Resurrection On The “Last Day”

by Clarence R. Johnson

Jesus told the multitude, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day" (John 6:37-40).

The people in Jesus’ audience were, for the most part, those who had been among the 5,000 He had miraculously fed from the five loaves and two small fish. Seemingly, they could not get their minds off physical things long enough to identify with the more important spiritual blessings Jesus wanted to give them.

There are several things that might be noted from Jesus’ words quoted above. First, take notice that Jesus will not force or compel unwilling servants to follow Him. The Father has given Him those who choose to come. “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me…”

Secondly, note that all who do choose to come to Him are welcome. “The one who comes to Me I will be no means cast out.” On the last page of the New Testament, Jesus extends this invitation: “I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star. And the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely (Rev. 22:15-17).

Thirdly, Jesus makes it clear that He has no personal agenda separate from that of the heavenly Father. He is not motivated by physical, human desires, but by the Divine will. “Not My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”

Finally, Jesus shows that the blessings He wants people to receive are not temporary. Unlike physical blessings which end at death, Jesus wants to give that which will endure even beyond the grave. Those who die in Jesus are not lost in death, but every one of them will be raised up from the dead to “everlasting life.”

Also note that Jesus tells us that the resurrection of the righteous will be at “the last day” (vv. 39-40). There is a common concept that there are to be two (or more) future bodily resurrections separated by a period of 1000 years. The theory, based on a misunderstanding of the symbols of Rev. 20:4-6, says that there will be 1,000 earth-years after the righteous dead are raised. Jesus, on the other hand, says that both the just and the unjust will be raised in the same resurrection (John 5:28-29), and that it will be on “the last day” (John 6:39, 40, 44, 54; John 12:48). As the old gospel song says, “The trumpet of the Lord shall sound and time shall be no more…”