John 11:25–26

Context

Lazarus, whom Jesus loved, falls ill and dies, and Jesus does not arrive in Bethany until four days later. Martha comes out and tells him that if the Lord had been there, her brother would not have died; Jesus replies that her brother will rise again. Martha says she knows he will rise again "in the resurrection at the last day" (v. 24), but Jesus answers that the resurrection is not merely an event in the distant future but is present now in himself. At the end of verse 26 Jesus asks, "Believest thou this?" and Martha confesses her belief that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (v. 27). Jesus then calls Lazarus out of the tomb.

Interpretation

• A pair of statements: Many interpreters read "he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live" (v. 25) as meaning that although the body dies, the believer will be raised and live, and "whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die" (v. 26) as meaning that the life the believer has already received is not cut off by death. The first focuses on the future resurrection, the second on present eternal life.
• Realized eschatology: The Gospel of John tends to speak of the events of the last day as having already begun in the present (5:24–25), and this passage is cited as a leading example. At the same time, interpreters note that John also clearly speaks of a future resurrection (6:40).

Questions of Application

A distinction is commonly drawn between the raising of Lazarus, a "resuscitation" in which he returned to a body that would one day die again, and the resurrection of Jesus and the final resurrection of believers, which mean life in a body that will never die again (1 Corinthians 15:42–44). This distinction also bears on the question in eschatology of how to understand the state immediately after death in relation to the final resurrection. Most denominations teach that believers are with Christ after death and that their bodies will be raised on the last day.

In the Korean Church

This is the passage most frequently read at funeral services, at the services held when the body is placed in the coffin and at the burial, and at memorial services, and it frequently appears on gravestones and in obituaries. It is also used as a sermon text at Easter.

Related Passages

• John 5:24–25
• John 6:40
• 1 Corinthians 15:20–22
• 1 Thessalonians 4:13–14