Do You Believe That Jesus Is the Resurrection and the Life?
If you surveyed a hundred people in our community and asked what their greatest fear is, “The majority of them will say death.” They are not sure what happens or how. But as believers in Christ, we have hope because of Jesus. On Easter I took us to John 11, where Jesus stands with a grieving Martha and says something only God could say.
Easter’s Statement
Lazarus was loved by Christ, and yet he got sick and died. “Those who are loved by Christ go through difficulties and even death.” Martha told Jesus that if he had been there her brother would not have died, and I believe those were words of faith. But Jesus had more for her to learn. He said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.”
Our expectations of Jesus are often wrong. We want him on our timetable, and we assume our plan is best. “I don’t know about you, but in my plan, there’s no pain and suffering.” But “in God’s plan, there is pain and suffering and there is loss,” and there is hope in the gospel too. I reminded the church that “there is no life, no life, and no resurrection apart from Jesus.”
I told two stories. Larry King, before he died, arranged to have his body frozen in hope that science would one day cure what killed him. D. L. Moody told his audience that one day they would read he had died, and “I will never be more alive than that day.” As I put it, “there is no hope for anyone who doesn’t know Jesus, but there is hope for those who know Christ.”
Quoting Erwin Lutzer, “We do not need a savior who can just help us. We need a savior who can resurrect us.” And this life is not only down the road: “Folks, you will have eternal life, but you have life now.”
Easter’s Decision
Then Jesus looks at Martha and asks, do you believe this? The word means more than agreeing with facts. It means putting your whole weight on someone, like the chair you are sitting in right now. “Are you putting your full weight in Christ this morning?” Martha answered, “Yes, Lord. I believe that you are the Christ, the son of God who is coming into the world.”
Easter’s Reminder
Whoever eats the bread and drinks the cup proclaims the Lord’s death until he comes. We are not saved by works or legalism. We are saved through a person. Romans 10 says if you confess Jesus as Lord and believe God raised him, you will be saved, and it does not say hopefully or fifty-fifty. As I said at the table, “This is not Community Baptist Church’s table. This is the Lord’s table,” open to anyone for whom he is the resurrection and the life.
Discussion Questions
- Martha believed Jesus could have kept her brother from dying, yet she still had more to learn about him. Where have you limited Jesus to your timetable or your plan?
- Larry King hoped to be frozen while D. L. Moody said he would never be more alive. What are you leaning on for hope about death?
- Jesus asked Martha, do you believe this? What would it look like this week to put your full weight on Christ instead of part of it?
If Jesus is your life, come to his table and rejoice, because he lives and so will we. If you do not know him, call on the Lord to save you from your sins today.
