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Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life
Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life John 11:17-44 Key Verse: 11:25-26 “Jesus said to her, ‘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?’” In today’s passage Jesus makes a statement that has a very profound meaning for each of us: “I am the resurrections and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.” Jesus follows up this statement with a simple question. Do you believe this? This is a question we all have to ask ourselves. Martha’s answer to Jesus’ question shows that her theology was correct, but as we learn later in the passage her theology had not penetrated into her practical life. Then we will see Mary approach Jesus and she says the exact same thing that her sister had said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here my brother would not have died.” These words and the crowd of weeping Jews trouble Jesus greatly because they had not really understood what it meant that Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Jesus does not want us to live under the power of death, which makes us evil. There is no power of death when we have Jesus. Jesus wants us to live with resurrection faith and eternal life. Then we can glorify God and be victorious. Let’s accept Jesus’ word prayerfully today. First, “Lord, if you had been here...” (17-24;27-32). After deciding to return to Judea, Jesus and his company made their way to Bethany and were at the outskirts of the village. Word spread that Jesus was coming to Bethany and the news that Lazarus had died and had been in the tomb for four days also came to Jesus. It meant that the funeral ceremony had passed and the burial service had been completed. The initial shock of his death had now given way to the cold reality. Martha and Mary felt sharply the loss of Lazarus, the only man in their household. Look at verse 20. “When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.” Martha was a woman of action but her sister Mary was more contemplative. In Luke chapter 10 we can see how these two sisters differed in their approach to Jesus. When Martha opened up their house to Jesus she worked hard to serve him and his disciples while Mary simply sat at his feet and listened to his teaching. Here again, we see the differences in their characters. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she immediately got up and went out to meet him while Mary simply stayed at home. Martha tried to overcome her grief by acting, but Mary, being a woman of heart was so overwhelmed by the grief of the death of her brother, she couldn’t move. Martha and Mary show us that people deal with grief in different ways, but, as we will see, the problem is not how we deal with the grief of the death of a loved one, but in how we view death. The power of death had overcome both these precious women of God. Even though Jesus, the resurrection and the life, was standing in their midst they couldn’t overcome this. Look at verse 21. “‘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.’” These words reveal the mixed emotions in Martha’s heart. She called Jesus Lord. She really wanted to trust Jesus. But she was also deeply disappointed. She said, “...if you had been here....” She knew that Jesus could have saved Lazarus from death. Yet Jesus did not. Jesus had deliberately delayed coming and Lazarus died. Martha could not understand Jesus’ action. Although Martha did not come right out and say it, she doubted the love of Jesus. At the same time, she really wanted to have a right relationship with Jesus. So she tried to affirm her faith in Jesus. But her heart was sick with doubt. Jesus told Martha, “Your brother will rise again.” Jesus meant that he had come to raise Lazarus from the dead. Martha should have been overjoyed at Jesus words and began shout “Amen” and “Hallelujah” Instead, Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Let’s consider the contents of Martha’s faith. Martha believed in the resurrection at the last day. Most likely, it was because she had accepted Jesus’ teaching. In John 6:39,40,44,54, Jesus repeated four times the words, “I will raise him up at the last day.” These words remained in Martha’s mind. So she was much better than the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection and live a hedonistic life in this world. However, Jesus wanted her to have more than “head knowledge” faith. Her head knowledge of future resurrection did not give her victory over the power of death. When death confronted her personally she was overcome with grief and Satan was able to get a foothold in her heart. Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.” We will think more deeply about Jesus’ words in a minute. First, let’s see how Martha responded. Look at verse 27. “‘Yes, Lord,’ she told him, ‘I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.’” It sounds good. But she did not answer Jesus’ question. She was not listening to Jesus or communicating with Jesus. There was an invisible barrier between Jesus and Martha. They were separated by the doubt in Martha’s heart. Before Jesus could say something more, Martha turned away from him and went in and told Mary that Jesus was asking for her. It was not true. It seems to be Martha’s effort to restore their human relationships. But in reality, Martha was separated from Jesus. When she did not listen to Jesus’ word, their relationship was not restored. That was Martha’s reactions, but what about Mary? Mary waited to be called by Jesus before she got up and went to him. She was very sensitive toward Jesus’ affection and love. Mary hung on Jesus every word. She always listened closely to him, but like Martha, it seems that Jesus’ words had not penetrated deep into her heart and made a practical change in her life when it came to a tragedy like the death of her brother. When she reached the place where Jesus was, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Mary was weeping. She cried and cried before Jesus, as did her entourage. The sisters reacted to Lazarus’ death in different ways, but their spiritual problem was the same. They had listened to Jesus words and they held onto them in their heads. However these words had not sunk deep into their inner person, so when the tragedy of the death of their brother confronted them they were overcome by the power of death. They both knew that Jesus had the power to heal their brother, when he was alive, but they didn’t really understand what it meant that Jesus is the resurrection and the life. The sisters also knew that Jesus had delayed his arrival in Bethany for some reason. Perhaps they couldn’t understand why Jesus would do this, and Satan, using the power of death had begun to plant doubt in their hearts about the love of Jesus. When we doubt the love of Jesus, our spiritual relationship with him is cut and we need to receive divine training in order to renew this spiritual relationship. Martha and Mary were receiving divine training from Jesus from the moment he said, “This sickness will not end in death.” They were receiving real spiritual love they needed at this point. Admittedly, this training was hard for them. Jesus had allowed their beloved Lazarus to die. Nevertheless, their real problem was that they hadn’t really accepted Jesus words deep in their heart and therefore doubted the love of Jesus when faced with this tragedy. There is a danger to doubt the love of Jesus in the time of hard training. Knowing the truth about Jesus in our minds is important, but it is only a beginning. To experience the truth in our hearts, we need training. We must go through many hardships. During those times, we are vulnerable to doubt. Therefore, we must learn to trust the love of God and hold onto the word of God deep in our hearts when Jesus gives us hard training. Second, Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life” (25-26). Now let’s think about Jesus’ words. Look at verses 25-26. “Jesus said to her, ‘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?’” Jesus’ words were the words of life to Martha. Jesus’ words could solve her inner problems at the root. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection.” Jesus did not say, “I will be resurrected.” Jesus said, “I am the resurrection.” Jesus told Martha who he was. Simply speaking, Jesus is God. When Jesus said, “I am,” he referred to God’s revelation to Moses in the wilderness. In Exodus 3:14, God had told Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” When he called himself “I AM” God emphasized that he exists by himself. God is absolute Being. God is eternal. God is the Almighty Creator God and the Sovereign Ruler of heaven and earth. This God has power to raise the dead. Those who live in his presence do not suffer from the thought of death. They can serve God without fear, in holiness and righteousness, before him all their days (Lk 1:74,75). Jesus is this Eternal, Almighty God. Jesus is the source of life and power. Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Why is it so important to believe that Jesus is the resurrection and the life? It is because there is only one alternative; it is to live under the power of death. This makes a man miserable no matter who he may be. Howard Hughes was rich and powerful. He once boasted that he could buy anyone, even the president. But he became a sniveling coward before the power of death. The power of death makes man fearful. The power of death robs the joy and meaning from man’s life. God made man to live for the glory of God and to carry out the holy mission that makes him great and noble. But under the power of death he grovels for three meals a day and pursues petty pleasure for a cheap thrill. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Jesus wanted Martha to accept him as God at that moment. She did not have to wait for the last day to experience Jesus’ power over death. Jesus wanted her to have victory over death immediately by believing in him. Jesus wanted her to receive eternal life and to live for the glory of God at that moment. Likewise, Jesus is saying to us, “I am the resurrection and the life.” He wants us to accept him as God right now so that we can overcome Satan’s power of death and live glorious, victorious life of faith. Look at verses 25-26 again. “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?’” Jesus gives us eternal life from the moment we believe. In fact, Jesus himself comes to dwell in our hearts. Jesus gives his life to us. It is life with Jesus that never ends. Jesus’ life in us solves all of man’s fundamental problems. Jesus solves our death problem. Jesus gives us peace. Jesus gives us great joy and the meaning of life. Jesus is the best gift, and Jesus is everything to everyone, no matter who he may be. Jesus wants each of us to enjoy his life right now and forever. We can do so when we simply believe in Jesus. Martha and Mary, however, had a problem taking Jesus at his word. After all, their brother was dead and there was no denying that. How did Jesus deal with them? Third, “Take away the stone” (33-40). In verses 33-38 we can see how Jesus responded when the sisters couldn’t accept Jesus words deep in their hearts. When Jesus saw Mary weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. In fact, Jesus was so moved that he wept. It was out of compassion for those suffering under the power of death. But Jesus’ weeping had a deeper, divine element. Jesus wept over the unbelief of those he loved. Unbelief makes Jesus weep. Jesus’ emotional response reveals that he determined to help them overcome their unbelief as a matter of life and death. How did Jesus help them overcome unbelief? Look at verse 39a. “‘Take away the stone,’ he said.” Jesus gave a command to take away the stone. Jesus wanted them to challenge the power of death through an act of faith based on his word. Jesus wanted them to live by his word instead of their senses and feelings. Jesus could have simply raised Lazarus from the dead. But by telling them to take away the stone, Jesus helped them to make an act of faith based on his word. Jesus wants us to challenge unbelief with an act of faith. Was it easy to take away the stone? No. Jesus’ words evoked an immediate response from Martha. She was afraid that opening the tomb would release a bad odor. Her mind was filled with the thought of death. She imagined the rotting corpse of Lazarus so distinctly that she could smell the bad odor he emitted. When we want to learn resurrection faith, we must expel the thought of death from our minds. We cannot do this by human effort. We must hear Jesus’ word. Look at verse 40. “Then Jesus said, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God.’” According to Jesus’ word, what was waiting for Martha behind the stone was not a rotting corpse. It was the glory of God. This is what Jesus had promised from the beginning, when he said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory, so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Here we see Martha’s problem. She did not remember Jesus’ words. When she did not remember Jesus’ words, she suffered under the thought of death. She fell into doubt and became unbelieving. But at this time, she did not remain in her unbelief. She accepted Jesus’ word and consented to take away the stone. Fourth, Jesus prays and raises Lazarus (41-44). Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” Jesus was thankful that God listened to him. No one else had been listening to Jesus. Everyone had been wallowing in the power of death and the misery of unbelief, but God and Jesus were one. Jesus was faithful to God’s purpose and enjoyed unbroken fellowship with God. God was with Jesus and comforted and guided him. Now, Jesus made a deliberate display of his prayer to reveal that God Almighty was working through him. Soon Jesus himself would leave this world and go back to his Father. His disciples would see him no more. Before that time, Jesus wanted to plant faith in God in their hearts. Jesus wanted them to learn how to pray so they could experience the power of God. When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” Lazarus came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. At Jesus’ word, Lazarus walked out of the grave alive. Jesus is the Almighty God. Jesus is the Son of God who gives life to the dead. Jesus is the resurrection and the life. In this passage we learn that Jesus really wants us to believe that he is the resurrection and the life. Jesus wants to live in our hearts and give us victory over death. Jesus wants us to live for the glory of God and do great things for God but we can’t do this if we are living under the fear of death. For this reason, Jesus trains us in faith. In the time of training we must accept God’s love, overcoming all doubt. Jesus loves us and will not leave us alone. He gives us his word. We must take Jesus at his word. Jesus helps us by his one-sided grace to experience his power. Jesus helps us in every way to learn resurrection faith and to live for the glory of God. Therefore, let’s take away the stones of unbelief from our hearts by making practical decisions to challenge our situations and problems. Let’s live by resurrection faith for the glory of God. |
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