TUESDAY November 26th
John 11:25-26 ‘Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”’
We have come to the fifth of the ‘I am’ statements, and this is one of my favourites because it ties in with my favourite chapter in the whole of the word of God, the great resurrection chapter, 1 Corinthians 15.
1 Corinthians 15 is the chapter that explains to us in more detail than anywhere else as to what the outcome was and of course still is regarding the statement that Jesus made when he said, ‘I am the resurrection and the life’.
It is one thing to say it, but another for Jesus to prove it—and he did! He obviously gave proof around the grave of Lazarus (which was when he made the statement) that he had power over death. People pronounced dead are dead, how can they come back to life-they cannot, unless the power of God is at work, and Jesus proved that power. But Lazarus would have to die again! But when Jesus died, he proved that he had such power over death, that when he rose he would never die again, and as result that whoever believes in him, though they die yet they will live again! And how? Through the power of the Spirit, for we read in Romans 8:11 ‘If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.’
Jesus who is the life, gives to us new life when we are born again, which is eternal life, our spirit is made alive again, and so we are alive today in Christ Jesus, but the day will come when if we have died in Christ, we will be raised from the dead, we have a hope that is very real in the present and will be fully realised in the future, quoting from the apostle Paul, ‘If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.’ But he continues to say, ‘But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.’ 1 Corinthians 15:19-23.
We have a hope that is steadfast and certain, for Christ who died and rose again, has gone through the curtain, he is on the throne and one day he is coming again to call from the graves all who are in Christ, and all who are alive in Christ and as we hear his voice we will rise, or if alive we will be raptured from the sphere of time into eternity. And it is because we have been made alive in Christ Jesus and to those who have believed on him, he has given eternal life.
Jesus said to Martha after making his claim, ‘Do you believe this?’ Do you? Let me remind anyone reading this of the alternative ‘ Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.’ John 3:36.