John 5:28

Marvel not at this: for the hour cometh, in which all that are in the tombs shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment.

In John 5:21, earlier, Jesus had claimed power to raise the dead; but his statement there fell a little short of declaring emphatically that he would indeed do so (although it was clearly implied). These words, however, dogmatically declare that Christ will raise all of the dead on earth, that the dead of all the ages will respond to his voice, and that Christ will judge them and assign the eternal destiny for both the good and the evil.

In John 5:20, Jesus had said "that ye may marvel," in his words with the priests; but that was not a reference to the final judgment in view here, being rather a prophecy of the raising of Lazarus.

Come forth ... These are the words addressed to Lazarus (John 11:43) and show that Jesus had fully decided this early in his ministry to perform just such a wonder, in order to confront the unbelieving hierarchy in Jerusalem with a sign so absolutely beyond the power of any man that their unbelief of it would be utterly inexcusable. The sign when it came should not have been understood as an isolated wonder; because any power that could raise a man dead and buried four days can only be identified with God. Jesus made certain that even his enemies would have every opportunity to understand such an awesome sign in its proper relevance to his own eternal power and Godhead.

The priestly community in Jerusalem ignored and belittled the healing of a man crippled for thirty-eight years; and, if Christ's miracles had terminated there, infidelity might have contrived some plausible basis of unbelief. Therefore Christ hurled a challenge in the face of his enemies by promising to raise the dead to life again; but even that, when it occurred, did not convince them, for their error was not a matter of intelligence or reason, but the error of a wicked heart.

Resurrection of judgment ... For discussion of the eternal judgment and the final punishment of the wicked, see my Commentary on Matthew, Matthew 12:41,42; 25:29-41. In the teachings of Christ, one great assize is always in view. There will be a simultaneous judgment of all creation at a time already appointed, when absolute justice tempered with mercy for those in Christ shall be executed upon all. That Jesus referred to such a judgment here is implicit in the mention of the general resurrection that shall accompany it, as well as in the statement of the diverse destinies of the good and the bad. Such a concept is inherent in two indisputable facts of the spiritual world: (1) the eternal righteousness of God, and (2) the immortality of the soul. Given those two basic conceptions, and the necessity of judgment, reward, and punishment is demanded. Mortal life alone cannot provide adequate rewards for the righteous, nor deserved punishment for the wicked. Even such a thing as sanity on man's part must depend finally upon the assurance that God is righteous and that he will do what is right for every soul ever born on earth, and that even so small a thing as a cup of cold water given in the name of Jesus shall not lose its reward - and that means judgment.

These verses contain a tremendous witness of himself, spoken by Jesus in such a way as to demand their acceptance by men; but the Master saw that the Sanhedrinists and their followers were adamant in their rejection of all that he was declaring, despite the signs he did. Such a rejection Jesus met by a change of tactic, and thus he at once marshaled other witnesses upon his own behalf.