"Jesus said to her, 'Your brother will rise again.'" - John 11:23
Again, we find promises and proclamations from Jesus as he comes upon the death of his friend. Martha, one of Lazarus' sisters, comes to greet Jesus and admits her thoughts - if he had come just a little sooner, her brother would still be alive. She then proceeds to confess the Christ, knowing his power and position as the Son of God. And Jesus gives her this simple response - "Your brother will rise again." Martha is relieved at his comforting words, but it seems like she misses the mark a bit. She takes these words as a condolence and a reminder of the final resurrection, the end of days. But Jesus has the present circumstances in mind as he says this.
It is a profound thing, to realize that in these stories we read, and in our own lives today, Jesus has both the big picture (that is eternity) and the immediate in mind, and to equal degree. One is not more important than the other, but rather, they play into each other so that they can not be separated. There is no past or future without the present, the painting is made up of strokes and cannot be without them. And in the same sense, without a past or future, the present has no purpose, and without the image in the Painter's eye, the brushes are meaningless. So Jesus cares for the moment with all time in mind. He says, "This sickness will not end in death," and he says, "Your brother will rise again." And when he says these things in unbelievable authority, he is speaking with a heart broken for his friend Lazarus and for the dying world around him. He is speaking of redemption, oh glorious redemption! of his friend in the grave and of a world of people headed for Hell.
"I am the resurrection and the life," he says next. He is the resurrection, and he is there to see a dead man. This can only go one way, Martha! In her grief, she accepts his words from the safe, final resurrection, aspect. "Yes, I know and believe he will rise again in the end." But Jesus has business in the now to deal with, because he doesn't say that he will be the resurrection and the life. No, no! Praise be to the great I Am, for He is the resurrection and the life, now and forevermore! Amen!
Books on Sale
