Note 10 at Jn. 5:25: This phrase, "the hour is coming and now is," is the same phrase that Jesus used when speaking to the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well in John 4:23. In that instance, it is easy to see that He was speaking of the effects that the new birth would have on worshipping the Father. The miracle of the new birth was no longer a future prophecy but would become a reality after Christ's death and resurrection.

In the same sense, Jesus is saying here (Jn. 5:25) that the time has come that the spiritually dead (Eph. 2:1) will be resurrected to new life through faith in Him (Rom. 6:4). Notice in verse 28, where Jesus is clearly speaking of the resurrection of our physical bodies, that He says, "the hour is coming," but omits, "and now is." The general resurrection of all the dead is still in the future, but spiritual rebirth is a reality now.