John 5:28Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

By speaking of a work proper to God, He thereby gives His hearers grounds to conclude that He is both God and the Son of God. Had He repeated this often, the hearers would have wearied of it. But by proving the same thing through wondrous works, He made His teaching less hateful. So too those who compose syllogisms, after laying down certain premises that firmly prove the truth sought, often do not draw the conclusion from them. To persuade the hearer more fully and win a more brilliant victory, they leave the proper conclusion to the opponent himself. Those present then agree with them all the more, when the opponents pronounce judgment against themselves.

Therefore He quite rightly says of the lesser miracle: "Do not marvel at this." We should not think that by these words He diminishes the splendor of His own works. Nor does He command His hearers not to deem worthy of wonder what they would rightly marvel at. Rather, He wants those struck by the miracle, the healing of the paralytic, to know and believe that their wonder toward Him is still too small. For by His word and divine power He raises not only those afflicted with minor illnesses, but also those already submerged in death and struck by irresistible corruption. This is why He introduces the "greater" thing and says: "The hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice." He who by His word once brought into being what did not exist, will He not be able to cause what has already been made to return to existence? Both are the action of one and the same power. In both cases the wondrous deed is accomplished by one authority.

He will be at the judgment in the form in which He stood under judgment. He will judge in the form in which He was condemned. Since He was unjustly condemned, He will judge justly.

He will come in the form of a servant (Phil 2:7), and in that form He will be clearly seen. For how can the righteous and the unrighteous clearly see Him as the form of God (Phil 2:6)?

If the judgment were only over the righteous, then the righteous would clearly see Him in the form of God.

But the judgment will pass over the righteous and the unrighteous. It is not granted to the unrighteous to see God, for “blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Mt 5:8).

Therefore the Judge will show Himself in such a form as both those destined for the crown and those destined for condemnation could see.

The form of a servant can be seen, but the form of God will be hidden. The Son of God will be hidden in the servant, and the Son of Man will be clearly visible.

For He gave Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. Therefore He alone will appear at the judgment in the form of a servant.

The Father will not appear, because He did not assume the form of a servant. For this reason He says above, “The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son” (Jn 5:22).

Thus the consideration of the question was rightly deferred, so that He Who proclaimed it might Himself interpret it. Before, it was unclear. Now, I think, it has become clear.

He gave Him authority to execute judgment also. The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, because He will carry out judgment in the form which the Father did not have.

And what is this judgment? “Do not marvel at this, for the hour is coming.” This is not the hour that has now come for souls to rise. It is the hour that will come for bodies to rise.

Let Him speak more clearly about this, so that the heretic who denies the resurrection of the flesh may lose the opportunity to lie, though the meaning is already evident.

When it was said above, “The hour is coming,” He added, “and now is” (Jn 5:25). But now He says, “The hour is coming,” and does not add, “and now is.”

Let Him, by laying bare the truth, break all the snares, all the knots, and every handle on the hunting nets of the heretics.

“Do not marvel at this, for the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs...” What could be clearer? What could be more manifest?

Bodies are in the tombs. Souls are not in the tombs, neither those of the righteous nor those of the unrighteous.

The soul of the righteous man was in Abraham’s bosom. The soul of the unrighteous man was tormented in Hades (cf. Lk 16:22-25). Neither was in the tomb.

I ask you, attend to what He said above: “The hour is coming, and now is.” You, brethren, know how much toil you expend to obtain bread for your belly.

How much more toil is required for the mind? You stand and listen with difficulty, but we stand and speak with still greater difficulty.

If we labor for your sake, you must labor with us for your own sake. Therefore, when He said above, “The hour is coming,” and added, “and now is,” what did He add?

“The dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live” (cf. Jn 5:25). He did not say, “All the dead will hear and, hearing, will live.”

He wished to be understood of the wicked who are dead, that is, that those whose souls are dead should hear Him. But do all the unrighteous obey the Gospel?

The Apostle says openly, “But not all obey the Gospel” (cf. Rom 10:16). Yet those who hear will live. All who submit to the Gospel will pass into eternal life through faith.

Nevertheless, not all obey, and this happens now. At the end, all who are in the tombs, that is, the righteous and the unrighteous, will hear His voice and come forth (cf. Jn 5:28-29).

But, you say, how will you prove to me that He spoke of this resurrection? If you listen patiently, you yourself will be persuaded of it at once.

Let us read further: “Do not marvel, for the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs...” What could be said more clearly about this resurrection?

A little earlier He did not say, “those who are in the tombs,” but, “the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live” (Jn 5:25).

He did not say that some would live and others be condemned. Rather, He said that all who believe will live.

What does He say about those in the tombs? “All who are in the tombs will hear His voice and come forth” (cf. Jn 5:28). He did not say, “hearing, they will live.”

If they lived wickedly and lay in the tombs, they will rise for death, not for life. Let us see, then, who will come forth.

A little earlier it was said that the dead, hearing and believing, lived. There is no contradiction here.

It was not said, “The dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and when they hear, some will live and others will be condemned.”

It was said, “All who hear will live,” because those who believe will live. Those who have love will live, and none of them will die.

His voice, or command, will unite them all together, give them life, and raise them by ineffable power. This command will be given through the Archangel: "with a command, with the voice of an Archangel, and with the trumpet of God," as it is said in the Epistle to the Thessalonians (1 Thess 4:16). Although not all are in graves, by those who are in graves He also designated those who are not in graves. By those who were buried properly, He also designated those who were not so buried.

And behold, the time will come when, at the voice of the Son of God, all the dead will rise from their graves. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself." "I have also spoken of judgment. Yes. When all rise from the dead, both good and evil, then the Son will leave the good, who received His word with faith, and will turn His judgment against the evil. Verse 24 says that they do not come into judgment. Again, the Son does not seize for Himself from the Father either the right of judgment or its execution. He has it according to His will. The Father gave Him authority to execute judgment because He is the Son of Man. He is that very Son of Man whom Daniel saw receiving from the Ancient of Days dominion, honor, and kingdom (Dan 7:13). And the Son will execute this judgment not according to His own arbitrariness, but according to righteousness, in harmony with the judgment of the Father. I have already said that He can do nothing of Himself and does not seek His own will, but the will of the Father who sent Him." There was no need to ask who this Son was. The Lord said that all this had been entrusted to Him: "I can do nothing... I do not seek My own will" (v. 30).

When He spoke also of the spiritual quickening of the dead by faith in Christ, He did not say "all the dead," but simply "the dead." For in the moral sense not all the dead will live, but only those who believe. At the time of the universal resurrection and judgment, however, all who have ever lived will rise without exception and undergo the last judgment. The holy Apostle Paul unfolds the teaching on the universal resurrection in considerable detail in 1 Cor 15:1 and following. "Those who have done good to the resurrection of life": those who justified their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ by good works (cf. Theophylact) will rise into life, or for life, that is, eternal life. Those who have done evil will rise for condemnation (cf. Mt 25:31 and following).

Some, including Chrysostom, join the words "Do not marvel at this" with the words "because He is the Son of Man." But the Evangelist's words do not allow such a connection, for then the word τουτου, "at this," would be superfluous. The object of wonder, as the ancients also understood it, including Origen, Nonnus, and Augustine, is the resurrecting power of the Son of Man. Carried away by the power of Jesus' words, the Pharisees and scribes forgot their indignation against Jesus and stood amazed at the unheard-of teaching. The Lord says: Do not marvel at what has been said. I repeat that the time will come when the dead will rise through the action of the Son of God, each to the lot prepared on earth. Authority has been given to the Son of Man, but the Son of God will restore all the dead to life by the power of the Godhead. The Son of God and Son of Man will accomplish the judgment over the universe. For He prepared every means of salvation for the human race, reconciled divine justice by His death, and sent abundant grace to men. Therefore He has the right to judge the universe in its faithfulness or betrayal toward the heavenly Father (Mt 25:35, 41).

The first of these moments is the appearance on earth of God incarnate and His preaching, which raises men to new life. Then comes the resurrection in earthly life of the bodies of many departed saints at the great moment of redemption (Mt 27:52). Then comes the spiritual resurrection of those in "the prison of spirits" (1 Pet 3:19), the rebirth to spiritual life of the members of the Christian Church, and the life of the soul beyond the grave after the death of the body. Finally comes the rising from the dead, in bodies, of men of all ages and lands, so that they may stand before the great and dread judgment seat of Christ (Mt 25:31; Acts 17:31; Rom 2, and many others). All these different kinds of resurrection are embraced in the Lord's words in verses 25-29 of this chapter. Cf. St. John Chrysostom on John the Theologian, Homily 39, at the end of section 3. They are the fulfillment of what the Lord of old commanded the prophet Isaiah to say: "Arise, shine, O Jerusalem, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you!... and nations shall come from darkness to your light" (Isa 60:1-3). The Apostle expresses this same thing majestically when he cries: "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light!" (Eph 5:14). Looking further into the Lord's words, "those who have done good will come forth to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment," we see that judgment is only for evil hearts and unbelievers. Comparing this place with the words, "He who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life" (above, v. 24), and also with Jn 3:18-20: "He who believes in Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already... for everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works be exposed, because they are evil," we see that faith alone in the Son of God saves. For only the man reborn by this faith can do works pleasing to God, works not of hypocrisy but of true love. Ready for eternal life, he goes "to the resurrection of life" and "shall not come into judgment." To the "resurrection of judgment" rise "those who have done evil." They "do evil" because they hate the light and do not come to the light, for this light will expose the wickedness of their hearts. Thus judgment is for the evil, for those who "have shown no mercy" (Jas 2:13), and for those who have rejected the mercies of God. For those who truly believe and do the will of the heavenly Father (Mt 7:21), there is eternal life, the Kingdom of heaven.