I Am the Resurrection and the Life

"Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies." John 11:25

For the last two years, I slowly watched as ALS ravaged and stole away my mom’s life. ALS is a progressive disease that causes the brain and muscles to lose their ability to communicate. The progression looks different for each person, but for my mom, it began by taking away her ability to speak and then her ability to swallow. Over time, she began to lose strength and mobility in her arms and legs. A few months ago, the disease finally took away her heart’s ability to beat. Her physical body completed its journey and her spirit was now in the presence of Jesus.

In this weeks’ look at Jesus’ “I Am” statements we read the words exchanged between Jesus and Martha. Martha and her sister Mary had recently sent a note to Jesus to let Him know their brother was very ill. They knew that if He would come that He would be able to heal Lazarus. But Jesus had not come and Lazarus had now been in the grave for several days. Anyone who has fervently prayed for the physical healing of a loved one - only to watch as death takes them away - can understand exactly how Martha felt. Grief can be overwhelming and can shake even the strongest faith. Jesus knew Martha and Mary’s hearts. While He may have wanted to spare them from the experience of grief, He also knew greater truths and deeper faith would come through their experience.

“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.

Do you believe this?” (John 11: 21-26)

Throughout the pages of the Old Testament, you can find references, illustrations, and prophecy concerning end-times bodily resurrection. Both in Daniel and Isaiah we find straightforward passages describing this.

"Many of those whose bodies lie dead and buried will rise up, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting disgrace.” Daniel 12:2

But those who die in the Lord will live, their bodies will rise again!

Those who sleep in the earth will rise up and sing for joy!

For your life-giving light will fall like dew on your people in the place of the dead! (Isa 26:19)

In the well-known stories of Jonah and the giant fish (Jonah 1-4) and Ezekiel’s vision of the dry bones (Ezekiel 37), we see that God has the power to restore life. Many verses in the Psalms paint a beautiful picture for believers of future deliverance and restoration. Martha would have been aware of these teachings from the Old Testament and, like many Jewish people, would have had a firm belief in the final resurrection. So when Jesus reminds Martha that Lazarus will rise again, she simply responds by repeating her belief, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

Of course, I can’t know exactly what Martha meant or intended by her words, but based on how she first approached Jesus, I get the sense that she was struggling. After watching a loved one suffer, you know they are better off—free from pain and in the presence of Jesus. Yet, however true that may be, it rarely offers real consolation to a grieving heart. Since this encounter took place before Jesus’ triumph over death, I imagine Martha’s words, “He will rise again,” carried a sentiment similar to what we might say today: “They’re in the arms of Jesus.” The words are correct and true but limited in their ability to quell the pain of death. The feelings in our hearts are not always soothed by the knowledge in our minds. For Martha—and for us—the hope of “the last days” can feel distant and powerless to comfort us in the immediacy of our grief.

The next words Jesus speaks to Martha are kind of a “both-and” statement. While we know that Jesus is the source and fulfillment of the end-times resurrection, He also brings that future promise into the present. He says, “I AM the RESURRECTION and the LIFE.” He doesn’t affirm her statement by saying “I will be”; instead, He makes the promise immediate and personal. At that very moment and at this very moment, He is our resurrection and our life!

For me and perhaps for Martha, His words are the balm needed to soothe the deep grief of the soul. Comfort in knowing that their end of life on Earth is not their final end, as well as knowing renewed life is still available for those remaining on Earth. This is the glorious hope that is found in Jesus.

Genesis 1 tells us not only that God created everything, but that everything He created was good. All was according to His plan and purpose. Sadly in Genesis 3, we watch as the first humans allow their hearts to be deceived. This deception and disobedience allow brokenness and death to invade God’s perfect creation. Although it is the created ones that fracture the relationship, it is God who will enact the only plan capable of restoring and reconciling us back to Him.

We learn from John’s writings that the Father sent the Son to live and die on our behalf. Jesus humbly chose to take on the punishment of all humanity as His body hung upon the cross. For our sake He came and died in order that we might be reconciled with God (John 3:16, John 10:18, 1John 2:2).

But Paul reminds us that while Jesus’ death was a critical component, without His resurrection, we are all still in sin, and death still reigns.

But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. … And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. (1Cor 15:13-14, 17-19)

His death was necessary, but His resurrection is what completed the plan of redemption. Adam and Eve’s disobedience brought the curse of death upon all humanity for all time. Yet, through Him, we have a way out from under the curse.

"But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:57

I am thankful I live in this part of the timeline of history—between His first and second comings. Martha did not yet have the gift of the Holy Spirit dwelling within her. Fortunately, we now have access to the Holy Spirit of God living within our hearts and minds. Even after Jesus raised her brother Lazarus from the dead, Martha would have had trouble grasping the depth of how Jesus himself would soon embody this “I am” statement. Because of the Holy Spirit and His inspired Word, we get to see a more illuminated fullness of who Jesus is.

“I AM the resurrection and the life” brings the future into the present. It anchors my heart and soul to His promise of a renewed life with a steadfast hope. In my everyday life, and in those moments of deepest hurt and suffering, I can cling to this truth: His mercies are new every morning (Lam. 3:23).

He is alive and He is in control. Living life with God, in Christ, changes everything.

His resurrection assures me that my heart will one day be restored. I can walk through this season of grief with the confident knowledge that He has conquered death. While that truth doesn’t take away the tears or the emptiness I feel in my mom’s absence, it steadies those emotions. My feelings are real, but they are not ultimate truth—Jesus is. He has promised new life to all who believe in Him.

In the “I Am” statements, we learn the nature and character of Jesus Christ. In Him, we find the living water our souls thirst for and the true bread that sustains us for life. We find the Good Shepherd who leads us with the authentic light that reveals the way to the door that He opens - the way to the resurrected life He has provided us.

For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. Col 2:9-12

He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. It will be said on that day “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation. Isaiah 25:8-9