Streetlights: I AM SeriesSample

Death's Demand

I sat staring at a broken man’s body in a hospital room, corrupted by years of alcoholism and a simple thought repeated in my mind; “It’s one thing to argue about whether or not Jesus’ death and resurrection are real when you are in a coffee shop.  It’s another thing when you are looking death in its face and don’t have an answer.”  Death demands an answer.  No one can argue it's power over our lives.

When on earth, Jesus confronted death’s ugly face on various occasions.  While he did still weep and lament over death’s toll on his dear friend Lazarus, he did not end his response to death with just empathy and mourning.  He answered death’s demand with a scandalous, convincing claim. 

In John Chapter 11, did you notice what Jesus’ spoke about himself?  He claimed that he had power over death itself.  He allowed the sad situation with Lazarus to bring God in heaven praise through His miraculous actions to help people believe that Jesus was not just a good friend, not just a man, but God himself.  Who else could raise a dead corpse to life?  Don’t miss what he states after the “I AM the Resurrection and the Life” claim.  He commands us to believe in him, and we can have the same hope when facing death.  He displayed this power through his recently deceased friend Lazarus.  Soon Jesus was going to be killed on a cross, and this event with Lazarus foreshadowed that he would also raise himself up from a grave.  He is the answer to death’s demand. 

What is your answer to death’s demand? 

How will you argue with death when it, in whatever form, comes knocking on your temporary body and demands an answer? Jesus had compassion on his friends in their difficult trail. He has the same love for you and me and compassionately took our eternal death on the cross and answered death’s demand over us for eternity.  He wants you to know a life-giving relationship with Him as your Savior and friend. He wants you to have hope in a world full of death that He will also raise anyone who believes in Him when you or this world passes away.  For the follower of Jesus Christ, we are given a solid answer through Jesus for death’s demands.