In John 5:19-29, Jesus speaks about his relationship with God as God’s son, and then turns to his role as judge. Yes, I know: The gospel of John twice (John 3:17 and 12:47) says that Jesus did not come to judge the world. But his saying here that “The Father .. has given all judgment to the Son, so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father” is not a contradiction.
It is not God’s desire that we come under judgment. In fact, Jesus here says that all those who accept Jesus do not come under judgment and have “passed from death into life.” But Jesus also says there will be accountability for how we treat others. That will take the form of a universal resurrection.
Because Jesus talks about life and death in metaphysical terms—our passing “from death to life” is a spiritual transformation—I don’t interpret Jesus’s reference to a time when “all who are in their graves will hear [the Son of Man’s] voice and will come out” to either face “the resurrection of life” or “the resurrection of condemnation” as a singular event that will happen at a future date. To me, it is a continuing process when we are drawn out of the graves of our daily existence to face the consequences of our actions and decisions. We are forced to face both what we have done and who we are. We can either decide to enter through the door of forgiveness and grace that Jesus opens for us, or turn our back on that door and bear the full weight of living a life without true love and disconnected from God’s grace.
When Jesus enters the courtroom of life, all will rise. To what is up to us.