23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” (John 11:23–27, NKJV)
There will be no bodily resurrection and no eternal life without Jesus. While Martha believed in the resurrection at the last day, Jesus turned her attention to a personal belief that only in Jesus would that great event occur. He is the source, the power, the essence of resurrection and of eternal life. Jesus said He is the means of bodily resurrection from the dead (v. 25). He is the One who gives eternal life to “whoever lives and believes in (Him)” (v. 26). Jesus has power over physical death and over spiritual death (caused by sin). Confessing faith in Christ is not only about who He is, it is also about what He does. When we profess that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of God,” we acknowledge our trust in Him to raise our bodies from the dead. We proclaim our faith that He gives us eternal life (because we hear His voice and follow Him, Jno. 10:27-28). One cannot have faith in Jesus Christ and deny eternal life, and the bodily resurrection at the last day.
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