I am the Resurrection and the Life

John 11:1-44

When reading a book, a poem, or a short story, the reader’s main goal is to ascertain the author’s intent for writing. One must read the meaning out of the text and not into the text. The author has carefully prepared his thesis and the reader must do the job of understanding it.

The same can be said with regards to the Scriptures. Whether we are reading the Pentateuch authored by Moses, the prophecies authored by the prophets, or the gospels authored by the evangelists, one must ascertain the author’s original intent from the text. This is not an easy task and it can be a bit daunting. As for the gospel according to John, the evangelist has made the task easy.

In chapter 20, John tells us explicitly of why he is writing. In verse 30-31, it states, “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of His disciples that are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may believe Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and by believing you may have life in His name.” Viola! Here we have it. John tells us plainly without much investigation as to why he is writing. John does not tell us everything about Jesus or goes into great detail of all His signs. He only gives us the ones that pertain to the purpose of His writing. W. Robert Willoughby, in his small commentary agrees:

John defines his ultimate purpose in writing this Gospel.
He did not intend to record all the miraculous signs which Jesus
did performed (John 20:30). Rather he has presented us with
carefully selected miracles. These not only validate the Lord’s
claims to deity, but they portray profound spiritual truth
concerning His person and work. John’s deep desire is that
believers will find their faith strengthened and unbelievers come
to faith (Willoughby 1999, 374).¹

Now, let’s take a look at Jesus’ sign of raising Lazarus from the dead. We read that a message was sent to Jesus that Lazarus was sick (John 11:3). By God’s decree, this event was to occur “so that the Son of God may be glorified through it” (John 11:4). However, Jesus did not immediately leave to go to Lazarus. He waited for the appointed time.

After Lazarus had died, Jesus then made His way to Bethany. He was met by a very distraught Martha, one of Lazarus’ sisters. She hoped that Jesus would have arrived sooner, so that her brother may be healed. Jesus reveals to Martha that her brother will rise again (John 11:23).

Then, Martha exclaims, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day” (John 11:24). Unlike the Sadducees, Martha believed in the resurrection of the dead (Matthew 22:23). Moreover, Jesus wants to extend her knowledge concerning the resurrection. She was thinking of the future and Jesus was speaking of the here and now. Standing before her is the resurrection and the life. He gives life to whom He wills, and He resurrects whom He wills. All those who are in Christ, even if they die, will live because God is not the God of the dead, but of the living (John 11:25; Matthew 22:32).

Jesus called Lazarus from the grave which proved that He is the resurrection and the life. So then, John, the evangelist gives us another glimpse at the character of the “seed of the woman,” and we are also told that some “believed in Him” (John 11:45) because of this sign.

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