I am the resurrection and the life (John 11:25)

The fifth of the ‘I am’ sayings occurs in connection to a bereavement. One obvious difference with this saying is that Jesus does not liken himself to something (a door) or someone (a shepherd), or contrast himself with something (a lamp), but instead he mentions what he possesses – life. 

Dialogue with Martha

Jesus made this statement when he was speaking with Martha after the death of her brother Lazarus. She was a disciple of Jesus and had expressed her faith in him to him. Her words indicate that she believed that he had power over death, and they do so in two ways. First, she said that if he had been present in Bethany, her brother would not have died; second, she also seems to believe that Jesus could ask God to raise Lazarus from the dead, and if he did ask, her brother would rise from the dead. We can see from the outcome that her expectation was fulfilled. 

 

Nevertheless, Martha’s words indicate that she was a disappointed and puzzled believer. The sisters had sent for Jesus to come and help Lazarus, but instead of coming immediately when he received the message he had stayed where he was. That is what probably lies behind her words. She was confused because Jesus had not hurried to her home in order to deal with the dire situation. While the actual circumstances in this case are unique, her experience is not unusual in divine providence. There are many occasions when believers imagine that God has arrived too late to help them.

 

Jesus comforted Martha by mentioning to her that Lazarus would rise again from the dead. Martha, although she was grieving the loss of her brother, was aware that he would rise again when the resurrection on the last day took place. It was in response to her mentioning this future event that Jesus used this ‘I am’ saying. Maybe he said it because he was aware that Martha did not believe that Jesus by himself could raise Lazarus, or maybe she thought that he did not want to raise Lazarus at that moment. 

 

Whatever the reason, we can see that Jesus wanted Martha to concentrate on him, on who he is. Of course, that is what we should do in all situations, but especially in times of trouble. The best thing that Martha could do was to consider Jesus, and to consider him from his own words about himself and not from what she had devised herself about Jesus. In a spiritual sense, she had put two and two together and come up with three, an inaccurate answer. But Jesus gave her the key to dealing with the situation. It was, ‘Remember, Martha, who I am. I am the resurrection and the life.’ 

 

What did Jesus say?

It may be the case that we would have expected Jesus, when he described himself in this way, to change the order. Instead of saying, ‘I am the resurrection and the life,’ he could have said, ‘I am the life and the resurrection.’ After all, that would be the logical order as far as time is concerned. Jesus possesses life and therefore he can raise people from the dead. But Jesus uses another order when he says, ‘I am the resurrection and the life.’ What could he have meant? Here are some suggestions.

 

Maybe he intended each word to mean the same thing, and he was only emphasising more strongly his ability as the source of life – after all, he is fully divine. Or maybe he was stating that all life that he gives, whether spiritual or physical, is connected to his resurrection, which was not that far away at the time. Perhaps he was saying that he does not change, that he does not need to become the resurrection because he already is the resurrection even if the resurrection of people at the last day has not yet occurred. Maybe all three suggestions can be included.

 

There have been different interpretations concerning what Jesus meant in the next sentence: ‘Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.’ One interpretation is that ‘Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live’ refers to Lazarus and ‘everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die’ refers to people like Martha who were still living. This interpretation has the benefit of being relevant immediately to the situation, but it still needs to incorporate aspects of the other two interpretations.

 

The second interpretation is that Jesus is referring to what will happen on the day of his second coming. In this suggestion, ‘Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,’ refers to believers who have died before the second coming and will be raised from the dead then (which now includes Martha as well as Lazarus);  ‘everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die’ refers to believers who are alive when Jesus returns.

 

The third interpretation is that Jesus is referring to two kinds of life and two kinds of death. In ‘Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,’ the death and the life are physical, whereas in ‘everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die’ the life is regeneration and the death is eternal death which those who have spiritual life will never experience. This interpretation allows both parts of Jesus’ statement to apply to all believers. I would say that the third interpretation is most likely what is meant here.

 

The common aspect of each part of the statement is the need for people to have faith in Jesus. Without faith in Jesus, a person cannot have eternal life as it will be expressed in the future resurrection. The presence of faith in Jesus is also the evidence that a spiritual resurrection already has taken place in that person’s heart, that he or she is spiritually alive and united to the living Saviour.

 

The setting

Where did Jesus say this statement? He did not announce this in a classroom where the statement could be analysed in a detached way. He did not make this claim in a situation where all religions are regarded as equal. He did not speak about himself while away from the problems of life. Rather, he made it in a situation where death seemed to have a more powerful voice, indeed the most powerful of voices. It would have been easy for someone to conclude that his words were cruel and that he was indifferent to the circumstances. We know the outcome beforehand, so we often miss the surprising aspect of what was happening. Jesus was reminding Martha that he can do what is incredible in a situation where everything seemed impossible.

 

The compassion

Sometimes when we are in a hard situation, we can go through it because we know the outcome is certain and we may ignore any needs that should be addressed along the way. Jesus obviously knew that he would shortly raise Lazarus from the dead and that the sorrow of the sisters and their friends would disappear completely. Yet he sympathised with their distress repeatedly. In verse 33, he is ‘deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled’ when he saw the sorrow of Mary and those with her. In verse 35, he wept when the they asked him to come to the tomb. And in verse 38, he is deeply moved when he reaches the tomb.

 

Why was Jesus distressed? One answer is that he always did and felt what was right. How would we expect ‘the resurrection and the life’ to behave in the presence of death? Death is the enemy, and it causes havoc. It can never be treated as if it was anything else. It had hurt his people in Bethany and Jesus had a fellow feeling with them. 

 

The sovereign 

At the tomb, Jesus commands that the stone be removed. After all, what would be the point of leaving the stone there? If the stone was removed after Lazarus had been raised, someone might say that he had not been really dead. But all could see that he had died.

 

Martha was puzzled by his requirement because she was still thinking that the resurrection of Lazarus would not happen until the end, and that the decomposition of the body had commenced. Jesus also wanted the stone removed so that Lazarus would leave the tomb with ease, and that people would see his manner of leaving. He wanted them to believe that he had been sent by the Father, and this miracle would confirm it.

 

The raising of Lazarus was obviously an astonishing incident. How are we to look at it? Maybe we miss the point if we focus too much on Lazarus. Rather we are to look at Jesus and what this incident tells us about him. In contrast to the other ‘I am’ sayings that we have looked at, the one we are thinking about is literary true. When Jesus said he was the good Shepherd he was using an illustration to describe himself. But when he says he is the resurrection and the life, he reveals that is what he is when he raises Lazarus.

 

The example

Sometimes, in our amazement at the miracle here, we overlook a very important detail, which is that Jesus prayed to his Father before he performed the miracle. Although he possessed such power, he prayed. He communed with his Father about everything that he did, and we have many such examples in the Gospels, such as when he prayed at his baptism, or when he chose the apostles, or on the Mount of Transfiguration. His prayer life was obviously very different from ours in that he knew that he was heard always by the Father. Moreover, his prayers did not include confessions of sin. Nevertheless, he is our example in prayer. It was his priority as well as his pleasure to speak with his Father. 

 

The picture

Have you ever tried to imagine what the resurrection day will be like? I suspect we get a picture of it here. Believers who have died will hear the voice of the Son of God similar to how Lazarus did, and they will start walking out of wherever they are. It will be simple, straightforward and stupendous. Of course, there will be differences. Lazarus was still a sinner at that time and was not raised in the image of Jesus. On the great day he will be raised in that way. It will not make any difference that he has been buried somewhere for two thousand years. The Saviour who raised him in the past after four days in the tomb will raise him again. But in the future resurrection, he will not come out wearing grave clothes, and he will never die again. He will appear in glory.

 

A summary

So as we come to the close of our reflection on this fifth ‘I am’ saying of Jesus, we can bring our thoughts together under four headings.

 

First, Jesus in this saying reveals his identity. In making this statement, he was claiming to be God because God is the source of life. There are also descriptions in the Old Testament of how God would defeat death, such as in Isaiah 25. Moreover, this description also is relevant to his humanity, to him being the last Adam, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15, his chapter about the resurrection. The first Adam is defined by being the bringer of death; the last Adam is the bringer of life, eternal life, to his people. So Jesus is revealing in this saying that he is God and man.

 

Second, we have in this saying a reminder of the intention of Jesus. He came to bring life to those in the grip of death. The life that he gives is more than physical life. It begins here with regeneration when they are united to him and he becomes their life. Paul reminded the Colossians: ‘For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory’ (Col. 3:3-4). He is the provider of life now for his people, and he will be the provider of life forever for them. They are in Christ experimentally, and it was his intention that would be the case, whether we think of his power in regeneration, sanctification and glorification.

 

Third, we have in this saying a reminder of the indispensability of Christ. He was the only person in Bethany who could raise Lazarus from the dead; in fact, he was the only person in the world who could do so. As he said to his disciples, without him they can do nothing. Contact with Jesus through the power of the Spirit enables everything spiritual that a believer does. As Paul reminded the Galatians, ‘I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me’ (Gal. 2:20). We need Christ’s life, and he gives it continually to his people.

 

Fourth, we have in this saying of Jesus a reminder of the invitation of Christ. He challenged Martha if she believed what he was saying when he said that he is the resurrection and the life. And that same challenge comes to us. Faith in Jesus is the evidence of a living relationship with him. He was not harsh with Martha for her limited faith at that time, and he encouraged her to believe in him, the resurrection and the life.