“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.'” John 11:25
August 25, 2025
The words of John 11:25 appear over the tomb of George Washington in Mt. Vernon. Hopefully, it was true in the life of our first President. The context of this statement by Jesus is of special interest. Martha’s brother, Lazarus, had died. She was grieving and disappointed. She knew that her brother would be resurrected “on the last day” (v. 24). “Martha believed in the resurrection, but Jesus moved her from the doctrine to the personal: ‘I am the resurrection.’ The resurrection is not an “It”-“I am the resurrection.” (Vance Havner, Day by Day). Havner is not saying that Martha needed to put the resurrection behind her. The “I am” is the give-away. The resurrection is not merely a doctrinal statement. The resurrection is the person of Jesus Christ. Fellowship with Jesus moves from this life into eternal fellowship with Him after death. The wicked also have a “resurrection” too, but not what the believer in Jesus Christ has. Martha is thinking about a doctrine, a true one. But Jesus wants her to see that Deity is in her presence. He is the “I am” of Exodus 3:14-15, the name of Yahweh communicated to Moses at the event of the burning bush. Is our hope fixed on Jesus, the victor over death? That’s worth dying for.
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“There is no life in any ‘It,’ however good. He is our life. In Him all things – including all the ‘its’ – consist.” Vance Havner