Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of John 5:24
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.
24. He that heareth ] We see from this that ‘whom He will’ ( Joh 5:21) implies no arbitrary selection. It is each individual who decides for himself whether he will hear and believe.
believeth on him that sent me ] Omit ‘on;’ there is no preposition in the Greek.
hath everlasting life ] Or, hath eternal life: see on Joh 3:16. Note the tense; he hath it already, it is not a reward to be bestowed hereafter: see on Joh 3:36.
shall not come into condemnation ] Better, cometh not into judgment.
is passed from death into life ] Or, is passed over out of death into life (comp. Joh 13:1; 1Jn 3:14). This is evidently equivalent to escaping judgment and attaining eternal life, clearly shewing that death is spiritual death, and the resurrection from it spiritual also. This cannot refer to the resurrection of the body.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
He that heareth my word – To hear, in this place, evidently denotes not the outward act of hearing, but to receive in a proper manner; to suffer it to make its proper impression on the mind; to obey. The word hear is often used in this sense, Mat 11:15; Joh 8:47; Act 3:23. Many persons outwardly hear the gospel who neither understand nor obey it.
My word – My doctrine, my teaching. All that Jesus taught about Himself, as well as about the Father.
On him that sent me – On the Father, who, in the plan of redemption, is represented as sending his Son to save men. See Joh 3:17. Faith in God, who sent his Son, is here represented as being connected with everlasting life; but there can be no faith in him who sent his Son, without faith also in him who is sent. The belief of one of the true doctrines of religion is connected with, and will lead to, the belief of all.
Hath everlasting life – The state of man by nature is represented as death in sin, Eph 2:1. Religion is the opposite of this, or is life. The dead regard not anything. They are unaffected by the cares, pleasures, amusements of the world. They hear neither the voice of merriment nor the tread of the living over their graves. So with sinners. They are unmoved with the, things of religion. They hear not the voice of God; they see not his loveliness; they care not for his threatenings. But religion is life. The Christian lives with God, and feels and acts as if there was a God. Religion, and its blessings here and hereafter, are one and the same. The happiness of heaven is living for God – being sensible of his presence, and glory, and power – and rejoicing in that. There shall be no more death there, Rev 21:4. This life, or this religion, whether on earth or in heaven, is the same – the same joys extended and expanded forever. Hence, when a man is converted, it is said that he has everlasting life; not merely shall have but is already in possession of that life or happiness which shall be everlasting. It is life begun, expanded, ripening for the skies. He has already entered on his inheritance – that inheritance which is everlasting.
Shall not come into condemnation – He was by nature under condemnation. See Joh 3:18. Here it is declared that he shall not return to that state, or he will not be again condemned. This promise is sure; it is made by the Son of God, and there is no one that can pluck them out of his hand, Joh 10:28. Compare the notes at Rom 8:1.
But is passed from death unto life – Has passed over from a state of spiritual death to the life of the Christian. The word translated is passed would be better expressed by has passed. It implies that he has done it voluntarily; that none compelled him; and that the passage is made unto everlasting life. Because Christ is the author of this life in the soul, he is called the Life Joh 1:4; and as he has always existed, and is the Source of all life, he is called the eternal life, 1Jo 5:20.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Joh 5:24
(in conjunction with 6:47). Verily, verily
1. These words indicate a subject of special importance.
2. They were used to denote a clear and certain revelation.
3. Notice when this certainty lies solely in I say unto you. In the matter of our salvation carnal reason never arrives at certainty. Mere argument can never bring a troubled heart to a sure anchorage. The ipse dixit of a mere man is not enough. Note
I. TO WHOM THE BLESSING OF OUR TEXT COMES, These favoured persons are
1. Hearers who are also believers. It is not communicated by drops of water; we are to act towards saving truth as towards other information. First, we hear of Jesus, His person, work, office, and blessings; then we accept Jesus as the appointed Saviour for ourselves.
2. Believers who remain hearers, My sheep hear My voice.
3. Believers in the Lord Jesus (Joh 6:47). They have personal faith in apersonal Saviour.
4. Believers in Jesus because of the witness of the Father. We are sure He can save because He is divinely commissioned, divinely furnished, and the pleasure of the Lord must prosper in His hands.
5. Every such believer, whatever else he has or has not, he has everlasting life. But he is full of fault and imperfection; he makes mistakes in theology; he is afraid he has not attained to everlasting life. No exception is to be made on any of these grounds.
6. There is no statement made as to the salvation of any other sort of person. Nothing is said about the baptized, professors, etc., only about believers.
II. THE BLESSINGS WHICH BELONG TO THE BELIEVING.
1. He hath everlasting life. He was condemned and reckoned as a dead man; but he is now acquitted and his life is granted him. He was spiritually dead also, but through Christ he is quickened; and because Christ lives ever he shall live also.
2. He is in a condition of non-condemnation. In Christ he has been judged, condemned, and punished, and is therefore clear of the law and all its penalties.
3. He is passed from death unto life; In regeneration lies the essence and major portion of the resurrection.
III. THE ASSURANCE WITH WHICH THIS DOCTRINE IS STATED.
1. It is certified by the terms in which our Lord utters it.
2. It is verified by conscious experience.
3. It should consequently be confidently proclaimed. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The gospel of Christ
We are here taught
I. THE NEED OF HEARING THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST; and that not with the ears of the body only, but with the heart, the will, the affections of man. He that heareth My word.
II. BELIEF IN THE EVER-BLESSED TRINITY, in the Father and the Son, which is the gift of the Holy Spirit. He that believeth on Him that sent Me.
III. THE SINFUL ESTATE OF MANKIND, the fall through sin into spiritual death, and the consequent condemnation of the whole race of Adam, who through the sin of the first man have come into condemnation.
IV. THE NEED WHICH WE ALL HAVE OF A REDEEMER AND MEDIATOR, through whose passion, death, and resurrection we pass from death unto life.
V. THE HAPPINESS WHICH IS GIVEN TO THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN AND WHO OBEY GOD IN THIS LIFE, and in obeying Him possess Him who is everlasting life.
VI. THAT ETERNAL LIFE which after the death of the body IS THE HOPE AND THE REWARD OF THE RIGHTEOUS, and which is assured to those who in resisting temptation and in overcoming sin here have passed from death unto life. (W. Denton, M. A.)
A short sermon on a great text
I. THE PREACHER.
1. The dignity of His Person.
(1) The Son of God,
(2) The ambassador of the Father.
(3) The faithful witness.
2. The solemnity of His manner. As became one who spoke with
(1) Full knowledge.
(2) Absolute authority.
(3) Tender sympathy.
(4) Personal directness.
II. THE DISCOURSE.
1. The meaning of salvation.
(1) Eternal life.
(2) No condemnation.
(3) Fulness of existence.
2. The way of salvation.
(1) Hearing Christs word.
(2) Believing Christs Father.
III. THE AUDIENCE.
1. Their persons–men.
2. Their characters–dead.
3. Their numbers–whosoever.
4. Their responsibilities–involved in their ability to hear and believe. Lesson: Take heed how ye hear. (T. Whitelaw, D. D.)
Everlasting life
Life is of many degrees–lowest in the sponge, then in the oyster, and higher still in the worm. Through a long and beautifully graduated series we come to man, partly material, partly spiritual; the link between earth and heaven. Life is absolutely perfect in God only; the great source of life to all created beings. This is life eternal, etc. (Joh 17:3). This life in its fulness implies
I. FREEDOM FROM SIN.
1. Its guilt.
2. Its pollution.
3. Its attendant evils.
II. THE POSSESSION OF ALL GOOD.
1. Perfect love.
2. Perfect purity.
3. Perfect youth.
4. Perfect activity.
5. Perfect blessedness. (W. H. Van Doren, D. D.)
Eternal life
You will observe here that everlasting life is a thing which a man is declared, on certain conditions, to have in this world, that the death which is its contradictory is said to be escaped in this world, and in the very act of passing over into life; and that the condition of escaping the one and having the other is faith in God through Jesus. Now what I wish to do, is to point out the dignity and the joy of this true life of the soul, this everlasting life of faith; and if we can know the secret of its blessedness here, we shall know what its blessedness shall be hereafter.
I. And first, TO THE JUSTIFIED SOUL THERE IS THE JOY OF LIVING ITS TRUE LIFE. In all life there is joy; much more in the souls true life. In the free exercise of its noblest faculties; in the free use of its noblest powers; in the free apprehension of Divine truth, the free choosing of the right, the unselfish loving of the beautiful and the good; it is a joy even now and here so to live the true life of the soul. And when we come to analyze this joy, we find that in all its details it is a life of blessedness.
1. For, first, there is the joy of triumph, the guadiam certaminis that courts and enjoys the well-won victory. Worldly and carnal pleasures woo the souls affections from their true and worthy objects. To resist these is conflict worthy of heroic souls; to stand steadfast, to be true to truth, to goodness, to righteousness, this is victory, and the joy of it is bliss to the struggling, conquering soul. And when the souls victorious inner life is translated into worthy outward action, that outward life becomes heroic too, the life of a knightly soul that proves its knighthood and receives its reward in scattering error, in righting wrong, in helping the weak, in relieving the oppressed, and in doing his duty to God and all the world.
2. And then there is the joy of progress. For the soul s true life is a progress from the less to the greater, from the partial to the more perfect good. There is growth in humility, and so there is no more galling and fretting of pride. There is growth in meekness, and so the burden of resentment is laid aside. There is growth in faith, and so the unseen things are seen with more and more distinctness to be the great thing. There is growth in hope, and so the soul grows glad and young as it lays hold on the hope of eternal life. There is growth in love–in the blissful love that never faileth, that suffereth long and is kind, etc.
3. And then there is the joy of self-sacrifice. Man had forgotten the great truth, that self-sacrifice for duty and for love is the very joy of the souls true life. But God revealed it in Jesus. And revealing it He showed not only the Divine wisdom and power, but also the Divine blessedness. Who does not understand something of this! Who are the great and happy souls of earth? Not those, assuredly, who look for base ease, or sordid gain, or selfish advantage, or guilty pleasure; but the pure and strong and lofty souls, who in loving the unseen and following lofty ideals gladly sacrifice themselves for what they love. The patriot who goes at his countrys summons to battle; the father and husband who scorns delight and lives laborious days for wife and children; the mother who turns away from all delights to bend in yearning tenderness above the couch of her sick or afflicted child; the Christian man or woman who in loving, dutiful deeds of brotherly love and goodwill, delight to help the unfortunate and make the wretched happy–these are the great and happy, souls, and in their self-sacrifice they find the highest joy of their souls true life. In a word, then, the souls true life in this world is the life of faith, of hope, and of love. In the victory of its faith, the progress of its hope, the glad self-sacrifice of its love, its joy consists. And this brings me to my concluding thought. We have seen what the souls true life in this world is.
II. WHAT SHALL IT BE IN THE NEXT WORLD BUT THE SAME IN KIND, THOUGH IN FULLER, LARGER MEASURE? The only difference shall be that the limitations of sin, the hindrances of earthliness, shall be removed. Unfettered and free, the soul shall expand in the perpetual delight of life and love and peace–the delight of growing knowledge, the delight of more and more adequate utterance, the security and pea-e of more perfect self-consecration, the deep and tender joy of more entire self-sacrifice. How this shall be, I cannot tell. It is enough for me to know this one thing–that the souls true life, the eternal life, begun here, shall continue afterdeath substantially the same, and that its joys shall be the same, only fuller, larger, richer. Oh, then, let me ask myself this question: Am I living now the souls true life–the everlasting life of faith and hope and love–and am I finding now and here the joy and the blessedness of that life? If not, then even heaven itself would be a hell to my untutored soul. But if I do know the joy and peace of believing, then eternal life is mine already. (Bishop S. S. Harris.)
Passed from death unto life.
Notice the smallness of the conditions, and the magnificence of the offer. The salvation of a mans soul is simply a matter of capitulation, and the terms of the capitulation are, Hear the messenger and believe the mission.
I. THE UNDERTAKING WHICH THE ALMIGHTY HAS MADE OF WHAT HE WILL DO TO THOSE WHO GIVE UP AT DISCRETION.
1. Look a moment at our position. We have provoked God and attacked His rights, and therefore have separated ourselves from God. Therefore we do not deserve to die, nor sure to die, but we are dead. For death is not annihilation. Separation of soul from body is physical death: separation of soul and body from God is physical death. People abhor the thought of eternal punishment or eternal death; but what if that means separation prolonged through eternity. Is there anything in that inconsistent with God? But that would be hell enough.
2. Christ comes and offers union with Himself, that is, nearness to God which is life.
(1) The nature of this life.
(a) Physical life of a higher order because consecrated.
(b) Intellectual life–a life of latent thoughts, energies and affections which, but for this, would sleep on for ever.
(c) A life of true satisfying service.
(2) Its characteristics.
(a) A present possession. The moment you believe in Christ you live; you have done with death for ever. What is coming and is called death will not be death to you, because no separation.
(b) A lasting life. In the old life nothing was very lasting; either the thing passed away, or the power to enjoy it. The new life has its hidden springs in God, and will last for ever.
(c) A life free from condemnation. There is nothing now behind, and no future to be afraid of. Your sins were condemned and punished in Christ, and there shall be no resurrection of forgiven sin.
II. WHAT ARE THE TERMS?
1. Hear My word.
(1) Do not you all hear it? Not with the inward ear.
(2) But what word. If you receive any word, you will receive all. Take this one, Come unto Me, etc.
2. Believe on Him that sent Me. Not in Me. Some object to vicarious atonement on the ground that it does not put the Father in His right place. But Christ here, as elsewhere, traces it all to the Father and His love. It is part of your salvation to take worthy views of the Father. (J. Vaughan, M. A.)
Passing from death to life
I. THE STATE FROM WHICH EVERY BELIEVER IS DELIVERED.
1. Its nature. A threefold death has befallen man. The body dies, everlasting death is threatened, spiritual death is inflicted. This latter is the death here, and is not simply the absence of what constituted life, but the presence also of the opposite.
(1) Mans knowledge was a part of his life, but it has gone and he is ignorant and misrepresents the truth.
(2) This flow of holiness is staunched, and he is defiled.
(3) His innocency is blotted out, and he is guilty.
(4) His title to heaven is gone, and he is exposed to hell.
2. Its forms. It does not always take the same shape.
(1) A mans circumstances will do something to curb the tendencies of his nature. Your life may be chaste and outwardly religious, but with all this there is a defiled nature seen by the eye of God.
(2) In other cases there is a complete contrast, and depravity knows no shame.
3. Its extent; total
(1) as regards the individual.
(a) The human form once so noble and symmetrical and undying has become enervated by disease, and falls into the grave.
(b) The mind has not escaped its blight. Go to the lunatic asylum where the mind is gone, and to the cultured atheist whose vast intellectual powers are perverted.
(c) The soul is dead, not that it has ceased to be immortal, but lives on in death.
(2) As regards the race. However employed and wherever found man is the impersonation, of death.
4. Its cause. Not God. Look at the proofs of Divine benevolence in the beauties of nature, and ask, Is God the cause of death? Look at the monstrosities of nature–the drunkard, e.g., and ask, Is that Gods handiworks?
II. THE CONDITION TO WHICH, BY THE MERCY OF GOD, EVERY BELIEVER HAS BEEN BROUGHT: from death to life.
1. What is this life?
(1) Life is a series of relationships. In vegetable life there is a relationship of dependence; in animal life of the senses: in rational life of consciousness; in spiritual life to God in Christ.
(2) Life has its developments. This could not be predicated of a stone. In vegetables you see it at its lowest, in reptiles higher, in beasts higher still, in man highest; and in rational life you have the babe, the child, and the man, and so in spiritual.
(3) Spiritual life is knowledge. Mark the contrast between men of large intellectual powers and a man half-witted, who knows God is his Father and Christ his Saviour. They are dead; he lives.
(4) It is purity.
(5) It is love.
2. Whence comes it?
(1) Not from self; a corpse cannot raise itself.
(2) Not from another; a corpse cannot raise others.
(3) From God the fountain of life, through Christ, the resurrection and the life.
III. THE PROCESS FROM THE ONE TO THE OTHER.
1. Its character a purely spiritual process, illustrated by the transformation of the caterpillar into the butterfly; the change from winter to spring; the resurrection of the dead.
2. Its means. The gospel embraced by faith.
3. Its Agent, the Holy Spirit. (Gervase Smith, D. D.)
Passing from death to life
I. From a death of UNBELIEF to a life of FAITH.
II. From a death of FALSEHOOD to a life of TRUTH.
III. From a death of SIN to a life of RIGHTEOUSNESS.
IV. From a death of MISERY to a life of BLESSEDNESS. (W. H. Van Doren, D. D.)
We are saved by believing
A small matter may suffice to shape the destiny of an immortal soul. In those ill times when there were slaves across the Atlantic, a lady went down to one of our ships accompanied by a negro servant. The lady remarked to the captain that if she were to go to England and take this black woman with her, she would become free as soon as she landed. The captain replied, Madam, she is free already! The moment she came on board a British vessel she was free. When the negro woman knew this do you think she went on shore with her mistress? By no means; she chose to keep her liberty. How slight the change of place, but how great the difference involved: marvel not that faith involves such great things. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
We must believe or perish
If a man will not do that which is necessary to a certain end, I do not see how he can expect to gain that end. You have taken poison, and the physician brings an antidote, and says, Take it quickly, or you will die. If you take it quickly I will guarantee that the poison will be neutralized. But you say, No, doctor, I do not believe it; let everything take its course; let every tub stand on its own bottom; I will have nothing to do with you, doctor. Well, sir, you will die, and when the coroners inquest is held on your body the verdict will be, Served him right. So it will be with you, if, having heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ, you say, Pooh-pooh! I am too much of a common-sense man to have anything to do with that, and I shall not attend to it. Then, when you perish, the verdict given by your conscience, which will set upon the Kings quest at last, will be a verdict of felo-de-se. He destroyed himself. (C. H.Spurgeon.)
Faith must lay hold on Christ
One night, when preaching in Philadelphia, right down by the side of the pulpit, there was a young lady whose eyes were riveted on me, as if she were drink- ing in every word. I got interested in her, and after I had done talking I went and spoke to her. Are you a Christian? No; I wish I was. I have been seeking Jesus for three years. I said, There must be some mistake. She looked strangely at me, and said, Dont you believe me? Well, no doubt you thought you were seeking Jesus; but it dont take an anxious sinner three years to meet a willing Saviour. What am I to do, then? The matter is, you are trying to do something; you must just believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, I am sick and tired of the word, Believe, believe, believe! I dont know what it is. Well, I said, well change the word; take trust. If I say, Ill trust Him, will He save me? No; I dont say that. You may say a thousand things, but He will if you do trust Him. Well, she said, I do trust Him; but, she added in the same breath, I dont feel any better. Ah, Ive got it now! Youve been looking for feelings for three years, instead of for Jesus. (D. L. Moody.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 24. He that heareth my word] My doctrine-and believeth on him that sent me-he who credits my Divine mission, that I am come to give light and life to the world by my doctrine and death-hath eternal life-the seed of this life is sown in his heart the moment he believes – and shall not come into condemnation, , into judgment-that which will speedily come on this unbelieving race; and that which shall overwhelm the wicked in the great day.
But is passed from death unto life.] , Has changed his country, or place of abode. Death is the country where every Christless soul lives. The man who knows not God lives a dying life, or a living death; but he who believes in the Son of God passes over from the empire of death, to the empire of life. Reader! thou wast born in death: hast thou yet changed the place of thy natural residence? Remember that to live in sin is to live in death; and those who live and die thus shall die eternally.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
He that so heareth my words, that they are not a mere sound in his ears, nor affect his heart with some mere sudden and vanishing passion, but so that he gives an assent to them upon my authority; and that firmly and steadily believeth him that sent me, (the particle on seemeth not well put in by our translators; in the Greek it is , giveth credit to the words of my Father that sent me), believing that I am his only begotten Son, whom he hath sent into the world, and receiving me as such, hearing me, according to the command of the voice from heaven. Mat 17:5; he hath a certain title to everlasting life, and hath received the first fruits of that harvest, Rom 8:23, the incorruptible seed of the word, 1Pe 1:23; and already sitteth in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Eph 2:6, and hath the kingdom of God within him. Luk 17:21, and shall not come into that judgment which shall issue in eternal condemnation; but is passed out of a state of spiritual death into a state of spiritual life; and shall be at last eternally saved, and pass into the actual fruition and enjoyment of life eternal.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
24. believeth on him that sentmethat is, believeth in Him as having sent Me. I have spokenof the Son’s right not only to heal the sick but to raise from thedead, and quicken whom He will: And now I say unto you, Thatlife-giving operation has already passed upon all who receive Mywords as the Sent of the Father on the great errand of mercy.
hath everlastinglifeimmediately on his believing (compare Joh 3:18;1Jn 5:12; 1Jn 5:13).
is passed“hathpassed over”
from death unto lifeWhata transition! (Compare 1Jo 3:14).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Verily verily, I say unto you,…. Who am the Amen, the true and faithful witness:
he that heareth my word; by which is meant the Gospel, and is so called, both because it is spoken by Christ, and first began to be spoken by him; and because he is spoken of in it; his person, office, and work, peace, pardon, righteousness, life, and salvation by him, being the sum and substance of it: and by “hearing” it is meant, not a bare external hearing it; for so it may be heard, and not understood; and it may be understood in a notional and speculative way, and yet the consequences hereafter mentioned may not follow: but an internal hearing it is here designed, so as to understand it spiritually, or to have an experimental knowledge of it; so as to approve of it, love, and like it; to distinguish it from that which is not his doctrine, and to feel the power of it on the heart, and yield the obedience of faith unto it: for faith in Christ himself, the sum and substance of the word of the Gospel, is hereby expressed; to which is joined faith in God his Father, they being equally the object of it; and which is introduced as a further proof of the equality in nature which is between them; see
Joh 14:1;
and believeth on him that sent me; he does not say that believes on me, which might have been expected from him; but that believes on him that sent me, that is, on the Father; for as he that rejects Christ, and receives not his words, rejects and receives not him that sent him; so he that hears Christ’s words, and receives him, and believes in him, receives and believes in him that sent him; and the same effects and consequences follow upon the one as on the other, upon hearing the word of Christ, as upon believing on the Father of Christ; and which is no inconsiderable proof of their perfect equality: for such a person that hears the one, and believes on the other,
hath everlasting life; not only in the purpose of God, and in the covenant of his grace, and in the hands of Christ, and in faith and hope; but he has a right unto it, and a claim of it, according to the declaration of the Gospel; and besides, has the principle of it in himself, the grace of God, which springs up into, is the beginning of, and issues in eternal life; he has also a meetness for it, and has the pledge and earnest of it, the Spirit of God, and shall certainly enjoy it:
and shall not come into condemnation; neither for original sin, though judgment has passed upon all men unto condemnation for it; nor for actual sins and transgressions: for though everyone deserves condemnation, yet were there as many sentences of condemnation issued out as sins committed, not one of them could be executed on such who are in Christ Jesus, as he that believes in him is openly and manifestatively in him: the reason is, because the death of Christ is a security against all condemnation; and whoever believes in him shall not be condemned, but saved; and though he may come into judgment, yet not into condemnation: he shall stand in judgment, and be acquitted by the righteousness of Christ, which he, by faith, receives as his justifying righteousness.
But is passed from death unto life; both from a moral death to a spiritual life, being quickened, who before was dead in trespasses and sins; and from under a sentence of condemnation, and eternal death, which as a descendant of Adam, and according to the tenor of the law of works, he was subject to, to an open state of justification, according to the tenor of the covenant of grace; the righteousness of Christ being revealed to him, and received by faith, and the sentence of justification passed upon his conscience by the Spirit; so that he who before, in his own apprehension, was a dead man in a law sense, is now alive to God, and secure from the second death, and being hurt by it.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Hath eternal life ( ). Has now this spiritual life which is endless. See 3:36. In verses John 5:24; John 5:25 Jesus speaks of spiritual life and spiritual death. In this passage (21-29) Jesus speaks now of physical life and death, now of spiritual, and one must notice carefully the quick transition. In Re 20:14 we have the phrase “the second death” with which language compare Re 20:4-6.
But hath passed out of death into life ( ). Perfect active indicative of , to pass from one place or state to another. Out of spiritual death into spiritual life and so no judgement ().
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Heareth. Closely connected with believeth.
Hath eternal life. See on 3 36.
Shall not come into condemnation (eijv krisin oujk ercetai). The present tense, cometh not. So Rev. Not condemnation, but judgment, as Rev. See on 3 17. Wyc., cometh not into doom. The present, cometh, states the general principle or order.
From death [ ] . Rev., correctly, out of death, pointing to the previous condition in which he was.
Life [ ] . The life; the ideal of perfect life.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Verily, verily, I say unto you,” (amen lego humin) “Truly, truly I tell you all, collectively,” while you are listening and while you can hear; It is a sobering and heartening truth. These powers given to the Son by the Father, Joh 5:24-27, are to be exercised in regeneration, the resurrection, and the judgement.
2) “He that heareth my word,” hoti ho ton logon mou akouon) “That he who hears my word,” or gives heed to my message, gives heed to my word, my claim, and testimony as Savior, Luk 19:10; Joh 6:37; Luk 14:35.
3) “And believeth on him that sent me,” (kai pisteuon to pempsanti me) “And the one believing in the one who sent me,” to seek, to save the lost, Joh 3:17; Gal 4:4-5.
4) “Hath everlasting life,” (echei zoen aionion) “Has, holds, possesses or contains eternal life,” as a present possession and experience now, as a fact, not a farce, not a mere prospect, Joh 3:16; Joh 3:36; Joh 10:27-28; 1Jn 5:10-13.
5) “And shall not come into condemnation;” (kai eis krisin ouk erchetai) “And he does not come into a judgement of condemnation,” of the nature or kind that he was under before he believed or trusted in Jesus Christ, whom God sent, Rom 8:1; This one’s only future judgement is one of rewards, Rom 14:10; 2Co 5:10-12.
6) ”But is passed from death unto life.” (alla metabebeken ek tou thanatou eis ten zoen) “But he has passed over, out of and away from death into life,” out of and away from spiritual death, never again to be or exist in a state of spiritual death, alienation from God, in trespasses and in sin, Eph 2:1; Eph 2:5; Eph 4:18; 1Jn 3:14 asserts that we (believers) know this “because we love the brethren,”
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
24. He that heareth my word. Here is described the way and manner of honoring God, that no one may think that it consists solely in any outward performance, or in frivolous ceremonies. For the doctrine of the Gospel seems as a scepter to Christ, by which he governs believers whom the Father has made his subjects. And this definition is eminently worthy of notice. Nothing is more common than a false profession of Christianity; for even the Papists, who are most inveterate enemies of Christ, do in the most presumptuous manner boast of his name. But here Christ demands from us no other honor than to obey his Gospel. Hence it follows, that all the honor which hypocrites bestow on Christ is but the kiss of Judas, by which he betrayed his Lord. Though they may a hundred times call him King, yet they deprive him of his kingdom and of all power, when they do not exercise faith in the Gospel.
Hath eternal life. By these words he likewise commends the fruit of obedience, that we may be more willing to render it. For who ought to be so hardened as not to submit willingly to Christ, when the reward of eternal life is held out to him? And yet we see how few there are whom Christ gains to himself by so great goodness. So great is our depravity that we choose rather to perish of our own accord than to surrender ourselves to obey the Son of God, that we may be saved by his grace. Both, therefore, are here included by Christ — the robe of devout and sincere worship which he requires from us, and the method by which he restores us to life. For it would not be sufficient to understand what he formerly taught, that he came to raise the dead, unless we also knew the manner in which he restores us to life. Now he affirms that life is obtained by hearing his word, and by the word hearing he means faith, as he immediately afterwards declares. But faith has its seat not in the ears, but in the heart. Whence faith derives so great power, we have formerly explained. We ought always to consider what it is that the Gospel offers to us; for we need not wonder that he who receives Christ with all his merits is reconciled to God, and acquitted of the condemnation of death; and that he who has received the gift of the Holy Spirit is clothed with a heavenly righteousness, that he may walk in newness of life, (Rom 6:6.) The clause which is added, believeth on him who sent him, serves to confirm the authority of the Gospel: when Christ testifies that it came from God, and was not invented by men, as he elsewhere says that what he speaks is not from himself, but was delivered to him by the Father, (Joh 7:16.)
And shall not come into condemnation. There is here an implied contrast between the guilt to which we are all naturally liable, and the unconditional acquittal which we obtain through Christ; for if all were not liable to condemnation, what purpose would it serve to free from it those who believe in Christ? The meaning therefore is, that we are beyond the danger of death, because we are acquitted through the grace of Christ; and, therefore, though Christ sanctifies and regenerates us, by his Spirit, to newness of life, yet here he specially mentions the unconditional forgiveness of sins, in which alone the happiness of men consists. For then does a man begin to live when he has God reconciled to him; and how would God love us, if he did not pardon our sins?
But hath passed. Some Latin copies have this verb in the future tense, will pass from death to life; but this has arisen from the ignorance and rashness of some person who, not understanding the meaning of the Evangelist, has taken more liberty than he ought to have taken; for the Greek word μεταβέβηκε ( hath passed) has no ambiguity whatever. There is no impropriety in saying that we have already passed from death to life; for the incorruptible seed of life (1Pe 1:23) resides in the children of God, and they already sit in the heavenly glory with Christ by hope, (Col 3:3,) and they have the kingdom of God already established within them, (Luk 17:21.) For though their life be hidden, they do not on that account cease to possess it by faith; and though they are besieged on every side by faith, they do not cease to be calm on this account, that they know that they are in perfect safety through the protection of Christ. Yet let us remember that believers are now in life in such a manner that they always carry about with them the cause of death; but the Spirit, who dwells in us, is life, which will at length destroy the remains of death; for it is a true saying of Paul, that
death is the last enemy that shall be destroyed, (1Co 15:26.)
And, indeed, this passage contains nothing that relates to the complete destruction of death, or the entire manifestation of life. But though life be only begun in us, Christ declares that believers are so certain of obtaining it, that they ought not to fear death; and we need not wonder at this, since they are united to him who is the inexhaustible fountain of life.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
POWERS INHERENT IN THAT DEITY
Text 5:24-29
24
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth him that sent me, hath eternal life, and cometh not into judgment, but hath passed out of death into life.
25
Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour cometh, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live.
26
For as the Father hath life in himself, even so gave he to the Son also to have life in himself:
27
and he gave him authority to execute judgment, because he is a son of man.
28
Marvel not at this: for the hour cometh, in which all that are in the tombs shall hear his voice,
29
and shall come forth; they have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment.
Queries
a.
Will the believer be exempt from appearing at the judgment?
b.
How many resurrections are spoken of here?
c.
What is meant by he is a son of man?
Paraphrase
I tell you truly, The one who hears and obeys my Word and trusts and obeys the Father who sent me, does even now possess eternal life. Such a one will not incur the penalty or sentence of judgment, but he has already been translated out of the state of eternal separation from God into the glorious state of eternal life with God. Again, I tell you truly, the time is coming and has already arrived when the spiritually dead shall hear and obey the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear and obey shall be made spiritually alive. For even as the Father is the eternal source of Life, so He has also given to the Son to be the eternal source of Life. The Father has given the Son authority to execute judgment because He is partaking of human nature. You should not be amazed at these claims, for the time is coming when all those who are in their graves shall hear His voice and they shall come forth; those that have done good unto the resurrection of eternal life with God, and those that have done worthlessly or uselessly unto a resurrection for sentence and condemnation.
Summary
Jesus claims power to give eternal life to any who believe. He further claims power to resurrect and judge the deadboth believer and non-believer. The believer will live eternally present with God; the unbeliever will be condemned to eternal banishment from God.
Comment
Those who will hear Jesus teaching and obey His Word (Joh. 14:15) may have eternal life. Although Jesus does not use the word obey here, obedience is implied in the word akouo (hear). If one truly hears Jesus, one will obey His voice (cf. Joh. 10:14; Joh. 10:16; Joh. 10:27). The one who believes in Jesus must also accept His deitythat He came forth from the eternal Father. He was sent from God in a unique manner, He was, in fact, God incarnate.
There are tremendous implications in this verse (Joh. 5:24). The man who trusts in Jesus enough to keep His Word will not come into condemnation. In other words, the Christian is even now in a state of eternal life. He is restricted, to be sure, having to dwell in an earthly tabernacle (cf. 2Co. 5:1-8; Php. 1:21-24), but he enjoys a present salvation. The believer (from the moment of his acceptance of the gospel) passes out of the state of a living death (Joh. 3:18) into a present condition of eternal life restricted only by flesh, time and space. But when this mortal shall have been changed, he will put on immortality and incorruption (cf. 1Co. 15:42-58). The man who persists in unbelief is, even while physically alive, in a condition of separation (death) from God, and this condition, persisted in beyond physical death, becomes permanently fixed (Luk. 16:26).
This verse excuses no one, not even the sanctified, from the general resurrection and appearance before the judgment seat of Christ. All of Gods creatures will be there (cf. 2Co. 5:9-10; Rom. 14:10; Act. 17:30-31; Rev. 20:11-15, etc.) Saved and unsaved alike will be there, but the saved will be clothed in Christs righteousness and under no sentence of condemnation (Rev. 3:5; Rev. 3:18; Rom. 8:1).
The reader of this section of Scripture must be careful, for Jesus speaks of a spiritual resurrection as well as a bodily resurrection. Many scholars take the spiritual regeneration (Tit. 3:5; Joh. 3:1-8, etc.) or the new birth to be the first resurrection, and the future resurrection of the body to be the second resurrection.
How is it possible for a man to be dead while physically alive? What is a spiritual resurrection? Notice that the prodigal son was said to have been dead when separated or alienated from his father, but alive upon his repentance and return to the fathers house (Luk. 15:32). The Gentiles were said to have been dead while living in an unregenerate condition (Eph. 2:1; Eph. 5:14) but made alive in Christ. Thus, the one who has sinned (and all have sinned, Rom. 3:23) has incurred the sentence of God upon sin, which is death or separation from God Who is the only source of life. The sinner is, in reality, deadalienated from God, (cf. Isa. 59:2; Eze. 18:4; Eze. 18:20; Rom. 6:23). But, as Jesus says in Joh. 5:24-25, the time has come that all who are spiritually dead may hear His voice, obey it and be quickened (made alive) from the dead, Notice the following comparison:
First Resurrection (Spiritual)
Joh. 5:24
Time has come when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God . . . and live and not come into condemnation.
Rev. 20:5 b Rev. 20:6
This is the first resurrection, Blessed is he that hath part in the first resurrection; over these the second death hath no power.
Second Resurrection (General, Bodily)
Joh. 5:28
Time is coming when all who are in tombs will hear His voice and come outthe good unto resurrection of lifeevil unto resurrection of condemnation.
Rev. 20:13-15
And the sea gave up the dead that were in it; and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, even the lake of fire. And if any was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire.
Joh. 5:26 is a continuation of the preceding thought. Just as the Father is inherently the source of all life, so also is the Son. The Son has been sent to reveal the way of life eternal. Incidentally, in so doing He demonstrated Himself also, through miracles, to be the source and regulator of all that is alive in the physical creation.
Joh. 5:27 has been the subject of various interpretations. There is no disagreement over the fact that Jesus is spoken of as a son of man, or that Jesus has the authority to judge. But the commentators cannot agree upon the meaning behind . . . he is a son of man. The absence of the definite article (the) before son perplexes them. The verse does not say because he is the son of man. Below are the three main interpretations: (a) Jesus has been given the authority to judge because He is a son of manson of man being a Messianic title (cf. Dan. 7:13; Mat. 12:8; Mar. 8:31; Luk. 21:27; Rev. 1:13, etc.). This would be synonymous with the Son of man. (b) Jesus has been given the authority to judge because He appeared in human form, presented the gospel, and necessarily judges all who reject His message. By his appearance among men in mans form, men were caused to stumble and to think His claims absurd. Thus He judges because He is a son of man. The eternal love condemns no one because he is a sinner; . . . it leaves it to men to judge themselves through rejection of the Saviour who is presented to them. Expositors Greek Testament. (c) Jesus has been given the authority to judge because He was born man and partook of mans nature, was tempted as man, yet without sin, suffered the limitations and weaknesses of flesh, and is able therefore to judge justly and mercifully. The last interpretation harmonizes more perfectly with other New Testament teachings (cf. Php. 2:9-11; Heb. 2:13-18; Heb. 4:14-16). If our High Priest must be taken from among men, so must our Judge (cf. Heb. 5:1-10).
Jesus speaks next (Joh. 5:28) of the universal resurrection of saved and unsavedthe bodily resurrection where departed souls will be reunited with new bodies. He not only has power to supply spiritual life and authority to judge, but He also claims power to raise the actual dead unto new bodies fitted for eternity. The Jews were told to stop marvelling that He claimed to be able to impart spiritual life and to judge, for the day would come when He would raise their dead ancestors by the power of His voice. When that day comes, they will no longer reject His claimsthen every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of the Father (cf. Php. 2:10-11 )but too late for some!
Then (Joh. 5:29) will all men be given a body prepared for their eternal destination. Then will the saints be pronounced not guilty because they have appropriated to themselves the atoning blood of Jesus. Then they will be dwelling in Gods eternal tabernacle (cf. Rev. 21:1-4).
It is interesting to note the word evil is the Greek word phaula which means worthless, vain, useless, and not necessarily immoral or vile. The saved are those who have, by faith, done righteous and profitable works of truth. The condemned are those who have, by unbelief, done worthless, vain and unprofitable works of darkness. How careful one must be to occupy himself with works that are profitable and glorifying unto God! Even worthless and idle words will be judged (cf. Mat. 12:36).
The Greek word krisis (judgment) can mean either the activity or process of judgment, or the condemnation and punishment that follows the process. It is evident from the light of other Scriptures that the word means punishment in both Joh. 5:24; Joh. 5:29, for while the saints will appear before the judgment seat of God, they will not suffer the punishment.
The Bible reveals that the judgment will be:
a.
Universal (Rom. 14:10; 2Co. 5:10, etc.).
b.
Individual (Rom. 14:12; 2Co. 5:10, etc.).
c.
According to the New Testament (Joh. 12:48; Rom. 2:2; Rom. 2:16).
d.
According to mans works (Rom. 2:6; 2Co. 5:10; Rev. 20:12-13).
e.
As certain as the resurrection of Christ (Act. 17:31).
Quiz
1.
How does the believer enjoy a present salvation?
2.
How is it possible for a man to be dead while physically alive?
3.
What are the first and second resurrections?
4.
State briefly three interpretations of because he is a son of man.
5.
Which resurrection does Jesus refer to in Joh. 5:28-29?
6.
What is another definition of evil as used here?
7.
Name at least 5 characteristics of the future judgment.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(24) Verily, verily, I say unto you.(Comp. Joh. 5:19; Joh. 5:25, and Note on Joh. 1:51.) For shall not come into condemnation, read doth not come into judgment. (Comp. Note on Joh. 3:18.)
The repeated verily introduces, as elsewhere, one of the deeper spiritual truths which He came to teach. This truth explains the whom He willeth of Joh. 5:21 to have no limit but that of human receptivity. It again brings out the unity of Father and Son. The Sons word is the revelation of the Father. He that hears this word believes not on Him only, but on Him that sent Him (comp. Joh. 12:44). It asserts that eternal life is not of the future only, but is already in germ possessed by the man who is thus brought into communion with the source of life. (Comp. 1Jn. 1:2.) This man comes not into judgment. There can be for him no separation from God, no condemnation. He has already passed from the state of death to that of life. What remains for him is the development of life.
Believeth on him that sent me.Better, believeth Him that sent Me.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
24-29. The twofold quickening power of the Son; exercised (Joh 1:24-25) in quickening the believing soul with spiritual life, and ( John 2:26-30) in raising the bodies of all to the resurrection.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The present conditional, spiritual resurrection of the soul, Joh 5:24-25.
24. Heareth my word and believeth This is a conditional quickening or resurrection to the life of the soul. The conditions are hearing, that is listening, voluntarily attending; and believing, that is, accepting the word into our heads, hearts, and lives.
Hath everlasting life Everlasting life is already in him. That life is a present possession which heaven will perpetuate.
Shall not While that life is thus within him. So, on the other hand, Joh 3:36, he that believeth not shall not see life; that is, unless his unbelief be removed; for the wrath of God abideth on him. So that as eternal death is upon the unbeliever until he is converted, so eternal life is in the believer so long as he is a believer and does not apostatize. When a man is converted his death is removed; when a believer loses his faith, his eternal life is removed from within him.
Is passed Has passed from death unto life. To him this resurrection is already past. The seed or principle of life is within his soul. It is in him a well of water springing up to everlasting life. The life cannot expire, but the well may be removed. See notes on Joh 4:14.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“In very truth I tell you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment but has passed from death to life’.
He goes on to add that because He has been given the power to raise men at the last day He is able to offer life and certainty now. Those who hear His word (which means hear in the sense of responding to it fully), and believe Him Who sent Him, something which will be shown by their response to Jesus (v. 23), will immediately have the life of the coming age, eternal life, the life of the Spirit. They do not have to wait for it, it can be theirs now, courtesy of both Father and Son. For such there will be no Judgment Day needed to determine their destiny, they will have already passed from death to life.
That this ‘having eternal life’ does not only mean ‘has potentially’ is confirmed by 1Jn 5:11-13. It has in mind the ‘birth from above’ of Joh 3:3, the ‘begetting again’ of 1Pe 1:3; 1Pe 1:23 and the ‘partaking of the divine nature’ of 2Pe 1:4.
The Scribes and Pharisees earnestly sought eternal life. They believed that it could be theirs by strict obedience to the Laws and proved participation in the covenant community before God. And yet they were conscious that they always failed. So they strove harder, and still they failed. But Jesus was now offering to free them from the daily grind of hopeless striving. Let them now believe God as He speaks through the activities of His Son. Let them respond to His words. Then they will receive eternal life now. They will already have passed from death to life.
‘Hears My words — and believes Him Who sent Me.’ Notice how the implication is that His words are God’s words, that His words can be seen as the very words of God. They need to believe His words because they are not only His but are the Father’s, so that their attitude to His words demonstrates whether they are willing to believe the Father..
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Son Has the Power to Offer Everlasting Life Now ( Joh 5:24-29 ).
He now goes on to reveal His uniqueness by the fact that He can both give men eternal life now, and will be responsible both for man’s judgment at the Last Day, and for the resurrection of the dead and their final destiny.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Joh 5:24. Hath everlasting life, “He is already entitled to it; yea, it is already begun in his soul; and he, if he be faithful unto death, shall shortly possess it in its full perfection, and shall not come into condemnation for any former offences; but he hath passed from that state of death in which men naturally are, to a state of life and felicity.”
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Joh 5:24 . The now receives and that, too, with increasing solemnity of discourse its more minute explanation, both as to the subjects whom it specifies ( , . . .), and as to the itself ( ).
is simply heareth , but is closely connected with the following (comp. Mat 13:19 ff.), and thereby receives its definite reference. For the opposite, see Joh 12:47 .
. .] The is accomplished in him; he has eternal life (Joh 3:15 ), i.e . the higher spiritual , which, upon his entrance into the Messiah’s kingdom, reaches its consummation in glorious Messianic . He has , in that he is become a believer, passed from the spiritual death (see on Joh 5:21 ) into the eternal life (the ), and cometh not into (condemnatory, comp. Joh 3:18 ) judgment , because he has already attained unto that life . [210] The result of this is: , Joh 8:51 . On the Perfect ., see Joh 3:18 ; 1Jn 3:14 .
[210] Melancthon: “Postquam illuxit fides seu fiducia Christi in corde, qua agnoscimus nos vere a Deo recipi, exaudiri, regi, defendi, sequitur pax et laetitia, quae est inchoatio vitae aeternae et tegit peccata, quae adhuc in imbecillitate nostra haerent.” Baur is wrong in concluding from such passages (comp. Joh 8:51 , Joh 9:26 ) that our evangelist verges closely on the doctrine of the Gnostics, 2Ti 2:18 .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
DISCOURSE: 1627
THE BELIEVERS HAPPY STATE
Joh 5:24. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent we, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
THAT there will be a future judgment, we all know: and that Jesus Christ is appointed to be the Judge, is also generally acknowledged. But what his rule of judgment will be is very imperfectly understood. That our works will be inquired into, and form the ground of decision either against us or in our favour, is admitted on all hands: but that our principles will be scrutinized, and enter most essentially into the consideration of our Judge in determining our eternal state, is far from being generally expected or conceived. Yet that is declared by the Judge himself, even by our blessed Lord, and in the plainest terms. Having told us that the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment to the Son, he adds, 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. Now, from the manner in which this truth is affirmed, we see at once both the certainty and importance of it: and therefore, with confidence, I will set before you,
I.
The character here described
Of course, our Lord did not mean to say, that all who heard his discourses, but that all who so heard them as to make them the rule of their faith and practice, would be saved. Consider then,
1.
What the great subject of our Lords discourses was
[He represented himself as sent by God the Father to expiate upon the cross the sins of men; and to bring in an everlasting righteousness, whereby all who should believe in him might be saved ]
2.
What must of necessity be experienced by all who should receive it aright
[They must feel themselves sinners, deserving of Gods wrath and indignation. They must be convinced of the utter impossibility of ever reconciling themselves to God by any works of their own. They must see Christ to be the true Messiah, sent by God to be the Saviour of the world. To him they must apply themselves, and to God the Father through him; having no hope but in his blood and righteousness, nor any plea whatever but his obedience unto death. In the daily habit of their minds they must come to God by him with deep humiliation and with fervent prayer; and must consecrate themselves to God as his obedient servants, determined to follow, without hesitation or reserve, his revealed will.]
Such, in few words, is the character described.
We notice,
II.
The blessedness connected with it
This is set forth as it exists,
1.
In prospect
[Never shall a person of this character come into condemnation. However much he may have provoked the Divine displeasure in former times, he now enjoys peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. However Gods anger may have waxed hot against him at a former period, it is turned away from him now, and all his iniquities are cast into the very depths of the sea. He has nothing to fear. Being found in Christ, there is no condemnation to him: on the contrary, he is presented faultless before God, and stands before him without spot or blemish ]
2.
In possession
[He already hath eternal life, both in title and in actual possession. He can claim eternal life, as given to him by covenant and by oath. Numberless are the promises made to those who lay hold on Gods covenant; and he may confidently rest upon them, expecting every one of them to be fulfilled in its season: for it is an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure: and sooner should heaven and earth pass away, than one jot or tittle of it should ever fail.
But it is not a mere title to it that he possesses; for it is already begun in his soul. He has actually experienced, so far as it respects his soul, a transition similar to that which will hereafter take place in reference to the body. He once lay, as it were, in the grave, altogether dead in trespasses and sins: but now he has passed from death unto life. A new principle of life has been infused into him; so that he has new views, new desires, new pursuits, and new habits: and is altogether a new creature in Christ Jesus. He lives no longer to himself, but unto him who died for him, and rose again.]
The whole of this subject being so plain and obvious, I have not judged it necessary to enter very fully into it in a way of discussion, that I may have the more time to improve it in a way of application.
Two things, then, I earnestly request of you, my beloved brethren:
1.
Inquire carefully into the state of your souls before God
[Inquire whether, like Mary, you are sitting at the feet of Jesus, and receiving with obedient regard his every word. Say whether his written word be your daily study and delight; and whether you diligently apply to yourselves his preached word, for the correcting of every sinful habit, and for advancing the life of God within you
Inquire whether, in obedience to his word, you are relying solely upon him, and coming to the Father through him, and pleading his merits and mediation as the only grounds of your
Carry your inquiry yet further; and see whether your transition from death to life be so clear and manifest, that it admits not of any reasonable doubt. Are you crucified with Christ to all the vanities of this world? and are you living entirely by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, receiving every thing out of his fulness, and improving every thing to his glory?
If these things be indeed your daily experience, then is all the blessedness annexed to such a state your assured portion. But consider, I pray you, the sad alternative. If these things be in you, you shall not come into condemnation: but if you have only the appearance of them, and not the reality, then does condemnation await you at your departure hence; yea, our blessed Lord expressly tells you, that you are condemned already, and that the wrath of God abideth on you [Note: Joh 3:18; Joh 3:36.]. What a fearful thought is this! How can you bear to live in such a state, or endure even to have your state a matter of doubt or suspense? If it were at an earthly tribunal only that condemnation awaited you, it were a tremendous prospect: but to be condemned by the Judge of quick and dead, and be sentenced by him to everlasting misery, is so terrible, that I wonder the apprehension of it does not utterly overwhelm you. My hearts desire and prayer to God for you, brethren, is, that not one of you may be ever subjected to such a doom as this.]
2.
Pursue with all earnestness the blessedness that has now been set before you
[Surely it is worth seeking for, and will richly repay all that you can either do or suffer to obtain it. Were you urged to commence a life of suffering, such as the devotees of idols inflict upon themselves, you might well undertake the painful task, and submit to all that could be inflicted on you. But we call you to nothing of this kind. We invite you only to come to Christ, and to hear his word, and to believe in the Father who hath sent him: and shall this be deemed hard? Even in this present life, the blessedness of having a title to heaven, and the very life of heaven begun in your souls, would richly repay you: how much more, then, will all the glory and felicity of God himself, so far as a creature can enjoy it, recompense your labours? Be in earnest, brethren. There is nothing under heaven worth seeking alter in comparison of this. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom: and in dependence on it, go to the Father, and lay hold upon him, and remind him of his covenant: yea, take all his exceeding great and precious promises, and plead them before him: and see whether it shall be in vain to call upon God. No, indeed: He will be merciful unto you: he will seal a sense of his pardoning love upon your soul; and make himself over to you as your God and portion for ever. Call to mind the assurance given you in my text: Verily, verily, I say unto you. Thus shall it be done to the believing soul. What more can you want to comfort and encourage you? Only come to God in his appointed way, and all this blessedness shall be yours.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
24 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.
Ver. 24. He that heareth my word ] As death came into the world by the door of the ear, so doth life eternal,Isa 55:3Isa 55:3 . God was in the still voice, and the oracle bade, “Hear ye him,”Mat 17:5Mat 17:5 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
24. ] What follows, to Joh 5:30 incl., is an expansion of the two assertions in Joh 5:21-22 , the and the , intimately bound up as they are together. There is a parallelism in Joh 5:24-25 which should be noticed for the right understanding of the words. in one, answers to in the other. It is a kind of hearing which awakens to life, one accompanied by . And this last is not barely ‘Him who sent Me,’ but Him, the very essence of belief in Whom is in this , THAT HE SENT ME (see ch. Joh 12:44 ). And the dative here after expresses that belief in the testimony of God that He hath sent His Son, which is dwelt on so much 1Jn 5:9-12 , where, Joh 5:10 , we have the same .
. . ] So 1Jn 5:12-13 . The and the . . are commensurate: where the faith is, the possession of eternal life is: and when the one remits, the other is forfeited. But here the faith is set before us as an enduring faith, and its effects described in their completion (see Eph 1:19-20 ).
, being the separation , the effect of which is to gather out of the Kingdom all that offendeth; and thus regarding especially the damnatory part of judgment, he who believes comes not into , has no concern with, . Compare Psa 142:2 LXX. The reckoning which ends with , is not : the reward is of free grace . In this sense, the believers in Christ will not be judged according to their works: they are justified before God by faith, and by God , ; Their ‘passage over’ from death into life has already taken place , from the state of spiritual death into that , which in their believing state they already. It is to be observed that our Lord speaks in very similar terms of the unbelieving being condemned already , in ch. Joh 3:18 .
The perfect sense of must not be weakened nor explained away, see ref.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Joh 5:24 . ; it was through His word Jesus conveyed life to the impotent man, because that brought Him into spiritual connection with the man. And it is through His claims, His teaching, His offers, He brings Himself into connection with all. It is a general truth not confined to the impotent man. But to hear is not enough: , belief on Him that sent Jesus must accompany hearing. Not simply belief on Jesus but on God. The word of Jesus must be recognised as a Divine message, a word with power to fulfil it. In this case, by the very hearing and believing, . As the impotent man had, in his believing, physical life, so whoever believes in Christ’s word as God’s message receives the life of God into his spirit. Faith has also a negative result; [ cf. , quoted from Demosthenes by Wetstein. Herodotus also uses the expression]. Literally this means “he does not come to trial”; but has it not the fuller meaning “come under condemnation”? Meyer says “yes”: Godet says “no”. Meyer is right. This clause is the direct negative of the former: to come to judgment is to come under condemnation, cf. Joh 3:19 , , etc. . The perfect shows (1) that the previous is an actual present, and does not merely mean “has in prospect” or “has a right to”; and (2) that the result of the transition continues. Had the impotent man not believed and obeyed, he would have remained in his living death, in now a self-chosen and self-fixed condemnation: but accepting the life that was in Christ’s command, he passed there and then from death to life.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Joh 5:24-29
24″Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. 25Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, 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, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; 27and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. 28Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, 29and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.
Joh 5:24 “Truly, truly” John’s unique doubling (cf. Joh 5:25) of Jesus’ words is a characteristic introduction to significant statements. See Special Topic Amen at Joh 1:51.
“he who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life” These are three present active verbals. This is an emphasis on belief (see Special Topic at Joh 2:23) in the Father that is exercised by belief in the Son (cf. 1Jn 5:9-12). In the Synoptics, eternal life is often a future event to be hoped for in faith, but in John it is characteristically a present reality (i.e., Joh 8:51; Joh 11:25). It is possible the term “hears” reflects the Hebrew term shema, which meant “to hear so as to obey” (cf. Deu 6:4).
“who sent Me” The verb apostell (aorist active participle) is the root form of the word “apostle” (cf. Joh 5:36). It was used by the rabbis as “one sent as an official representative on an assigned mission.” This term is used often in John for the Father sending the Son as His representative. See note at Joh 4:34.
SPECIAL TOPIC: SEND (APOSTELL)
“but has passed out of death into life” This is Perfect active indicative; that which has happened in the past and has now become a state of being. The Kingdom of God is present, yet future, so too, eternal life (cf. Joh 5:25-26; 1Jn 3:14). Joh 5:25 is a strong statement of the presence of the Kingdom now!
Joh 5:25 “an hour is coming and now is” This is the kind of language that characterizes John’s writings. Words and phrases often have two senses. In this case, “hour” means
1. hour of salvation
2. hour of judgment
The time frame is both present and future (cf. Joh 5:29; Joh 6:39; Joh 6:44; Joh 6:54). What one does with Jesus now will determine what happens to him/her in the future. Salvation and judgment are both a present reality and a future consummation (cf. Joh 5:28).
SPECIAL TOPIC: THE HOUR
“when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God” Joh 5:25 speaks of the spiritually dead; Joh 5:29 speaks about the resurrection of all of the physically dead. The Bible speaks of three kinds of death.
1. spiritual death (cf. Genesis 3)
2. physical death (cf. Genesis 5)
3. eternal death (cf. Eph 2:2; Rev 2:11; Rev 20:6; Rev 20:14) or the lake of fire, hell (Gehenna).
This is a rare use of the phrase “Son of God.” See Special Topic at 1Jn 3:8. One reason this phrase was not used more often is because of the Greek religious view of the gods (Mt. Olympus) taking human women as wives or consorts. Jesus’ status as God’s Son does not reflect sexual generation or time sequence, but the intimate relationship. It is a Jewish familial metaphor. Jesus was affirming His Deity to these Jewish leaders in a very clear and specific way using OT categories (cf. Joh 5:21; Joh 5:26).
Joh 5:26 “for just as the Father has life in Himself” This is basically the meaning of the term YHWH from Exo 3:14. This form of the Covenant name for God comes from the Hebrew verb “to be.” It means the ever living, only living One. See Special Topic: Names for Deity at Joh 6:20.
In the OT only YHWH had “life” (cf. 1Ti 1:17; 1Ti 6:16) and only He could give it to others (i.e., Job 10:12; Job 33:4; Psa 36:9). Jesus claims that YHWH gives this same unique power to Him!
“even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself” This is a strong affirmation of Jesus’ Deity (cf. Joh 1:4; 1Jn 5:11).
Joh 5:27 The reason that Jesus is able (exousia, has authority, cf. Joh 10:18; Joh 17:2; Joh 19:11) to judge rightly is because He is fully God but also fully man. There is no definite article with the phrase “Son of Man” (cf. Eze 2:1 and Psa 8:4). He fully knows us (cf. Heb 4:15); He fully knows God (cf. Joh 1:18; Joh 5:30).
It is surprising that in a context where Jesus calls Himself “the son” (cf. Joh 5:19 [twice],20,21,22,23 [twice],25,26) that in Joh 5:27 the title “son of man” (but without the usual definite article) is used. However, the same switch is in (1) Joh 3:13-14 vs. Joh 3:16-18; Joh 3:35-36; (2) Joh 6:27; Joh 6:53 vs. Joh 6:40; and (3) Joh 8:28 vs. Joh 8:35-36. Jesus used both titles for Himself interchangeably.
Joh 5:28 “Do not marvel at this” This is a present active imperative with a negative particle which usually meant to stop an act which was already in process. As shocking as Jesus’ previous words to these Jewish leaders were, His next statement would also totally shock them.
“all who are in the tombs shall hear His voice” This seems to reflect the shout of the Messiah at the Second Coming (cf. 1Th 4:16). Lazarus (cf. Joh 11:43) is a paradigm of this event. This does not negate the truth of 2Co 5:6; 2Co 5:8. It does assert the universal judgment and authority of the Son.
Much of this context relates to the reality of the spiritual life here and now (realized eschatology). But this phrase also asserts an end-time future eschatological event. This tension between the already and not yet of the Kingdom of God characterizes Jesus’ teachings in the Synoptics, but especially in John.
Joh 5:29 The Bible speaks of resurrection of both the wicked and the righteous (cf. Dan 12:2; Mat 25:46; Act 24:15). Most passages emphasize the resurrection of the righteous only (cf. Job 19:23-29; Isa 26:19; Joh 6:39-40; Joh 6:44; Joh 6:54; Joh 11:24-25; 1Co 15:50-58).
This does not refer to judgment based on works, but rather to judgement based on believers’ lifestyles (cf. Mat 25:31-46; Gal 5:16-21). There is a general principle in God’s Word and world, humans reap what they sow (cf. Pro 11:24-25; Gal 6:6). Or to put it in an OT quote, “God will recompense humans according to their deeds” (cf. Psa 62:12; Psa 28:4; Job 34:11; Pro 24:12; Mat 16:27; Rom 2:6-8; 1Co 3:8; 2Co 5:10; Eph 6:8 and Col 3:25).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
word. Greek. logos. See note on Mar 9:32.
believeth on. See App-150.
everlasting. Greek aionios. App-161.
life. See note on Joh 1:4.
condemnation = judgment, as in Joh 5:22.
is = has.
from = out of. Greek. ek. App-104.
unto. Same as “into”, above.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
24.] What follows, to Joh 5:30 incl., is an expansion of the two assertions in Joh 5:21-22,-the and the ,-intimately bound up as they are together. There is a parallelism in Joh 5:24-25 which should be noticed for the right understanding of the words. in one, answers to in the other. It is a kind of hearing which awakens to life,-one accompanied by . And this last is not barely Him who sent Me, but Him, the very essence of belief in Whom is in this, THAT HE SENT ME (see ch. Joh 12:44). And the dative here after expresses that belief in the testimony of God that He hath sent His Son, which is dwelt on so much 1Jn 5:9-12, where, Joh 5:10, we have the same .
. .] So 1Jn 5:12-13. The and the . . are commensurate:-where the faith is, the possession of eternal life is:-and when the one remits, the other is forfeited. But here the faith is set before us as an enduring faith, and its effects described in their completion (see Eph 1:19-20).
,- being the separation,-the effect of which is to gather out of the Kingdom all that offendeth;-and thus regarding especially the damnatory part of judgment,-he who believes comes not into, has no concern with, . Compare Psa 142:2 LXX. The reckoning which ends with , is not : the reward is of free grace. In this sense, the believers in Christ will not be judged according to their works: they are justified before God by faith, and by God- , ; Their passage over from death into life has already taken place,-from the state of spiritual death into that , which in their believing state they already. It is to be observed that our Lord speaks in very similar terms of the unbelieving being condemned already, in ch. Joh 3:18.
The perfect sense of must not be weakened nor explained away,-see ref.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Joh 5:24. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life,
If we truly believe the word of Christ, and trust in him who sent his Son into the world, we have at this moment everlasting life.
Joh 5:24. And shalt not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
What a grand verse this is! It is worthy to be written in letters of gold at every street corner; would that we all knew the fullness of its meaning by heartfelt experience!
Joh 5:25-30. 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. I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.
Christ as Mediator did the will of the Father, and yet also did his own will, for his will was always the same as his Fathers.
Joh 5:31. If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.
He did bear witness to himself by his miracles, but that was not the witness upon which he relied, nor was it the only witness to the truth of his mission.
Joh 5:32-40. There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true. Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth. But I receive not testimony from man: but these things I say, that ye might be saved. He was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me. And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not. Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
They were great Bible-readers, great students of the letter, but they would not come to Christ; and hence the Scriptures themselves became a sepulcher in which they were entombed.
Joh 5:41-44. I receive not honour from men. But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you. I am come in my Fathers name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive. How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?
Some men find it difficult to believe in Christ because they are always seeking honour for themselves; desire for the praise of men often blinds the mind and prejudices the spirit. How boldly our great Master speaks! There is no flattery on his lips. He is the faithful and true Witness, the very Word of God. Oh, that all men would give heed to his message!
This exposition consisted of readings from Gen 45:9-28; and Joh 5:24-44.
Fuente: Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible
Joh 5:24. , My word) This double-membered sentence is equivalent to this: he who hears (the word of Him that sent Me, and) My word, and believes (on Me, and) on Him that sent Me, etc.-, hath) Jeremiah, the patriarch of Constantinople, in his letter to the people of Tubingen, writes: He hath eternal life, and doth not come into judgment. Dost thou see? He hath this immediately, and not merely, he shall have. , He hath passed over [is passed], agrees with this. As to the unbeliever, he is already condemned; ch. Joh 3:18–, from-into) A great leap.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Joh 5:24
Joh 5:24
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth him that sent me, hath eternal life, and cometh not into judgment,-The emphasis is laid on the truth that hearing Jesus and believing in God through the words of Jesus would bring them to everlasting life.
but hath passed out of death into life.-In accepting Christ and his word as our rule and guide we pass out of a state of condemnation into one of life-a state that leads to eternal life or life beyond the grave.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
He that: Joh 3:16, Joh 3:18, Joh 3:36, Joh 6:40, Joh 6:47, Joh 8:51, Joh 11:26, Joh 12:44, Joh 20:31, Mar 16:16, Rom 10:11-13, 1Pe 1:21, 1Jo 5:1, 1Jo 5:11-13
and shall not: Joh 10:27-30, Rom 8:1, Rom 8:16, Rom 8:17, Rom 8:28-30, Rom 8:33, Rom 8:34, 1Th 5:9, 2Th 2:13, 2Th 2:14, 1Pe 1:5
but: 1Jo 3:14
Reciprocal: Num 5:22 – Amen Psa 37:28 – forsaketh Psa 133:3 – even life Pro 16:22 – a wellspring Isa 45:17 – an everlasting Isa 51:6 – my salvation Isa 55:3 – hear Mat 5:18 – verily Mar 14:18 – Verily Luk 10:42 – which Luk 15:24 – this Joh 1:51 – Verily Joh 3:15 – not Joh 5:19 – Verily Joh 6:68 – thou hast Joh 7:16 – but Joh 10:28 – they Act 3:22 – him Act 10:22 – and to Act 10:43 – whosoever Act 13:39 – by Rom 3:28 – General Rom 4:5 – believeth Rom 5:1 – being Rom 5:2 – wherein Rom 5:9 – we shall Rom 6:13 – alive Rom 6:23 – but the Rom 8:30 – he justified 2Co 5:15 – that they Gal 3:22 – to Eph 2:8 – through Col 1:13 – and Col 3:3 – your 1Ti 1:16 – believe 1Ti 4:10 – specially 2Ti 1:1 – the promise 2Ti 1:10 – and hath Tit 3:8 – which Heb 6:1 – faith Heb 10:39 – but Jam 5:20 – from death 1Jo 5:12 – that hath the
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
4
The subject in the preceding verse is continued in this as to the close partnership between the Father and the Son. The passage adds the results for those who recognize that union, by showing a practical belief in the same. Death and life refers to spiritual matters, because all who refuse to accept God and Christ and obey their law will be condemned to everlasting death.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
The Apologists Bible Commentary
John 5
24″Truly, truly I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
CommentaryNo less grand or sobering than what Jesus has already said, is the proclamation that not only does Jesus give life “to whom He wills,” but that the life He gives is eternal life, and it begins for the believer immediately upon hearing Jesus’ words and believing the Father who has sent Him. “Hears” in this context means “accepts as true; believes.” Jesus speaks the words that the Father gives Him (8:26) and does the works the Father shows Him (verse 19); therefore, those who believe the Son believe the Father, and those who honor the Son honor the Father. The Son mediates the Father to us in all things, not least of which is His active role in salvation. That He is an active participant, and not merely a passive “conduit” through which the Father acts in the world, is seen by Jesus’ statement that He gives life “to whom He wills” and that He, not the Father, is the ultimate Judge of humanity. Of course, since His will perfectly matches the will of the Father, the Son and the Father act as One (along with the “Spirit of Truth” who convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment [14:17; 16:8]) to bring regeneration, justification, and salvation to the believer, and just judgment to the unbeliever. As John elsewhere makes clear: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. (1 John 5:12). One of the striking features of this verse is the present tense “has” (see Grammatical Analysis, below). Salvation begins for the believer at the moment of belief. The believer receives eternal life and is not judged because he hears and believes. He has passed from spiritual death to spiritual life through no ‘works’ of his own, but through the will of Christ alone. The believer is assured of her salvation, for she at the moment of belief, no longer comes under God’s wrath and condemnation, but has at once and completely passed from spiritual death to eternal life. The Son is the arbiter of destiny. The determination of this destiny is immediate: “Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned.” Eternal life becomes the possession of the believer at the moment of acceptance; the future judgment will only confirm what has already taken place. The assurance of salvation does not begin at death or at a future judgment. “He has crossed over” is in the perfect tense, which indicates an accomplished transit and a settled state (EBC ). Since Jesus has the unity and divine prerogatives mentioned in verses 19-23, to trust His message and His Father is to have in the present time eternal life (cf. 3:36). No judgment will come in the future (he will not be condemned [cf. 3:18; Rom. 6:13; 8:1] because he has already passed from one realm-death-into another-life [cf. Eph. 2:1, 5]). Only once elsewhere (in 1 John 3:14) is the phrase “passed from death to life” used (BKC ).
Grammatical Analysisecei zwhn aiwnion…alla metabebhken ek tou qanatou eiV thn zwhn ECHEI ZHN AIWNION…ALLA METABEBKEN EK TOU THANATOU EIS TN ZN Has life eternal…but has crossed over out of death into [the] life. ECHEI is the present indicative active form of the verb ECHW, “to have, to hold, to possess” (Friberg ). The present indicative asserts something which is occurring while the speaker is speaking. The active voice indicates that the action is being accomplished by the subject of the sentence – in this case, “he who hears…and believes…” Thus, hearing and believing bring eternal life immediately, thereby avoiding judgment and spiritual death. Hath eternal life (echei zen ainion). Has now this spiritual life which is endless. See 3:36. In verses 24, 25 Jesus speaks of spiritual life and spiritual death. In this passage (verses 21-29) Jesus speaks now of physical life and death, now of spiritual, and one must notice carefully the quick transition (RWP ). METABEBHKEN is the perfect indicative active form of METABAINW, “to leave, move, go, cross over” (Friberg). The indicative mood heightens the temporal aspect of the present tense verb. Context will dictate whether the completeness of action or the finished results are emphasized. In this verse, either or both connotations are possible.
Other Veiws ConsideredJehovah’s Witnesses objection: The Watchtower writes: [Jesus] is the appointed Judge into whose hands all judgment is committed, so that he judiciously administers his ransom benefits to individuals among mankind according to their worthiness to live under his kinship (John 5:22-27) (Aid , p. 924). The Watchtower thus reads this verse and the surrounding context in such as way as to suggest that membership in Christ’s Kingdom is based – at least in part – on the “worthiness” of the believer. The Watchtower teaches a complex eschatology, in which two classes of believers receive different resurrections. The so-called “Anointed class” of believers receive the “first” or “earlier” resurrection; they have a “heavenly call,” and thus receive spiritual bodies for their new lives in Heaven with Christ. The “Anointed” are restricted to 144,000 believers. The remaining group of believers – the “other sheep” (which includes virtually all Witnesses alive today) – will be part of the second resurrection. They will receive physical bodies for their new lives in an Earthly Paradise. There, they will labor for Christ and the Anointed during Christ’s millennial reign, following which, if they are obedient, they may receive eternal life (see Aid, pp. 1393 ff.). Thus, the Watchtower teaches that only those “other sheep” who demonstrate their “worthiness” during the Millennium to live under Christ’s kingship will receive eternal life. In fairness, the Watchtower does not base its teaching on this passage alone. However, it appeals to this passage to help explain it: “The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who have given heed (literally, word for word, “the (ones) having heard”) will live.” (vs. 25, The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures). This indicates that he was speaking, not merely to someone audibly hearing his voice, but, rather, of the ones “having heard,” namely, those who, after hearing, accept as true what they hear. The terms “hear” and “listen” are used very frequently in the Bible with the meaning of “give heed” or “obey” (see OBEDIENCE). Those who prove to be obedient will live. (Compare the use of the same Greek term (akouo), “To hear or to listen” as John 6:60; 8:43; 47; 10:3, 27.) They are judged, not on what they did before hearing his voice, but what they did after hearing it. (IBID, p. 1397). Response: Though AKOUW can have the connotation “to obey,” and it is certainly incumbent upon believers to be doers, not merely hearers of His word (cf., James 1:22), the context here and in the verses the Watchtower cites stresses “belief.” Indeed, in each, a form of the word “believe” occurs in the immediate context, while the word “obey” does not. Thus, the primary emphasis is upon hearing and believing – though obedience will follow any true conversion to belief in God and His Son. The Watchtower emphasizes obedience, here, to support its teaching that those who return to life in the second resurrection must demonstrate their obedience during the Millennial reign of Christ to achieve eternal life. However, the point must be stressed that there in nothing in this passage – nor indeed elsewhere in Scripture – that explicitly states that some believers will be resurrected to a heavenly call, while others must “prove to be obedient.” Further, the Watchtower says that those who “hear” Christ’s words will be “judged, not on what they did before hearing his voice, but what they did after hearing it.” For Witnesses, the deeds they do after hearing Christ’s words entail not only what they do in this life, but also what they may do following their resurrection, but prior to the ultimate judgment in which Christ will determine who has proven “obedient.” Since it has just defined “judgment” as “a judgment of condemnation” (IBID), the Watchtower means that some of those who “hear” Christ’s Words and believe in His Father, but do not “prove to be obedient,” will be denied eternal life. In explaining its view of “passing over from death to life,” the Watchtower writes: “[God] has raised them up out of spiritual death and gave them hope of eternal life (1 Pet. 4:3-6)” (IBID, p. 1399, emphasis added). This teaching is simply not supported in this verse, for here, Jesus assures us that if we “hear” and “believe,” we will gain eternal life and will not “come into judgment.” There is no mention of “hope,” here, but of assurance – and a wonderful assurance it is! This verse promises believers that they have already passed over from death to life – and while this means in one sense a spiritual rebirth in our present life, the context also requires eternal life to be in view as well. While the Watchtower may point to other passages that use the phrase “hope of eternal life,” (cf., Titus 3:7), it does not occur in this context, nor in 1 Peter 4:3-6. The word “hope” in the context of the resurrection and eternal life means more than saying, “I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow.” Christian hope is faith in the promises of God – as believers, we “hope in our Lord” (1 Thessalonians 1:3); we “hope in the promise” (Acts 26:6); we “hope for righteousness” even as we “await righteousness” (Galatians 5:5). The Apostle Paul tells us that our hope is grounded in the Gospel (Colossian 1:23). Thus, by faith, we “hope” in the promises of God, and by God’s great power and grace, we have assurance that He will keep his promises to us – not least of which, is the true “hope” of eternal life, which comes by faith in Christ’s words and in the Father who sent Him. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He save us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that being justified by His grace we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life (Titus 3:4-7). We are saved and made heirs of eternal life, not by deeds or any righteousness of our own (for we have none!), but only through God’s mercy. Is obedience a “deed?” Does it impute to us righteousness? Only God is righteous, and by believing in our righteous Savior, our sins are placed upon Him, and He places His righteousness on us – not that we become righteous in our own right, but God sees us as righteous, because we are covered by Jesus’ atoning sacrifice. Our hope is grounded in the Gospel, which contains the assuring words of Christ – “he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.”
Fuente: The Apologists Bible Commentary
THE passage before us is singularly rich in weighty truths. To the minds of Jews, who were familiar with the writings of Moses and Daniel, it would come home with peculiar power. In the words of our Lord they would not fail to see fresh assertions of His claim to be received as the promised Messiah.
We see in these verses that the salvation of our soul depends on hearing Christ. It is the man, we are told, who “hears Christ’s word,” and believes that God the Father sent Him to save sinners, who “has everlasting life.” Such “hearing” of course is something more than mere listening. It is hearing as a humble scholar,-hearing as an obedient disciple,-hearing with faith and love,-hearing with a heart ready to do Christ’s will,-this is the hearing that saves. It is the very hearing of which God spoke in the famous prediction of a “prophet like unto Moses:”-“Unto him shall ye hearken.”-“Whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.” (Deu 18:15-19.)
To “hear” Christ in this way, we must never forget, is just as needful now as it was eighteen hundred years ago. It is not enough to hear sermons, and run after preachers, though some people seem to think this makes up the whole of religion. We must go much further than this: we must “hear Christ.” To submit our hearts to Christ’s teaching,-to sit humbly at His feet by faith, and learn of Him,-to enter His school as penitents, and become His believing scholars,-to hear His voice and follow Him,-this is the way to heaven. Till we know something experimentally of these things, there is no life in us.
We see, secondly, in these verses, how rich and full are the privileges of the true hearer and believer. Such a man enjoys a present salvation. Even now, at this present time, he “hath everlasting life.”-Such a man is completely justified and forgiven. There remains no more condemnation for him. His sins are put away. “He shall not come into condemnation.”-Such a man is in an entirely new position before God. He is like one who has moved from one side of a gulf to another: “He is passed from death unto life.”
The privileges of a true Christian are greatly underrated by many. Chiefly from deplorable ignorance of Scripture, they have little idea of the spiritual treasures of every believer in Jesus. These treasures are brought together here in beautiful order, if we will only look at them. One of a true Christian’s treasures is the “presentness” of his salvation. It is not a far distant thing which he is to have at last, if he does his duty and is good. It is his own in title the moment he believes. He is already pardoned, forgiven, and saved, though not in heaven.-Another of a true Christian’s treasures is the “completeness” of his justification. His sins are entirely removed, taken away, and blotted out of God’s book, by Christ’s blood. He may look forward to judgment without fear, and say, “who is he that condemneth?” (Rom 8:34.) He shall stand without fault before the throne of God.-The last, but not the least, of a true Christian’s treasures, is the entire change in his relation and position toward God. He is no longer as one dead before Him,-dead, legally, like a man sentenced to die, and dead in heart. He is “alive unto God.” (Rom 6:11.) “He is a new creature. Old things are passed away, and all things are become new.” (2Co 5:17.) Well would it be for Christians if these things were better known! It is want of knowledge, in many cases, that is the secret of want of peace.
We see, thirdly, in these verses, a striking declaration of Christ’s power to give life to dead souls. Our Lord tells us that “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.” It seems most unlikely that these words were meant to be confined to the rising of men’s bodies, and were fulfilled by such miracles as that of raising Lazarus from the grave. It appears far more probable that what our Lord had in view was the quickening of souls,-the resurrection of conversion. (Eph 2:1; Col 2:13.)
The words were fulfilled in not a few cases, during our Lord’s own ministry. They were fulfilled far more completely after the day of Pentecost, through the ministry of the Apostles. The myriads of converts at Jerusalem, at Antioch, at Ephesus, at Corinth, and elsewhere, were all examples of their fulfillment. In all these cases, “the voice of the Son of God” awakened dead hearts to spiritual life, and made them feel their need of salvation, repent, and believe.-They are fulfilled at this very day, in every instance of true conversion. Whenever any men or women among ourselves awaken to a sense of their soul’s value, and become alive to God, the words are made good before our eyes. It is Christ who has spoken to their hearts by His Spirit. It is “the dead hearing Christ’s voice, and living.”
We see, lastly, in these verses, a most solemn prophecy of the final resurrection of all the dead. Our Lord tells us that “the hour is coming when all that are in the grave shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good to the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil to the resurrection of damnation.”
The passage is one of those that ought to sink down very deeply into our hearts, and never be forgotten. All is not over when men die. Whether they like it or not, they will have to come forth from their graves at the last day, and to stand at Christ’s bar. None can escape His summons. When His voice calls them before Him, all must obey.-When men rise again, they will not all rise in the same condition. There will be two classes-two parties-two bodies. Not all will go to heaven. Not all will be saved. Some will rise again to inherit eternal life, but some will rise again only to be condemned. These are terrible things! But the words of Christ are plain and unmistakable. Thus it is written, and thus it must be.
Let us make sure that we hear Christ’s quickening voice now, and are numbered among His true disciples. Let us know the privileges of true believers, while we have life and health. Then, when His voice shakes heaven and earth, and is calling the dead from their graves, we shall feel confidence, and not be “ashamed before Him at his coming.” (1Jn 2:28.)
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Notes-
v24.-[Verily, verily, I say.] Here, as in other places, these words are the preface to a saying of more than ordinary solemnity and importance.
[He that heareth my word.] The “hearing” here is much more than mere listening, or hearing with the ears. It means hearing with the heart, hearing with faith, hearing accompanied by obedient discipleship. He that so hears the doctrine, teaching, or “word” of Christ, hath life. It is such hearing as that of the true sheep: “My sheep hear my voice,” (Joh 10:27,) or as that spoken of by Paul: “Ye have not so learned Christ, if so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him.” (Eph 4:20-21.)
[Believeth on Him that sent Me.] This must not be supposed to mean that a vague faith in God, such as the Deist professes to have, is the way to everlasting life. The belief spoken of is a believing on God in Christ,-a believing on God as the God who sent Christ to save sinners,-a believing on God as the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has planned and provided redemption by the blood of His Son. He who so believes on God the Father, is the same man that believes in God the Son. In this sense the Father is just as much the object of saving faith as the Son. Thus we read, “It shall be imputed if we believe on him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead.” (Rom 4:24.) And again, “Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory, that your faith and hope might be in God.” (1Pe 1:21.) He that rightly believes on Christ as his Saviour, with the same faith believes in God as his reconciled Father. The Gospel that invites the sinner to believe in Jesus as his Redeemer and Advocate, invites him at the same time to believe in the Father, who is “well pleased” with all who trust in His Son.
Henry remarks, “Christ’s design is to bring us to God. (1Pe 3:18.) As God is the first original of all grace, so is He the ultimate object of all faith. Christ is our way, and God is our rest. We must believe on God as having sent Jesus Christ, and recommended Himself to our faith and love, by manifesting His glory in the face of Jesus Christ.”
Lightfoot remarks, “He doth most properly center the ultimate fixing and resting of belief in God the Father. For as from Him, as from a fountain, do flow all those things that are the object of faith,-namely free grace; the gift of Christ, the way of redemption, the gracious promises,-so unto Him as to that fountain doth faith betake itself in its final resting and repose,-namely to God in Christ.”
Chemnitius remarks, that the expression “believe on Him who sent me,” shows “that true faith embraces the word of the Gospel, not as something thought out by Christ alone, but as something decreed in the secret counsel of the whole Trinity.”
[Hath everlasting life.] This means that he possesses a complete title to an everlasting life of glory hereafter, and is reckoned pardoned, forgiven, justified, and an heir of heaven, even now upon earth. His soul is delivered from the second death.-The “presentness” of the expression should be carefully noticed. Everlasting life is the present possession of every true believer, from the moment he believes. It is not a thing he shall have at last. He has it at once, even in this world. “All that believe are justified.”-“Being justified by faith we have peace with God.” (Act 13:39; Rom 5:1.)
[Shall not come into condemnation.] The Greek word for “come” is in the present tense, and it would be more literally rendered “does not come.” The meaning is, there is no condemnation for him. His guilt is removed even now. He has nothing to fear in looking forward to the judgment of the last day. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.”-“He that believeth on Him is not condemned.” (Rom 8:1; Joh 3:18.)
I cannot see in these words any warrant for the notion held by some, that the saints of God shall not be judged at the last day in any way at all. The notion itself is so utterly contradictory to some plain texts of Scripture (2Co 5:10; Rom 14:10; Mat 25:31-40), that I cannot understand any one holding it. But even in the text before us, it seems to me a violent straining of the words to apply them to the judgment-day. The thing our Lord is speaking of is the present privilege of a believer. The tense He uses, as Chemnitius bids us specially observe, is the present and not the future. And even supposing that the words do apply to the judgment-day, the utmost that can be fairly made of them is, that a believer has no condemnation to fear at the last day. Judged according to his works he shall be. Condemned he may certainly feel assured he shall not be. From the day he believes, all his condemnation is taken away.
Ecolampadius remarks how irreconcilable this verse is with the Romish doctrine of purgatory.
[But is passed from death to life.] This means that a believer has passed from a state of spiritual death to a state of spiritual life. Before he believed, he was dead legally,-dead as a guilty criminal condemned to die. In the day that he believed he received a free and full pardon. His sentence was reversed and put away. Instead of being legally dead, he became legally alive.-But this is not all. His heart, which was dead in sins, is now renewed, and alive unto God. There is a change in his character as well as in his position toward God. Like the prodigal son, he “was dead and is alive.” (Luk 15:24.)
We should mark carefully the strong language of Scripture in describing the immense difference between the position of a man who believes, and the man who does not believe. It is nothing else than the difference between life and death,-between being dead and being alive. Whatever some may think fit to say about the privileges of baptism, we must never shrink from maintaining, that so long as men do not hear Christ’s voice and believe,-so long they are dead, whether baptized or not, and have no life in them. Faith, not baptism, is the turning point. He that has not yet believed is dead, and must be born again. When he believes, and not till then, he will pass from death to life.
Ferus remarks, “Although it seems very easy to believe, and many think they do believe when they have only heard the name of believing,-supposing that to believe is the same as to understand, to remember, to know, to think,-yet this believing is in truth a hard and difficult thing. It is easy to fast, to say prayers, to go on pilgrimage, to give alms and the like; but to believe is a thing impossible to our strength. Let superstitious people learn that God requires of us a far higher and more difficult kind of worship than they imagine. Let pious people learn to seek faith more than anything, saying,-Lord, increase our faith.”
v25.-[Verily, verily, I say unto you.] This emphatic preface here begins a prophecy of the wonderful things that should yet be done by the Son of God. Did the Jews of Jerusalem desire to know what proofs of Divine power and authority the Son of God would give? Let them hear what he would do.
[The hour is coming and now is.] This meant that a time was coming, and in fact had already begun.
[The dead shall hear His voice and live.] It is thought by some that these words apply to the literal raising again of dead persons, such as Lazarus at Bethany. I cannot think it. I believe that the “dead” here spoken of are the spiritually dead. I believe that the “hearing the voice of the Son of God,” means the hearing of faith. I believe that the “living” spoken of means the rising out of the death of sin to spiritual newness of life. And I believe that the whole verse is a prediction of the many conversions of dead sinners that were to take place soon, and had begun in some measure to take place already. The prediction was fulfilled when dead souls were converted during our Lord’s own ministry, and was much more fulfilled after the day of Pentecost, when He was preached by His apostles to the Gentiles, and “believed on in the world.” (1Ti 3:16.)
To confine the words to the few cases of miraculous raising of dead bodies which took place in the time of our Lord and His apostles, appears to supply a very inadequate interpretation, and to be rendered unnecessary by the succeeding verse.
Let it be noted that it is only those who “hear,” or “have heard” with faith the voice of Christ, that live. Spiritual life turns on believing. “Ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth.” (Eph 1:13.)
Ferus and Cocceius think that the calling and conversion of the Gentiles was the principal thought in our Lord’s mind when He spoke these words.
v26.-[For as the Father, etc.] The first part of this verse needs no explanation. It is an admitted principle that God is the Author and Source of all life. He “hath life in himself.” When it says further that “he hath given to the Son to have life in himself,” we must not suppose it means that He has bestowed it on His Son, in the same way that He gives gifts to mere men, such as prophets and apostles. It rather means that in His everlasting counsels concerning man’s redemption, He has appointed that the Second Person of the Trinity,-His beloved Son,-should be the Dispenser and Giver of life to all mankind. “God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” (1Jn 5:11.)
Both here and in the following verse we must remember that “giving” does not imply any inferiority in the Son to the Father, so far as concerns His Divine essence. The things “given” to the Son were things solemnly appointed, deputed, and laid upon Him when He assumed the office of Mediator, in virtue of His office.
Burgon remarks,-“Both the Father and the Son have the same life; both have it in themselves; both in the same degree; as the one so the other; but only with this difference,-the Father from all eternity giveth it, the Son from all eternity receiveth it.”
v27.-[And hath given him authority, etc.] This means that in virtue of His Mediatorial office the Second Person of the Trinity is specially appointed to be the Judge of all mankind. In the counsels of God concerning man, “judgment” is assigned to the Son, and not to the Father, or to the Holy Spirit. It is undoubtedly true that God is “the Judge of all.” (Heb 12:23.) But it is also true that it is God the Son who will execute judgment, and sit on the throne at the last day.
[Because he is the Son of man.] These words seem to imply that there is a connection between our Lord’s incarnation and His filling the office of the Judge. It is because He humbled Himself to take our nature on Him, and be born of the virgin Mary, that he will at length be exalted to execute judgment at the last day. It appears to be the same thought that Paul expresses when he tells the Philippians that because of Christ’s humiliation, “God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name,” etc. (Php 2:9.)
Burgon remarks,-“Because of His alliance with man’s nature, because of His sense of man’s infirmities, because of all He did and suffered for man’s sake as the Son of man, the Son is that Person of the Trinity who is most fit, as well as most worthy, to be man’s judge.”
The expression, “The Son of man,” would be rendered more literally, “a Son of man,” or, “Son of man.” Campbell remarks that the absence of the article “the” before the words “Son of man,” occurs nowhere in the Gospels except in this passage.
Both in this and the preceding verse we should observe an example of the great truth, that “order is heaven’s first law.” Even the Second Person in the Trinity, one with the Father, very and eternal God, does not take on Himself the office of giving life and executing judgment, but receives it through the solemn appointment of God the Father. Just as it is written,-“Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest, but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son” (Heb 5:5), so we find it written here, that in taking on Him the office of Mediator, it was “given” to Him to have life in Himself, and “authority given to him” to judge. Those who take on themselves offices without either divine or human commission are very unlike our Lord.
Toletus quotes a remarkable passage from Athanasius, in which he points out that such expressions as, “given to the Son by the Father,” “received by the Son from the Father,” are purposely used in order to prevent the Sabellian heresy of supposing that the Father and the Son are one and the same Person.-Such expressions are an unanswerable proof that the Father and the Son are two distinct Persons, though one God. We must never forget the words of the Athanasian creed,-“Neither confounding the Persons nor dividing the substance.”
v28, v29.-[Marvel not at this.] These words imply that the hearers of our Lord were astonished at the things He had spoken concerning His Divine commission to give life and to judge. He proceeds to tell them that they have not yet heard all. If they wondered at what they had already heard, what would they think when He told them one thing more?
[The hour is coming.] This means the last day. To use the present tense of a time so distant as this is characteristic of one who is very God, to whom time past, time present, and time to come, are all alike, and a thousand years are as one day.
[All that are in the graves shall hear his voice…come forth…damnation, etc.] These words are singularly like those in Dan 12:2. They contain one of the most distinct statements in Scripture of that great truth,-the resurrection of the dead.-It shall be universal, and not confined to a few only. “All” in the graves shall come forth, whether old or young, rich or poor.-It shall take place at Christ’s command and bidding. His “voice” shall be the call that shall summon the dead from their graves.-There shall be a distinction of those who rise again, into two classes. Some shall rise to glory and happiness,-to what is called a “resurrection of life.” Some shall rise to be lost and ruined for ever,-to what is called a “resurrection of damnation.”-The doings of men shall be the test by which their final state shall be decided. “Life” shall be the portion of those that have “done good,” “damnation” of those that “have done evil,” in the resurrection-day.
(a.) This passage condemns those who fancy that this world is all, and that this life ends everything, and that the grave is the conclusion. They are awfully mistaken. There is a resurrection and a life to come.
(b.) This passage condemns those who try to persuade us in the present day that there is no future punishment, no hell, no condemnation for the wicked in the world to come,-that the love of God is lower than hell,-that God is too merciful and compassionate to punish any one. There is a “resurrection,” we are told, “of damnation.”
(c.) This passage condemns those who try to make out that resurrection is the peculiar privilege of believers and saints, and that the wicked will be punished by complete annihilation. Both here and in Act 24:15 we are distinctly told that both bad and good shall rise again. In Paul’s famous chapter about the resurrection (1Co 15:1-58), the resurrection of believers only is treated of.
(d.) This passage condemns those who try to make out that men’s lives and conduct are of little importance so long as they profess to have faith and to believe in Christ. Christ himself tells us expressly that the “doings” of men, whether good or evil, will be the evidence that shall decide whether they rise again to glory or condemnation.
Musculus remarks that the goodness which God requires of us is not such as only begins in the next world, after the resurrection. We must have it now, and it must precede the time of judgment. It is not said, “some shall rise again that they may be made good and partakers of life,” but, “they that have done good shall come forth to a resurrection of life.” We should take care to be such in this life as we desire to be found in the day of judgment.-He also remarks that our Lord does not say, “those who have known or talked what is good,” but, “those who have actually done good” shall come forth to a resurrection of life. Those only will be found to have “done good” who are God’s elect, born again, and true believers. Nothing but true faith will bear the fruit of good works.
Calvin remarks that our Lord is not here speaking of the cause of salvation, but of the marks of the saved, and that one great mark which distinguishes the elect from the reprobate, is good doing.
There are two different Greek words used to express the English words “they that have done,” and it is difficult to say why. Precisely the same difference exists in Joh 3:20-21. The attempts made to explain the distinction between the two words do not appear to me very successful. For instance,-Wordsworth remarks: “Good made and done has permanence for ever. Evil is practiced, but produces no fruit for eternity.” Yet I doubt whether this remark will apply to Rom 1:32, and Rom 2:3, where both the two Greek words for “doing” are used together, and applied to the same class of persons, viz., the wicked.
It is thought by some that this passage supports the doctrine of the first resurrection as the peculiar privilege of the saints. (Rev 20:5.) But it must in fairness be remembered that there is nothing said here about distinction of time in the resurrection, of the good and bad.
As to the manner in which Christ’s “voice” will be heard by the dead “in the graves” we are told nothing. It is remarkable that there are two other places beside this in which a “voice” or sound is mentioned as accompanying the resurrection. In Corinthians we read of the “last trumpet.” (1Co 15:52.) In Thessalonians we are told of “a shout,” of the “voice of the archangel,” and the “trump of God.” (1Th 4:16.) Nothing, however, but conjecture can be brought forward about the subject. No doubt the latent thought is that the dead bodies of men are sleeping, and need to be awakened, as sleepers are roused by a voice.
As to the nature of risen bodies we are told nothing. Enough for us to know that this passage clearly shows it will be a resurrection of “bodies” as well as souls. It is those who are “in the graves” that shall come forth.
Fuente: Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospels
Joh 5:24. Verily, verily, I say unto you. The second Verily, verily, introducing the second step in the argument.
He that heareth my word, and believeth Him that sent me, hath eternal life, and cometh not into judgment, but hath passed out of death into life. This verse has a close connection with the last, the words Him that sent me taking up the similar words in Joh 5:23; and those who by hearing Christs words give honour to the Father being set over against those who were there spoken of as dishonouring the Father. But the verse has also a very important connection with the three preceding verses. They have stated the work of the Son as it has been given Him by the Father; this states the same work in its effect upon believers. The comparison of the terms employed in the several verses is very instructive, and the advance from a principle asserted of the Son to the same principle viewed in its application to men is most perceptible. The Son maketh to live the dead, even those whom He will (Joh 5:21): he that heareth His word hath eternal life, and hath passed out of his state of death into life (Joh 5:24). All judgment is given unto the Son (Joh 5:22): into this judgment he that believeth does not come (Joh 5:24). There is special significance in the words believeth Him that sent me: our Lord does not say believeth in Him, for that which He has in view is the acceptance of Gods testimony concerning the Son (1Jn 5:10). Such hearing and believing imply the full acceptance of Christ, and thus lead directly to that believing in the Son which (chap. Joh 3:36) gives the present possession of eternal life. The believer has passed into a state to which judgment does not apply; he has received into himself that word which (chap. Joh 12:48) will at the last day judge all who reject it. Believing in Christ, he has life in Him, and to all that are in Christ Jesus there is no condemnation (Rom 8:1).
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Here we have fifth evidence of Christ’s godhead, and equality with the Father: namely, that he is the author of spiritual and eternal life to all that believe on him. He that hath a fountain of life equal with the Father, and communicated to him from the Father, is God: But Christ hath this, ver.26. For as the Father hath life in himself, so he has given to the Son to have life in himself. Again, He that hath authority to execute judgement upon angels and men, is God: and Christ hath such authority, ver 27. He hath given him authority to execute judgment.
Farther, He that with his voice quickeneth and maketh alive them that hear it, is God: and Christ doth this, ver. 25. The dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and live. The dead: that is, 1. The spiritually dead; such as are dead in trespasses and sins: these hearing the voice of Christ in the ministry of the world, shall live a life of grace on earth, and a life of glory in heaven.
2. Such as are corporally dead also: these are likewise quickened and raised by Christ as God,
Learn hence, 1. That God the Father hath communicated to Christ his Son a power to quicken and enliven such as are spiritually and corporally dead.
2. That the Father’s communicating this power to the Son argues no inequality or inferiority in the Son, but he hath the same life infinitely, independently, and equally with the Father: as the Father hath it, so hath the Son. the Father hath it in himself, and so hath the Son also; therefore the Son as well as the Father is essentially and truly God.
3. Others, by the dead, understand those whom Christ raised from the dead, when he himself arose. When many of the bodies of the saints arose with him, it being said, The hour now is, &c. Dr. Whitby. Mat 26:45 to Mat 28:10
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Joh 5:24-30. Verily, he that heareth my word, &c., hath everlasting life Such a person is already entitled to it, yea, it is already begun in his soul, and he shall shortly possess it in its full perfection: and shall not come into condemnation For any former offences; but is passed from death unto life That is, from that state of spiritual death, or of alienation from the life of God, (see Eph 4:18,) in which men naturally are, to spiritual life and felicity, in union and communion with God. Verily, verily, I say unto you I renew the important declaration in the strongest terms; the hour is coming, and now is That is, it is just at hand; when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God Within the space of a few months some dead bodies shall be raised to life by the word of his power. See Mar 5:41; Luk 7:14; Joh 11:43; and Mat 27:52-53. Or rather, he meant, that many souls then dead in sin, should be quickened by his grace, and made spiritually alive. For as the Father hath life in himself Originally and essentially; so hath he given to the Son In order to these purposes of glorious and divine operation; to have life in himself To be communicated unto whomsoever he will. Hence the apostle (1Co 15:45) terms the second Adam, a quickening spirit: and hath given him authority Not only to quicken men now, but also to execute final judgment; because he is the Son of man Because he humbled himself so low as to become the Son of man, the Father conferred on him the high honour and glorious power of judging men and angels, that is, exalted the human nature, united to the divine, to this dignity and authority, Php 2:9-11. Marvel not at this, the hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, &c.
Be not surprised at my saying, the Son of man has power to raise a few particular persons from the dead. There is a far greater power committed to him, even that of raising all men at the last day, and of judging and rewarding them according to their works. I can of my own self do nothing Now in this judgment I will not act absolutely or arbitrarily, but according to the laws of equity, unalterably established by my Father; so that I shall not act therein so properly by my own, as by my Fathers authority. As I hear I judge In allusion to human courts, where the judges found their sentences upon the testimony of witnesses, and the laws of the country. Yet the expression by no means implies that our Lord, at the great day, shall receive information from any one whatsoever, concerning the persons he is to judge. Having been himself privy to their actions, he needs no evidence, but knows all things that ever were thought, said, or done by mankind, from the beginning to the end of time, fully and certainly. And my judgment is just Not only because it is thus a judgment according to truth and equity, but likewise, because I seek not my own will, but the will of my Father, &c. I have no interest to pursue, no inclination to fulfil, different from that of my Father.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Vv. 24-27. First phase: the spiritual resurrection and moral judgment of humanity by the Son.
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
Verse 24
From death; from spiritual death.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
5:24 {5} 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.
(5) The Father is not worshipped except by his Son’s word apprehended by faith, which is the only way that leads to eternal life.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Jesus proceeded to develop one idea from the preceding argument more fully. He introduced it with a solemn affirmation. Jesus said that He gave life to whomever He pleased (Joh 5:21). He now described these people as those who hear His word and believe the Father. They will not experience condemnation (cf. Joh 3:18; Rom 6:14; Rom 8:1) but begin already to experience eternal life (cf. Joh 3:36; Eph 2:1; Eph 2:5). "Realized eschatology" is the aspect of future conditions that exist already in the present. In this case it refers to the believer’s possession of eternal life already. Beasley-Murray called this verse "the strongest affirmation of realized eschatology applied to the believer in the NT." [Note: Beasley-Murray, p. 76. See Harris, pp. 235-37, for a discussion of realized eschatology in John’s Gospel.] People pass from one realm to another the moment they believe (cf. 1Jn 3:14)
Jesus’ word had brought new life to the paralytic (Joh 5:8). His word will also bring eternal life or eternal death to everyone. His word is the same as the Father’s word since the Son only says what the Father gives Him to say (Joh 5:19). Jesus specified the Father as the object of faith because He had just explained that the Son mediates everything from the Father, not because Jesus is an inappropriate object of faith (cf. Joh 3:16; Joh 14:1). The Son represents the Father to humankind, so when we place faith in the Son we are placing it in the Father as well.
Therefore the believer’s basis of eternal security and his or her assurance of eternal life both rest on the promise of the Son.
"To have eternal life now is to be secure throughout eternity.
"The words of this verse should not be taken simply as a statement of fact. They are that. Anyone who hears and believes has eternal life. But the words also constitute an invitation, a challenge. They are a call to hear Christ and to take the step of faith." [Note: Morris, p. 280.]