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)
Jesus was completely God, and yet was completely human, just like you and I. He experienced the same things that you and I experience as we go through life: physical pain, disappointment, disillusion, tiredness and hunger, happiness and love, and grief. Any human emotion we have ever had, Jesus has had, as well. That’s why He can be our everything: because He knows exactly how we feel.
Jesus has experienced the same emotions all of us do: He has been happy, sad, hungry, and tired. He has loved, and lost those He loved.
Our Lord knows what it is like to suffer the loss of a loved one. In these verses, He is speaking so tenderly to His friend Martha, whose brother Lazarus has died. Jesus loved Lazarus, Martha and Mary. They were great friends and supporters of Him and His ministry.
As we begin preparations for the holiday season when we celebrate the miracle of Christ's birth, we have to also acknowledge the miracle of the resurrection. Each
of us must answer the same question Jesus asked Martha, that day in Bethany. "Believest thou this?" This question is crucial to the message of the gospel.
And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your
sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most
miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become
the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death,
by man came also the resurrection of the dead. (I Co 15:17-21)
Many people, even some who readily believe in the miracle of His birth, have doubts about Christ's resurrection.
But the resurrection of Jesus is the most critical point of the gospel message. If Jesus was not resurrected, just as He said He would be, then He would be a liar, and we could not believe any part of the Bible.
Unless Jesus truly was resurrected, our faith is worthless, we would have no hope of our own resurrection or eternal life, and "We are of all men most to be pitied".
The Lord's resurrection is critical to the gospel message. It demonstrated Christ's deity, the fact that He had power over death.
Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I
might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of
myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.
This commandment have I received of my Father. (John 10:17-18)
He had told his closest friends, the disciples, exactly what kind of death he was going to experience (John 3:14, 8:28. 12:32-33)
and how in three days He would rise up from the dead. (Matthew 12:40, John 2:19-22) It all happened just as He had foretold.
His resurrection proved He could do just what He claimed he would do, proving His deity, His omnipotence, and His omniscience.
"Believest thou this?" Have you answered that question for yourself? There is no better time than now, as we celebrate the miracle of Christ's birth, to be sure that you have answered the question Jesus asked Martha all those years ago.
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