4th week in Lent, Wednesday – 17th March 2021 – John 5,1-16
Being Saved to Do Good Works
The divine works of giving eternal life and rendering final judgment were understood within Judaism to be God’s prerogative for the final age. But Jesus proclaims that these works of God, which were expected to happen in the future, were already happening in his own ministry. The dead spoken of here may refer to those people who were raised from the dead by Jesus during His public ministry. The eternal life that Jesus proclaims is a quality of life that disciples can begin to experience here and now. It is the spiritual life received when a man is born again, in contrast to the natural life which he received at his physical birth. It is the new life imparted to those who believe in Jesus Christ. However the resurrection of the dead and the fullness of life will occur sometime in the future (5,28-29). In another sense, the dead referred to are those who are dead in trespasses and sins. They hear the voice of the Son of God when the gospel is preached. When they accept the message and receive the Saviour, then they pass from death into new life. Believing Jesus’ word as God’s revelation demands a changed life expressed in deeds and not merely words. Further, Jesus made known to them a startling truth that those in the grave will hear the Messiah’s voice and rise to the “resurrection of life” or to the “resurrection of condemnation”. It is a solemn truth that every person who has ever lived or will ever live falls into one of these two classes. We can notice that the division will take place on the basis of whether people have “done good” or “done evil”. A person is not saved by doing good, but he does good because he has been saved. Good works are not the root of salvation but rather the fruit. They are not the cause, but the effect.
