Do You Believe This?

Jeff Peper
Written By Jeff Rybacki
 

“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?

John 11:25-26

Yes, I’m piggy-backing onto Rob’s sermon from Sunday. But I want to make sure that we have all made a careful consideration of this passage of scripture. John records Jesus making a statement, an explanation and a question, which are at the center of our existence. These (3) comments should be something that every Christian has seriously considered, and simply sweeping such statements under the rug while being content to call yourself a Christian for no other reason will not suffice. 

As Rob discussed in his sermon on Sunday, Martha was trying to comfort herself by acknowledging that her deceased brother Lazarus, would live again in the resurrection, just as we would console ourselves today when we lose a loved one with the understanding that we will see them again. What Martha had failed to realize is that the key to this power rested firmly in the grip of the man set before her. Jesus is the resurrection and the life. There’s a difference in our perception in matters such as these when we think of Christ as being in control, rather than God. I think because we associate Christ with his humanity and therefore it seems more foreign that he should hold the control over something like resurrection and life. 

However, resurrection and eternal life are not the only times we struggle to ascribe things to Jesus, which are easily ascribed to God. Imagine telling a friend that you believe in God, you pray to God, or even that you value your relationship with God; 

they likely won’t take much offense or they will believe you to be a mildly spiritual person. However if you replace God with Jesus in those (3) statements, they take on a whole new meaning. If you’ve been a Christian for long you know this to be true, and the uneasy feeling this causes should tell you there is some way you need to explore Christ deeper. By Christ saying, “I am the resurrection and the life.” He is drawing a clear line in the sand and saying he is God and that all things that matter are held in his hands. 

He then goes on to say “Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” While some may take this to hopefully point to a life apart from death or suffering, it is getting to the greater heart of the matter which is eternity. Luke Chapter 12:4 records Christ’s further clarification on the matter then he says, “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do.” Christ lays out the promise in a clear way that is unavoidable, while Christ would at times speak in parables here he does not. Here he is abundantly clear for all to understand. 

He then lands with the question all people who are presented the Gospel must answer, “Do you believe this?” Now that you have this information, what are you going to do with it? Will you accept the prompting of the Holy Spirit and accept the glorious gift of salvation, or will you continue to quench the Spirit and live life in your own way. This black and white question is freeing in some ways, there’s no getting around it. You either believe, or you don’t. It cuts at the heart of our all-inclusive society, Jesus can not be lumped in with other Spiritual leaders, he makes a claim that only makes sense if he is God. 

Whenever I see this passage or similar ones where we are confronted with the black and white question of what you intend to do with the person of Jesus Christ, I’m reminded of C.S. Lewis’ words in his classic, Mere Christianity. 

“I am trying here to prevent anyone from saying the really foolish things that people often say about Him (Jesus): ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic-on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg-or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God; or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”



Prayer 

Father God, we thank you for making your message clear to us and for bringing it  through the centuries so that we might know. Sometimes we need things to have a  clear choice, we must go right or we must go left, there is no middle ground on this  issue. Help us to understand that while you have lavished so much grace upon us, that  there is no wiggle room in this matter. Father, challenge us so that we never lose sight  of this all-important message. Never allow us to forget that while there are other  principles of the Christian life that you have called us to as part of our sanctification,  that this decision is the hook on which it all hangs. If the hook is not properly secured  to this truth, all other efforts will fail.




 
Jeff Rybacki
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