John 11 - When Jesus said, "I Am the Resurrection and the Life" He Was Not Kidding Around!

John 11 - NIV

Enduring Word Commentary

Verses for the Day

Jesus Comforts the Sisters of Lazarus

17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Now Bethany was less than two miles[b] from Jerusalem, 19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. 21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

Commentary 

Jesus makes another "I am" statement in John 11. He says, "I am the resurrection and the life." As you can see by now every "I am" statement is a clear indication Jesus sees himself as the Messiah, the Son of God. A mere mortal would never say these things. If any man were to say to you, "I am the resurrection and the life", you should run and not look back. 

In chapter 11, Jesus proves He is the resurrection and the life by raising Mary and Martha's brother Lazarus from the dead. Jesus was good friends with the three of them and had stayed at their house many times. This sisters send word to Jesus that their brother Lazarus is "very sick".  Jesus shares with his disciples Lazarus' true condition, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

Then, we learn by the time Jesus gets to Bethany, where Lazarus and his sisters lived, that he had been been in the tomb for days. What does this tell us? Jesus did not go right away even though he could have. When Jesus raises his friend, Lazarus, from the dead, he didn't want anyone saying, "Well he was not really dead, he just was very sick." 

Before Jesus does arguably one of his greatest miracles, raising someone from the dead, he makes the claim to the family that "He is the resurrection and the life." Though Jesus would raise Lazarus from the dead, he would still die. But for those who believe in him, he says, "The one who believes in me will live even though they die!" 

As Jesus heads to the cross, every one of his signs were getting more dramatic and more clearly showing He was truly God and truly man. Of course, the resurrection of Jesus is the greatest proof that Christianity is true. If Jesus did not raise from the dead, our faith is futile and in vain. While Jesus did a great miracle in raising his friend Lazarus from the dead, Lazarus would experience an even greater miracle when he died and went to be with Jesus forever!

Application

1. Do you believe Jesus is the resurrection and the life? The answer is either "yes" or "no". Notice I am not saying do you believe Jesus was a great teacher or worker of miracles. 

2. How does knowing that even when you die, yet shall you live shape the way you live your life today? How does it motivate you to share the Good News with those who don't believe Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life?

Prayer

Jesus we thank you that you are the resurrection and the life. Thank you that we have this hope when someone who is believer dies, they are with you forever in heaven. Death is not the end of the story for those who have faith in you. Give us boldness to proclaim this to a world that does not believe in You! Amen. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Matthew 18:6-9 Causing to Stumble

Causing to Stumble 6 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come! 8 If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell. Reflection: Matthew reminds us today that we don't live only unto ourselves. Our actions have repercussions on others either directly or indirectly. This is especially true for children and youth, who are impressionable. I still remember when I was...
Read more

"Everything in Moderation" ...Is that in the Bible?

1 Corinthians 6 12 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. 13 You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. You have heard the saying, "Everything in moderation". While that may be true in some sense, it really depends what that "everything" is. Crack cocaine in moderation? Sex with a prostitute in moderation? A glass of wine in moderation? A Big Mac a day in moderation? You see the point! While that may seem like an extreme argument, Paul is trying to snuff out a problem in Corinthians church. The problem was people were dabbling in sexual immorality and saying it was okay. Since they were forgiven what would it hurt to engage in a little bit of fun. But when you read the list of the things in the verses above...
Read more

Luke 8 - The Key to Exponential Growth!

Image
4  While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable:   5  “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up.   6  Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. 7  Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants.   8  Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.” Click Here to Read Luke 8 This is a very familiar parable for Christians.  We have heard it many times.  It is a simple parable in some senses, but worth delving into time and time again because its principles are so important.   What I would like to focus on today is the last line, which says the seed came up and yielded a crop hundred times more than was sown.  At the end of t...
Read more