Easter Sunrise

April 20, 2003

John 11:25-27

“Do You Believe This?”

"Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” " (John 11:25-27, ESV)

          This text might be familiar to many of you as a funeral text. It is used in that context because those who grieve find its words comforting. The knowledge that there is a resurrection gives hope of a reunion sometime in the future. Martha believed that there would be a resurrection, and that her brother Lazarus would rise on the Last Day. But how could she have known that Jesus had in mind raising Lazarus that very day? People often think of the resurrection as something yet to come, like Martha. But, Jesus’ question to Martha, and to us, is also revealing that what Martha expects is not locked to time. Instead, the Resurrection is connected directly to the person walking and talking with Martha, Jesus. “Do You Believe This?”

          The Identity of Jesus is no small matter in the Resurrection. If He were a mere man, the Resurrection would have an entirely different meaning.

                   So it is quite interesting that Jesus should identify Himself saying: “I am the resurrection and the life.”

The use of the phrase “I AM” (5th) by Jesus is not accidental. God used that same phrase in identifying Himself to Moses. Jesus knows exactly who He is, and what He is, and what He is to accomplish. When Jesus uses that phrase followed by a description, He is revealing something about Himself that the world needs to know. There are five such uses in the Gospel of John.

The first is in chapter 6, where Jesus says: “I am the bread of life.” He goes on to say that this is the bread from heaven, and that “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” This heavenly manna bestows life, in other words. 

Then in chapter 8 Jesus says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

In chapter 10 He says, “I am the gate for the sheep. … whoever enters through me will be saved.” God’s people are often referred to as sheep.

In that same chapter He identifies Himself as “The Good Shepherd” who “lays down his life for the sheep.”

Here in chapter 11 Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life.”

And in chapter 14 He says, “I am the way and the truth and the life.”

Finally, in chapter 15, Jesus says, “I am the vine.” These references all hark back to the identification of the Messiah given by the Old Testament Prophets.

But here, Jesus identifies The Resurrection and The Life with His own person. Surely there must be something to His identity that is absolutely vital to any hope for living. “Do You Believe This?” I pray that you all do, because if you do not, you simply do not possess the benefits of what He is: Bread; Light; Gate; Good Shepherd; Resurrection and Life; The Way and the Truth and the Life; or, the eternal nourishment of the Vine. If you find that you just cannot trust His words, then trust the words of those who confess His name; the prophets and the apostles, who were given the very words of God to pass on to you. 

          The Confession of Faith spoken by Martha is not just some kind of pious platitude. There is depth of insight and knowledge to her statement given in answer to Jesus’ question, “Do You Believe This?” That depth of insight and knowledge only comes from God.

          Perhaps you remember how Jesus once asked His disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” People identified Jesus with numerous people: John the Baptist come back to life; one of the Prophets; a King of Israel; a teacher; and so on. Those identifiers are not wrong, just not a complete understanding of who Jesus is. So Jesus asks the disciple the question in a little different way: “Who do you say I am?” Peter’s response is immediate. “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”

          So, who do you say Jesus is? I pray that the confession you give is the same as Martha’s and Peter’s, Spirit Guided! Flesh and blood does not know or comprehend this; only the Spirit of God knows and confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord and that God raised Him from the dead on the third day. Without the Spirit, we are left only with an opinion, not faith. And faith is what we all need.

          Jesus tells us The Results of Faith when He says: “Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.”  The saying is perhaps a little enigmatic and unclear. But if it is, it’s only because we are not yet complete in Christ.

The dead will rise to live (body). Martha was grieving the death of her brother, Lazarus. She believed in the Resurrection of the Dead, but more importantly, she believed in the person and work of Jesus. Can’t you just imagine what she might have felt or thought when Jesus talks about the dead living? Perhaps she recalled something He had said earlier: “I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself.” If there be any hope, it is because Jesus would fulfill the words He had spoken. This is what Easter is all about! It’s about the dead rising to life. It’s about Jesus being raised from the dead. It’s about us being raised to life with Him.

When Jesus is raised, his body is raised. The flesh is raised, glorified.  Because of that, we will also be raised to life, even while we live in the flesh. “Whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” Jesus says. This is not philosophical jargon for the religious. These are the words of eternal life. Through these words, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is revealed as the fulfillment of man’s salvation. That is why Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” From death to life? Yes, it’s the truth! Faith saves because of its object, the Lord Jesus Christ. “Do You Believe This?” Amen.