Do You Believe This?

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" (John 11:25-26 NIV)

As Passion Week and the Day of Resurrection approach, it is good to remember that Jesus dealt in resurrection power before He went to the cross. Mankind has been in need of resurrection since the Day of Sin in the Garden of Eden. The first Adam brought death into the world through sin (Romans 5:12), and the Second Adam, Jesus Christ, brought life for all who will receive it (Romans 5:18). This life that came to us through Jesus is one of the basic characteristics of God and His kingdom. Jesus plainly said in these passages, "I am . . . the life." Lazarus was one of the first beneficiaries of the power of life that is in the Son of God.

This life that comes to us from heaven in the person of the Jesus Christ is more accurately explained in the Greek word zoe, pronounced zō-ā. For us, zoe-life is a life that is absolute and abundant, a life in which there is no death. We often call this eternal life, or everlasting life; a life that transcends the curse of death which came upon the human race as a result of Adam's sin. We know that this life flows through the Kingdom of Heaven, and its fruit is borne by the tree of life, which grows on both sides of the River of Life (Revelation 22:1-2). It is this life in which there is no death, this absolute life, which flowed through the human body of Jesus, for He is life. It is this absolute life that raised Jesus from the dead through the glory of the Father, and it is this life that is promised to everyone who confesses that Jesus is Lord and believes in his heart that God raised Jesus from the dead.

We may only participate in this absolute resurrection-life by believing that Jesus was raised from the dead. He said to the blind men, "According to your faith will it be done to you." (Matthew 9:29 NIV). We participate in zoe-life by believing in the One who gives it--the One who demonstrated the future that each of us has who believe that Jesus is Lord and that God raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9-10).

Do you believe this???