❖ Video
❖ Audio (Message)
What Is The “Life” God Gives Us?
(John 5:19-30)
Mari Ikeda
Last Wednesday, Kazu, one of the members of this church, passed away. Yesterday was his funeral. His battle with cancer had already begun when he first came to this church 10 years ago, but perhaps what we all remember in common is that he was always calm and smiling. Sometimes he made us laugh with his humor, and many times he brought us delicious food. I also remember the expression on his face when he quietly said “thank you” after we prayed together. Over the past year, he has had many bad days, so we haven’t been able to meet him for quite a while, but in our messages, he always said, “I trust God. I’ll follow Him.” There must have been so much emotional conflict and physical pain that I couldn’t even imagine, but I am truly grateful to Kazu for letting me walk with him on the journey of believing in God and following him. I think all the members of the church probably feel the same way. The time we spent with Kazu was undoubtedly a blessing from God to us, and I think Kazu was also happy to be with us.
Today, as we read the continuation of the Gospel of John, God is a mysterious one, through this passage He reminds us that there is eternal life beyond physical death. The life that God gives us does not end when the physical body dies, but it is a new life that begins while the physical body is still alive, and is approaching eternity through the death of the physical body. Kazu just went close to eternity a little more ahead of us, and we will all meet him again someday in Jesus. We may still miss him so much, but I believe that what we should do is to live in the same way that Kazu lived, through each of our difficulties, so that we can rejoice together when we meet again.
Today’s passage is John 5:19-30. First, I would like to read the opening and closing verses, verse 19 to the first half of verse 20, and verse 30.
A. What Jesus does is what God is doing (19-20a, 30)
19 Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does.
30 By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.
This passage is in the flow of Jesus responding to the Jewish opposition to Jesus’ equating himself with God in the previous passage. They could never accept that God, the creator of this world, was the same person as Jesus, who was standing in front of them, because to them it was such an absurd and blasphemous story. But here Jesus is speaking to them and to us that everything he did, healing people’s diseases, eliminating all forms of discrimination, exposing injustice, and helping the weak, was the will of God Himself, who created this world, and that God himself was doing it. Because Jesus and God are one, what God does, Jesus does, and all Jesus does is God’s will. God is not a concept or a wishful fantasy created by humans. He came to this world 2,000 years ago as a specific person called Jesus, loved people, acted justice, and is the one who guides and protects us beyond time and space.
Now, let’s read today’s main part, the second half of verse 20 to verse 27.
B. The one who lets us cross over from death to life (20b-27)
Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. 21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. 22 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him. 24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. 25 Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.
1. What does it mean that God raises the dead and gives them life? (Ezekiel 37)
It has been often said by prophets since the Old Testament times that God raises the dead and gives them life. It not only refers to the physical resurrection that will come in the future, but also refers to the spiritual recovery that can come in the present. As an example, I would like to read part of Ezekiel chapter 37 of the Old Testament. These are the words that God spoke to the prophet Ezekiel in a vision where the bones of many people were dried up and spread out. It looks scary at first glance, but God is telling us that it is the reality of this world, that many people’s hearts have lost hope and are dead, and that recovery is God’s hope. Read Ezekiel 37:11-14.
11 Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD. ’”
I think there are many reasons why we lose hope of living. When we lose a loved one, when we experience a tragic experience, when our physical pain becomes unbearable, when our dreams are shattered, when we feel alone. We doubt the meaning of life and lose sight of the purpose of life. There is a hint in the words that God told Ezekiel what to do in such a case. Read only verse 14 again.
14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD. ’”
Knowing and believing that we are not our own, that we are only living the life God has given us, that God has given us the spirit to live, turns our despair into hope. Our place to be is in God, and God has prepared a place for us in Himself from the beginning. It is a bit abstract and difficult to understand, so let me rephrase it: God loves us even before we know Him, and in knowing and believing that, our hearts find true peace. To know God’s love and to live loving God in response to that love is the meaning and purpose of our life.
The reason why we can assert that the invisible God, whom we have never met, loves us is because there is a person named Jesus. Let’s go back to the words of the Gospel of John. Jesus said in verses 24-25:
2. Why does believing in Jesus give us life?
24 Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. 25 Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.
It is said that those who hear Jesus’ words and believe in God the Father, who sent him, will have eternal life. Eternal life, as it goes on to say, refers to the state of “crossing over from death to life without being judged.” In other words, eternal life is a state in which we are not judged by God, we are forgiven for our sins, and we are kept alive even though we are doomed to die. This also leads to the spiritual recovery that I mentioned earlier. The recovery of our hearts that God desires for us is to have hope in the midst of despair, but at the same time it means that we admit our mistakes and face the right direction and live accordingly. Our mistake is to forget God’s love, to think that we don’t need God, that we only need to be loved by others, and that we are happy as long as we live the way we want to live. But we are neither right nor strong enough to lead our own lives correctly. No one is always right, even people we trust and respect, and they may take advantage of us or fail to meet our expectations. Accepting that head-on without fear and knowing who is always right and trustworthy – God – is the way to lead our lives correctly.
Then, what does it mean to know Jesus’ words and believe in God? It means to know God’s love through the way Jesus lived and died, and to decide to believe in God’s love. The reason why we can be assured that God loves us is because Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected. God came to this world as one person, Jesus, healed the sick, helped the weak, did justice, and at the same time suffered the pain of the cross in the end. God Himself experienced the fear and loneliness of being betrayed by others, abandoned, experiencing physical pain, and being forsaken by God. All this so that we would not have to endure the same suffering alone. Then, on the third day after his death on the cross, God resurrected Jesus and showed us that there is hope beyond suffering and new life beyond physical death. But that new life is something that anyone can obtain from here and now by believing in God and living a new life. As Jesus said, “a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live,” the time is now.
Finally, let’s read verses 28-29.
C. The one who judges the dead (28-29)
28 “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.
This goes one step further than the previous passages and speaks of God’s judgment that will take place in the future. Jesus will eventually return to this world again to judge the living and the dead, and to make this world righteous where God’s love will rule. We don’t know exactly how that will happen or when it will happen. But at least then human injustice will cease and suffering will cease from this world.
Note that it is said that those who have done good will receive life, and those who have done evil will be judged. This does not mean that good deeds are rewarded and bad deeds are punished. If so, the whole human race will be punished and perish, because there is no one who never do bad things. Instead, it means that if you believe in God’s love and forgiveness, forgiveness is yours, and if you do not believe, forgiveness cannot be yours.
But at the same time, I think there is a reason why good deeds and bad deeds are at issue here. If we say with our mouths that we believe, but act in ways that grieve God, then our faith is as good as none. Faith is a matter of the heart, but it must concretely change our actions and our way of life. In this sense, we are all being asked what kind of life we will choose to live in order to truly believe in God’s love and follow his will.
The life that God gives us is not just a state of physical life sustained, but life living in God’s love. It is to believe in God’s love and live to love Him. It is our relationship with Him that will continue eternally, with or without our physical bodies, unless we ourselves give it up. God is reaching out to each of us today and at this very moment, inviting us to walk through life together.
(Prayer) Lord Jesus, we sent our dear friend back to You last week. We thank You that he is at peace with You, but You also know how much we miss him. Please help us to look up to you and live as he believed and lived. We have friends who are battling illnesses. Please strengthen and support their minds and bodies. In the face of various difficulties, may we trust in you, never lose hope, and walk on trusting in your love. Lord Jesus, we pray in your name. Amen.
Summary
The life that God gives us is not just a state of physical life sustained, but life living in God’s love. It is to believe in God’s love and live to love Him. It is our relationship with Him that will continue eternally, with or without our physical bodies, unless we ourselves give it up. In order to give us this kind of true life and relationship, Jesus died on the cross. The eternal life, the true life that we should see, can be received here and now, and will not end when our bodies perish.
For Discussion
1. What is the eternal life that Jesus gives us?
2. What is Jesus’ judgment?