God's Power Unto Salvation

God’s Power Unto Salvation

Hopewell Baptist Church

January 19, 2020

Opening Illustration

Transition

Big Idea: The power that Jesus uses to call Lazarus out of death and into life is the exact same power that Jesus uses to call His sheep out of spiritual death and into spiritual life.

I. The Problem –

a.Lazarus is ill - #1 – v.3

i. Who is Lazarus? – v.2, 5

1. A friend of Jesus, brother to Mary and Martha

ii. Where is Lazarus? – v.7, 18

1. Bethany, Judea, near Jerusalem

b. Jesus’s “Procrastination” – #2 – v.6

i. Jesus waits two days (v.6)

1. Why? – v.4 – for the Glory of God

c. Jesus’s Travels - #3 – v.7-8

i. In Judea, Jesus is basically a wanted man

1. , , , ,

d. Jesus’s Assurance – v.9-10

i. Travel in the day time = seeing the light of the world

1. Jesus is the light of the world ()

2. As long as Christ walks in the light of God’s will, nothing can happen to Him (His hour has not yet come!)

ii. Travel in the darkness – No light of the world

1. One would stumble and fall, fail and fall, no way to see without the light (Jesus) from God.

e. Lazarus has died - #4 – v.11-16

i. Gone to sleep – OT Allustion

1. – “slept with their fathers”

2. – death compared to sleep, something to wake up from

ii. In the tomb for four days – v.17

1. Jews commonly believe(d) that the soul departs the body after being dead for three days. If Lazarus was in the tomb four days, then, according to their belief, it’s just an empty shell and his soul has already departed.

II. The Promise -

a. Mourning Lazarus – v.18-19

i. Bethany, where Lazarus is, is near Jerusalem (v.18), about two miles, so many Jews came to mourn with Mary and Martha.

b. The Promise – v.20-26

i. Your brother will live – v.20-24 (v.4)

ii. I am the resurrection and the life – v.25-26

c. The Belief – v.21, 26-32

i. Martha believes – God will give you what you ask (v.21)

1. “you are the Christ, the Son of God” -v.27

2. This whole passage mirrors the reason John gave for writing this gospel in – so that we may know, believe and have life in His name

ii. Mary Believes – v.32

1. Lord, if you had been here, my brother would have not died.

a. She believes that Jesus was the only one that could have saved Lazarus

d. Jesus’s Compassion – v.33-38

i. Jesus was deeply moved – v.33

1. Being God, Jesus knew ll the thoughts and emotions of everyone around him.

ii. Jesus wants to see where Lazarus is v.34

iii. Jesus wept – v.35

1. The death of His friend hurt Jesus, made him sad…shows the true humanity of Jesus.

iv. The Jews saw this – v.36-37

1. They saw Jesus Grieve

2. In seeing this, they also shared a measure of belief

a. v.37 – could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?

v. In His compassion, He arrives at the tomb to set up the display of His power, in fulfillment of v.4 (and , in a sense).

III. The Power of Jesus – v.39-44

a. Obedience reveals the glory of God – v.39-41

i. Jesus tells them to take away the stone, Martha objects (he stinketh), but then relents and has the stone moved.

1. In this, it sets up the reveal of God’s glory, the resurrection of Lazarus

b. Faith reveals the glory of God – v.42

i. Jesus, God the Son, the Son of God, the God-man (hypostatic union) still goes to the Father in prayer for what He is about to do.

c. The Power of Jesus reveals the Glory of God – v.43-44

i. Jesus, in a magnificent display of Power, calls Lazarus out of death to life.

IV. Application – We, as Christians, recognize and know that the power Jesus displayed in raising Lazarus, the power of God, is the same power which Jesus uses to call His sheep from death to life.

a. Because of this, we must pray for those who don’t know Christ, just as Mary and Martha reached out to Jesus to save Lazarus, and just even as Jesus modeled when he was going to call Lazarus out of death. (, ).

b. Not only must we pray, we must share the Gospel.

i. For the Gospel is God’s power to salvation ()

ii. Sharing the Gospel is how people come to know Christ ().

V. Invitation –

a. Repent and Believe the Gospel – This event, the death, burial, and resurrection of Lazarus by Jesus is a beautiful picture of salvation. Like Lazarus, we are dead in our sins (), but we are made alive by God through Christ, through the call of the Good News of the Gospel ().

b. Be Baptized

c. Surrender to the call of ministry on your life, no matter what that looks like.