John 11:23-27 "Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. (24) Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. (25) Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: (26) And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? (27) She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world."
This is part of the conversation with Martha. She had just said, "If you
had been here, my brother would not have died." Then she added, "But
I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it
thee." It is very apparent that Martha knew Jesus has the power to
raise people from the dead. In this last request, it seems she is hoping Jesus
will raise Lazarus.
When Jesus announced Lazarus would rise again, Martha's thoughts jumped into
the future concerning the final resurrection of the dead. "Thy brother
shall rise again." To which Martha replied, "Yes, I know he shall
rise again in the resurrection at the last day." By this simple
statement, we can know that even as Martha was busy about the business of
taking care of the house, she also listened to some of the things Jesus had
taught. She knew there will be a final resurrection of the dead. She knew Jesus
loved Lazarus; therefore, he would be in that final resurrection. She had based
her hope on the action that will take place when all the dead in Christ shall
be raised from their graves.
Jesus took this opportunity to teach the great truth concerning the
resurrection. His answer to Martha, "I am the resurrection and the
life." He did not say that He would merely be there on that day when the
dead are raised. He is the resurrecting power. He is eternal life. Those who
have Christ in their hearts, by God's grace, have the resurrection within them.
You and I are already in possession of that great power. Christ in us is
indeed the hope of glory. John stated this fact very distinctly in his first
epistle: "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of
God hath not life." (1 John 5:12) In this passage, John is stating
the same thing as Jesus stated to Martha.
What did Jesus mean when He stated, "whosoever liveth and believeth in me
shall never die"? We know there are funerals everyday. So, what did
Jesus mean when He said we shall never die? That which we call death is
really a passageway for the saint of God into the glory of heaven. "For we
know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a
building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." (2
Corinthians 5:1) The fleshly body is a temporary tent in which we abide
until that time God calls us to our heavenly home. For the child of God,
life does not cease to exist; rather, we are transported into the presence of
the Lord. On that last day, of which Martha spoke, the bodies will rise out of
the graves. But they will not come out of the graves in the same manner. Our
bodies will be changed into a glorious body that God has prepared for us. At
that moment, our spirits which have been in the presence of the Lord, will be
joined in that glorious body. We will forever be with the Lord. To this great
truth, Jesus asked, "Believest thou this?"
I'm so thankful God has given to us this great knowledge. I'm so thankful to
know that one day, these aches and pains, diseases, and all that goes with it,
will be swallowed up of life. We will live in absolute perfection with the very
One Who died, was buried, and raised again for us. He is our resurrection and
our life.