JESUS ACCORDING TO JESUS: THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE
Jesus was close friends with two sisters, Mary and Martha, and their brother, Lazarus. One day, the sisters sent word to Jesus that Lazarus was terribly ill. However, by the time Jesus arrived, Lazarus had already died.
Read John 11:17-27 and John 11:38-44
Jesus clearly demonstrates that he has power over death. He brings a dead man back to life. But as usual, Jesus is pointing to something that is beyond simply the physical. For those who believe in him, he takes the spiritually dead and breathes new life into them.
Many times, Jesus is presented as someone who can help you after you die. He simply helps you get to heaven and not to hell. Martha too believed that Lazarus would be risen in the last days. Jesus responds by saying that resurrection and life isn’t simply something that happens to people in the future, but that he gives life now. He proves it by raising Lazarus.
It’s easy for some people to believe that Jesus will eventually help them after they die, but he couldn’t possibly help me now. In this way, like Martha we only put half-faith in Jesus. But what if Jesus has the ability to give you life right now? What if he has the ability to transform your broken heart into a vibrant one? When you’re crushed by sin, he lifts it. When you define yourself by your past, he becomes your new identity. When you’ve been hurt too many times to even try anymore, he breathes new life into you. He hasn’t abandoned us to fight death on our own. He conquers it for us today.
“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” (Jn. 11:25).
Ask yourself these questions and write down your responses:
- What area of your life would you describe as “dead” and in need of life?
- What would it look like for Jesus to revive this?
- What step is God calling you to take so that he can infuse life into this area?
If you’d like to learn more about Jesus’ teaching about being the Light of the World, listen to this sermon from Pastor A.C.:
