This gospel according to John is filled with a series of vivid verbal masterpieces of the genius, glory, and grace of Jesus Christ, God's Son. Bible scholars have long believed that each of the four New Testament gospels is targeted at a particular group. Matthew writes his gospel to the Jews. We see that in his frequent references to the Old Testament. Mark writes his gospel with the Romans as his primary target. Hence, Mark is succinct and to the point. His is the first written among the four gospels. Mark spares those rushing Romans the finer details of the Lord's life and ministry on earth while at the same time making clear that Jesus Christ is Lord of all. Luke the physician writes to make the message clearer and more relevant for the well-educated Greeks. Consequently, we see the heady physician cover details about Jesus' life and ministry in the finely crafted Greek of a well-schooled man.

John's gospel is different. John's target gospel audience is far broader than those of the first three gospel writers. Some might say that John writes for the leftover people who for one reason or another are not the targets of the other three writers. There is some element of truth in that idea. The truth, however, is that John has the whole world in his mind as he writes. If the Jews, the Romans, or the Greeks read it, that is all well and good. John, however, writes to reach the whole world. "For God so loved the world," John writes, "that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him" (John 3:16-17). If the other storytellers write with laser-target accuracy at one group or another, John's shotgun approach is aimed at all the world. It is John who gives us the great "I am" statements from Jesus and it is to one of these that we turn our attention now. Jesus says, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die" (v. 25).

This is a claim from Jesus that takes us to a climax of faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus has made claims about his identity before. Now, however, he makes his claim about his authority over life and death, humanity's last great enemy. He makes his claim in the context of the most powerful demonstration of his identity that he had ever made. What is more, we learn from what we are told here that Jesus Christ is deserving of your trust and he can and will make a difference in your life for now and for eternity. We also learn that we do not need to live our lives in a constant state of uncertainty and unhappiness, for we have a victory that money can never buy and that is received in only one way.

Devastation!

"Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother" (v. 19). Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, had died and his death had touched their whole community. Their Jewish background taught them that death was the final and insurmountable defeat for all the living. For the community, and especially for Mary and Martha, life had been crushed by defeat, discouragement, disillusionment, and devastation. As far as they knew, they would never see their beloved brother again. Their Jewish tradition exhorted them to properly mourn the passing of a loved one and prescribed the practices and rituals that would help give expression to their feelings of loss and grief. Somehow the law always seemed to come up short because death was understood to be such a final thing. It would not have mattered what their religion was because there is no religion in the world that can help us face death. Religion is humanity's attempt to reach God but Christianity is not a religion. Christianity is all about God's attempt to reach people. No great world religion offers any easy way to cope with a loved one dying. We do not know but we might imagine that among the emotions of that dark moment when Lazarus died, there could be found guilt for what had been said or done or perhaps left unsaid and undone. Any pastor can tell you that these emotions are often among those experienced when a loved one dies. Death is a reprehensible happening. It tears apart families and friendships. No matter how many ways we try to disguise it and cover it over, death is an awful event and we do as much as we can to pretend it really is not there. There is a school of thought within some Christian circles that almost views death as such a blessing that tears are inappropriate for those who are experiencing the loss of a loved one. However, in the Bible death is an enemy that destroys relationships. It is ugly. It is to be feared and it is repulsive.

What is more, death is universal. None of us will get out of this world alive! The Bible repeatedly makes this point. After Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, God said to him, "By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return" (Genesis 3:19). Paul by way of affirmation, applies that death sentence to us all: "Just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned" (Romans 5:12). The writer to the Hebrews further affirms the universality of death in these words, "It is appointed for mortals to die once, and after that the judgment" (Hebrews 9:27). We used to say that there is nothing certain but death and taxes but we all know about people who have found ways to avoid paying their taxes. So we are left with death as the one great inescapable reality for every person who ever lives. Today each of us is one day closer to dying than we were yesterday and if we survive through the night, tomorrow we will be one day closer to dying than we were when we woke up this morning. Have you calculated that into your plans for your life?

Ben Franklin lived a colorful life and created an amazing legacy that has touched all our lives. We find his name not only on the Declaration of Independence but on our money, on warships, postage stamps, and perhaps no other person in history has so many towns, counties, educational institutions, and countless other cultural references named for him. There is no record of him ever professing to be a Christian. Nevertheless, in one of his lighter moments he considered his certain death and wrote an imaginary epitaph for himself that seems to have been influenced by the teachings of the apostle Paul. He wrote this:

The body of B. Franklin, Printer
Like the Cover of an old Book
Its contents torn out,
And stripped of all its Lettering and Gilding,
Lies here, Food for Worms.
But the work shall not be wholly lost,
For it will, as he believed,
Appear once more
In a new and more perfect Edition, Corrected and amended by the Author.

Although we know that death is universal and certain, many of us seem to make no plans for when it will come to us. One old story tells about a man who attempted to make a deal with Death. He told Death that he would happily go with him when it came time for him to die on one condition. That condition was that Death would send an emissary well in advance to alert him that Death was coming closer. The deal was set. Days became weeks, weeks rolled into months that rolled into years. Finally, one dark night as the man sat alone proudly counting all his achievements and accomplishments, Death suddenly entered the man's room and tapped him on the shoulder and said that the time had come. The man was stunned and argued, "Death, I thought that we had an agreement. You are here with no prior warning. You said you would send an emissary!" Looking that man in the eyes, Death responded, "I have kept my end of our deal. I have sent you many emissaries. Look in your mirror and you will see some of them." The man arose and walked over to his bedroom mirror and as he stood there looking at himself, Death whispered, "Look at your hair that once was black and full and wavy but now it is white and thin and sparse. Notice how you must lean your head toward me to hear my voice because your hearing is not what it once was. See how closely you must stand to the mirror in order to see yourself clearly. Oh, my emissaries have been coming steadily through the years. I'm sorry you did not heed them. Nevertheless, your appointment time is here and we must go."

Please don't get caught out. James reminds us of the brevity of life, "What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes" (James 4:14). The only man Jesus ever called a fool was that rich man who reasoned that he had no place to store all the wealth that he had been able to gather and said,

I will do this: "I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, 'Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' " Then, said Jesus, "God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' " (Luke 12:18-20)

Sudden illness such as heart attacks, strokes, or accidents in our homes or in our cars, or events we might never imagine can come and take us out of this world instantaneously. The Old Testament Amos counsels us well when he says, "Prepare to meet your God" (Amos 4:12). To fail to heed these words can lead us, as it did Lazarus' family and friends, to our own moment of defeat, discouragement, disillusionment, and devastation.

Dominion!

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die" (vv. 25-26). In the Bible, death is an enemy that destroys relationships. It is ugly. It is to be feared and it is repulsive. But death does not have the last word. We have a Savior who has the last word over death and says, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die" (v. 25). Making such a statement sets Jesus Christ apart from every other person who has existed in the history of the world. In fact, had Jesus never done another miracle than to raise Lazarus, he would stand apart from all the other people who ever walked on earth.

What gives Jesus the right to make such an assertion? Consider what the Bible says about him: He raised other dead people. People like the twelve-year-old daughter of the synagogue leader Jairus. The record says that Jesus "took her by the hand and said to her, 'Talitha cum,' which means, 'Little girl, get up!' And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about" (Mark 5:41-42). There was also the son of the widow of Nain. When Jesus saw the young man's funeral procession, he touched the bier and said, " 'Young man, I say to you, rise!' The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother" (Luke 7:14-15). Consider also his own resurrection after his abominable death on calvary's cross: The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said" (Matthew 28:5-6).

Jesus promises to raise all his followers from the dead and Paul notes this promise in his mighty death conquering chapter:

Since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:21-23)

All who have taken Christ as their personal Savior can live in the confidence that death is not for us the end of life. We face death with Christ's own assurance that we shall never die.

"Do you believe this?" (John 11:26)

"She said to him, 'Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world' " (v. 27). This question directed at Martha, the sister of Lazarus, is now directed to each of us. As Jesus expected her to affirm her belief, so he expects the same from us. Do we believe him? Do we know beyond a shadow of doubt that if we should die this very day we will spend eternity not in the grave but with Jesus in heaven? When we truly believe this, everything else in life becomes of secondary importance, and we live our lives in confidence and triumphant hope as the people of the certain resurrection.

"The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, 'Unbind him, and let him go' " (v. 44).

Eugene O'Neill wrote a creative play that he called Lazarus Laughed. It's about Lazarus' life after Jesus raised him from the dead. Guests from Bethany gather for a banquet to honor Lazarus near the beginning of the play. They are all anxious to hear what Lazarus has to say about his experience. As they take their seats, one guest says, "The whole look of his face has changed. He is like a stranger from a far land. There is no longer any sorrow in his eyes. He must have forgotten sorrow in the grave." Another guest, one who had helped roll the tombstone aside, recalls the scene after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead in even more beautiful terms: "And then Lazarus knelt and kissed Jesus' feet, and both of them smiled, and Jesus blessed him and called him 'My Brother' and went away. And Lazarus, looking after him, began to laugh softly like a man in love with God. Such a laugh I never heard! It made my ears drunk! It was like wine! And though I was half-dead with fright, I found myself laughing too."

Now, I will grant you that the Bible does not record the moment when Lazarus had his grave wrappings removed but I believe that Eugene O'Neill probably got it right. How could anyone being raised from the dead by the Lord of all life ever be sad again? I can imagine not only that Lazarus laughed but that he leaped with great joy for his whole life had not only been restored, it had been enriched in ways beyond words. Can't you imagine that Lazarus lived out the rest of his days with a song of praise in his heart? Can't you imagine that we would do the same?

My closing question for you has two parts. First, the Jesus question: "Do you believe this?" Second, this: Why don't we each go out from now on as people of the resurrection with a song of praise for Jesus in our hearts?