I AM the resurrection and the life
I AM the resurrection and the life
Because Jesus equals resurrection, Jesus also equals life.
“She looks so peaceful.”
“She had a good life.”
“Didn’t they do a nice job?”
And my favorite, “What can you say?”
What can you say? You can say she is dead! The woman who gave me birth, who smiled at my drawings, who held my hand as I crossed the street and never stopped holding my hand is dead. And it hurts.
It might not have been your mother, but most of us have been at the coffin of one we have loved. Do our tears mean we don’t believe?
Jesus raised Lazarus
Jesus, who knew better than we, wept. His friend Lazarus had died. You could say that Jesus had let him die. After all, word had come to Jesus that Lazarus was sick, but Jesus still dawdled two more days (John 11:4-6). Since God knows when each of his children dies, Jesus knew the moment Lazarus was dead (John 11:11-14). Jesus planned to teach the ultimate lesson, the lesson that would carry all his disciples through some difficult days ahead.
When Jesus and his disciples arrived at Bethany, Martha came out to greet them. She demonstrated great faith. She confessed that she believed that Jesus could have prevented Lazarus’ death. She even believed that Jesus could ask God, and Lazarus would be raised. “If you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask” (John 11:21,22).
Jesus told her that her brother would rise again. Yes, she knew that God would raise him up on the last day, which is a wonderful confession. But you have the feeling that maybe she still didn’t know whom she was talking to. Jesus explained it and then he did it. “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” Martha professed her faith in him as the Messiah, the Son of God. That day, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.
Jesus will raise us
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