John 5:19-29 “From Death to Eternal Life”

1:04Cryonics is the practice of preserving life by pausing the dying process using sub-freezing temperatures with the intent of restoring good health with medical technology in the future. This is not science fiction. This is a real business with real customers, with real people who are cryonically frozen in Scottsdale, Arizona. Nearly 200 people have paid Alcor to freeze their dead bodies in the hope that one day medical technology will advance to the point that they can be brought back to life, even perhaps a better quality of life than what they had before.

1:47Of course, the entire business model is based on a faulty assumption. And that faulty assumption is that humans are purely physical beings: flesh and bones, blood and water, organs and chemicals. In other words, the business model is based on the presupposition that the human being does not have a soul that was created by God, and that the body cannot live without the soul. Scripture tells us that we are holistic beings, bodies and souls united, and that when we are separated, our soul from our body, we cannot live.

2:31Most people are simply not wealthy enough to afford Alcor's services, but I wonder how many people would purchase them if they could. The fact that Alcor exists illustrates the truth that we all want to go on living. This is why companies like Alcor have a market, and it's why nearly every major world religion teaches something about the afterlife. And so, friends, in today's text in John chapter 5, Jesus, who claimed and proved to be the Son of God. God will tell us the truth about how to live eternally. And it doesn't have anything to do with money or medicine or modern technology.

3:14Now to set the context for today's passage, I think it's helpful to go back to the last thing that Jesus said, which is in verse 17 of chapter 5. Because in verse 18, John interjects to help us understand why the Jews were seeking to kill him. In their minds, he was breaking the Sabbath by doing good works on it, and he claimed to be equal with God. So in verse 17, if you look there in your copy of the Bible, the Jews are persecuting Jesus for healing the paralyzed man, and John writes this, but Jesus answered them, My Father is working until now, and I am working.

3:55God the Father had been at work up until the present day when Jesus was talking, and he is at work even on the Sabbath when his people are resting according to the command. And because Jesus is God, he too is working on the Sabbath just like his father. Which brings us to today's passage. So let's pick up now in verse 19. So Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father Does, that the son does likewise.

4:34It's important to note that Jesus did not wake up every morning and get out his planner and decide what he was going to do with his day. No, he could only do what he saw the father doing. And when we think about musicians being in tune with each other, what we mean is that they are playing the same song in the same key. according to the same rhythm. That's what it means to be in tune. And when musicians are in tune, what you hear is this beautiful, harmonized sound. And that's what Jesus is saying, that he exists in perfect harmony with the Father. That he always does exactly what he sees the Father doing. I want you to look at Psalm 40, verse 8 on the screen. David writes this, I delight to do your will, O my God. Your law is within my heart.

5:30Now, that was David's testimony. That was David's prayer and hope, but that was perfectly true for David's descendant, Jesus. He delighted to do the Father's will. He delighted to do what God commanded, and he never failed to do it because God's law was perfectly in his heart. And so, friends, sometimes people made requests of Jesus, and either directly or indirectly, Jesus told them no. A great example of that is in Mark chapter 1. Jesus has healed a bunch of people in Capernaum, including Peter's mother-in-law.

6:06And he's performing these miracles all throughout the day. So the next day, he gets up really early in the morning to go out to pray. And the disciples come to find him. And they say, Jesus, everybody is looking for you. And what does Jesus say? He says, we're going to go to the other towns around here so that I can preach there also, because that's why I've come. I mean, just think about that for a second. Jesus had healed all of these people in Capernaum. There were many, many more people waiting for Jesus to come and heal them. An opportunity had presented itself, and Jesus said no, because that's not where the Father was at work. The Father was working elsewhere, so that's where Jesus went. Yes, there were needs in Capernaum, but what was the Father doing? Where was he at work? That's where Jesus went. The question is, how does Jesus know where the Father is at work? Well, he tells us in verse 20, let's pick up there.

7:08For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. God the Father loves Jesus the Son. And because he loves him, he shows him everything that he's doing. See, you and I don't always know what God is up to. We don't always know. Know what God is doing. And so we pray. We read the scriptures. We consult with other Christians to try to discern where God is at work so that we can join him. But we don't always know where God is at work, even after all of that. That's why I find Acts chapter 16 so encouraging. See, in Acts chapter 16, Paul and Barnabas just had this big argument about their friend John Mark, about whether to take him on the next missionary journey. And Barnabas wanted to take him, but Paul didn't. So Barnabas ended up taking John Mark, and Paul and him split, and Paul took Silas. They go to Lystra and Derby, where they had previously preached the gospel, and they strengthened the churches there. They meet a young man named Timothy, and Paul and Silas take Timothy with him. But I want to pick up here in Acts chapter 16, verse 6. Take a look at the screen. Here's what happens next.

8:21And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come up to Mycaea, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. So passing by Mycaea, they went down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, Come over to Macedonia and help us. And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. I want to leave that up there for a minute because I'm going to come back to that last. Statement. In that section of scripture, they are planning to preach the gospel in Asia, and the Holy Spirit says, nope.

9:10They then try to go down to Bithynia, but Jesus says, nope. So then they try to go down to Troas, but that's not it either. And that's where Paul has this vision from God of the man from Macedonia. So immediately they head for Macedonia and look again at that last verse, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. Now, like I said, this passage really encourages me because we are talking about the Apostle Paul here. The Apostle Paul, who walked in step with the Lord Jesus in ways that you and I could only hope to walk in step with the Lord Jesus.

9:48And I don't want to speculate here too much about the whole situation, but even Paul didn't always know what God was up to, where God was at work. Three swings, three strikes. He still didn't know where God was at work before he got that vision of the man from Macedonia. And I don't think it's coincidence that Paul, who is a human being just like you and me, had this big fight with his best friend. And it is not far-fetched in my mind to think that he was kind of emotionally a mess. He is replaying that argument over and over again in his head. Am I right? Am I wrong? Did we do the right thing? Maybe in prayer, he's pretty distracted. And so he's pressing. He's trying to make something happen. He's trying to do something for God. And again and again, God is saying, no, no, no. And I don't know what changed in Troas, but something changed, and Paul received a vision. So they go to Macedonia, and immediately, immediately, they meet a wealthy woman. She comes to faith in Christ, opens her home for the church to meet. A slave girl is delivered of a demon that had possessed her for a long time. And the jailer and his entire household come to faith in Christ. All of that happens within a short time of them arriving in Macedonia. And so, friends, my point is this: we don't always know what God is doing and where God is at work, but Jesus did.

11:12And Jesus does. So, I don't want you to get too discouraged when you go through those seasons and you're not exactly sure what God is doing and where He's at work. I mean, we minister in a college community where a lot of you, you have a future that is uncertain, and we can get discouraged pretty easily. Even Paul didn't always know where God was at work, but Jesus does. And so, you follow him. You follow him because he does whatever the Father is doing, and He will lead you.

11:44Let's pick up in verse 20 again. Look at the second half there. And greater works than these will He show Him, so that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also. Also, the Son gives life to whom he will. The whole reason that the Father shows Jesus, the Son, these great works is so that people will marvel. That's why he's going to show him even greater works than healing the official's dying son back in chapter four or healing the paralyzed man earlier here in chapter five. He shows them great works, and he's about to show him even greater works so that people would marvel. That's going to be the result of this.

12:32I want you to look at Ezekiel 37. And you shall know that I am the Lord when I open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. Jesus just told us that He does whatever the Father does. He just told us that the Father is going to show Him even greater works than healing an official's dying son or healing a paralyzed man. Those greater works are going to include raising people from the dead. So, Jesus, because that's what the Father is doing, is going to be raising people from the dead.

13:07According to Ezekiel, how are we going to know that God is the Lord when I open your graves and raise you from your graves? And just a few chapters here: his good friend Lazarus is going to get sick and die. Lazarus is going to be buried and be lying in a tomb for four days, and then Jesus is. Going to show up and he's going to call Lazarus to come out of his tomb. He's going to open his grave and call him to come out. He's going to raise the dead.

13:40But friends, Jesus is not only talking about raising the physically dead, he's also talking about raising the spiritually dead, which becomes really evident in verses 22 through 24. Take a look at verse 22. The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but is passed from death to life.

14:24So, in addition to claiming the authority to raise the dead and grant life, Jesus also claims the authority to judge. So, you'll hear certain people use the phrase, only God can judge me. And that is true. But according to Jesus, it's not the Father who's doing the judging. All authority to judge has been given to him. So, he is the one that is going to be doing the judging. Friends, what that means is that the way that you respond to Jesus is very Very important.

15:03He says in verse 23 that whoever doesn't honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. So it is impossible to honor the Father if you dishonor the Son. You cannot do both of those things simultaneously: dishonor the Son and honor the Father. So those who believe that God exists but do not believe that Jesus is the co-equal Son of God dishonor the Father who sent him. What we believe about Jesus is so important because what we believe about him determines how we hear and respond to his word.

15:41If you believe that he's just another good teacher, then you're going to approach his words with this kind of take it or leave it stance. If you like what Jesus says, maybe what he says about love or forgiveness or justice, then you'll take it. If you don't like what he says, maybe his claims to divinity, perhaps his words about repentance, maybe his words about him being the only way to come to the Father, then you'll leave it.

16:20But friends, Jesus claimed to be God on many occasions. The Jews were not confused by that. They knew exactly what he was claiming. And they could either honor Him or dishonor him. They chose to dishonor him. They sought to kill him because they believed that he was committing blasphemy and breaking the Sabbath. And Jesus said that they would be judged for their response to him. But I want you to look at these words of hope again. Verse 24, let's take another look at that verse.

16:55Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but is passed from death to life. So according to Jesus, who has eternal life? Those who hear his word and believe him who sent him. We must hear and we must believe. Millions and millions of people have heard, but they have not believed. They have not trusted that Jesus' word is true and reorganized their entire life around his word. Because that's what it means to believe something, isn't it?

17:44When we believe something, we don't just agree that it's true. When we believe something, we reorganize all of our thinking and our actions around that truth. So remember what we said a few minutes ago. If you think Jesus is just a good teacher, then you're going to adopt that take it or leave it approach. You're going to decide that you like certain things and take some of those things, and you're going to decide you don't like some of the other stuff that he said, and you're going to leave that.

18:13But if you believe that he is the Son of God, the one who has power and authority to grant life and to judge, then you're not going to do that. Instead, you're going to reorganize your entire life, all of your thoughts, your words, your actions around his words. See, living in a place like Texas can be really spiritually confusing. And it's spiritually confusing because you have a lot of people claiming to be Christians, claiming to believe, who have not reorganized their thoughts and words and lives around what Jesus said and did.

18:57But, friends, Jesus is clear. Only those who hear and believe have eternal life. Only those who hear and believe will not be judged or found guilty. Only those who hear and believe have passed from death to life. Jesus is clear about who has eternal life and who doesn't. It's people, including many people that we live next to and go to class with and work alongside. People who are unclear about who has eternal life. And it might be you this morning. You might be unclear about who has eternal life or whether you have eternal life.

19:42So today, if that's you, if you're not sure whether you have eternal life or not, listen to the words of Jesus and examine your life. Have you heard and believe? Have you heard and believed? Don't assume that just because you're familiar with the words of Jesus or because you've heard the words of Jesus before, that you have eternal life. Have you believed? Real saving faith results in a changed mind, a changed heart, a changed life. How we think, what we desire, how we live. All of that is transformed through saving faith in Jesus Christ. I want you to look at 1 John chapter 2. This is what the apostle wrote in one of his last letters. He says, Whoever says, I know him, but does not keep his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps his word, in him truly, the love of God is perfected. By this, we may know that we are in him. Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

20:58Friends, I don't want you to say, Stand before Jesus on the day of judgment and hear those terrifying words from him. Depart from me. I never knew you, you workers of lawlessness. I want you to hear, well done, good and faithful servant. But those are the two verdicts, those are the two judgments that he's going to render. Well done or depart from me. There's not something in the middle. So honor the Son by hearing and believing his words and believing that the Father sent him. Trust fully and completely in his life, death, and resurrection to save you from your sin, to make you right with God for forgiveness, for eternal life. When you do, you have passed from life from death to life. When you do, eternal life starts today. That's why John says, whoever hears and believes has eternal life. You have passed from death to life. It's a past tense, once and for all, accomplished work when you believe.

22:09You don't have to worry that your life is not going to be enough, that your works are not going to be enough. You can trust fully and completely that if you hear the words of Jesus and you believe in him, that you do have eternal life. Let's pick up in verse 25. Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and is now here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.

22:51Jesus says a time is coming, and it's here now, when he is going to bring the dead to life with the power of his voice. Just as God the Father brought life into existence by speaking in Genesis 1, Jesus can grant eternal life simply by speaking. And that's because he too has life in himself. Life was not given to him. It originates in him. It originates with him. He has life in himself just like the Father. And we see that demonstrated all over the New Testament.

23:27In Mark chapter 5, Jesus heals Jairus' daughter, who had died, just by speaking to her. Little child, I say to you, arise. In Luke 7, a woman's only son has died, and Jesus goes to him, touches him, and speaks to him, and raises him from the dead just with the power of his voice. And as we mentioned earlier in a few chapters here, in John chapter 11, Jesus is going to walk to Lazarus' tomb. He's going to command that the stone be moved away. And he's going to speak into that tomb, Lazarus, come out. And that man who had been dead for four days is going to rise up and walk out in his grave clothes because Jesus has life in himself. He's the source. It originates with him, and he gives it to whom he will.

24:21But, friends, physical death is only part of the story. Because all of these people, Jairus' daughter, and the woman's son, and Lazarus, even though Jesus raised them from the dead, they would all die again physically. And our physical death is a reminder that we are born spiritually dead in our sin. The reason that we die physically is because we are born dead spiritually. You see, our first parents, Adam and Eve, rebelled against God. And when they dishonored Him and broke His command, seeking to be God in His place, they died spiritually immediately. Their physical death was promised, and a curse was placed on them and all their posterity that is passed down from Adam through all human beings down to us. So when we're born, we are born spiritually dead, and we have to be raised both spiritually and physically.

25:25And Jesus grants that spiritual life through his word. Look at Romans chapter 10, verse 17. So faith comes from hearing and hearing through the Word of Christ. According to Jesus, you have to hear and believe in order to be saved. According to Paul in Romans 10, 17, faith comes from hearing and hearing through the Word of Christ. We have to hear and believe, and all who hear and believe have passed from death to life. And when we do that, we're made alive in two senses. First, spiritually, we go from spiritual death to spiritual life the moment that we believe. But then physically, what we are promised is that one day when Jesus returns, we are going to be raised physically and given new, perfect bodies where our body and soul will be reunited as God intended, and where we will live eternally in the new heavens and the new earth with him forever. That's the good news.

26:31Look at verse 27. And he has given him authority to execute judgment because he is the son of man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. Now, much like back in verse 25, Jesus says, An hour is coming. But you notice this time, he doesn't say that hour is now here. The hour is coming. It hasn't yet arrived. The time had arrived for some of the spiritually and physically dead to hear Jesus' voice and be raised spiritually and/or physically. But an hour was coming, it hadn't yet arrived for the general resurrection when all those who have died will be resurrected either to judgment or to life.

27:30And we get a picture of this in Revelation chapter 20. Take a look on the screen. John says, Then I saw a great white throne, and him who was seated on it. From his presence, earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each of them, according to what they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

28:28What Jesus tells us here is. At the end of this passage in John 5, is that this hour is coming, and we don't know when it will be, when Jesus is going to return to judge the living and the dead, the righteous and the unrighteous. Those who have done good, that is, those who heard his word and believed in him, who reoriented their thinking and their hearts and their lives around God and his word, they're going to be raised to eternal life.

28:58But those who have done evil, that is, those who heard and rejected the word of God, who rejected Jesus, the Son, and did not honor the Father, those who have not exercised saving faith or repented of their sins, whose thoughts and lives are calibrated to the world and its idols and pleasures rather than to God, they are going to be raised to be judged. And they will be judged by Jesus. Friends, have you considered that? The fact that every person is going to be raised one day, some to life and some to judgment.

29:34We live in a culture today that believes that the only real sin, the only real transgression is judging anyone for anything, is saying that some words, some actions, some choices are sinful and wrong. That is about the only thing that our culture thinks is sinful is judgment. And so we have this experience. Only God can judge me. And when a lot of people say that, they mean only God can judge me, but he won't. Or only God can judge me, but he will forgive me and declare me to be innocent.

30:21But that's not true. God will judge us, and he will judge us through his perfect son. And the judgment is going to be rendered based on how we received and responded to him in his word. Either we hear and we believe in him, or we don't. He will declare us either guilty because we have all done evil, or he will declare us righteous because we have trusted in his son, the one who is perfectly righteous, and who grants his righteousness to us through faith alone.

30:58Friends, an hour is coming where we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. And that is not when you want to find out that your own righteousness is insufficient, that you do not measure up to God's perfect and holy standard. Today is the time. Today is the time to recognize that, that your righteousness does not meet up to God's perfect and holy standard. Today is the time to acknowledge. Your sin, to confess it and turn from it. Today is the time to repent and believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Faith in Christ is the only way to be forgiven and reconciled to God. It is the only way to be adopted into His family. It is the only way to receive eternal life.

31:52And so, on this Easter Sunday, I urge you to consider whether you've heard the word of Christ and believed, or if you haven't honored the Son by receiving His Word and believing in Him for eternal life. Consider this morning where you've put your faith, where you've put your trust. Is it really in God through the work of the Son, Jesus Christ? Is it really in His grace? Or is it in yourself? Is it in your works? Is it in a false picture of God that believes that He will not actually judge anyone or hold anyone accountable for their sin?

32:35I want you to remember John's purpose in writing this gospel: that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and by believing, have life in His name. I want you to have that life. Jesus wants you to have that life, which is why He came to live, die, and rise again for you. Hear the gospel this morning, the good news of Jesus Christ, and believe in it. Let's pray. Father, we thank you this morning that your son is alive, that the grave could not hold him.

33:51He was perfectly righteous and yet falsely accused. He was perfectly innocent, and yet he took on the sins of his people. We who are guilty, we who are not righteous, we remember and celebrate the fact that Jesus willingly laid his life down for us. God, I pray for every true believer. The room this morning, especially for those who struggle with the assurance that they have eternal life, because they see areas where they still struggle with sin, areas where they are still far from perfect, and they begin to wonder and doubt.

34:54But God, you have promised us that if we hear your word and believe it, we will be saved. Help all of us, especially those who struggle with doubt, to trust fully and completely, and to rest fully and completely in the person and work of Jesus and His resurrection from the dead. And Father, we pray for those, maybe, who are gathered with us this morning, maybe those that are gathered with another congregation somewhere here in our community, who have grown up hearing about Jesus.

35:39Maybe on Christmas and Easter every year, maybe every single Sunday. They have heard about Jesus, they're familiar with him, but they don't know him because they haven't believed. We pray this morning that you would be gracious, that you would make that clear to them, and that they would acknowledge their sin, confess it, turn away from it, and turn to and receive Jesus by faith. We want to see people pass from death to life on this day that we particularly celebrate. Jesus is passing from death to life physically.

36:32And so, God, we pray for that this morning. We cannot do it. My words cannot do it. Only you can do it because you have life in yourself. And so, we pray that you would grant that life, that eternal life, to many who are with us this morning and many around our community. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net.