John 11:25 (NCV)
Jesus
said…….”I am the resurrection and the life.
Those who believe in Me will have life even if they die”
The gospel of John contains seven great “I
am’s” of Jesus Christ
· I am the bread of
life John 6:35
· I am the light of
the world John 8:12
· I am the door of
the sheep John 10:7
· I am the good
shepherd John
10:11,14
· I am the
resurrection and the life John 11:25
· I am the way, the
truth, and the life John 14:6
· I am the true
vine John 15:1,5
Interestingly (but not coincidentally
because all Scripture is written based on divine inspiration of men by the Holy
Spirit), there are also seven “I am” statements in the books of Genesis (who
God is), Psalms (prophetic sufferings of Christ), and Revelation (eternity of
Christ).
In this verse and in John 14:6, Jesus
claims that He is “the life”. In this
verse He is replying to Martha, whose brother, Lazarus, had died. She had told Jesus that if He had arrived earlier,
Lazarus would not have died. This was an
expression both of great faith and great disappointment. Have you not prayed to Jesus this way,
believing that He could answer your prayer, yet dismayed that He did not? Have you ever buried the body of a loved one
and felt complete helplessness and sorrow in the face of death? Her faith also is demonstrated by her belief
that Lazarus would be resurrected on the last day (v. 24). That’s when Jesus made this extremely
important claim.
He is stating that He, and no one else or
nothing else, is the resurrection and the life.
Only He can confront and defeat death.
He raised Lazarus from the dead (v. 43-44). He Himself died on the cross and then was
resurrected from the dead on Easter Sunday.
He overcame and defeated death and He performed the miracle with Lazarus
(His last miracle before His death) to show the world that anyone who believes
in Him shall not die forever, but forever have eternal life.
The cornerstone of your faith in Jesus is
this verse. There is no Christian faith
if Jesus had not been resurrected. Your
faith would be a dead faith if He were dead today. Paul even stated this in I Corinthians 15:16-19. Yet, Paul states in verse 20 that Christ has
been raised from the dead (He is the resurrection) and He is the first fruits
of those who are asleep (He is alive—the life--and all believers will be alive
with Him). All people who are believers
in Christ shall be made alive at His Second Coming. Read all of I Corinthians 15 that makes such
wonderful promises about life after death.
Such promises give great comfort and hope to all of us who have lost
loved ones, who will experience the loss of loved ones and eventually will face
our own deaths. Remember these words!
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