Tonight, we continue with our consideration of the I Am sayings of our Lord Jesus Christ. We turn to John chapter 11 as we find this next I Am, the fifth I Am, recorded in the context of our Lord's raising His dear friend Lazarus from the dead. John chapter 11, we read together through verse 44, 1 through 44, the text for our consideration, verses 25 and 26. Beginning at verse 1 as we give our attention to the Word of God. Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. So the sisters sent word to Jesus, Lord, the one you love is sick. When he heard this, Jesus said, This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory, so that God's Son may be glorified through it. Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days. Then he said to his disciples, let us go back to Judea. But Rabbi, they said, a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you were going back there? Jesus answered, are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world's light. It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light. After he had said this, he went on to tell them, Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to wake him up. His disciples replied, Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better. Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep. So then he told them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him. Then Thomas, called Didymus, said to the rest of the disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him. On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. Lord, Martha said to Jesus, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now, God will give you whatever you ask. Jesus said to her, your brother will rise again. Martha answered, I know 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 live even though he dies. And whoever lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this? Yes, Lord, she told him. I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world. And after she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. The teacher is here, she said, and is asking for you. When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house comforting her noticed how quickly she got up and went out. They followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there. When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw Him, she fell at His feet and said, Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. Where have You laid Him? They asked. Come and see, Lord, they replied. Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, See how He loved Him. But some of them said, Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying? Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. Take away the stone, he said. But Lord, said Martha, the sister of the dead man, by this time there is a bad order, for he has been there four days. Then Jesus said, Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God? So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me. When he had said this, Jesus called out in a loud voice, Lazarus, come out. The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, Take off the grave clothes. And let him go. Beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ, ever since sin entered the world, mankind has wrestled with Job's question that he asks in Job 14, verse 14, if a man dies, will he live again? And many have wrestled with the mystery of death and the afterlife and have asked questions such as, is there an afterlife? If so, what is it like? What can I expect? How can I know? And of course, people have come up with various answers, including, well, there's nothing after this life for anyone. Or some say that there is what is called reincarnation. We all come back as a different life form. And if you were good in the previous life, you come back as a higher life form. If you were bad, you come back as a lower life form. Others say, well, the good, those who were good, they are saved. And the bad, well, they're simply annihilated. They are no more. Others say, well, all are saved. And then, of course, there's the truth of Scripture. That the wicked, those who despise and reject the Lord Jesus Christ, will suffer the wrath of God and punishment in hell forever. And God's people, those who embrace Jesus Christ with true faith, They enjoy the truth and the assurance of the I am of the suffering servant that is before us tonight. You see, our Lord answers the afterlife question when He says, I am the resurrection and the life. And although physical death may still be somewhat of a mystery to us, the what's next for the believer certainly is no mystery. I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live even though he dies. And whoever lives and believes in Me will never die. Now first of all, notice the confidence that we are to have in Christ. Jesus says, I am the resurrection and the life. What powerful words! What an awesome claim! And with this claim, our Lord points to the greatest hope that we have, which is Him and His resurrection. Of course, that had not yet happened at that point in history when Jesus made this claim. Boys and girls, Jesus says these words, but He had not yet risen from the grave because He had not yet been crucified. He had not yet died. He had not yet been buried. Yet Jesus identifies Himself in this way in the context of this miracle that He was about to do, raising His dear friend Lazarus from the dead. And this miracle then pointed to the glory of God, as Jesus says. That glory which includes who Christ is and also that which points forward to the great truth of what He would accomplish for His people. We are familiar, at least many of us are familiar, with this great episode during the earthly life of Jesus. And in some respects, I think, as we read this account, it's a little bit puzzling. You see, we are reminded at the very beginning of chapter 11 of the special relationship that Jesus had with this particular family made up of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Mary, as we are told, was the one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped His feet with her hair. Which, incidentally, comes a little bit later in John. And Lazarus was the one that Jesus loved. And Mary and Martha obviously felt close enough to Jesus that they were not shy about sending word to Him that Lazarus was sick. And it seems from their response to Him when He arrives, that the sisters expected that Jesus would drop whatever He was doing and come to Lazarus' rescue. Because He loved him. But Jesus didn't. In fact, He waits long enough so that by the time He gets there, Lazarus has already been in the tomb for four days. Some say that Lazarus was most likely dead before Jesus even got the message. And His body had already begun the decaying process. There was no doubt about the fact that Lazarus was really and truly dead. And of course, Martha is not afraid to let Jesus know that she thinks that He let her down. Verse 21, Lord, Martha said to Jesus, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. And of course, Mary says the same thing a little later. Now, because of her response, Martha's response to the word of Jesus that her brother would rise again, to which she responds in verse 24, I know He will rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Because of that, and the fact that she resisted His request to roll the stone away because there would be a bad odor, because of these things, it seems that she wasn't thinking of her brother's immediate physical resurrection when she says in verse 22, but I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask. Martha had confidence in Christ, but it was limited. And I don't believe that she fully understood, even though she said, you are the Son of God, you are the One who was to come, I don't believe that she fully understood yet who He really was and what He came to do. But what a lesson that she and Mary and those gathered around will learn in such a short time. Jesus says, I am the resurrection and the life. And He points to the confidence that all believers are to have in Him. And the first thing that Jesus is saying here is that He is God. He is one with the Father. He enjoys the full, blessed life of God and all of the attributes of God can be found in Him. And because of who He is, He is also the cause, the source, and the fountainhead of the glorious resurrection and the everlasting life of the believer. You see, Martha makes it clear here that the doctrine of the believer's Bodily resurrection was already believed. The Sadducees, of course, did not believe in the bodily resurrection. The Pharisees did, and she was in agreement with those who believed in that resurrection. But looking a little bit back into Scripture, Job may have believed this as well when he said, I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand upon the earth, and after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God. In Psalm 49, verse 15, the psalmist says, But God will redeem my life from the grave. He will surely take me to Himself. Jesus Himself also taught in John 5, verses 28 and 29, Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice and come out. Those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned. Beloved, our Lord's claim here, pointed forward to His own resurrection and life. And the truth that because He lives, we too, as believers, will live. And as He called Lazarus to come forth from the grave, as He called Lazarus back into existence with the very word of His mouth, even as God called creation into existence by the word of His mouth in the beginning, Jesus demonstrated that only He can give life. Without Him, there's nothing but death and decay. But with Him, there is life abundantly. And with Lazarus, Jesus fulfilled His own words which He spoke also in John 5, verse 25. I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. But you see, congregation, this story here, this true story in John chapter 11 is not really about Lazarus and what happened to him. You see, the day would come again when his body died. Again, not to be raised until the last day. And once again, mourners would gather around his tomb. But this true story is about Jesus Christ and the confidence that we are to have in Him as believers. As Paul says, Christ is the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. In Him, all those who belong to Him will be made alive. You see, that's what he goes on to explain about this claim. And we need to see then that our confidence in Christ includes victory in death and comfort for life. With the rest of this text, Jesus Himself gives a commentary on this I Am statement. And with regard to Him as the resurrection, He says, He who believes in Me will live even though He dies. That's the believer's victory in death. He who believes in Me will live even though He dies. It seems like a contradiction. But beautifully, it's not. You see, we will all experience physical death like Lazarus, except those still alive on this earth. when Jesus Christ returns. Other than that, there is no escape for any of us from physical death. From the moment of birth, we are headed for the grave. Of course, some reach the grave sooner than others. And I realize that this may not be a pleasant thought for us to consider, but we need to consider this truth in connection with the truth of the words of Jesus. We go through the aging process. We grow in physical stature and strength. We reach our physical peak at some point in our lives. And then as we get older, our muscles get weaker. Our bodies don't respond as they once did. And we lose some of our abilities. And then one day our heart stops beating. Then the decaying process starts and our bodies return to the dust. Now, humanly speaking, that's a sad thought, especially when it comes to the deaths of our loved ones. But I hope that it's not a terrible thought to each of us here personally. Why? Because of what Jesus says here. Even though He dies, He will live. Yes, our bodies will go to the grave and become dust for a time, but Jesus Christ redeemed our bodies as well as our souls. He is the firstfruits, and those for whom He died will also be raised physically. Paul says it beautifully in Philippians 3 but our citizenship is in heaven and we eagerly await a Savior from there the Lord Jesus Christ who by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body. You see, Lazarus' resurrection pointed to this. No, at that time His body was not yet glorified never to die and decay again. It did. But His resurrection pointed to the day when He and all of God's people would be raised incorruptible and imperishable with Christ. Paul says about the resurrection of the body in 1 Corinthians 15, the body that is sown is perishable. It is raised imperishable. It is sown in dishonor. It is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness. It is raised in power. It is sown a natural body. It has raised a spiritual body. Beloved, how can we be confident of this victory in death? Very simply by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. Believing God's promise. This victory is for believers. And only believers by God's grace. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies. Revelation 20 verse 6 says, Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them. But they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years. Now, of course, there are various interpretations of this, but we believe that the first resurrection is being born again. As one commentator says, faith is the spiritual resurrection of the soul and animates the soul to live to and for God. Well, what then is the second death? Revelation 21 verse 8 says, The cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters, and all liars, their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death. The second death is the torment of hell. All people will experience one of two things. Either the second death, which is punishment in hell. Or the second resurrection, the resurrection of the believer's body, which shall be glorified and also then reunited with the soul and will enjoy the glory of God in the very presence of God. But again, that is for those who enjoy the first resurrection. Being brought to faith and believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. I heard a minister say once that unbelievers live once, pointing to this life he was talking about, and die twice. They die to this life, and then for eternity. But believers, by the grace of God, die once. They die to this life, and they live twice. This life in the faith, and then the new life in glory. You see, we know that by our sinful nature, we are dead. Our soul is dead in sin. It is corrupted and turned away from God and turned away from what is right. We are guilty before Him. And death has dominion over us apart from God. Paul speaks of this death in Ephesians 2 when he says in verses 4 and 5, But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ, even when we were dead in transgressions, it is by grace you have been saved. Beloved, for those who believe, and this is talking about a continual belief, an abiding belief. For those who believe abidingly, ours is victory in death. Why? Because death could not keep its prey. Jesus Christ arose. He conquered death not only for Himself, but for all those He came to save. Death cannot keep us as prey either. But we enjoy an even greater confidence in Christ than simply victory in death. Jesus is not only the resurrection, you see, but He is also the life. And therefore, believers also have comfort for life. Jesus says that whoever believes in Him will have life. And then He goes on to confirm that and strengthen that fact when He says, and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die. Now, we can't see it in our English translations, but in the Greek, the emphasis is on never. This one will absolutely never, ever die. Now, spiritual and eternal death is the separation of the soul from the grace of God. And physical death for the believer has lost its sting and spiritual and eternal death is not victorious over the believer. The moment that faith is born in the heart of a child of God, eternal life begins in the soul and the beauty and the comfort for the believer is that physical death cannot kill that new eternal life. The day that my body dies and goes to rest temporarily in the grave It is not the day that I, the personal self, my soul, it's not the day that that dies. And that's why many of us have witnessed the amazing grace of God and the comfort of believers as they face physical death because they know beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is never any intermission or interruption of their soul's life and fellowship with God. Not even for a split second. Instead, when I die physically, I shall then become more conscious of the reality of God's presence than in this life. The ultimate life with God for which we have been created does not begin fully until we are released from this body of death. Now so many do not and cannot understand these truths that our Lord teaches. Paul's words in 2 Corinthians 4, verse 16 can only make sense to one whose spiritual eyes have been opened by the Holy Spirit. Paul says, therefore we do not lose heart, though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. You see, this is something that can be a comfort only when God is not only in the equation, but when God is Himself the equation. And Peter is clear in 1 Peter 1, verse 23, why it is that believers shall never die. He says, for you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable through the living and enduring Word of God. Beloved, this is our hope. Not only when we face physical death, but this must be our hope every moment of every day. And when you meditate upon this truth of Christ, the resurrection and the life, and what that means for you as a believer, how can you not have a good day? You see, when we sing of the great faithfulness of our God, we sing that He gives strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow. And this is ours by God's grace alone through faith alone. And that's why Jesus asked Martha, do you believe this? Do you believe this? To unbelievers, those who reject Jesus Christ and His saving sacrifice, death is nothing but the grim reaper. As far as they are concerned, it ends all. For them there is no hope in the face of death. Its sting and its power are too much for them to bear. The only hope for anyone is Christ Jesus. When our Lord identified Himself to the Apostle John in the Revelation, He said, I am the first and the last. I am the living One. I was dead and behold, I am alive forever and ever. Jesus Christ is the firstfruits, which means, beloved, that there's quite a harvest to follow. All because of who He is and what He has done. And those whose lives are bound up with Christ today can be confidence of victory in death and comfort for eternal life. And as well, then we are called to live for Him today. Beloved, is Jesus Christ your resurrection and life? Boys and girls, do you believe in Jesus? Young people, have you surrendered your life to Him? And can the world see by your daily life that you are in the family of God and that you enjoy new life in Jesus to the full. What amazing grace we enjoy all because of the perfect work of the suffering servant. And may our thoughts and our words and our actions at home, at work, in the classroom, at all times reflect the new birth which is ours and the new life that we enjoy all because of our faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. Shall we pray? Father, we thank You and praise You for our Lord Jesus Christ, the resurrection and the life. We thank You for the comfort that we might enjoy that because He lives, we too shall live both now and forevermore. We thank You for the comfort that we might have even in the hour of death. That death has no sting. It has no power over Your people. No longer are we prey for death. It cannot hold us. But we live forever and ever in Jesus Christ our Lord. Father, may we meditate upon this glorious truth. May we demonstrate our thankfulness and praise to You for this blessing through our whole life long. In Jesus' name we pray these things. Amen.