‘I am the resurrection and the life…’ (John 11:25)
Within this portion of John’s Gospel where we find our next ‘I am…’ saying, we also find the shortest verse in the Bible, ‘Jesus wept. ‘ (John 11:35) and over the years there has been much debate as to precisely why Jesus wept. Was He sorrowful and weeping because of the death of Lazarus? Was it simply an emotional outpouring of compassion for Mary and Martha? Was He weeping because whilst Martha seemed to grasp something of Jesus claim to be the Resurrection and the Life, she didn’t seem to fully believe that Jesus could raise Lazarus to new life now? Or was He weeping in anger over the pain death itself brings?
We will possibly never know for certain precisely why Jesus wept – it may possibly have been a combination of all these things. However, the one thing we are certain of here is that in weeping in this way we see that Jesus experiences all the emotions that we experience and shares them with us. In His fully human being Jesus identifies with us – He is one of us. Even now in all that we are facing in these uncertain days our Lord is here sharing our experiences and standing alongside us. And it is important we understand all of this when we consider verse 25 in this passage.
‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die…’ This short sentence, along with our next ‘I am…’ statement, which we will look at tomorrow, effectively encapsulates the entire Gospel message and why Jesus came. If ever there was a message of hope within Scripture this is surely it – that through faith in Jesus we can spend an eternity in the presence of our Lord. In our world today, where we see and hear of despair and heartache on a daily basis, these words reassure us that through Jesus God has fulfilled His promise to us once and for all and reconciled Himself to us. No matter what may come our way, as long as we believe, we have hope – that sure and certain hope of knowing that we can be in the presence of the Lord for all eternity.
Lord Jesus, we thank You that You came and gave Your life for us and that through faith in You we can take our place in God’s eternal Kingdom. Help us to believe, we pray, and help us to hold on to our faith in there troubled days, knowing that whatever we face, You are there with us, sharing in all we are going through. And all this we ask in Jesus name.