John 11:26 - Printer Friendly

ESV: and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?"

NIV: and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

NASB: and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?'

CSB: Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

NLT: Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?'

KJV: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

NKJV: And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

In the prior verse, Jesus once again referred to Himself using the "I AM" terminology. This echoes the statement made by God in Exodus 3:14. When Moses asked God to identify Himself, the response was an expression of God's necessary, absolute, perfect existence. God "just is." Jesus' words in the prior verse tie that idea to a very personal concept of salvation. Rather than making mankind's redemption a matter of learning or effort, God grounds our hope in a person: "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6).

Jesus expands that idea with a wordplay on the ideas of life and death. Jesus' other teachings emphasize the concept of "eternal life" (John 3:16; 5:24; 10:28). Those who place their faith in Christ have a life which cannot be taken away (John 10:29), and which exists beyond the death of the physical body (2 Corinthians 5:1–5). The Greek phrase Jesus uses here is exactly the same as in John 10:28, and means something which will "never, ever" occur.

Jesus is speaking to Martha, one of Lazarus' sisters (John 11:1–3). His question to her uses a verb—an expression of action—rather than a noun. The term translated as "believe" here is from the Greek root word pisteuo, referring to "faith." Prior comments by Martha show that she's willing to put trust in Jesus (John 11:22), likely based on having heard His message in the past (Luke 10:38–42). When asked if she has faith in Christ and His promise of resurrection, she responds with a clear statement of Jesus' status as God and Messiah (John 11:27).

John 11:17–27 describes Jesus' encounter with Martha, Lazarus' brother. By the time Jesus got word of Lazarus' illness, His friend had already died, but Jesus delayed a further two days before coming to see the family. Martha is both heartbroken and resigned. She is confident that her brother will see eternal resurrection. Jesus confirms His role in salvation as He comforts her; she responds by affirming Him as the Messiah. This is the fifth of seven ''I Am'' statements by Jesus in this gospel. In the following passage, Jesus will meet with Martha and Lazarus' sister, Mary, expressing His sorrow for their pain.

Jesus has left the vicinity of Jerusalem to avoid hostile religious leaders. While gone, He receives word that a good friend, Lazarus, is sick. In fact, Lazarus has died by the time this message reaches Jesus. He purposefully waits a few days before returning to Bethany, arriving four days after Lazarus' burial. In front of Lazarus' mourning sisters—who Jesus weeps with—and an assembled crowd, Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead in a stirring and spectacular miracle. This is the seventh of John's seven ''signs'' of Jesus' divine power. In response, religious leaders coordinate in their effort to have Jesus murdered.

After giving sight to a man born blind (John 9), Jesus sparred with religious leaders on at least two occasions (John 10). After another failed arrest attempt, Jesus left the area and went out where Jerusalem's politics had little influence. In this chapter, He returns to resurrect a recently-departed friend, Lazarus. That results in a renewed commitment from Jerusalem's religious leaders to have Jesus murdered. As the crucifixion draws near, Jesus will stage His triumphal entry in chapter 12, and then begin His final teachings to the disciples.

The disciple John wrote the gospel of John decades after the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke were written. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls "signs"— to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.