Turn to John's Gospel chapter
5 and verse 24, we read the following. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me,
hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but
is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the
voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live. For
as the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to
have life in himself. And I've given him authority
to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of Man. marvel
not at this for the hour is coming in the which all that are in
the grave shall hear his voice and shall come forth they that
have done good unto the resurrection of life and they that have done
evil unto the resurrection of damnation. I can of mine own
self do nothing As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because
I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which
hath sent me. If I bear witness of myself,
my witness is not true. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the
voice of the Son of God. and they that hear shall live. The dead shall hear the voice
of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live. John's Gospel, the last of the
four Gospels presented to us in the Scriptures, stands as
a very different presentation of Christ from the other three
gospels. John is unique in that his primary
purpose is to present the divinity of Christ, to show us that Christ
is indeed God, to show us that he is indeed the Son of God. His whole gospel is ordered to
this end. He presents us with signs, seven
signs, in which different aspects of Christ's person as the Son
of God are made evident, in which the light of his countenance
shines forth. John writes in John chapter 20
and verse 30, and many other signs truly did Jesus in the
presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book.
But these are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God, and that believing ye might have life
through his name. These things are written that
ye might believe that this Jesus of whom all four Gospels speak
is indeed the Christ, the anointed, The one that God would send as
the saviour of man. And that he is indeed the son
of God. The son of God. This man, this one whom the disciples
saw, this one of whom John testifies both here in his gospel and also
in his epistles which he wrote later. this one whom they handled and
felt, this real man who walked with them, this one whose words
they heard with their own ears, is not just a man, but truly
this one is the son of God. And in chapter five of his gospel, John recalls these words of Christ. The hour is coming and now is
when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God and they
that hear shall live. Well, John heard the voice of
the Son of God and the other disciples heard the voice of
the Son of God. Many at the time heard Jesus
speak. But there's something more that
this text, this passage is referring to. The hour is coming and now is
when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God. And
they that hear shall live. What does this mean? Well firstly consider the voice.
The Son of God is said to have a voice. And the passage refers to the
hearing of that voice. That voice was heard then. But it continues to be heard
now. This was not simply the voice
of the Son of Man, of Christ as he was as he walked upon the
earth. But this is his voice as the
Son of God. A voice that continues to sound
today. He speaks today. It isn't just that he spoke as
a man 2,000 years ago whilst on the earth. it isn't the hearing of that
voice of which John is speaking in this passage. Many heard that
voice and never believed. Many who were dead spiritually
heard that voice and never lived. They perished in their sins. But John is referring to the
hearing of the voice of the Son of God, the hearing of which
brings life, the hearing of which causes the dead to hear and the
dead to live. The people then needed to hear
that voice, not simply the audible words of Christ, but His voice
as the Son of God. And today we need to hear this
voice, the voice of the Son of God. We need to hear His voice
by the Spirit. We need to hear His speech as
it utters from heaven above. We need to hear it as it is conveyed
by the Spirit of God to us down below. We need to hear the voice
of the Son of God now, today. for he continues to speak now. He continues to speak today,
at this hour, from heaven, by his spirit, through his gospel. Oh, have you heard this voice? You may have heard many people
say many things. You may have heard preachers
speak of Jesus Christ. You may have read the words on
the pages of the Bible. You may have read the words of
Jesus himself as recorded in the Gospels, in the Bible. But have you heard his voice
by his Spirit, through his Gospel? This is not the voice you hear
with the outward ear, but a voice you hear with the inner ear.
Many hear with the outward ear. Many heard with the outward ear.
Many heard the voice of a preacher, but they never hear this voice,
the voice of the Son of God, sounding within their hearts.
They hear the Gospel outwardly, they hear the warnings, they
hear the alarm, they hear of Christ. They know the truth regarding
Him. They know the truth regarding
themselves. They know the truth of judgment
to come, of which Christ goes on to speak here in this passage.
They know that the day comes when there will be a resurrection
of those who have done good unto life. and of those who have done
evil, and to the resurrection of damnation. They know these
things as they are recorded in the scriptures. They've heard
them, and yet they remain as they are, unmoved, cold, apathetic,
dead in their sins, with hardened hearts and closed ears. They
hear but they don't hear. They read but they don't understand. They know but they don't care. If you're like them and if you
remain like that Then on that day of which Christ speaks here,
on that day which will surely come, that great day of the resurrection
when all the graves will be opened and all men will come to stand
before God, on that day to come when you stand before your Maker
and He asks you, did you not know? Did you not hear? then this message, this gospel,
these words will continue to echo in your head for eternity
to come as you perish in the resurrection of damnation. For you are hearing and many
have heard And they know these things in their heads as facts. They've been warned. You know
that it is said in the scriptures that Jesus Christ, the Son of
God, came into this world. He came to save sinners. He came,
God made man. He lived amongst men. He spoke
the truth. He was rejected of man. Men cried
out for him to be crucified. He went to the cross. He was
nailed upon it. He died between two thieves. His blood was shed. You know that the scriptures
record that God judged him for the sins of others. You know
that the scriptures record that on the third day Jesus rose from
the dead. You know that the scriptures
record that he ascended unto his father. And you know that
the scriptures record that he sent forth apostles, disciples
to go into all this world to preach this gospel. And you know
that today, 2,000 years later, there remain those in this world
who believe on Jesus Christ, who declare His message and say
that these things are true. You know, you have heard. But have you heard? Have you
heard the voice of the Son of God? For the hour is coming and
now is when the dead, dead like you, dead like me by nature,
when those who are dead in sins, when those who are dead to the
things of God, when those who are dead to the hearing of the
truth of the gospel, when those who are dead to eternal life,
when those who are dead like you, shall hear the voice of
the Son of God, and they that hear shall live. Have you heard, or have you only heard the words,
the facts, the preachers, the voice of man? Oh, may we be spared
from only hearing the facts, man's voice, words, For we need
to hear another voice. We need to hear the voice of
the Son of God. We are dead and we need to live. We need, as those who are dead,
to hear the voice of the Son of God and hearing to live, to
live. Yes, he has a voice and he speaks. He spake then and he speaks today
from heaven. Consider the power of his voice,
the power. This is the same voice that spoke
in the beginning, at the beginning of time. The same voice that
spake by which the worlds were created, by which the stars were
made, by which the sun and the moon were put in their place
and the planets were put in their place. The same voice which spake
by which the earth was made, the dry land divided from the
sea, all living things brought forth, all living creatures created. The same voice which spake that
made man upon this earth and which breathed life into man.
That voice. It is the voice which commanded
in the days in which Christ walked upon this earth. It is that same
voice which commanded the blind to see. and the deaf to hear
and the lame to walk. It's that same voice which earlier
in chapter 5 of John commanded this impotent man who was lying
by the pool of Bethesda, unable to move, right beside the waters
which at a certain time when an angel went down into them,
the waters would move and if you were about to go into the
waters you would be healed. Well he'd lay there and couldn't
even roll into the waters, he was impotent, he could not move. And yet when Christ came, he
said unto this man, rise, take up thy bed and walk. And immediately
the man was made whole and took up his bed and walked. What a
power that a man who could not move for 38 years on hearing
this voice was healed, took up his bed and walked. This is the same voice which
commanded dead Lazarus, who had laid in the grave for four days,
who stank because his corpse was beginning to rot away. This
is the same voice which called out to him in the grave, Lazarus,
come forth. And Lazarus, who had lain dead,
brought to life, came forth, walking out of the grave. And
this is the same voice which today at this hour which now
is that the dead hear and hearing they are brought to life. The hour is coming and now is
when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God. and they that hear shall live. The power of the voice lies in
the message it brings. The power of the voice of the
Son of God lies in that message he brings regarding who he is
and what he has done to save sinners. Regarding that message
that declares that we are dead, and that we need to hear, and
that should we hear, we shall live. And the reason we will
live lies in the message, because the message that this voice brings
declares how the dead can live, how those who are dead because
of their sins and the condemnation that their sins have brought
upon them can be delivered from their sins and the consequence
of those sins. the message that declares that
one has come to deliver his people from their sins, that one has
come to take those sins upon himself and to take the judgment
of those sins upon himself, that they who were once dead might
be without sin. that they might be delivered
from sin and delivered from the wrath of God that burned against
him and without sin that they might be made righteous and being
made righteous they might live. It's that message that brings
the life for He came as the one of whom that message speaks and
He came as the one who performed what that message declares for
He came as the one who is the Saviour. He came as the one who
would die that others might live. He came as the one who would
take the judgment of God against the sins of his people, that
they might be spared, and that believing on him, hearing him,
seeing him, they might indeed be made righteous through his
blood which he shed for them, and being made righteous they
might live. Yes, he comes with a voice. the
hearing of which brings life, but the power of that voice is
in the gospel, the message he brings. I am not ashamed of the
gospel of Christ, says Paul, for it is the power of God unto
salvation unto everyone that believeth. the power of God. This message is what he speaks
and this message is that which saves. For it is a powerful message
because therein lies the answer to the reason why we are dead
and the only way in which we can be made to live. Therein
lies salvation because in the message of the gospel The righteousness
of God is revealed. For in the message of the gospel,
the declaration of those who were dead in sins, of how they,
in Christ, are made to be the righteousness of God in him.
In the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed. that's what
gives it its power for it's the revelation of the righteousness,
the taking away of sins and being declared righteous which causes
the dead to be brought to life. Without that message and without
the reality of what he did in that message without the reality
of the death of Christ of his substitutional death in the place
of his people for whom he died and how he took their sins away
that he might make them the righteousness of God in himself. Without that
there is no life. But because of that the dead
shall hear and they that hear shall live. It's the power of
his voice lies in the message he brings in the gospel. But
equally, the gospel in word only is nothing if not spoken by this
voice. Many can pluck out the words. Many can come to these passages
in the scriptures and bring them. but except he speaks these words,
except the Son of God preaches this gospel, then that's all
they remain, words, words on the pages of scripture, words
uttered by men. Truth, yes, but truth that does
nothing to the hearer, for the ears remain shut. and the eyes
remain shut and the hearts remain dead. We need to hear his voice
declaring this gospel. We need to hear his words in
his voice. Consider the hearing of this
voice. For it's in the hearing of His
voice that salvation lies. It is true that He came and He
wrought salvation upon the cross for all His people. It is true
that the gospel and all its parts were fulfilled in Christ. It
is true that all these truths were written down and recorded
in the scriptures and have been preached throughout the ages
by those whom God has sent. But many have heard these things,
who perish. Many remain evil, who on the
resurrection of the last day will be raised up unto the resurrection
of damnation. Many have heard these things
who never live. They're not all who heard these
words live. And yet the verse says that the
dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God and they that
hear shall live. Then there are some that hear
and hearing live and there are some that only hear the words
from men and never live. Salvation lies not just in these
words, but in the hearing of these words from Him, the hearing
of His voice. As Christ goes on to say when
He speaks to the Pharisees later on in this passage in chapter
5, He says unto them, ye have not
His word abiding in you. For whom ye have sent, him ye
believe not. He says unto them I sent John
a burning and a shining light before me and you've rejected
him. He says unto them search the
scriptures for in them ye think ye have eternal life and they
are they which testify of me and they do and yet he says ye
will not come to me that ye might have life. you'll read the scriptures,
you'll listen to this rabbi and that teacher and that great man
but you won't come unto me and you won't hear my voice says
I receive not honor from man but I know you that ye have not
the love of God in you. I am come in my father's name
and you receive me not if another shall come in his own name him
ye will receive. How can ye believe which receive
honor one of another and seek not the honor that coming from
God only? You see, they at that time and
many today will receive certain men. They'll receive those that
come and are sent by this place and that place. Those who come
trained up in this theological college or that theological college,
recommended by this man or that man. They'll hear this one and
that one, but they won't hear Christ. He came unto this scriptural
people. He came unto these who were steeped
in the Scriptures. They knew the message. The whole
of the Scriptures pointed to Christ. Yet they would not come
unto Him. They thought eternal life lay
in the words themselves, in the message upon the page. But eternal life is in Christ
and the hearing of His voice. Those words are true. The Bible
is true, it is the recorded word of God, but you'll only find
eternal life in it when He speaks those words to your soul. Thousands, multitudes have read
this book who have never heard His voice. We need to hear, and
we need to hear Him. The verse we're considering says
that the hour is coming and now is when the dead shall hear this
voice. It now is. This hour is now. It wasn't just then, it hasn't
come and gone. It now is. The dead may hear
the voice of the Son of God as much today as they did 2,000
years ago. He speaks now. He speaks through
his gospel. He speaks through the preaching
of his gospel by his spirit. It now is. Well have you listened? Have you heard? Have you heard
him? Many heard and were offended. Many heard his words in the day
of his flesh. Many saw his wonderful works
and miracles. Many followed him as disciples
for a time. But when he declared unto them
the harder truths of the gospel, when he declared unto them that
salvation is of the Lord, not of man, that it is of God's choosing
whom he should save, not of ours. when He declared unto them the
reality of a sovereign God, of sovereign grace, of free and
sovereign grace and salvation, when He made known unto them
that He would call unto Him His own, that He would die for His
own, the sheep, that He would save all those whom the Father
gave unto them. When He made known unto them
these truths, many were offended and went away. and would not
follow. And he turned unto his disciples
and said, will ye also go away? And one of course answered, to
whom else shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life. Thou hast the words of eternal
life. They knew he was the Christ.
They knew He was the Son of God, for they'd heard in a way that
others did not hear. They'd heard His voice, the voice
of the Son of God, and hearing they believed. Consider some
of these words, these words of eternal life. John 3, he says,
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, He
cannot see the kingdom of God. He cannot. Salvation is of God. To hear this voice, to understand,
to see, we must be born again. And it's God that causes a dead
sinner to be born again, to be brought to life. chapter 6 he
says this is the work of God that ye believe on him whom he
hath sent. It's not your work that you believe. Should you or I ever believe
on Jesus Christ? Should we know him to be our
savior? Should we know what it is to
be brought unto life? Then it is because of God's work. For this is the work of God,
that ye believe. That ye believe on him whom he
hath sent. Jesus says, I am the bread of
life. He that cometh to me shall never
hunger. And the he that believeth on
me shall never thirst. There is only one that we may
go to for life. only one on whom we may feed
who will bring life only one who has water to drink that quenches
for eternity. Verily verily he says I say unto
you accept ye the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood
he have no life in you. Have you ate his flesh? Have
you drank his blood? Is there life in you? As with the hearing of this voice,
this is not speaking of outer things. You must hear with the inner
ear and you must eat as it were with the heart and drink with
the heart. You must know what it is to have
his flesh crucified in your place. having been made sin for you
that you in him might be made the righteousness of God. You
must know what it is to have had his blood shed for you that
you may drink inwardly of that blood to the forgiveness of your
sins. He says elsewhere, verily, verily,
I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am. He declares plainly
who he is. The Jews knew what he meant when
he said, I am. I am that I am, God said was
his name. The Jews knew who I am was. Before Abraham was, the Son of
God Christ was. For he is God. These things are
written that ye might know that he is the Christ, the Son of
God. for judgment I am come into this world that they which see
not that they which see not might see and they that see might be
made blind. He says I am the good shepherd
and know my sheep and am known of mine as the father knoweth
me even so know I the father and I lay down my life for the
sheep Another sheep I have which are not of this fold, for them
also I must bring and they shall hear my voice and there shall
be one fold and one shepherd. He lays down his life for the
sheep and they all, every last one for whom he died, all the
sheep shall believe his voice. Well not everyone believes his
voice, do they? Not everyone have heard his voice,
not everyone believes on him. Because he did not lay his life
down for everyone, but he laid it down for the sheep. And all
the sheep hear his voice. For the sheep were once dead,
and hearing his voice, in that hour, they live. They live because he said, I
am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though
he were dead, yet shall he live. Yet shall he live. When he died,
he took away the sins of all his people, to the uttermost,
every one, not one left. And because of that, on the third
day, having done all, having conquered sin, having conquered
death, having conquered hell, he could rise again. Nothing
remained to keep him in the grave. He is life. I am the resurrection
and the life. He that believeth on me, believeth
not on me, but on him that sent me. If you hear this voice, you
hear not just Christ's voice, not just the Son of God's voice,
but the voice of the Father through his Son. If you believe and receive
Jesus Christ, you believe and receive his Father. If you believe
on him, you believe on God, for he is God. For man loved me,
he will keep my words. He will treasure them, remember
them, believe them, rest in them, follow them, he will keep them. And my Father will love him and
we will come unto him and make our abode with him. This Saviour,
this Christ, when he brings one to life, he comes and dwells
in that person's heart. And not him alone, but the Father
with him. We will make our abode with him
who keeps and believes my words. Christ says in John 18, I speak
openly to the world. I ever taught in the synagogue
and in the temple. whether the Jews always resort. And in secret have I said nothing. He's not hid these words, he's
not hid this message. He's gone openly to all the world,
he spake in the synagogue, he went to the Jews first. He declared
this gospel in power. He kept nothing back. We've no
excuse. These things are known and declared. or have you heard? He goes on, to this end was I
born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should
bear witness unto the truth. Everyone that is of the truth,
herewith my voice. Everyone that is of the truth,
herewith my voice. And everyone that is of the truth
cometh unto Him who receives sinners. For He came unto sinners. He came unto those who knew they
were sinners. He comes unto those who know
they are sinners. And He calls them unto Himself.
He comes unto those who are broken and bruised, cast down by the
conviction of their sin, knowing they are guilty before God, knowing
they are lost. He comes unto them and says,
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will
give you rest. He who cometh unto me I will
in no wise cast out. This man receiveth sinners. Have you heard his call? Having heard, having come unto
him, Have you heard his assurance of salvation? There were those
who came, there were those who heard, there were those who believed,
there were those who believed that he could save them, that
he could make them whole. And they cried out unto him,
and they cried out that he should heal them, that he should save
them. And he said unto such, thy faith
have made thee whole, thy sins be forgiven thee. He heard. He healed, He saved. And He saved because He went
to the cross that He should save His own. Because He died for
those that were dead that they should live. Because He was crucified
in the place of sinners such as you and such as me. because
His God laid upon Him the iniquity of us all, Isaiah writes. He
laid upon Him the sins of all His people. He made Him to be
sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God
in Him. He laid on Him the sins of all those whom God gave to
Him from before the foundations of this earth. He died. He died a horrible death. He died a slow death. He suffered. And he suffered because he loved
those whom the Father gave him. He suffered because he loved
those who were dead in trespasses and sins. He suffered because
he loved his own. He suffered because he loved. Have you beheld Him in His suffering?
Have you seen the Saviour in anguish upon the tree? Do you
know His mercy, His love, and His grace towards sinners? That
He should die in their place, that God should no longer look
upon them in anger and wrath, but that He looked upon His own
Son as if He were them, and crucified Him instead of them. Have you
seen his salvation? Have you seen His blood shed
upon the cross? Have you heard His voice? Have
you heard His cries upon the cross? Have you heard His voice
upon the cross? Have you seen at the end when
all was done, when all sin was taken away, He cried out, it
is finished! It is complete, it is done, it
is over! All has been accomplished, it
is finished! Have you heard that? Have you
heard that voice? Do you know that he cried that
for you? Was it cried for you? Was it
cried in your place? Was it all done for you? Was
his blood shed for you? When you hear, should you hear,
Should you as one who is dead hear the voice of the Son of
God? Should you know that He died
in your place? Should you know that it was finished
for you? Should you know that He has come
unto you in your condition and said unto your soul, Thy sins
be forgiven thee? Should you hear that voice? Should
you believe? Then you'll be able to say as
with another one, Yea Lord, I believe that thou art the Christ, the
Son of God, which should come into the world. I believe, I
have heard, thou art the Son of God, thou art the Christ.
To whom else shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life. Oh, listen. Listen for this voice. If you've not heard it, listen
for this voice. Cry out that God may sound it
to you. Cry out that He may speak unto
your hearts. Listen to this voice. For the
hour is coming and now is when the dead shall hear this voice
of the Son of God and they that hear shall live. Amen.