Sermon Devotional: I AM the Resurrection and the Life
Sermon Title: I AM the Resurrection and the Life
Scripture: John 11:1-44 (NIV)
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?" - John 11:25-26
Lazarus and his sisters, Mary and Martha, are Jesus’ friends. They live just two miles from Jerusalem in the small village of Bethany. Luke tells us that Jesus and his disciples spent time in their home where Mary sat listening and learning at Jesus’ feet while Martha fretted about the work of hosting a crowd. In our passage for today, Lazarus has fallen gravely ill.
Mary and Martha send Jesus word of his illness. And “When he heard this, Jesus said, ‘This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it’” (John 11:4). Yet Lazarus does indeed die. Four days later, as Jesus approaches Lazarus’s home, Martha runs to him desperately needing clarity in the midst of confusion. She is like many of us . . . believing in Jesus, believing he is the Son of God (“I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him” [v. 23]). Yet, Lazarus is in a tomb.
But this is not ultimately a story about Lazarus or Mary or even “resurrection” as a Christian belief or phenomenon. It is a story about Jesus.
In his interactions with Mary and Martha, Jesus says that he himself is “the resurrection and the life” (v. 25). Those who believe in him “will never die” (v. 26). He is, as Mary says, “the Messiah, the Son of God” (v. 27). And he is capable of being “deeply moved” (v. 33) in love. He weeps (v. 35). He is confident that his Heavenly Father “always” hears him (v. 42). And so, with the words “Lazarus, come out!” (v. 43), Lazarus is raised from death to life, comes forth from the tomb alive, and his illness, death and resurrection for a season serve as a foreshadowing of what will come a short time later: Jesus’ own death and resurrection, never to die again. A new reality in God’s salvation history is set in motion.
This reality (that Jesus is the resurrection) is at the heart of the gospel proclaimed by the apostle Paul. Indeed, for him it is “of first importance” that “Christ died for our sins . . . was buried . . . and . . . was raised on the third day” (1 Cor 15:3-4). Indeed, if Christ “has not been raised . . . then your faith is in vain” (v.14). “But,” he continues, “in fact Christ has been raised from the dead” (v. 20). Paul equates death with sin and resurrection with life and righteousness. So, Jesus’s resurrection is of immense importance—one could say, “It is everything”—for us.
To the Christians at Rome Paul writes, “we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Rom 6:9-11, emphasis added). He continues, “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.” Because Jesus offered himself in death on the cross and was resurrected from the dead, we can, in reliance upon the resurrected Christ, offer ourselves in worship of God and in loving service to the world.
Jesus said to Mary, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die” (Jn 11:26). Lazarus was raised from the dead (vv. 43-44). Eventually, he again died. However, Jesus is both the resurrection and the life, Jesus’s resurrection, and the resurrection of those who entrust themselves to him, is a resurrection to life, a resurrection to eternal life. Thanks be to God.
Consider—
╬ Lazarus died and Jesus raised him again to go live among the living. Paul teaches that being in Christ means we have communion with God here and now, and we are no longer under the reign sin and death. How does Jesus’ death and resurrection enable you to live free from the mastery and enslavement of sin? Psalm 19 helps us: “Lord, forgive my hidden faults. Keep me from willful sins; may they not rule over me.” Make this a prayer for your week.
╬ Jesus said, “whoever lives by believing in me will never die.” Lazarus’s physical body died, and lived, and died again. But because Lazarus’ very being was marked by Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life, Lazarus lives today. Do you have utter and complete confidence that you “will never die”?
╬ Jesus, in dying You destroyed our death. In rising, You restored our life. Lord Jesus, come in glory. In your name we pray. Amen.
Scripture: John 11:1-44 (NIV)
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?" - John 11:25-26
Lazarus and his sisters, Mary and Martha, are Jesus’ friends. They live just two miles from Jerusalem in the small village of Bethany. Luke tells us that Jesus and his disciples spent time in their home where Mary sat listening and learning at Jesus’ feet while Martha fretted about the work of hosting a crowd. In our passage for today, Lazarus has fallen gravely ill.
Mary and Martha send Jesus word of his illness. And “When he heard this, Jesus said, ‘This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it’” (John 11:4). Yet Lazarus does indeed die. Four days later, as Jesus approaches Lazarus’s home, Martha runs to him desperately needing clarity in the midst of confusion. She is like many of us . . . believing in Jesus, believing he is the Son of God (“I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him” [v. 23]). Yet, Lazarus is in a tomb.
But this is not ultimately a story about Lazarus or Mary or even “resurrection” as a Christian belief or phenomenon. It is a story about Jesus.
In his interactions with Mary and Martha, Jesus says that he himself is “the resurrection and the life” (v. 25). Those who believe in him “will never die” (v. 26). He is, as Mary says, “the Messiah, the Son of God” (v. 27). And he is capable of being “deeply moved” (v. 33) in love. He weeps (v. 35). He is confident that his Heavenly Father “always” hears him (v. 42). And so, with the words “Lazarus, come out!” (v. 43), Lazarus is raised from death to life, comes forth from the tomb alive, and his illness, death and resurrection for a season serve as a foreshadowing of what will come a short time later: Jesus’ own death and resurrection, never to die again. A new reality in God’s salvation history is set in motion.
This reality (that Jesus is the resurrection) is at the heart of the gospel proclaimed by the apostle Paul. Indeed, for him it is “of first importance” that “Christ died for our sins . . . was buried . . . and . . . was raised on the third day” (1 Cor 15:3-4). Indeed, if Christ “has not been raised . . . then your faith is in vain” (v.14). “But,” he continues, “in fact Christ has been raised from the dead” (v. 20). Paul equates death with sin and resurrection with life and righteousness. So, Jesus’s resurrection is of immense importance—one could say, “It is everything”—for us.
To the Christians at Rome Paul writes, “we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Rom 6:9-11, emphasis added). He continues, “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.” Because Jesus offered himself in death on the cross and was resurrected from the dead, we can, in reliance upon the resurrected Christ, offer ourselves in worship of God and in loving service to the world.
Jesus said to Mary, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die” (Jn 11:26). Lazarus was raised from the dead (vv. 43-44). Eventually, he again died. However, Jesus is both the resurrection and the life, Jesus’s resurrection, and the resurrection of those who entrust themselves to him, is a resurrection to life, a resurrection to eternal life. Thanks be to God.
Consider—
╬ Lazarus died and Jesus raised him again to go live among the living. Paul teaches that being in Christ means we have communion with God here and now, and we are no longer under the reign sin and death. How does Jesus’ death and resurrection enable you to live free from the mastery and enslavement of sin? Psalm 19 helps us: “Lord, forgive my hidden faults. Keep me from willful sins; may they not rule over me.” Make this a prayer for your week.
╬ Jesus said, “whoever lives by believing in me will never die.” Lazarus’s physical body died, and lived, and died again. But because Lazarus’ very being was marked by Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life, Lazarus lives today. Do you have utter and complete confidence that you “will never die”?
╬ Jesus, in dying You destroyed our death. In rising, You restored our life. Lord Jesus, come in glory. In your name we pray. Amen.