When Martha declared her belief in the resurrection on the last day, Jesus responded and brought a new vividness and a new meaning to her belief: "I am the Resurrection and the Life". He then went on to develop this statement and to show something of its depth of meaning: "If anyone believes in me, even though he dies, he will live". This first part of Jesus' affirmation is clear: union with Jesus through faith is the way to attain resurrection and life. Jesus has already affirmed this doctrine earlier in the Gospel (John 6:40): "It is my Father's will that whoever sees the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life and I shall raise him upon the last day."

The second part of Jesus' affirmation is much deeper and understanding it requires more prayer and reflection: "Everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die." "Never die"? But we Christians do die like everyone else. One of several approaches is simply to understand "never" to mean "not forever", thus giving the meaning "will not die for ever", repeating and reaffirming the first part of Jesus' statement.