[Jesus said] “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 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.”

Devotion based on John 5:28,29

There is a large cemetery near where I live. From the road, you can see headstones for what looks like miles. Driving into the cemetery, you are surrounded by graves. Rows and rows of plots and places where the dead sleep, entombed in a coffin, covered by six feet of dirt.

Every time I accompany families to that cemetery for the burial of a loved one, I have the privilege of assuring them this will not be their loved one’s final resting place. It doesn’t matter how well the coffin is sealed or how much dirt is on top of it. It doesn’t even matter what condition the body is in. That body, that person, will rise when Jesus comes.

Jesus makes it clear that all people will rise when they hear his voice at his second coming. Cemeteries, tombs, and mausoleums will burst open with the once dead who are alive again. No grave will have the power to hold onto its corpses.

At that time, Jesus declares that those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned. But who can do good when God defines good as perfection? No one is perfect except for Jesus. But, God promises to credit Jesus’ perfection to all who believe in Jesus as their Savior. Those who believe in Jesus as their Savior rise to eternal glory; those who do not believe rise to eternal condemnation.

All the dead will rise at Jesus’ voice on the Last Day, but believers rise from spiritual death at the voice of Jesus in the gospel. During this life, he invites you to come to him for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. He beckons you with his gentle voice to find your rest in him.

Prayer: