by Ptr. Art Calaguas
Shalom.
Now we continue with the next εγώ εἰμι (“I AM”) declaration that has a metaphor as its nominative predicate. This is found in John 11:25. The immediate context is familiar to us and informs us that the Lord Jesus was told that his friend Lazarus was ill and his 2 sisters, Martha and Mary requested his presence. But the Lord did not leave right away and Lazarus died. By the time the Lord arrived at Bethany, Lazarus had laid in a tomb for four (4) days. The grief over Lazarus’ death was deeply felt by the Lord in his conversation with Martha. She believed that Lazarus would be resurrected at the last day. In response to this, the Lord Jesus made his declaration.
The Greek verse of John 11:25 and my translation are given below:
εἶπεν αὐτῇ ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ἀνάστασις καὶ ἡ ζωή· ὁ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμὲ κἂν ἀποθάνῃ ζήσεται,
Jesus answered her; “I AM the resurrection and the life; the one believing in me even if he died, he will live,”
One can imagine the force of the Lord’s declaration to Martha: “I truly/really AM the resurrection and the life!” And in the next verse 26, the Lord added that whoever lives and believes in him shall never die and asked Martha if she believed this. Martha believed that he was the Messiah and the Son of God. The Lord Jesus then proceeded to bodily resurrect Lazarus.
The whole of John 11 is part of the context with its connections to the previous miracles and signs the Lord had done as narrated in the previous chapters, especially John 9 (i.e., healing of the man born blind). Because the Lord raised Lazarus from the dead, we are sure that he meant his declaration to be literally understood by all those who witnessed the miracle. Many of the Jews who were there to console with the sisters believed after the Lord displayed his power over death. But others reported to the Pharisees the astounding event and the result was even more plotting on the part of the Ἰουδαῖοι to kill the Lord Jesus. The next chapter later tells us that they even included the risen Lazarus as part of their murderous plot! Part of the bigger context was that this miracle was the prelude to the triumphant entry of our Lord into Jerusalem before the Passover festival, presenting himself as the Messiah to the people’s acclaim as narrated in the chapter 12.
The Lord used the word ἀνάστασις (“anastasis,” a noun meaning a standing up, a resurrection, a raising up, rising again). But in the New Testament (NT) 2 other words are used in the resurrection narratives according to our Greek Lexicons: ἐγείρω (“egeiró,” a verb meaning to waken, to raise up); and ἀνίστημι (“anistémi,” a verb meaning to raise up, to rise). While ἀνάστασις (“anastasis”) is almost exclusively used for physical resurrection, ἐγείρω (“egeiró”) and ἀνίστημι (“anistémi”) have other uses, not necessarily meaning or related to raising the dead back to life.
In the Bible, there were bodily resurrections or raising the dead back to life but these miracles were few and the thought/doctrine itself was not clearly elucidated. Hence Jews had different beliefs about this which developed over time. In the Old Testament (OT) the specific verses narrating an actual physical event or alluding to a resurrection or raising of the dead include:
(1) 1 Kings 17:7-24 (Elijah and the Zarephath widow’s son);
(2) 2 Kings 4:8-37 (Elisha and the Shunammite woman’s son);
(3) 2 Kings 13:20-21 (Elisha’s bones revive a dead man);
(4) Job 19:25-27 (Job trusts that even after his death he will yet live to see the LORD, his Redeemer);
(5) Psalm 16:8-11 (Peter in Acts 2: 25-28, 31; and Paul in Acts 13:35-37 quoted this psalm while referring to the resurrection of our Lord Jesus);
(6) Isaiah 26:19 (Prophecy that the dead will rise; cf. 26:14);
(7) Daniel 12:2 (First OT verse that distinguishes a resurrection to everlasting life for the righteous and another to disgrace and everlasting contempt for the unrighteous); and
(8) Daniel 12:13 (Prophecy of the resurrection of Daniel himself).
Likewise, in the NT there are verses that narrate or allude, mention, or discuss about the raising of the dead and/or resurrection. Aside from the Lord Jesus himself bodily resurrecting the dead, the apostles Peter and Paul have a resurrection event attributed to each of them. These verses include:
(1) Matthew 9:18-26 (Raising of the daughter of Jairus; with parallels in Mark 5:35-43 and Luke 8:49-56);
(2) Luke 7:11-17 (Raising a widow’s son in Nain);
(3) John 11:1-44 (Raising Lazarus);
(4) Acts 9:36-42 (Peter raises Tabitha/Dorcas);
(5) Acts 20:7-12 (Paul raises Eutychus);
(6) John 5:19-29 (The Son authorized and gives life; cf. Daniel 12:2);
(7) 1 Corinthians 15:12-28 (Paul discusses the core Christian belief of physical resurrection); and
(8) 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (Paul discusses the Lord’s 2nd coming and the resurrection of believers).
[Each of the items or a combination of them in the 2 lists can be explored further and even be taken up as separate Bible Study topics.]
Now, during the time of our Lord Jesus, there was a belief among the Jews (as later written in the Mishnah, Yebamot 16:3a-e) that “For the first three days after death the soul floats above the body, thinking that it will return to the body.” More than these three (3) days, the soul leaves the body permanently. Thus, for most of the Jews who believed in bodily resurrection (excluding the Sadducees; as per Matthew 22:23/Mark 12:18/Luke 20:27; Acts 23:6-8) during that time, the belief was that one can only get raised from the dead by God within 3 days. But in the raising of Lazarus, the body had been in the tomb for 4 days by the time our Lord arrived (John 11:17 and 11:39). Yet he raised Lazarus anyway, thus proving his declaration to Martha; making the metaphor a reality; showing that you just can’t put God in a limited box; and displaying his absolute power over death!
We will continue next week with other Biblical as well as non-Biblical references and other Jewish thoughts about physical resurrection.
God bless us all.