The Resurrection and the Life

A Lenten Reflection on Jesus' I Am Statements

Its leaves hung limp and forlorn, and an unhealthy brown tipped the edges of several small fronds. “Come on, Lazarus”, I said.

Gripping the near-dead plant, I scuttled from my windowless office to the cubicles outside the entryway. Without hesitation, I dropped my waning vine on a shelf in direct sunlight.

“You will rise again,” I whispered, remembering the exchange between a desperate sister and Jesus following Lazarus’ death. (John 11:24)

While a fraction of life existed in my Lazarus, Martha’s beloved brother once lay in a tomb. Yet Christ spoke words of strange comfort, “I am the resurrection and the life.”

What Did Jesus Mean When He Said He Was the Resurrection and the Life?

Let’s review the words from John 11:17-25 (NKJV) that depict Martha’s distress after having lost her brother and the Lord’s response when he arrives in Bethany.

Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house. Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.”

Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.

Martha understood that Jesus meant Lazarus would receive life again, but He meant something more. The word interpreted as resurrection comes from anastasis which means to stand up again, while life, or zóé, is defined as both physical and spiritual life—present and future. Both of these words coincide neatly with the I Am statement, the title the Lord gave Himself in the wilderness.

Why Does It Matter That Jesus Is the Resurrection and the Life?

Jesus:

• understands our sorrow. As Christ approached His dear friend’s tomb, He heard cries of grief. Saw familiar faces twisted by pain. And behind the stone? Lazarus lay bereft of breath.

  Then the I Am wept. (John 11:35 NKJV)

  The incomprehensible God put on flesh that He might experience grief. He understands our hurts.

• refuses to leave us in the dark. Christ sheds light where night once reigned. Protestations, indignation, and denunciation fade at His prayers and proclamation.

  “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” (John 11:40 NKJV)

• frees us from our graveclothes. When Lazarus came from the tomb, he still wore the evidence of a dead man walking. Grave clothes clung to his body. Christ’s response?“Loose him, and let him go.” (John 11:44 NKJV)

  In the same way, Jesus resurrects us spiritually when we receive Him as our Lord and Savior. He frees us from the dead weight of our old selves; the burdens of our former lives that smelled of death. Now resurrected, we walk in freedom—liberated in the light.

  Many well-known believers have shared their thoughts about Christ’s claim to be the resurrection and the life. I’ve listed a few below.

Five Quotes About the Resurrection and the Life

• Why would the apostles lie? Liars always lie for selfish reasons. If they lied, what was their motive, what did they get out of it? What they got out of it was misunderstanding, rejection, persecution, torture, and martyrdom. Hardly a list of perks! -Peter Kreeft

• The cross is the victory, the resurrection is the triumph… The resurrection is the public display of the victory, the triumph of the crucified one. -Leon Morris

• There is more evidence that Jesus rose from the dead than there is that Julius Caesar ever lived or that Alexander the Great died at the age of thirty-three. -Billy Graham

• Lord…You accepted patiently and humbly the rebuffs of human life, as well as the torture of the cross. Help us to accept the pains and conflicts that come to us each day as an opportunity to grow as people and become more like you-make us realize that it is only by frequent deaths of ourselves, and our self-centered desires that we can come to live more fully, only by dying with you that we can rise with you. -Mother Teresa

• Let the resurrection joy lift us from loneliness and weakness and despair to strength and beauty and happiness. -Floyd W. Tomkins

Like Lazarus emerging from the cave, my office plant revived–its leaves unfurling with joy beneath the sun’s golden rays. Our spirits respond to Jesus in the same way. His presence assures us of life eternal. I’m certain His resurrected friend treasured this truth. What about you?