Resurrected View
Gospel of John • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 38:38
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· 6 viewsJesus’s response to the entire saga of Lazarus was completely out of step with everyone around him. He knew what they didn’t know. He saw what they couldn’t see. Christians who know the Bible, should have a “resurrected” and eternal view of life - it will put our responses out of sync with the world around us, too.
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Key Texts:
Key Texts:
REFLECTION: Psalm 90:12-17
12 So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. 13 Return, O Lord! How long? Have pity on your servants! 14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. 15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil. 16 Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children. 17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!
SERMON READING: John 11:1-4
MEMORY: Matthew 6:31-32
31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
BENEDICTION / CLOSING: Romans 15:5-6
5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
The 11th Chapter introduces us to “a certain man”.
But this wasn’t just any man.
Mary and Martha’s (of Bethany) brother
a friend of Jesus (“he whom you loved”)
There will be heated remarks made toward Jesus by mourners
Jesus will shed tears (for some reason) at the graveside
I say that right up front to let you know - THIS IS NOT SOME ABSTRACT FABLE ABOUT A FORESHADOWING OF THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST.
This is also NOT a prescription for GREAT FAITH so that your loved ones will not stay dead.
This is very personal.
It is DESCRIPTIVE of an event that wasn’t repeated. Jesus’ resurrection was quite different indeed.
TRANSITION
TRANSITION
And YET...
As we fix our eyes on Jesus in this account, we’ll notice that He is out of step with everyone around him.
Even though this is so personal…they don’t know what He knows.
Even though this is VERY REAL…they don’t see what He sees!
Beyond the very real encouragement that, while death is the great equalizer, death is not the final word - we LIVE ON!
That’s awesome!…but beyond that....
Jesus teaches us something about a RESURRECTED VIEW of matters.
Let’s look at some key points in this incredible account of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.
A REAL CRISIS
A REAL CRISIS
John 11:1-16
While Jesus is engaged in fruitful ministry near the Jordan where John had been baptizing before…he gets word of a real crisis from his dear friends.
This special family of three was dear to Jesus. We have word from the other gospels that he enjoyed being in their home.
Mary loved to sit at our Lord’s feet and contemplate him and his teachings.
Martha was just as devout but was a busy soul who seemed to have the gift of service.
Lazarus must have been their younger brother because he seems to have had no responsibilities in the family.
We know that this home was a place of peace and hospitality for Jesus and the disciples.
It was a place where he could slip off his sandals and relax and be refreshed.
But now things had changed!
The household was in disarray because Lazarus was gravely ill.
It appeared that he could die at any time.
No doubt these exhausted, worried women were scurrying about the house.
They send for Jesus.
But notice the message in verse 3:
3 So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.”
You’ll notice, there is NOT an invitation here. There is NOT even a request.
They did not say, “Lord, please come.”
They just assumed and probably planned that as soon as the Lord heard what was going on, he would hurry there without delay.
They knew Jesus.
They understood his wonderful compassion.
The word they used for “love” is the word for friendship. They were saying, “Your good friend whom you love is sick.”
Of course Jesus would come—to think otherwise was inconceivable.
So how does Jesus respond to this friend…the news that the people he loves dearly are in crisis?
4 But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
He doesn’t leap into action. But there is more than meets the eye here...
REMEMBER, YOU MAY BE RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF A VERY REAL CRISIS...
No one will deny that.
BUT OUR LORD COULD HAVE PLANS THAT YOU CAN’T FULLY SEE YET.
He may not LEAP when you think He should…that doesn’t mean He isn’t fully working His plan.
REMEMBER GOD’S GOAL IS REVEALED RIGHT HERE
“SO THAT THE SON OF GOD MAY BE GLORIFIED THROUGH IT”
Jesus stays for 2 more days.
DEATH WILL NOT BE THE ULTIMATE TRAGEDY HERE!
It’s clear to see, even here, that Jesus is NOT threatened by death.
There was a well-known lead singer for the Statesmen Quartet - a southern Gospel group - Jake Hess. He penned a song with these lyrics,
Someday when I breathe my final breath
And the doctor takes one look as says, “You’re dead!”
The truth is going to finally be revealed
I’m gonna find - “death ain’t no big deal”.
Only those with a resurrected view toward Jesus can see that…can say that!
Jesus knows what others don’t know.
Jesus sees what others don’t see.
So Jesus responds differently than other people respond.
And Jesus goes where other people don’t want to go…
let’s pick up at verse 5 and work our way through the text this morning…I’ll make some comments along the way
5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.
Does this give you pause?
This passage shows that the glory of God and the love of God are not at odds.
Jesus stayed for two reasons: the glory of God (v. 4), and his love for the family (v. 5).
God’s glory and his love for you are not enemies. Don’t ever pit the two against each other.
God’s glory is displayed chiefly in his bottomless love for his people.
Was it unloving for Jesus to stay two extra days?
I’m sure that if many of us would have been in Mary’s position and found out Jesus delayed, it would have felt more like betrayal.
But your feelings are fallible. Feelings can be pathological liars.
Your feelings say,
“Jesus doesn’t love you. See? He won’t come. He won’t act.”
Don’t trust your feelings.
Remember, we need to let the truth shape our emotions, not our emotions the truth.
The disciples and Jesus go back and forth...
READ 7-16
7 Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” 8 The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” 9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” 11 After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” 12 The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” 13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. 14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, 15 and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16 So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
It’s clear that Lazarus has died…even though Jesus said, “this sickness is NOT unto death.”
Isn’t Thomas’s response great here?
They know they’re headed back to dangerous territory...
Thomas can’t clearly grasp all that’s going on...
…but he’s ready to go, and die with Jesus and Lazarus if this is what Jesus wants to do.
1542One of the first requisites of an earnest, successful, soul-winning man, must be zeal. As well a chariot without its steeds, a sun without its beams, a heaven without its joy, as a man of God without zeal.—14.529
Charles Spurgeon
Of course, you can’t tell be the tone of the text if he’s ready to CHARGE or if he’s like Eeyore from the Winnie the Pooh...
“he’s gonna die…let’s all go die too.”
Hard to say.
But it does appear that he’s tempted to believe ONLY WHAT HE CAN FIGURE OUT.
A REAL PROMISE
A REAL PROMISE
John 11:17-37
Jesus arrives in town and finds Lazarus has already been in the tomb for 4 days.
This is no accident.
By the 4th day, mourners have gathered - and they will all witness the power of Jesus.
Martha goes to meet Jesus while Mary stays behind.
21 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 from God, God will give you.”
Do you hear her plans dashed?
She’s putting the effort into true confession, but from a place of devastation.
It’s a lament, in real time, with Jesus standing in front of her.
Jesus responds
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 on the last day.”
She gets it…She knows God’s promises. She knows death is not the end.
But there is something far greater at work here…something she doesn’t know - she couldn’t know.
25 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?”
Jesus doesn’t say, I can resurrect people and I have life...
He says, “I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE!”
As Christians who walk in the Spirit, who live in the Word, we are constantly reminded that
OUR HOPE IS NOT IN AN EVENT!
OUR HOPE IS A PERSON!
My hope is not in an answer to prayer…but the one I’m praying to.
My hope is not in this thing turning this way or that, but it is in Christ alone.
OUR HOPE IS BUILT ON NOTHING LESS THAN JESUS BLOOD AND RIGHTEOUSNESS
ON CHRIST THE SOLID ROCK WE STAND; ALL OTHER GROUND IS SINKING SAND!
Nothing can hinder him from giving life because he doesn’t have life; he is life.
This is just one of the ways Jesus is different from you and me.
You have life.
He is life.
You can lose your life.
He cannot and will not lose his life.
He laid it down, but his resurrection was proof that death could not take life from him.
Do you believe this?
Martha says YES, LORD!
Martha goes to get her sister…the next few verses show us a truly human and truly divine Savior responding to this family’s sorrow and grief with deep compassion.
As followers of Jesus, we’re commanded to “weep with those who weep”.
We willingly enter their suffering…with all the hurting people around us, there are so many opportunities for us to be present in people’s sufferings.
We see Jesus experiencing a range of emotions - he weeps. He is also irritated and troubled by what sin and death and brokenness has wrought.
Mary and Martha question his timing.
Onlookers question his power
37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?”
But just as Jesus entered their grief…(that’s something all of us can do)
He alone moves to end it…for the glory of God (that’s something ONLY He can do).
TRANSITION: Let’s read these remaining verses as we behold
A REAL POWER OVER DEATH
A REAL POWER OVER DEATH
John 11:38-44
A typical tomb in those days had eight occupants.
It was a hollowed-out room, perhaps in a hillside.
They would have three indentations on one side, three on the other, and two at the end.
Lazarus’ tomb could well have already been occupied by other bodies from previous years.
Jesus approaches...
38 Then Jesus, deeply moved again, 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 the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” 44 The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
Jesus fought and defeated DEATH.
In verse 4, Jesus said, “this illness does not lead to death.”
But it did didn’t it?
Yes…and no.
It led THROUGH death for the glory of God.
Someone wrote,
“For Lazarus the train stopped at death, but the journey didn’t end there.
The train started up again.
Death didn’t get the last word.
The sickness didn’t end in death but in resurrection.”
Very few passages are filled with MORE hope than this one.
There is no more helpless state that when DEATH is imminent.
But Jesus says to us and to death…I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE!
CALL FOR MUSICIANS
CLOSING
There are so many beautiful encouragements in this text this morning…let me share a couple that I know many of you need to hear today:
For those you who are following Jesus, and you’re praying, believing…in fact you’ve BEEN PRAYING AND BELIEVING for a long time…you’re not asking for selfish reasons, you’re asking for something you’re convinced would glorify GOD - but there is a delay from Heaven. The text today points us to a reason for delays.
No matter how it may appear, no how your feelings may be yelling at you... these inexplicable delays are delays of love.
When God’s children are being ravaged by the events of life, it is very difficult to truly believe that God really loves us. But John 11 and so many other Scriptures clearly claim that these delays are delays of love.
Be encouraged this morning...
There are other encouragements here, some of you have already found them.
Let me get to to our charge this morning...We talked about how much perspective matters...
When it comes to perspective, someone said,
“The old believe everything; the middle-aged suspect everything; the young know everything.”
But I’m thinking more of what we can learn through Jesus’s moving through our text today.
He knew what others didn’t know.
He saw what others didn’t see.
He said what others couldn’t say.
He did what only He could do.
We can’t raise people from the dead today…but we can learn and follow Jesus through a lot of this.
We have JESUS!
We have LIFE!
We know that for us to LIVE IS CHRIST! and because of Jesus to DIE IS GAIN!
We know that GOD’S WORD IS ABSOLUTELY TRUE AND TRUSTWORTHY!
We know that THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL GUARD AND GUIDE US TO ALL TRUTH, TO SHINE FOR JESUS!
In light of this...
we shouldn’t lose hope…HOPE is alive in us by God’s Spirit
we shouldn’t be shaken to our core by the winds of this world
we shouldn’t sound like everybody else…who is without hope
we shouldn’t behave like everyone else - we know more than those who are outside of Christ
We’re not waiting on the SKY TO FALL with the next news report…we’re looking for the Sky to split and Christ to return and set all things right!
7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So death is at work in us, but life in you. 13 Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, 14 knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. 15 For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God. 16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
6 So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight.
ONLY THOSE WHO ARE IN CHRIST, those who have recognized that they are sinners in need of this great powerful Savior; those who have confessed their sins and turned to Christ…ONLY CHRIST’S DISCIPLES CAN LAY HOLD ON THIS KIND OF HOPE.
Lazarus’ resurrection can encourage us, but it doesn’t change our lives.
Only Jesus resurrection from the grave can do that.
He came - virgin born.
Perfectly lived out God’s design for humanity - never sinned.
Was crucified on the cross for the sins of the whole world!
Was buried in the borrowed tomb of Joseph of Arimathea.
He was raised to life by His own power on the third day.
Now he is seated on the throne of thrones.
The resurrection MATTERS!
It changed EVERYTHING!
It should be changing us to see things DIFFERENTLY as God’s children.
Be encouraged this morning with a resurrected view!