And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 [But] even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.”
This passage opens in the sorrowful aftermath of Lazarus’ death. Martha, grieving yet steadfast, comes to Jesus with a mixture of regret and trust: “Lord, if you had been here…” Her words echo a lament, but they are not faithless. Even in grief, she clings to the possibility that Jesus can act, that His communion with the Father is unbroken, and that divine power may yet intervene.
Jesus responds with a promise: “Your brother will rise.” At first, Martha understands this in terms of the future resurrection. But Jesus reveals something more immediate and astonishing. He does not simply teach about resurrection; He declares, “I am the resurrection and the life.” In Him, resurrection is not only a future hope but a present reality. He holds life itself within His Person.
The resurrection of the dead was not foreign to the Jewish people. Prophets like Daniel spoke of those who “shall awake, some to everlasting life” (Dan 12:2), and the hope of resurrection fueled the witness of the martyrs in 2 Maccabees 7, who died rather than violate God’s law, trusting He would raise them up.
This is one of the great “I am” statements in John’s Gospel, drawing a direct connection between Jesus and the divine name revealed to Moses in Exodus 3:14: “I AM WHO AM.” Jesus is not merely a prophet, nor only the awaited Messiah. He is the divine giver of life, the one who holds power over death and offers eternal life to all who believe.
When He says, “Whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,” Jesus refers to bodily death—yet affirms the promise of resurrection. But when He says, “everyone who lives and believes in me will never die,” He points to the life of the soul—the spiritual life that endures and cannot be extinguished by physical death. This twofold assurance anticipates not only the raising of Lazarus, which soon follows, but the ultimate resurrection at the end of the age, and the enduring life that begins even now through faith.
Martha’s reply is a powerful profession of faith: “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe…” In her words, we hear the echo of Peter’s confession at Caesarea Philippi (Mt 16:16), but here it is spoken by a woman whose heart is pierced by loss, yet open to hope. She identifies Jesus as “the Messiah, the Son of God,” a title that reveals not only her belief in His mission, but her recognition of His divine Sonship. In this, Martha becomes a model of faith that holds fast even in the face of death.
In Christ, that distant hope becomes embodied. As St. Paul writes, “Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Cor 15:20). What was once anticipated through shadows is now revealed in the person of Jesus, who is both Resurrection and Life—the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets (cf. Lk 24:4
Lord Jesus, in sorrow and in hope, we turn to You. You are the Resurrection and the Life. Strengthen our faith when we grieve, comfort us with the promise of Your presence, and lead us to believe more deeply in the life You offer, now and forever. Amen!
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Sources and References
- The Holy Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition (2011).
- The Navarre Bible: St. John’s Gospel, Faculty of the University of Navarre (2008).
- The Paulist Biblical Commentary, ed. Aguilar Chiu et al. (2018).
- A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture, ed. Bernard Orchard et al. (1953).
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, §§994–1005, 1020–1024.
- St. Augustine, Tractates on the Gospel of John, Tractate 49 (c. 407 AD).
- St. Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on John (early 5th c.).
- St. Thomas Aquinas, Catena Aurea on John 11:19–27.
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