TWO KINDS OF DEATH

John 5:24-30
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust.

Jesus Claims to Be The Son of God

24 “I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.

25 “And I assure you that the time is coming, indeed it’s here now, when the dead will hear my voice—the voice of the Son of God. And those who listen will live. 26 The Father has life in himself, and he has granted that same life-giving power to his Son. 27 And he has given him authority to judge everyone because he is the Son of Man. 28 Don’t be so surprised! Indeed, the time is coming when all the dead in their graves will hear the voice of God’s Son, 29 and they will rise again. Those who have done good will rise to experience eternal life, and those who have continued in evil will rise to experience judgment. 30 I can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells me. Therefore, my judgment is just, because I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will.


It appears in this passage, Jesus speaks of two kinds of dead. First, He speaks of the dead who will hear His voice now. These are those who are alive in the flesh but dead in sin. If they will only listen to The Son, they will experience His life-giving power. This is new life in the right now … the present … today. When you and I listen to Jesus, our today is set free from our past. We don’t have to live in the bondage of our past sins. “…those who listen will live.”

Jesus then speaks of “… the dead in their graves…”. He speaks of these dead in relation to a time that is coming, a future day when His voice will call them from their graves. This call will be the judgment call. For the good … eternal life. For the evil … eternal judgment.

Listen today … avoid hell tomorrow.