Death, resurrection and life eternal
John 11:17-44
Have you ever made a claim to be able to do something? What is your claim? We all make claims in our lives. No matter what we claim, we are not in control of anything. Only Jesus fulfilled 100% of His claims.
In John 11 Jesus claims to be the resurrection and the life. No-one else has ever made this claim about themselves. This sets Him up in the place of God. It was impossible for Jesus to claim this if He was not God.
- Death – Death is the ultimate destiny of everyone. We all know that life has an end and death follows life. We are all going to die. The question is, are we ready for it? Ecclesiastese 8:8; Job 18:14; Job 14:1-2; Psalm 90:10. Is life all there is? No, there is life after death. Life here is temporary, life after death is eternal. Death is a transition from the temporary to the eternal. By disobeying God Adam and Eve chose death. Death is not the cessation of life, in the Bible death is separation from God. When they sinned they came under the judgement of God.
- Resurrection – The ultimate destination of everyone is resurrection. To claim to be the resurrection is a wild claim. It is not the claim of a mere man. If Jesus lacked the authority He would not have been able to raise Lazarus. Jesus proved He was God Himself. He showed He had authority over death itself. The raising of Lazarus from the dead was Jesus last miracle on His way to Jerusalem to face His own death. It was a foretaste of His own death and resurrection. Many people would have been travelling to Jerusalem for the Passover and they would have seen or heard about this miracle. The authorities began to plot Jesus death because of this miracle.
- Life eternal – The ultimate destination of everyone with Jesus is eternal life with God. Daniel 12:2; John 5:26-29. There are only two alternatives after death, one is eternal life with God or the other is eternal separation from God. Jesus gives us eternal life with God. By His death Jesus has removed us from the judgement of God.