Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:24-26)

He Is The Resurrection And The Life

Death is the unwelcome guest of humanity. There is nothing more profound in the joys of life than the reality that life is measured by death. All men die and no matter how hard men have tried to preserve their lives for a future world, the end becomes nothing more than dust and bones. The Egyptian empire is a living testimony of the futility of trying to take the treasures of life through the vale of death. There is no hope in the grave. It is final. Darkness surrounds death. Man is hopeless over the power of death. His mortality is his greatest fear.

Jesus enjoyed a special relationship with His close friends Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. One day He received an urgent message that Lazarus was sick unto death and that He should come quickly. Rather than leaving immediately, the Lord remained two more days in the place where He was. Finally arriving in Bethany near Jerusalem, Jesus was told that Lazarus had died and had been in the tomb four days. Martha and Mary were distraught at the passing of their brother. Martha knew that if Jesus had arrived earlier Lazarus would not have died yet she believed that anything was possible with God. She had a glimmer of hope that good would come out of the death of her brother. Jesus assured Martha that Lazarus would rise again.

God has always told the faithful there would be a day of resurrection. Abraham believed in the resurrection when he was told to offer up Isaac as a sacrifice. Martha knew about the day of resurrection and she believed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. Her faith in the living God gave her hope that death was not final. She held out hope that Jesus could do the impossible, but she was not certain. When Jesus comes to the tomb and tells them to remove the stone, Martha tells Jesus that Lazarus had been dead for four days and he would be in a state of decomposition. The stench would be clearly felt. Her doubt is confirmed by Jesus when He assures her that if she believed He was the Son of God she would see the glory of God. Calling Lazarus by name, the Lord tells him to come forth. Amazingly, the dead man walks out of the tomb bound in the burial clothes but very much alive. Lazarus has risen from the dead on the fourth day.

Jesus is the resurrection and the life through the power of God who has power over the realm of Hades. God made Hades and one day God will destroy Hades. All men share in the consequence of sin when death passed upon the world. There is nothing man can do to stop death. He can try to live longer but even Methuselah lived to be 969 years and died. Jesus came to bring life in a world of death. It is hard for the human mind to grasp the idea of life after death. No man has gone beyond the vale of death and returned apart from the will of God. The last time anyone was raised from the dead was two thousand years ago.

Life is not a desperate and final journey to nothingness. There is hope in Jesus Christ. Life after death is greater because Jesus is the renewal of the spirit of man to a wonderful world of God’s glory. The greatest miracle man has ever seen is when Jesus died and rose from the dead – and He has never returned to the grave. Lazarus was raised from the dead but then died again. The hope of Jesus as the resurrection is that life after death is eternal. It is real. Jesus is not just the resurrection – He is life. Death is defeated by life and in Christ, there is no condemnation of death. The promise to Martha of life after death is the eternal plan of God to assure the desperate hearts of men that the sadness of this world cannot be compared to the glory of eternal life. Jesus is the resurrection because He lives. The Son of God brings life because He is the resurrection.

The joy of resurrection comes to those who believe that Jesus lives and reigns with the Father. Facing death can be a frightening experience but standing at the vale of tears with open arms is the Son of God who gives the eternal assurance that all who believe in Him will not taste the sting of death. Death for the child of God is a time of joy. Life is filled with tears and sorrow but death for the people of God is when the Father wipes away all the tears. Do you know a child of God that has died? Do not sorrow as those who have no hope. Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Our loved ones who have died in Christ live in the eternal joys of Abraham’s bosom. They live and they have no tears. If you believe this then you can find that same joy in your obedience to the word of God. He has promised life. Come to the only one who is the resurrection and the life.