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

Please God, bless everyone and help me to be good. Please let there be no fires or other hazardous things tonight. Amen. 

These are the words I prayed as a child every night before falling asleep. I didn’t grow up in a believing family, so the first ten words of my prayer came from a character in the book, Little Men, by Louisa May Alcott. I related to a little boy who also didn’t know how to pray. In the story, he copied a younger child’s prayer. And I copied his. The second part of my prayer came from my fear of dying at night ~ especially in a fire. 

Without faith in God, there is no comfort in the face of death. So when I became a Christian, I loved the following verse:

Since the children have flesh and blood, he [Jesus] too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. (Hebrews 2:14-15 NIV)

As a Christian, I know Jesus has the answer to death (1 Corinthians 15:55-57). But sometimes I wonder what my last moment on this earth will be like ~ and that thought still invokes fear. As someone once said, I’m not afraid of death. But I am afraid of dying. Thankfully, Jesus has the answer not only to death, but also to dying. 

In John 11 we read that a friend of Jesus, Lazarus, had fallen ill.  Jesus waited two days before going to see him. He explained to His disciples that this illness would not end in death, but that God, and His son, would be glorified through it (John 11:1-7).

When Jesus arrived, Lazarus had been dead and laid in the tomb for four days. To comfort Martha, the sister of Lazarus, Jesus reminded her that her brother would rise again. Martha assumed Jesus meant Lazarus would be raised at the end of time (John 11:17-24). In response, Jesus made His fifth I AM Statement:

“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you [Martha] believe this?” (John 11:25b-26 NIV emphasis added)

I’ve often wondered what Jesus could mean by these words. Lazarus lay in a tomb, physically dead. And I’ve known many other faithful disciples who have physically died. 

As I’ve studied this passage, I believe Jesus did not mean our bodies will never die. But at the moment when our physical body dies, the essence of who we are ~ our spirit, personality, soul ~ will not die but transition to the next life. 

Jesus’ words to Martha were not a generic expression of comfort. They pronounced His promise ~ in Jesus we find both resurrection and eternal life. After making His declaration, Jesus asked Martha if she believed Him. Even before seeing her brother raised from the dead, Martha expressed her faith in Jesus as the Messiah (John 11:27). 

And so that we may be confident in His promise, Jesus then asked for the stone to be moved away from the tomb and called Lazarus to come out. After Lazarus walked out, Jesus instructed them to take off the grave clothes because Lazarus was no longer dead, but alive (John 11:38-44).

Thankfully, Jesus is the resurrection and the life. We no longer need to fear death or dying. Because of Jesus we can transition seamlessly from this life to the next. 

Thank you, Jesus, for being the resurrection and the life. Because of you, we no longer need to live in fear of death and dying. May we, like Martha, believe Your words, and may they bring us great comfort. We pray this in Your Name. Amen.