Where Martha lived was near Jerusalem. Here, some time after the Passover of 31 C.E., Jesus had spoken of his God-given commission to resurrect the dead. He had come under religious criticism because on the Sabbath day he had healed a man and told him to pick up his cot and go home. In response to such criticism, Jesus said:

7, 8. (a) Whom does Jesus Christ make alive from the dead, and like whom does he deserve to be honored, and why? (b) Who is it that now passes over from death to life? (c) To what kinds of resurrections will the Son of man call forth all those in the memorial tombs?

⁷ “For just as the Father raises the dead up and makes them alive, so the Son also makes those alive whom he wants to. For the Father judges no one at all, but he has committed all the judging to the Son. . . .

14. Those thus made spiritually alive sit where and form what kind of group and must remain in union with whom?

¹⁴ Those who were relieved of the condemnation of death and made spiritually alive to sit with Christ Jesus “in the heavenly places” were made members of the congregational body of Christ. They were also formed into a “temple” class in which God could dwell by his holy spirit as in a “holy temple.” (Eph. 1:22, 23; 2:20-22) Because of being Christ’s “body,” they are specially “in union with Christ Jesus.” They need to remain in union with him.​—John 15:4.

15. What questions arise about the Father’s having “life in himself”?

¹⁵ To these ones Jesus’ words apply: “Just as the Father raises the dead up and makes them alive, so the Son also makes those alive whom he wants to.” (John 5:21) This means that the Son also has power to impart life to others.