Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” (John 11:24)

The story of Jesus raising Lazarus is often so familiar that we overlook important points. In this instance, Mary and Martha were well-versed in the teaching of a resurrection BEFORE the resurrection of Jesus. That is a BIG deal. Let me explain.

John began his Gospel with the words, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1) It seems like a funny way to talk unless you understand the Greek word used for “word” in John 1:1 is LOGOS. LOGOS is commonly translated as “word” throughout the New Testament, but in John 1:1, it seems peculiar if you think of it as “word” in a sentence.

LOGOS could also refer to a ‘deep rule’ or ‘hidden pattern’ that makes the world make sense and stay in order.¹For example, Heraclitus (6th century BC) wrote: Although this logos holds forever, men ever fail to comprehend, both before hearing it and once they have heard. (Heraclitus, DK B1) The Stoics (a group of philosophers from around 300 BC going forward) believed the universe is governed by a rational principle or divine reasoning, which they called LOGOS.

Philo of Alexandra (a Jewish philosopher who lived 20 BC-50 AD) used LOGOS to describe God’s mind and plan, viewing Him as a master architect, and the LOGOS was the blueprint for the building.

John calls Jesus the LOGOS: the eternal divine Word through whom all things came into being and in whom they all hold together. In doing so, John presents Jesus not merely as a source of truth but as the personal center and measure of all reality, establishing him as the defining center of the Christian worldview. Because the preincarnate Christ is the One through whom all things were created, the Old Testament already reflects this Christ-centered worldview, even if not yet fully revealed (Colossians 1:15-17).

When Lazarus died, Mary and Martha had this view in mind. They knew that God was in charge. They knew Jesus was the LOGOS. They knew God’s plan involved a whole lot more than living life on this earth, dying, and that was it. As Martha said, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

Even before the resurrection of Jesus, the believers knew there would be a resurrection. In the Old Testament, Job famously said,

I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; (Job 19:25-26)

Jesus as the LOGOS and the promised eternity with him as the scaffolding support a Christian’s worldview of life (Hebrews 13:14). There is a heaven and a hell (Matthew 25:46). There is deliverance from the fiercest battles and the harshest experiences (2 Timothy 4:18).

Thousands of years of history have repeatedly demonstrated that this worldview is not possible for humans (Matthew 19:26). The evil inclination that reigns in the hearts of all people, including our own (Genesis 8:21), is the insurmountable obstacle.

God’s LOGOS, however, is the solution, and its central player is Jesus, whom John referred to as the LOGOS personified:

The Word [LOGOS] became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

When troubles come our way, the world is groping around, trying to create a sustainable worldview without acknowledging God. Its solution is often the opposite of God’s desires. The world calls for the death of the unwanted and the disabled. The world wants you to do your own thing, with little regard for the consequences or concern for others. Now, with the latest wave of technology, the world thinks it can perpetuate life by merging humans and technology. The ultimate goal is to create heaven on earth.

But even God’s people are not immune to the allure of what the world has to offer. Despite every admonition to the contrary, we are all tempted to conform to the world (1 Peter 1:14). It is difficult to resist autonomy and the right to do what I want. As we begin to drink the poison of an anti-God “logos,” we find ourselves questioning why God does or does not do things or permit things. And soon, we may even be tempted to wonder if the resurrection really happened.

The Easter message, however, endures, regardless of society’s alluring yet empty narratives apart from the true LOGOS, Jesus Christ. The message that “The Lord has indeed risen!” (Luke 24:34) was a testimony that, despite the roller-coaster values of a sinful world, God’s blueprint for its salvation endures.

An evil inclination in all people, including believers (Romans 7:19), does not surrender easily. The religious leaders who were enemies of Christ ordered the guards to report that the body had been stolen (Matthew 28:11-15). Perhaps you have seen those television documentaries proposing another explanation than a resurrected Jesus. Skeptics go on to argue that the daughter of Jairus was not really dead (Luke 8:49-56) or that the son of the widow of Nain was only in some suspended animation (Luke 7:11-15).

Even believers get lured into believing the world’s messaging on the resurrection. Paul had to bolster the faith of the Thessalonians who were tempted to despair at the passing of fellow believers (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14).

Can we blame the Thessalonians? Living day in and day out in a world always fighting against God, seeing what we see and knowing what we know, it is hard to imagine life coming after death. It is hard to grasp that bodies mutilated in battle, desecrated by cancer, and decomposed with time, can somehow be made whole again. Yet, isn’t that what we have with Lazarus?

The resurrection of Lazarus describes a decomposing body, buried in a cave for four days in a Middle Eastern climate (John 11:39). Lazarus was so definitively dead that decomposition had begun, and it smelled. Yet he was raised to life.

Then, on Easter Sunday, after a brutal night of torture and His Friday crucifixion, Jesus was raised to life. What Martha clung to in faith, we have as a confirmed truth. Even though we die, we live (John 11:25).

Paul said that the resurrected Christ was seen by more than 500 witnesses (1 Corinthians 15:6). You might be surprised at how much in history we believe with far less evidence than we have for the resurrection.²Did you know that fewer than 20 people ever claimed to have met William Shakespeare?

It is the fact of Christ’s resurrection that changes how we view and confront every challenge and opportunity in life. Having been created to glorify God (Isaiah 43:7), our first question is never “What do I want?” but rather what glorifies God (2 Corinthians 5:9). Our thoughts, though challenged by troubles in this world, remain focused on eternity (Colossians 3:2-4).

We will continue to deal with the symptoms of every evil inclination of the heart, but we will do so with a special focus on the LOGOS made flesh. Our ultimate goal is to connect people with their Savior and thereby reveal or remind them of their eternity.

With those thoughts in mind, the staff at Christian Life Resources and New Beginnings – A Home for Mothers wish you a very blessed Easter celebration, focused on a resurrected Christ and the certain hope that it gives us, transforming our worldview into one that glorifies God in all things.