Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life

Intro: the Seventh sign

Throughout this series we have witnessed Jesus perform 6 miracles, or signs.

Who can name one of those signs?

1.Turning water into wine (ch. 2)

2. Healing an Official’s son (ch. 4)

3. Healing the paralytic man (ch. 5)

4. Feeding the 5,000 (ch. 6)

5. Walking on water (ch. 6)

6. Healing a man born blind (ch. 9)

Jesus is about to perform the final miracle that John wrote:

Raising Lazarus from the dead.

The greatest (ultimate) miracle Jesus could’ve performed to prove that he was God.

This final miracle can teach us many things, but we’re going to focus three key points

to answer the main question in today’s lesson:

Can God still be good even when we experience pain and suffering?

1. God is with us in the silence

John 11:20–27 CSB

20 As soon as Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him, but Mary remained seated in the house. 21 Then Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died. 22 Yet even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” 23 “Your brother will rise again,” Jesus told her. 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live. 26 Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27 “Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who comes into the world.”

He is still there when we are at our worst.

Look at verses 23-26: What did Jesus mean when he said this?

Jesus made the ultimate “I AM” statement in John

If we believe in Jesus we don’t even get to die!

Even if we “die” here on earth we will still be alive with Him in heaven.

But let’s look at Martha, did she believe in Jesus or doubt him? How did she believe in him? How did she doubt him?

Martha believed Jesus could have healed her brother if he was still alive, but doubted that he could do anything now that he is dead.

She was a doubting believer

How many of us have ever found it difficult to believe that God could do something?

Pavers estimates Example

Is it easy to believe in God when going through pain? Is it possible?

Martha didn’t have an easy time trusting in Jesus, but still was able to put her trust in him.

It is possible to still believe in God while going through pain.

2. God mourns with us in the midst of pain

John 11:32–37 CSB

32 As soon as Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and told him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died!” 33 When Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews who had come with her crying, he was deeply moved in his spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you put him?” he asked. “Lord,” they told him, “come and see.” 35 Jesus wept. 36 So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Couldn’t he who opened the blind man’s eyes also have kept this man from dying?”

Martha and Mary both said the same thing to Jesus when they first saw him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died,” but Jesus gave them different responses.

Why do you think Jesus responded differently to them?

He spoke words of hope with Martha, pointing out her faith, but wept with Mary, noticing the pain she felt.

God knows exactly what we need when we need it.

Why did Jesus weep?

Jesus knows when we are hurting and hurts with us.

Grandpa Example

Example of my father crying because of his step-dad (my grandpa) dying.

He loved his stepdad, but he was really crying because he knew my grandma had to deal with his death alone. She saw him die in the middle of the night.

In that same way, Jesus knows when we are hurting and hurts with us. He doesn’t enjoy when we are dealing with a difficulty.

He was weeping because he loved Lazarus and mourned with everyone that was there, but that’s not all.

Jesus knew the miracle he was about to perform; He knew he was about to bring Lazarus back from the dead.

So, why else would he be weeping or crying for?

Jesus knew that the people that were around didn’t believe in his power. They might say they do, but Jesus knew that they truly didn’t understand exactly who he was.

Jesus gave them all these signs and miracles that proved he was God, but they still didn’t believe.

He was really mourning over the fact that they had no clue who he truly was or the power that he had.

3. God has our greater good in mind

John 11:38–46 CSB

38 Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39 “Remove the stone,” Jesus said. Martha, the dead man’s sister, told him, “Lord, there is already a stench because he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” 41 So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you heard me. 42 I know that you always hear me, but because of the crowd standing here I said this, so that they may believe you sent me.” 43 After he said this, he shouted with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out bound hand and foot with linen strips and with his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unwrap him and let him go.” 45 Therefore, many of the Jews who came to Mary and saw what he did believed in him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.

What we think is good for us might not be the best thing for us.

Grandma Example

My grandma from my mother’s side is in the hospital recovering from two serious surgeries.

It wasn’t looking too good, but thank God she is recovering now.

In that moment, i remembered how my mom was when my grandpa died a couple years ago. I definitely didn’t want to see my mom go through that again.

She was in my arms, telling me how badly it hurt. I couldn’t imagine what I would be like if I lost her.

At the same time, I know that my grandpa was suffering in those last months. In and out of the hospital, feeling nothing but pain.

The hardest thing is seeing your family member die, but God knows best

And even though I can feel the pain of my grandpa dying and would never want him to have died, I know that he is not feeling any pain right now.

God knows what he’s doing. We can trust that.

Though Martha and Mary believed in Jesus, they thought they had lost their brother for good.

Their initial reaction to Jesus was “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died!”

Jesus let Lazarus die to show an even greater miracle.

He performed the ultimate miracle that would prove He truly is God.

It was truly the greatest thing he could’ve done to show that.

Many of the Jews believed in him, but some still went to the Pharisees to tell them what Jesus did.

This led to them want to go out and plot to kill Jesus.

The greatest miracle Jesus could have done is what caused them to want to kill him.

Can you believe that?

The story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead is really a foreshadow (a preview) of what was going to happen with Jesus.

How was the stone removed from the tomb?

How long was Lazarus in the tomb?

How did Lazarus come out of the tomb?

Jesus performed this powerful miracle to foreshadow his own death and resurrection that was to come

Think about Jesus dying on that Cross. After Jesus had died and was taken to the tomb:

How was the stone removed from the tomb?

How long was Jesus in the tomb?

How did Jesus come out of the tomb?

Concluding Thoughts

This last sign shows us Jesus’ power over death and His ability to give life.

All of the miracles Jesus performed in John were to show that He is the Son of God, the Messiah, the Savior of the world.

This last sign he did was the ultimate proof that he was God. It was the greatest miracle he could have made.

HE IS THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE.

It was the last straw to the Jews (pharisees).

Jesus knew that when he performed this miracle, the Pharisees would plot to kill him.

So, we can see the Gospel clearly through this miracle as Jesus is basically trading his life for us.

At the start of the chapter we see Martha and Mary heartbroken from the loss of their brother

We also see them believe in Jesus, yet doubt his power.

We learned that God does not have to answer our prayers in the way we want to for him to be good.

Instead of healing Lazarus, Jesus allowed him to die in order to perform an even greater miracle.

We can trust in Jesus not only because of his power over death, but because he proved that he truly is God.

So how can we actually learn to trust in Jesus even when we are experiencing pain and suffering?

1. We can rely on his promise that if we believe in him he will show us the glory of God.

It might not be here on earth, but it will be for eternity.

2. We can think about our own past moments of pain and suffering

How did we make it through those moments?

How did God still take care of us through those?

3. We can remember God’s sacrifice of his one and only son (probably the most painful feeling anyone could experience) for our benefit, to save us from our sin and give us eternal life through him.