[This year, I am blessed to welcome a group of friends to gather around my table once a month to study “WHO JESUS IS” (NavPress, 2022), an in-depth look at the “I AM” statements of the LORD JESUS recorded in John’s gospel.

I pray this new series of monthly reflections from our discussions will be a blessing and encouragement that reaches far beyond our kitchen table.]

𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟺 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘨 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 (𝘯𝘰. 𝟻): ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
𝘞𝘏𝘖 𝘑𝘌𝘚𝘜𝘚 𝘐𝘚 – 𝘐 𝘈𝘔 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦

As we have done each month through this study, it is good to consider what we know about resurrection and life that might help us to fully appreciate what JESUS was saying about Himself when He declared “I AM the Resurrection and the Life”.  

The dictionary highlights several interesting thoughts:

RESURRECTION: dead brought back to life, resurgence, revival, restoration, awakening, rebirth

LIFE: organic existence, capacity for growth, functional activity, continual change, viable creation

Additional thoughts arise from a few references to resurrection and life in the Bible:  

RESURRECTION: Abraham believed GOD would raise Isaac from the dead.  A widow’s son, the Shunamite’s son, and a 12-year old girl, among others, were all raised by GOD from death to life. Job declared that His Redeemer lives and he will see Him with his own eyes (even after his mortal body is overcome by death).  Romans 6 tells us we are united with Christ in resurrection.  Baptism is a picture of death, then being raised to new life with Christ.

LIFE: a string of familiar phrases… breath of life at creation; sanctity of life; life in the blood; life in danger (retribution, attack, etc); life required (David’s infant son, Achan); life restored (Isaac, Hezekiah, Lazarus); life given (JESUS); life for Christ; eternal/everlasting life; Psalm 16 – path of life; John 6 – Words of life 

Other reflections to consider:

The breath of life was given by GOD, then marred by sin, separating us from the source of life, dooming us to death.  JESUS’ body and blood were given to redeem our lives (my life is not my own; it was bought with a price).  As believers we are buried with Christ and raised with Him – to new life for Him, through Him, re-created by the power of JESUS’ endless life.  

We now enjoy a restored relationship with GOD marked by peace, joy, and vitality.  Our eternal life is no longer in jeopardy; new birth assures us of no real death, only the end of an earthly life as it may bring glory to GOD.  With JESUS, there is always hope for renewal, restoration, and growth.

From the Navigators writing team: 

“Resurrection is the foundation of our faith.  But resurrection is more than a past event of a future hope; it is a Person.  Our hope is grounded in the promise of JESUS’ words in John 11:25-26: “I am the resurrection and the life.  The one who believes in Me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in Me will never die.”

“The Greek word anastasis (resurrection) means “a rising from the dead.”  The word is used in the New Testament to speak of both the resurrection of Christ and the resurrection of all humanity at the end of this present age.  The word zóé (life) can refer to both literal and figurative life.  The power over death, physical life, and the fullness of existence all emerge from who JESUS is.”

. . .

How did these thoughts and images frame our study of JESUS as the Resurrection and the Life in John 11?  Our little discussion group shared several touching insights about this passage:

LIVING in RELATIONSHIP

Martha and Mary were loved by JESUS.  He spent time with them.  He lingered over meals in their home, grateful for their generous hospitality.  They knew He cared about them and their brother, enough to send word that Lazarus was sick, referring to their brother as “the one You love”.  JESUS was moved by their message, compelled to travel two days on foot to be with them.  He handled their grief with care and compassion, even entering into their emotions.  

If it was ours to write, would we craft this story of a GOD who weeps?  The LORD JESUS saw the whole picture but still wept with these grieving sisters.  As Isaiah tells us, He is acquainted with grief.  How comforting to us!  He recognizes and acknowledges our grief.  He holds deep sorrow as He witnesses the palpable devastation of sin and death over His beloved creatures. He willingly sits in the weight of sorrow and its unique impact on each of us.

PERFECT TIMING of LIFE RESTORED

Not one bit of this circumstance was a surprise to the LORD JESUS.  He does not operate in the dark (v 9-10).  He is always in the light.  He was always aware of every detail.  His response to the deep needs of the ones He loved was right on cue.  The four days He asked them to wait while He delayed His arrival were exact and purposeful.  In our waiting, the LORD is glorified (made known).  He positions us to recognize what will then be seen and known as a true miracle – an indisputably only-GOD moment!

John Piper calls this “providential peril”, “where the LORD brings His people to the very brink of disaster, all the while bringing about a GOD-exalting victory!”

As we wrestle to reconcile the LORD’s thoughts with our own, as we cry out for understanding, for His perspective and strength, our relationship with the LORD deepens and we come to know His heart better.  Our faith inevitably grows, enabling us to endure the test of waiting, with confidence that His end to the story will be good (even when it is excruciatingly difficult, it can still be good).  The LORD alone knows how best to nurture/cultivate our faith.  

In this account about Lazarus, JESUS’ delay until the 4^th day removed previously held beliefs (that a person’s soul could hover near the body for 3 days, possibly re-entering at will), paving the way for greater belief in the only trustworthy recipient of our trust – Christ alone.

BREATH of LIFE, AUTHORITY over DEATH

Unlike any other, our Savior has the power to take life up again.  He has the power to resurrect us as well, to speak a new word of creation, to breathe new life into us!  Because of His sacrifice for sin, death is overcome.  It is conquered.  Because of Him we can also experience victory over death, new life beyond the grave, life that transforms us.  How interesting that in GOD’s story, new life starts with death.

NEW LIFE and FREEDOM as we BELIEVE 

Those who witnessed the death and resurrection of Lazarus moved from disbelief to confident faith.  The truth of resurrection and life through JESUS replaced their previously held beliefs in an unseen human spirit with the fresh understanding that eternal souls receive life and a word of recreation/redemption from GOD alone, the only One who possesses and can be trusted to demonstrate such power.  Lazarus was then “unbound”, set free, to resume “normal” life.  

This new chapter of earthly life for Lazarus and his sisters was both ordinary and extraordinary, still unfolding in an earthly sense but with glimpses of eternal glory.  Not long after that unforgettable day, their family gathered in their home again, with JESUS as their guest.  Martha served, Mary worshiped, and Lazarus reclined at the table with JESUS (though both were now receiving death threats from the Jewish leaders!). 

Just as before, they enjoyed time together around their table.  Little would shake them or cause them a moment of fear.  With a brand-new level of confidence in the sovereign power of the Father, they enjoyed roles designed specifically for each of them to fill – rather ordinary ones in some respects, but remarkably extraordinary all the same!

Our study asked, “How does our belief in the work of JESUS reveal the glory of GOD?”  To glorify GOD is to know Him and make Him known.  Our confident belief honors Him and draws others to know Him too.  Our awe-filled worship highlights and magnifies the reality of who He is.

EMBODIMENT of LIFE

Our study also asked, “How does this entire passage reveal the glory of GOD in the face of JESUS CHRIST?”  This account helps us to see JESUS (and the Father) in a new light, in His truest light.  His truest character, power, and presence were displayed in public and private moments.  Glimpses of His glory transcended all preconceived notions or understanding. His very person draws our vision and confident hope well beyond the grave.  

Our Savior is not just a picture or example of resurrection and life, He embodies these things.  JESUS says, “I AM the Resurrection and the Life!” He breathes life back into us, a life that is now protected for eternity, supplying us with the expectant hope of being eternally reunited with the Son and the Father.  He who has the Son has life! (John 5:12)

FURTHER STUDY about RESURRECTION

We took a few minutes at the end of our discussion to dig a little deeper into the future resurrection we anticipate as believers in the LORD JESUS (from 1 Corinthians 15:12-58).  It was good to see these truths re-iterated:

• our hope in Christ is not only for this life
• His resurrection is the first of a great harvest of all who have died
• in Christ we are given new life
• we will be raised to life when JESUS comes back
• the last enemy to be destroyed is death
• we can face death with confidence
• we will have glorified bodies for heaven (earthly bodies are buried in brokenness, but raised in glory; buried in weakness, raised in strength; buried as natural, raised as spiritual bodies)
• even those who will not die prior to Christ’s return will be transformed (earthly bodies cannot inherit what will last forever)
• victory over sin and death is through JESUS CHRIST alone
• we can be strong, immovable, confident in the power of His endless life.

Our GOD wants us to know Him.  He wants us to see His glory.  He gives us glimpses when He knows we are ready to receive them.  He cultivates a deepening relationship with us, granting us life and breath, each new day’s opportunity to grow in knowledge of His heart and His character. 

As we draw near to GOD, He increases our capacity to know more about Himself, the ability to recognize and treasure the reality of Who He is.

. . .

So far in our study of WHO JESUS IS, we have learned:

• JESUS is the Bread of Life, the One who satisfies our souls’ deepest hunger.  
• JESUS is the Light of the World, the One who illuminates our darkness.
• JESUS is the Gate for the sheep, the One who calls us by name to welcome us into His fold.
• JESUS is our Good Shepherd, the One who lays down His life to care for us, His sheep.

This month we learned that JESUS is the Resurrection and the Life, the One who redeemed our lives from sin’s curse of death.  He triumphed over death because He is the embodiment and source of life!

As our study stated so well, “the fullness of our existence, [now and for eternity] emerges from Who JESUS is.”  Because He lives, we will live also!  With JESUS, there is always hope for renewal, restoration, and growth. 

As He nurtures our faith, we catch glimpses of His glory, the undeniable breath of His endless life into our days (often ordinary, but wondrously extraordinary at the same time).  His personal care for us helps us to know Him, to treasure Him, and to walk in the confidence of His Presence without fear!