Return from the Dead
Notes
Transcript
Introduction - Remind about no one listening to a dead man. This is the story of a dead man coming back to life.
Four points from John 11:1-45
#1 A Reason for Illness
#1 A Reason for Illness
4 But when Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.”
Did they know what He meant?
Could they see the truth in what He said?
Still hurts when someone dies - even when we know the death could be for the Glory of God. (Jesus does all things to glorify the Father - VERSE!)
#2 Jesus knows when we die
#2 Jesus knows when we die
11 This He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep.”
Jesus knows he died but said he fell asleep.
Disciples didn’t get it when He said he fell asleep.
Jesus will awaken him - not from sleep - from death.
(There’s a spoiler alert coming because they didn’t get it.
John 11:14-15 (NASB95)
John 11:14–15 (NASB95)
14 So Jesus then said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead,
15 and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him.”
Now He tells them flat out.
Matthew 10:29–31 (NASB95)
29 “Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.
30 “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
31 “So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.
#3 He will rise again
#3 He will rise again
While talking with Martha He says:
23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
She believes it - but only in the resurrection at the end of days - when all those who are worthy will rise from the dead.
But Jesus says:
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies,
26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”
Explain - Get the point across for Justin and others.
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
#4 Let the Son Shine
#4 Let the Son Shine
39 Jesus said, “Remove the stone.” Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days.”
40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
“Remove the Stone” Let the sun shine into your deep dark places.
If you believe you will see the Glory of God! The light will shine -
Lazarus come forth
43 When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.”
Lazarus came forth and was given new life. He was given a chance to walk the earth for a while longer. Earlier in the book of John Jesus said this would happen.
25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.
The meaning here is a little bit different. Lazarus was physically dead and Jesus raised him to physical life again. John 5:25 speaks of the Spiritually dead yet physically alive being made Spiritually alive when they hear His voice and believe.
The crazy thing about Lazarus being raised from the dead is what happened next. John 12:9-11 says:
9 The large crowd of the Jews then learned that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He raised from the dead.
10 But the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also;
11 because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus.
Many were believing in Jesus because a man returned from the dead; however, the leaders wanted to kill him because many were believing in Jesus.
If the stone is rolled away and the light shines on your soul Jesus can say come forth and you will be raised from the dead into new life.
44 The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
Once someone walks out of the tomb they need to have their burial clothes removed. This process is discipleship. Conversion or resurrection to a new life always requires discipleship to help the new child of God to learn all that the Lord has commanded.
To wrap this up we were or are all dead in our sins and in a tomb and sealed in by a tomb. Living in darkness waiting for someone to roll away the stone. What it takes to roll away the stone will be different for each of us. Maybe… But once the stone is rolled away we can come forth into new life. To help others live we must roll away the stones. Figure out what is keeping someone in the tomb and you can figure out how to move the stone. I was once raised from the dead and everyone who truly believes on the name of the Lord has been raised from the tomb.