Resurrection and Life

1 Corinthians 15:20–26 M:BCL

20 But the truth is that Christ has been raised up, the first in a long legacy of those who are going to leave the cemeteries. 21 There is a nice symmetry in this: Death initially came by a man, and resurrection from death came by a man. 22 Everybody dies in Adam; everybody comes alive in Christ. 23 But we have to wait our turn: Christ is first, then those with him at his Coming, 24 the grand consummation when, after crushing the opposition, he hands over his kingdom to God the Father. 25 He won’t let up until the last enemy is down—26 and the very last enemy is death!

I want to talk to you about living in the hope of resurrection.

Jesus once said to His disciples, “In this life you will have trouble” and isn’t that the truth (John 16:33 TLV).

Trouble has a way of affecting our perspective. It can cause us to feel discouraged or down. It can rob us of hope and joy. Sustained trouble can even lead to anxiety and depression where it seems like the weight of everything is suffocating and oppressive.

There is a famous passage in Scripture where the prophet Ezekiel saw a vision of a Valley of Dry Bones. God brought the prophet into the valley and asked him, “Can these bones live?”

Ezekiel did not know. And God commanded him to speak to the dead bones—for sinew and flesh, skin and flesh to come upon the bones once again. And then the breath of life. He wanted Ezekiel, and Israel, to know that God is truly God and He can bring dead things to life.

Interestingly, when God explained the vision, He said that the dry bones were symbolic of how Israel saw themselves. But it wasn’t His plan for them.

Ezekiel 37:11–14 NKJV

11 Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. 13 Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. 14 I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it,” says the Lord.’ ”

Have you ever felt like the Israelites? Dry, hopeless, cut off from meaningful and joyful life?

As we consider the cross of Christ we need to realize that death is a reality. The cross stands as a reminder of the fearsomeness of death and how it creates a sense of dread, separation, hopelessness.

But the resurrection of Jesus offers us a different picture. In Jesus, we can enter into the hope of resurrection and experience eternal life.

A New Perspective

If you are plugged-in to what is happening in the world it is easy to focus on everything that is wrong and broken. The stories being told through media, whether traditional or social, paint a picture of a corrupt and dying world. Instead of life we see the evidence of death all around—death of trust, of decency, of goodness, of kindness. And death comes for us all (Hebrews 9:27).

I don’t know about you, but when I read the posts of people I begin to sense the hopelessness and dryness. And even though our technology promises connection it only seems to create division.

This is the Valley of Dry bones.

This is the picture of death working its way in the world.

Instead of looking anywhere other than God in Christ we need to turn to Jesus so that we can find grace and truth and life (John 1:14, John 14:6).

None of us have experienced life untouched by death, impacted in some way by discouragement and sin. Whether it be through the loss of someone dear to us or sickness or betrayal, the list goes on of how easy it is to grow cynical and discouraged because of our experience.

No matter how hard we worked or how much we tried we couldn’t shake the feeling that we were in the end without hope in the world (Ephesians 2:12).

And then everything changed. God sent a Savior. God came to rescue us and redeem us and adopt us into His family and to give us a future and a hope (Titus 2:14, Galatians 4:4-6, Jeremiah 29:11). Because of the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus we can have hope and find life.

Finding and Receiving Life

Where do we look, how do we find, and how do we receive hope and life?

We are going to look into the story of Jesus and Mary and Martha and Lazarus. In this story, we are going to find out that new life is possible. We will see that new life is available. And we will discover how we can enter into new life.

Look for God’s Glory

John 11:1–6 NKJV

1 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. 3 Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” 4 When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.

John 11:11–14 NKJV

11 These things He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.” 12 Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.” 13 However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep. 14 Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead.

The narrator gives us some important backstory:

This is a well-known family to Jesus and the disciples. This was the Mary who famously anointed Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair (John 11:2).

Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus (John 11:5). Lazarus was Jesus’ friend (John 11:11).

Lazarus was sick and he was going to die from it (John 11:3, 14).

And there are a few additional key details that we have to take note of:

Jesus was going to “wake Lazarus up”—raise him from the dead (John 11:11)

Jesus stayed two more days before He went to Lazarus.

The end of this sickness wasn’t death, but the glory of God (John 11:4)

To us, this doesn’t make much sense. If Jesus loved Lazarus and his sisters, why would Jesus stay where He was for two more days. Why wouldn’t He immediately go and heal Lazarus or speak the word of healing like He did for the centurion’s servant?

The answer was that death did not have the final answer. God was going to take advantage of this situation and use it for His glory.

Romans 8:28 NKJV

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Here is a worthy saying and something that should be the reference point for everything that we experience in this life: If we are God’s people then He will work everything out in the end for our good and for His glory.

What does this part of the story, and even the story of the crucifixion of Jesus tell us? How do we respond? If it is not good and doesn’t produce the glory of God then no matter how it looks the story doesn’t end here.

We need to keep moving forward until we can see God’s goodness and Jesus glorified.

Illustration: The 2010 Chilean Mine accident could have ended in tragedy. A “mega-block” weighing about 77,000 tons separated from the mountain and collapsed down through the mine trapping 33 men a half-mile down in the deep dark where they would remain for 69 days. No one knew if they were alive for the first 17 days even as family members established a tent city they called, “Camp Hope” on the surface. They fled to a newly drilled escape tunnel called “The Refuge.” Down in the dark they held daily prayer sessions and sang together as they tried to maintain hope. After 69 days, 2 1/2 miles in the earth, they were rescued, raised up out of the ground and restored to their lives and families once again.

Much of their successful survival came down to their faith and hopeful expectation that they would be rescued.

I want to tell you today that no matter how bad things look in your life God can bring you through. You may not know how, or why, but God is working things together for your good and His glory so that others might experience resurrection life.

Keep moving forward. Look for God’s goodness and His glory. And you will find resurrection life.

Believe in God and in His Word

John 11:17–27 NKJV

17 So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away. 19 And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. 20 Now Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house. 21 Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

Martha had just been through an ordeal. Watching her brother’s sickness progress until he died. Seeing him prepared for burial and then placed in the tomb. Surrounded by well-wishers and mourners. Hosting and grieving.

But she had hope. She did not grieve like those without hope do, but she had an unshakable promise that she would be reunited with her brother once again (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14).

When Jesus met her, she was standing on the Word. She believed in the promised resurrection. She believed in Jesus.

Though she could have focused on what Jesus didn’t do (and she did mention that if He had been there Lazarus wouldn’t have even died) she chose to focus on what He would do.

Illustration: Vicktor Frankl author of Man’s Search for Meaning survived the holocaust. He was in four different concentration camps, including Auschwitz. He observed that meaning and hope were essential qualities to overcoming adversity. They were often indicators as to why someone physically capable would give in to death and despair over those who were not.

Martha was kept by hope. She hoped in the promises of God and in the person of Jesus. He was able to keep His word.

He is the resurrection. He is the life. He is able to do what He said He would do. Put your trust in Him. Believe on His word.

Believe in Him, live in Him, and you will have eternal life.

Act in Faith

John 11:38–44 NKJV

38 Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” 41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 42 And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” 43 Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” 44 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”

Jesus was able to raise Lazarus from the grave. And, Jesus was willing to do it. Much effort was made to describe the timeline. When all seemed lost, Jesus then shows up. When it looked like death had the final word, the resurrection and the life arrives on the scene.

But the miracle didn’t happen without the people acting in faith. They had to act in faith and trust Him to roll the stone away. They had to believe that He was working for good and for the glory to God before they would consider such a thing.

And it wasn’t until they rolled the stone away that a miracle happened in their midst.

Illustration: The equation of faith is believe + act = receive. Believe and trust God and His word. Act in obedient response to His word. Receive the promise of God.

God is able to restore you and give you new life. God is able to heal you and deliver you and set you free from sin and addiction. But it doesn’t stop there. He also is willing for you to have those things. He comes at the right time so that you can experience His power in your life.

But you have to act in faith. You have to step out and trust Him at His word. And when you do you will see the glory of God.

And, when others experience the life of God we are there to help them. Jesus resurrects them and we loose them—by praying for them, sharing with them, and encouraging them.

Conclusion

The story of Lazarus was a glimpse of what was to come a foreshadowing of eternal resurrection.

In the same story that Jesus reveals that He is the resurrection and the life, He shows us what that looks like.

Through His death, burial, and resurrection Jesus showed that He was not only willing to do what was necessary to secure our salvation but that He also was powerful—able—to give it.

He was bruised for our transgressions.

By His stripes we are healed.

He was cursed so that we could be blessed.

He was bound so that we could be free.

He died so that we can have life.

If you want to receive that life and walk in it, keep looking for God’s glory. Believe in Him and in His word, and act in faith.

And you will begin to live a new life now and into eternity.