I AM the Resurrection and the Life John 11

Do you believe in the resurrection?

The aim of this study is to see that Jesus, as the Christ, brings life and resurrection because He is the resurrection and the life.

On the assumption that chapters 11-20 are the right section, we can say that, as with the previous two sections, this last major section begins and ends with signs that introduce and sum up its main subject material. The signs that bracket this section are the raising of Lazarus and the raising of Jesus. In this way John identifies the key focus of the section: the giving of life. The material of chapters 11–20 can be grouped under two headings: the whole question of what Jesus’ death achieves – life, and the Gospel’s developing narrative – the plot to put Jesus to death. John introduces the section’s key themes in chapter 11 by showing us that those who already believe still have a great deal to learn about Jesus. Martha, like Peter in chapter 6, may recognise Jesus as ‘the Christ, the Son of God’, but she hasn’t yet understood what it means for Him to be ‘the resurrection and the life’. For people like Martha and Peter, the first half of John’s purpose statement in 20:31 has by now begun to be achieved, but needs working through more deeply. John is going to do that in this section by showing that ‘the glory of God’ is revealed in His dealing with the greatest problem facing the human race – death. The direct link between the raising of Lazarus and Caiaphas’ prophecy, at the meeting of the Sanhedrin, indicates to the reader that Jesus’ substitutionary death is going to be the means by which the effects of the Fall are reversed and life is given. (Bizarrely, it is specifically because Jesus gives life that they want Him dead!) And so the reader is driven forward to find out how Jesus’ death will achieve this life, and where the plot of the Sanhedrin will end.

It is worth noting that this particular sign is given far more attention and space than any of the others have been to date. It is distinctive for other reasons also: the recipient of Jesus’ action is named and said to be in a close, personal relationship with Jesus; and also, the discourse explaining the sign comes before the action itself. There are also several explicit links with previous signs – achieved through the mention of ‘glory’ (v. 4, 15, cf. 2:11), ‘belief’ (11:25 etc, cf. 2:11) and the recollection of the man born blind (v. 37, cf. 9:1-41; note also the imagery of ‘light’ (v. 9-10, cf. 9:4-5)). Further, while several previous signs brought Jesus into contact with someone ‘as good as dead’ (end of ch. 4, ch. 5), now Jesus faces someone who really is dead!

Old Testament ideas

Death and life: Ever since Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden and from the Tree of Life at the time of the Fall, the issue of death and life has been a major theme in the OT. Isaiah speaks of the ‘shroud (of death) that enfolds all peoples’ (Isa. 25:6ff) and looks forward to a day when death will be swallowed up forever. Jesus announced the arrival of His death-defeating kingdom in chapters 2-4; now for the first time, we see him actually overcome man’s greatest enemy.

Substitution: In Leviticus 16 the principle of substitution is established. In order for sin and guilt to be taken away from God’s people, something has to die in their place to satisfy God’s just wrath. In Leviticus 16 the sins of the Israelites are transferred to one of the sacrificial goats which is then killed. Leviticus 17:11 explains that ‘it is the blood [i.e. death] that makes atonement for one’s life’. Much later the prophet Isaiah looks forward to God’s Servant coming into the world and dying on behalf of many (chapters 49 and 53).

THE RAISING OF LAZARUS, IS GOD’S GLORY (John 11:1-16)

The setting As often in the Bible, the main characters are all introduced in the first verse (Lazarus, Mary and Martha). Jesus is missing, as He will be at the hour of Lazarus’ great need. Why? We are about to be told. In the meantime, John stresses the intimacy of relationship that the other characters share with Jesus (v. 2-3, v. 5). [Interestingly, although John refers to Mary’s anointing of Jesus in v. 2, he will not relay that story until 12:1-8. That is not, despite the opinion of some scholars, because John got the order muddled in his mind (!), but because he wants us to understand the raising of Lazarus in the light of Jesus’ movement towards his death.]

God’s glory The sign will bring glory to both Father and Son (v. 4). These words of Jesus in v4 give us the first indication as to how we are to interpret the raising of Lazarus; we need to be asking how it reveals God’s glory.

The disciples’ faith Jesus also tells us that the sign will enable the disciples to believe (v. 15). But the odd thing is that He is speaking to a group of people who already believe. This indicates that there is much more for the disciples still to learn and suggests that the raising of Lazarus points forward to the new things that Jesus is about to teach them. All the way through the previous sections John has been teaching that genuine faith continues to grow (e.g. 2:22, 4:42 and the blind man in chapter 9). There are further lessons still to learn. As we apply the lessons of chapter 11 we shall need to be asking how this miracle stretches our faith. Indeed, the disciples need to grow in faith, because to stick with Jesus is to risk death (v. 16). This is the first mention of Thomas in the gospel, but it is significant. Thomas may not yet understand His words, but the events surrounding Lazarus do spell danger not only for Jesus (11:8) but for His true disciples as well (11:16).

The delay Verse 4 has already hinted that there is more going on than meets the eye. But now things get really strange: verse 6 literally reads, ‘When therefore He heard ... He stayed where He was two more days.’ The delay guarantees that when Jesus gets to the tomb everybody recognises that there is no hope for Lazarus – he is well and truly dead (vv. 37–39). Indeed, Jesus does not set off for Bethany until He already knows that Lazarus is dead (verses 11-14 – another instance of divine omniscience). But the comment in verse 5 that ‘Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus’, as well as the mention of Jesus’ uninhibited grief (vv. 33–36) combine to ensure that the delay is not seen as a callous act, but as a genuine act of love. Jesus will demonstrate His love and bring glory to God, both by raising Lazarus, and by enabling Martha and Mary, the disciples and many others, to believe (v. 15).

His death There are hints in this first part that Jesus’ going to Judea will result in His death (vv. 7–10; v. 16).

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE SIGN (John 11:17-37)

Disappointment at Jesus’ failure to heal First Martha, then Mary, and finally the Jews express disappointment that Jesus did not heal Lazarus. Martha and Mary react to Jesus’ arrival with exactly the same words (vv. 21 and 32). Both of them express faith in Jesus’ ability to heal, but also anguish that He didn’t arrive in time to save their brother, anguish that is echoed by their friends (v. 37). Martha’s recognition that God will give Jesus whatever He asks shows that she sees Jesus as more than just a healer, but we cannot go so far as to say that she was definitely expecting Jesus to raise Lazarus because of her objection in verse 39. Notice, for example, that when Jesus asks Martha if she truly believes that Jesus is the resurrection and the life, she replies that he is the Christ (v. 27). It’s a good answer, but not exactly the question that Jesus asked!

Jesus’ teaching on who He is Jesus is explicit with Martha. She, and the others, still have a great deal to learn. Martha is rightly looking forward to a final ‘resurrection’ (the final resurrection of all people at the Last Day, the Day of judgement, predicted, e.g., in Daniel 12:1-3). But she hasn’t yet been shown the connection between an abstract belief in the resurrection and a personal belief in Jesus. Jesus, God’s Rescuer, does not simply procure or promise the resurrection – He is the resurrection and He is the life. Those who come to Him in belief now have found life forever and they have found it now! They will never die in the fullest sense of being separated from God, even though they will die physically, because He is God’s Rescuer who overthrows death. He is God’s answer to the greatest problem facing humanity.

This statement, ‘I am the resurrection and the life’, is enormous. The terms are not synonyms. Jesus is claiming to be both ‘the one who embodies the power to raise from the dead and the one who is the source of the positive verdict of life’ (Lincoln) on that judgement day. That the claim takes the form of an ‘I AM’ saying reminds us that it is also a claim to divinity – to raise the dead and give eternal life are divine prerogatives (cf. 5:21). The claim does however, leave us with a few questions. What exactly is this life that He gives? How does He give it? How can He be ‘the resurrection’? We have had hints to the answer to these questions already. But while the disciples may believe in Him already, they still have a huge amount to learn about what their belief really means. Later on in the Gospel, in chapters 12–21, we shall learn what it means to say that ‘the Christ, the Son of God’ is ‘the life’.

Jesus’ indignation and grief at death (John 11:33-37) Verses 33–36 show Jesus expressing indignation at the sadness, pain and suffering caused by death. The word translated ‘deeply moved’ expresses indignation, outrage and anger. Commentators are divided about the cause of Jesus’ indignation: is He angry at the Jews’ intrusion on private grief? Is He frustrated at Mary’s unbelieving tears? The context suggests that He is in fact indignant (and rightly so) at the presence of death in a fallen world. That is why He Himself cries when He sees the tomb. This is not how things ought to be – Jesus recognises that and, unlike us, He is able to do something about it. People often ask why, if Jesus knows He is going to raise Lazarus, does He get so upset by his death? The answer is that He is grieved at the very alien presence of death in his world. This is not the way that things should be. Death is not just a fact of life, but a distressing intruder in the world.

THE SIGN: LAZARUS IS RAISED TO LIFE (John 11:38-44) The sign has already been explained to us. It is not merely intended to dazzle us, but to reveal God’s glory by showing that Jesus is the one who can overcome death itself, thus reversing the fall and fulfilling God’s creation purpose of life (see OT notes). Jesus raises Lazarus simply by His word because that is how He works to give life (cf. 5:25). He calls Lazarus by name because His sheep know His voice and follow Him (10:3b; 27). He instructs them to remove the grave-clothes to symbolise Lazarus’ liberation from the bondage of death. Further, John again highlights the link between glory and belief (v. 40), but his word order is surprising. We may have expected that people would believe because they see the glory of God. Here, however, Jesus indicates that belief is a pre-requisite for seeing the glory of God. Martha (v. 39) does believe Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of God (v. 27), but is yet to believe that He is the life-giver.

THE OUTCOME OF THE SIGN (John 11:45-54) Some believe in Jesus at once, just as the disciples did in 2:11. God’s glory has been revealed and the result is the awakening of faith. But the very miracle that ‘reveals God’s glory’ also precipitates the crisis of the death of His Son; the raising of Lazarus provokes a violent reaction among Jesus’ enemies and drives the plot on towards His death (note the causal link, ‘therefore’, in verse 45). In showing us this, John is indicating that the giving of ‘life’ and the ‘glory of the Son’ cannot be separated from the Son’s substitutionary death.

The ‘prophecy’ of Caiaphas is, on the face of it, simply a politically motivated remark about the most expedient way to deal with Jesus. It is better for Him to be killed than for the whole nation to go through political upheaval as a result of Him continuing His ministry. But, as John points out, the suggestion is in fact a prophecy of Jesus’ substitutionary death (see OT notes). The plot to take His life will result in Jesus, ‘the Lamb of God’, giving His life on behalf of many nations. This idea has come before (6:51), but by making such a plain reference to substitution, here, John ensures that the explanation of what Jesus’ death achieves, which comes in chapter 12, will be understood in the context of His death being a substitutionary death. Caiaphas’ comment is also loaded with irony: it is ‘better’ that Jesus dies, but not for the reason Caiaphas thinks! Verse 48 is the absolute give-away as to the reasons for the Jews’ response to Jesus in chapters 5–9: they want a Christ, but not this uncomfortable Christ. Jesus withdraws until the time is right (v. 54).

Application

To them then: Jesus tells the disciples how this sign applies to them (vv. 1–15). Through it they will see God’s glory revealed and so their faith will be strengthened. The general coming and going of the funeral scene indicates a much closer contact with death than we have in the 20th century, so the scandal of death being present in God’s world may have been more vivid in those days than now. Martha, it seems, does believe that Jesus will bring life at the general resurrection on the Last Day. But Jesus shows, in the raising of Lazarus, that He has come to bring eternal life now to those who believe in Him. He shows the disciples that while they may recognise Him as ‘the Christ’, they have yet to see the full significance of who He is, that He is, in the present, the resurrection and the life. Through faith in Him, the scandal of death is reversed already – and will therefore be reversed fully in due course.

To us now: We should rejoice in the revealed glory of Jesus – He really is the one who can deal with death and reverse the effects of sin in a fallen world. He brings life now; He does so through His substitutionary death, as prophesied by Caiaphas. We should expect our faith in Jesus to be challenged (v. 26) and especially strengthened (v. 15), as a result of studying this account; we should also expect our faith to grow, as did the disciples’ faith, as we grow in our understanding of who Jesus is and what He came to do.