I Am the Resurrection

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Boger Reformed Church in Cabarrus County on Sunday afternoon, the 6th of April, 2025, the fifth Sunday in Lent.  This was the second of three combined services of Boger Reformed, Paul's Chapel Reformed, and Pilgrim Reformed Churches.

Good afternoon family, my brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus.  Thank you all for coming out to this, our second joint Lenten service.  As some of you heard last week, Rev. Long, Rev. Brantley, and I decided to do these services around a common theme, basing our messages on the “I am” statements Jesus made during His ministry.  Rev. Brantley started us off with “I Am the Good Shepherd”, and he began by reminding us that “am” is the present tense of the verb “to be” – I am, you are, he/she/it is.  It’s not that Jesus was the Good Shepherd while He lived, it’s that He is the Good Shepherd, from before the world was formed to after it becomes new.  Then, now, and forever – Jesus is the Good Shepherd.

Once Rev. Long chose the powerful message contained within the words, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life”, I jumped at the chance to speak on the wonderful promise of assurance Jesus provided when He said, “I am the resurrection”.  Now, borrowing from Rev. Brantley’s comments, notice that Jesus did not use the verb form of the word.  He did not say, “I will be resurrected”, or “Someday you will be resurrected”.  He said, “I am the resurrection”.  But I’m getting a little ahead of myself.

I’m going to be using a lot of scripture this afternoon, because God’s word speaks so much better than I can.  To start, please listen to a remarkable event during the life and ministry of Jesus.  This was witnessed and recorded by the Apostle John in the 11th chapter of his Gospel account, in verses 1 through 45, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible this afternoon…

1 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. 3 Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”

4 When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. 7 Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”

8 The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?”

9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” 11 These things He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.”

12 Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.” 13 However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.

14 Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. 15 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.”

16 Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.”

17 So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away. 19 And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.

20 Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house. 21 Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.”

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

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

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

27 She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

28 And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, “The Teacher has come and is calling for you.” 29 As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him. 31 Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, “She is going to the tomb to weep there.”

32 Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”

33 Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. 34 And He said, “Where have you laid him?”

They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.”

35 Jesus wept. 36 Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”

37 And some of them said, “Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?”

38 Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”

Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.”

40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” 41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 42 And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” 43 Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” 44 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”

45 Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him.

--John 11:1-45 (NKJV)

The word of God for the children of God – thanks be to God.  Let us pray… Father God, thank You for sending Your Son Jesus to redeem us.  He is our Good Shepherd, He is our Resurrection.  Without Him, we would be doomed by our sin.  Father, we know we don’t always follow Your Son as we should.  We don’t always represent His name well.  Please help us be better servants.  Help us love as Jesus loves.  Help us fulfill the mission He left us.

Speak to us now, Father, directly to our hearts, that we might better understand the message You have for us this day, that we might better discern Your will for our lives.  In the blessed name of Jesus we pray.  Amen.

The Library of Congress has it on record that, "A young Benjamin Franklin wrote this doggerel verse in 1728 to serve as his epitaph. Franklin, who loved to write humorous and satirical verses as well as essays, made copies of this verse for friends at various times in his life. This version, not in Franklin's hand, was among the papers owned by Franklin's grandson, William Temple Franklin.

"'The Body of B. Franklin, Printer; like the Cover of an old Book, Its Contents torn out, And stript of its Lettering and Gilding, Lies here, Food for Worms. But the Work shall not be wholly lost; For it will, as he believ'd, appear once more, In a new & more perfect Edition, Corrected and amended By the Author.'"

Apparently old Ben Franklin did more than fly a kite in a thunder storm.  In his younger days, he was quite a prolific author of humorous, and often satirical, writings.  So it is fitting that he might speak of himself as a book and his physical body the cover, with God being the ultimate Editor, who will someday restore that book to an even greater glory.

This is our hope, that some sweet day, after our time on this earth has come to a close, we shall be restored into a new body, better than before.  And when I use the word “hope”, I use it in the biblical sense, not in a world sense of wishing for something that may or may not happen.  Our hope is an expectation of what will definitely happen, as assured by God’s promises.  We believers will be restored, better than ever, to a life that has no end.

Our scripture reading says a lot, doesn’t it.  The Apostle John tells us of Lazarus and his sisters, Martha and Mary.  We learn more about these three in John’s Gospel account, and the Apostle Luke tells us of another incident between Jesus and the sisters.  But I think we should note that the three were not strangers to Jesus.  He knew them.  In fact, John says that Jesus loved Lazarus and Martha and Mary.  Which makes it rather ironic that, when He heard Lazarus was sick, He decided to wait two more days before heading out to see His good friend.  Of course, He knew that Lazarus had already passed from his illness.  And we know the whole story, so we know Jesus delayed His visit so that He could show God’s glory in its fullness.  But no one else knew that at the point, so I bet they were all more than a little confused when He didn’t immediately go to His friend.

So Jesus and His disciples head out and arrive in Bethany, but not until Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.  Sister Martha met them on the way in and pretty much gave voice to her faith, saying that Jesus could have saved Lazarus if He’d come earlier, but also acknowledging that God would give Him anything He asked for.  And after a brief exchange regarding the timing of the resurrection, Jesus responded with that wonderful proclamation: “I am the resurrection and the life.  Whoever believes in me shall never die.”  And just a short time later, He proved the truth of His statement and put the glory of God on full display by raising Lazarus from the dead.

“I am the resurrection and the life.”  “I am.”  That’s what God said to Moses from the burning bush, when Moses asked God His name.  “I am who I am.”  The great I am.  With those first two words Jesus could proclaim His Godship.  But here He adds clarity to the moment by adding resurrection and life to the equation.  Jesus could raise Lazarus from the dead, resurrect him, because He is the resurrection.  He could give Lazarus life again because He is the life.  In the opening of his Gospel account, John describes the nature of Jesus by saying, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.”  Jesus is the resurrection.  Jesus is the life, the light of us all.

Now, there are two earlier recorded instances of Jesus raising someone from the dead in our bible’s New Testament.  The first was in the city of Nain, when the only son of a widow was being carried out of the city for burial.  Please listen to the more pertinent point of this event as reported by the Apostle Luke in chapter 7 of his Gospel account, verses 13 through 15…

13 When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 14 Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” 15 So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother.

--Luke 7:13-15 (NKJV)

We might wonder why Jesus had compassion for this one woman, when so many others had also lost loved ones.  In those days, a woman was pretty much dependent on her father and later her husband for her livelihood.  A widow would then depend on her son or sons for provision.  In this case, the woman had lost not only her husband, but also her only son.  We aren’t told about any other family she could call on for help, but her future was looking very bleak.  So Jesus raised the son back to life, giving the mother new life as well.

And then there is the second instance, which occurred in Capernaum, when the 12 year old daughter of a ruler of the synagogue became ill, and died before the Healer could get to her.  The Apostle Mark recorded the details in the 5th chapter of his Gospel account, and I’d like to share verses 22 through 24 and 41 and 42 with you, leaving out the part about the woman cured of her ailment of bleeding for 12 years, and where the group was told the daughter had died...

22 And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name. And when he saw Jesus, he fell at His feet 23 and begged Him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live.” 24 So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.

41 Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, “Talitha, cumi,” which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” 42 Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age. And they were overcome with great amazement.

--Mark 5:22-24, 41-42 (NKJV)

“I am the resurrection and the life.”  Jesus brought these three people back to life, and He healed hundreds, maybe thousands, during His short, three year ministry, giving them a new chance at life.  Now hang with me for just a bit, because I believe that a resurrection doesn’t have to just be bringing a physical body back to life.  I think that we have been spiritually resurrected by Jesus, we who believe in Him as the Christ, the Son of God.  When we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Master, He raised us from the death of sin, giving us new life in Him.  Yes, we will be resurrected at His return, and given a new body if we’ve already passed on.  But Jesus has already resurrected us… from sin… and given us life eternal, just as He promised.  Jesus is our resurrection and our life.  

We’ve got a bit more to do this afternoon, but when we get to our closing hymn, I’d like to ask my brother Pastors to join me down front as we sing.  If you haven’t yet and you want to accept Jesus as your Master and Savior, if you want to rededicate your life to Him, if you want to offer yourself as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, if you just want us to pray with you, then please come down and join us at the foot of our Lord’s cross.  Let Jesus renew your spirit and your life.  In the glorious name of the one true Son of God, Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, we are poor sinners, redeemed only by Your love and the sacrifice of Your only Son Jesus, who gave His life on the cross to resurrect us from our death in sin, whose blood washed us clean.  Please hear us now, Lord God, as we pause for just a moment and come to you in the silence, repenting of our sin, seeking Your forgiveness, praying straight from our hearts…

Lord Jesus, You are our Good Shepherd.  You are our resurrection.  You are our way, our truth, and our life.  You called us by name and we followed You.  You resurrected us from our death of sin and raised us to new life in You.  By following You, we know the way.  By listening to You, we know the truth.  Lord, please help us share this vital message with the unbelieving world, this Gospel of salvation, of resurrection and eternal life available only through You.  Strengthen us to carry out the mission You gave us.  This we pray in Your righteous name, Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.