I Am The Resurrection and The Life

Questions:

Name the “I Am” statements we’ve covered so far…

John 11:17–27 (ESV)

17 Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18 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 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from 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. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”

So Jesus has been called over to the town of Bethany because he’s told that his friend Lazarus is sick. But by the time he gets there, Lazarus had already been in the tomb 4 days. I think this is an important detail. There can’t be Any speculation at all as to whether he was dead or Not. He was in the tomb for 4 full days already!

And Martha, not understanding What Jesus is capable of and what’s to come, says to Jesus, if you had been here, if you had just been here my brother would still be alive.

And then Jesus says the most wild thing. Your brother will rise agAin. And Martha thinks he’s talking about the after life. “well yeah I know that. I that he’ll rise again after this life on earth.

What Martha says is true, And Jesus validates that but takes it a step furtheR.

He says “I am the resurrection and the life” what does he mean by that?

Well he answers it,

“Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.

What we first have to understand is our state before Christ.

Ephesians 2:1–3 (ESV)

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

This is everyone’s reality. Doesn’t matter who you are. We’re told in Scripture that we were dead in our sin. Helpless and hopeless. No chance at redemption. No chance at getting right.

we’re called children of wrath. Our nature is wicked and evil.

You know, the world says to follow your heart. To follow your desires. Basically, follow your Nature. Please don’t fall into that trap. Your natural desires and wants in life are more than likely not good. And only leads to trouble. To pain. To confusion.

We’re all dead without Christ.

Think about this. Why would we need to be “resurrected” if we are already alIve? Not talking about physically, but spiritually.

We need to be resurrected.

Jesus proclaiming that in him you are resurrected. In him you receive life. Means that prior to Jesus, we’re dead. WE have no life.

It’s only through Jesus that we receive life.

So how do we get this life? Well Jesus says it here in this passage

John 11:25 (ESV)

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,

If you believe in Him, you Might die a physical death, but you won’t ever have a spiritual one.

you are now alive in Christ by placing your faith in Jesus.

2. Resurrection comes through faith in Jesus.

If you’ve already placed your faith in Jesus and you’re sitting here today saying “I’m a followner of Christ” then your life is secure in Him. You don’t need to be re-resurrected. You’ve been brought to life and into life with Jesus.

But for those that haven’t done this. You can today. It’s not by doing better. It doesn’t look like figuring out all of life’s problems first. We never do…

It’s simply done by placing your faith in Jesus.

Romans 10:9 (ESV)

because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

That confession. Saying it with your words is not what saves you. Confessing it is the outward expression of the inward faith that you have in Jesus as Lord of your life. It looks like believing in your heart that God raised him from the dead.

It’s not just intellectual or logical. It Doesn’t look like just agreeing that Jesus is real. But it’s a deep trust in Him as the Christ (which means “the annointed one, sent to redeem the world”) it’s a trust in Him as God, not just a man. It’s trusting in Him as Lord over your life specifically.

We should be in agreement with what Martha says to Jesus in response to him.

He proclaims that in Him is life and asks Martha, do you believe this?

And she says

John 11:27 (ESV)

She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”

And I hope today that we can all say this. Yes Lord I believe in you! I believe that you are the Christ. That you’re my savior. My Redeemer. My Rock.

This story about Lazarus does have a good ending. It seems like Jesus has gotten their too late but remembeer what he said to Martha, “he will rise again.”

so we fast-forward to verse 38

John 11:38–44 (ESV)

38 Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” 44 The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

Jesus not only healed the blind, the paralyzed, the sick, multiplied food, turned water into wine. But he also raised a man from the dead. He’s capable of the impossible.

And, it doesn’t stop there. He himself rises from the dead. The difference between the story of Lazarus and the story of Jesus is that Lazarus died again. The good news in that is he is promised eternal life in Jesus.

But Jesus. He rose from the grave and never went back to it. He’s alive today.

Jesus was was brutally beaten to the point where he was more than likely unrecognizable and then put on a cross to die. And after being put in the grave for 3 days. And then he rose again….

Matthew 28:1–10 (ESV)

Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” 8 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

He is alive today.

When Jesus says “I am the resurrection and the life” he’s not just talking about this miracle. He’s making a claim to be God. And he’s making a claim that He is the only one to follow. The only one that offers life.

It’s the same thing we’ve been talking about! He is the door! There may be other doors you think might be nice to walk through but none of them offer life. He is the Good Shepherd! There may be other shepherds to follow in this life but they’ll eventually lead you to death.

3. Life is only found in Christ.

Tonight might seem like such a simply message.

Yeah we’ve heard this before. Jesus came down to die on a cross for our sins and rose again defeating death and sin offering an opportunity for new life.

if you know that and believe in that praise the Lord! Now stop sitting on that truth, go share it with someone!

And if you haven’t surrendered to that truth and you know you need to, don’t wait! God is calling you today. Maybe you’ve been waiting for a sign. Here it is. Jesus is saying loud and clear That life is in Him and only in Him…

Questions:

Highs/Lows

Jesus Moment

What are all the “I Am” Statements we’ve covered before today and what do they mean?

What does Jesus mean by “I am the resurrection and the life?”

What does “the Christ” mean? What are we saying when we believe in Jesus as Christ?

Who is Jesus to you? How would you describe Him to someone?

Pray for God to reveal Himself to you throughout the rest of this week. And pray for those who don’t know Jesus.