but she had also very poor thoughts of Him as the Christ, for she knew not that He was able, by His own inherent power, to quicken into life whomsoever He would.

In order, therefore, to strengthen her faith, as well as to elevate her thoughts to a higher object than the raising of a dead body to life, Jesus said to her, "Thy brother shall rise again." But this, in her present deep distress, seemed to her very cold comfort. What she wanted was to have her brother beside her now, and not merely to be re-united to him at some far distant time. And so, with a feeling almost of impatience, she said, "I know that he shall rise again, in the resurrection, at the last day." Yes, she knew that there will be a resurrection of the dead from the grave; but she did not know that the voice, which shall then be heard in every grave, is the same voice as that which now addressed her; and therefore she did not know that, even now, that voice, if He chose to utter it, could instantly bring back her brother from the tomb. But how small a boon, comparatively, would it have been to her, to have Lazarus brought up now from the grave, only to return to it again! What though she should enjoy her brother's society for a few years more on this earth, if she could not meet him for ever in heaven? But she could have no hope of this, unless she and her brother had obtained that higher life, which Christ bestows on His own people. It was quite natural that she should cling to her dead brother; but it was needful that she should cling to the living and life-giving Saviour, with a far stronger and higher affection. For the purpose, then, of bringing her mind up to this, and of fixing her faith and hope upon Himself, Jesus uttered those memorable words, which, in all ages, have gladdened many desolate hearts, and poured celestial light into many bereaved homes, and which have enabled multitudes to meet the last enemy, not only with perfect tranquillity, but also with holy triumph: "I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth, and believeth in Me, shall never die? Believest thou this?"

In these remarkable words, then, Christ declares His power not only to accomplish the resurrection of a dead body, but also to give eternal life to a dead soul. Martha's mind was too much occupied with the thought that her brother was dead, and with the desire of seeing him here again in the body; and so Christ meant to teach her, that it was far more desirable to be so united by faith to Him, who is the living and life-giving Saviour, as to

have within herself a life that is indestructible. His statement, therefore, in our text, consists of two parts.

1. First, He says, "I am the Resurrection."

It is as if He had said, The power to accomplish this resides solely in ME; and by My own death, I am the Conqueror of death. In Me is the victory over the grave; and that victory is not to be sought for apart from Me, or merely as a future blessing to be enjoyed ages hereafter; but it belongs to Me essentially even now, and I can bestow it whensoever and wheresoever I please. Accordingly, in reference to this, our Lord adds the emphatic words, "He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." That is, though My believing people must, like all others, go down to the grave, yet, even in that narrow house, in that chamber of corruption, their bodies are still united to Me, their very dust is dear to Me; and "precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." Nay, they are not dead at all, in the strict sense of the word, but they are only asleep for a little while; and I will come one day to awake them out of that sleep, to collect their scattered dust, and to fashion their vile bodies like unto My own glorious body; for "I am the Resurrection."

Now, all this must obviously have been most comforting to the sorrowing Martha, if only she had been able to understand it fully. She knew that her brother had been a true believer in Christ; and, therefore, though he was now lying helpless in the tomb, yet she might have been quite sure that that was not destined to be his everlasting abode. And though she did not yet know that the resurrection of his body was to take place immediately; yet if she had fully grasped the truth that Christ Himself is the Resurrection, then her deep sorrow would have been greatly mitigated, if not entirely quenched; and she would have rejoiced in the sure hope of a happy reunion with her departed brother. And in that case, too, it would have seemed to her a comparatively small matter whether the reunion was to take place now, or long afterwards; for, how short are the few years of our earthly pilgrimage, or even the lapse of ages, compared with the endless duration of heaven's felicity!

2. But the second part of our Lord's statement expresses a still deeper truth than the first: "I AM THE LIFE." This is no vain repetition, no unmeaning phrase; but it declares that Christ is the Life of the soul, as well as the Resurrection of the body.

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It is a life of unspeakable blessedness, which consists in the favour and fellowship of God; and which, being commenced on earth, is consummated in glory. For, is not Christ the First and the Last, and the Living One, who has life in Himself, and who has power to give that life to whomsoever He will? This life He has inherently and essentially, and not as derived from, or communicated by another. And, therefore, the moment we come to Him by faith, we pass instantly "from death unto life;" from the death of judicial condemnation to the life of full acquittal and acceptance; and from the death in trespasses and sins, to the life of inward purity, and progressive holiness, and active service to God. Accordingly, our Lord adds, "Whosoever liveth and believeth in Me, shall never die." These are remarkable words, but not less remarkable than strictly true. Dead though we all are by nature in sin, yet, by simply believing in Christ, we obtain the highest life, a life in the favour of God that can never be destroyed. No doubt, the believer in Christ must, like all others, lie down in the cold grave; but this to him is not death at all. It is not the extinction of his being, but it is merely the transition to a higher and better life. It is merely a removal from a lower to a higher chamber in the Father's house; a translation from a distant province in the King's dominions to His glorious palace, and His immediate and gracious presence. Yes, to the believer, the sting of death is extracted and its terrors are taken away; and therefore, he can truly say with Paul, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me."

Having made these explanatory remarks as to the meaning of our text, I would now endeavour to show how, and by what means, Christ becomes "the Resurrection and the Life" of all His believing people. He becomes so, as a Prophet, as a Priest, and as a King.

I. First, as a Prophet, by His teaching and Miracles, He has clearly revealed Resurrection and Life.

Many of us, I suppose, have witnessed a death-bed scene; and most of us have stood beside an open grave, and seen a dead body consigned to its kindred dust, and taken the last fond look of one who was very near and dear to us. stances, we could scarcely help asking the see that beloved friend or relative again?

Well, in such circumquestion, Shall we ever Shall we ever behold

that well-known face, and hear that loving voice, and renew that familiar intercourse with him or with her, which death has so ruthlessly broken up? Now, to questions like these, nature can give no satisfying answer; and human reason cannot shed a single ray of light upon the deep darkness of the tomb. Reason may form conjectures, and suggest probabilities, as to a future state of existence. But, to the eye of reason, the future is a dreary blank; and it seems a thing incredible that God should raise the dead. No doubt we see that, amid the storms of winter, "all nature dies, but lives again in spring." But "shall any following spring revive the ashes of the urn?" Shall these dry bones live again? Shall those whom we saw expiring in weakness be raised in power? Shall the earthly house of this tabernacle, after being dissolved in dust, be reconstructed and fashioned anew into a living, beauteous, and glorious temple? On all such questions as these, nature is silent as the grave itself; and human reason is helpless as the veriest child.

But, amid the silence of nature, and the helplessness of human reason, a voice has been heard from heaven, and a light has shone forth from the eternal throne. For Christ has "brought life and immortality to light through the gospel." As a prophet, He has illuminated the dark valley with the bright radiance of celestial hope; and He has plainly told us, that those "who sleep in Jesus, God will bring with Him" to glory. Listen to that voice, uttered eighteen hundred years ago, whose echoes are still reverberating in these latter days:-"The hour is coming, in the which, all that are in the graves shall hear the voice of the Son of Man, and shall come forth-they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life—and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." This great fact He has clearly revealed, not only by His divine words, but also by His mighty works. It has been truly said by a German writer, that no one ever died in presence of the Prince of Life, while He dwelt on earth; and that no dead body ever remained dead when He approached it. For instance, when He met the funeral procession at the gate of Nain, the widow's son, stretched on the bier, felt His divine power, and was restored alive to his weeping mother. Then, too, when He entered the house of Jairus, the young maiden was instantly aroused from the sleep of death, and given back to her sorrowing parents. And when He approached the tomb of Lazarus, He had only to utter the words "Come forth," and then at once the process of corruption was stopped, and he who had been dead

four days, sat up in his grave-clothes and came forth, not only alive, but in full possession of health and vigour.

But there was a still greater miracle than these, which demonstrated most conclusively the truth of His words, "I am the Resurrection." That miracle was His own resurrection from the dead on the third day. Yes, though He died for our sins, yet He rose again for our justification; and shewed Himself alive after His passion to His chosen disciples, and to five hundred brethren at once. Most truly could He say what none else could, “No man taketh My life from Me, but I lay it down of Myself: I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again."

Thus, then, as a Prophet, Christ has firmly established the doctrine of the resurrection, both by His instructions and by His miracles, and has proved that He has "the keys of death and of the invisible world," so that He has absolute control over the king of terrors, and over all the power of the enemy. And therefore, as certainly as He rose from the dead, so certainly shall those who are truly united to Him rise with Him to an endless and glorious life. He is the first-fruits of them that sleep in the grave, and the full harvest will surely follow; for He says, "Because I live, ye shall live also." And therefore, when our Christian friends die, they are not lost, but only gone before us, and we need not sorrow as those who have no hope. But we may be sure that, if we are Christians too, we shall meet them all again in that better land where sorrow and separation are unknown, because sin can never enter there.

II. Christ, as a Priest, by His atoning death, has redeemed His people from sin, and purchased for them eternal life.

The real cause-nay, the the only cause-of death and all our woe, is sin; for "the soul that sinneth shall die." It is sin-that evil and bitter thing-which has exposed us to Divine wrath, and brought upon us the sentence of death. Sin is the transgression of God's law, or the want of conformity to it, and it must therefore be hateful to Him who is glorious in holiness. "The wages of sin is death;" and these wages must be paid, even to the uttermost farthing, unless sin be expiated and atoned for; and that payment by the sinner himself implies, not annihilation, but the reign of spiritual death over the sinner for ever, without remedy or hope. But, by the shedding of His precious blood, Christ, as a Priest, has paid the whole wages of sin; and as our Subtitute and Surety, He has discharged, for His people,