Death Is Not the End
Notes
Transcript
text: John 11:1-45.
1 At this time a man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.
2 (Mary, whose brother Lazarus was sick, was to anoint the Lord with perfume and wipe His feet with her hair.)
3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one You love is sick.”
4 When Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
6 So on hearing that Lazarus was sick, He stayed where He was for two days,
7 and then He said to the disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”
8 “Rabbi,” they replied, “the Jews just tried to stone You, and You are going back there?”
9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? If anyone walks in the daytime, he will not stumble, because he sees by the light of this world.
10 But if anyone walks at night, he will stumble, because he has no light.”
11 After He had said this, He told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to wake him up.”
12 His disciples replied, “Lord, if he is sleeping, he will get better.”
13 They thought that Jesus was talking about actual sleep, but He was speaking about the death of Lazarus.
14 So Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead,
15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”
16 Then Thomas called Didymus said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.”
17 When Jesus arrived, He found that Lazarus had already spent four days in the tomb.
18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, a little less than two miles away,
19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them in the loss of their brother.
20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet Him; but Mary stayed at home.
21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.
22 But even now I know that God will give You whatever You ask of Him.”
23 “Your brother will rise again,” Jesus told her.
24 Martha replied, “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. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies.
26 And everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”
27 “Yes, Lord,” she answered, “I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”
28 After Martha had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside to tell her, “The Teacher is here and is asking for you.”
29 And when Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to Him.
30 Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met Him.
31 When the Jews who were in the house consoling Mary saw how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
32 When Mary came to Jesus and saw Him, she fell at His feet and said, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.
34 “Where have you put him?” He asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they answered.
35 Jesus wept.
36 Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”
37 But some of them asked, “Could not this man who opened the eyes of the blind also have kept Lazarus from dying?”
38 Jesus, once again deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance.
39 “Take away the stone,” Jesus said. “Lord, by now he stinks,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man. “It has already been four days.”
40 Jesus replied, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”
41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus lifted His eyes upward and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.
42 I knew that You always hear Me, but I say this for the benefit of the people standing here, so they may believe that You sent Me.”
43 After Jesus had said this, He called out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”
44 The man who had been dead came out with his hands and feet bound in strips of linen, and his face wrapped in a cloth. “Unwrap him and let him go,” Jesus told them.
45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in Him.
PRAY
Introduction: A Perfect World
At the beginning of the story, everything was perfect. Over the course of 6 days, God spoke and created all things. On the sixth day He became more intimately involved in the Creation as He reached down and formed man from the dust, breathed life into him, and formed the woman from one of his ribs. At the end of those six days, “God looked upon all that He had made, and indeed, it was very good.”
Everything was good. Everything was perfect there in that restful Garden of Eden. Nothing was broken, there was no fear, no sorrow, no pain. Only happiness, peace, and rest. There was only life.
Adam and Eve enjoyed perfect fellowship with God and lived in His presence. God had given Adam one command. “You can eat from any of the trees except one. There’s only one tree you may not eat from. There are thousands of other trees you can eat from.” The consequence for disobedience to God’s one command was clear and devastating. Rebellion against the Creator would cost them their lives. “In the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.”
The Bible doesn’t tell us how long things stayed perfect there in the Garden, but it probably wasn’t very long. The serpent came and tempted Eve; she was deceived and ate the fruit; then she gave some to Adam who was standing there with her, and he knowingly disobeyed God’s command. Though they tried to cover themselves and hide, God knew where they were and came to call them to account and pronounce the judgment on them for their sin.
There in the Garden, as God pronounced the curse, He also gave a promise of hope. While death was sure to come, there was hope for life afterwards. God promised to send a Redeemer (Gen 3:15) who would crush the serpent’s head. He would be the one who would defeat death by His own death and resurrection, because He Himself is the resurrection and the life.
Those who receive Him receive life. “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:12).
But from Adam until the final Adam, Jesus Christ, death reigned (Paul says in Romans 5). Death appeared to have control, to have the final word.
There in the Garden, following the sin and curse, an innocent animal died so that Adam and Eve could be covered with its skin. Human death followed not long after, as Cain murdered his brother Abel, and his descendant Lamech also killed a man. Genesis 5 gives us a list of generation after generation, with most of them ending with the sad words, “and he died.”
Even worse than physical death, though, is the separation that sin brings between people and God. I think this is one of the primary reasons God drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden, because if they ate from the tree of life after their disobedience, they would live forever in rebellion against God, separated from the life and joy He gives. That would be an awful way to live forever.
Fast forward to John 11. Four thousand plus years have come and gone, and the tyrant death still appears to be on the throne.
Jesus’s dear friend Lazarus is sick, and eventually dies.
1 At this time a man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.
2 (Mary, whose brother Lazarus was sick, was to anoint the Lord with perfume and wipe His feet with her hair.)
3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one You love is sick.”
14 So Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead,
Consider the Various Responses to Death (Everyone grieves differently and responds differently to death)
The Jews - how did they respond to Lazarus’s death?
Many of the Jews (v. 19) come to comfort and help these sisters through their time of grief.
19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them in the loss of their brother.
The Jews who accompanied Mary were weeping - grieved at Lazarus’s death.
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.
Some of them clung to Jesus’s love:
36 Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”
Others doubted or even mocked Jesus:
37 But some of them asked, “Could not this man who opened the eyes of the blind also have kept Lazarus from dying?”
Maybe you’ve asked that same question about a friend or family member who died. Couldn’t God have kept them from dying?
Such a question, while common, reveals doubt or distrust in our hearts. In such moments our faith in God’s power and goodness is being tested.
Martha - how did she respond to Lazarus’s death?
Martha knew where to go. As soon as she heard Jesus was arriving, she went to Him.
20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet Him; but Mary stayed at home.
She has a great conversation with Jesus and expresses her faith in Him, although she has not understood very well yet who Jesus is. Jesus has to rebuke her in v. 39-40 as she objects to the stone being moved:
39 “Take away the stone,” Jesus said. “Lord, by now he stinks,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man. “It has already been four days.”
40 Jesus replied, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”
Mary - how did she respond to Lazarus’s death?
Mary stayed home at first. She apparently didn’t feel like doing anything or going anywhere.
20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet Him; but Mary stayed at home.
Mary did eventually go to Jesus once Martha came and encouraged her to go:
28 After Martha had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside to tell her, “The Teacher is here and is asking for you.”
29 And when Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to Him.
Mary was weeping
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.
Jesus - how did He respond to Lazarus’s death?
Confidence in the good purposes of God
4 When Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
Joy at the opportunity to increase His disciples’ faith
14 So Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”
Anger (“deeply moved ” = indignant, angry) at death and unbelief
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.
38 Jesus, once again deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance.
Illustration: Death in the hospital, my anger at death.
Sorrow at the loss of His friend and the pain of Lazarus’s sisters
35 Jesus wept.
Consider the Power of Jesus.
39 “Take away the stone,” Jesus said. “Lord, by now he stinks,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man. “It has already been four days.”
40 Jesus replied, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”
41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus lifted His eyes upward and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.
42 I knew that You always hear Me, but I say this for the benefit of the people standing here, so they may believe that You sent Me.”
43 After Jesus had said this, He called out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”
44 The man who had been dead came out with his hands and feet bound in strips of linen, and his face wrapped in a cloth. “Unwrap him and let him go,” Jesus told them.
The same power that created all things and sustains all things can raise the dead. This is the power of Jesus, the eternal Word of God.
And just as He brings physical life to the physically dead, He brings spiritual life to the spiritually dead. He Himself is the Word of God, through whom we receive the new birth.
We were born spiritually dead, unable to move toward God. Then Jesus spoke your name and called you out of the grave into His life. Out of the darkness, into His light. That’s the power of Jesus’s voice.
This power displayed in raising Lazarus is just a small taste of Jesus’s power which He displays in our salvation and a demonstration of what He will do for all of us at the end when He raises us from the dead someday.
Consider Jesus’s Words to Martha.
21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.
22 But even now I know that God will give You whatever You ask of Him.”
23 “Your brother will rise again,” Jesus told her.
24 Martha replied, “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. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies.
26 And everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”
27 “Yes, Lord,” she answered, “I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”
Jesus Is the Resurrection
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies.
26 And everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”
Because Jesus is the resurrection and the life, to have Jesus is to have eternal life and the hope of resurrection.
You will most likely die physically some day. Hebrews tells us that it is appointed to man to die once. But even though you die, Jesus says, you will live, if you trust in Him. And this is true in two senses:
1. You will live forever with Him, if you’re a believer. Believers go to be with Jesus at the moment of death. There’s no stop at purgatory or any waiting period. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. This is why Paul could say that “to die is gain” and that he wanted to “depart and be with Christ.” Death is gain because death will usher us into the presence of the Lord we love.
2. He will raise your physical body from the dead someday. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, but Lazarus died again. Same with the others that Jesus raised from the dead. They had to die again. But one day we will all rise in the resurrection at the last day, as Martha correctly says in v. 24. Jesus had said this Himself multiple times in His message in John 6. There is coming a day of resurrection. We will all receive renewed, glorified bodies that will live forever.
(This is true for all people as Jesus says in John 5:28-29; every person who ever lived will be raised from the grave; those who trust and follow Jesus will live forever in their new bodies with Him, while those who reject Jesus and rebel against Him will be punished forever in their new bodies away from Him.)
Jesus Is the Resurrection and the Life.
This is another reason, as John states in 20:9, that Jesus had to rise from the dead. He who is the Author of Life (Acts 3:15), who is Eternal Life Himself (1 John 5:20), could not possibly stay in the grave. He had to rise from the dead.
And His death and resurrection demonstrates that what He said is true, and it guarantees our resurrection and victory over death.
Death does not have the final word, because Jesus IS the resurrection.
Application:
There are two possibilities for you:
12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
You can have Jesus or not have Him.
You can receive Jesus or reject Him.
You can believe Jesus or distrust Him.
You can follow Jesus or you can go your own way.
But only those who have Jesus have life, because Jesus is the resurrection and the life.
Do you have the Son? Do you have this resurrection hope? As Jesus asked Martha, “Do you believe this?” Do you believe that Jesus is who He says He is? I hope your response will be the same as Martha’s: “Yes, Lord,” she answered, “I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”
Are you sharing this hope with others? If you really believe what Jesus says, and if you really believe He died for you and rose again, if you have the hope of eternal life with him in a glorified body, how can you keep this to yourself? If you have experienced His love and grace, you will want others to know Him too. What are you doing to make Jesus known and to help others find hope in Him?