The Resurrection is a Person

Meditations for Seeking the Life in Christ

The Gospel of John

 August 21, 2024

The Resurrection is a Person

Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.  Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?”

John  11:25-26

We can know about someone, or we can know of them. We can also know them; know them personally. Professor Thomas Long came to our church a few years ago to lead a Spiritual Formation Weekend. Previously, I had heard Dr. Long preach in conference settings and I had read several of his books. For the year before his visit, I corresponded with him. When he arrived, I had the opportunity to engage him one on one; I got to know him!

Martha had been in various settings with Jesus on numerous occasions, and she had come to have great respect and appreciation for his ministry. She affirmed her faith in the final judgment of God and in Jesus, “I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God” (John 11:27). Yet, she still did not know him. Martha’s ‘if only’ statement to Jesus reveals an underlying trust in his supernatural powers, but does not reveal an intimate knowledge of the person of Jesus. In his conversation with Martha, Jesus was able to help her understand that the resurrection was not some future event that will happen some day; the resurrection is a person. Jesus, as God’s Messiah, has enabled the future hope of God’s restored Kingdom to become a present reality.

My Takeaway: If we are not very careful, Sola gratia, by grace alone, can become just another doctrinal statement. Seeking the life in Christ is first, last, and always all about the person of Jesus and our anthem is:

This is the air I breathe
This is the air I breathe
Your holy presence living in me

This is my daily bread
This is my daily bread
Your very word spoken to me

And I I'm desperate for you
And I I'm lost without you

Breathe

©1995 Mercy / Vineyard Publishing

Words and Music by Marie Barnett

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

 

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2024 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.