Take Away the Stone
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· 4,132 viewsJesus beats death with a prayer and three simple words...
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Introduction
Introduction
Attention Getter - The other night I was watching a clip from on movie on my phone (crazy!)
Anyway, I’m not sure what the movie was but it was set in a boxing ring and it looked like it was sometime in the 1930’s.
I’m a sucker for a good fight scene, especially when an unlikely champion is involved.
Well, in the one corner there was a hulking, musclebound Englishman. He was not someone I would want to tangle with. And in the other corner was a small, Chinese man.
Apparently they wanted to see if martial arts or boxing would win the day. And from the outside looking in, there is no way this small Chinese man had a chance against this enormous, very skilled, boxer...
This really sets the stage for what our text has for us this morning. An unlikely matchup. In this corner you have the reigning champion - Death!!!
In the corner, Death, who for centuries has systematically claimed victim after victim...
And in this corner, a humble, unassuming carpenter from Nazareth...
But as we will soon see, this is an unlikely match-up, because Death doesn’t stand a chance...
Main Idea - Death is No Match for The Author of Life!
There are three ways this is true from the text. And the first is...
1. Death is No Match for The Author’s Anger (vs. 38-40)
1. Death is No Match for The Author’s Anger (vs. 38-40)
a. The Savior’s Request (vs. 38-39a)
a. The Savior’s Request (vs. 38-39a)
38 Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.”
38 Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.”
John 11:38-39a
Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.”
38 Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.”
b. The Sister’s Reluctance (vs. 39b)
b. The Sister’s Reluctance (vs. 39b)
Anger is a God given emotion to get something accomplished. Anger, in and of itself is not sinful unless the cause of our anger has something to do with our pride or selfishness. If we are angry because someone has hurt someone else, or defamed God, this is righteous anger.
39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.”
And folks, don’t be misled here, Jesus, the author of life was ANGRY at sin and death. This is what “deeply moved” means...
John 11
ἐμβριμάομαι - to roar, storm with anger. to be enraged, indignant, to express indignation against someone.
Apply
Jesus is ANGRY with death and all the havock it has caused over the centuries. Ever since the Fall of mankind, original sin as well as our own sinfulness, has brought pain, sickness and the process of death. Think of all who have died physically and worse yet, spiritually because of sin? Death is the result of sin!
c. The Savior’s Reminder (vs. 40)
c. The Savior’s Reminder (vs. 40)
Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
What will Jesus do about the death of His friend Lazarus? Well, He is about to go toe to toe with His ancient foe and He will win decisively. His Anger will drive Him to defeat death. His anger will drive Him to the tomb. His anger will have them “Take away the stone.” A stone that represents the separation from life and death. A sealing and removal of the putrid decay death inevitably brings.
After the Lord commands the stone of the tomb to be removed, Martha, ever the practical one, warns the Lord of the inescapable stench that will waft forth from the cave. And her warning is rooted in unbelief! Just a short time earlier Martha assented to the bold claims of the Messiah (sort of)...
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”
John
And as we talked about before, she does admit to some profound truths about Jesus, just not the big one - that He is God in the flesh. That He is the master over life and death! Look back at the truth about God in the Old Testament...
See now that I alone am He;
there is no God but Me.
I bring death and I give life;
I wound and I heal.
No one can rescue anyone from My hand.
“ ‘See now that I, even I, am he,
and there is no god beside me;
I kill and I make alive;
I wound and I heal;
and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.
Jesus is God very God. He is the God of the Old Testament! He is the same yesterday, today and forever! He is the Author of life and hold ultimate power over death! Martha didn’t get it yet! She didn’t understand who Jesus really was and what He was capable of doing! I think some of us here this morning might struggle with this Martha mentality. Do you believe Jesus is God! The God of the universe? Do you understand and believe what He is capable of?
Look at verse 40...
Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”
What a great challenge from the Lord! I told you, Martha (and Mary) if you believe you will live and never die! Do you believe this? If you do, you are going to see me do something so amazing, so unbelievable, that the fame of God (me) will spread through this land like wildfire! That’s what glory means - fame! Jesus is about to show Himself as the omnipotent God He truly is. But still, Mary and Martha would need to believe!
Jesus was angry at death and He was about to prove clearly that death has no power over him. His anger is driving Him to accomplish something profound. God hates sin and He hates what sin produces - death!
Illustrate - Allow me to read to you a snippet from a sermon from the famous preacher, Billy Graham...
We in the church have failed to remind this generation that while God is love, He also has the capacity to hate. He hates sin, and He will judge it with the fierceness of His wrath. This generation is schooled in the teaching about an indulgent, soft-hearted God whose judgments are uncertain and who coddles those who break His commandments. This generation finds it difficult to believe that God hates sin.
Apply - How does this apply to us today? I guess the question for us today is how do you feel about death? I know you hate physical death and we do everything we can to avoid it. But what about spiritual death? Are you, like the Lord, angry about spiritual death?
I tell you that God hates sin just as a father hates a rattlesnake that threatens the safety and life of his child. God loathes evil and diabolic forces that would pull people down to a godless eternity just as a mother hates a venomous spider that is found playing on the soft, warm flesh of her little baby.
It is His love for man, His compassion for the human race, that prompts God to hate sin with such a vengeance. He gave Heaven’s finest that we might have the best; and He loathes with a holy abhorrence anything that would hinder our being reconciled to Him.
God hates sin and He hates the result of sin - DEATH!
Illustrate
I guess the question for us today is how do you feel about death? I know you hate physical death and we do everything we can to avoid it. But what about spiritual death? Are you, like the Lord, angry about spiritual death? What are you going to do about your anger? Remember, anger is a God-given tool to drive us forward to accomplish something. What are you going to do about death? No idea? Let me give you some suggestions...
40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”
Are You Angry at Death? Here is what you can do about it...
Cultivate a hatred and disgust for death.
Recognize the finality of death for the unbeliever - every conversation you have is with an eternal being.
Pray for the Lost that they would recognize their need for rescue!
The only antidote for death is life. Talk to people about the Author of Life.
What are you willing to do about death?
Transition - Death is No Match for The Author of Life! For His Anger
2. Death is No Match for The Author’s Prayer (vs. 41-42)
2. Death is No Match for The Author’s Prayer (vs. 41-42)
2. Death is No Match for The Author’s Prayer (vs. 41-42)
2. Death is No Match for The Author’s Prayer (vs. 41-42)
41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.”
Pastor Bob has often said, “Where there is prayer there is power. No prayer, no power.
Do you know what I think is astonishing? That Jesus prayed. If anyone didn’t need to pray, it was Jesus, but over and over again. In fact there are at least 25 recorded times in the New Testament where Jesus prayed. And this event is one of them.
Imagine, if our prayer is powerful with God, how much more power is there in the prayers of Jesus. Well, we are about to see just how powerful His prayer really is!
Just as Jesus had commanded, they rolled away the stone. Four days Lazarus had been decomposing. Four days of corruption settling in and I’m sure the stench of death was pungent and unbearable. Yet that not only didn’t stop Jesus from praying, I believe it fueled His passion to reach out to His Heavenly Father.
While understanding the nuances of the Trinity is more than our finite minds can comprehend, what this text demonstrates clearly this the tremendous results that occur because of the power within the unity of the Triune Godhead!
What do you thing the significance of Jesus prayer is? Look again at what our Lord prays.
First, He addresses the first person of the Trinity as His Father...
Second, He THANKS His Father for HEARING Him, for ALWAYS hearing Him. By the way, is this true for us who are Christians this morning? Does God the Father always hear us? Yes He hears us and yes He answers and He always answer in a way that brings Him the most glory and us the most good. This is exactly what we see in this prayer from Jesus to His Father. God will answer yes to this prayer and God will receive Great Glory, and it is for our good, the answer to our greatest need.
What do I mean? Well, Jesus answers for us in verse 43. Jesus’ prayer is praying out-loud. That is what verse 41 says, “And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said,”
And what He said fell no only on the ears of the Father, but on the ears of those standing near him. Mary, Martha, those mourning with them, the Jews that had traveled into Bethany from Jerusalem. All those gathered around Jesus heard Him pray to His Father.
Folks this is significant! Jesus, by His prayer is appealing to the reality that the Father sent the Son...
And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
Jesus wasn’t some rogue guy with a Messiah complex, He was and is the prophesied Messiah mentioned all the way back in...
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.”
or in...
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
or in...
“I saw in the night visions,
and behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him.
And to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed.
Passage upon passage in the Old Testament points to Jesus as the promised Messiah!
Jesus wasn’t seeking the glory here! As He prayed, He wanted everyone to know that it was His Father that would be doing something amazing here and it was Jesus’ heartfelt desire that they would believe that He was sent by God! That He was the Promised Messiah and that He was the second person of the Trinity! He did not want the glory, He wanted them to know that the plan the Father set up before the ages began was coming to fruition before their very eyes!
And what they would soon see with their own eyes is a picture of what would be their reality if they but believed! In other words, if they but believed in the Christ they too would be freed from the consequence of sin. They would never die! Why?
Apply
What do I mean? God was about to raise Lazarus from the dead.
How it this pos
Death is No Match for The Author’s Prayer
God is life!
for
“ ‘In him we live and move and have our being’;
as even some of your own poets have said,
“ ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’
In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
The Author of Life is the giver of eternal life. Lazarus’ raising was an amazing event. But eventually Lazarus would die again (physically). However, what will be the most amazing event in the History of the world is the Resurrection of the the Author of life. Not only has God given us life - beautiful, wonderful, physical life - but He gives is the opportunity for eternal life through the One who is the Resurrection and the life!
Jesus’ prayer is for their eyes to be open to the fact that God the Father has sent the Son to defeat death - not just for Lazarus, but for all who would believe!
Prayer is powerful! No question. But the prayer that Jesus prays ranks high on the scale of powerful prayers. It wasn’t just a prayer that would raise Lazarus from the dead, but He prayed that people would believe He was who He claimed to be!
Apply - This sounds like something we should consider as His people. If He prayed this way, perhaps we should as well.
Three Powerful Ways for His People to Pray
Thank God that He Hears You! Jesus thanked the Father that the father heard Him.
Be careful to Give God the Glory! Jesus wanted to make it clear that God the Father is to receive the glory for His plan
Pray for Other to Believe - He prayed that those standing around would believe. Jesus prayed so others believe. Folks, do you see how amazing this is? For someone to be born again, to come from death to life, is spiritual issue and so we use our spiritual tool of prayer. Are you praying for those around you who need to believe?
You can pray powerfully too because if you are in Christ, Christ is actually praying for you!
“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.
Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.
Your prayer is backed by the best pray-er there ever was! Jesus. Tape into His power because Death is No Match for the Author of Life’s Prayer!
This is why James can say...
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
3. Death is No Match for The Author’s Power (vs. 43-44)
3. Death is No Match for The Author’s Power (vs. 43-44)
43 When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” 44 The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
Jesus finishes His powerful, faith-filled prayer, takes a deep breath and, at the top of His voice, Yells out three simple words. “Lazarus, come out.”
Augustine was reported to say how important it was that Jesus clarified His command by specifically calling “Lazarus” to come out because otherwise ALL those in their graves would have come out as well!
John 11:43
43 When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.”
Immediately, after the command of Jesus, Lazarus came back to life. Immediately the breath of life filled His lungs. His dead heart began to beat and his cold blood warmed and began to flow. His gray, dry skin softened. His stiffened muscles grew strong once again and the sickness that had killed him was no more. Lazarus was alive! It was an unquestioned, bona fide miracle!
I imagine him hoping or shuffling over to the entrance of the cave, still with his grave clothes on, hand and feet bound by strips of cloth even his face cover with a cloth. This, by the way is a subtle proof of his death because there would have been no way he could have breathed for 4 days with this cloth over his face. His hands and feet were tied so there was no way for him to remove the cloth.
As he hops over to the entrance I can only imaging that everyone (other than Jesus) were standing there with their mouthes hanging wide open in astonishment. Can you imagine going to a loved one’s funeral only to see them climb out the casket in the middle of the funeral service? Astonished, frightened, bewildered, freaked out are just some of the emotions you would have if that were to happen!
These things had to be what was going on in the minds of those where were witnessing this amazing event.
Lazarus was no ghost! He needed to be unbound from the strips of cloth that were binding his hands and feet and he needed to be freed from the grave clothes so he could breath properly, lest He die again!
By the way, this event should not have shocked His disciples (even though it did). He said He would do this...
Apply
“Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.
Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.
25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.
And, Lazarus was not the first dead person to be raised in the Bible and He would not be the last...
The widow of Zarephath’s son (). Elijah the prophet raised the widow of Zarephath’s son from the dead.
The Shunammite woman’s son (). The prophet Elisha raised the Shunammite woman’s son from the dead.
Apply
The man raised out of Elisha’s grave ().
The widow of Nain’s son (). This is the first of the resurrections that Jesus performed.
Apply
Jairus’ daughter (). Jesus also showed His power over death by raising the young daughter of Jairus, a synagogue leader.
Apply
Apply
Various saints in Jerusalem (). The Bible mentions some resurrections that occurred en masse at the resurrection of Christ.
Apply
Tabitha (). Tabitha, whose Greek name was Dorcas, was a believer who lived in the coastal city of Joppa. Her resurrection was performed by the apostle Peter.
Apply
Eutychus (). Eutychus was a young man who lived (and died and lived again) in Troas. He was raised from the dead by the apostle Paul.
Jesus (). Of course, any list of resurrections in the Bible must include the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Apply
These episodes throughout History were all snapshots of a greater resurrection. The most important resurrection!
Jesus (). Of course, any list of resurrections in the Bible must include the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Apply
What is the difference between Jesus’ resurrection from the dead and the others I mentioned? All the others who resurrected died again. Jesus, did not! And He now sits at the right hand of the Father.
Apply
And without the resurrection of Jesus, you and I would have no hope.
T
Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
1 Cor
Did you notice five important truths...
No Resurrection = Preaching and faith is empty.
No Resurrection = All the Apostles are liars (and they died for their lie).
No Resurrection = No forgiveness of sin is possible for anyone.
No Resurrection = Those who died believing in Christ actually have no hope!
No Resurrection = If one’s hope in Christ is limited to this life, it is pitiful!
All the resurrections throughout the Bible are amazing and important because they point to the resurrection of Jesus. And because of the resurrection of Jesus, you can be resurrected as well. You can have the hope of eternal life. You, no matter what challenge or obstacle you are facing this morning can know, yes, you can know that you Have eternal life because Jesus Christ BEAT death!
The raising of Lazarus was an astounding event that was used by God to get people to believe that Jesus had Power over death! As we will see in the next section of this chapter, some did!
Others did not! Which is astonishing!
Apply - Folks, it really comes down to what you believe about Jesus.
Do you believe that He is the Messiah predicted about throughout the scriptures?
Do you believe that He is God very God?
Do you believe that He is the sufficient sacrifice to appease the just wrath of God for your sin?
Do you believe He has the Power over sin and death?
Do you believe Him to be THE LORD - YOUR LORD?
If you believe - You have hope!
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
This hope is only possible because of the POWER of Jesus Christ. A POWER He clearly demonstrate at the tomb that day when He cried out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”
True confession time - I love all kinds of music. I have rather eclectic tastes for sure. But I do love me some Southern Gospel! And there is a southern gospel song written by a group Called Greater Vision from several years ago. This song is full of Hope. The author of the song creates a hypothetical situation. The song talks about three men who had been miraculously healed by Jesus. One was a former blind man, one was a man whose hand had been withered and one man who was a former leper. And even though they personally experienced Jesus’ miraculous healing they still doubted if Jesus could heal a man who lie before them, lame from birth. “Yes, He healed me, but there is no way Jesus can handle this situation. It is far to difficult!”
Transition - Death is no Match for the Author of Life’s Power!
And then, In the culmination of the song, Jesus’ dear friend, Lazarus stands up and asks, “Could I testify?”
Read more: Greater Vision - My Name Is Lazarus Lyrics | MetroLyrics Transition - Death is no Match for the Author of Life’s Power!
He said, "My name is Lazarus, could I testify?
My name is Lazarus, it feels good to be alive
When I in chains of death was bound
This man named Jesus called me out
If you think your little problem is too big for Him to solve
Take it from the one who's heard the mighty voice of God
A living testimony of His death-defying touch, my name is Lazarus"
Friends, I’m not sure what you are dealing with, but do you honestly think that it is too big for Jesus to handle?
Do you think it is too big for the God who called this world into existence with a word?
Do you think your problem is too big for a God who split open the Red Sea to rescue His Children?
Do you think your challenge is too much for the One who fed 5000 with a couple of loaves of bread and some fish?
For the One who can walk on water?
For the One who raised Lazarus from the dead?
Jesus raised Lazarus so people would believe. Do you Believe that Death is no Match for His Power?
Conclusion
Conclusion
So I started this morning talking about a video clip I watched on my phone of an unlikely match-up. A rather large, musclebound Englishman who was exceptionally proficient and powerful at boxing verses a small, Chinese man skilled in martial arts.
Well as it turns out, it was quite a fight. The Englishmen got in several punishing punches that sent the Chinese man to the mat. But He got up and mustered up the strength to catapult his fists in such a fury it made Bruce Lee look like an amateur. And, of course, the underdog won the battle and it made me want to take up Karate or Tae kwo do!
Folks, this vignette in Chapter 11 makes something very clear. Although Death seems to be the likely champion, Jesus Christ is the all time heavyweight champion of the universe! Death has no chance against Him. He has defeated Death and He will ultimately defeat death! This is the promise of the Holy Scriptures.
I leave you with this question - What if His people, the church, actually believed this? How would Allendale be different? How would your family be different? How would you be different?
b. The Obedience (vs. 44)
b. The Obedience (vs. 44)
44 The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
John