Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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Intro
Kids: Anastasia is a great name.
Have you heard it before?
Do you know anybody called Anastasia?
Our baby is almost due, do you think we should call it Anastasia if it’s a girl?
Do you know what Anastasia means?
It’s almost a direct rip-off a Greek word: ἀνάστασις (anastasis), it’s a word found in our passage today.
The word means: Resurrection.
There you go, you learned a Greek word today!
In our passage today, Jesus uses this word about himself, he says “I am the resurrection and the life.”
Jn 11:25.
Can someone tell me what Resurrection is?
Jesus is the Anastasis - he is the Resurrection - and he will resurrect all his people from the dead!
Who are Jesus people?
He tells us how we can be Jesus followers:
“The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die."
Jn 11:25–26.
This is the greatest news!
Recap:
John wrote this book to help us believe in Jesus and have life in his name
He has shown us time and time again how Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God.
We’re entering the high point of the narrative; this passage marks the climax of Jesus ministry which will feed into the triumphant entry.
The remainder of the book will focus in on the last week of Jesus ministry, with a lot of teaching.
We’re going to press pause on John after next week and return to it next year.
Mixed in this passage are the themes of God’s timing, God’s Glory and Believing in Jesus.
4 important announcements!
(Kids, see if you can catch each one!)
#1 (v1-16)
Setting the scene: Lazarus, Martha & Mary, friends of Jesus.
Jesus gets word of His friends illness (after he fled the area from death threats)
Jesus says something amazing - the first important announcement!
There was more going on here than just the natural progression of life - Jesus saw a purpose of the sickness that while is would lead to death, it would not end in death.
Lazarus trial would be to glorify God and the Son of God.
On that basis we are told something surprising:
Because Jesus loved Lazarus he stayed 2 days longer!
What?
We think it terms of the crises and critical time frames, our immediate pressing need overwhelms us!
Not Jesus.
Jesus’ timing, and God's timing are not ours, and you can see this once again comint to the fore in the way that the disciples respond in the next little bit.
Jesus says it’s time to go back, but the Disciples aren’t so sure!
Jesus speaks to them of timing.
We need to understand something here… We have a very forensic view of time, a second based on vibration frequency of caesium atoms.
That means when days get longer or shorter in summer or winter it doesn’t change the length of an hour.
As for these guys back in the day, their hour was based on a 12th of the time between sunrise and sunset.
So there was always 12 hours of daylight.
Jesus makes this comment to highlight the fact that there is time allotted for the tasks at hand.
If you want to walk around in a time before streetlights and battery powered torches, you had to do it during the day when you could see.
It seemed strange that Jesus was heading back into the “hornet’s nest” at this time but Jesus is saying that he has to do it now, because it is the proper time.
Explaining further Jesus says that Lazarus has fallen asleep so they had to go “wake” him.
This was misunderstood as a literal sleep, and they said essentially “ah good, if he’s just sleeping that’s a good sign that he’s probably on the mend, we don’t need to go to Judea after all!”
The “sleep” was actually death - Jesus says he was glad that he wasn’t there, but why?
Jesus is “glad” that he was not there to heal his friend - because it would help the disciples believe!
I’m glad Jesus wasn’t there so that this history would be recorded down to help us believe today!
In the end all death will glorify God.
How will your death glorify God?
A martyrs death for the proclamation of the Gospel?
A life expended in devotion and love, spent with all your strength for the Lord?
Both to rise again on the last day as grateful recipients of God’s grace?
Or as one who is justly judged for a life wasted and lived in rebellion?
#2 (v17-27)
Jesus Turns up 4 days after death - no question of his deadness
Mourning crowd had gathered
Martha came out to meet Jesus
You’re late! “If you were here you could have healed him...
...but I still believe you’ve got God’s blessing.”
“Your Bro will rise again”
Martha misunderstands it as a reference to the future resurrection.
Jesus drive her to consider how that resurrection would take place.
It is not some far off thing, but the power of reurrection was standing right infront of her!
This is the second important announcement:
Wonderful revelation!
Jesus is the one through whom the resurrection shall take place!
Source of Life! (Just like the creation!)
The astonishing confession:
Do you believe this?
Here today?
Perhaps you see this as a nice story, but it is more than that - it is a call from God fro you to take up faith in Jesus Christ in 2022.
If you do, though you die, you shall live!
#3 (v28-37)
Martha tells Marry Jesus has arrived and want to see her,
Mary rushes out to see Jesus, the mourners follow thinking she’s off to the grave.
Once again Mary remarks that Jesus seems to be late.
Much crying and emotion.
When Jesus sees all this, he too responds in the Third important announcement:
Moved and troubled.
Sadness and indignation/irritation.
What does this mean?
Speculation somewhat, but the most natural reading is that Jesus was saddened by the effect of death on those around him and kind of frustrated or agitated about sin & death.
It goes on, it is expressed outwardly:
Burst into tears - Jesus not sentimental - we live in an age with of rivers of sentimentality - so do lay that on Christ.
But, there is a clear emotion here,
Jesus wept, despite knowing the outcome, and the power that he had, he still mourned the state of humanity and the power of death in the loss of his friend.
A third comment on the “lateness” of Jesus
We bemoan the losses around us,
couldn't God have healed so-and-so?
couldn’t God have stopped this disaster?
overthrown that tyrant?
God’s time frame is not ours, but nevertheless he sympathies with us, he know our frame, walks with us in our suffering for a better future - an future where God’s glory is revealed!
#4 (v38-44)
Jesus is still deeply moved, asks them to take away the stone.
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