![]() After all, He is the source of all life (John 1:3,4). This exclusive claim means that He alone can restore and sustain life. Jesus said to Martha, ‘I am the resurrection and the life’ (John 11:25). Jesus’s response, teaches us that, as God, He can confer physical and spiritual life when He chooses. This is very sobering but we must remember the tremendous offer of eternal life is available to every single person in this life. ![]() Those without saving faith will be raised with bodies that will be condemned to eternal torment (Daniel 12:2, Revelation 20:15, Matthew 10:28). Those with saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ will be raised with glorified bodies that will never die again, to experience continued eternal life in heaven, a place of unending joy and bliss. This claim appeared so bold that she interpreted His words in the light of a future day of judgment when every person would be raised to stand before God (John 5:28,29).Ī future resurrection will certainly be universal however, two groups of people will arise from death, and their final destinations will be very different. Jesus illustrated His true identity by making the extraordinary statement to Martha that ‘your brother will come back to life again’ (John 11:23, NET). This diagnosis is far more distressing than Martha’s temporary grief. The Bible describes this as spiritual death, not just for our body, but also for our soul. To die without having accepted the eternal life that Jesus alone can give means suffering eternal separation and punishment in the place called hell and subsequently the lake of fire. If we have not yet accepted Jesus personally as Saviour and Lord then we remain distant from God, heading for eternal isolation from the One who is the source of all goodness and life. In a much greater sense the principle is still true today. Jesus’s absence had caused pain, but His presence would soon bring comfort. Jesus was met by one of Lazarus’s sisters, Martha, who expressed her consuming thought: ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died’ (John 11:21). Since the eastern custom was for burial on the day of death, Lazarus had now been in the grave four days. Devoid of that fundamental pre-requisite for physical life, the human corpse remains in the grave in what the Bible describes as a state of sleep, to be awakened in a future day (Acts 24:15).Įventually, Jesus arrived at the village of Bethany near Jerusalem to witness the scene of grief. When we die, our eternally existent soul is separated from our mortal body. Indeed, in the Bible the term ‘death’ actually speaks of separation. The Bible makes clear that death is not the end of the road. We will all continue to exist after physical death as we each have a soul which is eternal. ![]() Lazarus’ physical death did not mean the end of his existence. His verdict on the situation was simply that ‘our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him’ (John 11:11, NET). Despite His special friendship with the family, He intentionally delayed responding to this summons by two more days (John 11:6) He was going to use this opportunity to demonstrate to everyone God’s power over death.īefore travelling to Lazarus’s hometown, Jesus already knew that Lazarus was dead (John 11:14). The reaction of Jesus on receiving a call for help, however, changes our whole outlook on death. ![]() The Bible insists that it is appointed to each one of us to die, for all human beings, including Christians, are subject to physical death (Hebrews 9:27). No advancements in medical science will ever overcome this reality. Lazarus’s sisters experienced the inevitable onset of grief and loss, their sadness deepened by the fact that Jesus, despite being contacted, had not appeared in time to prevent this death.ĭeath is inescapable. The background to this miracle is detailed in chapter 11 of John’s Gospel: following a sudden illness, Lazarus, a close friend of Jesus, died. The resurrection of Lazarus is one such example. Jesus’s miracles were evidences of His deity but they were never random events: they taught spiritual realities we need to pay close attention to. One of the greatest public miracles Jesus ever performed was the act of raising back to life a dead man named Lazarus.
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