The Resurrection and Life

Jesus IS… everything that Scripture says He is.

And I am thankful for this truth as we continue the series, “I Am,” a series designed to look at the seven I Am statements made by Jesus in the Book of John.

Last week we covered two… tonight we look at one. And within its context, it finds Jesus in the midst of one of the hardest things we face in life… and that is death.

The death of a friend or a loved one is something we have all faced… and it is never easy.

Sometimes it comes with no warning at all. Sudden deaths leave us shocked, speechless, and trying to figure out what just happened.

Sometimes it happens over time. Maybe it comes at the end of a long medical situation, etc.

No matter the circumstance, death is never easy.

We often pray for people here at the church who are walking through seasons of grief as a result of losing someone.

We can all relate and we all know just how important those prayers are for those walking through that season.

Within that prayer time… we often thank God for something very specific. And someone might say, “What is there to give thanks for when we lose someone?” For those who believe, we have much to be thankful for.

I often refer to it as our blessed hope we have in Jesus. What I mean by that is - for those who are in Christ, death is NOT end.

It does mark the end of life on this earth as we know it. None of us are guaranteed tomorrow… we have no idea how much time any of us have. This world is temporary… these bodies will not last forever.

However, in Christ, we have something to look forward to AFTER our life on earth - and it looks VERY DIFFERENT in nature!

We might have 40,50, 80, 100 years in this life. And we strive to make the most of the time we have. But what is waiting for us is something I don’t believe we can even begin to comprehend. ETERNITY. Forever. And it’s not just the eternal aspect that makes this intriguing… but the fact that it is forever in the presence of our King? Sign me up today!

All of this has to do with the next I Am statement Jesus makes, and it is given to comfort someone who is… grieving.

Lazarus… was dead. Lazarus was a friend of Jesus. The family had called for Jesus to come while Lazarus was sick… but Jesus did not make it to him on time. Lazarus was now dead and in the grave… what hope did this family have?

Martha sees Jesus coming… and she begins a conversation...

John 11:21–26 NIV

21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

Martha did NOT want her brother to die. We’re going to get pretty serious here and I want to be careful but… we have all been there. We have all faced situations where we lost someone we didn’t want to lose.

And I look at verse 21 “If you had been here...” and I can’t tell you how many times I have talked with people who asked me, “Why didn’t God heal my loved one or stop this bad thing from happening? Does God not care about this situation?”

God cares very much. In fact, we see the compassion of Christ displayed in John 11:35 and the people around take note of His love in verse 36!

This was NOT a missed opportunity of healing. This was NOT the result of Jesus being late to the scene. This was NOT a moment God chose to overlook or to not care about.

This was a moment… for resurrection! This was a miracle moment that was truly amazing! We know the story… Jesus goes to the grave, calls Lazarus out of the grave… and Lazarus comes walking out!

It was a resurrection from the grave plain and simple. And the really cool thing is… God STILL does this kind of miracle today!!!

PLAY VIDEO - From Coffeyville First Assembly of God

That is an AMAZING testimony from an ER Doctor that watched a brain dead woman come back to life! Her body was dead, no brain activity, and her heart was being forced to beat with medicine, her body forced to breathe on a vent.

“It was the first miracle I had ever seen” he said… and what I LOVE about this is the demeanor. He isn’t emotionally hyped up, he isn’t lacing up his testimony with exaggerations or shouting. He just tells the story. It isn’t practiced, it isn’t rehearsed… it’s what he saw and his professional conclusion is… God raised this woman up!

Jesus TRULY is the resurrection and the life!

Tonight I want to focus in on the truth of the resurrection. We are going to come back to the story of Lazarus in a couple of weeks on a Sunday morning.

Tonight I want to talk about the blessed hope we have in Jesus. I want to focus in on what Jesus said,

“The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.” — The resurrection

“Whoever lives by believing in me will never die.” — The life.

Jesus gives two amazing promises… to a family that just experienced… death. And it is within these promises that we find that blessed hope… not a wishful hope… but a guaranteed hope.

Christ the Resurrection

We are drawing closer by the day to Easter Sunday… the day on which we celebrate our RISEN Savior. And as we come closer to that day, I feel it is important to remind us of how important His resurrection from the grave truly is.

We celebrate the truth that Jesus did not stay in the grave! We know that three days after His death on the cross God raised Him back from the dead.

This moment in Biblical history is CRITICAL in what we believe and is CENTRAL in Christ being the resurrection He claimed to be in John 11.

When the stone was rolled away and Jesus walked out of the tomb… DEATH HAD BEEN CONQUERED BY JESUS CHRIST. The battle had been won. The victory had now come!

And I want you to consider something… Jesus was victorious over the grave EVEN THOUGH He died on the cross.

Jesus died. Jesus was no longer alive. When they removed His body from the cross, there was no life left in Him.

The Bible records His death in John 19:30

The Roman soldiers confirmed His death in John 19:33-34

God confirmed the price had been paid in full in Mark 15:38

Doctors have since confirmed that all that is recorded is consistent with physical death.

Jesus DIED. His physical body ceased to be able to sustain any and all life. Now this seems a bit strange for someone who said He Is the life… until you remember He first said He is the resurrection!

There is NO resurrection… without first experiencing death.

Jesus HAD to die in order to conquer death. Jesus HAD to go to the grave in order bring victory over the grave.

Go back to the video we watched a moment ago… that doctor would not have witnesses a miracle if the woman had not died… first.

EVEN THOUGH death happens… Through Christ we are PROMISED resurrection! Through Christ, we know that shackles of death have been broken and the grip of the grave has been loosed!

Through His death, the payment for our sins has been settled. Through His resurrection we are promised and given new life!

Before the work Jesus did for us on the cross… there was only death… CERTAIN death both physically and spiritually.

The effects of sin were certain. The universal problem of sin effected all. What took place in the garden of Eden through one man impacted the spiritual reality of every man.

But just as sin became a problem through one man… so did resurrection become a possibility through one man.

1 Corinthians 15:21–22 NIV

21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

So how is it… that we can come alive in Christ Jesus? Simply put by Jesus Himself in John 11:25-26, we must BELIEVE. But there is something in that believe I want to point out.

Remember what I said about Jesus - without death, there would be no resurrection. That same truth… applies to you and me. This might sound funny… but I invite you tonight to… die. Not a physical death, but a death to… self. A death to sin. We CANNOT come alive in Christ UNTIL we have died to sin.

BELIEVING in Christ is the moment we say no to sin and yes to Jesus. BELIEVING in Christ is the moment we identify Him as not the Lord and Savior but as MY LORD AND SAVIOR. True… Jesus came to save the world… but He also came to save YOU as well!

Look at what Romans 6:5-7 has to say

Romans 6:5–7 NIV

5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

Why is it important for the old self to be crucified with Christ? SO THAT THE BODY RULED BY SIN MIGHT BE DONE AWAY WITH! SO THAT WE SHOULD NO LONGER BE SLAVES TO SIN!

Those who have died to sin HAVE BEEN SET FREE FROM SIN!

How is it that we die to sin?

Galatians 2:20 NIV

20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Jesus’ death becomes OUR death. Jesus’ resurrection becomes OUR resurrection. We are united with Him in death… and in His resurrection!

Jesus offers to us the victory over sin, death and the grave through His resurrection. And all who believe… will receive!

Christ… the Life

Secondly, Jesus identifies Himself as the life. He reemphasizes this truth by saying, “Whoever lives by believing in me will never die.”

Never die? Does this mean those who believe will not die a physical death? No… the death Jesus is referring to here is the second death which involves eternal punishment and separation from God.

This is the death Jesus speaks of in John 3:16

John 3:16 NIV

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

The phrase “shall not perish” is dealing with that second death. Those who believe… will not perish eternally, but will have eternal life.

Martha, in our main text, believed this truth. She knew that her brother would be resurrected at the last day… that he would LIVE again. She knew that Christ was the Messiah and the source of this resurrection and life.

She knew that EVEN THOUGH Lazarus was dead, he would live again BECAUSE of Jesus.

Unless Jesus comes first, all of us will come to the end of life at some point. These bodies will not last forever.

Life on earth may come to an end… but life with Christ is only beginning!

I want us to go back to Romans 6:8-11 to see something important here.

Romans 6:8–11 NIV

8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Once again, this verse echos something we see in John 3:16 and in John 11. Belief in Christ is the key to experiencing this eternal life. Belief in Christ means that you have chosen to die to sin and come alive in Jesus.

Here’s the deal. God has given us the choice. The wages of sin is DEATH. It always has been, and always will be. There is no escaping this reality.

So two choices exist:

We can either die to sin through Christ meaning we BELIEVE in Him and receive His forgiveness. Jesus’ death becomes our death through faith.

OR we can die in sin eternally. We can live in sin and perish in Hell. We can reject Jesus as Lord and Savior, “live” according to our standards, and perish forever.

We know what God desires for you. We know the choice God would love for you to make.

2 Peter 3:9 NIV

9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

Again, John 3:16 makes clear that God so loved the WORLD - that means God loves ALL of us. ALL PEOPLE MATTER TO GOD. God desires for NO ONE to perish. THAT IS WHY HE SENT HIS SON TO DIE IN YOUR PLACE!

He took our death that we might have life to the full!

That life begins with the time we have on this earth.

That life EXTENDS beyond the life we have on this earth.

EVEN THOUGH this body will at some point fail… even though, unless Jesus comes first, we will die… WE WILL LIVE!

THAT is the blessed hope we have in Jesus Because HE IS THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE!

The question is…

Do You Believe This?

I find it interesting that Jesus asks Martha this question.

Remember, before He makes His I am statement in John 11, Martha makes clear in verse 24...

John 11:24 NIV

24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

Jesus isn’t asking her if she believes in the resurrection… He is asking her if she believes that HE IS THE RESURRECTION AND LIFE.

And I believe He is echoing that question to us this evening. Do you believe that Christ IS the resurrection and the life?

Again… what this belief means is this:

You know that the old self, the old sinful nature has got to go. It must be laid to rest… it must die. And that is accomplished through the crucifixion of Jesus. We must be crucified with Christ.

Secondly, we come alive in His resurrection. We understand that His victory over death becomes our victory over death. WE CANNOT DEFEAT DEATH ON OUR OWN!

Physical death is inevitable. All of us face this reality. At some point, there will no longer be breath in our lungs. At some point, we will breathe our last.

BUT… what happens after that depends on what you believe… rather WHO YOU BELIEVE IN!

Do you believe that Jesus IS who Scripture says He is?

Has that belief brought you to the point of decision to allow that old sinful nature to be crucified with Christ? Have you come alive in Jesus?

How we do this is simple… we recognize our sin for what it is… we realize we need a Savior… and we call on the name of Jesus WHO IS OUR NEEDED SAVIOR.

In that faith and belief, His blood covers ALL your sins. Your sin debt is fully satisfied through the work He did on the cross ad in the grave and.... something else happens. Your name… is put on the list!

Remember what I said in the introduction? Eternity is forever in the presence of our King… sign me up on the list? That list is known as the Lamb’s book of Life and it is mentioned in the Book of Revelation and Philippians. When you give your life to Jesus, your name is put on the list!

Is He your Savior tonight? If so, we will have an opportunity in a moment to thank Him for the victory and the blessed hope we have in Him.

If you have not had the opportunity to give your life to Jesus, I want to give you that chance.

PRAYER - Salvation

Closing Song - This I Believe