The I AM sayings of Jesus

This devotional is written by Rick Blyth. Rick is married to Henrietta and is the Head of Policy at Royal Town Planning Institute.

25 Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die;

I am the Resurrection and the Life!

The Bible doesn't do italics, or underlining, but if it did, I wonder if it meant to say "I am the resurrection and the life". In response to a question from Jesus, Martha seems to give a text book answer. (Belief in resurrection was commonplace but not 100% among Jews.) This is consistent with what we know about Martha: she is devoted to duty and the right thing, but sometimes lacking in the human touch. But Jesus is saying "Don't just go to the text books; the answer is staring you in the face! It is right here in front of you." Jesus says in other places that Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. Scripture is no longer a (valuable) written code, but a living breathing human being. Does the Bible seem just a book sometimes? Does even Every Day with Matt sometimes seem like going through the motions? Try to recall that Jesus is the word made flesh. Ask the Spirit to help you. What happened to Martha is interesting: expecting her brother's resurrection to be at the end of time, she was amazed to find it happen that very afternoon.