Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in me will live, even though he dies, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.”(John 11:26)

Wait a minute.

Didn’t Jesus just say we live even if we die?

But now, in the next line, he says we won’t die.

This is why I get confused.

The Wife of my Youth points out that Hebrew poetry often involved repeating the same idea, but with different words.  Perhaps that’s what Jesus is doing here…

or

maybe this is a veiled reference to his second coming.  You know, those who are alive when he returns will never taste death…

or

could be that Jesus is doubling down on his first statement.  Kind of, “You’ll live even after you die.  No, wait–even better.  You’ll never die in the first place!”

or

did he mean that, “He who lives (in me) and believes in me will never die”?  In other words, those who make their life and hope in Jesus will be with him forever?

or

Was this another way of pointing out he was about to defeat death by his resurrection?

Hmm…yeah, I don’t know.

‘Cause remember, I’m not a Bible scholar.  I’m just a guy who wonders about stuff and–to quote my grandpa– “goes off at the mouth a lot.”

As you can certainly tell on a morning like this.

But this I can tell you, Beloved of Christ:  Whatever the exact meaning of his words, it’s all really, really good for you and me.

Happy Wednesday, Beloved.