THE MASTER OF SELF-DISCLOSURE III

The Message of John a. The Sickness and Death of Lazarus of Bethany (11:1–16)

Jesus does not respond immediately to the sisters’ plea, with the result that by the time he arrives at Bethany Lazarus has been dead for four days.

Introduction

All good stories take us on a wild roller coaster ride: mystery, suspense, joy, fear, despair, uncertainty, hoping against hope that the hero will win. The best stories feature the hero showing up in the nick of time, when all appears lost. The hero shows up when we have pretty much given up because the situation looks impossible. And then…boom — he (or she) saves the day!

It isn’t uncommon, in the best stories, for the hero to get into big trouble. Sometimes the hero dies to save the world. In “The Lion, Witch, and Wardrobe” there is a point when all seems lost. The white witch has made a deal with Aslan and, as a result, he has to die. She executes him on the stone tablet. He is dead…Lucy and Susan are beside themselves with grief and despair, when dozens of little mice show up and chew off the ropes binding Aslan to the stone table — but nothing happens. Just as the girls are walking away in defeat, the tablet cracks in two and the finality of death is reversed — Aslan is once again alive and he makes all things right.

contains the story of Lazarus — he died — Jesus didn’t get there in time to heal him. It seems as though Jesus’ delay in arriving ended in defeat. But we know the rest of the story. Jesus delayed coming for a reason — so that God’s name would be lifted up.

contains the story of Lazarus — he died — Jesus didn’t get there in time to heal him. It seems as though Jesus’ delay in arriving ended in defeat. But we know the rest of the story. Jesus delayed coming for a reason — so that God’s name would be lifted up.

John 11:25–26 NIV

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?”

PRAYER

Big Idea: Uncertainties and delays become opportunities for victory when you walk in the life Jesus gives

Why does the Lord seem to make us wait for important stuff? Why does He allow us to get to 11:59 before He does something?

Transitional: It’s important to remember: when we place our trust in Jesus, we learn that...

Delays are not really delays

Exposition

By the time we get to , Jesus had left Jerusalem prior to his final return to the city for the Passover.

John 11:1–3 NIV

Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”

Jesus told the Disciples that this illness would not end in death — they didn’t understand what He was saying at the time.

Jesus chose to stay two more days before leaving for Bethany

…with Jesus, delays are not really delays…because He has a plan — we learn from Jesus that...

Delays are inevitable

Jesus chose to stay two more days

John 11:12–15 NIV

His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep. So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

John 11:12-

For Mary and Martha — it must have felt like an eternity — by the time Jesus arrived Lazarus had been dead 4 days.

Delays are not final

After two days, Jesus said, “let’s go to Judea” — he told them Lazarus was only sleeping — they didn’t understand at first.

John 11:12–15 NIV

His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep. So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

Delays are great teaching tools

Delays are great teaching tools

This situation provided a platform for Jesus to show them the power of God at work — that they might believe

It was a traditional belief in that culture that, after a person died, their spirit would stay around for 3 days and then leave for good.

Jesus’ delay was no delay…He timed it perfectly so that He would arrive in Bethany 4 days after Lazarus died…when it was a final condition…he was dead as dead could be.

Jesus knew that the final outcome would be Lazarus being raised from the dead

Life…not death! Defeating death — showing His power over death

Application

Jesus uses delays to teach us…

Illness

All kinds of trials we face as followers of Christ

It is vital to learn how to view the delays in life

Jesus could have easily healed Lazarus without even going to him…but the delay would lead to God’s glory and God’s plan (more people believing…and more opposition from the leaders)

The Message of John a. The Sickness and Death of Lazarus of Bethany (11:1–16)

‘I do not care if I am confined to this wheelchair provided from it I can bring glory to God.’

“I do not care if I am confined to this wheelchair provided from it I can bring glory to God” — Joni Eareckson Tada

“I do not care if I am confined to this wheelchair provided from it I can bring glory to God” — Joni Eareckson Tada

Transitional: When we place our trust in Jesus, we learn that...

Transitional: When we place our trust in Jesus, we learn that...

Resurrection life is NOW & forever

Jesus leaves a trail of life

Now that’s the trail you want to follow

Jesus’ revealed Himself as the giver of life...

He physically gave new life to water (water into wine)

He offered new spiritual life to Nicodemus

He offered living water to the Samaritan woman

He healed many

A dying boy

A paralytic

A man born blind

Outcast lepers

He is the Good Shepherd — protecting the life of His sheep

He is the Bread of life — sustaining those that follow Him

“Before Abraham was — I am” — He is the creator and sustainer of life

Jesus stamps out death’s threat

“Your brother will rise again!” (23)

I know he will rise again at the resurrection on the last day” (24)

“Let me say it another way…so that there is no misunderstanding!”

John 11:25–26 NIV

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?”

:

Application

How do you respond to Jesus’ words “I am the resurrection and the life”?

Mary: “I believe you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who comes into the world.”

Jesus defeated death, hell, and the grave — physical death here is not a threat to us when we realize that we have resurrection life today, NOW, and forever in Jesus.

When you, by faith, surrender to Jesus as Lord…you step into true life — now and always

Transitional: When we place our trust in Jesus, we learn that...

Death is defeated

John 11:32–39 NIV

When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied. Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”

John 11:

In the face of Jesus’ love, death does not stand a chance

In the face of Jesus’ love, death does not stand a chance

Jesus wept

Literal meaning: “He burst into tears”

When it says Jesus wept — the literal meaning is “He burst into tears”

They saw how much Jesus loved Lazarus — but they were in for a surprise b/c Jesus was more than able to not only heal…but to call Lazarus to come forth out of the tomb.

In the face of Jesus’ loyalty, death does not stand a chance

As we look into the face of Jesus, the threat of death is no threat at all — because He is life

Jesus loved Mary, Martha and Lazarus very much and yet, he allow this to happen so that God would receive the glory

In the face of Jesus’ anger, death does not stand a chance

He was “deeply moved”

It says “when Jesus saw her crying, He was deeply moved in His spirit and troubled” (v. 33)

In verse 38 it says Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb

Deeply moved: literally - “angry”

Jesus approached the tomb in a state of anger

Possibly because the people there assumed He wasn’t able to help now that Lazarus was dead — they didn’t believe -even after everything they had seen and heard

Even more likely He was angry because the anguish of Mary and Martha drove home the evil of death…it’s unnaturalness

In the sisters’ grief He sees and feels the misery of humanity and burns with rage against the enemy of mankind…the oppressor

It is death that is the object of His wrath — more specifically it is him who has the power of death…the one that came to kill, steal, and destroy.

Application

He came and wept tears of loving empathy - but His soul was enraged as He approached the tomb

He came to the tomb as “a champion who prepares for conflict” (John Calvin)

Place your faith in the author of life — the resurrection and the life

CHALLENGE

CHALLENGE

Big Idea: Uncertainties and delays become opportunities for victory when you walk in the life Jesus gives

Not only did Jesus call Lazarus out from the tomb

Jesus is calling you and I out of our spiritual apathy

He is calling us out of our comfort zones

He is calling us to throw off those old stinky grave clothes

Embrace this truth: Resurrection life is NOW — and for eternity

We don’t have to wait until we get to Heaven to walk in the resurrection life He gives

Delays are not our enemy

Trust is God’s sovereignty

Look at life’s “delays”, roadblocks, and trials through the eyes of our Savior

He loves us and feels everything we feel

He fiercely defends us against the enemy of our soul

He is deeply moved when we don’t believe - or even try to believe

The “delays” and opposition we face will be used by God to deepen our faith and grow us more and more into His image

The Message of John a. The Sickness and Death of Lazarus of Bethany (11:1–16)

The delays of God are clearly part of the biblical record. One may ask at the most basic level why the effects of the fall were not addressed more immediately, or more particularly why so many centuries preceded the coming of the Redeemer. We can likewise ask why the Lord delays his return, with all its concomitant blessings. True, Peter addresses that in terms of God’s patient grace which gives sinners further opportunity to repent (2 Pet. 3:9). But even limited contact with the pain and anguish of so many human lives world-wide makes the question inescapable. Many find the question of delays raised for them personally as they pray through long years for some particular need, perhaps some personal disability they seek freedom from, or a loved one for whose salvation they yearn. Others struggle with some promise of God which remains unfulfilled after weary years of waiting.