I am the Resurrection and the Life John 11:25
Introduction
We weren’t able to organise the series of three sermons based on our new banners to run consecutively – the third one will be next week – so I decided to stick with the “I am” sayings but this week no visual aid. These sayings give us a wonderful insight into the nature of God. As has already been pointed out, in using the phrase “I am” Jesus was harking back to the incident of the burning bush where Moses asks God to identify himself. (Exodus 3:14). In using these sayings Jesus was amplifying what he meant when he said “anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” John14:9. What Jesus says of himself in the “I am” sayings he says of the godhead. In this case that resurrection and life are part of the very nature of God.
Resurrection
What do we understand by this term? Looking at the context for this saying in John 11 we are dealing with one of the most dramatic stories in the Bible. Lazarus has been dead for four days. When Jesus arrives Martha greets him with a mixture of reproach and faith “if you had been here my brother would not have died, but I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask” v.21 to which Jesus replies “Your brother will rise again”. This Martha takes to be “at the last day” but Jesus points to the present reality. “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die”
Jesus goes on to illustrate this by calling Lazarus out of the tomb. I wonder how many of you like me have prayed for this to happen. “Lord, you did this for Lazarus, please do it again” as we like Mary, Martha and Jesus have wept at the graveside of a loved one. I suspect that the reason why by and large this prayer is not answered is because it is both selfish and ignorant. Interestingly there is no recorded response from Lazarus having been called out of the tomb. No doubt Mary and Martha were delighted to have their brother back but how thrilled was he at the prospect of having to die again? I say ignorant as well because we are by and large ignorant of the wonders of life beyond this one. If we truly understood the joys of heaven and believed our loved-one was experiencing them then it would indeed be cruel to call them back here.
Life
All life has its origin in the godhead. However else we may interpret the opening chapters of Genesis it is clear that from the beginning life flows from the great “I am”. As the wayside pulpit puts it “No God, no life, know God, know life”. If we want to “Get a life” and truly live then we can only do so through Jesus Christ who said “I have come that they may have life and have it to the full” John 10:10.
It is interesting that it is in the context of death, not only that of Lazarus but also as Jesus faced his own death, that Jesus talks about life. It is often in the face of our own mortality or following the death of a loved one that we become more determined to live life to the full.
Application
Yesterday marked the 40th anniversary of legislation passed in this country which dramatically liberalised abortion. Since that time, over 6 million abortions have been performed in England and Wales, 200,000 last year. In the vast majority of cases it would seem that a judgement is made concerning the life of the mother and existing family versus that of the unborn child. These judgements are never easy and have lasting consequences. There is increasing evidence that there are significant physical, mental and social consequences following abortion to which I would add the spiritual one of guilt. (see www.cmf.org.uk and www.timeforchange.org.uk ). How do we bring resurrection and life into this situation? As you know a number of us are involved in a local initiative doing precisely that – Choices crisis pregnancy centre. If you would like to know more please speak to Janet or myself.
Finally Jesus said to Martha “Do you believe?”. In the face of death all around us do we truly believe in resurrection and life? Are we enjoying abundant life now in anticipation of life beyond the grave? How are we ministering such life to others?