The Resurrection and the Life: When Life Comes Back to You

The story of Lazarus isn’t really about Lazarus at all. It’s about Martha, and more importantly, it’s about you and me. When Jesus arrived in Bethany to find Lazarus had been dead for four days, He wasn’t there to prove His power over death – He was there to prove His power to give life.

What Does the Resurrection Really Mean?

Most people think about death when they consider the resurrection. But Jesus wanted us to understand something profound: when you think about the resurrection, think about life. The resurrection isn’t just about Jesus coming back to life – it’s about life coming back to you.

When Martha said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died,” Jesus responded with something unexpected: “I am the resurrection and the life.” He wasn’t there to interrupt death; He was there to restore life.

Understanding the Three Types of Biblical Life

The Bible describes three distinct types of life that help us understand what Jesus offers:

Body Life (Bios)

This is our physical life – the blood pumping through our veins, the breath in our lungs. The Bible describes our body as a container, a tent, a temple for something greater. This physical life operates until it’s worn out or interrupted.

Self Life (Psuche)

This is the soul life – your mind, will, and emotions. It’s what gives animation and expression to life. This is where your thoughts, desires, and feelings originate.

God Life (Zoe)

This is the spiritual life – the very source of life itself. When God breathed into Adam, He gave him fullness of life in all three dimensions. God was meant to be the fountain of life flowing within us.

When the Source Got Switched

In the Garden of Eden, something catastrophic happened. The serpent didn’t just tempt Eve to disobey – he offered her an alternative source of life. He suggested she could become her own god, drawing life from herself rather than from God.

When sin entered, humanity switched from the God-source to the self-source. Instead of drawing life from the fountain of living water, we began digging our own broken cisterns that could never hold water.

What Does Self-Sourced Life Look Like?

When we draw life from ourselves, we become driven by:

• The thoughts we have
• The things we want
• The emotions we feel

This self-sourced life is depleting, draining, deceiving, and death-centered. No matter how much we achieve, acquire, or accomplish, it’s never enough. The car is never good enough, the house never big enough, the recognition never sufficient.

Jesus Came to Restore the God Life

Jesus didn’t come to give us a better life – He came to give us a new life. He came to restore the God-source, to reconnect us to the fountain of living water.

When Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life,” He was offering something revolutionary. He was offering to be our source again, to flow through us like rivers of living water.

What Does the Jesus Life Look Like?

Instead of being driven by our thoughts, we have the mind of Christ. Instead of being controlled by our desires, we have the heart of God. Instead of being tossed around by our emotions, we have love, joy, peace, and righteousness in the Holy Spirit.

This isn’t a depleting life – it’s an inner-flowing, ever-flowing, overflowing life. Jesus described it as rivers of living water flowing from within us.

The Problem Isn’t What You’ve Done Wrong

The real issue isn’t your mistakes or failures. The problem is the life you’ve been missing. You don’t need to clean up your life to come to Jesus – you just need to be thirsty.

Jesus said, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me and drink.” It doesn’t matter if you’re righteous or sinning, if you know Him or don’t know Him. The only requirement is thirst.

Two Types of People

There are two groups of people who need to hear this message:

Those Who Don’t Yet Believe

If you don’t have a relationship with Jesus, you can receive this new life today. Just come thirsty. Ask Him for the life He offers – not just forgiveness, but the restoration of the God-source within you.

Believers Still Living the Self Life

You can believe in Jesus but still be controlled by your thoughts, driven by your desires, and tossed around by your emotions. God is tired of having given us an overflowing life while we continue living from the broken cistern of self.

Life Application

This week, examine what source you’re drawing life from. Are you still being controlled by your thoughts, driven by your desires, or overwhelmed by your emotions? Jesus offers you something better – not just a better version of your current life, but an entirely new source of life.

The resurrection isn’t just a future hope – it’s a present reality. Jesus came back to life so that this life could come back to you. It’s not just about starting to live a life; it’s about a life starting to live in you that’s never lived before.

Ask yourself these questions:

• What is currently the primary source I’m drawing life from – my thoughts, desires, and emotions, or from God?
• In what areas of my life am I still trying to be my own source rather than trusting in God’s provision?
• How would my daily decisions change if I truly believed Jesus is both my resurrection and my life?
• What would it look like for me to live from the overflowing fountain of God’s life rather than my own broken cistern?