In our daily meditations, we focus on Jesus' confrontation with the Pharisees in John 5, right after Christ healed the invalid at the Pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath. The Lord said He is equal to the Father in five different ways. He then mentioned a future time when the dead will hear Christ’s voice and live.
25I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. 26For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. 27And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man. 28"Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned (John 5:25-29; emphasis added).
Why does Jesus mention two separate times? What is the significance of the time that has now come (v. 25), and what will happen in the future when they hear His voice? (v. 28)
In verse twenty-five, Christ talks about those around Him who had not yet experienced the life of God. Without Christ, they were in a spiritually dead state. In verse 28, He speaks about the future time of the resurrection, when all who are in the grave will come forth. Let’s focus on the resurrection in our meditation tomorrow, and today, consider what He meant by those who were dead and separated from God—that they would both hear and live, as mentioned in verse 25.
The Dead Coming to Life in the Present Age
As a child in a British primary school (ages 7-11), I was an atheist, unchurched, and knew nothing about the Christian faith. I remember walking the four or five hundred yards to school. On the way, I used to pass a Salvation Army chapel. Written on a poster next to the building were the words, "Are you really alive?” There was no explanation for the statement, and as an 11-year-old, it seemed ridiculous. I had to be alive to read it! What was the point of the statement? To me, it showed how foolish Christians could be. When I later became a Christian and began reading the Scriptures, I finally realized that, without receiving new life from the Lord, we are separated from God and spiritually dead in our sins. Writing to the church in Ephesus, Paul the Apostle stated that without Christ, we are dead when following the ways of this world and living for ourselves.
1As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient (Ephesians 2:1-2; emphasis added).
I finally understood the message of the Salvation Army! A few verses later, Paul wrote that God had made us alive, whereas before, that inner part of our lives, our spirit, was dead. Here's what the apostle said:
“...because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved… 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:5, 8-9).
Notice how this life from God comes to us: it is given as a gift of grace. What does the word grace mean? Grace is a word that means undeserved favor. It means that you can do nothing to earn it; it is a gift of life given to you when you believe and trust in the work of Christ on the cross for you and as you. If you have not yet believed and placed your trust in Christ, do it today; don't put it off, for heaven's sake and your sake. Keith Thomas
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God(John 1:12).
This meditation is a shortened version of the in-depth study: Jesus the Life-Giver.
More daily 3-minute meditations at the following link: https://www.groupbiblestudy.com/devotionals