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by Ralph Bouma
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that
believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And
whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest
thou this? (John 11:25-26).
This not only deals with the resurrection, but it deals with the
difference between life and death. As our Saviour spoke the words
of our text to Martha, we need to notice the connection He made
between our spiritual life and Him as our resurrection. He is
talking about a spiritual resurrection as well as a resurrection
from the dead physically.
We may safely believe from this doctrine taught by our Saviour that
the first resurrection is the spiritual resurrection of all true
believers. Our Saviour is emphasizing the need for that first
resurrection, which is the resurrection from spiritual death.
Notice this same principle as it is taught in Revelation 20:6:
"Blessed and holy [or sanctified] is he that hath part in the first
resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they
shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a
thousand years."
This is what Jesus is talking about. Those who believe in Him have
life. They have already passed from death to life. They have
already experienced the resurrection He is speaking of.
It is so important that we find the full meaning of words we have a
preconception of what they mean. This word resurrection here and
also in our text comes from the root word anistemi (an-is'-tay-
mee), which means "a raising up" - for instance, as rising from a
seat, a rising from the dead, to rise up from laying down, to stand
up or bring forward." This is a much richer word than just
resurrection from the dead. It means much more.
How do we understand the application of the word resurrection? To
rightly understand the word resurrection we must know it is used in
a threefold sense.
First, there is the spiritual resurrection
In John 5:24 we read: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that
heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath
everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is
passed from death unto life." Here we see the evidences of someone
who has received spiritual life, who has received spiritual ears to
hear. The Lord Jesus is dealing with this as a spiritual
resurrection. They have passed from death to life when they come to
where they hear with a spiritual ear and when they believe on Him
who sent Him and to have a holy reverence for His authority.
This hearing of His Word is what opens the grave of sin-and says to
us, "Live!" It is a message to live unto God, and we live unto Him.
This time of refreshing is a time of love. See the very next verse,
John 5:25: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and
now is [not tomorrow, not next year, not after we die], when the
dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear
shall live." This is speaking of a spiritual hearing. Those who
hear shall live. How many people read this verse and understand
that the Lord Jesus is speaking of today, while we are in the land
of the living?
Our Saviour was speaking in the present tense even as He was when
He began His gospel ministry in Mark 1:14-15: "Now after that John
was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of
the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the
kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." The
call to repent is to repent today.
The first resurrection is a present conversion of putting off the
old man and putting on the new as we see in 1 John 3:10-14: "In
this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the
devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he
that loveth not his brother. For this is the message that ye heard
from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain,
who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore
slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's
righteous. Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. We know
that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the
brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death." The
children of God and the devil are revealed as clearly as the light
of day. There is no gray area. That resurrection is that newness of
life. How do we know that we love our brother? If we do not love
our brother, we have no claim to salvation. Our evidence that we
have passed from death to life is that we love our brethren. It is
our evidence that the work of grace is wrought in our soul.
Dr. Archibald Hart wrote about how grievously people are addicted
to such things as drugs and alcohol, but he also mentioned that
people can be addicted to religion and the Bible. Dr. Hart, who is
a professional counselor, gave an example of a woman who took her
Bible everywhere she went. However, her husband had never seen her
with her Bible open.
Then, Dr. Hart went on to explain how people can get addicted to
religion. We can come to be so religious and take part in every
religious activity we have knowledge of and we can get so carried
away because it makes us feel so good. However, we can still miss
Christ. Being active in religious things is good as long as the
heart is right.
Now we start to understand the religion of the Pharisees. They were
addicted to religion. They were addicted to knowledge. They never
came to understand what hell-deserving sinners they were and that
they needed a Saviour for their souls.
Jesus is saying that He is the first resurrection, that spiritual
hearing, that the ears are open to hear with a spiritual hearing,
that we start to hear what we are by nature, that we learn that we
are corrupt and polluted in sin. Then, we see we need a substitute
for our soul. Now we are not addicted to religion. We have a desire
for the person of Christ.
We may like religion because it can make us feel good, but we must
be careful not to miss the resurrection of hearing and of the
drawing power of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Another sure mark of having passed from death to life is looking to
Jesus by faith as our example. In all decisions we should ask, what
would Jesus do in such a matter? We start living by Him as our
example. We read in Romans 6:10-11: "For in that he died, he died
unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise
reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive
unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord."
What is the rule of your life? See what the Word says in Galatians
6:15-16: "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any
thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. And as many as walk
according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the
Israel of God."
Would you have Christ as your resurrection and your life? Resist
the gospel call of Christ no longer. Jesus says to you today in His
Written Word: "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at
hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel."
As soon as the Lord Jesus said, "come forth," we read in context
with our text in John 11:44: "And he that was dead came forth,
bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about
with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go."
When we respond to the gospel it is a change in attitude. It does
not mean we have our act already cleaned up.
Lazarus came forth immediately without any ifs, buts or ands,
without making any objections.
So, the question may arise in the mind of some: "How can I that am
dead come forth?" How did Lazarus come forth? He came forth "bound
hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with
a napkin. [and as soon as he responded] Jesus saith unto them,
Loose him, and let him go." True repentance begins with a change of
attitude. Now the things of death lose their power, and they have
to fall away.
So also may the power of the Word awaken you to a newness of life
saying, "Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and
Christ shall give thee light." When the Lord Jesus spoke about
Lazarus being dead, He said that he was asleep, but that He was
going to awaken Him. You and I are sleeping spiritually, and we
need to be awakened.
See the context of this gospel trumpet call in Ephesians 5:11-16:
"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but
rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those
things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are
reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make
manifest is light. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest,
and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then
that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming
the time, because the days are evil." The Holy Spirit is sent to
reprove us of sin. We need to respond by faith. We must obey the
gospel. We have responsibilities. It comes back to an attitude of
the heart.
The question we must ask ourselves is, Do we want the light? The
light is what separates Christ's sheep from the ungodly as we see
in John 3:19-20: "And this is the condemnation, that light is come
into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because
their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the
light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be
reproved." Is this something we long for, or is this something we
shun? Do we want the Word of God to show us where we are wrong? Do
we want Christ to be our life? By our nature, light is our
condemnation because it reproves what is in our hearts that is
wrong.
However, by nature we want to remain in that state of spiritual
sleep and slumber because we do not desire the light. It is not
because we cannot, it is because we do not desire it.
The second form of resurrection that all believers experience is a
figurative rising from the dead.
This language comes from those who have strayed from their God as
lost sheep and have experienced a Fatherly hand of chastening as we
see from the context in Hosea 5:14-15: "For I will be unto Ephraim
as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I,
will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him.
I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their
offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me
early." After the Lord sends His chastening, he returns to the
mercy seat. The Lord waits till they acknowledge their offense and
seek His face.
I, like all people, find it difficult to admit that I am wrong. It
is easy to blame others and be critical of them. However, when the
Lord chastens us and we confess our sins, He will raise us up and
we will live in His sight.
The Lord used a similar illustration to reveal the backsliden
condition of His people in Ezekiel 37:1-3: "The hand of the LORD
was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set
me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, And
caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very
many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. And he said
unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord
GOD, thou knowest." The children of Israel were as dry bones
spiritually. They were walking in death.
See how this symbolic vision of His people is likened unto a
resurrection. We read in Ezekiel 37:11-14: "Then he said unto me,
Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they
say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for
our parts. Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the
Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause
you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of
Israel. And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened
your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,
And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall
place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have
spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord." They begin to see
that they have forsaken the Lord. He refers to them as "my people."
He is not talking to the unconverted.
Such a symbolic resurrection is also what we see in Hebrews 11:17-
19: "By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he
that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, Of
whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:
Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead;
from whence also he received him in a figure."
The apostle Paul pointed to his present deliverances as a type of
resurrection as we see in 2 Corinthians 1:8-10: "For we would not,
brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in
Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch
that we despaired even of life: But we had the sentence of death in
ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which
raiseth the dead: Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth
deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us." As we go
through seemingly impossible struggles, the Lord comes and lifts us
up from that sentence of death. The life we have in Christ gives us
this deliverance.
This hope of deliverance was their consolation with regard to the
present afflictions. Notice 2 Corinthians 1:6-7: "And whether we be
afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is
effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also
suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and
salvation. And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are
partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the
consolation." That consolation is found in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Has not a faith's view of the path Christ trod in the way of the
cross been our consolation many times? When it seems there is no
way out, the Lord takes the Lord Jesus Christ and puts Him before
our eye of faith and we see that He has trod in that exact path.
In Hebrews 12:2-5 we read: "Looking unto Jesus the author and
finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him
endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the
right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such
contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and
faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving
against sin. And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh
unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening
of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him." The joy of
Christ gives us the strength to go forward. We must meditate on the
blessed life we have in Christ. We will fellowship in the
sufferings of Christ, and sometimes we lose sight of the fact that
it is the chastening hand of the Lord bringing us to where He wants
us to be.
Third, there is also the final resurrection, the reuniting of body
and soul at the last trump.
The most blessed thought about this final resurrection is that all
sin and every defilement shall remain behind all saints. Every
saint will come forth perfectly pure. We read in 2 Peter 3:11-14:
"Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner
of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein
the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements
shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his
promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth
righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such
things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without
spot, and blameless." We will be free from all sin and defilement.
We will be as pure as Christ Himself.
If our conversation is in heaven we will speak with one another
often of these things, encouraging one another. 1 Thessalonians
4:14-18 says: "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again,
even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For
this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are
alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them
which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven
with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump
of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are
alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the
clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with
the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words." We are
commanded to comfort one another with these words.
These things should excite us unto all Godliness, delighting in the
revealed will of our God as He makes us meet or fit in character to
share in the inheritance of the saints. We see in 1 Corinthians
15:55-58: "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy
victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the
law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our
Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast,
unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as
ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord."
Where are our hearts? Do we delight in the light? Do we want to
know where we offend, so we can repent and correct it?
Source: Gospel Chapel Ministries
See Also:
Passion Week Supplement in Malankara World
Sermons, Bible Commentaries and Bible Analyses for Kyomtho - Easter Sunday
Passion Week Home | Sermons Home | General Sermons and Essays | Articles Home | Library - Home | Baselios Church Home
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