Who Is Jesus? The 7 I Am Statements of ChristSample

THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE

The next “I am” statement we will delve into is Jesus' self-affirmation as the resurrection and the life. In John 10:10, Jesus tells the Pharisees that His purpose is to give life, and life more abundantly. These statements are profound, but what do they mean?

Within the same passage of our anchor scripture, here lies the story of Lazarus, a man who was friends with Jesus. In this account, the sisters of Lazarus - Mary and Martha - told Jesus their brother was sick. Jesus arrived at Lazarus’ gravestone four days later, where he had already been wrapped for his burial. Lazarus was dead. Now, when Jesus had arrived at Bethany, Martha said “if you had been here my brother wouldn’t have died” - she believed in the healing power of Jesus, but had not yet experienced his resurrection power; little did she know that the giver of life was standing in front of her. A few verses later, we witness Jesus command Lazarus to come out of his tomb, followed by Lazarus with his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. A similar story is witnessed in Mark 5, where Jesus raises Jairus’s daughter. The people around at the time proclaimed her dead, Jesus said that she was sleeping. “Talitha koum!” meaning “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”. Once again, Jesus commands the dead to rise - our Lord resurrects the dead!

Again, Jesus’ resurrecting power is displayed in his death. Not only does his resurrection show his power to overcome physical death, but spiritual death too that comes as a result of sin. The resurrection demonstrated Jesus’ power and deity as God himself. The people at the time thought death was the end, but for Jesus, it was just the beginning. His ability to resurrect Himself is significant. We realize that He isn’t just a giver of life; He is life itself.

Death marks the end of a person or thing, without any hope of return. But Christ! Dead things cannot remain dead with Christ for both people and situations. Whatever we may be trusting God for; the salvation of a loved one, the healing or reviving of a business or career that may seem dead, be encouraged because hope comes when Christ comes. Remember, Mary and Martha thought Lazarus was dead, Jesus told his disciples he was sleeping. This is the hope of Christ - the impossible is made possible.

Finally, when we look at physical death, losing a loved one is painful due to the absence of the person. However, ​​1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, speaks of the fact that as believers in Christ, we don’t mourn as those who do not have hope. This is because He is the resurrection and the life, those who have died in Christ will also live in Him and eventually also resurrect with Him. The very essence of who we are - our spirit - is guaranteed life beyond this. We have a hope that surpasses this life into the next. Therefore we can live without fear of death because it is certainly not the end!