What Happens When We Die?

 

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” (John 11:25-27 ESV).

 

Having been a pastor and counselor for decades I have also been a part of many discussions surrounding the topic of death. I have often been asked “What happens when we die?” In fact, some of the time I have been confronted with such serious doubt about any life after death that I have often gone back to the Scripture in our reading today. The context is the tomb of Lazarus and the grief of his sisters as they ask Jesus why He wasn’t there to prevent their brother’s death. They believed Jesus had the power to heal; they simply struggled with the finality of death.

 

Several years ago I had the privilege of sharing this text at the memorial of my brother. To some people, the claim of Jesus about life after death might sound like nonsense. They might well ask, “How could any intelligent person think that Jesus’ claim here is true? When people die, they don’t go on living.” Their skepticism would make sense if it were just any of us making that claim. But the person speaking here is Jesus, the Son of God, the Savior. And he later backs up his claim by raising Martha’s dead brother back to life (cf. John 11:38-44). Then, after Jesus himself was crucified, died, and was buried, he showed his power over death by rising from the dead to prove that he is “the resurrection and the life.” (cf. John 19-20.)

 

Through his birth, death, and resurrection Jesus assures us that there is life after death. The grave is not the end for those who die. Death is a stepping stone into eternal life for everyone who believes in Jesus as Savior. The question Jesus asked Martha is a question that we have to answer as well. If we trust the reality of Jesus and His work on our behalf then answering the question of what happens when we die becomes relatively easy. It is a matter of your belief in the resurrection itself. That belief then becomes the cornerstone of faith in eternal life.