The Resurrection And The Life Series

Jesus knew what she did not.

Jesus knew what she would soon learn.

Jesus knew what she was about to see with her own eyes:

Jesus’ voice breaks the bonds of death…every time.

So…don’t cry.

It is a command that was echoed outside the garden tomb,

as John’s Gospel records:

Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” (John 20:11-13a, NIV).

Why wouldn’t she cry?

Like that poor widow of Nain, why wouldn’t she cry?

Until Jesus came….and chased away the tears.

That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t cry

when a friend or loved one sheds “this mortal coil,”

as Shakespeare called it.

But it does mean,

for all who have experienced new life through faith in Jesus Christ,

We do not…grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14, NIV).

So, “don’t cry,”

because with his resurrection, Jesus fulfilled the prophet Isaiah’s promise:

He will destroy

the shroud that enfolds all peoples,

the sheet that covers all nations;

he will swallow up death forever.

The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears

from all faces (Isaiah 25:7-8a, NIV).

So, don’t be afraid,

don’t cry, and finally…

3. Believe

There was one more resurrection that foreshadowed Jesus’ victory over the grave.

One day, Jesus received a message from his friends Mary and Martha, telling him that their brother Lazarus was sick. By the time Jesus arrived on the scene, however, Lazarus had not only died, but had been in the tomb for four days.

The Bible tells us:

When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.

“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

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 11:20-26, NIV).

Martha said, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection.”

Jesus said, “I AM the resurrection.”

Martha had faith in “the afterlife.”

Jesus said, “I AM the life.”

Martha believed.

Jesus said, “Believe in me.”

Jesus’ victory over death makes believing in him more than possible;

it should make it irresistible!

So what does it mean to believe in Jesus?

Let me put it in the simplest terms I can,

and give you a quick ABCs of believing in Jesus Christ.