Death had won. At least it seemed that way that day in the village of Bethany. Lazarus has been buried for four days. Grief hung heavy in the air. Food remained uneaten on the table. Mourners shuffled in and out offering words of condolence to the two sisters. The “Healer” was late. Probably too late.
When he finally arrived and spoke with Martha, the conversation took an unexpected detour. In the middle of mourning, he talks about life. “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.” (John 11.25) In fact, life is a recurring theme in John’s gospel, “…whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life… Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life…Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 3.16, 4.14, 8.12) Jesus is saying he has life as his essence. He is a life-giving force.
We may mistakenly believe that “eternal life” begins only after we die. As Senior Pastor Jeff Manion tells us in the clip below from this weekend, this “abundant” eternal life Jesus offers is to be experienced now and does not stop at death. It only gets better. If you’ve not yet experienced this life, we’d love to speak with you. Connect with us at btw@adabible.org to begin a conversation.
