moreover, the Father had given Jesus the authority to judge, because he is Messiah. Many scholars try to emphasis Jesus’ humanity, in the fact that there is no article with Son of Man in John 5:27. Nevertheless, the same scholars would argue for the Word’s essence being God in John 1:1, even though there is no article present to say the Word was (the) God. It is simply: “The Word was God!” (John 1:1). Personally, I don’t see a lot of difference in the absence of the article in John 5:27. Jesus’ use of Son of Man is always in the sense that he is the Messiah, and so it is here in John 5:27. The Father has given Jesus the authority to judge, in that he is Messiah, not merely because he is flesh, but because he is Messiah who is flesh (man). If this is not so, what should we do with Revelation 1:13 and 14:14 for in these texts the Son of Man (not having the article) is dressed in royal robes (Revelation 1:13), and he has a golden crown upon his head (Revelation 14:14). Exactly who might this be, if it isn’t the Messiah? Nevertheless, as Messiah, who is a man, his office as judge of the world had to be given to him by the Father, because, although kings of the earth have the authority to judge their nation, no king has the authority to judge the whole world. Hence, the need for the Father to give that authority to Messiah.

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[1] Not long afterward Jesus would raise Jarius’ only daughter (Luke 8:41, 47-56) and Lazarus (John 11:38-44), yet, none of these miracles deterred the Jewish authorities from their desire to have Jesus slain (John 11:47-50).