What is the meaning of John 5:28? Do not be amazed at this Jesus has just claimed authority to give life (John 5:21) and to judge all humanity (John 5:22). Knowing how staggering that sounds, He immediately counsels, “Do not be amazed.” He is inviting His listeners—and us—not to react with skeptical astonishment but with trusting expectation. • Similar reassurance appears in John 3:7, “Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’” The pattern is the same: a supernatural truth met by human surprise, met in turn by Christ’s calm command to believe. • Acts 13:41 warns of missing God’s work through unbelief—Jesus wants the opposite response here. Believers should therefore replace astonishment with anticipation: if Jesus says it, it will happen. for the hour is coming The resurrection is tied to a specific moment God has already scheduled. • John 4:23 speaks of another divinely fixed “hour” when true worshipers will worship in spirit and truth. • 1 Thessalonians 4:16 echoes the certainty: “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command… and the dead in Christ will rise first.” • Revelation 14:15 says, “The hour to reap has come.” These verses underscore that God’s timeline is precise and unstoppable. Christ is therefore not talking about a vague spiritual idea but a literal, calendared event on God’s prophetic clock. when all who are in their graves The promise is comprehensive: every person, righteous or wicked, will rise. • Daniel 12:2 anticipated this: “Many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake—some to everlasting life, and others to shame and everlasting contempt.” • Acts 24:15 confirms “there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.” • 1 Corinthians 15:52 adds that this will be instantaneous: “in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye.” This section stresses the physical reality of the resurrection: literal bodies, literal graves, literal rising. will hear His voice The same voice that called creation into existence (Genesis 1) and summoned Lazarus from the tomb (John 11:43) will summon every grave to open. • John 10:27 affirms, “My sheep listen to My voice,” pointing to the relationship He already enjoys with believers. • Revelation 1:10 describes His voice “like a trumpet,” conveying irresistible authority. • Philippians 2:10–11 assures that “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow”—the resurrection will be the universal moment when that authority is plainly seen. The outcome is inevitable: once Christ speaks, death must release its captives. summary John 5:28 means that Jesus, with unquestioned authority, guarantees a future moment when every person who has ever died will physically rise at the sound of His commanding voice. Rather than responding with bewilderment, we are called to confident faith, knowing that God’s timetable is set and His Word is certain. |
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