I Am The Resurrection

VERSE OF THE DAY

John 11:25 (New Living Translation)

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Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.

Jesus spoke saying I am the resurrection and life. As many believe in me shall have life even if they’ve died for they will have life after death living amongst the dead

What Does John 11:25 Mean? ►

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies,

John 11:25(NASB)

Verse Thoughts

Nothing in the life of a Christian happens without a purpose.. and every event that takes place, whether good or ill.. is used by God for our spiritual growth and eternal benefit. During our sojourn on earth we are called to mature in the faith and to grow in grace.. and God takes all the circumstances of life as an opportunity to develop our trust in Him, so that we may discover a little more of His gracious character, His omnipotent power, His omniscient wisdom, His unfailing righteousness, His unapproachable holiness – His unconditional love.

Martha demonstrated her deep trust in God’s Word for she had an assurance that her brother would be resurrected in the end times. She had come to believe that Jesus was the promised Messiah Who would save His people from their sins.. but she had not yet recognised that she was addressing the incarnate Son of God.. Who created all things, and Who is before all things. She was yet to discover that Jesus is incarnate God.. the One Who holds all things together by His almighty power – the One in Whom is life everlasting.

Martha was standing before the Creator of the universe but her understanding of the enormity of Christ’s Person and the redemptive work that He was yet to accomplish at Calvary was incomplete.. and the death of her dearly beloved brother was the occasion that Christ chose to unveil a little more of His pre-eminence and power.

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Although Martha’s faith was small, her faith was in the right Person – the Lord Jesus Christ, and so He was enabled to expand her trust in God. Martha believed that God was faithful to fulfil His promise of a future bodily resurrection.. and so Jesus was enabled to reveal more of His character and limitless resources to her – as being available today.

Martha only had a limited understanding of God but she had come to trust His Word.. and so God was able to work in the circumstances of her life; to develop her faith and to deepen her dependence upon the Lord Jesus – and to this grieving woman with her tiny, ‘mustard-seed faith’, were spoken those earth-shattering words, ‘I am the Resurrection and the Life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies.

Christ was able to refocus Martha’s faith from a faithful God Who will one day fulfil His future promises.. to incarnate God, Who is always present in the everyday circumstances of our lives. He is not only the God of tomorrow’s promises but the One Who is with us through all the changing scenes of life.

Martha’s faith was expanded as she learned that she was to look to Jesus every moment of her life, from that day forward.. as her ever present help in time of trouble and not simply to trust God with a future programmed that will one day be accomplished.

Source: https://dailyverse.knowing-jesus.com/john-11-25

QUESTION

What did Jesus mean when He said, “I am the Resurrection and the Life” (John 11:25)?





ANSWER

“I am the Resurrection and the Life” (John 11:25) is the fifth of the seven “I am” statements of Jesus. Lazarus was dead. Earlier, Jesus had heard that His good friend was sick, but instead of going to visit Lazarus, Jesus “stayed where he was for two more days” (John 11:6). He explained to His puzzled disciples that the sickness was “for God’s glory, that God’s Son may be glorified through it” (v. 4). After Lazarus died, Jesus began a journey to Bethany, Lazarus’s home. Significantly, when Jesus informed His disciples that Lazarus was dead, He simply said His friend was “asleep, but I am going there to wake him up” (John 11:11).

Outside Bethany, Lazarus’s sister Martha went out to meet Jesus. “If you had been here,” she said, “my brother would not have died.” Such was her faith in Jesus’ power to heal. Jesus replied by assuring Martha that her brother would rise again. Martha responded again in faith: “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” At this point, Jesus makes His fifth “I Am” statement in John’s gospel, “I am the resurrection and the life,” and He follows it with a call to faith: “He who believes in me will live, even though he dies, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die” (John 11:21-24).

When Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life,” He was claiming to be the source of both. There is no resurrection apart from Christ, and there is no eternal life apart from Christ. Beyond that, Jesus was also making a statement concerning His divine nature. He does more than give life; He is life, and therefore death has no ultimate power over Him. Jesus confers this spiritual life on those who believe in Him, so that they share His triumph over death (1 John 5:11-12). Believers in Jesus Christ will experience resurrection because, having the life Jesus gives, it is impossible for death to defeat them (1 Corinthians 15:53-57).

The grieving Martha wished that Jesus had arrived earlier so He could have healed her brother. And when Jesus spoke of resurrection, Martha assumed He was speaking of “the resurrection at the last day.” In both statements, Martha reveals that she considered Time an insurmountable obstacle. In effect, Martha was saying, “It’s too late to help Lazarus (the time is past), so now we must wait (allow more time).”

Jesus shows that neither Death nor time is an obstacle to Him. Outside the tomb, “Jesus called in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come forth!’ The dead man came out” (John 11:43). It’s one thing to claim to be the resurrection and the life, but Jesus proved it by raising Lazarus, who was four days dead. Truly, with Christ, death is but “sleep” (1 Thessalonians 4:13). Death has no dominion over Him who is Life itself, nor does death have dominion over those who are in Him (1 Corinthians 15:54-55). Because He lives, we live. Because He is Life, we have life eternally.

Jesus’ statement that He is the resurrection and the life provides a godly perspective on several spiritual matters. Martha believed that the resurrection is an event; Jesus showed her (and us) that the resurrection is a Person. Martha’s knowledge of eternal life was an abstract idea; Jesus proved that knowledge of eternal life is a personal relationship. Martha thought victory over death was a future expectation; Jesus corrects her, showing that victory is a present reality.

After presenting Himself as the resurrection and the life, Jesus asks Martha an all-important question: “Do you believe this?” (John 11:26). May Martha’s answer be ours as well: “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God who was to come into the world” (verse 27).

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

God the Son Incarnate: The Doctrine of Christ by Stephen Wellum

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What does John 11:25 mean?

When her brother succumbed to illness, Martha pointed out her belief that God would answer any request made by Jesus (John 11:22). In context, that was a thinly-veiled appeal for Jesus to bring Lazarus back from the dead (John 11:17). Like Jesus’ mother, however, Martha was more focused on simply telling Jesus the problem (John 2:2–5) than demanding a specific solution. His response, that Lazarus would “rise again,” echoed statements made by Jesus in His earlier teachings (John 6:39–40). Those mentions of resurrection often referred to the last days, or the end times. Martha’s familiarity with Jesus’ message (Luke 10:38–42) probably caused her to interpret His comment as a gentle, reassuring, “no.” That is, she probably thought Jesus meant, “He’ll live again, someday” (John 11:24).

Here, Jesus continues the conversation with the fifth of seven “I AM” statements as found in the gospel of John. In Exodus 3:14, God referred to Himself using the expression “I AM.” This is a statement of God’s absolute, necessary, and eternal existence. That is the definition of God: the One who “just is,” who “must be.” Jesus used the same terminology several times, to connect His message and ministry to that of God. In doing so, Jesus laid claim to being God, and equal with God (John 20:30–31).

This particular “I Am” statement puts a personal emphasis on human salvation. Unique among other claims about eternity, the gospel explains that the ultimate fulfillment of human desire is a person. It’s not knowledge, or accomplishment, or some state of being. It’s the “light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6). Jesus does not merely claim to speak about “the life,” He identifies as “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). Just as drowning people want a rescuer, not advice on swimming, condemned sinners need a Savior, not spiritual self-help.

In saying this, Jesus is not contradicting Martha’s earlier statement about her brother. Instead, He’s continuing to set up the message behind his seventh “sign,” found later in this chapter. To do this, He makes wordplay with the ideas of life and death, fleshed out in the following verse.

Context Summary

John 11:17–27 describes Jesus’ encounter with Martha, Lazarus’ brother. By the time Jesus got word of Lazarus’ illness, His friend had already died, but Jesus delayed a further two days before coming to see the family. Martha is both heartbroken and resigned. She is confident that her brother will see eternal resurrection. Jesus confirms His role in salvation as He comforts her; she responds by affirming Him as the Messiah. This is the fifth of seven ”I Am” statements by Jesus in this gospel. In the following passage, Jesus will meet with Martha and Lazarus’ sister, Mary, expressing His sorrow for their pain.

Chapter Summary

Jesus has left the vicinity of Jerusalem to avoid hostile religious leaders. While gone, He receives word that a good friend, Lazarus, is sick. In fact, Lazarus has died by the time this message reaches Jesus. He purposefully waits a few days before returning to Bethany, arriving four days after Lazarus’ burial. In front of Lazarus’ mourning sisters—who Jesus weeps with—and an assembled crowd, Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead in a stirring and spectacular miracle. This is the seventh of John’s seven ”signs” of Jesus’ divine power. In response, religious leaders coordinate in their effort to have Jesus murdered

John 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.