John 5.24 - Just a Door

John 5.24 - Just a Door

Endless torment? Annihilation? Unimaginable Bliss? Just what is beyond death’s door anyway? That depends on where you’re heading.  Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” His critics paraphrased, “he will never taste death” (8.51,52). Either way it’s a blip. The Gospel of John portrays death as a passing moment. “…whoever believes in him should not perish” (3.16). “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life”(5.24). “Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live” (11.25). Death’s door sounds ominous. But Jesus walks through doors. “…the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you’” (20.19).