Answer the question, do you believe this?

Answer the question, do you believe this?

John 11:17-27

August 4, 2023

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One of my not-so-fun memories of the Army was when I was a 1st Lt and oversaw 50 guys in what was called the “dust bowl” in the Mojave Desert for what the Army called NTC. National Training Center. It was as real to the Middle East as one could imagine and we were practicing for the upcoming conflict with Iraq.

As an officer, I had to go to the officer’s meeting every Monday. I HATED these meetings! The reason was the COL would ask very difficult questions about my area of responsibility (ammunition). He would think ammunition was just like paper, and paper clips. How much of this do you have? But that is NOT how it works. My problem was that I could not take his overly simple questions and make sense of them, then give a reasonable answer that He could understand and want. At the end, I just wanted to give him an answer to get him off my back.

It was so stressful; I would have night terrors in preparation for that meeting. I would ask for help from my second in command and she would just shrug her shoulders. She was at a loss as well. It all came to a head in one meeting. He asked me a particularly difficult question and I tried to give details to justify why I could not answer his questions. He got so mad that he slammed his hand on the table and screamed: “JUST ANSWER THE QUESTION WELLINGTON!”

The question you have before you today is not a difficult one. But we like to make it difficult and offer details as to why we can’t answer it. We will put ourselves in tail spins to justify not answering it or even once we answer it, we will even question ourselves that we gave the right answers. In the end we either underthink the answer and are apathetic towards it, or we have answered it and then proceed to question ourselves causing doubt.

Today I want to address the question that Jesus is asking each person who has lived and will live. It will have to be answered and no one will be able to escape it.

Let’s start with a little context. We find our LORD coming back to Judea to find Lazarus (a friend of Jesus) dead. He is the brother of Martha and Mary who had sent Jesus a message that Lazarus was sick. Jesus stayed 2 extra days in the country and then it took a full day to walk back to Bethany.

Vs 17-19 we find Jesus coming into town and “found” that Lazarus was dead. The word “found” is not a surprise, it is like me saying, “I found it just like I was expecting”. What Jesus also found was the commotion of a Jewish funeral.

Jews have a much different way of burying their dead. They never embalmed so the body would start to decay in a matter of hours. So, you could be talking to John at 9 am, and by 7 pm he could be in a tomb. It would be quick. And since the Jews could not be around dead people, they wanted them buried fast. Now, they also thought that the spirit of the dead guy would hover over the body for 3 days thinking that the spirit would somehow jump into the body and they would be alive. There was NO chance that the spirit of Lazarus was jumping back into that body because it was 4 days after death.

Vs 19 “and many of the Jews had come…” It was NOT like our funerals. Jewish funerals would last for days! The family of the dead would be required to hire a certain number of flute players and provide mourners. Mourners were women and they were there to wail for the loss of the dead. The more money you had, the louder and more elaborate the event. Some funerals would last for 30 days.

In this case, Lazarus and M/M must have been well off because this was a very typical Jewish setting. When Martha hears that Jesus is coming, she gets up and goes to meet Him. Now, Mary stays. We can only assume why and we need to be careful to not imply defiance or anger. She legitimately could have been so caught up in the noise of the funeral and not have heard that Jesus was here. We do not know.

But we do know that Martha did hear that He was coming and went to meet Him. When she gets there, she does what her personality leads her to do. Remember she was the one who likes to tell people what to do? “Lord, tell my sister to help me serve…” She is going to tell Jesus again her thoughts.

Vs 20 “Lord, if you had been here my brother would not have died…”.

Oh to have tone in these words. We don’t know how she meant it, but we do know enough. This is a heartbroken, scared, and wondering lady. How often do we too have these questions? How often do we wonder, “Lord, where were you?”

She has a legitimate frustration and question. On a side note, I often wonder, what exactly did she want Jesus to do? When she came to Him, what was she wanting? Curious, we may not really know. Maybe to express hurt?

To this question, Jesus points her and us to 1. Who He is, 2. What He requires, 3. What He promises, and finally a direct question, do you believe it?

1. Who Jesus is.

Vs 25 “Jesus said to her, I AM the resurrection and the life.”

This is a response to Martha saying “God will give you.” Church, Martha had the job descriptions mixed up! She was attributing the action to the wrong person of the God Head. She is asking the wrong person!

We have not gotten to the 5th of the “I AM” statements. Kids, if you can bring me a list of all 7 at the end of the sermon, you will get something. But, let’s do a quick rundown of all 7. I’ll give them to you quickly: “Bread, Light, Door, Shepherd, Resurrection, Way, True Vine. Today we are going to look at the “Resurrection.”

I AM: is the Ego Imi. It is a singular statement that unified God’s identity in when Moses asked God, “Whom will I say sent me?” God responded by telling the Israel children “I AM” sent you. This is the most recognized statement that the Jews would have gotten. We also need to understand that the “IAM” statement is a claim to a Devine attribute that He will describe to us in the next couple words.

The next word we will look at is the word “THE”. “THE” is what is called a definitive article. A definite article is used before a noun.

This is important! Look at that definition. It implies that there are other lesser “breads, light, doors, shepherds, resurrections, ways, “truths”, and vines. BUT, there is only one “THE resurrection”. The use of the definitive article “the” means that there is only ONE real one and that is Jesus.

Okay, now let’s look at the noun that follows, “resurrection”. My goal today is for you to look at this differently than before. When we hear Jesus say, “I AM THE Resurrection”, how would you define that? Oh, I bet we would get it close like what Martha does in Vs 24:

“I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”

That is usually how we describe “resurrection” as if it is an event that will come. Or an action that we will go through. But that is NOT what Jesus is saying. He is not an event. Listen to how JC Ryle interrupts what Jesus is saying:

“I am the great First Cause and Procurer of man’s resurrection, the Conqueror of death, and the Saviour of the body. I am the great Spring and Source of all life, and whatever life any one has, eternal, spiritual, physical, is all owing to Me. All that are raised from the grave will be raised by Me. All that are spiritually quickened are quickened by Me. Separate from Me there is no life at all. Death came by Adam: life comes by Me”

Jesus is NOT an event; He IS THE actual resurrection. He is the means, method, and conduit for your resurrection but He is so much more than that. He is the owner of life, death, and the soul, making His claim to being the resurrection more than a play on words. He is claiming identity with the action.

Go back to John 6:39. This claim secures assures us that what Jesus teaches us is trustworthy!

Vs 6:39 “And this is the will of Him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that He has given me, but raise it up on the last day.”

How can He possibly do that unless HE IS the means to “raise up” on the last day? Through the fact that He is the resurrection, He can raise you up on the last day. See how these teachings (6:39) are explained in our passage. You may ask, how can He raise me up? It is because He is the resurrection.

This claim is further elaborated in John 10:10

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have LIFE and have it ABUNDANTLY.”

We are raised to LIFE but not just any life, an abundant life. The word ABUNDANT is perissos and means beyond the regular number or size. This is a life beyond the common drudgery of existence and it is not limited to only what is to come on the other side of this life.

Jesus came that we should live, not just in heaven, but live here! We must understand that when He claims resurrection, He is not just referring to the spiritual. You see, abundance starts here in this life and EXTENDS to the eternal. Listen to these passages:

Psalm 16:11 “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forever more.”

Romans 6:5-7 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin.[1]

These truths show and prove that His claim to being the actual resurrection must raise our heads to the joy of abundant life in HIM. It is so sad that Christians do not recognize this! I look across my believing family and wonder, how many of you and the rest of the Church have forgotten that we are called and given an abundant life?

And if He alone offers this, there is an expectation for us. People ask about this part a lot. What is my role in this relationship with Jesus? Okay, here you have it.

2. What Jesus requires.

Vs 25, 26 “25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”[2]

Within two verses, Jesus is teaching the three dimensions of saving faith.

a. Knowledge: You must hear it preached- Romans 10:14, 15 says

“14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”[3]

This is why we do what we do! We preach so that you can hear. Preaching the Word is the first step to true belief. But, hearing the truth and having the truth in knowledge will NOT save you. Knowing is only step one.

b. Conviction: This is a job of the Holy Spirit. It moves the soul from a head knowledge to a heartbreak. 2 Timothy 2:25-26 says:

25…God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will. [4]

This is 100% God’s doing. Conviction of sin comes from the Father to the soul of man. That is why telling someone “hey Jesus loves you” only is a horrible way to evangelize. To over emphasize love and under emphasize wrath, repentance, regeneration, election, atonement is only telling part of the message! It takes the entire Bible to make an entire Christian! How about tell them the truth? Your sin will condemn you! The penalty of sin is death. But, God, showing Grace has sent The Resurrection from that death.

c. Commitment: This is where Jesus was taking Martha. How committed are you Martha? Let me ask you all. How committed are you?

Luke 14:27 “27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple[5]

You see, Grace from God is required to know these truths. No one can get past this process. You can’t rely on the first step (knowledge) to satisfy God’s requirement of belief. 1 John 4:16 clearly teaches us that knowledge and belief is a necessary combination. Jesus requires belief for life, life abundant. Like I have said before and I steal this from Paul Washer, the distance from heaven to hell is 18”. The distance from your head to your heart.

3. What Jesus promises.

What does He promise? LIFE! There are two resurrections that Jesus is speaking about here and both are linked back to Him.

Look back at verse 25: “Whoever believes in me, though he dies, yet shall he live.”

The verb “though he die” is clearly speaking of the action of Lazarus’s death. To be clear, only Lazarus is getting this “yet shall he live.” This will be a physical resurrection. I know this passage can get confusing but look closely at the context. Who is He speaking to? Martha. Who is He speaking about? Lazarus.

But, vs 26 the focus moves to the Spiritual. He is now referring to those who believe that He is the Resurrection and shall never die spiritually. And this is where we need to lean in! What is Jesus promising those who believe?

a. For the believer, when they die and take their last breath, that split second of physical death, they will never be more alive than 5 seconds after their death! Meaning, that those who are saved are more alive post-physical death than anyone walking on earth now.

b. As a believer, the eternal God is your source of life. Meaning He is your source of life, not you! He is the resurrection and LIFE! Think about that! Your life here as a believer is running on the life source He is providing you! It is a trick and robbery of the devil for a believer to be depressed, disgruntled, and always sad. Look at your resurrection!

c. As a believer, we have security in Him! This goes back to the blessed assurance of salvation. (John 10:27, 28)- Hand over the hand and you are in the middle of it with THE LIFE of God in YOU.

Do these promises satisfy you? If they don’t, please check your pulse spiritually speaking! Do you fully understand who He is? To be absent from the body is to be with the LORD in real life! If you are struggling to see this as Good News, then there is a question you MUST answer. It all goes back to this. Just like my COL slamming his hand on the table, “JUST ANSWER THE QUESTION WELLINGTON.”

4. Answer the question, do you believe? (HP)

How you answer this question will determine your final destination. A “No” to this question means a continued journey on the wide path. Matthew 7:13-14

13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.[6]

But Pastor, how do I know that I am not on the easy way to destruction? Well, let me ask you, is it easy? Would you consider your spiritual journey as easy? These are the symptoms of that way that leads to destruction:

a. Are you spiritually apathetic? James 4:17 says

17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. [7]

I never said that you don’t fall, but do you care when you do? Noah fell down many times in the Ark, but he never fell out of it! (CH Spurgeon) Is it easy to fall over and over again without so much as a shrug? Or are you indifferent about your spiritual walk in general? If so, read Revelation 3:17.

“17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 18[8]

b. Do you check the box spiritually speaking?

Jeremiah 7 is a beautiful chapter for you to read if you feel like you come to church on Sunday and then go about your week like nothing has changed. The entire chapter speaks of empty religion. To which God says in vs 15 “I will cast you out of my sight, as I cast out all your kinsmen…” Allow me to say this boldly, God hates box-checking!

But, maybe you are traveling the narrow way. First I will say, few find it. Far less than those who do not. But, if you are on the narrow way, these are some symptoms:

a. A life of spiritual life: hunger for the things of God. When tempted by the devil in Matthew 4:4 Jesus quotes Deut 8:3 when He says, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

If you stopped reading your Bible, listening to sound preaching, and communing with the saints of God, would you feel like you are drying up? Do you love the things of God? This is a sign that you are in fact on the narrow path when these things are top priority!

b. A life of actions: service in the body of believers

It is always a head-scratcher when people read the word, say they live by it yet never act like Jesus or His followers. A symptom of the fact that you are on the narrow path is that you are acting like one of His disciples. Are you a body in motion or a stagnant pond? A life IN Christ is a cool, crisp mountain stream or river. It runs from its source in crystal clear representation of the Mountain of Life provided by our savior. It never allows itself to become a stagnant cesspool.

I would ask, are you moving or stagnant?

It all comes back to that question. It is a question that you must answer. Our Lord will and is asking you “DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?” It is a VERY easy question that demands a one-word answer. But, if you look at how Martha answers it, she gets full credit. You can tell she has been sitting at the feet of the greatest teacher in human history.

“I believe that YOU are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”

You do not have to use her exact words, but you need to answer this question.

Unbeliever:

Maybe you are here today, and you have never heard about this thing called resurrection. I do not want to assume that you got everything from the sermon you need. We all are born with a knowledge of the eternal. I know you know that there is a world, life after life. See, we are built with this knowledge because we are eternal beings.

Yes, I just said that. We will have a resurrection at the end of this life. But, what a lot of nonbelievers assume is that you get a free pass to a good place when you die. That is NOT what your creator says. He says He is the resurrection to life. If you are counting on your way to salvation without him, your version of resurrection is NOT THE resurrection. Simply, it is a fake and will lead to your own destruction.

Jesus said clearly today, He is THE resurrection.

You see, what separates you from His resurrection is your unbelief. Do you know that your sin has separated you from a Holy and perfect God? Your rebellion keeps you from a heavenly and eternal existence with God. So, He did what only He could do. He sent Jesus as THE resurrection (the means of your salvation) to save you. Now, answer the question, do you believe Him?

Conclusion: Today we looked at who Jesus is as The resurrection, what He requires (belief), what He promises and finally how He ends, with a question, do you believe this? I can’t yell at you like my COL did. I can’t slam my hand on the music stand and demand a clear answer because it would crumble. This is when I wish I owned my own pulpit so that I could try. But I can ask with a plea and a hope, do you believe?