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Happy Easter! He is Risen! He is Risen indeed!
God has an extraordinary way of timing things. I planned this study, not really thinking about how the lessons would fall. And it just so happens that Jesus’ I AM statement of “I AM the Resurrection and the Life” falls on Easter Sunday. Coincidence? Unlikely. But that’s all God’s doing, not my amazing planning skills.
Although this lesson doesn’t focus on Jesus’ resurrection story, it is a foreshadowing of Jesus’ power over life and death, and it gives us the promise of our own resurrection with him. It’s a story you may know well—the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.
John 11:17-44: 17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, 19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
28 After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked.
“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.
35 Jesus wept.
36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said.
“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”
40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”
43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
The focus for this lesson is verses 25 and 26:
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
1. What is the story surrounding Jesus’ I AM statement?
After Jesus’ discussion with the Pharisees and Jews about the Good Shepherd, Jesus went back across the Jordan to where John the Baptist had been baptizing in the early days. The people recognized that everything John said about Jesus was true, and many people placed their faith in him.
Sometime after this, Jesus found out that Lazarus, one of his friends, was sick. Lazarus had two sisters, Mary and Martha. When Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick, he said:
John 11:4: “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”
Jesus purposefully stayed where he was for two more days, during which time Lazarus died. He told his disciples:
John 11:11-14: 11 After he [Jesus] had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”
12 His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” 13 Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.
14 So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”
Jesus knew that Lazarus was sick, and he knew when Lazarus had died. He timed his arrival in Bethany (where Lazarus and his sisters lived) not so that he could heal Lazarus from his sickness but so that he could raise Lazarus from the dead, proving his power over life and death.
2. What would this statement have meant to the original audience?
Different groups of religious leaders in the Bible had different ideas about the resurrection, and thus the people had different beliefs about the resurrection. The Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the dead and an afterlife. However, the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the dead or the afterlife. Therefore, this was a subject of debate that most Jews of the time would recognize.
Acts 23:8: The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees believe all these things.
What does the term “resurrection” mean? It means that after you have died, you become alive again in the afterlife. In the afterlife, your body is typically transformed in some way, although you still retain your identity. All people will be resurrected, whether they are good or evil, and each person’s destiny in the afterlife depends on their actions here on earth.
John 5:28-29: [Jesus said,] 28 “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.”
By saying “I AM the resurrection and the life”, Jesus is clearly saying that the resurrection of the dead is a true principle. In this regard, the Pharisees were correct (even though they were wrong about so many other things). However, the focus of the Pharisees and Sadducees related to the resurrection was solely on the afterlife. Although Jesus is concerned about the afterlife, as we see in his frequent statements about eternal life, Jesus also is concerned about life on earth. By raising Lazarus from the dead, he is showing that he not only has power over the resurrection that results in people moving on to the afterlife, he also has power over life and death here on this earth.
Next Week
For lessons that are split into two parts, Part 2 is the most important part! Come back next week so you don’t miss it! We will answer the questions “What do we learn about Jesus from this statement?” and “How should we respond?”
Expedition Bible
Expedition Bible also has an episode about Lazarus’ tomb. Here’s the link if you want to watch it!
Sources:
https://study.com/academy/lesson/early-critics-of-christ-pharisees-and-sadducees.html
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