Will Believers Never Die?

John 11:25–26 ESV Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, ₂₆ and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

In John 11:26, Jesus claims, “Everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” However, if that were the case, then why do people who believe in Jesus still die? Was Jesus lying?

Firstly, it should be noted that Jesus was not denying the reality that those who believe in him will still die one day. He spoke this saying while Lazarus, who believed in him, was dead and buried (v. 17). Previously, in verse 25, Jesus had said, “Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.” Therefore, Jesus was not talking about never experiencing death.

Also, when Jesus said, “though he die, yet shall he live,” he was not talking about a person’s soul going to Heaven, because that is not what “resurrection” means. This is important because the passage is about resurrection (v. 25). The term “resurrection” means coming back to life from being dead. Thus, even if a person dies and his soul continues to live and goes to Heaven, that is not a resurrection by definition, since his soul never died in the first place.

Notice that Jesus uses the future tense, “yet shall he live”. The Greek word for “live” here is the verb zaō (ζάω), which is used elsewhere to mean “to come to life” (Rev. 20:4, 5). Jesus was referring to a time in the future when dead believers in Jesus will be raised up to life at the resurrection when he comes again (1 Cor. 15:21–23). This resurrection on the last day is mentioned by Jesus elsewhere in the Gospel of John (6:39–40, 44, 54).

Therefore, when Jesus said, “Everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die,” he was speaking from an eternity perspective, looking beyond the believer’s first death unto his resurrection “on the last day”. Those who believe in Jesus “shall never die” in the sense that death is not final for them, because one day at the resurrection, they will be raised up to eternal life, and will never die again. Understanding Jesus’ eternity perspective helps us to understand other passages in the Gospel of John where Jesus said that all those who believe in him will not die (3:16; 6:50; 8:51; 10:28).