The Resurrection and the Life
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. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die." John 11:23-25Easter is supposed to be a celebration of the resurrection of our Lord. Based upon these brief verses mentioned above, resurrection is a recurring theme throughout Scriptures. These particular passages are important because of a simple point that is often missed in discussions surrounding the resurrection.
To a great extent, we are not much further than the Pharisees and Sadducees when it comes to the doctrine of the resurrection. First century Judaism was very much divided over the resurrection, and this division was so pronounced that even the Apostle Paul was able to exploit it to avoid judgment by Ananias, the High Priest:
But when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, "Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged." And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees; and the assembly was divided. For Sadducees say that there is no resurrection -- and no angel or spirit: but the Pharisees confess both. Acts 23:6-8The Pharisees "confessed" both angels and the resurrection. The Sadducees confessed neither. It was a clear doctrinal division of great proportion. Martha herself was schooled in the doctrine of the Pharisees, and made the great confession before Christ by declaring, "I know that he (Lazarus) will rise again in the resurrection at the last day" (John 11:24).
Confession is most important to the reformed community, and it's not uncommon to see the same sort of dissension when key doctrines are discussed, debated, or challenged. Added to this, we can be much like Martha in that we accept our circumstances with a doctrinal soundness and are quite adept at restating those confessions when the circumstances arise. But....
Our Lord stated something very unique to Martha that day. He repositioned her religious doctrine to be rooted in Himself: "I AM the resurrection and the life" (John 11:25). What was always viewed as the manifestation at the last day suddenly became present in the now. Jesus was the walking eternal -- He was God in history; and stuff happens when God's walking around!
Jesus is the doctrine of the resurrection, and it is that doctrine that is the driving energy behind the spiritual fruit that we should bear:
Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another -- to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God. Romans 7:4The implications of the doctrine of the resurrection are immediate because He Himself is that resurrection, and we are "married" or joined together with Him. It is well and good that we make a good confession concerning the eternal state, but we miss the greatness of God's present glory when we, like Martha, overlook the One Who stands before our tombs. He is the resurrection, and He is our life.
