The Resurrection and the Life
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? John 11:25-26
When Jesus said to Martha, "I am the resurrection and the life," he is claiming the rights and prerogatives of deity. Jesus is truly man and he is truly God. Only God can say what Jesus said here. He is the resurrection and the life because he gives eternal life and will raise those who are dead back to life again.
And in this is our hope. Death is certain. What about life after death? Even if we believe that there is life after death, how can we be sure that our experience in the afterlife will be a good one? Or maybe there is no life after death? But Jesus Christ assures us that there is life after death, because he gives it. And it is good, because he gives it!
To whom does he give it, though? It belongs to those who believe in him. Our Lord not only says this but repeats it. But then at the end, he asks Martha if she believes it. In other words, we must make this personal. Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ? For that is what is meant here: to believe in Jesus is to believe in him as he is presented to us in the gospels: as the Son of God and Savior of the world, as the one who is the resurrection and the life, the good shepherd of the sheep, the way, the truth, and the life.
But how do we know that this is not just the ravings of another mad prophet? Well, we can know that he is who he said he was because he himself rose from the dead. Death had no power over him. He is risen, and is ascended up into heaven. He was dead, and is alive, and is alive forevermore (Rev. 1:18).
There is another way we can know this as well. For there is another kind of resurrection, a spiritual resurrection, that Jesus gives today to those who are dead in trespasses and in sins (cf. John 5:24; Eph. 2:1-10). He brings those who are in bondage to the devil, to their lusts, and to this world out of slavery and gives them new life and freedom. He changes lives today.
Do you believe this? To believe this is to believe the truth, truth which makes us free (John 8:32). For all who believe in him will receive through Christ life everlasting.