John 5:25 means that Jesus is speaking of a time that has already started, when people spiritually dead in sin will hear his voice and come alive. The promise is that those who listen and trust him receive life that does not end. Jesus speaks these words in a long defense of his authority after he healed a man on the Sabbath, so the statement is aimed at people who were questioning who he was.
Most certainly, I tell you, the hour comes, and now is, when the dead will hear the Son of God’s voice; and those who hear will live.
John 5:25 (WEB)
What John 5:25 Means
The phrase “the hour comes, and now is” holds two times together. Jesus points ahead to a future moment when the dead will hear, and then says that moment is already here in his own ministry. Those listening could see his teaching and healing happening before their eyes, so the future had broken into the present.
“The dead” in this verse does not mean corpses in graves. It refers to people who are alive physically but cut off from God, living without the life that comes from him. When Jesus says they “will hear the Son of God’s voice,” he means that his words carry real power to reach such people and call them into a new relationship with God.
The last clause, “those who hear will live,” shows that the response matters. Hearing here means more than catching the sound of words. It means listening in a way that trusts and obeys. The verse promises life to those who hear, but it does not promise that everyone will respond, and it does not describe a mechanical result apart from faith.
The Context of John 5:25
John’s Gospel was written to show that Jesus is the Son of God and that believing in him brings life (John 20:31). The author presents Jesus’ miracles as signs that point to his divine identity. Chapter 5 records a healing at the pool of Bethesda and then a dispute with Jewish leaders who objected to Jesus working on the Sabbath. The audience of the Gospel includes both Jewish and Gentile readers who would have known the Old Testament themes of resurrection and judgment.
The verses just before and after John 5:25 widen its meaning. In verse 24 Jesus says that whoever hears his word and believes has already passed from death into life, which sets up the same idea in plainer form. In verses 28 and 29 he goes on to speak of a final day when everyone in the tombs will hear his voice. Read this way, verse 25 is a present reality that points forward to a future resurrection, and the two moments belong to the same work of the Son.
Key Phrases in John 5:25
John 11:25-26
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies. 26 Whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
(WEB)
In these words Jesus tells Martha that he is the resurrection and the life, and that whoever believes in him will live even after death. The passage shows the same connection between Jesus’ voice, belief, and life that John 5:25 describes.
Ephesians 2:4-5
4 But God, being rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)…
(WEB)
Paul explains that God made us alive together with Christ when we were dead in our sins. This passage uses the same picture of spiritual death and new life, showing that the change comes from God’s mercy and not from our own achievement.
A Short Prayer From John 5:25
Lord Jesus, you speak with the authority of the Son of God, and you have the power to bring the spiritually dead to life. I confess that there are times when I feel far from you and my heart seems slow to respond. Speak to me again today, and help me to hear your voice clearly and trust what you say. Let your life flow into the places in me that feel dry, and help me live in the light of the eternal life you give. Thank you for calling me out of death into your everlasting love. Amen.
