I Am the Resurrection and the Life

Introduction - God Uses the Darkness of Death to Shine the Light of Life

We live in a world surrounded by death and darkness. We have already made mention of the darkness that surrounds us when we looked at Jesus’ I AM statement about being the Light of the world. But that darkness stems from the fact that death has entered into this world.

We see the world’s recognition of the reality of death in this world from commercials to movies to books. Many of our commercials revolve around the idea of combating aging and death. We have fitness programs, medicines, and even cosmetics to help us feel like we can live longer and delay the inevitability of the death that surrounds us.

We are in essence crying out for something to save us! Like the people did that first Palm Sunday when Jesus entered into Jerusalem. However, now we are looking to other things to save us. We are crying out hosanna to all the wrong people and things because only Christ can give us the life we are longing for.

Our media and books also pick up on this idea that death surrounds us and the end is not far off. Many of the newer stories coming out are very bleak and dystopian in their outlooks. Stories like the Hunger Games, Matrix, and the Handmaid’s tale shows that the world and societies are simply growing worse and death is ruling and reigning. And then there’s the fascination with apocalyptic stories concerning the end of world, especially of the zombie nature, like world war z or the walking dead that shows death walking all around us. Even children’s movies, like Wall-E, are dealing with the reality that there will be an eventual end to civilization if something doesn’t change soon. We are constantly dealing with the reality of death and the end around us.

This death that we see and feel and deal with has been in this world since our human representatives, Adam and Eve, disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden by taking of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God told them that if and when they ate from that tree they would surely die. Part of that was the punishment through physical death. Every single person who has lived on this earth has died. The genealogies through Genesis show the repetitive nature of death. God was not lying when He said that we would surely die.

But there’s another death that we tend to look over in the Genesis account. Yes there is the physical death, but there is also the spiritual death. The spiritual death is the separation from God as a natural consequence of living in rebellion to God. This is the death, more than anything else, that we feel constantly in the world. As we turn further and further away, we experience more of that particular death, which is why even the nonbelieving world is feeling that things are getting worse rather than better. They are experiencing that death in a very real way although they cannot explain what is going on.

However, in spite of the darkness of death that surrounds us, we see and know that God uses that darkness to declare His glory in the midst of that same darkness. We have a situation in which Jesus had a friend who was on the brink of death. While He could have gone and kept him from dying, Jesus instead allows him to die and to remain dead for quite a while before going to address the situation.

Read John 11:1-4

John 11:1–4 ESV

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

Read John 11:17-27

John 11:17–27 ESV

Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 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.”

pray

In the first 16 verses of this account, we see Jesus purposefully not going down to heal His friend Lazarus. Why? Because as He says in verse 4, it is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it. God does not just snap the darkness away. He uses the darkness of death as a way to shine His light even more.

In fact that’s what John even writes about at the beginning of his gospel: John 1:1-5

John 1:1–5 ESV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

We see even here at the beginning that John is showing us that life is in Christ alone. And that life is also light. Death is equated with darkness and through the darkness of death, the life of Christ is shining all the brighter.

So we have this situation where Jesus allows Lazarus to die and to remain dead for four days. He waited this long because there was a belief among the Jews that the soul of a person would remain close to the body for three days, so revival would be possible for those first three days. After that, there would be no hope of life.

Through this dark situation, Jesus is going to show us that He does not just control life and death, but that Jesus Himself is the Resurrection and the Life.

How do we see the light of life contrasted with the darkness of death?

I. In Christ, we have Hope Instead of Fear (vv. 17-24)

When Jesus gets to Bethany, Lazarus has been dead for four days. Lazarus’ sisters are in a state of mourning now. However, out of the two, Martha comes out to greet Jesus. Mary is so overcome with grief and possibly anger, she stays inside the house.

Martha comes to Jesus with the statement of “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.” She has full faith and confidence that Jesus could have healed her brother. She just doesn’t understand why Jesus did not come when they sent for Him. Jesus is using the darkness that Martha and Mary is experiencing through Lazarus’ death to help them see the light of His glory and the light of life that much clearer.

1. There is Hope of Eternal Life for those in Christ

After Martha makes her statement that Jesus could have healed Lazarus if He was there, Jesus replies that Lazarus would rise again. Look at Martha’s response to this statement. We first want to see what Martha’s response tells us about her belief and the common belief among the Jewish people. She affirms and believes in life after death. This was a major point of disagreement between the conservative Pharisees and the liberal Sadducees. The Sadducees did not believe in a life after death. They believed when a person died, their soul would cease to exist. However, the majority of those who held to conservative Judaism believed in a life after death and believed this is what the Old Testament teachers and prophets taught as well. There was a hope throughout the OT that God’s people would get to see His face and to experience the joy that is found in His presence.

Psalm 11:7 ESV

For the Lord is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face.

Psalm 16:11 ESV

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

So this is the first thing we want to see when Jesus says that He is the Resurrection and the Life is that there will be a final resurrection at the end of time and an eternal life for all who place their faith in Him. There are eternal places such as heaven and hell and we will spend our eternity in one of those two places.

The hope for those who are in Christ is that they will experience the final resurrection of the body and will have eternal life with Christ in heaven.

But it goes beyond waiting til the final resurrection to experience this life. Jesus is also telling Martha that Lazarus is still alive. Even though he die, yet shall he still live. A believer has hope in death because a believer in Christ will never taste death. The moment our bodies close our eyes in death, we open our eyes in the presence of Christ. Only in Christ do we experience the sure hope of never experiencing death.

2. There is Fear of Death for Those Outside of Christ

If there is eternal life for all those who are found in Christ, then the opposite is also true, that there is death and eternal separation from Christ for those who are not in Christ. This is the second death that we mentioned earlier. Yes, we all will experience the physical death of our bodies if Christ doesn’t come first. But those who are outside of Christ will experience the second death, which is eternity in Hell forever apart from the love of God in Christ.

Everyone outside of Christ feels this fear, even if they do not believe in the existence of God or of Hell. The fear that we will die and cease to experience the joy of life frightens everyone. This is why we are fighting to extend life as long as possible.

This is why we have fitness plans, diets, essential oils, cosmetics, all to make us feel like we can prolong life and avoid the inevitability of death.

Whether we admit it or not, outside of Christ, we fear what eternity might hold for us, even an eternity of nonexistence.

the fear of those outside Christ stems from the fact that as bad as this world is, this is the best they will ever experience and have to hope for. While those in Christ know that whatever good they might be in this world, the world is the worst we will ever have to experience and that it only gets better from here.

The only way to gain the hope of life and escape the fear of death is to place our faith in the love and finished work of Christ upon the cross.

II. In Jesus We Have Joy Instead of Vanity

Jesus provides Joy in this life

Last, we want to see that Jesus does not just promise us the hope of life in eternity, or the comfort that comes that death cannot touch the believer, He also provides joy in this life when we see that the source of life comes from Him alone.

This is going beyond the view that we will one day have eternal life. It is the knowledge that our eternal life begins at the moment when we become a follower of Jesus.

Over the last couple weeks, as we looked at Jesus’ I am statements about being the Door and the Good Shepherd, we see that He came to bring life to the sheep, but not just any kind of life. He came to give us an abundant life.

John 10:10 ESV

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

All believers have life in Christ, but not all believers experience this abundant life because not all believers fully commit to Christ as Lord and Savior the way He invites us to.

When we truly trust in Christ and commit our all to Him He will provide a joy in life the world cannot steal away, no matter how dark things get.

This is how Paul could say in the middle of his prison experience to the Philippians, Philippians 1:21

Philippians 1:21 ESV

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Even though Paul was persecuted and oppressed, he had a joy in life that came from His full submission and obedience to Christ.

How frustrating would that be to the world seeking to bring him down. “Hey Paul, we are going to execute you for your faith.” “that’s alright, for me to die is gain.” Alright, we will let you live, we will just imprison you. “Ok, to me to live is Christ.” Because of the life found in Christ, nothing could bring Paul down. His abundant life was not dependent upon the circumstances of life, but simply because he lived daily in the presence of Christ and for the glory of Christ.

Apart from Christ there is only vanity

The pastor we had at the church we went to in Lubbock frequently said, “some people are just Christian enough to be miserable.”

What he meant by this was that some believers are Christian enough to trust Christ for salvation, but have not fully committed to Him as Lord in obedience to Him. And because they are not fully committed to Him they are missing out on the joy and abundance of life.

This was King Solomon’s experience. He knew and trusted in God and received wisdom from the LORD. However, instead of living in obedience to the Lord, he lived for what this world could offer. If there was anyone who should have had the best life according to the world’s standards it was him. He had more money and material wealth than anyone. He was one of the most powerful men on earth. He had over 700 wives and 300 slaves so he experience more pleasure than anyone. If anyone lived out the motto, “Just Do it” it was Solomon. And yet look what he said about his life:

Ecclesiastes 1:2 ESV

Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.

It was all meaningless. All the power, wealth, and pleasure did not add to his life like he thought it would. We like to say “YOLO” you only live once so live it up. But Solomon would say that’s a waste of time because there is no life in that. Rather, he would say, “YOLF” You only live forever, so you better make this life count.

As believers, we have not been given salvation to live as we choose, but to find life in our full and total submission to Christ. Only then will we find the kind of life that truly fulfills our deepest longings.

This was Solomon’s final conclusion in Ecclesiastes 12:13

Ecclesiastes 12:13 ESV

The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.

To fear God and to keep His commands is what the Bible means when it says to believe in Jesus. In fact, this is what Jesus means in 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,

There is no life when we live our lives apart from Christ. Joy and life are found only as we believe in and submit to Christ.

Conclusion

Christ doesn’t just give us life, Christ is life. Life cannot be found apart from Him. And He is able to give us this life because of His work upon the cross.

This is the start of Holy Week, where we remember and celebrate all Christ has done to purchase our salvation and to make available the life that is found in Him.

Christ, as God who became man, lived the perfect life and took upon Himself the death we deserved for our sin by dying upon the cross. And then as He is the resurrection and the life, He came back to life after three days to show He has conquered sin and death and that death has no hold on Him or on those who truly believe in Him.

Jesus has proven that He truly is the resurrection and the life through his own resurrection from the dead. And through His resurrection we can be assured of life in Him for those who believe in Christ alone.

Do you want to have this life? Do you want to experience the joy, comfort, and hope of the life that is found only in Christ? Jesus is inviting us to believe in Him and submit to Him as our Lord and Savior.