John 5:28-29
What is written? (ESV)
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.
What does it say?
Don’t be surprised or shocked at what I’m saying, for a time is coming when all the dead will come out of their tombs at the sound of His voice. Those that have done good will be raised to eternal life, and those that have done evil will be raised to eternal judgment.
What is its immediate context?
Jesus is in Jerusalem and healing on the Sabbath day and stating that He was the son of God. “This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.” (vs 18)Jesus has just said that the dead “will hear the voice of the Son of God” and live (vs 25). A shocking statement that He further clarifies in the passage.
How John 5:28-29 is applied across Bible answers
What happens when Jesus returns?
The dead will be raised at the sound of His voice - some to life eternal and others to condemnation.
What is the first resurrection (Revelation 2:5-6)?
Jesus foretells a time when the physically dead will hear His voice and rise - those who have "done good" to eternal life, and those who have "done evil" to a "resurrection of judgment".6
It is clear from the context that Jesus is speaking here about a "second" resurrection of sorts since He prefaced this by declaring that "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" (vs 25, a "first" resurrection).
