Class Lesson March 27, 2016

The Bible Meets Life 

 

It happens every April. Thousands of baseball fans tell themselves, “This is the year my team wins the pennant!” Within a matter of months, however, the number of fans who hang on to that optimism will be slashed.


But they’ll all be back again next year! To borrow from Alexander Pope, “Hope springs eternal.”


Faltering hope is far more serious in other areas of life. For example, when someone dies whom we deeply love or on whom we’ve depended, we may feel we’ve lost all hope. Or, when cancer comes to our own door, we can become paralyzed with hopelessness.


These situations may seem hopeless, but Jesus’ resurrection provides hope for ultimate victory—victory over death. While death is inevitable, it doesn’t have to be our final reality. We can live again; we can experience an abundant life forever.


Jesus shows us how.

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

John 11:17-27 (NIV)


17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.

18 Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem,

19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother.

20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.

21“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

24 Martha answered, “I know 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 will live, even though they die;

26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.



Do you believe this?” 27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”



Believe (v. 26)—This term means to entrust oneself to something, not just to assent to a mental proposition. Such belief is a process that assumes action will result and all of life will be affected.


The Messiah (v. 27)—The Anointed One God promised in the Old Testament who would come in the future and be instrumental in inaugurating the kingdom of God. 

John 11:17-24

Lazarus had been sick. His sisters, Mary and Martha, were devoted followers of Jesus, so they sent a message to Him, hoping for a miraculous cure. Jesus delayed in coming, however, only arriving after Lazarus had “been in the tomb for four days” (v. 17). The time frame is significant because Jewish folklore claimed a person’s spirit hovered around the body for three days before departing for the afterlife. Therefore, anything Jesus did after arriving would be recognized as truly miraculous.


When Martha reached Jesus, she said, “Lord ... if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (v. 21). Her statement may sound like a rebuke, but her next statement helps us understand what she meant: “But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask” (v. 22). Martha’s initial words were more a statement of fact than a rebuke. She said, in essence, “I know you have power over disease, and if you had arrived in time I know you could have healed my brother.”


In response to Martha’s comments, Jesus bluntly predicted, “Your brother will rise again” (v. 23).


This should have been shocking to Martha, but she took it in stride. That’s because she heard Jesus’ words in the context of the common doctrine taught by the Pharisees of her day. Martha believed in a generic resurrection at a future point in time—“at the last day” (v. 24)—when God would reveal His power over death. She had no real expectation Jesus would do anything more to help Lazarus.



In a sense, Martha’s beliefs about the afterlife could be boiled down to the simple idea that, at some point in the future; everything would work out for the best. This notion is similar to what the majority of people believe about the afterlife today. Most people in our culture hope for some sort of life after death—some kind of heaven. This is a generic hope grounded more in a human sense of right and wrong (and in an overall positive outlook on life) than in God’s Word. Sadly, this kind of generic, “don’t worry, be happy” universalism is without substance. It brings false hope, which really is no hope at all.

Jesus has something better in mind for His followers. He has something better in mind for you!

What do our responses to tragedy reveal about our expectations of God?

John 11:25-26a

In verse 25, Jesus made His boldest and most direct claim about His power over life and death: “I am the resurrection and the life.” This is the fifth of Jesus’ seven “I am” statements in the Gospel of John.


1. “I am the resurrection.” Jesus did not say, “I can resurrect someone.” He said, “I am the resurrection.” He overcame death by going through it Himself and coming out alive on the other side.


2. “I am ... the life.” Jesus established His power to give life—not just quantity of life (forever), but quality of life (full and meaningful life now and forever).


Jesus said the means to access both resurrection and life is to believe in Him. “The one who believes in me will live, even though they die” (v. 25). Jesus challenged us to believe in Him personally as the means to eternal life—both now and forever. We must place our faith in Him alone. Mental agreement isn’t enough. There is no substitute for personal faith. You must believe in Jesus!


We often express personal faith in a prayer of commitment. If you are willing to place total trust in Jesus, then tell Him so honestly and earnestly in prayer.



Jesus continued with a statement that almost sounds contradictory: “Whoever lives by believing in me will never die” (v. 26). The wonderful promise from Jesus’ words is that physical death does not prevent us from experiencing eternal life. Life for the follower of Christ continues—even after physical death—in a glorified, resurrected body (see 1 Cor. 15:35-57). When you believe in Jesus, you get the best in both worlds. You have meaningful life now and eternal life with Him forever.

What does this “I am” statement teach us about Jesus’ nature and character?




How does Jesus’ statement in these verses produce hope?

“Death used to be an executioner, but the gospel has made him just a gardener."

—GEORGE HERBERT

John 11:26b-27


Jesus asked Martha a direct question: “Do you believe this?” (v. 26). He wanted a straight answer to an honest question based on what He had just revealed. He wants the same from us, as well.


In the next scene of this story, Jesus—along with Mary and Martha and many of the other mourners—arrived at Lazarus’s grave. Jesus was about to provide the ultimate object lesson to support His statement about being the resurrection and the life. At the tomb, He said, “Take away the stone” (v. 39).


Martha’s response was eminently practical: “By this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days” (v. 39). Did this statement mean Martha lacked faith? No. She only lacked understanding. Her words expressed what everyone standing in front of that tomb must have been thinking: “It’s way too late for what Jesus does—heal the sick.”


Jesus had something different in mind. He was moving beyond healing the sick to resuscitating the dead. (A resuscitated person ultimately dies again; a resurrected person never dies.) When Jesus resuscitated Lazarus, it served as a miraculous object lesson to demonstrate His own future resurrection, and the resurrection awaiting every person who believes in Him.


Jesus brought Lazarus out of the grave with the power of His voice. He has the power to give life and to sustain it—even through death. Jesus is your Source of life, both now and forever.

How does the hope of eternal life influence your daily decisions? 

LIVE IT OUT


Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Consider the following options for putting that truth into practice this week: 

• Answer the question. Take some time to reflect on Jesus’ question to Martha regarding His claim to be the resurrection and the life: “Do you believe this?” Answer that question for your own life. 

• Pray. Make a list of people within your spheres of influence who have not expressed faith in Jesus. Pray daily for each of those individuals by name. 

• Initiate a conversation. In addition to praying for those who need to experience Jesus as the resurrection and the life, take the next step of initiating a spiritual conversation with someone on that list. Express what you’ve experienced in your time as a follower of Christ, and express your desire to see that person know Christ, as well.

This may not be the year your favorite team wins a championship. But it can be the year you experience Jesus’ resurrection power in a deeper and more meaningful way. Take the steps necessary to know where you stand with Christ—and to help others encounter the One who offers life both now and forever.

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Our Lesson Today:

OUR NEED FOR HOPE

The moment we are born, our physical bodies are on a road that leads to death. We can eat right, exercise, and make healthy choices, but our bodies still wear out and die. Death for many is a sign of hopelessness. For example, when someone dies whom we deeply love or on whom we’ve depended, we may feel we’ve lost all hope. Or, when cancer comes to our own door, we can become paralyzed with hopelessness. These situations may seem hopeless, but Jesus’ resurrection provides hope for ultimate victory—victory over death. While death is inevitable, it doesn’t have to be our final reality. We can live again; we can experience an abundant life forever.


Jesus shows us how.

The Point: Jesus is the Resurrection who gives us life now and forever.



I. A SURE HOPE - John 11:17-24

17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, 19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. 21“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”


How do you account for the four days from Lazarus’ death until Jesus’ arrival in Bethany?

• Lazarus had been sick. His sisters, Mary and Martha, were devoted followers of Jesus, so they sent a message to Him, hoping for a miraculous cure. Jesus delayed in coming, however, only arriving after Lazarus had “been in the tomb for four days” (v. 17). The time frame is significant because Jewish folklore claimed a person’s spirit hovered around the body for three days before departing for the afterlife. Therefore, anything Jesus did after arriving would be recognized as truly miraculous.

What in Martha’s words to Jesus showed she was a woman of faith?

• When Martha reached Jesus, she said, “Lord ... if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (v. 21). Her statement may sound like a rebuke, but her next statement helps us understand what she meant: “But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask” (v. 22). Martha’s initial words were more a statement of fact than a rebuke. She said, in essence, “I know you have power over disease, and if you had arrived in time I know you could have healed my brother.”
• She knew He could have healed Lazarus if He had been there.
• She knew that God would give Jesus whatever He asked.
• She knew Lazarus would rise again in the resurrection – way off in the future.

What hope did Jesus give her?

• In response to Martha’s comments, Jesus bluntly predicted, “Your brother will rise again” (v. 23). This should have been shocking to Martha, but she took it in stride. That’s because she heard Jesus’ words in the context of the common doctrine taught by the Pharisees of her day. Martha believed in a generic resurrection at a future point in time—“at the last day” (v. 24)—when God would reveal His power over death. She had no real expectation Jesus would do anything more to help Lazarus. In a sense, Martha’s beliefs about the afterlife could be boiled down to the simple idea that, at some point in the future; everything would work out for the best. This notion is similar to what the majority of people believe about the afterlife today. Most people in our culture hope for some sort of life after death—some kind of heaven. This is a generic hope grounded more in a human sense of right and wrong (and in an overall positive outlook on life) than in God’s Word. Sadly, this kind of generic, “don’t worry, be happy” universalism is without substance. It brings false hope, which really is no hope at all.
• Jesus said that the resurrection was here now not far away!

Jesus has something better in mind for His followers. He has something better in mind for you!


What do our responses to tragedy reveal about our expectations of God?



Points:

• Jesus comes to us in our time of grief to comfort and strengthen us.
• People of faith are to reach out to one another in difficult times.
• Jesus makes a difference in our lives, even during our darkest moments.
• Through Jesus, we have access to the Father.
• The resurrection gives us hope that death is not the end of life.

II. A NEW LIFE - John 11:25-26a
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.

Believe (v. 26) —This term means to entrust oneself to something, not just to assent to a mental proposition. Such belief is a process that assumes action will result and all of life will be affected.


What did Jesus declare Himself to be?

• In verse 25, Jesus made His boldest and most direct claim about His power over life and death: “I am the resurrection and the life.” This is the fifth of Jesus’ seven “I am” statements in the Gospel of John.

1. “I am the resurrection.” Jesus did not say, “I can resurrect someone.” He said, “I am the resurrection.” He overcame death by going through it Himself and coming out alive on the other side.



2. “I am ... the life.” Jesus established His power to give life—not just quantity of life (forever), but quality of life (full and meaningful life now and forever).



To whom does Jesus personally become resurrection and life?

• Jesus said the means to access both resurrection and life is to believe in Him. “The one who believes in me will live, even though they die” (v. 25). Jesus challenged us to believe in Him personally as the means to eternal life—both now and forever. We must place our faith in Him alone. Mental agreement isn’t enough. There is no substitute for personal faith. You must believe in Jesus! We often express personal faith in a prayer of commitment. If you are willing to place total trust in Jesus, then tell Him so honestly and earnestly in prayer.

What is the promise that comes to the one who believes in Jesus?

• Jesus continued with a statement that almost sounds contradictory: “Whoever lives by believing in me will never die” (v. 26). The wonderful promise from Jesus’ words is that physical death does not prevent us from experiencing eternal life. Life for the follower of Christ continues—even after physical death—in a glorified, resurrected body (see 1 Cor. 15:35-57). When you believe in Jesus, you get the best in both worlds. You have meaningful life now and eternal life with Him forever.

What does this “I am” statement teach us about Jesus’ nature and character?

• Jesus embodies within Himself the power to bring the dead to life.
• Those who believe in, trust, and are committed to Jesus have the promise of eternal life.

How does Jesus’ statement in these verses produce hope?

• The one who believe in Jesus already has eternal life. Physical death is the means of transition from the old life of this world to the fullness of new life in eternity.

What does it mean to believe in Jesus? 

“Death used to be an executioner, but the gospel has made him just a gardener."

—GEORGE HERBERT

III. ONLY BELIEVE - John 11:26b-27

Do you believe this?” 27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”



The Messiah (v. 27)—The Anointed One God promised in the Old Testament who would come in the future and be instrumental in inaugurating the kingdom of God.



What question did Jesus pose to Martha? Why did Jesus ask Martha this?

• Jesus asked Martha a direct question: “Do you believe this?” (v. 26).
• He wanted a straight answer to an honest question based on what He had just revealed. He wants the same from us, as well.
• In the next scene of this story, Jesus—along with Mary and Martha and many of the other mourners—arrived at Lazarus’s grave. Jesus was about to provide the ultimate object lesson to support His statement about being the resurrection and the life. At the tomb, He said, “Take away the stone” (v. 39).

What was Martha’s response?

• “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
• Martha’s response was eminently practical: “By this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days” (v. 39). Did this statement mean Martha lacked faith? No. She only lacked understanding. Her words expressed what everyone standing in front of that tomb must have been thinking: “its way too late for what Jesus does—heal the sick.”

What did Jesus do to Lazarus?

• Jesus had something different in mind. He was moving beyond healing the sick to resuscitating the dead. (A resuscitated person ultimately dies again; a resurrected person never dies.) When Jesus resuscitated Lazarus, it served as a miraculous object lesson to demonstrate His own future resurrection, and the resurrection awaiting every person who believes in Him.
• Jesus brought Lazarus out of the grave with the power of His voice. He has the power to give life and to sustain it—even through death. Jesus is your Source of life, both now and forever.

How does the hope of eternal life influence your daily decisions?




Points:

• Our inability to understand completely the things of God is to be anchored in an unquestioned faith in Jesus and conviction that what He says is true and can be trusted.
• Each person is confronted with a decision to declare who Jesus is.
• Jesus is God’s anointed Son who came into the world to do the Father’s will and fulfill His plan for salvation.

This is Easter week. We remember the life and death of Jesus. Even though we reflect on the days of sorrow and grief, the story ends with celebration as we declare the message of His resurrection. Gloriously, we cry out, “Christ has risen! He has risen indeed!”



By His own resurrection Jesus gave validity to His claim that He is “the resurrection and the life.” Both are centered on Him, and Him alone. Therefore, we claim the hope; we receive the new life; and we invite the world to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

What did Jesus mean when He said, 'I am the Resurrection and the Life' (John 11:25)?


Answer: “I am the Resurrection and the Life” (John 11:25) is the fifth of the seven ”I am” statements of Jesus. Lazarus was dead. Earlier, Jesus had heard that His good friend was sick, but instead of going to visit Lazarus, Jesus “stayed where he was for two more days” (John 11:6). He explained to His puzzled disciples that the sickness was “for God’s glory, that God’s Son may be glorified through it” (v. 4). After Lazarus died, Jesus began a journey to Bethany, Lazarus’s home. Significantly, when Jesus informed His disciples that Lazarus was dead, He simply said His friend was “asleep, but I am going there to wake him up” (John 11:11).


Outside Bethany, Lazarus’s sister Martha went out to meet Jesus. “If you had been here,” she said, “my brother would not have died.” Such was her faith in Jesus’ power to heal. Jesus replied by assuring Martha that her brother would rise again. Martha responded again in faith: “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” At this point, Jesus makes His fifth “I Am” statement in John’s gospel, “I am the resurrection and the life,” and He follows it with a call to faith: “He who believes in me will live, even though he dies, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die” (John 11:21-24).


When Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life,” He was claiming to be the source of both.

• There is no resurrection apart from Christ, and
• There is no eternal life apart from Christ.

Beyond that, Jesus was also making a statement concerning His divine nature. He does more than give life; He is life, and therefore death has no ultimate power over Him. Jesus confers this spiritual life on those who believe in Him, so that they share His triumph over death (1 John 5:11-12). Believers in Jesus Christ will experience resurrection because, having the life Jesus gives, it is impossible for death to defeat them (1 Corinthians 15:53-57).


The grieving Martha wished that Jesus had arrived earlier so He could have healed her brother. And when Jesus spoke of resurrection, Martha assumed He was speaking of “the resurrection at the last day.” In both statements, Martha reveals that she considered Time an insurmountable obstacle. In effect, Martha was saying, “It’s too late to help Lazarus (the time is past), so now we must wait (allow more time).”


Jesus shows that neither Death nor time is an obstacle to Him. Outside the tomb, “Jesus called in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come forth!’ The dead man came out” (John 11:43). Its one thing to claim to be the resurrection and the life, but Jesus proved it by raising Lazarus, who was four days dead. Truly, with Christ, death is but “sleep” (1 Thessalonians 4:13). Death has no dominion over Him who is Life itself, nor does death have dominion over those who are in Him (1 Corinthians 15:54-55). Because He lives, we live. Because He is Life, we have life eternally.


Jesus’ statement that He is the resurrection and the life provides a godly perspective on several spiritual matters. Martha believed that the resurrection is an event; Jesus showed her (and us) that the resurrection is a Person. Martha’s knowledge of eternal life was an abstract idea; Jesus proved that knowledge of eternal life is a personal relationship. Martha thought victory over death was a future expectation; Jesus corrects her, showing that victory is a present reality.


After presenting Himself as the resurrection and the life, Jesus asks Martha an all-important question: “Do you believe this?” (John 11:26). May Martha’s answer be ours as well: “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God who was to come into the world” (verse 27).

Prayer of Commitment

Lord, I too believe You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is the resurrection and the Life. Amen.




Join us this Sunday as we celebrate The Resurrection!




In His Love,


David & Susan