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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

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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 John 11 Addendum Prepared by Susanne Methvin Week of January 20-26, 2021 “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. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26) Life, Death and Resurrection: This inspiring verse provides hope and light to all who believe in Christ: Resurrection through Lamb power. Jesus gives us His fifth “I Am” statement in the powerful and dramatic story of raising Lazarus from the dead. The signs have built incrementally in displaying God’s power and glory through the miracles that Jesus has performed. This 7th sign, the most powerful and the climax of Jesus’ miracles, corroborates that He is the Son of God. His deity is manifested in this sign and strengthens the faith of his disciples and of those present who believe in him as the Messiah. It also marks the turning point of his public ministry. Let us look more closely at death, faith, hope, resurrection and life through Jesus in this book. Lazarus’ Death: Lazarus, Martha and Mary are beloved friends of Jesus. When Lazarus becomes deathly ill, everyone expects Jesus to rush to Lazarus’ side to heal him. Jesus, who is in Bethany-beyond- Jordan, tells his disciples, “Lazarus’ sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Thus he waits two days before setting out for Bethany, which is twenty miles away. The Jews believed the spirit leaves the body on the third day and the body starts decaying by the fourth day. Jesus and his disciples arrive on the fourth day after the death of Lazarus. Thus, there is no question in anyone’s mind that Lazarus was fully dead when Jesus brings him back to life. Jewish belief in resurrection in Jesus’ time and Lazarus’ resurrection: The doctrine of resurrection of the dead was a highly debated issue in the first century among Jews. The Pharisees believed in a physical resurrection and the Sadducees did not. There are three separate instances of physical resurrection in the Old Testament: Elijah brings the son of the widow back to life (I Kings 17:71-22); Elisha brings a boy back to life (II Kings 4:32-35); and most amazingly, a corpse is brought back to life after being thrown into Elisha’s grave, touching Elisha’s bones (II Kings 13:21). Scriptures that the Pharisees quoted to support their belief in resurrection include scriptures from the Torah and the prophets: “And the Lord said unto Moses, ‘Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up.’” (Deuteronomy 31:16), and “Thy dead shall live, thy dead bodies shall arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for the dew is as the dew of herbs and the earth shall cast forth the dead.” (Isaiah 26:19) Thus the idea of resurrection was one that was much discussed among Jews when Jesus lived. He speaks of eternal life many times throughout his ministry, saying to Nicodemus, “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). He foreshadowed his own resurrection, when He cleansed the Temple courts in John 2, saying to the Pharisees, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days” (John 2:19). In contrast to the scene at hand, He is heading toward his own earthly death, the crucifixion and the resurrection when He raises Lazarus from the dead. Martha clearly believes in resurrection when she verifies to Jesus that she knows “he (Lazarus) will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” (John 11:14) Her confession of faith is one of the greatest testimonies in the Bible, “Yes Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world” (John 11:27). But when Jesus commands that the stone be rolled away from the tomb, Martha says, “Lord, by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” She has not fully understood the meaning of Jesus’ statement, “He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” With this sign, Jesus brings future resurrection to the present, demonstrating that He is the resurrection. Jesus strengthens her faith and those present, by saying, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” (John11:40). Jesus raises Lazarus, not by going into the tomb and touching him, but through his Word, for He IS the WORD (Logos). As “God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light” in Genesis, so “Jesus called out in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out,’” and Lazarus came out wrapped in the grave clothes! Jesus did not answer Mary and Martha’s request as they had hoped, but in a truly miraculous way, so that there could be no doubt that God’s glory was magnificently revealed through the glory and power of Jesus, his Son! Jesus defeated death and stole Lazarus back to life from the tomb with his resurrection power! Paul celebrates Christ’s resurrection power in his letter to the Corinthians: “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”(I Corinthians 15:55-57) Life: “I am the resurrection and the life.” Resurrection and life are intimately connected through Jesus Christ. There is no resurrection without life and there is no life (zoe) without resurrection. There are three different words in Greek for life: zoe is spiritual or eternal life; bios is physical life of body; psuche is soul or psychological life of the mind, emotions and will. John uses zoe in the prologue: “In him was life (zoe) and that life (zoe) was the light of men,” (John 1:4) and in the “I Am” statements: “I am the Resurrection and the Life (zoe).” (John 11:25) Jesus is, was, and always shall be. He is LIFE (zoe) itself and through Him we receive not only earthly life, but eternal life beginning with our confession of faith and belief in Him. He is the life force itself, the Bread of Life (zoe) and the living water, the Good Shepherd who has come that we may have life (zoe) to the full. At the end of Matthew, Jesus gives us his steadfast assurance, “surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19). Praise God! Recommended Resources: John for Everyone, Part 2 by N.T. Wright A very readable and insightful companion to our devotional this winter and spring. The Grave Robber, by Mark Batterson An inspiring book and video (available through Right Now Media), episode 7 about Jesus’ 7th sign The Gospel of John: The Visual Bible on U-Tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqmHNQhdLUM Hymn: “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow, because He lives all fear is gone; Because I know He holds the future. And life is worth the living just because He lives.” .
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