These are the words spoken by Jesus. They are not words that an ordinary man would say.
• No one dare to say he is from God, and that if you believe Him you have eternal life.
• No one would say that when the dead hears His voice, they will live.
Today if someone goes around saying something like this, we will call the police and send him to a mental hospital.
• But they did not do that in Jesus’ time. They saw something really different in Jesus. They heard something believable.
• Jesus was able to perform healing and miracles. What He did affirms what He says.
Those who trusted Christ experienced His love and a new life.
• Not only those who lived during Jesus’ time; but all who believe in His Name, experience the same reality – God’s love and a changed life.
• More than 2000 years have passed and we are still talking about Him today.
• Why? He is truly the Son of God, who has come to take away the sin of the world.
We want to pay attention to what He has to say. Here Jesus tells us 3 things:
(1) Life is from God. He is the Source of Life.
Verse 26 tells us life comes from God, because in Him is life.
• Both the Father and the Son Jesus have life. Our life comes from Him.
• John says right from the John 1 that Jesus is God and He is with God when they created this world.
John 1:1-5 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
Only God could give life or raise the dead to new life.
• The ability to give life is the prerogative of deity. No human can say that or dare say that.
• But Jesus can, because He is God. He came for this purpose, to save you and me.
Unfortunately, man did not recognise this God, or do not want to acknowledge Him.
• “The light shines into the darkness but the darkness has not accepted it.”
• Man has chosen to go on our own way, that’s sin. Life is no longer the way God has intended it to be.
• Without God, life cannot be complete and satisfaction in this life. Something is missing. There is a vacuum in our heart; nothing can fill it… except God!
• We cannot ignore or neglect Him.
Since we are alive, we must ponder the GIVER of life.
• If we can see LIFE, we must think about the SOURCE of life.
In love stories movies we often see how a guy goes after a girl, trying to befriend her. At the beginning, the guy is shy; do not dare to reveal himself. He buys flowers and put it on her table, and the card is signed “Secret Admirer”.
The tension of the plot lay in discovering who the secret admirer was. But you see the roses you will know someone is thinking about you, someone likes you and even loves you.
Finally, he reveals himself, they go out for dinner, fall in love, and get married.
When you see creation, the beautiful flowers, think of the Creator. Someone loves you and provided for you. Someone cares about you.
There was a heart cry from man, and God revealed who he is and what he is like by sending His son Jesus.
In a remote Swiss village stands a beautiful church - Mountain Valley Cathedral. It has high pillars and magnificent stained glass windows, but what makes it special is the most beautiful pipe organ in the whole region. People would come from far off lands just to hear the lovely tunes of this organ.
One something went wrong with the pipe organ. It releases the wrong tones and sounds of disharmony. Musicians and experts from around the world had tried to repair it. No one could find the fault. It was made unique, customised and no one really knows how to fit it. They gave up.
After some time, one old man came. "Why wasn’t the pipe organ used?"
"It’s not playing right," says the church staff.
"Let me try." Since it has been lying there, the staff reluctantly agreed to let the old man try his hand at it.
For two days the old man worked in almost total silence. The church worker was, in fact, getting a bit nervous.
Then on the third day - at noon – suddenly the music came. The pipe organ gives off the best music after so many years. The people in the village heard the beautiful music. They came to the church to see.
This old man was playing at the organ. After he finished, one man asked, "How did you fix it? How did you manage to restore this magnificent instrument when even the world's experts could not?"
The old man said, "It was I who built this organ fifty years ago. I created it, and now I have restored it."
...James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) pp. 244-245.
That is what God did. It is He who created the universe, and that includes you and me.
• Sin destroyed this life. It is no longer good and perfect, cannot give out beautiful music.
• God sent Jesus into this world to restore it – to give us an abundant and eternal life.
(2) There is a Judgement after Death
Verse 27-29.
Jesus says there will be judgement. God will judge – who? Man.
• We are accountable to this God. No one can escape this.
• Verse 28-30 tells us not to be amazed at this. Even the death is going to hear His voice and rise up.
• Both the good and the bad, the righteous and the evil, will be raised to face God.
• You see, death did not end it all. If that is the case, we can do anything we want. We can even do anything against our conscience, because we do not have to answer to anyone. At the end, everything end peacefully in death.
Heb 9:27 "Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment."
• Our soul lives on. Death is not an end.
• Jesus is most qualified to say this. If He is the Son of God, He knows this will surely happen.
• Rom 14:10b For we will all stand before God's judgment seat.
We need to accept Jesus as our Saviour. By faith we can receive the forgiveness of sin and a new life.
• Is it not foolish to be living in this world without a thought of what you will do at the end of it?
Once a man from a village was taken on a cruise, and was told by his friend that he can eat anything he wants. He had a good time, not knowing that his friend actually paid for everything.
One day, he went into a hotel. He saw a restaurant and the buffet spread. He remembered the cruise. He took a seat and enjoyed the food. Finally as he was about to leave, the waiter came over and showed him a bill.
He was utterly surprised. "I never thought of that, I never expected this!"
After this fashion too many live. They eat and drink, have fun and sin, but they do not know that one day they will have to face the judgement.
… Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Quotable Spurgeon, (Wheaton: Harold Shaw Publishers, Inc, 1990)
We have to give an accounting because life comes from God.
• Are you ready to meet God?
In a field one summer's day a grasshopper was hopping about, singing to its heart's content. An ant passed by, bearing along with great toil an ear of corn he was taking to the nest.
"Why not come and play with me," said the grasshopper, "instead of toiling and moiling in that way?"
"I am helping to lay up food for the winter," said the ant, "and recommend you to do the same."
"Why bother about winter?" said the grasshopper. "Take care of that later. We have got plenty of food at present."
But the ant went on its way and continued its toil.
When the winter came the grasshopper had no food and found itself dying of hunger, while it saw the ants distributing every day corn and grain from the stores they had collected in the summer. Then the grasshopper understood.
Some things we need to think about before it happens. We need to prepare to face God.
(3) Jesus Has Settled the Problem for Us
5:24 I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.
• For all the wrong we have done, we cannot face God. But Jesus has come and paid the price in full.
• By faith, when we accept Him as our Saviour, our sin debt is cleared and settled.
• Once we have Christ, we can face God with confidence. We are not afraid of death.
Being the righteous God, He must judge man for their sin.
• Being the loving God who gives man life, He wants to give us a living way.
• How can He do both at the same time? Through the cross - He passed the sentence and paid the penalty Himself.
• If you accept His gift today, if you believe what Jesus has done on the cross is for you, you will be forgiven and saved.
A group of village needs to migrate to a new land. They crossed a river and were crossing huge grassland with their belongings, on wagons drawn by oxen.
A day later, they were horrified to note a long line of smoke and soon realised that it was the dried grass that was burning, and was coming towards them. They could not retreat back to the river and cross it in time.
The village master quickly gave the command to set fire to the grass behind them. They pulled down the tall grass and burnt up the space behind them. When it was done, the villagers moved back upon it.
The flames finally reached them. A little girl cried out, "The fire is coming, it’s getting nearer! Are you sure we won’t be burned up?"
Her father said, “Don’t worry my child, the flames can come close but it cannot come to where we are standing, where it has already been burned!”
On the cross, Jesus Christ paid the penalty of our sin.
John 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
