John 5:25 Commentary and Bible Study

In Old Testament times, they had the sacrifices. These symbols of what would happen in the future when one would come and suffer and die for sinners. But they were taught that there had to be the shedding of blood, and there had to be suffering. And the animal sacrifices, as you well know, were tokens and symbols, which assured them that there was forgiveness if they cried out to God from their hearts, and also spoke of what was to come.Now something new is about to happen, something that has not happened in quite the same way before. It is a new era, but it has already begun – ‘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’ – and of course the Lord is referring to the spiritually dead. There are those who have physical life but are dead spiritually under the condemnation of God, having no spiritual life in them, no communion with God, no spiritual privileges, Jews and Gentiles alike. So Christ is saying, ‘You Jewish leaders - in fact all people - are dead, spiritually dead. No communion with God. No life in the soul, until you hear my word, until you listen to me; come to me for pardon and forgiveness and I will receive you, and change you.Many of them will hear the voice of the Son of God, hear it, he means, in a very special way: hear believingly, hear in a way which summons them, hear the voice of Christ and his Gospel word and that of his spokesman so that it is authentic to them. Such hearers realise that this is true, that this is the Messiah, the Saviour, and he speaks the truth, and this is urgent for their souls. And so they hear his words, they are convicted of their need of reconciliation with God and of spiritual life and of forgiveness, and they shall live. This is talking about a form of resurrection which takes place in the hearts of living people, and will do throughout the age of the Gospel, throughout the Christian age.