Jesus is Victorious Over Death (Youth Camp) - John 11:1-44
Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 4 viewsNotes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
An iconic movie is often defined by the character of the villain
Harry Potter wouldnt be the same without Voldemort
Sauron…
Scar…
the Joker…
Vecna from Stranger things.
Dracula…
Darth Vader…
even Lord Farquaad.
We know these iconic villains
because good stories are filled with iconic enemies.
But there is one enemy
every person in real life
in every moment of time has faced
and has always lost to
the great villain
the great enemy
of death.
Death has always been humanity’s great enemy.
Every person that has lived or will live
has died.
Death has a 100% win rate against humanity
Yet as we come to this passage in the bible
Johnn 11 shows us
that the power of this great enemy is defeated
it shows us
that Jesus is victorious over the great enemy of humanity
That’s the headline or the main point of this talk
Jesus is victorious over death.
Jesus is victorious over death.
And I want to prove that to you in 3 points
First, Death is a jerk
that there’s nothing good about death
there’s nothing peaceful about death
death is a total and utter jerk
Secondly, Jesus brings a message hope in the face of death.
3) And, thirdly like any good story there’s a twist
a twist in this story
that I guarantee you won’t see coming.
That’s where we’re headed
Death is a Jerk
Death is a Jerk
So firstly, death is a jerk
and just to summarise this story really quickly for
you could think of this episode of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead
as 4 conversations Jesus has with different people
In the first scene Jesus is having a chat with his disciples
in the second scene Jesus has a conversation with Martha and Mary
the third scene Jesus has a breif chat with God
and the fourth scene Jesus speaks to Lazarus.
that’s a way ive found helpful to remember what’s going on the story.
disciples, Mary and Martha, God, Lazarus.
At the start of this story
in Jesus’ first conversation
Jesus is chatting with his disciples
and we hear that a friend of Jesus called Lazarus is sick.
and when we get to vs 11,
we hear that Lazarus has died as a result of this sickness
Lazarus has passed away.
It sounds obvious
but the death of Lazarus
has had massive emotional ripple effects upon those who loved him
Death is a jerk,
because it has stolen Lazarus from those who loved him
in vs 19 it says
many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother.
Did you notice that word loss
death has taken Lazarus from them
death has stolen the one that Martha and Mary love
And the implications of this loss
is that Martha and Mary are in need of comforting
they are deeply deeply sad
because they’ve lost the one they love
to the hands of death.
This part of the bible shows us that Martha and Mary’s experience of death
is really painful
and it’s really sad
The only way I can sort of relate
to what Mary and Martha might be going through
is drawing on my own experience.
One of the most lonely moments in my life
was on the way to my Grandpa’s funeral.
I really loved my Grandpa
My mum and sister and I had lived with him for many years
My mum had come and met me at school
to tell me that Grandpa had suddenly passed away
and in between that moment of finding out he’d gone
and the funeral
there was a deep sadness and hopelessness
that continued to grow
and sink deeper into my gut
as the reality of this news set in
I remember not knowing how to comfort to my mum on the drive home
I remember all of us standing around Grandpa’s casket saying goodbye
I remember people saying really nice things about him
I remember my Uncle giving a really long speech
but no-one could understand him because of how much he was crying
I remember the curtain closing over his coffin at the funeral home
as we all yelled goodbye to him
In the midst of it all I just felt this swirling haze
this terrible numbness that touched everything
I thought about
and felt.
my love for him had nowhere to go.
There’s people here who know what I’m talking about
Death is painful
Death steals away those we love
it is the great taker of life.
Death isnt a glorious end to a life well lived
or mother nature peacefully taking it’s course
death brings pain
and sorrow and greif
death is such a jerk.
Death is a jerk because it is the great theif of life.
it takes from us physically
But death is also a jerk
because it is the great spiritual enemy of humanity
In this passage Jesus weeps over the loss of his friend yes
but he isn’t just sad because he lost his friend
Jesus is weeping over the brokneness
and the spiritual darkness of this world.
Later in the book of John
Jesus goes on to weep over the city of Jerusalem
because it is spiritully broken
Jesus weeps over the place where sickness
and death and mourning are common place.
he weeps over a world of hopelessness
and greed
and selfishness
and jesus is deeply moved
and he weeps.
Because this is not of God
this is not how things were created to be.
death is not of the light
Death is a jerk because
it is the ultimate reflection
of the deep brokenness
and darkness of this world.
The bible has a rather unattractive name for this darkness
it calls it, sin
Remember when we looked at that in John 3?
and the ultimate cost of that darkness
is death.
According to the Bible
we’re all in the same boat.
If you live and die in this world,
you share in its spiritual brokenness and darkness.
Death is a jerk
because it the great thief of life
and it is the great enemy of humanity
Yet, in the face of despair and pain
Jesus brings a message of hope.
he brings a message of good news.
A Message of Hope
A Message of Hope
“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
Jesus’ message of hope is his great claim:
I am the resurrection and the life.
he isn’t saying I am the GOAT.
he is saying I am the resurrectoin and the life
What on earth does he mean?
“I am the resurrection”? says Jesus
bit of a strange thing to say
If we listen to what Martha says
i think it gives us a clue
about what “I am the resurrection means.”
Martha believes in an afterlife
she believes when you die
you enter into the afterlife and there is physcial resurrection of your body
that’s what the Jews believed their afterlife was
you died and in some distant point in the future
your body would be raised again
That what she means when she says - “I know he will rise again on the last day.”
But there’s more to it than she realises.
because Jesus is about to complete the picture.
Jesus replies to Martha and says
“I am the resurrection .”
Jesus is saying
you believe in an afterlife where people will be physcially resurrected?
I am the one who will do that
I am the one who will physcially raise people from the dead on the last day.
and you dont have to wait till the last day to meet me
you can know the one
who will raise you and your brother on the last day,
right now.
“I am the resurrection
AND he says
I am the life”.
What does that mean?
I am the life?
Jesus is saying that
he has life in himself
life belongs to him
Jesus has life native to himself.
For you and I
we rent our lives
our life is on borrowed time
we’ve got an unknown expiry date
and our life will eventually run out
Yet for Jesus
he is the source of life
his life will never run out
I am the resurrection and the life.
And do you know what blows my mind about this?
the reason this is good news
Is because
Jesus invites us,
those who rent life
into his native, everlasting life
did you catch that?
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
The message of hope Jesus brings in the face of death
is that he has life
and it is life that cannot be extinguished by death
Death has absolutely no power over the life that Jesus has
and he promises
that those who believe in him,
will be united to him
sharing in the eternal life
that Jesus has native to himself
If I take this charger out of the computer what happens?
the computer has life in it for a little while
but because it is separate from the source of life
it will eventually die
but if it is plugged in to the source of life
it will live
This plant, has life native to itself.
in this plant is life.
If one these leaves separates from the plant
what happens?
it lives for a little while
and then it dies.
But when this leaf is joined to the plant
it shares in it’s life
When we believe in the one who has eternal life in himself
we are joined to him
we are united to his life
and so we live
and will never die.
It’s quite a claim isnt it.
I am the resurrection and the life
but how do you know that this claim is true?
I mean
if this isn’t true
Jesus and John, the author of this book
they’re not good people if this isnt true
it’s a terrible thing to promise
these guys are the jerks
but how can we be sure that Jesus’ words here are trustworthy?
Here’s how you can know they’re true -
In this story
Jesus makes a big claim
brings a promise and invitation of hope
and then
Jesus proves he has the power to do this
by raising Lazarus from the grip of death
Jesus proves he can beat death
that those united to him will never die
by bringing a dead man back to life
Jesus is victorious over death.
You can see this in scene 4
Listen to John’s words, from vs 41
Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Now imagine being there
imagine seeing a man you knew was dead rise to life
what would you think?
what would you do?
You’d have all sorts of questions
what was death like?
how did you do it Jesus?
If channel 7
or channel 9 were there
it’d be a massive deal wouldnt it
Imagine the headlines
Grave Error: Man Thought Dead Seen Alive Days Later
Man Dead for Four Days Walks Out of Tomb - ‘Didn’t See That Coming,’ Say Local
the event would be a big deal right?
it is a literal miracle
A Twist!
A Twist!
But here’s the twist in the story
The miracle of Jesus raising his friend lazarus back to life
is totally a big deal
But it’s not the main thing John wants us to see
A dead man rising to life
would be amazing in and of itself
but it’s not the front page article
Here’s the twist John wants us to see:
it’s that Lazarus’s resurrection shows us what God is like.
The demonstration of Jesus’ power and victory over death
reveals to us what God is like.
When you look at Jesus,
when you hear what he says
and see what he does
it shows us what the creator of all things
the holy God,
who dwells in unapproachable light
is like
And the specific thing Jesus shows us about God in this chapter
is that death is under God’s control.
And because it is under God’s control
death is also under the control of Jesus.
But the raising of Lazarus from the dead
points us to another massive event
that reveals what God is like to us
The death of Lazarus and him being raised to life
is a shadow that points us to Jesus’ death on the cross
When we see Jesus on the cross
we see so clearly what the creator of the universe is like
Do you want to see what the holy,
eternal God is really like?
You dont have to close your eyes and think about what he might be like
Do you want to know what God is like?
then look at the crucifixion of Jesus.
And let these words ring in your ears
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
This is what God is like.
Gospel Bit.
Gospel Bit.
When Jesus is crucified and killed
3 days later he is resurrected.
Jesus breaks free from the grip of death
The raising of Lazarus shows us Jesus is lowecase “v” victorious over death
the raising of Jesus from the dead
shows he is captial “V” victorious over death
death,
the theif
the enemy
the jerk
is changed.
Death is not what it was.
Death used to have power over us
it ruled us with fear.
At a funeral, or in the hospital,
it may appear as if death has had the final victory.
But that’s not true anymore
The grave cannot contain Jesus,
and when you are linked to him
it won’t contain you either.
The experience of death will still happen
but when we believe in Jesus
we know that death isnt the end
we will rise to new life.
Jesus Christ is our champion
and he has won a victory in which we share
a victory that is ours.
Jesus has broken death’s power
he has gone before us into death
he knows the way through death
A member of my family recently went into hospital
for a major operation
And as he was being wheeled in for the operation he asked the surgeon
“have you done this kind of thing before,
because I dont want you practicing on me”
And the surgeon said
“oh yes, Im the leading expert in this field” .
In the same way
when we believe in Jesus
we place our very lives into his hands
into the hands of the one
who is the expert in his field
in fact he is the only one in his field
Jesus knows the way through death
I dont know the way through death
Jordan Peterson doesnt know the way through death
Lady Gaga doesnt know the way through death
Andrew Tate certainly doesnt know the way through death
But Jesus, he knows the way through death
And so when I believe in him
I am joined to him
I know Jesus will carry me safely through death
and into everlasting life.
I wonder have you drilled this down into your heart?
do you believe this?
“the one who believes in me will live, even though they die
and whoeever lives by believing in me will never die”.
The message of the gospel
is that God forgives my sins when I trust in Jesus yes
But the message of the gospel also says
Jesus is victorious over death
and it is a victory I share in
the gospel says that
Jesus has broken the power of death
and has free’d us from it’s terrible grip
It is the gospel that
gives us hope
in the face of despair.
And One day,
when our lives end
whe we breathe our last,
when our eyelids close in death
we’ll immediately hear a familiar voice
just as Lazarus did
saying, “Come out.”
Rise to new life.
And the great enemy of death
will be swallowed up by the light of the resurrection.
Prayer of repentance.
Lord Jesus i dont want to reject you, i want to accept you
as the King of my life
Im asking if you’ll forgive me
and take me into the family of God,
as one of the children of God.
I believe that Jesus offers life to those who are undeserving
please give me this life
Please help me to keep listening to Jesus words
Thank you, that I now have hope in the face of despaire.
Amen.
