We continue our study of the Gospel of John. Jesus had been asked to come to a place where a dear friend of his lay ill, and dying. But the Lord did not go right away for a very important purpose. Picking up at verse 17 of chapter 11, the Scripture says:
“On His arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet Him, but Mary stayed at home. “Lord,” Martha said, to Jesus,”If You had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know even now, God will give You whatever You ask.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “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. Do you believe this?” “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that You are the Messiah, the Son of God who is to come into the world.” John 11: 17-27
This scene with Martha, and the words spoken by Jesus, is the truth of who He is. He IS LIFE! Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, John had penned this fact in the beginning of His Letter. He said, “In Him was Life, and that Life was the Light of all mankind.” John 1:4 . John witnessed it firsthand. He saw Jesus give life as he walked with him. Here, the Lord is stating to Martha that not only is He Life, but that He is the Resurrection as well.
Death from the flesh that we live in is part of this journey on earth. We are all given a number of days to be here, and only the Lord knows what that number is. He wants us to live each one as if it were the last. No loose ends to the best of our ability. The Good News is this, when we believe in Christ Jesus, we will only leave this flesh; our soul and our spirit which is who we really are, lives on. So let there be NO FEAR. He is the Light we shall see when we leave this body; He will escort us to paradise. As He told the criminal on the cross beside Him who asked Him to remember him when He came into His kingdom,” Jesus said to him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with Me in paradise.” Luke 23:43
This day you shall be in paradise when you leave this body of flesh. Then, at the determined time, on Resurrection Day, Jesus will raise up our new bodies for us to reunite with.
The Word says, “And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man – Christ Jesus. 1 Corinthians 15:49
Jesus Christ is the Life. He is the Resurrection. He is the Messiah. He is the Son of God. By believing in Him, we shall never die but have true life in Him forever.