John 11:25-26

"I Am The Resurrection"

Tim Black

1. Introduction

   1. When Jesus Christ rose from the dead, he proved that His claims were true.

      1. He proved that He is the true and living God.

      2. He proved that He is the only Savior of mankind.

      3. He proved that by believing in Him, you may receive eternal life.

   2. We’re going to look at three of His claims today, which are all wrapped up into one in John 11:25-26:

      1. I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.

   3. You can see each of His claims in this passage:

      1. First, Jesus proclaims, “I Am!”

      2. Second, Jesus proclaims “I am the resurrection!”

      3. Third, by promising you eternal life, Jesus proclaims “I am alive forevermore!”

   4. These claims will be the three main points of this sermon.

1. Body

   1. I Am – Exodus 3:14

      1. In His first claim, Jesus calls our attention back to Exodus 3:14, where God introduced His name by saying “I AM WHO I AM.”

      2. Exodus 3:13-14 13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

      3. The name - YHWH

         1. These words “I AM WHO I AM” are the Hebrew words ehyeh asher ehyeh, from the verb hayah, which means “to be.” Here God says that His special name Yahweh comes from this verb hayah. He shortens the name to “I AM” – ehyeh – in v. 14, and says this means the same as the name “Yahweh.” We commonly translate the name “Yahweh” in the OT as “LORD” in all capital letters, because to avoid taking God’s name in vain, the Jews would not say the name “Yahweh,” but instead said “Adonis,” which means “Lord.” Throughout the OT, they replaced the vowels of “Yahweh” with the vowels of “Adonis,” and so the Greek translation of the OT translates the word not as “Yahweh,” or “I AM,” but using the Greek word for “Lord,” which is kurios.

         2. God had revealed His name Yahweh before Exodus 3.

            • God said to Abraham and to Jacob,

              • Genesis 28:13 I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac.

              • Genesis 46:3 I am God

              • Genesis 17:1 I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless.

              • Genesis 15:1 I am your shield; your exceedingly great reward.

         3. But in Exodus 3 he attached a special significance to the name. What does the name Yahweh–“I AM”–mean?

            • God’s eternal pre-existence. First, it simply means God exists! Just like He says He does.

            • God is self-defined, independent, a se. Second, it means God is not defined by His creation, but defined by Himself. He is not dependent on His creation, but is completely sufficient within Himself. He is self-defined. Self-existent. “I AM WHO I AM.” And for this reason, to Moses’ fearful question, “Who am I?” God answered, “I AM.” Moses, it doesn’t matter that you are weak, afraid, and not able to speak, what matters is that I am God, and I will accomplish my purpose through you. And so throughout Exodus 3, even where the name Yahweh doesn’t appear, God draws all attention to His own divine omnipotence by repeating the personal pronoun “I” -- “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob!” “I have seen,” “I know,” “I have come,” and “I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt!” Moses, you are not the Savior! “I am!” “I will be with you.” “I am to be remembered,” “I will bring you up,” “I will stretch out my hand,” “I will be with your mouth.”

            • God is present in redeeming activity: Context of the Exodus. Third, it means God had not forgotten His people while they were suffering as slaves in Egypt. They would ask, “Moses, where is this God named Yahweh? Is He even there?” To which God replied, “I AM.” The verbs in “I AM WHO I AM” are in the imperfect tense so actually refer to the future--“I will be who I will be.” God declared repeatedly that His great purpose in rescuing His people from slavery in Egypt was that “Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.” (Exodus 6:7)

              • Not only the Hebrews, but also “The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them. ” (Exodus 7:5)

              • And that is what happened! The Egyptians on their chariots in the midst of the Red Sea cried out, “Yahweh fights for them!” --Yahweh!-- (Exodus 14:25), and the Israelites “believed in the LORD.” In Yahweh. (Exodus 14:31)

      4. OT uses. Throughout the rest of the OT, God’s majestic glory, His awesome justice, and His tender mercy are all expressed in the fact that He is the great “I AM.”

         1. Yahweh is the only true God!

            • Deuteronomy 32:39 See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.

            • Psalms 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!

            • Isaiah 41:4 Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord, the first, and with the last; I am he.

            • Isaiah 42:8 I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.

            • Isaiah 43:10 I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me.

            • Isaiah 43:11-13 I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior. 12 I declared and saved and proclaimed, when there was no strange god among you; and you are my witnesses, declares the Lord, and I am God. 13 Also henceforth I am he; there is none who can deliver from my hand; I work, and who can turn it back?

            • Isaiah 43:15 I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.

            • Isaiah 44:6 Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.

            • Isaiah 48:12 Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called! I am he; I am the first, and I am the last.

            • Isaiah 44:24 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: I am the Lord, who made all things,who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself,

            • Isaiah 45:5 I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God .

         2. Do you know this great “I AM?” God declared this was his purpose in the key events of the OT - “Then you will know that I am the Lord.”

            • This is why He provided manna in the wilderness - Exodus 16:12

            • This is why He granted Ahab victory over the Syrians – 1 Kings 20:13, 28

            • This is why He punished both Israel and their neighbors for their sins at the time of the Exile - Isaiah 49:23, 26; Ezek. 5:13; 6:7, 10, 13, 14; 7:4, 9, 27; 11:10, 12; 12:15, 16, 20; 13:9, 14, 21, 23; 14:8; 15:7; 17:21; 20:38; 22:16, 22; 23:49; 24:24, 27; 25:5, 7, 11, 17; 26:6; 28:22-24, 26; 29:6, 9, 16, 21; 30:8, 19, 25, 26; 32:15; 33:29; 34:27, 30; 35:4, 9, 12, 15

            • This is why He brought His people back from the Exile – Ezekiel 20:38, 42

            • And this is why He established the New Covenant!

            • Ezekiel 16:62-63 62 I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the LORD, 63 that you may remember and be confounded, and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I atone for you for all that you have done, declares the Lord GOD.”

              • Ezekiel 36:11 I...will do more good to you than ever before. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

              • Ezekiel 36:23 And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.

            • This is why God brought the dead to life in the valley of dry bones!

              • Ezekiel 37:6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.

              • Ezekiel 37:13 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people.

            • This is why today God gives us the Holy Spirit and eternal life!

              • Ezekiel 37:14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.

            • This is why one day God will judge the earth and gather His people to worship Him in heaven forevermore!

              • Ezekiel 37:28 Then the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.

         3. If you do know the great “I AM,” He calls you to keep His commands for this very reason.

            • This is why we should be holy!

              • Leviticus 11:44 For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy.

              • Leviticus 11:45 For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.

            • This is why we should keep each of the 10 Commandments!

              • Exodus 20:2 I am the Lord (Yahweh) your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. There shall not be to you (lo-yihyeh) any other gods before My face.

                • Lo-yihyeh lecha acherim elohim al-pnay. Lo-yihyeh means “There shall not be!” Because I am, there shall not be any other gods before my face. Because I am, that demon, that idol, that creature which you call a god is NOT the true and living God!

              • In Leviticus 18 and 19, for each of the 10 Commandments God gives the reason for keeping it: “I am the Lord your God.” 6 times in ch. 18, 16 times in ch. 19!

              • Leviticus 22:31 So you shall keep my commandments and do them: I am the Lord.

            • This is even why the Israelites were to keep the case law¹ and the ceremonial law of the OT:

              • Leviticus 18:4 You shall follow my rules and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the Lord your God.

            • This is the reason God warns you not to highly exalt yourself as if you are God, and not He.

              • Isaiah 47:8 Now therefore hear this, you lover of pleasures, who sit securely, who say in your heart, “I am, and there is no one besides me.”

              • Isaiah 47:10 You felt secure in your wickedness, you said, “No one sees me;” your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray, and you said in your heart, “I am, and there is no one besides me.”

         4. If you know the great “I AM,” you know how truly great He is. To this declaration that “I am Yahweh,” God appends many descriptions of Himself.

            • Exodus 15:26 I am the Lord, your healer.

            • Exodus 22:27 I am compassionate.

            • Leviticus 20:8 I am the Lord who sanctifies you.

            • Leviticus 20:24 I am the Lord your God, who have separated you from the peoples.

            • Isaiah 41:13 I am the one who helps you.

            • Isaiah 51:12 I, I am he who comforts you.

            • Isaiah 48:17 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go.

         5. If the Lord is your God, He promises to bless you because of who He is.

            • Isaiah 43:3 For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you.

            • Isaiah 43:25 I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.

            • Ezekiel 20:44 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for my name's sake, not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the Lord God.

            • Jeremiah 3:12 Return, faithless Israel, declares the Lord. I will not look on you in anger, for I am merciful, declares the Lord; I will not be angry forever.

            • Isaiah 45:22 Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.

            • Jeremiah 24:7 I will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart.

            • Isaiah 46:4 even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.

         6. And this is why God would not utterly abandon His people even when He severely punished them by sending them into Exile:

            • Leviticus 26:44 Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not spurn them, neither will I abhor them so as to destroy them utterly and break my covenant with them, for I am the Lord their God.

         7. If you know this Yahweh, give praise to His name with the word all Christians know, “Hallelujah,” which means, “Praise to Yahweh.”

   2. I Am the Resurrection – John 11:25

      1. Throughout His ministry, Jesus said, “I am Yahweh!” He claims this in John 11:25-26, our key passage for today.

      2. Text

         1. John 11:25-26 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

      3. Who is Jesus? He is the great I AM of the OT.

         1. Who did Jesus say He was? Caiaphas “the high priest asked him, ‘Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?’ And Jesus said, ‘I am!’” (Mark 14:61-62) Christ repeatedly applied God’s name “I AM” to Himself throughout His ministry.

            • John 10:7 I am the door of the sheep.

            • John 10:9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.

            • John 10:11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

            • Luke 22:27 I am among you as a servant.

            • John 5:17 My Father is working until now, and I am working.

            • John 15:1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.

            • John 15:5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

            • John 6:35 I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

            • John 6:51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.

            • John 8:12 I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

            • To the Jews, Jesus said,

              • John 8:23-24 You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.

            • John 14:6 I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

            • In fact, Jesus claimed to be the one true and living, eternal God.

              • John 8:58 Before Abraham was, I am.

            • Christ even claimed to be self-attesting just as Yahweh declares “I AM WHO I AM,” so also Jesus said

              • John 8:18 I am the one who bears witness about myself.

         2. Jesus’ claims were proven throughout His ministry.

            • But many would not believe His witness if He was the only one giving testimony. For this reason Christ reminded us that God the Father also testified from heaven, “This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him.” John the Baptist witnessed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God, and if these authorities are not enough, Christ tells you to believe because of the miracles He performed.

              • John 10:36-38 I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? 37 If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; 38 but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”

            • What we see in the works Christ performed is that Christ embodies the blessings of salvation, especially the blessing of eternal life. This is what Jesus means when He says, “I am the resurrection and the life.”

              • “Only God can forgive sins,” but in order that you may believe Jesus is God, Jesus healed the paralytic, and he got up and walked.

              • Jesus healed the sick, cast out demons, gave sight to the blind, and raised the son of the widow from Nain from death to life. But what finally convinced the Jews to put the Author of life to death was when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. But it also proved that Jesus would utterly disarm the power of death when He faced it on the cross!

         3. New life

            • You see, within Jesus is “the power of an indestructable life!” It is the power of the living God.

            • John 5:21 21 As the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.

            • John 5:26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.

            • John 5:28-29 28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

            • Christ told the woman at the well that “Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13-14) She said, “‘When [the Christ] comes, he will tell us all things.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am he, who speaks to you.’” (John 4:26)

            • Do you know Jesus Christ for who He is? Have you found the true fountain of living water? Do you have this eternal life?

         4. Jesus’ claims were put to the test on the cross.

            • John 8:28 When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he.

            • Foretelling His betrayal, Jesus said, “I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he.” (John 13:19)

            • And at the moment He was betrayed, he asked his captors,

              • John 18:4-6 4 “Whom do you seek?” 5 They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. 6 When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

              • John 18:8 Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go.”

            • During his trial before the Sanhedrin, he was asked, “Are you the Son of God, then?” And he said to them, “You say that I am.” (Luke 22:70)

            • Pontius Pilate asked Jesus,

              • John 18:37 “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king.”

              • And so Pilate wrote on the inscription placed over Jesus as He hung on the cross, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” (John 19:19)

            • As He hung on the cross, the Jews looking on mocked, saying

              • Matthew 27:43 He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’

            • But the centurion and soldiers, when they saw Him die, and the veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom, and the earth shook and the rocks were split, “were filled with awe, and said, ‘Truly this was the Son of God!’” (Matt. 27:54)

      4. “Do you believe this?”

         1. The centurion did. Christ asks you,

            • Matthew 16:15 “But who do you say that I am?”

         2. Is He the great I AM? Is He Truly the Son of God? Is He the “resurrection and the life?”

   3. I Am Alive Forevermore – Revelation 1:18. Jesus Christ did rise from the dead. The tomb was empty, the guard and the Jews attempted to explain it away but no one has ever found the bones of Jesus because “He is not here! He is risen, just as He said!” And today, Jesus declares to you that “I am alive forevermore.”

      1. Text

         1. Rev. 1:17-18 17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.”

      2. Christ’s continued presence

         1. You see, Christ IS here, not physically, but He speaks through His word and works mightily through His Holy Spirit. Jesus’ claims are proved today by the Holy Spirit, who through the words of the gospel of Christ convicts men of their sin, of Christ’s righteousness, and gives them faith in Christ as their Savior.

            • John 14:20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.

         2. The resurrected Christ has promised us

            • Matthew 28:20 Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

         3. Christ still claims to be God today, as he took the divine name Yahweh on His lips speaking to Paul on the road to Damascus,

            • Acts 9:5 I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.

         4. Acts 18:9-10 9 The Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, 10 for I am with you.”

      3. Why does Jesus call you to believe in Him today?

         1. Jesus calls you because He is the eternal God.

            • Revelation 1:8 ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.’

         2. Jesus calls you because He rose from the dead.

            • Revelation 1:17-18 Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore.

         3. Jesus calls you because He has conquered death, and the only way for you to escape the well-deserved punishment for your sins, the punishment of Death and Hell, is to repent of your sins, and to call on the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, the Savior. He tells you,

            • I have the keys of Death and Hades.

      4. How will you respond to Jesus Christ, who proclaims to you, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

         1. Jesus reminds you,

            • Revelation 2:23 I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you as your works deserve.

            • Revelation 3:11 I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.

            • Revelation 21:6 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.

      5. I tell you this on the authority of Jesus Christ, “that if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9) “All who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:13)

      6. Call on Him today. Ask Him to forgive you for your sins, trusting that He paid the penalty you deserved when He died on the cross. Ask Him to give you eternal life, believing in your heart that God raised Him from the dead. Ask Him to make you holy as He is holy, trusting His promise to give you the Holy Spirit.

2. Conclusion

   1. Whether you are a Christian or not, become a follower of Christ today. For Jesus Christ is Lord. “He is the true God, and eternal life” (1 John 5:20), and He is alive forevermore. Hallelujah!