Martha believed in the general resurrection in the last days (John 11:24); but Jesus wanted her (and us) to focus on the foundation of this resurrection, not just on the event itself. Jesus told Martha that He is “the resurrection, and the life” (John 11:25). The resurrection power and the life are not about God's omnipotence. They are about God's justice and holiness. To have this resurrection power and life, God's justice and holiness must be completely satisfied. God had told Adam that he shall surely die the moment he ate the forbidden fruit. Physical death and spiritual death came into the world once Adam disobeyed. And God provided the salvation plan to satisfy His justice and holiness.

By the power of the Spirit of God, Jesus was born on earth, yet without sin. To fulfill all righteousness, Jesus was circumcised as well as baptized. His ministry lasted for three-and-a-half years. His miracles proved that He was fully God, while His humanity was never in doubt. As prophesied in the Old Testament, Jesus was led to Jerusalem as a lamb led to the slaughter. The physical pain was nothing compared to His mental, emotional and spiritual anguish when He was on the cross. God the Father did not help Him when He bore our sins on Himself. We are sinners, while Christ who bore our sins is sinless. Jesus Christ suffered physical death, not spiritual death or eternal death.

When Jesus said, “I am the resurrection, and the life” (John 11:25), He was referring to eternal life, not physical life. Once we receive Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, our eternal life begins. It is also an abundant life, as Christ has promised. Our external circumstances may not change, but our attitude would change completely. We would stop measuring ourselves by what we possess; for now we have the Lord Jesus Christ.

John 11:25b refers to those who have already died and John 11:26 refers to those who are still living. The “never” in John 11:26 is a double negative in Greek, meaning we shall never ever die. We live on earth to serve God. When our time here on earth is up, we will continue to serve Him in heaven. We are to live this life motivated by Christ. We are to share with others that Jesus is “the resurrection, and the life” by His life, suffering, death and resurrection so that they too can receive this same salvation. However, we ourselves must be sure of our own salvation. We must not be like the builders of Noah's ark: they knew every inch of the ark, but they were not in the ark when the flood waters came.