Pastor Bell's Words To Live By

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25 &26 NIV).

In Jesus’ time many people doubted that people could be resurrected back to life. One such group was called the Sadducees. They were a Jewish sect who had political influential and sought to exercise this with those in power. Their main rivals were the Pharisees who wanted religious purity for the Jews. The major distinction between them was their belief system. The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the dead while the Pharisees did. During one of his teaching session they posed Jesus a very interesting question (Matt 22:23-32), which I will paraphrase here; ‘if we follow the Jewish tradition of a brother marrying his sister-in-law when his brother dies, and if this occurs six time to the same widow, if there was a resurrection whose wife would she be, seeing that she married each brother?’ Jesus pounces on this question to confound the Sadducees by explaining that in heaven people do not marry since they will be like Angels and as for the resurrection of the dead, those who die and believed in God and in his Christ are alive for all eternity. So Jesus quotes the Old Testament scripture where God say ‘I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob’ (Exodus 3:14) and reiterates these ‘I AM’ saying at Lazarus’ tomb (John 11:25). Lazarus eventually died and was buried, but there is still an empty tomb in Jerusalem to prove that Jesus lives!

The apostle Paul wrote that Jesus appeared to over five hundred people (1Corinthians 15:6) after his resurrection and he is still appearing to people today.

So you may be wondering what will happen to me when I die? Jesus would say to you put your trust in me and enjoy life to the full and when you die physically you will live with me eternally! What a promise, what a future for those who are in God in Christ!

Read John 11:17-44