John 11:17-27 : So when Jesus came, he found that he had been in the tomb four days already. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen stadia away. Many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to console them concerning their brother. Then when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary stayed in the house. Therefore Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you would have been here, my brother wouldn’t have died. Even now I know that, whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies. Whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, God’s Son, he who comes into the world.”

When Jesus finally got to Bethany, Lazarus had been dead and buried for four days. Martha, one of Lazarus’ sisters rushed out to meet Jesus. It appears that she was disappointed that Jesus wasn’t able to come earlier. She knew that Jesus would have been able to heal him.

Jesus told Martha that Lazarus would rise again. It is interesting that Martha was enough of a believer that she understood that there was to be a resurrection “at the last day.” Martha must have been a student of the Bible. She knew what was to happen in the future, and she knew that Jesus was the promised Son of God. There is something else here that Jesus said that is very important for us to understand.

We know that John 3:16 says that we will have “eternal life” if we believe in Jesus. One of the natural questions a person can have about John 3:16 is, “How can there be eternal life when every Christian I know dies?” This passage provides a simple answer directly from Jesus. He says: “I am the resurrection and the life.” You see we who believe “will still live, even if” we die.

Death becomes merely a temporary thing to a believer. Not only is Jesus the Light and the Life, He is also the Resurrection. Jesus is connecting what He is about to do with what He will do for all who believe someday. Martha believes, even though she doesn’t fully understand what Jesus is saying. I honestly believe that this is how it is for us most of the time. It is difficult for us to see past this world and our own immediate circumstances. I do believe, that God can make the truth of His promises to us clearer every day.

We will never die in a sense of ending forever. Jesus will bring us back if that is His plan for us! May God help us to understand just how amazing this is. Do you see how we think of God affects our faith? If we don’t believe Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1, it is difficult to believe Jesus when He says “Your brother will rise again.” If God created the world and Jesus is God, then there is nothing too difficult for Him.