Jesus & The Death of Lazarus

Introduction

3 weeks talking about Jesus (me, Easton, Buddy), next week in REACH room

Read John 11:1-44 — this is both comforting and confusing; I’ll explain why

Jesus’ power

Power is the main pt. (v. 22, 40-44)

Simple evangelistic point — only Jesus can give you life! (v. 25-26)

Martha knows who Jesus is but doesn’t fully comprehend his power (v. 27, 39)

Why do you trust Jesus to carry you through death but not through this life?

If he can defeat the greatest enemy (death), we shouldn’t lose hope in his power

Followers of Jesus should never accept defeat in sin

I get Jesus’ power, but 2 things confuse me (his pain & his providence)

Jesus’ pain

I’m confused by his pain (v. 5, 33-36, 38)

Why does Jesus hurt even when he’ll heal? He loves us.

It’s ok to hurt even when you know your suffering isn’t the end of the story.

It doesn’t equal insincere faith; it equal sincere humanity.

Jesus weeps with you.

Jesus’ providence

I’m confused by his providence (v. 4, 6, 11-14, 21, 32, 41-42)

Why doesn’t Jesus heal before he dies?

Yes, I know it’s so that he can show he has power over death.

But Mary & Martha didn’t know that at first

We often are in Mary/Martha’s shoes—sometimes our whole lives

“Lord, if you wanted to, you could’ve saved…”

Turner’s mom healed and a friend’s mom not

The answers to “why bad things happen to good people” don’t satisfy the heart

I often have to say “I don’t know”

So…what do we do when we don’t understand our suffering?

When the sickness does end in death?

When Jesus can calm the storm but a CAT 5 still hits the coast?

When we can’t see how it glorifies God?

For me, I look to the cross

I may not know why I suffer but I know the one who suffers for me