John 11:25 - I Am the Resurrection and the Life (Resurrection Sunday)

Introduction

[CONTEXT] Over the last several weeks, we’ve been studying the I AM statements of Jesus in the Gospel of John.

YHWH or I AM is the personal name of God, and in John 8, Jesus applied that name to Himself, saying, “Before Abraham was, I AM.”

Throughout John’s gospel, Jesus joined His name ‘I AM’ with biblical symbols to make God known to us. He said…

“I AM the Bread of Life,” (Jn. 6:35).

“I AM the Light of the world,” (Jn. 8:12).

“I AM the Door of the sheep,” (Jn. 10:7).

“I AM the Good Shepherd,” (Jn. 10:11).

“I AM the True Vine,” (Jn. 15:1).

“I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” (Jn. 14:6).

And, our focus this morning, Jesus’ words in John 11:25, “I AM the Resurrection and the Life.”

In John 1:18, John wrote…

John 1:18 NASB95

18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.

Jesus is the only begotten God in the bosom of the Father, and through this final I AM statement in our series, I hope that you come to know God through faith in the risen Jesus.

I’m going to pray, and then I want you to notice three THEMES in this chapter.

Pray with me.

[PRAYER]

[TS] As I said, there are three THEMES I want you to hold on to from John 11…

Major Ideas

THEME #1: The love of Jesus for Lazarus (John 11:1-6)

John 11:1–6 NASB95

1 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 It was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. 3 So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” 4 But when Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was.

[EXP] Jesus seems to have had a special relationship with the sisters, Mary and Martha, and their brother, Lazarus.

In the Bible, we are first introduced to this family in Luke 10 when Martha welcomes Jesus into the family home in Bethany, a village near Jerusalem.

Martha was busy serving everyone, while Mary sat at the feet of Jesus listening to His words.

Perturbed, Martha said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me!” (Lk. 10:40).

But Jesus said that Mary had chosen the better portion, to sit at His feet and listen to the words of eternal life (Lk. 10:41-42).

Their brother, Lazarus, isn’t mentioned at all in that account of Mary and Martha, but by the time we get to the scene in John 11, Lazarus is known to Jesus as “he whom you love,” and the love Jesus had for Lazarus is repeatedly mentioned in this chapter…

John 11:3 NASB95

3 So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”

John 11:5 NASB95

5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

John 11:36 NASB95

36 So the Jews were saying, “See how He loved him!”

But can I show you something about the love of Jesus?

Look at vv. 5-6…

John 11:5–6 NASB95

5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was.

Now, this should make us ask why? Why would Jesus stay two days longer in the place where He was if He loved Lazarus and heard that he was so sick that he was about to die?

In fact, by the time Jesus waited two days and then traveled for a couple days to get to Lazarus, Lazarus was four days dead.

Again, why would Jesus do that to Lazarus and to his sisters, Mary and Martha, if He loved Lazarus and loved this family?

He did this because of what He said in v. 4, “This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.”

Now, Lazarus’ sickness journey certainly visited death, but it didn’t end in death.

Jesus allowed Lazarus to die and then Jesus raised him back to life, so that the death and resurrection of Lazarus would lead to something greater than Lazarus—the glory of God in the glorification of God’s Son, Jesus Christ.

Sickness and death are apart of this world because of our sin against God, but Jesus used the sickness of Lazarus and the death and resurrection of Lazarus to glorify Himself because He loved Lazarus.

[ILLUS] “Why is this happening to me?” Have you ever asked that question? Joni Eareckson Tada had every reason to ask that question. She crunched her neck on a dive when she was 17 and never regained the use of her arms and legs. She asked God for healing, but the miracle never came. Why did this happen to her?

After her injury, Joni was counseled by a Christian friend named, Steve, who reassured her with Lamentations 3:32–33…

Lamentations 3:32–33 NIV84

32 Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. 33 For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men.

Joni said, “In the span of a verse, the Bible asserts that God ‘brings grief,’ yet ‘he does not willingly bring . . . grief.’ With that, Steve was able to reassure me… that although God allowed my accident to happen, he didn’t get a kick out of it — it gave him no pleasure in permitting such awful suffering.”

Then Steve continued, “Joni… God permitted what he hated — your spinal cord injury — to accomplish what he loves, and that is ‘Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).

In the same way, Jesus allowed what He hated, the death of Lazarus to accomplish what He loved, Christ in Lazarus and Christ in everyone who would believe on account of the resurrection of Lazarus!

[APP] I want you to know this morning that Jesus loves you too, and because He loves you, He is using what He hates—the trials, the suffering, the heartache past, present, and future—to accomplish in you what He loves: Christ in you, the hope of glory!

He did this for Lazarus.

He’s doing this for Joni.

He’s doing it for you too, if you believe that He is the resurrection and life.

[TS]…

THEME #2: The sovereignty of Jesus over life and death (vv. 7-16)

John 11:7–16 NASB95

7 Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” 8 The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone You, and are You going there again?” 9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 “But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” 11 This He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep.” 12 The disciples then said to Him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” 13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of literal sleep. 14 So Jesus then said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him.” 16 Therefore Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.”

[EXP] Death is unavoidable, but the disciples didn’t think they should knowingly head for death by passing back through territory were the Jews had recently sought to kill Jesus.

They didn’t seem to grasp that Jesus is sovereign over life and death.

He told them that while it was day, He would do the work of His Father, and until that work was done, night wouldn’t come.

In other words, so long as they were on mission with Jesus, there was no need to fear death because He is sovereign over life and death.

But after this, Jesus said that Lazarus had fallen asleep, which the disciples understood literally until Jesus explained that Lazarus was literally dead.

The last they heard was that Lazarus was really sick, but now that he was dead, I wonder if the disciples were wondering what was now so pressing about getting to Lazarus that they had to pass through the territory in which the Jews wanted to kill Jesus?

They still didn’t understand that Jesus is sovereign over life and death.

Jesus said to them, “Lazarus is dead, and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him,” (Jn. 11:14-15).

And I love Thomas’ reply, “Well, let us go also, so that we may die with Him,” (Jn. 11:16).

But Thomas, like the rest, will come to know that Jesus is sovereign over life and death.

Look at John 11:17…

John 11:17–44 NASB95

17 So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off; 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to console them concerning their brother. 20 Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him, but Mary stayed at the house. 21 Martha then said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 “Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world.” 28 When she had said this, she went away and called Mary her sister, saying secretly, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” 29 And when she heard it, she got up quickly and was coming to Him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha met Him. 31 Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and consoling her, when they saw that Mary got up quickly and went out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 32 Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled, 34 and said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus wept. 36 So the Jews were saying, “See how He loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind man, have kept this man also from dying?” 38 So Jesus, again being deeply moved within, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39 Jesus said, “Remove the stone.” Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” 41 So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised His eyes, and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 42 “I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me.” 43 When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.” 44 The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

Lazarus was four days dead, and many doubted the sovereignty of Jesus over life and death.

When Martha met Jesus as He made His way to the village in which Lazarus lived, she at first seemed to understand Jesus’ sovereignty, “Lord, if you had been, my brother would not have died. Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You,” (Jn. 11:21-22).

But when Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again,” she responds with a doubtful, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day,” (Jn. 11:24).

But Jesus wanted Martha and everyone else to understand that His power over life and death was not limited to the last.

Jesus is sovereign over life and death everyday.

Jesus said to her in John 11:25-26…

John 11:25–26 NASB95

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”

When Mary came to Jesus, all those mourning with her in the house came too.

There was almost certainly a great commotion of wailing and weeping, and when Mary fell at the feet of Jesus, she seemed to doubt the power of Jesus over life and death.

She said to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died,” (Jn. 11:32).

And Jesus responded by weeping along with her and by asking, “Where have you laid him?”

Then when Jesus approached the tomb of Lazarus with tears in His eyes, some of the Jews asked, “Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind man, have kept this man also from dying?” (Jn. 11:37)

They were doubting the power of Jesus over life and death too.

And when Jesus finally arrived and told them to move the stone that covered the mouth of the cave which held the body of Lazarus, Martha still doubted the power of Jesus, “Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days,” (Jn. 11:39).

What did it matter that Lazarus had been dead four days when Jesus has sovereign power over life and death?

Jesus prayed to the Father, and then commanded, “Lazarus, come forth,” (Jn. 11:43).

Then look at v. 44 again…

John 11:44 NASB95

44 The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

Lazarus was dead and decomposing, but Jesus sovereignly called him from death to life, and Lazarus had no choice but to obey the call.

Out he came, grave clothes and all, but many who doubted then understood that Jesus has power over life and death.

[ILLUS] When Jesus was about to be crucified, Pilate asked him, “Do you not know that I have the power to release or to crucify you?” In other words, Pilate believe that he held the power of life and death in his hands…

…but three days after Jesus died on the cross, Jesus was raised from the dead, proving to the world that He is the resurrection and the life; the power of life and death rests with Him alone.

He raised Lazarus from the dead.

He raised others from the dead before Lazarus.

And He raised Himself from the dead.

[APP] Has Jesus raised you from the dead?

Death is the product of sin, and because we are all sinners, we all die.

Their is physical death in which the hearts stops beating and the brain functions cease, but their is a deeper death—a death that follows us into eternity, forever separating us from the love of God.

But Jesus is sovereign over spiritual death in the same way that He is sovereign over physical death.

If He calls you from spiritual death to spiritual life, you will come forth…

…you will turn from your sin,

…and you will believe in Him.

R. C. Sproul once wrote, “A dead man cannot cooperate with his resurrection. Lazarus did not cooperate in his resurrection. Regeneration is a sovereign act of God…”

[TS] One final THEME this morning…

THEME #3: The aim of Jesus: the glory of God (John 11:45)

John 11:45 NASB95

45 Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him.

[EXP] Why did the resurrection of Lazarus take place? So that God would be glorified in the glorification of His Son, Jesus Christ.

John 11:4 NASB95

4 But when Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.”

When Lazarus was raised from the dead, God was glorified as many believed in His Son, Jesus, as the Christ, the Messiah, the anointed Savior of God’s people.

This is why when Lazarus died, Jesus said to His disciples…

John 11:15 NASB95

15 and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him.”

This is why when Jesus met Martha on the way to the village…

John 11:25–26 NASB95

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”

This is why when Martha objected to removal of the stone at the tomb of Lazarus…

John 11:40 NASB95

40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”

This is why when Jesus prayed before resurrecting Lazarus, He said…

John 11:42 NASB95

42 “I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me.”

And again, this is why John 11:45 says…

John 11:45 NASB95

45 Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him.

[APP] God is glorified as we believe on Jesus for salvation.

Do you believe that Jesus is the resurrection and the life?

[TS]…

Conclusion

The question Jesus has for you this morning is: Do you believe?

To believe in Jesus is to trust in Jesus, to have faith in Jesus, to count Him as faithful, trustworthy, and dependable in saving us from sin and death.

The very first sin ever committed came from distrusting God.

Genesis 3:4–5 NASB95

4 The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! 5 “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Satan told Eve that she couldn’t trust God, couldn’t believe Him; he said that God isn’t faithful, and…

Genesis 3:6 NASB95

6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.

This is how sin and death entered the world, by Adam and Eve distrusting God.

And we all, having been born of Adam and Eve, prove that we also distrust God by following in their sin.

God says do this, and we don’t because we don’t trust Him.

God says don’t do this, and we do because we don’t think He is trustworthy.

We believe the same satanic lie that Adam and Eve first believed, and we follow the way of Satan into sin and death.

So what can we do? How can we escape the eternal consequences of our sin? How can we be reconciled to the one true, living God and receive the eternal life He offers?

We believe on Jesus for salvation! Jesus said in John 6:40…

John 6:40 NASB95

40 “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”

We believe that He paid our price on the cross! We believe that He rose from the dead on the third day! We believe that His righteousness is now counted as our righteousness!

He never sinned, never distrusted God, never considered God unfaithful, unreliable, untrustworthy; He always perfectly obeyed His Father in heaven…

…and because He did, He was able to die as the perfect sacrifice for our sins.

2 Corinthians 5:21 NLT

21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

God loves you; He calls you from death to life through faith in Jesus Christ and He is glorified when you depend on His Son alone for salvation.

Do you believe this?

If you don’t believe this, then you will perish in your sins and suffer the wrath of God.

John 3:36 NASB95

36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

But if you do, then you are saved by the grace of God from the wrath of God and your are being sanctified by the Holy Spirit of God living inside of you right now!

Jesus lives to pray for you, and you have a home in heaven that He is preparing for you!

Yes, while you are in this world believer, you will have trouble, but through the His perfect life, sacrificial death, and victorious resurrection, the battle has been won.

He is risen!

He is risen indeed!

[PRAYER]