Jesus at Bethesda
Jesus has just said that God the Father has given him, the Son of God, “the authority to judge because he in the Son of Man.”
28 “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.
This is one of the most vivid pictures of the resurrection on the Last Day that we have in the Bible. There are no metaphors here, no goats, no sheep—just believers and unbelievers, described in terms of how they showed their faith in their lives, “those who have done good…. those who have done evil.” There is no middle ground; no purgatory. In the resurrection on the Last Day, there is only heaven for believers and hell for unbelievers, and there is no reprieve.
Regarding hell and the eternal suffering that will take place there, the Bible is very specific: It will be a suffering because so much is lost (Isaiah 48:22); it will be a suffering because there is such intense pain (Romans 2:9; Revelation 14:11). Several passages also indicate that there will be different degrees of damnation, which is what Dante refers to with his “rings” of hell (Matthew 10:15, 11:21; Luke 12:47-48; Romans 2:11-12). It cannot be escaped from (Luke 16:26), and it will last forever (Jude 6-7).
The rescue from hell occurs only in this lifetime; only by the rescuing hand of Jesus. And his rescue is as absolute, as certain, as glorious, as blessed and as everlasting as he is himself. What better judge could we have on the Last Day than him? And he will be our judge; the one who gave himself as our ransom.
30 By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me. (NIV)
Jesus might possibly be referring to a common practice among Jews. Legal cases in villages were heard by the elders of the town who sat in the gate, as when Abraham went to buy a field to bury his wife in Hebron (Genesis 23:10). But in Jesus’ time, it sometimes happened that a judge who had doubts about a case would go up to Jerusalem to ask the judgment of the Sanhedrin, and then return to give the same judgment, saying, “I judge as I hear.”
Jesus makes it clear that his authority is the highest authority: Jesus judges exactly as God the Father judges. And unlike a human judge, who might possibly be swayed by opinion or corrupted by a bribe or moved by a threat, Jesus doesn’t seek to please anyone at all, except the Father. And his will is that you will be saved through faith in Jesus.
Something extra:
Psalm 37
Of David.
“Don’t fret” is as good a theme as any for this psalm; the message of verse 1 carries through to the end of the poem. Like Psalm 119 and others, this psalm is an acrostic poem, with stanzas that begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
א (Aleph)
1 Do not fret because of evil men
or be envious of those who do wrong;
2 for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.
The word beginning with aleph (the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet) is the negative al, “Do not.” Why does David tell us not to fret? This psalm unfolds a problem that believers face in the world. People who aren’t righteous, who don’t have faith, and who are even outwardly very wicked, seem to prosper and get all the advantages. It’s enough to try the patience of Job. (In fact, it did try the patience of Job; see Job 9:22-24, 10:2-3, etc.)
Throughout this Psalm, David will address that theme of the wicked getting ahead, and what the believer should do when it happens. Don’t stop looking to God for help; don’t make someone else’s sinful success a test and a trial for yourself. Turn to the Lord, and know that he has not forgotten about you.
ב (Beth)
3 Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart. (NIV)
The word beginning with beth (the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet) is batach “trust.” This is the kind of faith described in one of David’s descendants, King Hezekiah: “Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the Lord and did not cease to follow him” (2 Kings 18:5-6).
Pray that God will give you that kind of trust; that he will strengthen your faith through his word and through his sacrament. Confess your sins to God, and know that he has forgiven them. Reinforce that wonderful assurance with the Lord’s Supper, and don’t be afraid. Before God, your sins melt away like frost on a sunny day.
The Lutheran composer Paul Gerhard (1607-1676) wrote a hymn based on one of the verses of this Psalm. Sung to the tune of “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded,” the hymn reflects the distress a Christian has in life which is always met by the consolation of God.
Commit whatever grieves thee Into the gracious hands
Of him who never leaves thee, Who heav’n and earth commands.
Who points the clouds their courses, Whom winds and waves obey,
He will direct thy footsteps And find for thee a way. (The Lutheran Hymnal 520:1)
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. His wife, Kathryn, attended Chapel from 1987-1990 while studying Secondary Education (Theater and Math) at UW-Madison. Kathryn’s father, John Meyer, was also the first man to serve as a Vicar at Chapel.
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