JESUS: I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE
Princeton Christian Church JOHN 11:18-27 28 March 2021
John’s Gospel is filled with pictures of Jesus. All of them show us His greatness and His glory. In this 11th chapter of John we see probably the greatest miracle of Jesus.
In the events surrounding resurrection of Lazarus from the dead, we can see the power of the Lord Jesus Christ. This miracle provides ample evidence that Jesus is who he claims to be – the Son of God, the Savior of the world.
Today, we will look at these verses and get a glimpse of Jesus as the Resurrection and the Life.g
We will see how Jesus can make all the difference in our lives now and in our eternity later.
We will see why Jesus is worthy of your faith and what He can do in your life if you will trust in and obey Him.
Read John 11:18-27
We will see why we do not need to live in misery, a time of defeat, living in fear of death; how we can enjoy an abundant and full life.
In 1 Corinthians 15:19, Paul tells us “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” To avoid all of that – misery; defeat; fear we must have an encounter with Christ, who is the Resurrection and the Life.
1. The Problem that had Mary and Martha defeated.
Lazarus was dead; they were stricken with grief. Death had invaded their home; their loved one was snatched away from them.
Death does that. It disrupts our home and family; brings division, discouragement, defeat.
Death is a universal thing.
Romans 5:12- “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and this way death came
to all men, because all sinned.”
Hebrews 9:27 – “….. man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment”.
These verses speak of the reality of death. One day, whether we are ready or not, whether we like it or not, whether we believe it or not, we will all die.
Someone has calculated a schedule that compares the average lifetime with a single day, beginning at 7:00 am.
If your age is 15, the time is 10:25 am
25, 12:42 pm
35 3:00
45 5:16
55 7:34
65 9:55
70 11:00
Lesson here: It is always later than you think
Death is most often an unexpected event.
Mary and Martha probably expected that Lazarus would recover from his illness. Then everything would return to normal.
Even when death is expected it usually takes us by surprise.
2. Jesus claimed to have power over the grave. He said I Am the Resurrection and the Life. So, when we know Christ we know Life.
1 John 5:12 tells us – “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”
What right does Jesus have to make that claim? Here is what the Word says about that.
a. Jesus raised others from the dead – Jairus’ daughter; the widow of Nain’s son.
b. Jesus promised to raise His followers from the dead – those who have trusted Jesus as Lord and Savior can have the confidence that Jesus will one day resurrect their bodies from the grave. 1 Corinthians 15:20-23; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17
c. Jesus raised from the dead after his horrible death on the cross at Calvary. If the story ended there in the grave, it would be the ultimate tragedy. But, as He promised, three days after His death Jesus came out of the tomb, defeating death, hell, and the grave – Matthew 28:1-6
d. With this in mind, the saints of God can face death with confidence, knowing that one day, these bodies will live again.
e. Luke 16:19-31 – The Rich Man and Lazarus
f. It is as if Jesus lifted the veil that separates us from death and showed us what happens to the souls of men after death.
g. Those who are faithful go to be with the Lord and those who refused to come to Jesus can only look forward to an eternity in hell forever.
3. The Promise Jesus Gives Us
a. Jesus Cures Spiritual Death – Ephesians 2:1-4
Jesus has the power to take a life destroyed by sin and give it a brand new start. He gives spiritually dead people new life. He can take away the stains of sin, washing them white as snow (Isaiah 1:18).
b. Jesus Conquers Death for His Children
Those who place their faith in Christ will never die. We have passed from death into life, and we will live forever.
c. The Requirements
To receive the promise of Christ and to be rescued from spiritual death and the power of the grave we must believe on Jesus, trust Him for our salvation. We cannot trust in our works, our goodness, or our religion.
What is required of us to escape spiritual death is what Jesus has required of us. To hear Him (the Gospel); to respond to the Gospel by believing it as truth; by confessing that He is Lord; by repenting of our sin, and being obedient in being buried in baptism into Christ, raising from the spiritual death into a new life in Christ.
Conclusion:
There are those who believe, and those who do not.
There are those who have hope, and those who have no hope.
There are those who will die, and those who will live.
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