"I Am the Resurrection and the Life"
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April 23, 2017 |
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 Senior Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee
"Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?'"(John 11:25-26).
Easter is the feast celebrating of the resurrection of Jesus the Son of God who came to the earth and was crucified. In this edition, let's look into the account of Lazarus who was dead came back to life so that we might have greater assurance in faith and hope for resurrection.
1. Jesus Revived Lazarus Who Was Buried in the Tomb
Lazarus was a brother of Mary and Martha. He loved Jesus very much and followed Him. One day Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick. It was a critical moment in time. However, Jesus went to him four days after he died and was buried.
Mary and Martha were in sorrow and said, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died." They thought if Lazarus had been alive, he would have been healed by the power of Jesus. But since he was already dead, they thought his life was over.
When Jesus saw Mary and the Jews weeping for the deceased Lazarus, Jesus had the stone removed that was lying against the tomb. After He raised His eyes and prayed to God, He cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth."
Lazarus, who was dead and had been buried in the tomb, recovered life at once in obedience to the command of Jesus and his spirit came back to his body. He came out from the tomb by himself.
Many Jews witnessed the moment of glory and came to believe Jesus. The news of the resurrection of Lazarus was spread all over the Jewish areas, glorifying God greatly.
2. Jesus Overcame Death and Gave Hope for Resurrection
When God created the first man Adam, there was no death. However, since he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, his spirit who was the master of man died as God had spoken saying, "You will surely die" and communication with God was severed. Because of the Adam's transgression, all mankind who are his descendants were destined to die as Romans 6:23 reads, "The wages of sin is death."
To redeem them from sins, Jesus who is the Son of God with no sin at all, had to die on our behalf. When the Roman soldiers' whip coiled around His body, He endured the pain for us. When thick nails penetrated His hands and feet and when the thorns as long as a finger dug into His head, He readily took every suffering.
Jesus took all the sufferings because we could be saved only by His death on the cross and His shedding blood on behalf of us. With the knowledge of this, Jesus came to the earth, took the way of the cross, and achieved the providence of God.
That is why Jesus said in John 11:25-26, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?" This passage is fulfilled for those who believe the Lord.
There are two types of resurrection: the resurrection of spirit and the resurrection of body. When we accept Jesus as the Savior and receive the Holy Spirit as a gift, our spirit is revived. This is spiritual resurrection. When the Lord comes in the air, those who believed Jesus to be their Savior, received salvation, and then died, will be resurrected with an imperishable body. There are other people who will meet the Lord alive. Their bodies will be changed into imperishable bodies and meet the Lord. This is called the resurrection of body.
3. In Order to Participate in the Glory of Resurrection
By reviving the dead Lazarus, Jesus showed what the resurrection is like. Before His crucifixion, Jesus told the disciples about His resurrection several times.
But His disciples did not realize the spiritual meaning nor did they have faith in Jesus' resurrection. So, when Jesus died, in fear they thought everything was over and the women unceasingly wept in sorrow.
However, Jesus overcame death and resurrected on the third day after He was crucified. At the sight of His resurrection, the disciples and women were completely changed and filled with true joy and hope. It was not until then that they had had come to believe the resurrection. They became assured of eternal life, the glory of Heaven, and the Lord's second coming.
When Apostle Peter was crucified upside down and Apostle John was thrown into the boiling oil, they were not afraid of death but full of hope for resurrection. Apostle Paul had no time to lose heart when he was beaten many times, almost stoned to death, and had other near-death experiences. It was because he was filled with hope for eternal life and the promise of glory.
In addition to them, many believers suffered from hunger, thirst, and life-threatening situations for the sake of the Lord's name. They could boldly preach the gospel because of their hope for Heaven.
1 Corinthians 15:19-20 reads, "If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied. But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep." We can also have hope for eternal life following the Lord who is the firstfruits of the resurrection. That's because we can think everything on the earth rubbish.
When you received the Holy Spirit and salvation, you must have been full of joy. If you keep the joy until the end and overcome everything, on the last day you will take on beautiful and shining body and be caught up into the air while all heavens are filled with glorious praises. The Lord will console you concerning your efforts and tears and hold banquets every day. You will enjoy endless happiness in your heavenly dwelling mansions decorated with gold and jewels.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, when you have hope for the resurrection and wait for the second coming of the Lord, you can be said to have faith. Then you can cast away sins and believe the Lord will give you rewards even in harsh trials. Doing so, you will bear abundant fruit like the branch that abides in the Lord who is the true vine.
On the contrary, those who have little hope for resurrection and the Lord's second coming may go back to the world failing to endure trials. They may try to avoid trials and give up. As the branch that separates from the vine cannot but whither, their lives will end and they will have nothing to do with resurrection and the Lord's second coming.
I pray in the name of the Lord that you will have hope for the glory of the Lord, who overcame death and resurrected, and become spiritual warriors who can overcome death as well.
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