John 5:24–25

Context

In chapter 5 of the Gospel of John, Jesus heals, on the Sabbath, a man who had been ill for thirty-eight years at the pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem. The Jews seek to kill him because he has broken the Sabbath and called God his own Father, making himself equal with God (John 5:16–18). In response, Jesus delivers a lengthy discourse on the relationship between the Son and the Father. In this discourse he says that just as the Father raises the dead, so the Son gives life to whom he will, and that the Father has committed all judgment to the Son (5:21–22). Verses 24–25 explain how the Son's authority to give life and to judge is realized now in those who hear his word and believe. "Verily, verily" is an emphatic expression formed by doubling the word "amen"; among the four Gospels, it appears only in John.

Interpretation

• Eternal life as a present reality: In the original Greek, "hath" is in the present tense, meaning "possesses now," and "is passed" is in the perfect tense, indicating a state already accomplished. On this basis, many commentators conclude that John's Gospel presents eternal life and judgment not merely as distant future events but as realities that have already begun for those who believe in Jesus.
• "The dead" in verse 25: Citing the phrase "and now is," many interpreters read "the dead" in verse 25 as the spiritually dead—that is, those who do not yet believe. They distinguish this from verses 28–29, in which those in the graves hear his voice and come forth, a reference to the bodily resurrection on the last day. Some hold that verse 25 also includes actual events such as the raising of Lazarus.
• Critical theories of redaction: Some scholars, including Rudolf Bultmann, argued that this realized eschatology represents the original thought of John's Gospel and that passages speaking of a future resurrection, such as verses 28–29, were added later. Many scholars counter that the coexistence of the "already" and the "not yet" belongs to the Gospel's original structure.

Debates and Issues

• Assurance of salvation and perseverance: The Reformed tradition cites this passage, on the strength of "is passed from death unto life" and "shall not come into condemnation," in support of the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, which holds that those who truly believe will not fall away from salvation. The Arminian and Wesleyan traditions (Methodist, Holiness, and others) point out that "he that believeth" is a present participle in the Greek denoting continuing action, and they emphasize that the promise is therefore given to those who continue in faith. Both traditions agree that the passage gives believers present salvation and assurance.
• Relation to judgment: Some ask whether this passage conflicts with 2 Corinthians 5:10, which states that all must appear before the judgment seat of Christ. Many interpreters take "judgment" here (Greek krisis) to mean judgment in the sense of condemnation and punishment. Read this way, the two passages do not contradict each other, and this verse carries the same meaning as Romans 8:1: "There is therefore now no condemnation." This topic is treated further in the article Last Judgment.

Perspective: Korean Protestant practiceHow this idea is used in Korean churches, kept from the original Korean article.

In Korean Protestant churches, the passage is frequently used in new-member classes, discipleship programs, and evangelism to explain the assurance of salvation, serving as a proof text for the teaching that believers already possess eternal life.

Related Passages

• John 5:28–29
• John 3:36
• John 10:27–29
• Ephesians 2:1–3
• Romans 8:1