Things Are Not Always What They Seem, Part 1

John 11:32–44 KJV 1900

Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him! And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died? Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.

John 11:44 (KJV)

“And he that was dead came forth…”

If you have an automobile of any kind it it equipped with a side view mirror. The purpose of this mirror is to supplement your peripheral vision so that your are aware of what is going on around you.

In the United States, your side view mirror is regulated by the U.S. National Highway Safety Administration, which mandates that the side view mirror be label with a warning that says, “Objects in Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear”. The reason for this warning is to remind the driver that what they physically see in the mirror is not a true representation of what actually exists.

This is because the mirror has been intentionally designed to distort the driver’s view of the environment in an attempt improve their perspective. While this is indeed a safety feature, it also presents a significant risk because a distorted view is a potentially dangerous situation, because things are not always what they seem.

Systemic racism is a true representation of what we see in our society.

Police brutality is a true representation of what we see in our communities.

Social injustice is a true representation of what we see in our political institutions.

Poverty and destitution is a true representation of what we see in our cities.

The eradication of biblical family values is a true representation of what we see in homes.

A watered down ineffective Gospel is a true representation of what we see in our churches.

A breakdown of morality and integrity is a true representation of what we see in many of our lives.

So, sometimes what we see is a clear and real picture of what actually exists.

Our text this morning, covers verses 32 through 44, and in this biblical pericope we find a group of people who are suffering from the impacts of a distorted view, but they too will soon come to the realization that things are not always what they seem.

1. The Problem of a Distorted View - v. 32

a. Lazarus, who is a faithful and beloved friend of Jesus was stricken with a serious illness, and just as should have been done, Mary and Martha called on Jesus to step in.

b. The problem though, is the fact that while Jesus heard their cry and He was literally on His way, His timing was not in alignment with their expectations. This means they had to wait on Him to show up in His time, when they wanted Him to intervene right now! I need you now!

c. A distorted view of our current life circumstances causes us to see things only from the perspective of our fear and not from the perspective of God’s faithfulness!

i. Don’t focus on your hurt, focus on His healing!

ii. Don’t focus on your situation, focus on His sovereignty.

iii. Don’t focus on your condition, focus on His compassion.

iv. Don’t focus on your pain, focus on His promises!

d. The reality is my brothers and sisters, that God does not always conform to our expectations. There are times when we will be forced to wait on God, even though the urgency of our situation may seem great, and even though the trial we’re facing may seem intense, and even though the weight of our burden may seen heavy. We must never forget that God has not forgotten us!

e. Isaiah 40:31 (KJV) But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

2. The Passion of a Divine View - vv. 33-35

a. The primary reason Mary had a distorted view of what was happening is because she did not think Jesus really identified with what she was going through. Perhaps she didn’t even think that Jesus really cared enough because she said if you had been here, my brother would not have died!

b. I think all of us in here right now, if we were honest, would own up to the truth that there have been times when you wondered if God really cared! Do you care?

c. It is important for us to know, that God gets passionate when He sees how much we don’t trust Him! Here is what I mean, in verse 33, the Bible says that when He saw Mary weeping, and all the Jews weeping, because Lazarus was dead, because their problem was big, because their issue was great, because there situation was monumental, He groaned in the spirit, and was troubled.

i. Groaned = Gr. Embrimaomai, to snort with anger; to have indignation, to sigh with chagrin.

ii. Troubled = Gr. Tarasso, to stir or agitate.

iii. These two words are the equivalent to when we throw up our hands and say, Are you kidding me? Seriously? OMG!

iv. Jesus is confronting their lack of faith! Are you really going through all this after you called me to come, I showed up, and I’m literally standing in your presence? Have you not learned by now that whenever I show up, something big is about to happen? Something is about to happen!

v. God sees what you are going through, God knows what you are dealing with and God is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that you can ask or even think! Something is about to happen!

3. The Point of a Direct View - vv. 34-36

a. Up to now, Mary has been blaming Jesus for the death of Lazarus, because she said if he had been there, Lazarus would never have died in the first place. This is very interesting because Mary had enough faith to believe that her brother could be healed, but she had no faith at all that he could be resurrected from the dead.

b. This is a flaw in her faith, and in ours, because: 

i. We believe God for some things but not for every thing. 

ii. We believe God for small things, but not for great things. 

iii. We believe God for for a few things, but not for all things.

iv. We believe God for a job, but not for the leadership position.

v. We believe God for relief of our pain, but not for total healing of our body.

vi. We believe God for a pause in the pressure, but not for peace that passes all understanding.

vii. We believe God for forgiveness when we fall, but not for total victory over our sins.

c. In verse 34, while Mary was blaming Jesus, Jesus made a point to challenge her view of the problem. Jesus asked Mary, “Where have you laid him?”.

i. Laid = Gr. To place; to appoint; to set; to ordain; to settle.

d. This means that Mary and the Jews, looked at Lazarus’ situation and made a determination about him based on what they saw! And because of how things seemed on the outside, they made categorized Lazarus as dead, they placed him in the place of the dead, they set him aside with the dead, they ordained him a person who is dead, and they settled on the idea that he was dead!

e. We do this even in the church! We look at people’s lives and we categorize who they are, and make determinations about who they are, and we treat them like we think they are but… things are not always what they seem!

f. The Bible says that when they showed Jesus what they did with Lazarus, he began to weep himself. 

i. Jesus was not weeping because he lost a good friend. 

ii. Jesus was not weeping because his heart was breaking for the loss.

iii. Jesus was not weeping because his bereavement was so great.

g. Jesus was weeping because they had put him in the grave!

i. They counted him out.

ii. They called it done.

iii. They believed it was over.

iv. But when you call of Jesus!