His new body, however, would not be like the old one, which was subject to decline, disease, weakness, and death. I assured those at the funeral that even though Frank Nelson had died, he would one day be resurrected from the dead, and his body and spirit would be rejoined forever. But that notion comes from ancient Greek culture, not from the Bible. His first claim is “I am the resurrection,” which he explains by saying that “the one who believes in me will live, even though they die.” Many people today believe that when they die they will live eternally as disembodied spirits. …everything else we are-whether we call it our spirit or soul or personality-will not die. While preparing my message, I discovered that Jesus is actually making two significant claims, although they are closely related. I had never spoken at a funeral before, and I decided to use this passage from John’s gospel. Shortly after graduating from seminary, I was asked to speak at the funeral of a man named Frank Nelson, who was the father of a dear friend. Jesus boldly states, “I am the resurrection and the life”! But she completely missed the fact that the true source of life and resurrection was standing right in front of her. Likewise, Martha viewed this future resurrection as something distant and remote. But Jesus had something more immediate in mind. Martha assumed that Jesus was referring to the resurrection of the dead at the end of time, and so she replied, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day” (v. He tried to comfort Martha in her grief by assuring her: “Your brother will rise again” (11:23). Jesus spoke these words to a woman named Martha after the death her brother Lazarus, who was one of Jesus’s dearest friends. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.
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