Meditation 251
John 11: 1-45
The gospel of John is the one in which we find the “I am” statements of Jesus.
I am the bread of life.
I am the light of the world.
I am the door of the sheep.
I am the resurrection and the life.
I am the good shepherd.
I am the way, the truth, and the life.
I am the true vine
These statements are unique to John, and they would have had significance for the Jewish hearers of his day. “I am” is God’s name as it was revealed to Moses, and it was a phrase that was understood to identify the holy one. The “I am” statements of Jesus were a definite introduction to others of who he was. When the writer of John’s gospel, used these “I am” statements in the gospel of John, he was bearing witness to who Jesus is. Jesus is God.
When Martha comes to greet Jesus after her brother Lazarus had died she and Jesus have a talk about the resurrection, and Martha says that she believes that her brother will rise again in the resurrection on the last day. She can believe that in the future when an apocalyptic event happens at the end of time that her brother will be raised again. In response to this rather broad statement of what will happen sometime down the road, Jesus says “I am the resurrection and the life.” Right here in front of Martha was the resurrection and the life. Martha tells Jesus that she believes that he is the Messiah, the Son of God. She then goes to get her sister Mary. They all go to the tomb, and here Jesus prays and calls Lazarus out of the tomb. Still wearing the grave clothes Lazarus walks out to them.
We may wonder why Jesus called Lazarus back from death but not others. In verse 4 Jesus said that the illness that Lazarus had would not lead to death, but rather was for God’s glory. This act of Jesus showed that the glory of God is not overcome by death, but rather that God is stronger than death. And so we have hope and so we may believe. There are things that can happen in our lives that have us feel lifeless, but then we can hear the voice of Jesus saying “I am the resurrection and the life.” Each day we live with Jesus who embodies this truth that “Goodness is stronger than evil, Love is stronger than hate, Light is stronger than darkness, Truth is stronger than lies.” (A Wee Worship Book. Iona Community)