Jesus Raises Lazarus

In the John we have seen several miracles so far

Wedding at Cana - Jesus turned Water into wine

Jesus was baptised and the heavens opened up and God spoke

Jesus healed a lame man at the pool of Bethesda

Jesus feeds the 5,000

Jesus walks on water

Jesus uses mud and heals a man born blind

During these miracles Jesus continues to reveal who he is to the people and he tells them that he is God himself.

Now we are in John chapter 11

John 11:1–6 ESV

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

Q: What do we see here?

We know that Mary and Martha were present with Jesus for some time already and have experienced Jesus power.

Jesus most likely knew Lazarus personally because they told him “He who you love is ill”

Jesus specifically stayed two days more after hearing about the news.

John 11:7–17 ESV

Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.

After the two days Jesus us ready to go back

Disciples dont want to go because the Jews are ready to stone Jesus.

Notice that there are completing expectations

Mary and Martha want Jesus to heal their brother

The disciples dont want to be killed

The crowd probably just wants to be fed or see miracles again.

Jesus has his own plan and it doesnt line up with any of these things, He is focused on something larger.

Q: How often do you think about death?

When people died they used to be buried next to the church they attended. Churches used to have cemetery's right next to them.

We don't do that anymore because of zoning law, permits are required etc.

Everyone here should know that they will eventually die.

Q: Why does death surprise us then?

Because its a new experience that we have never come across before.

Its unknown and we dont like the unknown.

Its has total effect over everything

It is final, there is no do overs

Dying will always be frightening but for us believers death should not be.

1. Jesus has authority over the curse of death

John 11:17–27 ESV

Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 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.”

Q: What do we see here?

Lazarus has been dead 4 days

We know Mary and Martha went back to be with their brother ahead of time since they are seeing Jesus.

Q: What do you think Mary and Martha were thinking during those two days? They must have been long and difficult to endure.

A: They were alone with their thoughts, in a dark time where no one can help. Praying and waiting for God to come through, keep this in mind.

Notice Jesus specifically make them wait in their suffering. He did not give them instant relief from the pain when they told him that their brother was sick, he doesn't even straight up tell them that Lazarus will be resurrected.

Q: What was Martha’s response?

“Lord if you would have been here, my brother would not have died”

The statement shows faith, she knew that Jesus could have healed Lazarus because she has seen it before.

She knows Jesus power but doesnt understand it fully.

Jesus responds, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.”

Jesus says that He is the one who will grant the ability to live again. Not a merely physical life but a spiritual life into eternity where death will no longer be.

Lets keep going.

2. Jesus grieves the curse of death

John 11:28–37 ESV

When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?”

Q: What do we see here?

Jesus was still on his way to Bethany, the village. The rest of the villagers are watching and follow Mary and Martha, keep this in mind. There are dozens of people watching this happen and this is very important to the story.

Martha responds in the same exact way. “Lord if you would have been here my brother would not have died?

Notice the response from the people around when Jesus weeps

John 11:36–37 ESV

So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?”

The people are watching and saying what everyone is thinking. Its the same question that the thief on the cross asked.

Luke 23:39 ESV

One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!”

They are questioning Jesus power and authority because we assume that what we think is right, what we believe is best should be God’s plan but it almost never is. God always has a plan that is different than what we think should happen.

We associate death with the end, with losing. God uses what we think is a loss and he turns it into victory as we will see with Lazarus and how he has done on the cross and what he calls us to lay down our lives for one another.

Matthew 16:24–25 ESV

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

God calls us to die to ourselves and he will give us eternal life.

Lets jump back into the story

3. Jesus undoes the curse of death

John 11:38–44 ESV

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.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 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.” When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” 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.”

Q: What do we see?

Jesus asks them to believe. Dig up the dirt and lift up the casket, roll away the stone. the very act if a sign of obedience and faith. To follow Jesus when nothing makes sense.

By a few words Jesus does the impossible. The man who was dead is now alive.

What does this tell us? Like we have always heard, Jesus holds the key to life. By a single word He is able to reverse the curse of sin and death.

Closing

What do I want you to take away from this?

Have you experienced something that seems final in your life?

Maybe it is death of a loved one.

Maybe death in another sense,

The ending of your career

The end of a relationship

Family members and loved ones who you havent talked to in years

Dreams and desires that seem so far away.

Have you asked yourself, “Lord if you would have been here, this thing in my life would not have happened”

Why do we go through hardships like this

Notice how the account of Lazarus ends.

John 11:44 ESV

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.”

Remember I mentioned that the people watching was an important part of the story. They see a miracle performed by Jesus and this difficult situation.

Jesus did these things and allowed for the pain and suffering to occur in his disciples lives so that he can demonstrate his power and bring many to a saving faith in him.

If he did this with them could he not do it with you. Those around you are watching, they know you are a believer and your faith in action can have a profound effect on everyone who looks to you.

Was God ever actually not with you? Was He not with Mary, Martha and Lazarus? He was with them and He has always been with you.

John 14:27 ESV

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

Jesus Christ is able to resurrect that thing that you hold so dear

Picture something that you have lost that you want most once again.

If God himself gave you that thing that you cherish so much tomorrow. The thing that you now think is impossible to have again. If that thing that was once dead comes out of the grave and is resurrected, what would be your reaction? It should be joy is should be gladness

But it should lead something more

We should look at the giver and understand that if He is able to give us such a great and miraculous gift then the giver must be greater than the gift itself.

When you have been fishing all night and haven't caught anything and God shows up and your net is overflowing with fish . The right response is to jump out of the boat and run to him, leave the fish behind, the gift doesn't matter. The giver is the real prize.

God is the prize in your life and he has prized you enough to give his best. He gave His son as payment for your sin, respond to him today.