Raising Lazarus from the Dead: The 7th Sign

Illustration

Opener

Jesus is the source of all things good—including life itself.

Biblical Backgrounds

Jesus is a few weeks away from the Passover and there’s already enough drama in Jerusalem that the Temple leaders want to kill Him. Which was what He always had planned. The Jewish leaders are done giving Him 2nd chances, they’re gonna kill Jesus ASAP.

But Jesus needs to die during passover, its a Old Testament symbolic thing. There’s also some other Old Testament prophecy that needs to be fulfilled surrounding Jesus death. His bones can’t be broken. His clothes have to be divided up. But one major thing that has to happen is the Triumphal Entry. Jesus has to ride into Jerusalem on a donkey, and have the crowd proclaim Him King. He can’t enter Jerusalem while He’s already in Jerusalem.

So He has to leave. He and the 12 are going to leave the country for a couple days and just lay low and let that drama simmer. The 12 think they’re hiding out to avoid getting killed but Jesus knows He’s just waiting to die at the proper time.

But while Jesus is out of the country, stuff is still happening and people still need Him.

As we come into chapter 11 that’s the situation, Jesus has been out of town for a while and His friends need Him.

Scripture & exposition

So with that in mind, let’s look to the text. John 11:1-4

John 11:1–4 CSB

1 Now a man was sick—Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair, and it was her brother Lazarus who was sick. 3 So the sisters sent a message to him: “Lord, the one you love is sick.” 4 When Jesus heard it, he said, “This sickness will not end in death but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

Pause right there. Because we need to understand. Jesus says something here that sounds good but it’s not. It’s an idiom of His own design.

You know what idioms mean. Depending on who you’re talking to and the situation, a phrase can mean something literal or it can mean something else totally.

If a pro wrestler is about to step in the ring with Ray Mysterio, and I say “break a leg” That’s very literal advice. Ray Mysterio is fast and uses his legs a lot to win fights. If you break one of them that’s an easy way to beat him. There’s no alternative meaning there. “break a leg” in that situation is just literal advice.

But if I say the same thing to an actor about to walk on stage, it means something different. In that situation, “break a leg” means “good luck”.

See sometimes the meaning of a phrase is tied to who says it, who its said to, and what the situation is.

Jesus does something similar here. See, any time Jesus talks about His own glorification, He is talking about His death on the cross. When we talk about the glorification of Christians, that’s something different. Glorification for you is what happens when you arrive in heaven. Glorification for Jesus is when He is hanging on the cross dying. Same term, very different meaning.

So when Jesus says John 11:4

John 11:4 (CSB)

4 ...“This sickness will not end in death but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

What Jesus is saying is “I’m gonna get myself killed for this, but I’m gonna do it anyway.”

Any time Jesus talks about His own glorification, He is talking about the cross. When He says that He will be glorified, He is talking about the cross. When He says John 8:54

John 8:54 CSB

54 “If I glorify myself,” Jesus answered, “my glory is nothing. My Father—about whom you say, ‘He is our God’—he is the one who glorifies me.

Jesus is saying, God the Father is sending me to the cross. That’s His plan.

Right, so back to chapter 11.

John 11:4–7 CSB

4 When Jesus heard it, he said, “This sickness will not end in death but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus. 6 So when he heard that he was sick, he stayed two more days in the place where he was. 7 Then after that, he said to the disciples, “Let’s go to Judea again.”

Wait so Jesus gets word that one of His dear friends is dying. He knows this man’s family and knows that some of the most important people in His own life, His dearest friends outside of the 12, are hurting right now. He knows that Mary and Martha are scared and they want Jesus to come and fix this. They know He can. They’ve seen Him heal people before, and they’re watching their brother slowly die, and they send a letter to Jesus begging, please come back and heal Lazarus before its too late…and so Jesus gets the letter and decides to sit on it for 2 more days before He does anything.

Mary and Martha send Him this letter because this is urgent, and Jesus just lets it ride. He is doing this in His own time, not on anyone else’s schedule.

John 11:7–8 CSB

7 Then after that, he said to the disciples, “Let’s go to Judea again.” 8 “Rabbi,” the disciples told him, “just now the Jews tried to stone you, and you’re going there again?”

Reasonable question. Jesus, you saw what happened last time we were in Judea; you almost got killed. and you want to go back!?!

This is the point where with most loved ones you step in, have them declared insane, and start making their decisions for them. The last thing you do is follow them.

Then in verses 9 & 10 Jesus gives this really cool explanation of the situation with light and darkness. John very subtly references some of his other works, the letters he wrote towards the end of the Bible. We don’t have time to talk about that tonight.

John 11:9–10 CSB

9 “Aren’t there twelve hours in a day?” Jesus answered. “If anyone walks during the day, he doesn’t stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if anyone walks during the night, he does stumble, because the light is not in him.”

Again, we can’t get into that right now, but if you get a chance, go read His letters, 1 John and 2 John. This will make a lot more sense.

But He continues. John 11:11-16

John 11:11–16 (CSB)

11 He said this, and then he told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I’m on my way to wake him up.”

12 Then the disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will get well.”

13 Jesus, however, was speaking about his death, but they thought he was speaking about natural sleep. 14 So Jesus then told them plainly, “Lazarus has died. 15 I’m glad for you that I wasn’t there so that you may believe. But let’s go to him.”

16 Then Thomas said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s go too so that we may die with him.”

So the 12 said, Jesus, we can’t go back to Judea. They were about to kill you last time. I’m not so sure we need to press our luck.

He says “Lazarus has fallen asleep. I need to wake him.” and they’re like “Dog, what are you talking about. Lazarus falls asleep every day. We all do. Usually a little after sunset. We’re not going back to Judea, so you can be Lazarus’ alarm clock.”

and Jesus rolls His eyes and says. “Lazarus is dead. How did you guys not get that? I’m actually glad I wasn’t there when He got sick, because y’all got some serious faith problems, and I hope y’all learn a thing or two from watching this whole experience. I’m going to Judea. Y’all pack up.”

and Thomas. Thomas really does not get enough credit. He’s actually a really funny guy. “He said Let’s go too so that we may die with him.” and it is genuinely unclear who he is referring to here. I spent an embarrassing amount of time on this sentence this week trying to make sure that I was sure that I knew what Thomas was saying.

I am no greek scholar. This is slightly outside my capabilities, but as best I can understand, the most literal translation would be closer to “Let’s go so that we may be able to end up with the guy who is dead.” Which would definitely be Lazarus, but

When Thomas says “Let’s go too so that we may die with him.” He is talking not talking about Jesus. He is talking about Lazarus. He is not saying to the other disciples, “let us follow our teacher to His certain death in Judea.”

That’s not what Thomas is saying. He is not talking about Jesus. He is referring to Lazarus and saying to the other disciples, “Come on. Let’s go back to Judea so we can wind up dead like Lazarus.” Thomas has totally resigned himself to the fact that he will die because of the decision that Jesus just made. Thomas knows that he lives and dies based on the decisions that Jesus makes.

Man, has been sitting here with his friends, thinking “we’re hiding out so we don’t get killed. We will die if we go back to Judea.” and Jesus says “let’s go back to Judea.” Tommy and the fellas all say “Jesus, they tried to kill you and us. That’s why we left.” Jesus says “Yes. Now we have work to do and we’re going back. So I can raise a man from the dead.” and Thomas says “Your raising a man from the dead is going to get us all killed.” as he stands up to pack his bag and head back to Judea.

Thomas had no clue how right he was. Jesus raising a man from the dead would eventually get Thomas killed, just not any time soon. But even in that situation, Thomas went willingly. See...

Jesus is the source of all things good—including life itself.Let’s read on. John 11:17- 20

John 11:17–20 CSB

17 When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Bethany was near Jerusalem (less than two miles away). 19 Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother. 20 As soon as Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him, but Mary remained seated in the house.

Ok. So Jesus arrival here comes at a sweet spot time wise.

Jewish people believe that it takes 3 days for the soul to completely leave the body. If Jesus showed up any earlier than this, it still would have been seen as a miracle, but more in the sense like it’s a miracle when someone wakes up out of a coma.

See, Jesus has already raised at least 2 people from the dead at this point, we know this from the other 3 gospel accounts. Jesus raised a young boy from the dead in the middle of his own funeral precession, so probably on the day that he died, maybe the next morning. Jesus raised a young girl from the dead within a few hours after she went out.

Those are miracles. But to the perspective of the Jewish people at the time, those were just really powerful healings.

Here’s the best way I can express this.

We recognize a difference between Resurrection and Resuscitation. When you watch medical dramas on TV, you see a lot of situations where doctors and nurses are performing CPR on someone and using the defibrillator to shock someone back right when they go out. Those people are alive but they’re not. Their bodies have stopped working but there has not been enough damage yet that this has to be permanent.

If medical professionals are still pounding on your chest, they’re still pumping blood around your body, and some amount of oxygen is still getting to your brain, you may be kinda dead, but you’re not dead dead. This Code Blue state can sometimes go on for 30-min. Even as long as an hour before someone is pronounced dead. But eventually doctors will stop trying to resuscitate someone.

At some point in that first hour there is universal agreement that this person is gone and there is no bringing them back. So even we have an understanding that the soul lingers in the body for a moment and that death isn’t always an instantaneous process. We may hold on to hope that someone can be healed for as long as an hour, but we have a limit to how long we will wait.

The Jewish people had the same idea at this time, it’s just that they haven’t developed CPR. And their understanding of how long it takes the soul to leave the body is 3 days instead of 1 hour. So for 3 days, they would still hold onto hope that something could happen…but Lazarus has been dead for 4 days.

As far as the Jews are concerned, Lazarus is beyond hope. He’s officially dead dead. The soul has departed. There’s no amount of healing that can bring him back at this point.

This is not going to be like that young boy from Matthews gospel or that little girl that Jesus raised in Marks gospel. Both of those were pretty immediate. At least within the 3 day window.

and understand. I’m not saying that it is true that the soul stays in the body for 3 days. I have no reason to believe that is true. I am saying that the people Jesus was dealing with; they all believed that the soul stays in the body for 3 days. So rather than fighting them on that or clarifying how long exactly it takes to die, Jesus works within their system to prove His point.

What happened with those 2 previous kids that Jesus raised, even though we see those as resurrections, the families of those that He raised would not have seen it that way. They would have just seen Jesus as a powerful healer. They thought He resuscitated their loved ones.

See resuscitation is restoring vigor to something to snap them back as soon as they go out.

Resurrection is something different. Returning life to something that is completely completely dead and has been dead for a while.

No doctor on earth can resurrect someone.

And just because I know somebody is gonna confuse this too. Reincarnation is something different entirely. That’s when you die and your soul is sent back to earth as a totally new life. Reincarnation is when you die and then you open your eyes to find that you are a sea turtle breaking out of your shell for the first time, and running towards the ocean.

Resuscitation

Resurrection

Reincarnation

Back to the story.

John 11:20

(CSB)

20 As soon as Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him, but Mary remained seated in the house.

So, I said that Jesus shows up at the perfect time, because He does.

See, verse 20, specifically said that Mary “remained seated” at the house. Jewish funerals go on for 7 days. The immediate family of the person who died sit together at home, very low to the ground, they have special chairs that are less than a foot off the ground. This 7 day process is called “sitting shiva”. And the family isn’t supposed to leave the house. People bring you food. The family doesn’t leave.

So Jesus shows up at day 4 because that means Lazarus is good and dead; soul is gone. But the shiva is still happening.

So it’s a big deal that Martha gets up to leave. She walks out of her own brothers funeral to go greet Jesus on His way into town. and she has this exchange with Jesus that makes it sound like she knows what’s going to happen but I don’t think she does.

John 11:21–27 CSB

21 Then Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died. 22 Yet even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” 23 “Your brother will rise again,” Jesus told her. 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. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live. 26 Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27 “Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who comes into the world.”

Like, she’s clearly saying “my brother’s dead and there’s nothing that can be done about it. I’ll see him again at the end of time.

But then she also says “but Jesus I believe you can do anything” and it kinda sounds like she means that Jesus can still bring Lazarus back.

So how do we reconcile these?

Here’s what’s happening Martha believes that Lazarus is gone and it’s too late to bring him back. Even for the great healer Jesus. but she wants to make sure that Jesus knows, this situation hasn’t shaken her faith. She effectively says. You weren’t here to save my brother, but that doesn’t change the fact that I still believe that you have power. I’m not giving up on you because you didn’t give me what I want in this situation.

Which I think matters, because Martha is there and Mary isn’t. Mary is the same Mary who washed Jesus feet with nothing but her tears and her hair. Mary loves Jesus like crazy. But Mary and Martha sent Jesus a letter begging Him to come save their brother, and He waited until they thought it was too late.

I think there’s a reason that Mary stayed home and Martha went to see Jesus.

While Martha is telling Jesus “I still love you and I still believe you have power even if you didn’t fix my situation and save my loved one.” Mary is sitting at home.

Is Mary mad at Jesus? maybe, but I’m not sure that’s the best way to say it. I think she feels overlooked. Here’s why.

John 11:28–37 CSB

28 Having said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” 29 As soon as Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Jesus had not yet come into the village but was still in the place where Martha had met him. 31 The Jews who were with her in the house consoling her saw that Mary got up quickly and went out. They followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to cry there. 32 As soon as Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and told him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died!” 33 When Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews who had come with her crying, he was deeply moved in his spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you put him?” he asked. “Lord,” they told him, “come and see.” 35 Jesus wept. 36 So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Couldn’t he who opened the blind man’s eyes also have kept this man from dying?”

I think the crowd is asking the same question that Mary and Martha are asking.

Couldn’t Jesus have stopped this from happening? Why wasn’t He here within the 3 day window?

and Mary & Martha have 2 different reactions to the question.

Martha says I know you didn’t fix my situation even though you could have, but you have your reasons and I still trust you Lord.

Mary says I know you didn’t fix my situation even though you could have, and I feel forgotten and ignored by God as a result.

Remember, Mary sent Jesus a letter, begging Him to hurry back. Jesus got the letter AND THEN WAITED 2 MORE DAYS!!!

Jesus waited around until the 3 days were passed. Jesus made the decision not to come when they thought Lazarus was still in the timeframe where he could be healed. Jesus purposefully held off until they thought it was too late.

Are you a Mary or a Martha? When God answers all your prayers with a big fat “NO” do you respond like Martha and run to Him anyway to say that you still trust Him? Or are you a Mary, who says “I’m not going. God apparently doesn’t care for me anyway, so I’m gonna stay put right here.”

Martha- Trust God when He says “no”.

Mary- Feels betrayed and avoids God when He says “no”.

John 11:38–44 (CSB)

38 Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39 “Remove the stone,” Jesus said.

Martha, the dead man’s sister, told him, “Lord, there is already a stench because he has been dead four days.”

40 Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”

41 So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you heard me. 42 I know that you always hear me, but because of the crowd standing here I said this, so that they may believe you sent me.” 43 After he said this, he shouted with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out bound hand and foot with linen strips and with his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unwrap him and let him go.”

So let’s remember what we said about Resurrection vs Resuscitation.

Resuscitation is the shock paddles and CPR. Resuscitation is what doctors do. Resuscitation falls under the category of healing.

Nobody watching this would consider anything about this situation a resuscitation. This is different.

This is a resurrection. This is putting life back into something that was completely dead. This is not what doctors do.

Jesus put life into something that was dead. Lazarus. because...

Jesus is the source of all things good—including life itself.

See, giving life is something that only God has the power to do.

Side note: this is my biggest problem with the naturalistic worldview, that believes there is no God. There is only science. Right, Big Bang Theory, Evolution. That worldview.

They can’t explain where life comes from. They can say that you came from your parents and that’s where your life came from. They can kick the can down the line a few million years and claim that we cam from monkeys, or single-celled organisms that crawled out of the ocean. But science has yet to come up with a good answer for where life came from. They say there were single celled organisms, but they can’t explain how those came to be alive.

See, life is weird. With all the advancements of modern science, nobody has figured out how to make life. There is no collection of chemicals that you can mix together in a lab, zap it with lightning and it comes to life. Not even amoebas. Not single celled organism. Science doesn’t know where life comes from. Because Life only comes from God.

Here with Lazarus we see. Everyone here knows that Lazarus was dead dead. Completely dead. No life in him dead. and yet Jesus sees fit to put life in him which is something that only God can do. Because Jesus is God.

Illustration

Harken back to the opener

Application

Stop looking for an explanation for life that doesn’t involve God.

Start praising God when He says “no.”

Come to Jesus and never worry about death again.