Get Up, Get Out of That Grave

As we prepare for Easter (Resurrection Sunday), I have been drawn to some of Jesus' miracles. Our world is a dark place and desperately needs hope and salvation. We all need a Savior and a church that operates in His power. I believe that Jesus is coming back soon, and the church needs to be prepared.

Last week, we discussed the man who was born blind in chapter 9 of John's gospel. Jesus came to give sight to the blind and reminded us that we must quickly carry out God's mission.

Today, let us take one step closer to Easter by studying Chapter 11 and the raising of Lazarus.

There is so much that can be presented in this passage, and we cannot handle it all in this one sitting. I will break it down into bite-sized chunks and focus on just a few aspects.

The Situation

John 11:1 “A man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany with his sisters, Mary and Martha.”

Lazarus is sick

The name Lazarus means “God has helped.”

I don’t know if he got the name before or after his encounter with Jesus. But how many today could be called Lazarus?

The passage does not provide much information about him except that he is the brother of Martha and Mary.

This is the same Mary and Martha that Jesus spent time with as discussed in Luke 10:38-42.

They live in Bethany, a suburb of Jerusalem. This would be close enough for Jesus and His disciples to be spotted and arrested.

He had just escaped a stoning when He claimed to be the Son of God. All the leaders were furious and were out to get Him.

Word is sent

Verse 3 states that the sisters sent a message to Jesus.

We do not know the method of the message or how long it took to get to him.

We can deduce from the text that Lazarus is still alive when Jesus gets the message.

Jesus delays

Verse 5 says that Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, but he did not immediately go to see them. He waited two more days.

That might seem as though He did not care about them or the situation they were in.

I am reminded that God’s actions are always related to His love. He does everything out of love.

He is love! Outside of Him, the word “love” is meaningless.

Would you join me in admitting that sometimes we get frustrated when we don’t get an immediate response from God?

There is the story of Daniel Beladinelli. He had plans to join his uncle in California to visit Yosemite. He was really looking forward to this time when his plans changed. The flight that he missed was United 93. Daniel’s uncle was on the flight and was possibly one of the men who helped thwart the attack of the terrorists on that flight. We know that because of brave men and women, that flight wasn’t able to be used as a weapon. It crashed in Pennsylvania, killing everyone on board and avoiding even greater loss. Daniel was supposed to be on that flight, but he wasn't.

We don’t always understand why things happen.

We can see from this delay in going to Lazarus that God has a timetable that we don’t always understand.

He sees the whole picture while we only see a part of it.

If I made decisions based on what I could see, I would be like that old video game, “Frogger,” jumping one step at a time and dodging cars as they speed by.

We are shortsighted and lack the proper perspective, and that is why we need to depend on someone who is omniscient — God.

There’s a purpose in His plan

John 11:4 “But when Jesus heard about it he said, “Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.””

Verse 4 reminds us, just like in chapter 9 with the man born blind, that this happened for the glory of God. Jesus will indeed receive glory for this plan.

Jesus had good reason to delay his return to Bethany that day.

He sees the big picture even if we don’t.

When Jesus does something, God gets the glory.

How amazing would it be if we saw life that way… and said, “God, get all the glory in my life!”

The Arrival

John 11:17 “When Jesus arrived at Bethany, he was told that Lazarus had already been in his grave for four days.”

Martha’s Belief

Martha showed great faith here in her conversation with Jesus.

She believes that Jesus could have saved him, and also believes that God will do anything that Jesus asks.

She expresses her understanding of the future resurrection but fails to see what is really going on right in front of her.

Jesus makes it clear as He declares, “ I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha? (Verse 25-26)

Yes, Jesus could have made it in time and healed his friend, Lazarus, before he died.

But, He could also take this situation and use it to teach about the Good News. That Good News is that Jesus died for our sins, rose again, defeating death, ascended to heaven, and is returning for His spotless bride, the church.

God gets the glory, and we get the benefit! That’s a pretty good deal!

Here Jesus speaks of something that is going to take place in the future. He is referring to His own death and resurrection that will take place in just a short time.

He also refers to Revelation 1:17–18: “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead. But he laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last. I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.”

All those who have believed Jesus’ message and followed him have life. Though many have passed from this earthly vessel, life continues on.

Mary’s Mourning

When Mary saw Jesus, she did what she did naturally: she fell at his feet. This is a place that she would have been familiar with, a place where she had found herself before. Not only did Mary know Jesus as a dear friend, but she also knew him as Lord.

Like Martha, she told Jesus that if He had arrived earlier, her brother would not have died.

She was looking to Jesus for something she knew He could do, but like her sister and the disciples, they didn’t see the bigger picture.

There was so much more going on.

It is the same in our lives.

There is more going on than we can possibly understand and we want Jesus to do this or that when He wants to do something even better.

I know where some of you are this morning, and there are others I don’t know what you might be going through. Can I tell you that God knows what is going on, and His plan is better than you can think or imagine.

The Lord’s Grief

We see some very interesting things here. In verse 33, the Bible says that when Jesus saw Mary and her entourage of mourners weeping, a deep anger welled up in him and he was deeply troubled.

He then asks where they put Lazarus. And then, Jesus weeps.

There are two different things going on here.

Please make no mistake about this, Jesus was not taken by surprise by Lazarus’ sickness and death. He knows what is going on in your life too.

When Jesus sees Mary weeping, he is deeply troubled by the condition of the world.

The fact that we face sin and death is something that should have never happened.

Jesus knew that he would soon be carrying a cross down the Via De La Rosa.

He would take upon himself the sin of the world and give all mankind the opportunity to reconnect with God the Father.

Jesus was deeply troubled by what He saw. We should too!

What will our response to the condition of Jesup and Wayne County be?

When He wept, Jesus was showing his humanity.

Isaiah 53:3 “He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.”

Hebrews 4:15 “This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.”

Jesus knows and understands where each of us is, and because He has conquered death and the grave, we have hope! Our hope is for both today and for tomorrow!

The Prayer

John 11:41–42 “So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.””

Jesus’ Relationship with the Father

Jesus had such a relationship of prayer that he was in constant contact with His Father. He didn’t have to open his mouth and speak the words.

Jesus is one with the Father. John 17:22 says, “I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one.”

Our Relationship Goals

Our goal should be that of Jesus. We should have such communion with God that when we’re asked to do something, we don’t have to tell someone that we will pray before giving an answer; we would have already prayed and know the answer.

We need to make prayer a part of who we are.

I love what Corrie Ten Boom asked, “Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?”

The Command

When they arrived at the burial site, Jesus commanded them to remove the stone. Even then, Martha’s lack of understanding was on full display.

She thought that the body would be ripe. After all, Lazarus was 4 days dead.

If you have ever been around someone or something that has died, there is a very distinct smell. Death has a smell.

They have been able to train dogs to detect this smell and find the bodies of people who have died in accidents.

Yet Jesus reinforces his earlier declaration, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” (Verse 40)

That right there is the command to each of us today: You will see God’s glory if you believe!!!

Called by Name

John 11:43 “Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!””

The Resurrection of a Friend

Jesus shouted “Lazarus, come out!” (Verse 43)

Jesus has already explained to them that He is the Resurrection and the Life. Anyone who believes in Him will have life.

Jesus speaks, and His words heal people.

Jesus spits and makes mud, and the blind receive their sight.

Now, Jesus performs His most amazing miraculous sign—he raises his dear friend Lazarus from the grave.

Jesus is very specific here and calls “Lazarus!”

Jesus had to limit His power. Had he just said “Come out,” every person in the grave would have got up and walked out!

Oh, how great and glorious is our God? How powerful the words of the Master!

The Resurrection of the World

1 Corinthians 15:21–23 NLT

So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back.

The Church of God Declaration of Faith states We Believe: In the bodily resurrection; eternal life for the righteous, and eternal punishment for the wicked.

Here is the deal: everyone will be resurrected. There will be an eternity to spend somewhere, where will you be?

He is at the tomb calling your name today! Come out, and be alive in Jesus Name!

Will you stand with me this morning?

Prayer

Altar Call:

You may be here or watching this morning and you haven’t accepted Jesus’ offer of salvation. I encourage you not to delay any longer. Ask Jesus to be Lord of your life, He is faithful to forgive you. There’s no place too far that He won’t go to save you.

You may just need to get things right with Him this morning. Or You may just want to thank God for His goodness.

The altars are open and we’d love to pray with you.

Don’t rush off. After we pray I want to come back and pray a blessing over you.

There is just one more thing I want to share and then I will bless you.

The Prophecy

John 11:50 “You don’t realize that it’s better for you that one man should die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed.””

Here is Caiaphas, the High Priest speaking something that he really does not understand.

What he meant in the natural, God was doing in the supernatural.

Caiphas was interesting in protecting his life and those who were in Jerusalem at the time.

God was intersted in the entire world.

He still is!!!

Through Jesus Christ, all the world can come to Him and have their sins removed and be reconnected to God.

Numbers 6:24–26 NLT

‘May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.’