October 3, 2023

John 11:17-27 (HCSB)
The Resurrection and the Life
17 When Jesus arrived, He found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Bethany was near Jerusalem (about two miles away). 19 Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother. 20 As soon as Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet Him. But Mary remained seated in the house. 21 Then Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died. 22 Yet even now I know that whatever You ask from God, God will give You.” 23 “Your brother will rise again,” Jesus told her. 24 Martha said, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me, even if he dies, will live. 26 Everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die—ever. Do you believe this?” 27 “Yes, Lord,” she told Him, “I believe You are the Messiah, the Son of God, who comes into the world.”

Nathan Putty
Just as He did with the disciples, Jesus comforts Martha, telling her that Lazarus will rise again. What follows next is, of course, the meat and potatoes of this passage. In verse 25, Jesus essentially lays out what it means for us to claim that we are Christians. It’s simple. It’s beautiful. It’s comforting. It’s everything! All we need to do is simply say yes to this amazing gift that we are being offered. For days, I rolled these words around in my head, really sitting with them. Jesus saves! I know it might sound cliché to some, but man, He does doesn’t He? Believe in Him! Accept Jesus as your Savior. Why do we make it so hard? Why did I make it so hard?