“I am the resurrection and the life.”
John 11:21-27
21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask.”
23 Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 “Yes,” Martha said, “he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day.”
25 Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. 26 Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?”
27 “Yes, Lord,” she told him. “I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God.”
“I am the resurrection and the life.”
Some argue that Jesus is being metaphorical. If we take Jesus words out of context, we might sustain that argument. Besides, death is one of those 100% certainties, there is really no arguing about it… how could Jesus be speaking literally?
Yet, it appears no one told Jesus that he was meant to be taking it metaphorically. In the proceeding verses, Jesus brings Martha’s dead brother back to life! Of course, this is just the entre, for soon Jesus would come back to life following his crucifixion and burial. In all the accounts of Jesus’ own resurrection, it is made clear that he has a new, incorruptible body that is still distinguishably his. He lives, even though he has died!
In the context of the Gospels, we can be sure that Jesus is being literal when he says, “I am the resurrection and the life.” This is why the early Christians could say of Jesus “where oh death is your sting?”
Lord, though I die, I will live… and then I will never die! This is your promise to me as I abide in you. I need not fear death and I need not live as a slave to this moment alone. Instead, I can devote my life to my eternal king who grants me an eternity with him. Make the thoughts of my own death a reminder of this great promise and a cause for living a spiritually abundant life in you. Amen.
Written by Andrew Mellor