God has firmly established a plan of grace for all mankind which both begins and ends with Jesus. Jesus’ first two words in our verses for today–“I am”–are indicative of deity meaning: “I myself am He who is.” Our all-powerful Savior is mighty to save. Here He lovingly corrects Martha’s feeble faith by setting before her this high and exalted description of Himself. He needs no help. He possesses all capabilities. He is the all-sufficient One. He was and is not merely a human teacher, He was and is the divine author and perfecter of our faith. He is the answer to man’s dire dilemma of sin and death.
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:20-22)
I wonder, like Martha, do we place Jesus just a little above our own levels? Do we think of Him as merely a man without the all-achieving power to aid and comfort and encourage and heal and save us?
For believers in Jesus, the Lord has broken the bondage of sin, enabling us to no longer be held captive to its control. He lovingly cares for us, satisfying us in a sun-drenched land. Yet, like the Israelites, when we become satisfied, we often become proud, forgetting the one who delivered us. We fall into the pattern of seeking to be our own savior–taking things in our own hands–living life apart from His power when it is so readily ours for the asking.
Hosea puts it this way:
"But I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt. You shall acknowledge no God but me, no Savior except me. I cared for you in the desert, in the land of burning heat. When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me. (Hosea 13:4-6)
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.”
This we can be assured of: No prophet or Apostle spoke such as this. Only the one who knew He was God could proclaim these words and subsequently provide proof for His claim. In a wondrous, loving act of God toward all mankind–when mankind had a right to expect nothing, but was given everything–Jesus bled and died for our sins and was raised again.
“On Calvary, the One from whom you and I have a right to expect nothing because of our disobedience and sin, nevertheless, has given us everything! This is the deep, indefinable grace of the God who loves us so much that He sent Jesus to die for us, so that if we confess our sins, turn from them and put our faith in Christ we can live with Him forever. This is the mystery of a love that cannot be contained, that we cannot even hope to speak. We are to love our enemies because God loved His enemies–us.” (Michael Card)
“Jesus! What a friend for sinners! Jesus lover of my soul! Friends may fail me, foes assail me; He, my Savior, makes me whole. Hallelujah! What a Savior! Hallelujah! What a Friend! Saving, helping, keeping, loving, He is with me to the end.” (Wilbur Chapman, “Jesus! What a Friend for Sinners”)
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