ETERNAL LIFE

John 11:17-27
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust.

The Raising of Lazarus

17 When Jesus arrived at Bethany, he was told that Lazarus had already been in his grave for four days. 18 Bethany was only a few miles down the road from Jerusalem, 19 and many of the people had come to console Martha and Mary in their loss. 20 When Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. But Mary stayed in the house. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask.”

23 Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.”

24 “Yes,” Martha said, “he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day.”

25 Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. 26 Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?”

27 “Yes, Lord,” she told him. “I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God.”


Martha had a good understanding of end times prophesy. Her statement here precedes Christ’s death and resurrection. It precedes the Revelation given to John in his old age. So what could have been the source of her understanding when she said “…he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day”?

It could have come from a conversation this family had with Jesus on an earlier occasion. They had a close relationship and they looked to Jesus as their Teacher (v.28).

It could also have come from her knowledge and understanding of Old Testament prophesy. Daniel wrote about “…the time of the end…” (Daniel 11:40) and said “…many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt” (Daniel 12:2).

The grave is not the end, praise God! For the believer, there is eternal life with Christ.