I AM: The Resurrection and the Life

Pastor C. Richard Stamey

I AM • Sermon • Submitted 6 months ago • Presented 6 months ago

John 11:1–44

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description of the resurrected life that Jesus has given us

Notes

Transcript

Intro.

Today we continue in our study of the “I AM” statements of Jesus in the book of John.

We have listened as Jesus has proclaimed:

I AM the Light of the World I AM the Bread of Life I AM the Door and, I AM the Good Shepherd

This morning we move on to the 5th installment, and I really want you to hear Jesus speaking this into your life:

I AM: The Resurrection and the Life

Death feels so… final. When someone dies we feel separation, pain, ... the end of relating to someone we care about.

Earth to Earth. Ashes to Ashes. Dust to Dust

Even when the person who dies is a Christian. And… you’re a Christian. And… you know that you will see them again.

It still. feels. like. the . end.

We KNOW that it’s not true for the believer.

But… it’s what we are experiencing.

I can’t see you. I can’t tell you how my day went. I can’t give you a hug, and feel your hug back.

They feel… gone.

That’s how Mary and Martha felt when Lazarus died.

Lazarus became sick. Desperately sick.

The sisters call for there dear friend Jesus to come and help.

I am certain they prayed to the Father for Jesus to make it in time.

I imagine they had scouts out watching for Jesus and his entourage to show up and save the day.

I suspect they felt very anxious unsure if Jesus would make it in time.

spoiler alert: He didn’t. Lazarus died.

Can you picture Mary and Martha processing this in their heads.

Why didn’t he come.

Why didn’t he answer our cry.

I thought he loved us.

I’ll bet you have experienced these questions yourself.

They still believed in Jesus. But their faith is being seriously challenged.

We experience it too.

They... Like us... Did what you do when the healing didn’t come. They planned a funeral.

The difference is... without a morgue to keep the body temperature low... without modern embalming fluids...

Funerals were held the same day or at latest, the next day.

Another difference between 1st century, Jewish funerals and ours is:

Many people came to mourn, often professional mourners were hired. for about a week people wailed and sobbed loudly.

Lazarus was placed in his tomb the day after his death. Mourning had gone-on for 3 days when Jesus arrived.

“Where had he been?” “Why didn’t he come?”

Jesus, as always, had a plan.

When the news came to Jesus that his dear friend was very ill, He turned to His disciples and assured them:

John 11:4 (ESV)

... “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

The disciples must have thought something along the lines of:

“Cool. Anyone up for ice cream?”

Jesus remains where He is for 2 more days, then shares with the disciples that they are going back to Judea.

The disciples are very concerned, because there have been attempts on Jesus’ life in Jerusalem.

Jesus in now ready to tell the disciples the severity of the situation.

...”Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but now I will go and wake him up.” John 11:11 NLT

The disciples don’t pick-up on Jesus’ meaning.

“He’s sleeping. Great, that means the fever’s broken, he’s on the mend.”

So Jesus spells it out:

… “Lazarus is dead.

And for your sakes, I’m glad I wasn’t there, for now you will really believe...” John 11:14-15 NLT

So… Now, the scene is set for Jesus to cross back over the Jordan and wind His way around the rocky hills of Judea toward the village of Bethany.

Bethany is a suburb of the capital city of Jerusalem. Just 2 miles outside the city gates

Jesus was still outside the village when Martha heard that He was coming near, and she went out to meet Him.

We get to be a fly on the wall to a part of their conversation

John 11:21–22 ESV

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 from God, God will give you.”

Martha is trying. She is stretching out her belief. Reaching past her grief to faith.

David Guzik said:

“There can be great power in ‘even now’ prayers.” -David Guzik

John 11:23–24 ESV

Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”

Then... Jesus drops a bombshell:

John 11:25 (ESV)

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,

Martha tries to follow along, but this is immense!

I AM - The “God-name” Yahweh “I am that I am”

The Resurrection - rising from the dead

-not just the power to resuscitate someone whose heart has stopped beating, but the power to reclaim from death a soul who has been lost to the living.

Jesus doesn’t “know the secret” of resurrection. He doesn’t just “hold the power” of resurrection.

He IS the Resurrection and ... The Life

The very first chapter of the book of John says:

John 1:1 ESV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

The Word being Jesus. Verse 4 says

John 1:4 ESV

In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

Yes, it is in the Savior’s hands to HAVE and to GIVE Life. But that gift stems from the fact that He IS Life.

“To have Jesus is to have resurrection and life.” -David Guzik

However apart from Jesus, there is neither resurrection nor life.

Martha is scrambling , trying to herd all of this into the corral of her understanding.

Parts of it are slipping between her fingers. It’s a lot to process.

And THIS… is just the tip of the iceberg.

Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life on THE Last Day

This was Martha’s first reaction.

John 11:23–24 ESV

Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”

Martha could go there, easily enough. She has trusted Jesus for salvation, and He has taught her that the dead in Christ shall rise.

But some people even have trouble with this idea.

There were some people at the church at Corinth who did not believe there was anything after this life.

The apostle Paul pointed out to them what a nonsensical idea that is.

1 Corinthians 15:13–14 ESV

But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.

Paul goes on to say... And… I’m paraphrasing here:

If this life is all there is, then what did we need Jesus for, and that would make us the sorriest bunch of losers, ever.

(Paul never had a problem telling it like it is.)

His Life gets transferred to us, and WE have eternal life.

Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life on YOUR Last Day

People have one thing in common.

We all have an appointment with death. There… are… a few exceptions. Enoch and Elijah in the Old Testament.

And, all who join Jesus in the air at the rapture.

But for everyone else...

Hebrews 9:27 (ESV)

...it is appointed for man to die once...

But for a believer in Jesus, this is emphatically different from the death of the unbeliever.

“While humanity in general dears death, the Christian only fears dying.” -David Guzik

The process might be most unpleasant. {Teresa’s mother, my mother}

It’s like this. Some of you have heard my story of riding on the Sky-coaster at an amusement park in NC. (Until this year,Six-Flags had the same ride here, that they called the Dragon’s Wing.)

Someone talked me into riding it with them. The gist of the ride is: from 2-5 victims ( I mean riders) are harnessed together, and then hoisted by a cable 150 ft. in the air.

Then, one of the riders pulls a release cord and... you drop… about 120 of those 150 ft.

Did I mention that I have a fear of falling?

The hoisting us up went is short, sharp movements.

Ka-chunk, Ka-chunk, Ka-chunk...

Every “Ka-chunk” I was certain the cable would break, and I would fall to my death.

It would hurt really, really bad, and then I would die.

However, once Aaron pulled the cord and we fell...

It was actually exhilarating. and … short. (seemed like about 2 seconds.

The… dying part... Might be scary.

But the actual death part… for the believer is just a door.

Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear. Oh, that wasn’t so bad.

“Death cannot kill a believer, it can only usher him into a freer form of life.” -Charles Spurgeon

Now... If you are not a believer in Jesus, that’s... a horse of a different color.

To the unbeliever, death is a grim reaper bringing an end to all things.

But... to the believe... it is the shedding of a cumbersome weight restraining us from our Father’s embrace.

Shaking off those shackles... Stepping through that door...

We find… resurrection… we find… life.

Jesus is The Resurrection and The Life on Every Day In-Between

We sing a song around here.

“It’s your breath in our lungs, so we pour out our praise, to you only.”

Every day you live, it is the life of Christ that is breathing through you.

1 Corinthians 6:19 (ESV)

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,

His life courses through you, so do you really think it so difficult a thing for him to heal your body.

THIS is where Jesus wanted to take Martha and Mary.

So Jesus has Mary and Martha lead Him to the tomb.

We all know the iconic statement of Jesus compassion for the grief of his friends:

John 11:35 ESV

Jesus wept.

But 2 verses before, and 3 verses after this verse another word is used.

Some translations put this word as

“moved”

“troubled”

“angry”

The actual word used refers to the snort of a wild animal.

Jesus is… Put-out… that the people don’t understand that they have access to His resurrection and life.

It’s no different from the resurrection of the dead at his return.

The “Last Day” resurrection power is the same as “today” resurrection power.

So... He shows them.

John 11:39–44 ESV

Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

Do you believe that Jesus will translate you to His Heavenly Kingdom when you die?

Do you believe that Jesus will resurrect your human body when he returns?

Then it should be no problem to believe for Him to intervene in your life today.

The resurrection and life of the “last day” is the same resurrection and life of today

Conclusion

John 10:10 ESV

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

John 11:25 ESV

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,