Jesus: The Resurrection

Hey everyone.

My son, Caleb, and I just got back from a HOPE Service Brigade in Nicaragua.  It was quite an adventure.  It would be impossible to explain briefly everything that we experienced, but I will tell you that we got to serve some people in need alongside some great people who became dear friends immediately.  We also experienced three earthquakes in four days (magnitudes 6.1, 6.6 and 5.1).  Any way, it was quite a party.

So I want to get back to Jesus and his "I am" statements. So far we have looked at the statements "I am the bread of Life," "I am the light of the world," "I am the gate for the sheep" and "I am the good shepherd." This time looking at his statement in John 11:25, Jesus says to Martha, "I am the Resurrection and the Life."  Here is the context.  Jesus has received the message of Lazarus' illness, but arrives four days after Lazarus has died.  He is greeted by Martha, sister of the deceased, who says, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."

After Jesus replies, "Your brother will rise again," Martha talks of him rising again at the resurrection on the last day.  This is where Jesus tells her that He is the Resurrection and that those who believe in him will live, even if they die, and that if they believe in Jesus they will never die.  I'm sure that you know the rest of the story.  Lazarus has been dead for four days, yet Jesus calls him forth from the grave and he comes alive, an amazing miracle. 

Today, we are not focusing so much on this amazing miracle, as we are on just his statement, "I am the Resurrection."  What does he mean when he says that?  How is He the Resurrection?  There are different ideas that we could discuss here.  In his ministry, he had power over death.  He raised Lazarus and two others from the dead.  He himself had power over death, when he rose from the dead.  Both things are truly amazing.  However, what I want us to focus on is my resurrection. 

As I have studied the book of John, I have been continually amazed by the words of Jesus.  He often said things that made little sense to his listeners, because he was talking about something spiritual and they were listening with physical, earthly ears.  So I started thinking about this statement as referring to a spiritual resurrection rather than a physical one and it was then that I realized that in my own baptism I too had experienced a resurrection.  That I had been dead spiritually, but now I am alive.  (See Romans 6, Ephesians 2)  Romans 6:5 says, "we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his."  So as important as the physical resurrection of Lazarus was to Mary, Martha and Lazarus, in my own life, my spiritual resurrection is the greater miracle, because not only does Jesus have power over physical death, he has power over spiritual death as well.  This is great news for us all.  Lazarus' resurrection added a few more years to his physical life and comforted the people close him, but his spiritual resurrection adds eternity to his life.  The physical is important, but the spiritual always trumps it.

I hope Jesus, the Resurrection has worked a similar miracle in your life.
Happy Easter.
Tom