The Resurrection and the Life

Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve dreamed about what it would be like to have super powers. I remember trying to learn how to fly and pretending I had super speed or super strength. Even today, there are still instances where I get the passing thought about if only I had this superpower or that superpower. However, as you grow up, you begin to realize that these superpowers likely aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.

I was reading a blog post a few weeks back and it tackled this very issue. It was definitely one of those click-bait links on Facebook. The title was “15 Superpowers That Would Suck in Real Life.” It goes through the typical list and explains the downsides of each superpower.

Super strength, for example, doesn’t necessarily super durability. You may be able to lift a thousand pounds, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that your body will be able to handle the stress. You may be able to punch through a brick wall, but you’ll likely break every bone in your hand in the process.

Likewise, invisibility would be cool for stealth and espionage. However, you then run into the problem of whether or not you could make your clothes invisible as well. In addition, looking at the science behind how our eyes use light to see, if you were completely invisible and all light passed through you, that means it would pass through your eyes as well making you completely blind.

The list goes on and on. Super speed, the ability to shrink, and even teleportation have severe drawbacks that greatly outweigh the benefits. The sad truth is that those crazy dreams that you had as a child, or maybe even as an adult, never seem to turn out quite the same as you’d hoped. The disappointment that we feel is the same disappointment felt by Martha when her brother Lazarus died. Although, her disappointment may technically be greater. I mean her brother did die.

As we continue in our study of the I Am statements of Jesus, we come to a well-loved passage in the church. But before we get to that, let’s set the stage. When we left Jesus he was having a discussion with a group of Jews. Using the analogy of the relationship between sheep and a shepherd, he explained to them that he would lay down his life for them.

From there Jesus went to the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem. The Jews confront him and demand that he tell them if he’s the Messiah. Again, Jesus explains to them his relationship with the Father, and they prepare to stone him. Jesus escapes and travels back across the Jordan River to the place where John had previously been baptizing.

From here we pick up with the story of Lazarus starting in John 11. Lazarus had been a friend of Jesus. As the scriptures tell us, it was Lazarus’ sister, Mary, that had poured perfume on Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair.

As Lazarus lay sick, his sisters sent word to Jesus. Upon receiving the news, Jesus declares, “This sickness will not end in death” (John 11:4), yet he decides to stay where he is for two more days before making the journey. As he prepares to leave for Bethany his disciples object saying to him, “But Rabbi, a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet to are going back there?” (John 11:8).

Despite their objections, Jesus persists. He declares to them, having not received any additional messengers, that Lazarus was dead, yet he still intends to go to Bethany. At this, ever the optimist, Thomas declares, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” He’s like Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh.

When they finally arrive, Jesus is told that Lazarus has already been dead for four days. Certainly he already knew this. He had told his disciples the same thing before leaving. From the place where Jesus was to the city of Bethany was about one day’s travel. Even with Jesus choosing to delay two days and assuming that the messengers rushed to Jesus as quickly as possible, Lazarus having been dead for four days means that it’s highly likely that he died shortly after the messengers left to find Jesus. Certainly, by the time they found Jesus and gave him the message, Lazarus had already died.

It’s at this point that the story gets interesting. If you’ve heard the story before, you know what’s about to happen. If not, I’ll give the customary spoiler warning. If you don’t want to know how the story ends, you best stop reading now.

Jesus knows all along that he’s going to raise Lazarus from the dead. This was why he delayed. This is why when his disciples press him about going to Bethany he tells them, “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe.” (John 11:14-15). Even while Martha is mourning the loss of her brother, Jesus tells her, “Your brother will rise again.” (John 11:23). However, before raising Lazarus from the dead, during his conversation with Martha, Jesus reveals to her a great truth, the I Am statement that we’ll be looking at (John 11:25-26).

We know later in the story, not long after this statement, Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. I don’t know about you, but this sounds like one of the greatest superpowers of all time. This is the kind of thing that dreams are made of. Can you imagine being unable to die? That’s what Jesus says, even if you die, you live and if you live you’ll never die. Although, he doesn’t say anything about eternal youth, so you could end up looking like the Face of Boe (It’s a Doctor Who reference. Look it up.).  

So I guess just like other super powers, there could be some drawbacks to immortality. However, we often make the assumption that since Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead, that this is the life that he’s talking about. We assume that since Lazarus died yet lived that this is the life to which he’s referring, but Jesus’ statement didn’t end with “he will live even though he dies.” He went on to say that he who lives will never die.

Certainly after Jesus raised Lazarus from the grave, he lived. Yet, we’re certain that Lazarus eventually died. Did he stop believing in Jesus? What about Jesus’ disciples. Certainly they believed in him. They went to their graves professing his resurrection, yet they still died. How are we to understand Jesus’ words about life, and how does that all tie in to his declaration that he is the resurrection and the life?

Remember that we discussed how there are two different types of life in the Greek language. There’s the bios which is the physical life and the zōē which is the spiritual life. Every time Jesus refers to life in these verses, he’s using some derivative of the Greek word zōē. He’s not speaking of raising Lazarus back to physical life. He’s talking about eternal life, zōē.

But that’s not the end of it. I’m sure this type of eternal life hasn’t come as a big revelation for most people. When we think of eternal life, Christians typically think of life after death, a continuing spiritual life. But how does that fit in with Jesus’ revelation that he is the resurrection and the life? He doesn’t say that he gives resurrection and life but that he is resurrection and life.

Like I said, Christians typically think of eternal life as being able to keep on living even after we die. While this is partially true, it’s not entirely accurate. Jesus gives a completely different definition of eternal life in John 17:3.

Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

Notice that Jesus says nothing about continuing to exist forever. That’s not the point of eternal life. The point of eternal life is to know God and Jesus Christ whom he sent. According to Jesus, that is eternal life.

If we look at this in light of Jesus’ statements to Martha, it all begins to make sense. “He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” Eternal life is all about that relationship with him. There is no life outside of that. Outside of that relationship there is only death.

It reminds me of the movie The Sixth Sense. In the course of the movie the little boy, Cole, explains that he can see dead people. He explains that they are “Walking around like regular people. They don’t see each other. They only see what they want to see. They don’t know they’re dead.” The same is true today.

If the definition of eternal life is knowing God, if outside of that relationship there is nothing but death, then we have a lot of dead people walking around not even knowing they’re dead. Jesus wasn’t talking about bring Lazarus back to physical life. Without knowing God, such life is only death.

Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life. This is what ties it all together. He didn’t come so that we could continue to exist for eternity. That’s not life. A relationship with God is eternal life. Because of our sin and disobedience, mankind gave that up. Christ is the means by which we can have that relationship once again.

Jesus is the resurrection and the life because through his coming to earth as a man and taking the punishment for our sins upon himself, he restored the relationship that was broken. He is the resurrection and the life because he is that relationship between us and God. Through his life and sacrifice we can truly know God and therefore have eternal life.