Life Capsule for Today 20th March, 2025
Theme: Jesus the I AM (5)
Memory Verse: Heb 13:8
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.
Topic: Jesus as the resurrection and the life
Today’s Reading: Joh 11:21 27
21 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
22 But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.
23 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.
24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
27 She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.
Words of the Ministry:
Today we would be considering another I AM statement of Jesus in the book of John. This I AM statement unlike others was made before Jesus did a miracle. In previous occasions, he would have made the statement after a miracle, for instance, he said he was the bread of life after he provided bread the previous day, he is the light after rescuing a woman accused of adultery. He referred to himself as the door and the good shepherd after he healed a man born blind and cautioned the pharisees and religious leader. This time Jesus says he is the resurrection and the life even before raising Lazarus from the dead.
The concept of resurrection and life was different to Jesus’ immediate audience unlike what we have come to believe today, in his days. The two prominent cultural influences were the Greek and the Jews, both holding different views concerning the dead. The Greek held the idea that the body was a hindrance to the true life of the soul, to them, to die was to free the soul from the bondage of the body, they didn’t believe in bodily resurrection (Act 17.32). The Jews on the other hand believed in the resurrection of the body at the end of the age but they believed this would happen without any transformation (Jhn 11.24), they believed it was to return to life as it was meant to be but from Jesus’ statement, we can see that resurrection and the divine life of transformation in relationship with God are closely tied to Jesus that they are embodied in him and can only be found in him when we believe.
Jesus does not merely say that he will bring about the resurrection or that he will be the cause of the resurrection (both of which are true), but something much stronger: I am the resurrection and the life. Jesus says that he has the power lodged in his own hands, and that even the dead will respond to his voice. Jesus only has to say “Lazarus, come out!” and “the dead man came out” (11:43-44). This was not a future event; it was a present reality. For Martha what she believed would happen at the end of time happened before her eyes and for the Greeks the realized the truth of resurrection. Jesus as the resurrection reassures us that there is a hope both now and in our future, for the believer, we rose with him (Rom 6.4) and not just that we also inherited his life (Gal 2.20), we have experienced a fore taste of resurrection and life and in future when the Lord return we would again experience the reality for those dead in Christ would rise to eternal life and those that are alive with transfigured to put on his life ( 1 Thess 4.16-18). May the Lord grant us light.
Please keep in mind our monthly Peniel meeting coming up Sunday 30th March by 4pm.
Bible In One Year: Joshua 17-19
For further fellowship send us an email on godmanvideos@gmail.comor visit our youtube channel: @godmanmedia. You can also interact with us by dropping your comments on our facebook page. Our physical meeting, Word feast comes up every Wednesday by 5pm and Prayer Gym every Saturday by 7am while PENIEL comes up once a month, every last Sunday of the month from 4pm to 6.30pm at Suite A10, Ahser Office Complex, beside Living Faith Church, Opposite Hassan Stores, Arab Road, Kubwa Abuja.