Week 5: Resurrection

Lazarus and Martha

In today’s reading from the Gospel of John, Jesus hears of the death of his dear friend Lazarus in Bethany. Jesus’ disciples know that if Jesus returns to Bethany, he will most likely be killed. After two days, Jesus leaves for Bethany anyways. The irony of Thomas’ statement in 11:16 echoes throughout the passage, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

Upon arriving in Bethany, Jesus first encounters the older sister of Lazarus, Martha. His conversation is the source for today’s reading. If read with the correct drama in mind, Jesus’ statement, “I am the resurrection and the life,” may be the most climactic moment in John’s Gospel. Confronted with her dear brother’s death, Martha declares her hope in the resurrection on the final day despite her overwhelming sadness. In a world of crushing disappointment and heartbreak, the hope of a victorious resurrection often gave impoverished and enslaved Jews a glimmer of anticipation.

This dynamic is portrayed in Isaiah 26:18-19:

“We were with child; we writhed in labor,

but we gave birth to wind.

We have not brought salvation to the earth,

and the people of the world have not come to life.

But your dead will live, Lord;

their bodies will rise—

let those who dwell in the dust

wake up and shout for joy—

your dew is like the dew of the morning;

the earth will give birth to her dead.”

As Martha declares her hope in this resurrection, one can picture her tear-filled, bloodshot eyes lifting toward Jesus. In a soft, strong voice, he intimately and cosmologically declares, “I am the resurrection.”

In other words, the entire hope of Jewish expectation and the world is found in Jesus! In the poignant human pain of a funeral, Jesus is the resurrection. The resurrection is not just something that happens to Jesus. It’s not the closing scene of a good movie. It’s the reality of eternal life. Resurrection belongs to Jesus. It’s found with Jesus. As we are Gospel formed in ever-increasing measure, we grow into resurrection.

What can we say in response except, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”