I Am the Resurrection and the Life
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26
When Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life,” He was stating that He was the source of both. There is no resurrection apart from Christ. There is no eternal life apart from Christ.
When Jesus said, “I am the resurrection,” Martha assumed He was speaking of “the resurrection at the last day.” Simultaneously, Martha showed she was thinking that time was an insurmountable obstacle where death was concerned. In effect, Martha was saying, “It’s too late to help Lazarus (the time is past), so now we must wait (let more time pass) for the resurrection on the Last Day.”
But Jesus showed that neither death nor time is an obstacle for Him. Outside the tomb, Jesus “cried with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come forth!’ And he who had died came out.” (John 11:43-44) Death has no dominion over the Christ who came to defeat death once and for all for us. Nor does death have dominion over those who by faith are in Him (1 Corinthians 15:54-55). Because He lives, we live. Because He is Life, we have life eternally. Clearly, in Christ, death is but a “sleep” (1 Thessalonians 4:13).
Like ourselves, the faith of Mary and Martha too often fell short of taking hold of all of the grace and the glory which the Lord holds out to us in His revelation of Himself. That’s why, after declaring Himself to be the resurrection and the life, Jesus invited Martha to refocus her faith with the all-important question: “Do you believe this?”
May Martha’s answer be ours as well: “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” (John 11:27)
Crown him the Lord of life Who triumphed o’er the grave,
And rose victorious in the strife For those he came to save;
His glories now we sing Who died, and rose on high.
Who died, eternal life to bring And lives that death may die.
The Lutheran Hymnal 341:4