Funeral Sermon: Death, Life, Belief & The Glory of God
Notes
Transcript
Scripture Reading: John 11.1-44
Scripture Reading: John 11.1-44
Death & Disappointment Do Not Mean Dis-Belief
John 11:1 (ESV)
Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.
Jesus should care because:
It was any person at all.
John 11:2 (ESV)
It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill.
Jesus should care because:
This is Mary’s brother.
(Mary who worshiped You)
John 11:3 (ESV)
So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.”
Jesus should care because:
It’s Lazarus.
You love him.
You have a relationship with him.
John 11:4 (ESV)
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.”
Jesus then makes an alarming statement. Knowing the full context of this section, we know that Lazarus dies.
Jesus says though that this illness does not lead to death.
Did Jesus lie?
Was he mistaken?
No. Jesus didn’t say Lazarus wouldn’t die. He said that the illness (that would kill Lazarus) does not lead to death.
The ultimate fulfillment of this story is not death.
Even though we will walk through the valley of the shadow of death, do not fear… why? The Lord is with thee!
Psalm 23 (ESV)
A Psalm of David.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
John 11:5 (ESV)
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
Jesus does care because:
He loves all 3 of them.
Not in general, personally.
John 11:6 (ESV)
So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.
Now this is a problem for many. It says that Jesus stayed longer.
He was roughly a 2-day journey away and we are told in v.17 that, since He waited 2 days, He was 4 days “late” to come see Lazarus.
This was a problem.
It was a problem for Martha:
John 11:21 (ESV)
Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
It was a problem for Mary:
John 11:32 (ESV)
Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
It was a problem for the crowd:
John 11:37 (ESV)
But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?”
And maybe this is a problem for you today.
God where are you!?
Where is God?
Why does the Lord seem delayed?
Where is God in my pain?
If God loves this person, why did He allow them to die?
Why, in my pain and loss, does it feel like God is taking His time to show up and comfort me?
But let me show you that these statements and questions, although they are with great disappointment, they are not statements of doubt nor dis-belief.
In fact, even though they are spoken in hurt, pain, loss, mourning and dissapointment…
They are still statements of great faith in God!
These are statements and questions of great disappointment and great faith at the exact same time!
You should have been here!
Why?
You could have saved this person!
You are the only answer.
You are the only one who can help.
John 11:21–22 (ESV)
Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.”
Death & Disappointment Do Not Mean Dis-Belief
In fact, some of the hardest and most awful times in our lives is when God does some of the most meaningful works in our hearts.
Why did Jesus not rush to save Lazarus before he would die?
We are told explicitly that Jesus intentionally waited longer…
Jesus waited for the illness to get worse and Jesus waited until it resulted in the death of someone Jesus knew and loved.
Why!?
“So That”
We are given 2 statements of “So that” to help us understand why God allowed Lazarus to get sick and even to die…
John 11:4 (ESV)
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.”
The 1st “so that” is not so Lazarus would die.
But rather that God would be glorified.
Specifically, so that Jesus (the Son of God) may be glorified through this!
Please understand that:
God finds no pleasure in the death of His people.
2 Peter 3:9 (ESV)
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
God is not willing that any of His people should perish…
Precious in the sight of the Lord
is the death of his saints.
God’s people are precious to Him and their death is not something that He takes lightly.
God cares!
God loves!
So why would God allow sickness and death, even for those whom He knows and loves?
Why did Jesus allow Lazarus’ illness to get so bad that he died?
So that Jesus may be glorified through this!
Now I realize that may sound confusing to us. But let us move on to our 2nd “so that” statement to find out more on this.
John 11:15 (ESV)
and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe.
But let us go to him.”
I’m glad I wasn’t there.
Or - I stayed longer for your sake.
What!? Why??
So that -
you may believe!
Now this may be a bit more confusing because of the audience to whom Jesus is making this statement to.
The disciples!
The people who left everything to follow Him. The people that were with Jesus every single day.
Even Mary, Martha & Lazarus were close friends and followers of Christ.
But Jesus doesn’t want a casual “belief” in Him.
“Believe”
This word in the Greek does not just mean to have a religious belief.
It means to fully trust in.
To completely but your faith and trust in Jesus Christ.
Casting Crowns:
“The whole world is looking for something, what we need is Someone.”
Jesus wants more than a casual belief in Him. He wants you to completely trust in Him and know Him more & more every day!
They knew Jesus was a healer:
If you had been here -
you could have healed him!
If you had been here -
you’ve made blind people see!
They knew Jesus was the healer and they knew that someone… one day…
They had hope that, someday in Heaven Lazarus would be with them and with Jesus.
That’s why Martha doesn’t understand what Jesus is saying to her.
John 11:23–25 (ESV)
Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,
“He’s in a better place”
They knew Jesus was abstractly going to be their hope for life after death.
But that wasn’t enough!
Jesus wanted them to know more about Himself so that God would be glorified through their ever-blossoming believe and trust in Him.
The 2 “so that” statements teach us something amazing:
God glorifies Jesus Christ when we believe (put our full trust) in Him.
Do you want to glorify God in your life?
- Trust in Jesus!
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John 11:23–27 (ESV)
Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.
Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”
I am the Resurrection and the Life
Whoever believes in Me (though He may die), yet shall he live!
Everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die.
Do you believe this?