The Love of God: I Am the Resurrection

John 11 shows us that the love of God is stronger than death.

Lazarus dies. Jesus weeps. But then Jesus raises him from the dead.

And in doing so, He reveals who He is: the resurrection and the life.

Jesus delays

When Jesus hears that Lazarus is sick, He stays where He is for two more days.

This seems strange. If He loves Lazarus, why doesn't He come immediately?

But Jesus is not indifferent.

He delays because He has a greater purpose: to reveal His glory and strengthen faith.

The love of God sometimes delays, not because it does not care, but because it has a greater plan.

Jesus weeps

When Jesus arrives, Lazarus has been in the tomb for four days.

Martha meets Him and says:

"Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."

Mary says the same thing.

Then Jesus sees Mary weeping. He sees the mourners weeping.

And the text says:

"Jesus wept."

This is one of the shortest and most powerful verses in Scripture.

Jesus knows He is about to raise Lazarus. He knows death will not have the final word.

But He still weeps.

The love of God does not minimize our pain. It enters into it.

I am the resurrection and the life

Jesus says to Martha:

"I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die."

This is not a promise for the future only.

This is a present reality.

Jesus does not say, "I will bring resurrection someday."

He says, "I AM the resurrection."

The love of God does not merely promise life after death. It offers life now in the person of Jesus Christ.

Lazarus, come out!

At the tomb, Jesus prays aloud for the sake of the crowd.

Then He calls:

"Lazarus, come out!"

And Lazarus comes out, still wrapped in burial cloths.

This is the power of Christ.

Death cannot resist His voice.

The grave cannot hold those He calls.

The love of God has authority over death. And one day, that same voice will call all who are in Christ out of the grave.

The plot to kill Jesus

Many believe because of this miracle.

But the religious leaders plot to kill Jesus.

They fear losing their position and power.

So they decide: it is better that one man die than that the whole nation perish.

They speak prophetically without knowing it.

Jesus will die. But not to preserve their system.

He will die to save sinners.

The love of God uses even the hatred of men to accomplish salvation.

Final exhortation

The love of God in John 11 is this:

Christ is the resurrection and the life.

He weeps with those who mourn.

He delays for purposes we do not always understand.

But He does not leave us in death.

He calls us out of the grave.

Trust Him, even when He delays.

Believe Him, even when death seems final.

Because Jesus is the resurrection and the life, and everyone who believes in Him will live.

Closing prayer

Father, thank You for sending Your Son who is the resurrection and the life. Thank You that He weeps with us in our sorrow and has power over death itself. Strengthen our faith to trust You even when we do not understand, and give us the assurance that death is not the end. In Jesus' name, amen.