Joh 5:25-29 | RWP | e4.org | And now is ( κα νυν εστιν ). See for this phrase. Not the future resurrection in verse , but the spiritual resurrection here and now. The dead ( ο νεκρο ). The spiritually dead, dead in trespasses and sins ( , ; ). Shall hear the voice of the Son of God ( ακουσουσιν της φωνης του υιου του θεου ). Note three genitives ( φωνης after ακουσουσιν , υιου with φωνης , θεου with υιου ). Note three articles (correlation of the article) and that Jesus here calls himself "the Son of God" as in ; . Shall live ( ζησουσιν ). Future active indicative, shall come to life spiritually.

‏ John 5:25-29

And now is ( κα νυν εστιν ). See 4:23 for this phrase. Not the future resurrection in verse 28, but the spiritual resurrection here and now.

The dead ( ο νεκρο ). The spiritually dead, dead in trespasses and sins (Eph 2:1, 5; 5:14).

Shall hear the voice of the Son of God ( ακουσουσιν της φωνης του υιου του θεου ). Note three genitives ( φωνης after ακουσουσιν, υιου with φωνης, θεου with υιου ). Note three articles (correlation of the article) and that Jesus here calls himself "the Son of God" as in 10:36; 11:4.

Shall live ( ζησουσιν ). Future active indicative, shall come to life spiritually.

In himself ( εν εαυτω ). The Living God possesses life wholly in himself and so he has bestowed this power of life to the Son as already stated in the Prologue of the Logos (1:3). For "gave" ( εδωκεν, timeless aorist active indicative) see also 3:35; 17:2, 24. The particles "as" ( ωσπερ ) and "so" ( ουτως ) mark here the fact, not the degree (Westcott).

Because he is the Son of man ( οτ υιος ανθρωπου εστιν ). Rather, "because he is a son of man" (note absence of articles and so not as the Messiah), because the judge of men must partake of human nature himself (Westcott). Bernard insists that John is here giving his own reflections rather than the words of Jesus and uses υιος ανθρωπου in the same sense as ο υιος του ανθρωπου (always in the Gospels used by Jesus of himself). But that in my opinion is a wrong view since we have here ostensibly certainly the words of Jesus himself. So in Re 1:13; 4:14 υιον ανθρωπου means "a son of man."

In the tombs ( εν τοις μνημειοις ). Ταφος (grave) presents the notion of burial ( θαπτω, to bury) as in Mt 23:27, μνημειον (from μναομα, μιμνησκω, to remind) is a memorial (sepulchre as a monument). Jesus claims not only the power of life (spiritual) and of judgement, but of power to quicken the actual dead at the Last Day. They will hear his voice and come out ( εκπορευσοντα, future middle indicative of εκπορευομα ). A general judgement and a general bodily resurrection we have here for both good and bad as in Mt 25:46; Ac 24:15; 2Co 5:10 and as often implied in the words of Jesus (Mt 5:29f.; 10:28; Lu 11:32). In Joh 6:39 Jesus asserts that he will raise up the righteous.

Unto the resurrection of life ( εις αναστασιν ζωης ). Αναστασις is an old word (Aeschylus) from ανιστημ, to raise up, to arise. This combination occurs nowhere else in the N.T. nor does "the resurrection of judgement" ( εις αναστασιν κρισεως ), but in Lu 14:14 there is the similar phrase "in the resurrection of the just" ( εν τη αναστασε των δικαιων ). Only there note both articles. Here without the articles it can mean "to a resurrection of life" and "to a resurrection of judgement," though the result is practically the same. There are two resurrections as to result, one to life, one to judgement. See both in Da 12:2.