"Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die'". John 11:25.
The backdrop to this fifth “I am” declaration of Jesus in John’s gospel is the death of Lazarus four days before Christ‘s arrival with His disciples in Bethany. Martha, Lazarus’ sister, met Jesus and said:
“If you had been here, my brother would not have died.” John 11:21.
Jesus then gave her the powerful declaration in today’s text, followed by:
“And whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”. John 11:26.
Jesus’ declaration of being “the resurrection, and the life” went well beyond what He was going to do in raising Lazarus from the dead. He was proclaiming His divinity and power to raise any man from the dead and impart resurrection life. In John 5:21, we read:
“For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it”.
While our mortal life ebbs away, the life Jesus gives to those who put their faith in Him never ends. John 5:24 says:
“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life".
The resurrection life of Jesus is not just for the afterlife but also provides hope and strength in the midst of a sin-cursed world. Paul declared that God:
“Made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus”. Ephesians 2:5-6.
And:
“We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life”. Romans 6:4.
(Days of Praise)