The Book of John: God Became FleshSample

The story of Lazarus is sometimes told with a bit of comedy. In an older version of the Bible, written hundreds of years ago and using language we don’t use anymore, Martha says, when Jesus says to remove the stone over Lazarus’s tomb, “But, Lord, he stinketh!” But John includes this in his writing because the whole scene, and what Jesus wants us to know, is no laughing matter.

One day, each of us will die. Many of us have already experienced the heartbreak of losing someone we love. We can understand Martha’s frustration and anger when she says to her friend Jesus, “If you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died!” She had seen, or at least heard about, Jesus’s many miracles; she knew what he could do. We can say something similar, can’t we? “God, you could have healed the cancer.” “You could have healed him after the heart attack.”

Yes, God can heal our bodies, but eventually death will take us. When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, death and sickness entered the world. Jesus tells Martha, “I am the Resurrection and the Life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.” (John 11:25 NLT) She believed, and no doubt she rejoiced when her brother was raised from the dead!

But Jesus was pointing to something greater. He was pointing forward to his own resurrection. Jesus died on the cross and said, “It is finished.” Our sins are forgiven. Done. Then, when he rose from the dead, he guaranteed that his promise to Martha and everyone who believes will come to pass. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back" (1 Corinthians 15:23 NLT).

And this is what gives us hope, when we lose someone we love and when we finally face death ourselves. God promised eternal life, and the resurrection of Jesus proves it.

Pray: Dear God, everything I hope for comes through Jesus. I am forgiven because he died; I will have eternal life because he lives! When I face loss, help me to remember that everyone who believes in Christ will live forever, even if they die on this earth. Amen.