“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’” – John 11:25-26
How far would you go to avoid death?
Death can be a very scary thing. Though, if a 1973 survey is to be believed, people are more scared of public speaking than death. Or, as Jerry Seinfeld put it,
“According to most studies, people’s number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you’re better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.”
But seriously, death scares a lot of people. In fact, some have allowed the fear of death to prevent them from truly living and living boldly. What Jesus says in John 11:25-26 should affect our perception of death and our fear of death.
Two Kinds of Deaths
If death wasn’t scary enough, the Bible actually talks about two deaths.
Both of these types of death are referenced in John 11:25-26.
Three Kinds of Life
In Greek, there are three words for life, one for physical life (body), one for mental emotional life, and one for spiritual life. The word Jesus uses in John 11:25-26 is spiritual life.
With these understandings of life and death in mind, we could translate John 11:25-26 this way,
I am the resurrection and the spiritual life. He who believes in me will live spiritually, even though he dies physically; and whoever lives spiritually and believes in me will never die spiritually.
Life Beyond Life and Death
Through faith in Jesus, we receive a spiritual life that is greater than our physical life and which physical death cannot overcome.
So, why do we still die physically?
The simple answer is sin. Death is the result of sin. Since our bodies are corrupted by sin, they are mortal. They will die. However, while we still die physically, when we have spiritual life from Jesus, we will never suffer spiritual death. In fact, the spiritual life we have in Christ will overcome physical death and we will be raised again and given new, immortal, physical bodies, uncorrupted by sin. It’s like a seed dying and springing forth a new living plant.
No Fear of Death
Because we know that through faith we have spiritual life in Christ, we do not need to fear death anymore. Jesus very clearly demonstrated how little power death had compared to Him at the time he spoke what we read in John 11:25-26. Shortly after saying this, he raised Lazarus from the dead. Death has no power over Jesus.
So, we do not need to fear physical death. I’m not saying to live recklessly, but rather not to live in fear. There are things more important than not physically dying. When we realize that Christ delivers us through death into eternal life, we can boldly live for those more important things
Dear Jesus,
Thank You for my life, both my physical life and my spiritual life. Thank You for overcoming death and give me eternal life. Help me to always remember that You are greater than death. Remove my fear of death that I may live boldly in faith towards You and love towards others.
Amen.
In Christ’s Service,
Pastor Kurt
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