In
each of his “I am…” sayings, Christ uses metaphorical language to illuminate
his understanding of himself as the Divine Messiah. In our exploration this week, we will be
focusing on Jesus saying, “I am the resurrection and the life.” This “I Am…” saying occurs in John 11 as part
of the larger narrative concerning the raising of Jesus’ friend Lazarus.
As
with most of the previous “I Am…”sayings that we have already examined, the
context is crucial for our understanding.
Our story begins with Jesus receiving a message from his dear friends,
Mary and Martha. The two sisters want
Jesus to know that Lazarus, their brother, is very ill. Jesus responds in an odd manner, saying: “This illness does not lead to death; rather
it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” (John 11:4) Then, Jesus waits for two more days before
starting out to see Lazarus, who lives in a town called Bethany, just two miles
outside of Jerusalem.
When
Jesus informs his disciples that he intends to visit Lazarus, they are greatly
alarmed because that area has hostile persons who have threatened to stone
him. Jesus responds to his disciples’
concerns by observing, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble,
because they see the light of this world.
But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them”
(John 11: 9-10). In other words, there is a time for every
task and every project. Biblical
scholars believe that Jesus’ is looking ahead to his own betrayal and
crucifixion. He suggests to his
followers that he must continue and complete his ministry among them, carefully
using the remaining time allotted to him for that work.
By
the time Jesus arrives, Lazarus has been dead and buried for four days. As he is approaching Bethany, Martha runs out
to meet him. When she sees Jesus, she
says, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you
whatever you ask of him” (John 11: 21-22). When Martha
and her sister sent a message to Jesus, informing him of Lazarus’ illness, they
had hoped Jesus would come immediately to heal him. Now, her first words to Jesus contain both a
mild complaint that Jesus did not come more quickly and a glimmer of hope that
even now, he can still help.
Jesus
responds, “Your brother will rise again.”
Biblical commentators note Jesus’ reply is very open-ended. Assuming that Jesus is referring to the
Jewish belief in a resurrection at the eschaton, Martha says: “I know that he will rise again in the
resurrection on the last day” (John
11: 24).
This comment sets the stage for Jesus’ “I Am…” saying.
Jesus
says, “I am the resurrection and the life.
Those who believe in me, even though they die, yet will they live, and everyone
who lives and believes in me will never die”
(John 11: 25-26). Martha affirms that she believes this about
Jesus, by saying, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of
God, the one coming into the world” (John 11: 27).
In
her interpretation of this passage, Biblical scholar Gail R. O’Day observes
that Jesus has created a “tightly constructed parallel” around three verbs, “believe,”
“live,” and “die.” We can diagram this
double claim as follows:
the one who
believes in me and diesàyet lives
the one who
lives and believes in meànever dies
O’Day says, “By announcing that he is both the
resurrection and the life, Jesus affirms his sovereignty over the present and
future lives of believers.” She
continues, “For Jesus to be the resurrection means that physical death has no
power over believers; their future is determined by their faith in Jesus, not
by their death. …For Jesus to be the life means that the believer’s present is
also determined by Jesus’ power for life, experienced as his gift of eternal
life…”.[1]
Keep
in mind that relationships are fundamental for theology in the Gospel of
John. Jesus enjoys a close, intimate
relationship with God the Creator. Therefore,
the central revelation of Jesus’ ministry is that God reaches out to each of
us, seeking to enter into a Divine, loving relationship with us. We can respond through faith and enter into
this relationship of Divine Love which transcends everything else, even death
itself. Jesus annihilates death. Thus, as the
resurrection, Jesus invites us into a future relationship with him and
God that transcends death.
At
the same time, Jesus invites us into a present relationship, in the here and
now. Jesus calls us to live, faithfully,
as a Resurrection People. Earlier this
spring, in a sermon series entitled, “Living as a Resurrection People,” we found
that living in a present relationship with Jesus includes certain attitudes,
life-style, and core values:
Ø
Joy
Ø
Hope
Ø
Community
Ø
Justice
Ø
Compassion
Ø
Stewardship of Creation
The story of Lazarus
continues and concludes with Jesus instructing the villagers to roll the stone
away from his tomb. Then, Jesus lifts up
a prayer of gratitude, thanking God for their relationship which transcends the
limitations of death. Jesus prays: “Father, I thank you for having heard me. I
knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd
standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me” (John 11: 41b-42).
Then, Jesus calls for
Lazarus to rise and come out of the tomb.
Lazarus does come from the tomb, alive, but still bound with his funeral
wrappings. (John 11: 43-44)
One of the most
interesting aspects of this passage is that Lazarus, the person raised from the
dead, does not play a major role in the story.
Instead, the focus in more on his sisters, Mary and Martha, who continue
to live after his death—and, therefore, must cope with the pain and grief of
losing someone whom they loved deeply. A
major dimension of the story is that through the Holy Spirit Jesus grieves with
us and heals us. Yet, simultaneously,
Jesus offers us the ability to transcend death through him.
Before concluding my
commentary this week, some reflections concerning the credibility of this
passage are in order. Did Jesus really
raise Lazarus from the dead?
First, it is important to
distinguish between resuscitation
and a resurrection. In a resuscitation, the biological life of a
person is extended for an extra period of time—but, not indefinitely. When a person is given extra life through a
resuscitation, the expectation remains that, at some point, they will die, just
like everyone else. The raising of
Lazarus is a resuscitation story. By contrast,
a resurrection is not a biological extension of life, but rather a transformation
of that individual and their destiny. Jesus
was resurrected.
Secondly, for Christians
who diligently seek to balance their faith with the laws of nature and what we
know scientifically, the story of Lazarus’ resuscitation is far more
challenging than the Resurrection of Christ.
As I suggested in my Easter blog earlier this year, we must view Christ’s
Resurrection within the broader, over-arching story of God’s work of creating, redeeming, and transforming all of
Creation. To quote myself:
“Viewed
from this perspective, Jesus’ Resurrection represents a “tipping point,” in
which God begins the transformation of this universe into the New Creation
described in Revelation. In theological
terms, the resurrection event represents a “prolepsis;” in other words, the
Resurrection is the future already “present and active in the present while
remaining future, as exemplified by God’s act in raising Jesus from the dead.” To reiterate, I have become a “true believer”
in Christ’s Resurrection because I see it as part of a larger process in which
the entire universe is transformed into a radically New Creation through God’s
ongoing work as Creator.”[2]
For me, the Resurrection is easier to understand
and accept because it represents a transformation in cosmic history. By contrast, the resuscitation of Lazarus
from the dead is much harder to understand, accept, and (ultimately) believe
because it appears to be an arbitrary suspension of the laws of nature. Why would a trustworthy God do that?
In reflecting on this
passage, I have wondered whether Lazarus was really and truly dead. Afterall, it is sometimes difficult to verify
that a person is actually dead. Periodically
throughout history we have cases where individuals were accidentally buried
because they appeared—but, actually were not—dead. The level of medical knowledge and equipment
at the time of Jesus’ ministry was very primitive, in comparison with present
day medical knowledge and equipment. (This
has allegedly occurred several times in the twenty-first century, although I
cannot find reliable collaboration beyond news reports listed in Wikipedia.[3]) It should be noted that Jesus does not appear
to think that Lazarus has really died.
When first told of Lazarus’ illness, Jesus responds, “This illness does
not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory” (John 11: 4a)
So, one possible
explanation is that Lazarus was really not dead, but his family had mistakenly
concluded that he had died. I have to
admit that this is not a comforting resolution to my skepticism. Alternatively, perhaps God did suspend the
laws of nature and Lazarus was actually raised from the dead, as Jesus says, so
that God might be glorified and humans might be reassured that through our
relationship with Jesus it is possible for us to transcend death itself. At this point, I just have not made up my
mind about the raising of Lazarus.
Ultimately, I am not certain and so I maintain an openness to further
reflection and revelation from the Holy Spirit.
What I am certain of is
the Resurrection of Christ Jesus. I believe that
the Resurrection of Christ represents a turning point in cosmic history in
which humans are given a glimpse into God’s ultimate plan for the redemption
and transformation of the universe into a New Creation, which exists under God’s
reign.
I will continue my
exploration of Jesus’ saying, “I am the Resurrection and the Life” this Sunday,
July 24th, during the proclamation at the 8:30 am worship service. However, our second service at 11am will be
devoted to a celebration of our church’s Vacation Bible School; I will not be
preaching during the 11 o’clock service.
Come and join us at Christ United Methodist Church, which is located at
4530 A Street in Lincoln, Nebraska. This
week, we will also continue the short-term study series of the “I am…” sayings,
from 9:45-10:40 am. We will use Rob
Fuquay’s The God We Can Know as our
resource.
Everyone is
welcome and accepted because God loves us all.
[1] Gail
R. O’Day, Commentary on the Gospel of John in the New Interpreter’s Bible, vol 9, (Nashville, Abingdon Press, 2002),
CD-ROM Edition.
[2]
Richard O. Randolph, “God Is Always Creation Something New,” [a blog] posted on
Richard O. Randolph on Faith Matters,
26 March 2016.
[3] “Premature
Burial” entry in Wikipedia, accessed online, 22 July 2016, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premature_burial.
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