John 5:25
Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
Cross-references
John 5:21 states the Son gives life to whom he will — this verse specifies that happens when the dead hear his voice.
John 5:28 shifts to the future physical resurrection where all in tombs hear his voice — contrasting with the present spiritual resurrection here.
John 5:19 establishes the Son's unity with the Father, which grounds his authority to raise the dead as stated in verse 25.
John 5:20 promises greater works from the Father to the Son, leading directly to the resurrection power declared in verse 25.
John 4:23 has the identical 'hour is coming and now is' phrase, linking true worship to the era when the dead hear the Son's voice.
John 14:6 declares Jesus is the life — the same life offered to those who hear his voice in 5:25.
John 11:44 shows the dead man literally coming out at Jesus' command — a visible fulfillment of the dead hearing the Son's voice and living.
In John 11:11, Jesus calls Lazarus' death 'sleep' — he will wake him by his voice, a concrete example of the dead hearing and living.
John 10:27 expands on the 'hear the voice' theme — Jesus' sheep are those who listen and follow, the ones who receive life.
John 17:1 also marks the arrival of Jesus' hour for glorification, contrasting with the hour of spiritual resurrection in this verse.
John 13:1 speaks of Jesus' hour of departure to the Father — a different 'hour' than the resurrection hour here, yet both mark pivotal moments in John's timeline.
Colossians 2:13 similarly states that God made us alive with Christ when we were dead in trespasses.
Ephesians 5:14 calls the sleeper to arise from the dead — echoing Jesus’ promise that the dead will hear and live.
In Ephesians 2:5, being dead in trespasses and made alive with Christ parallels the spiritual resurrection Jesus describes.
Ephesians 2:1 describes believers as dead in sins — the same spiritual deadness overcome when one hears Christ's voice and lives, as here.
Luke 15:32 repeats the 'dead and alive' theme from the prodigal — echoing the spiritual life given when the dead hear Christ's voice.
Luke 15:24 describes the prodigal as dead and now alive — a clear parallel to the spiritual resurrection here where the dead hear and live.
1 Peter 4:6 states the gospel was preached to the dead so they might live in the spirit — directly parallel to the dead hearing the Son's voice and living.
Luke 7:14 records Jesus commanding a dead young man to arise — a direct demonstration of the dead hearing the Son's voice and living.
Mark 5:35 reports the death of Jairus's daughter, which Jesus then reverses by his voice — a concrete instance of the dead hearing and living.
Matthew 27:52 records the literal raising of dead saints at Jesus' death, illustrating the hour when the dead hear the Son's voice and live — a partial fulfillment.
Romans 4:17 describes God who 'gives life to the dead and calls things into being' — exactly the power Jesus claims for his own voice in 5:25.
Hebrews 3:7 echoes the command to hear God's voice today — the same hearing that brings life to the spiritually dead in John 5:25.
1 Corinthians 15:45 calls Christ the 'life-giving spirit' — the same life he imparts by his voice in 5:25.
Ezekiel 37:5 prophesies breath entering dry bones to live — a powerful OT parallel to Jesus raising the spiritually dead.
Isaiah 55:3 invites hearing to make the soul live — directly parallel to Jesus’ call for the dead to hear and live.
1 Samuel 2:6 affirms God brings death and life — the same divine power Jesus claims to raise the dead spiritually.
1 Corinthians 15:52 describes the dead raised at the last trumpet — a future fulfillment of the resurrection power Jesus claims for his voice in 5:25.
2 Kings 13:21 records a physical resurrection through Elisha’s bones, prefiguring Jesus’ power to give life by his voice.
Philippians 3:21 speaks of Christ transforming our bodies — a future resurrection that echoes the dead hearing and living in John 5:25.
Romans 6:4 speaks of walking in newness of life through baptism into Christ's death — akin to the spiritual life given here when the dead hear.
Luke 9:60 uses 'dead' for spiritually dead people, similar to the dead who hear Jesus' voice here — though in a different context of discipleship.
Revelation 3:1 warns of being reputedly alive but actually dead — contrasting those who hear Jesus’ voice and truly live.