Jesus is the Resurrection & Life

Death Does Not Discriminate

An Indiana cemetery has a tombstone over a hundred years old that bears this epitaph:

Pause, Stranger, when you pass me by,

As you are now, so once was I.

As I am now, so you will be,

So prepare for death and follow me.

The epitaph on the tombstone reveals tow truths we know deep in our hearts. Death is coming to everyone, and it does not discriminate between young or old, black or white, rich or poor, abled or disabled. The bible teaches all of us to number our days (Psalm 90:12), for life is like a vapor, here today and gone to tomorrow.

That was the case for Lazarus. He was a young man who was loved by his two sisters, Mary and Martha, and Jesus (John 11:5). One day he woke up not feeling well. The bible does not say what made him sick, but he became deathly ill. He was so sick that Mary and Martha were scared for Him and sent for Jesus to come quickly so that he can heal him (John 11:3).

John 11:6 ESV

So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

Jesus waited two more days. By that time Lazarus had died (John 11:11-12). This is a mystery to us. Jesus loved Lazarus very much (John 11:3,5). Why did he wait for him to die? How is that loving? We know what Mary and Martha did not know. Jesus had a great plan for Lazarus, one that would bring glory to God and Jesus, and even Lazarus. This plan was not what anyone thought it would be, but it was exactly what God wanted done, and it was glorious.

Jesus’s plan was to allow Lazarus to suffer death so that he could raise him to life to prove to the world that Jesus is the resurrection and the life. By raising Lazarus form the dead Jesus shows you today, in the depths of your grief, that

Jesus is the eternal life to all who will believe in Him.

Jesus arrives to Lazarus's home town and is greeted by Martha. Jesus is upset that her brother has died. She tells him

John 11:21 ESV

Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

She knew Jesus had the power to heal her brother, but her understanding of Jesus was not what it should be. Jesus wanted to show her that he is greater than a Jewish healer. Jesus is able to raise the dead. More than just a miracle worker, Jesus is the resurrection and the life for all who will believe Him.

S may of us have a misunderstanding of Jesus. So of us think he was a good man, or a profitable teacher. Some think he was a wise sage or religious radical. Too many of us think he is irrelevant to our lives until death crashes in us, like Lazarus’s death did for Mary and Martha, or even Heath’s death crashed on you. Could it be that this morning, Jesus wanting to reveal to you that he is more than a good teacher or prophet , more than a past historical figure, but is in fact the risen Lord who gives life and Resurrection to all who will believe upon Him? Thes same question he poses to Martha, He poses to you.

Do you believe this? (John 11:26)

There are two things Jesus asks Martha, and you to believe.

Do you believe Jesus is the Resurrection (John 11:25)?

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,

What does Jesus mean what he says, “I am the resurrection?” Jesus is telling Martha that those who believe in Him will come to life. There are two ways to look at this. First, there is eternal life. God is the giver of eternal life, that is life after death. jesus says, “even though he die, yet he shall live.”

God created us to live with Him. he made Adam and Eve and placed them in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve sinned against God, and the curse of sin is death.

Romans 6:23 ESV

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

All of us who are from Adam are sinners and all of us die. That is why death does not discriminate. Sin breaks everything and destroys everything. God als made us with souls, to live for eternity after we die. Sin, however, separates us from God. Paul says the wages of isn is death. The death he is referring to is physical death and spiritual death. Everyone who dies separated from God receives his wrath in hell. This is the spiritual death.

When Jesus says “He is the resurrection” he is saying to you that you do not need to die the spiritual death. You do not need to experienced God’s wrath. You can have eternal life with in Him. Paul says Jesus is the free gift of God. Jesus’s eternal life is given to all and to any who will put their faith in him. His death on the cross has the power to remove God’s wrath for your son off of you and on Jesus. By believing in i an confessing with your mouth that he is Lord, Jesus will give you his righteousness and make you right with God. You will have everlasting life, even when you die.

Secondly, resurrection speaks to being raised from the dead. That is what he did for Lazarus. he commanded Lazarus to come out of the grave and live once again. Lazarus’ walked out of the tomb. The problem with Lazarus’s resurrection was that he was still in his old body, which means he would die once again. Jesus, when he gives you eternal life, will also raise your body from the grave. He will give you a new glorified body that will be fit for heaven.

Do you believe Jesus is the Life (John 11:25)?

Jesus is the only source of eternal life. There is no life outside of Christ. You cannot find eternal life in a bottle or a drug or a life style. You cannot find eternal life in your politics or any other religion. You can only find eternal life in Christ.

There could have been a hundred people at Lazarus’s grave when Jesus arrived. Only Jesus had the power to speak to dead Lazarus’s and call him from the tomb. Only when Jesus commanded him to rise and come out, did Lazarus walk out of that grave.

D.A Carson once said,

“Ordinary, mortal life ebbs away; the life that Jesus gives never ends. It is in that sense that whoever lives and believes in Jesus will never die.” D.A. Carson

Heath passed away on Easter Sunday. We celebrate the resurrection of Jesus on Easter. We celebrate the reality that Christ has risen from the grave. He was resurrected. he now sits at the right hand of the Father, alive, giving life to all who will believe in him. This life will ebb away, but because Jesus is alive and is the source of life, all who believe he is the resurrection and the life, will have His resurrection and his eternal life. Do you believe this?

An unknown passerby had read those words on the gravestone and scratched this reply below them:

To follow you I’m not content,

Until I know which way you went.

That is great advice. Today do not follow just anyone into death. Follow Jesus into death knowing he is the only way to life.

Those who believe Jesus is the resurrection and the life will have eternal life now and the hope of the resurrection to come.