17 Jesus arrived in Bethany and found that Lazarus had already been dead and in the tomb for four days. 18 Bethany was about two miles from Jerusalem. 19 Many Jews had come to see Martha and Mary. They came to comfort them about their brother Lazarus.
20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to greet him. But Mary stayed home. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you anything you ask.”
23 Jesus said, “Your brother will rise and be alive again.”
24 Martha answered, “I know that he will rise to live again at the time of the resurrection on the last day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection. I am life. Everyone who believes in me will have life, even if they die. 26 And everyone who lives and believes in me will never really die. Martha, do you believe this?”
27 Martha answered, “Yes, Lord. I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God. You are the one who was coming to the world.”
“Because Jesus is the resurrection and the life, he gets to throw a big party in heaven and shoves it in the devil’s face that he won.” Leyla, 10
“I believe that Jesus said that to see if Martha believed that God was powerful enough to bring her brother from the dead. I believe that Jesus wanted to prove that he was the resurrection and the life by his miracle that he did, and to bring more people to Christ by doing that.” Valentina, 10
“He meant that he had the power to bring people back to life, spiritually and physically. He was saying he was the Son of God. He had the power to do anything and everything.” Robert, 10
“Everything Jesus did and said was to show the love of God. Everybody that believes in Jesus and God will never die. Believing in Jesus IS believing in God. God is everything. The only way to get to God the Father in heaven is through Jesus the Son.” Claudia, 10
“He could do something really important.” Daphne, 10
“Jesus has the power to bring someone back from the dead. Jesus resurrected himself from the dead. Jesus is the only way to enter heaven, because he is the way, the truth and the life. When you enter heaven, you will live eternally. God is good.” Abigail, 11
“He was claiming to be the source of both. There is no resurrection apart from Christ, and there is no eternal life apart from Christ. Beyond that, Jesus was also making a statement concerning his divine nature. He does more than give life. He IS life, and therefore death has no ultimate power over him. Jesus bestows this spiritual life on those who believe in him, so that they share his triumph over death. Believers in Jesus Christ will experience resurrection because having the life Jesus gives, it is impossible for death to defeat them. Jesus, who is life, will live forever. Because he lives, we live. Because he is life, we have life eternally.” Arianna, 12
“He would die on the cross and rise on the third day.” Noemi, 12
Martha looked to the past and the future when she talked with Jesus about her brother Lazarus. Looking to the past, she said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died,” (John 11:21). Looking to the future, Martha said she knew her brother would rise again in the resurrection on the last day (John 11:24).
Jesus tried to shift Martha’s focus to the present when he said, “I am the resurrection. I am life. Everyone who believes in me will have life, even if they die” (John 11:25).
Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Wherever Jesus is, his resurrection power is there. For Christians today, Jesus’ resurrection life is in them. Jesus wants his life in you to work through you to offer his eternal life to spiritually dead people in this world.
“So I am not the one living now—it is Christ living in me. I still live in my body, but I live by faith in the Son of God. He is the one who loved me and gave himself to save me,” (Galatians 2:20).
26 And everyone who lives and believes in me will never really die. Martha, do you believe this?”
In the Gospel of John, Jesus makes several “never” statements. Whoever believes in him shall never thirst (John 4:14), shall never hunger (John 6:35) and shall never perish (John 10:28 & John 3:16). Does this mean that those who trust Christ as their savior will never have to drink water or eat a meal again? No way.
When Jesus spoke of never getting thirsty or getting hungry again, he spoke of something much deeper than our physical needs. God designed us with a spiritual thirst and hunger for fellowship with him and other believers. When you look at the lives of those who try and satisfy their spiritual thirst and hunger apart from God, you will see frustrated, unfulfilled people. Only God can fill in the inner longing that we have as people created in the image of God.
God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit have been enjoying fellowship with each other forever. All who are born again into God’s family are invited into that eternal fellowship.
When Jesus told Martha that those who believe in him shall never die, he spoke of something much more than physical death. Compared to spiritual death, physical death is nothing. It lasts only a short time. Those who reject the free gift of eternal life that Jesus offers will suffer eternal separation from God. This death lasts forever.
When Jesus sent his disciples to take the gospel to towns in Israel, he warned them that they might face persecution. Then Jesus told them not to fear what people could do to them. People could only destroy or kill their bodies, but they couldn’t destroy their souls. Your body will die, but your soul will live forever.
“Don’t be afraid of people. They can kill the body, but they cannot kill the soul. The only one you should fear is God, the one who can send the body and the soul to be destroyed in hell,” (Matthew 10:28).
No Christian will ever be separated from God as those who reject Jesus’ free offer of eternal life with him. In that sense, no Christian will ever die. Jesus will give every believer a resurrection body that will never get sick or die.
When Jesus says that those who believe in him will never die, he guarantees it. This is one of the strongest statements in the entire Bible on the eternal security of every believer. You can’t lose a life that lasts forever. If you keep looking at Jesus and his perfect sacrifice for our sins on the cross, you will always be confident of your eternal future. If you look to anyone or anything else, you will lose your confidence. Remember God’s promise never changes. All who believe in Jesus have eternal life.
Your fellowship with the Lord can vary. It depends on your obedience. Your relationship with the Lord as a child of God is settled once for all when you believe in Christ as your savior.
26 And everyone who lives and believes in me will never really die. Martha, do you believe this?”
27 Martha answered, “Yes, Lord. I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God. You are the one who was coming to the world.”
This is one of two invitations in the New Testament. Martha told Jesus that she believed he is the Messiah, the Son of God. Notice what the Apostle John wrote about his purpose in writing the Gospel of John: “But these are written so that you can believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. Then, by believing, you can have life through his name,” (John 20:31).
Martha’s statement and John’s purpose for writing the Gospel of John are in perfect harmony. Notice what Martha did not do. She didn’t stop to analyze her faith. She didn’t wonder if she had enough faith or the right kind of faith.
Martha did not say, “Let me see. Do I have head faith or heart faith?” She didn’t ask this silly question or others like it. We never have faith in faith. Of course, there is a difference between understanding something and believing something.
Bible faith or any other kind of faith is always about whether the object of faith is trustworthy. You either believe that Jesus is the resurrection and the life as God’s Messiah, the Son of God, or you don’t. It’s that simple!
Some people might want to ask you whether you really believed. That kind of question is total nonsense. Again, you either believe Jesus or you don’t.
It’s not the amount of faith, the quality of the faith or the perseverance of your faith that saves you. Perseverance is a fancy word that means you keep on believing. It’s Jesus who saves. Faith in him is the way we receive the gift of eternal life that he offers. You can’t lose something that last forever. God is faithful to his promise even when we are unfaithful to him. God gets all the glory for our salvation because faith means there is no work for us to do to earn it (Romans 4:5). Martin Luther described salvation faith as the hand of the beggar reaching out to receive the gift. It’s simple and easy.
Well, what if you stop believing in Jesus?
If you stop believing that your parents are your parents, are they still you parents? Your mother gave birth to you. That’s why you are her child. There are many things you can do by making decisions. Undoing a birth is not one of them. You cannot undo a physical or spiritual birth.
Do you think that being born again into God’s family is somehow less than being born into your family on this earth? Being born spiritually is far more important and lasting than being born physically. Our bodies from our physical birth don’t last that long. Our spiritual birth is forever! God will give all believers resurrection bodies that will last forever.
Other people might want you to look to your good works to see if you’re going to heaven. Don’t do it. Look to Jesus alone, and you will be confident of your eternal destiny. If you look at your works, your church or your feelings instead of Jesus and his promises, you will be a fool.
Only God’s one-way love can produce the fruit of God’s spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Only God’s love can cause you to want to please him. God loves us even when we try to look for love in the wrong places.
Living a fool’s life is living a wasted life. Don’t waste your life. God wants to give you a full reward and position of responsibility in his coming kingdom. If you are faithful with the little he has given you now, Jesus will entrust you with a lot of responsibility in his kingdom (Luke 19:11-27).
If you have believed in Jesus Christ alone for your salvation, you have passed from spiritual death to spiritual life. Jesus said that faith as small as a mustard seed could move mountains (Matthew 17:20). Your eternal salvation with Jesus is a lot bigger than moving a mountain. Certainly the tiniest faith in Jesus alone for your salvation will give you eternal life, and that’s forever!
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