Revive Me

Part 1: Repositioned for Revival

John 11:17-27 recounts the story of Jesus arriving in Bethany after the death of Lazarus. Martha greeted Jesus and expressed her faith in him, saying that if he had been there, her brother would not have died. Jesus assured Martha that her brother would rise again, to which Martha replied that she believed in a future resurrection. Jesus then tells her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

Jesus is inviting Martha into something profound. He’s asking her to reposition herself towards him to experience revival. Revival is what happens when Heaven’s blueprint becomes Earth’s reality. While Martha had placed her faith in the future resurrection, Jesus urges her to put her faith in him, declaring, “I am the resurrection and the life.”

Without realizing it, we often put our faith in the ways God has worked in the past, our hopes for the future, the church, theology, or even the Bible. However, Jesus is saying that, above all else, we should put our faith in him. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, encompassing all of time within himself. This means we don’t need to look in the past for revival or wait for it in the future; it is here, in our midst, now. Jesus’ invitation to Martha is his invitation to each of us: Reposition yourself towards him, and then you will experience revival.