Daily Devotions
John
The day of judgment
Text: John 5:16-47
THE DAY OF JUDGMENT
Is there a secret sense of fear in the heart when you think about the Day of Judgment? This theme was preached by many of God’s prophets. The Judgment of God could be generally divided into two main aspects.
1. The Immediate and Temporal Aspect
The first aspect had to do with the immediate and temporal dimension. For example, Israel and Judah were warned that they would be judged by God for their wicked misdeeds and their sins. They were warned that they would be exiled. When the words of the prophets of God fell on deaf ears, the Lord allowed both Israel and Judah to be conquered. Assyria overran Israel. The Babylonians sent Judah into exile! The Jewish nation learned to pay heed to God’s Word when the theme of Judgment was preached. Would The Jews in the days of Jesus pay similar heed?
2. The Eschatological and Eternal Aspect
The second aspect was even more serious. It had to do with final judgment! This has an eschatological and eternal dimension. This was the Final Day of Judgment! There was no “second chance” in this Judgment!
The Jews should have learned their lessons from their checkered history. God’s Word would always be fulfilled!
When Jesus appeared on the scene in Israel, if The Jews had been reading their Scriptures carefully, they would have realized that Jesus was the Eschatological Son of Man. He was ushering in The Last Days.
Jesus was deeply concerned that The Jews did not seem to fear the Day of Judgment at all. Generally speaking, they appeared to think too lightly of Jesus. Thus they had to be told that they were not to trivialize the Person of Jesus.
THE DEAD WILL BE JUDGED TOO
Even in the days of Jesus, there were many who did not give much thought to the idea of Final Judgment. There were some like the Sadducees who scoffed at the idea of the Resurrection. Their concern was the here and now. Their theology did not give much thought about things eternal!
Then there were the Zealots. These were more concerned about being freed from the yoke of Roman bondage than spiritual bondage to sin. They were not afraid of committing murder in the name of patriotism and freedom.
There were also the Pharisees. Though they expressed deep religious concern, their religion was by and large “hypocritical”. They observed many traditions, but they were more ritualistic than spiritual in value.
The people in general were affected by these main schools of thought. Many were in fact quite secular in their thinking. They were just not living in close consciousness that one day they would have to stand before God on the Final Judgment Day!
Jesus spoke to the people in urgent tones. Surely, they would not allow these words to fall on fallow ground?
“Most assuredly, I say to you,
The hour is coming, and now is,
When the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God;
And those who hear will live.”
John 5:25
THE SOLEMN VERACITY OF THE WORDS OF JESUS
One of the ways in which John sought to capture the manner in which Jesus spoke was the use of the phrase translated “Most assuredly” in the NKJV text. In the old KJV text, it is translated, “Verily, verily…”
When Jesus sought to make special emphasis on what He said He would use this phrase of repetition. This was His way of saying that His words were both solemn and true.
In the days of old, the prophets would prefix solemn messages with these words, “Thus says the Lord…” and then proceed to declare powerful words of truth. Jesus did not have to use the same formula. He was Himself the Lord. All He needed was to say, “Most assuredly, I say to you…” If only the hearers understood and recognized who Jesus was.
A FURTHER APPLICATION OF THE EXPRESSION “THE HOUR”
Jesus used the word “Hour” in a number of ways. The first aspect was of course “Future”. He made constant reference to a future hour. In a future moment of time, the dead will be resurrected and be judged!
The word “hour” also has a contemporary perspective. There was a here and now aspect. Jesus combined the two ideas together. The future and the present elements were inextricably connected.
1. The hour – With Personal Reference
Jesus made reference to the word “hour” with reference to the future. His hour had not yet come, and so He could not accede to Mary’s request to help the wedding couple (Cf. John 2:4). Soon after, God revealed that His hour had come. What He saw the Father doing, so He likewise followed suit.
2. The Hour – With reference to Worship
Jesus applied the concept of the hour when He spoke to the woman of Samaria. He spoke of an hour when people would no longer speak of worshipping God in Jerusalem or at Mt. Gerizim (Cf. John 4:23).
3. The Hour – With Reference to the Day of Judgment
Jesus now applied this concept of “The Hour” with reference to the Final Day of Judgment (John 5:25).
Yes, the words of Jesus were deep and puzzling. He spoke in this manner so as to cause His hearers to think more deeply than they were used to. Much was at stake!