Jesus is the Resurrection and the
Life:
He is the God of the Old and New Testament;
the God of the Universe; the God of My Destiny
When Martha found out Jesus was nearby, she ran to meet Him. During their conversation, Jesus told her Lazarus would rise again. Martha responded, “…he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day” (11:24b).
Martha was right, on the last day, we will rise from the dead. But Jesus wanted Martha to understand she was talking to the Resurrection Himself. “…I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha” (11:25b-26)?
Jesus wanted Martha to stop only looking into the future, for the power of the resurrection is here today. He wanted her to understand He is the Resurrection in the present as well as the future. Martha believed in Jesus, but she didn’t have the faith to believe her brother would rise that day.
I know I struggle with that in my own life. I tend to hold on to the hope and promises of the resurrection; no more sorrows; no more back pain, shoulder pain, or any other pains; only joy and happiness for eternity with Jesus. But He wants me to enjoy the power of the resurrection in my life today. He wants me to have the joy of the resurrection now. I need to stop focusing on the struggles of this life; focus instead on the destiny He has already given me.
Let’s get back to Martha. Her response to Jesus was a statement of her faith in Him; “Yes, Lord,…I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God” (John 11:27).
When Jesus said He was the Resurrection, Martha had to have been reminded of the Old Testament passages concerning the resurrection (Job 19:25-26; Psalms 16:9-11; Isaiah 26:19; Daniel 12:2-3). He was not only claiming power over death; He was also calling Himself God.
Jesus told her He was the One, who would raise those who were dead and buried. Look at Daniel 12:2-3, “Many of those whose bodies lie dead and buried will rise up, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting disgrace. Those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever.” Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life.
When I read Daniel, it boggles my mind there are Christians who don’t believe in the Rapture. We don’t even have to go to the New Testament to get a glimpse of the rising of the dead. Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life; He is God!
When Martha left Jesus, she went back home and told Mary (the other sister of Lazarus) Jesus was waiting for her. She got up and went straight to Jesus and fell at His feet crying out, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:32b).
Mary knew Jesus had the power to raise the dead. She knew He only had to speak a word, and her brother would have lived. When Jesus saw her pain, He wept. When Jesus got to the tomb, He ordered the stone to be rolled away, and with a shout of authority; called Lazarus back from the dead. “The word of Christ gave life to Lazarus, just as the Word of God gives spiritual life today (Hebrews 4:12; 1 Peter 1:23).”
Jesus not only proved He was the Resurrection and the Life when He raised Lazarus from the dead. He also showed He was God Himself. Only God has the power over death. In fact, Jesus holds “the keys of death and the grave” (Revelation 1:18).
Jesus proved once, and for all, He was the Resurrection and the Life through His resurrection. Although Romans 6:3-4 states the Father rose Him from the grave; we find in John 2:19b Jesus Himself held the power to raise Himself from the grave. Jesus told the Jewish leaders if they destroyed this temple (He was referring to Himself), “…in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19b). Jesus is the Keeper of the keys of death and the grave!
When you give your life to Jesus, you are buried with Him in baptism and raised by the power of the Father, to live a new life (Romans 6:3-4). Our resurrection, just like our destiny, begins when we give our lives to Jesus Christ. We became an entirely new person at our conversion; the old is taken away; a new life has begun (2 Corinthians 5:17). He is the Resurrection today!
To believe in Jesus as “I AM” means salvation; not to believe means loss. Jesus is the only way to the Father (John 14:6). His deity is unquestionable. Jesus proved He was God by His mighty works: healing the sick and the lame, giving sight to a man born blind, feeding the multitudes, walking on water, turning water into wine, raising the dead, and of course; rising from the grave on the third day. He is the Resurrection and the Life.
That’s why Jesus came to earth. He didn’t come just to teach us how to follow the Father. He didn’t come just to share with us God’s wisdom. Jesus came to earth to fulfill God the Father’s redemptive plan for humanity. He came to die for our sins. He came to show He does hold the keys to sin and death.
Though this is another “I AM,” I would like to share it with you, for to me; it is the summation of all the “I AMs.” In the garden, Jesus asked the Roman soldiers, and the Temple guards, whom they were looking for. They answered, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus declared, “I AM He” (John 18:5b). The truth of His deity as He spoke those words, sent them sprawling to the ground. They fell in fear, but unfortunately today (talking mostly to myself), we do not fall to the ground before Jesus in awe of His presence. He is the Great I AM.
On the cross, when Jesus knew He had accomplished His Father’s mission, He cried out “‘it is finished!’ Then He bowed His head and released His spirit” (John 19:29-30). At Jesus’ death, something incredible happened; even before His resurrection. When Jesus died on the cross, holy men of Israel; who had been dead; were raised from their grave and started walking around the city of Jerusalem (Matthew 27:50-55). When the Resurrection Himself died, people in the grave came back to life. He truly is the Resurrection and the Life.
When Jesus rose from the grave, He not only showed He was victorious over sin and death, but He was also fulfilling the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:4). Everything Jesus did was to do the work of the Father, fulfilling the prophecies of the Old Testament. He conquered Satan and the curse on humanity (Genesis 3:14-15) and proved He was the conqueror of death itself.
Jesus is the God of the Universe. He is the Resurrection and the Life, and He will come back to take His people home:
““Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. And you know the way to where I am going” (John 14:1-4).
Jesus declares, “I AM the Bread of Life (6:35); the Light of the World (8:12; 9:5); the Door (10:9); the Good Shepherd (10:11); the Resurrection and the Life (11:25); the Way, and the Truth, and the Life (14:6); the Vine (15:5); and “I AM…I AM (4:26, 8:24, 28, 58; 13:13, 19; 3:14; 18:5-6, 8). He is all that we need.
"Everything perishable replaced by the imperishable, this mortal replaced by the immortal. Then the saying will be true: Death swallowed by triumphant Life! Who got the last word, oh, Death? Oh, Death, who's afraid of you now,…In a single stroke of Life, all three—sin, guilt, death—are gone, the gift of our Master, Jesus Christ. Thank GOD!"
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