The Raising of Lazarus

You may be seated.

As I mentioned in my prayer, we're in John chapter 11.

John 11 · chapter mention

! If you want to turn to your Bibles right now, it's on page 1066 of your pew Bible.

And as you're turning there, has anybody recognized the name Jonathan Edwards?

Jonathan Edwards is known, most well known for his sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.

But over the course of two years of his life, he wrote a number of what he calls the resolutions.

There's 70 resolutions.

And he would weekly read these resolutions so that he could live fully for Jesus.

The thing about it is he wrote the first 21 when he was at the tender age of 17.

And then he wrote the rest when he was 18.

Listen to these three.

17-year-old.

Resolution 9.

Resolved.

To think much on all occasions of my dying and of the common circumstances which attend death.

Or number 17.

Resolved.

That I will live so as I shall wish I had done when I come to die.

Or when he was 18.

Resolution 43.

Resolved.

Never henceforth.

Till I die.

To act as if I were in any way my own.

But entirely and altogether God's.

Teenager.

Which becomes evident as you read through the resolutions.

This man is given to the Lord.

And it doesn't seem like he fears death.

For us, it's kind of a different story.

We tend to fear death, don't we?

We, when we think about our dying, we can get a little nervous.

In fact, we have come up with our own language for it.

Listen to some of the words and phrases we use for death.

He's no longer with us.

She passed away.

He expired.

She's in a better place.

Death is harsh.

We don't like being confronted by it.

Let alone our own deaths.

So when you think about your own death, where does your mind go?

Are you kind of like this?

La, la, la, la, la.

I'm not listening.

Or do you go logistics?

I want to have everything lined up so when I die, those who come after me, they're all set up.

That's what you focus on.

Or maybe when you think about the process of dying, you start thinking, well, I don't want to die that way.

But what happens after you breathe your last?

What is in store for you and me?

After we breathe our last?

Here's the truth of it.

Unless Jesus returns, everyone in this room will die.

Everyone.

We will all breathe our last breath.

And this morning, Jesus has good news.

Both in something he says and something he does.

It's good news for those who are facing death.

John 11 is the account when Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead.

It is the seventh sign of the book of John, of John's gospel.

And in this account, this whole chapter, all 57 verses, it unfolds in four scenes.

Scene one is a surprise.

Scene two is a confrontation.

Scene three is glory.

Give me a glory.

Oh, man.

Scene one.

And then scene four is a targeting.

What Jesus says and does in this passage will help you anticipate your own death.

But not in fear.

Less and less fear.

In more and more hope.

Trust.

Trust.

Because Jesus has authority over death.

He has authority over your death.

So let's look at scene one, a surprise.

Because of the amount of verses we got to cover, I'm just going to be summarizing things.

And I'm going to ask you just to kind of hold on as we go through, all right?

So scene one, verses one through 16.

If you remember last week, Jesus had this confrontation with the Pharisees over two titles.

Christ and the Son of God.

And they seek to arrest him.

So Jesus bolts.

He leaves.

It's not his time to die.

So Jesus is out of town, out of Jerusalem.

And that's where we pick up in verse 11.

I'll just read these first five verses.

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.

We'll read that account next week.

Well, their brother Lazarus was ill.

So the sisters sent to Jesus, who was out of town, saying, Lord, he who 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.

Anyway, so Jesus is across the Jordan when Lazarus gets sick.

And we're introduced to Lazarus.

We're introduced to his sisters, Mary and Martha.

This was a sibling group who lived in Bethany.

And Jesus had a particularly unique relationship with them.

What we're going to see as this unfolds is that Martha and Mary are two very different women.

And they have a similar question for Jesus.

In verse 5, I just want you to note, now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

So right out of the gate, John is helping us to see that Jesus' motives in this whole story is one of love and of God's glory.

Well, in verse 3, Mary and Martha send word to Jesus, he whom you love is ill.

It's getting at a unique relationship between Jesus and Lazarus.

They must have been buddies.

But this isn't just kind of like an FYI.

So don't you know, Jesus?

This is Jesus.

Lazarus is seriously ill.

We know you can heal him.

Would you please come?

And so Jesus responds in verse 4.

And now he's talking to his disciples.

This illness does not lead to death.

It's for the glory of God.

So that the Son of God may be glorified through it.

What Jesus knows in advance, before any of this significantly unfolds,

is that what's going to happen is for his glory.

There's going to be a revelation.

There's going to be something spectacular.

Jesus is going to be revealed.

The Son of God is going to be revealed in a new way.

It's the seventh sign of the Gospel of John.

Think of that word glorify.

As a revelation of something amazing about God.

And what Jesus is saying here is that the Son of God is going to be exalted.

He's going to be made new through this illness.

In verses 5 and 6, we again read,

Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

But there's a connection.

Look at it.

Jesus loved them so because he loved them.

Because he loved him.

When he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

Now that's surprising.

Because I thought, hey, Jesus, if he really is your buddy,

if you got word that he's sick and it's serious, boy, wouldn't you just pack up and go?

But in love, he stayed two more days.

There's something else operating here.

We know that he loves them, but he's waiting.

And then there is this whole thing.

It's about God's glory.

In verses 7 and 8, we start learning what he's been waiting for.

Then after this, he said to his disciples,

Let's go.

Now Judea is home of Jerusalem, also Bethany.

And his disciples in verse 8 have an objection.

Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you.

And are you going there again?

It hasn't been a week, Jesus.

They were looking to kill you.

Why do you want to go back?

Reasonable.

Then Jesus says,

Are there not 12 hours in the day?

What he's getting at is this.

His time on earth is coming to an end.

And he is going to walk in the light.

He's going to do his Father's will.

Those who walk in the darkness don't do God's will,

but those who walk in the light do.

And he's going to be committed.

And he has an appointment in Bethany at a tomb.

And then there's this classic misunderstanding.

After saying these things, Jesus says,

Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep.

I've got to go wake him up.

Disciples are like,

Lord, if he's asleep, that's good.

He needs to recover.

He needs to get his sleep.

And Jesus is like,

You're totally missing what I'm saying.

It's this misunderstanding we've been seeing

through the Gospel of John.

And Jesus says very plainly,

Verse 14,

Lazarus has died.

And then he says,

And for your sake,

I'm glad that I was not there,

so that you may believe.

But let us go to him.

He's not glad Lazarus died.

He's glad at the opportunity

this is affording his disciples

to see his glory on display.

And so, of all people,

Thomas, as in doubting Thomas,

chapter 20,

Let's go die with him!

Nobody understands what's going on here.

Nobody knows what's coming.

Why doesn't he go?

There's something bigger and better

that he's after.

There's something bigger and better

that he's going to reveal.

This is about his glory.

I want to point something out.

Nowhere,

nowhere here,

do you have any sense

that Jesus asked Lazarus' permission

to do what he's about to do.

Nowhere does he ask Martha or Mary

if it's okay,

Hey, guys,

like a month earlier,

I'm going to do something in a month

that's going to be really difficult.

You just hang in there with me.

He's doing what he wants to do.

There's something else

that I want to see.

Have you ever prayed

to the Lord?

Have you ever sent word

to the Lord?

Lord,

I'm regularly praying

for a couple people

in our family

that I dearly love.

Lord,

would you do this?

Please do this.

I know you can do this.

But he doesn't do it.

He doesn't show up.

Anybody experience that in the room?

Something else is going on, gang.

He's working off

a different economy.

What we know from this text

that he loves his own.

And he's working for his glory.

There's a greater glory coming.

That's scene one.

Jesus surprisingly stays put.

Scene two,

Jesus is confronted.

He's confronted by

Lazarus' two sisters.

And this is in verses 17 through 37.

In 17 through 19,

Jesus arrives

outside of Bethany.

Again,

it's 1.75 miles

from Jerusalem.

And so it's to remind you

that there are people

who want to kill Jesus

just down the street.

A lot of people are there

in Mary and Martha's home.

They're from Jerusalem.

They're there to comfort them.

And it's also another thing

to remind you,

word can get out

that Jesus is in town.

If you'll notice

in verse 20,

when Martha hears

that Jesus was coming,

she went and met him,

but Mary remains seated

in the house.

These are two very different women.

Two different people.

They have two very different temperaments.

And in verses 20 and 27,

Martha confronts Jesus.

And let me just point out,

Jesus didn't call her.

She went.

She hears that he's like

down the street

and she's gone.

She goes.

It's quite an interesting exchange.

She says,

why didn't you come?

Look at verse 21.

Lord, if you had been here,

my brother would not have died.

Lord, we send word to you.

If you had been here,

Lazarus would still be breathing.

I know what you're capable of.

And so there's this sense of like,

why didn't you come?

In verse 22,

it sounds like Martha

is asking Jesus to pray

that God would raise him

from the dead.

Listen to what she says.

But even now,

I know that whatever you ask

from God,

God will give you.

It kind of sounds like that,

but that's actually

not what she's saying.

And we're going to see that

played out as we go along.

What she's actually saying

is more like this.

Okay,

I don't get what you're doing,

but I know you got

a connection with God,

so you have your reasons.

And I trust you,

even though I don't know

why you didn't come.

It's something of faith.

And then in verse 23,

Jesus says to you,

your brother will rise again.

Now for us,

who know the story,

we're like,

oh yeah,

he's going to rise again.

But not Martha.

Look how she interprets it.

I know,

verse 24,

I know that he will rise again

in the resurrection

on that last day.

That the last day,

all will be raised up

and separated

to be judged.

That's Revelation chapter 20.

Revelation 20 · chapter mention

That's Matthew chapter 25.

Matthew 25 · chapter mention

All good Jews believed that.

I know that there's a coming day,

chronologically speaking,

there's a coming day

when he will be raised

from the dead.

And then Jesus does

something remarkable.

He takes a chronological day

and he makes it personal.

I am the resurrection

and the life.

I want you,

Martha,

not to be focused

on a day.

I want you focused

on me.

To believe in me.

This,

I am the resurrection

and the life

is the fifth

I am statement

in the gospel of John.

And it does us well

to ask,

what is he saying?

Why is he saying this?

So when he says,

I am the resurrection,

day,

personal.

He's got the power

to raise

on the last day.

And so if you read

the rest of verse 25,

it says,

whoever believes in me,

though he die physically,

the day is set,

yet shall he live.

In other words,

hey,

don't focus on the day,

focus on me,

because when you die,

you will live again

if you believe in me.

I will raise you

from the dead.

But there's more.

Just not a chronological moment.

There's a qualitative

aspect to this.

So when he says,

I am the resurrection

and the life,

he's speaking qualitatively.

Listen to what he says

in verse 26.

And everyone who lives

and believes in me

shall never die.

You may die physically,

but the moment you believe

in me,

I give you eternal life.

In other words,

eternal life doesn't start

when you die.

Eternal life begins

when you believe.

So if you believe

in Jesus Christ,

eternal life has come.

Abundant life.

So what Jesus is getting

at here is both

a qualitative life

as well as

a chronological aspect.

It's like,

I've got all of your life

in my hands.

I'm the giver of life.

I'm the bread of life.

I'm the water of life.

I am the way,

the truth,

and the life.

I came

that they might have life

and might have it

abundantly.

abundantly.

What Jesus is saying

to her is

something bigger

than resurrection days here.

And then he asks her,

do you believe this?

Do you believe in me?

You see,

all the word believes,

there's three of them

in this passage,

these two verses.

And she says,

yes, Lord,

I believe that you

are the Christ,

the Son of God,

who's coming into the world.

This was the titles

that the whole kind of

fight was over

in John 10.

The Christ,

the Son of God.

This is what we see

at the end of John

in chapter 20.

All of these signs

are to demonstrate

Jesus is the Christ,

the Son of God,

that you would believe in him

and by believing,

you live.

Martha,

do you believe this?

She's the first sister

who confronts Jesus

and Jesus reveals

something about himself.

Do you get the sense

of what Jesus is saying?

When he says,

I am the resurrection

and the life,

that is a God-sized claim.

He's claiming,

I am the giver of life,

I have authority over death.

And then,

in verses 28 through 37,

Mary,

a very different woman

than Martha.

In 28,

Jesus sends Mary

to go tell Martha,

to go tell Mary,

the teacher's calling for you.

So,

unlike Martha,

Mary is called

and Mary gets up right away

and goes

and then those people

who are comforting

and consoling her,

they get up and go

because they're thinking

she's going to the grave,

she's going to weep some more,

but she actually brings them

to Jesus.

And when she gets to Jesus,

verse 32,

she fell at his feet.

Martha didn't fall at his feet.

I think Martha

was probably looking

at him nose to nose.

Mary fell at his feet.

Two very different women.

Jesus loves them both.

and notice what she says.

Lord,

if you had been here,

my brother would not have died.

Does that sound familiar?

Look at verse 21.

Martha said to Jesus,

Lord,

if you had been here,

my brother would not have died.

Two very different women,

very different temperaments,

wrestling with the same thing.

Where were you?

We sent for you.

We know you loved Lazarus.

You are able to heal him.

Where were you?

And when Jesus responds to Martha,

he drops the,

I am the resurrection

and the life.

Do you believe this?

The way he responds to Mary.

He sees Mary weeping.

He sees those weeping with her.

Verse 33.

And then he was deeply moved

in his spirit

and greatly troubled.

And when you hear

greatly troubled,

deeply moved in his spirit,

you may be thinking,

oh,

he was overwhelmed

with sadness.

But when you do a word study

on this little phrase,

deeply moved,

by the way,

it shows up in verse 38,

deeply moved.

Do you know how it's used

throughout the rest

of the New Testament?

Stern rebuke.

Indignation.

Holy anger.

Jesus sees all this weeping

and it's safe to say

he gets angry.

And out of his anger,

he asks,

where did you lay him?

I'm going to do something

about this.

And he is told,

come see.

And in verse 35,

Jesus wept.

In that moment,

he goes from being indignant

to weeping.

Jesus is mad.

Sad and mad.

He's experiencing

the full range

of human emotions

kind of surrounding grief.

Anybody been angry

when somebody dies before?

Anybody been sad?

Yes.

Jesus is experiencing

the full range

of humanity.

And he does it

without sinning.

He weeps.

He's angry.

And he's like,

show me

where you buried him.

What's striking

about this

is that we have

two very different

human beings,

Martha and Mary.

and they are

confronting Jesus

and struggling

with the same thing

and they say it verbatim.

Lord, if you had been here,

my brother

would still be alive.

How many times

have we said

something similar?

Lord, if you had moved,

if you had done

what I asked,

then we wouldn't

be dealing with this.

it's a soft questioning.

Jesus, do you know

what you're doing?

He's operating

for a glory.

He's got something else,

something bigger

and better in mind.

In this passage,

following both

of these confrontations,

we learn something

about Jesus.

One, that he's

totally God.

I am the resurrection

and the life.

And we learn

that he's totally man.

We see him experience

the fullness

of human emotions.

He's angry

and he's sad.

And now he's

going to do something.

The Jews that are there

who had followed Mary,

some see him

responding the way he is

and they're like,

oh, how,

he just loved Lazarus

so much.

And then others

are there

and they're like,

wait, wait,

hold on a second.

Isn't this the guy

that healed the blind,

man born blind?

Couldn't he have

stopped this

from happening?

They don't have

any idea

what's about to happen.

Which brings us

to scene three.

Glory.

Give it to me.

Oh, that was weak.

I'm going to say glory.

You give it back.

Glory.

Glory.

Okay, here we go.

In verses 38 through 44,

Jesus raises Lazarus

from the death

and there's been

quite a build up

to this moment,

hasn't there.

We've covered

a lot of ground

leading up to this point.

Now Jesus is on the scene.

He's in Bethany

and he has showed up

to the tomb

and he's deeply moved,

verse 38.

He's hot.

He's angry.

He's indignant.

He's sad,

but he's angry.

What's he going to do?

He's made the claim,

I am the resurrection

and the life.

And now he's going

to demonstrate it.

In verse 38,

deeply moved again,

he comes to the tomb.

Jesus says,

take away the stone.

You got to hear the tone.

Where is his body?

Take away the stone.

It's not because the stone

is going to get in the way

of what he's about to do.

It's going to get in the way

of the guy coming out.

Martha,

the direct sister,

says,

Lord, by this time

there will be an odor

for he has been dead

for days.

His body

has already started to decay.

If you open that up

there's going to be a stink.

This is why

I think

back in verse 22

she's not asking

Jesus to ask God

to raise Lazarus

from the dead.

She has no idea

what's going on here.

Jesus says to her,

did I not tell you

that if you believed

you would see

the glory of God?

There's no record

of he saying that

to Martha.

There is record of that

in verse 4

to his disciples

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.

There must have been

something said

that John doesn't record

that Jesus is saying

Martha,

I'm going to be glorified

through this.

And then in

verse 41,

42,

Jesus prays.

He thanks God

for what is about

to happen.

It's another indicator

that Jesus is doing

the works of his Father

and he's already

giving thanks to God

and asking God

to use what is about

to happen

in this display

of his glory

to cause belief,

to result in belief

in those present.

And then in verse 43,

it would be like this.

Think volume.

God,

thank you so much

for hearing me.

End of the prayer.

He steps back

and then you see

his veins in his neck

pop out.

Lazarus,

come out!

It was a voice.

There's this quip

among preachers.

It goes something

like this.

if Jesus had not

specified Lazarus,

then all of the dead

in all of the world

would have come out

at that moment.

But he did specify

Lazarus.

And by the way,

when he says,

Lazarus,

come out,

he's just not saying,

come out of the cave,

Lazarus.

He's saying,

come out of death,

Lazarus.

And he says,

44,

the man who is dead

comes out.

Jesus says,

unbind him,

let him go.

The burial cloths

would have been

restricted.

Anybody seen

any zombie movies

lately?

It's not like,

that's not how

Lazarus came out.

Lazarus probably

came out,

I don't know,

but he wasn't

decaying anymore.

He wasn't

half living.

He didn't have

a limb falling off.

At the very next

chapter,

this same Lazarus

is seated

at table

with Jesus

at a feast.

He's been

restored,

resurrected

and restored.

He's not been

given a resurrected

body,

but he's back

to health.

He's been

raised from the

dead,

he's no longer

sick.

And what's striking

is,

nowhere in this

chapter does

Lazarus say

anything.

Lazarus,

come out.

Now,

if you were

there,

Lazarus comes

out,

I would be

like,

what?

He was just

dead.

This never

happens.

And then,

it would dawn

on me,

the guy that

just told him

to come out

with just

words.

He didn't go

in with those

electric shocker

things.

He didn't go

in with some

kind of

soup.

With just

words,

Lazarus came

out.

The one who

created all

things with

just words

speaks to a

dead man,

and death

obeys.

Death gives

up.

He gives

up,

Lazarus.

Totally

God,

totally

man.

God

incarnate,

almighty,

he is the

Christ,

the son of

God.

He has

authority over

all things,

including

death.

It's a good

thing he

just limited

to Lazarus,

otherwise there

would have

been a,

like the

resurrection

of the

last day,

which is

going to

happen.

if Jesus

was able

to raise

Lazarus

from the

dead,

who he

loved,

he is

more than

able to

raise you,

Christian,

from the

dead,

who he

loves.

So if you

are a

believer,

you've already

been given

eternal life,

that eternal

life has begun,

you will die

one day,

but you

don't need

to fear

it,

because there's

coming a

day when

Jesus will

say,

Michael,

come out!

You think I

can resist

that?

You think you

can resist

that?

I'm talking

about.

In verses

45 through

53,

targeted,

Jesus is

targeted.

In verses

45 and 46,

there's this

mixed response.

Some of the

Jews there

who see this

happen,

instead of

believing,

they're like,

oh no,

we're going to

go to Jerusalem

and tattletale

on Jesus to

the Pharisees.

And so they

tattletale on

Jesus,

and then the

Pharisees,

they call this

emergency meeting

of the Sanhedrin,

the council.

We see that

in verse 47.

And they say,

what are we

going to do?

For this man

performs many

signs.

There's no

denying that

he just

raised a

dead man.

If we let

him go on

like this,

keep doing

these miracles,

everyone's

going to

believe.

That's

ironic.

And the

Romans will

come and

take away

both our

place and

our nation.

So now

you see

what they're

really concerned

about.

Their

temple,

their

people,

their

position.

This is

prophetic.

Because in

70 AD,

the Roman

general

Titus

comes to

Jerusalem.

He sacks

Jerusalem,

the temple

is destroyed,

and the

Israel people

get scattered.

It's prophetic

in one sense.

But there's

more prophecy.

the chief

priest of

the time,

of that

year,

his name

was

Caiaphas.

And he

comes on

the scene

in verse

49,

and he

says in

verse 49,

you know

nothing at

all.

It's kind

of like him

saying,

duh.

And then in

verse 50,

nor do you

understand that

it is better

for you that

one man should

die for the

people,

not the whole

nation should

perish.

Well,

that's

interesting.

That one

man should

die for the

people?

That there

should be a

substitute?

One die

for many?

What is he

saying?

Caiaphas,

who doesn't

believe that

Jesus is the

Christ,

the Son of

God,

he's not

thinking that

Jesus is the

Savior from

people from

their sins.

He's seeing

him more as

a scapegoat

so that they

can hold on

to their

power,

hold on to

their position,

hold on to

the status

quo.

But for

those of us

who believe,

we hear that

and we're

like,

he has no

idea what

he's saying.

This is good

news to my

ears.

And that's

exactly what

John helps

us to see in

verse 51.

John,

the gospel

writer,

steps in.

He did not

say this of

his own

accord,

but being

high priest

that year,

he prophesied

that Jesus

would die for

the nation.

And not for

the nation

only,

not just for

the Jews.

He would

die,

but also

to gather

into one

the children

of God

who are

scattered abroad.

All those

of God's

elect that

he had set

his love on

before the

foundation of

the world,

and he's

going to

call to

himself from

all around

the world,

every tribe,

tongue,

and nation.

He's going to

gather them

together into

one flock

with one

shepherd.

Jesus is

our

substitute.

He brings

about a

new nation,

a new

kingdom,

the church.

Instead of

believing,

the Sanhedrin

plots,

they make

plans to

kill Jesus.

verse 53,

and those

plans go

into motion.

But what

we're learning

is that all

throughout this,

the real plan

has been for

Jesus to

display the

wonder,

the glory of

the Son of

God in the

raising of

Lazarus from

the dead.

Not only does

he claim to

have authority

over death,

he demonstrates

it.

his glory,

our good.

So the

point of

this whole

story is to

demonstrate that

Jesus has

authority over

death.

It's both

claimed and

demonstrated.

And the

intended time

after is to

believe in

him.

So remember

what Jesus

asked Martha?

Do you

believe this?

That's my

question for

you.

Do you

believe this?

That Jesus

is the

Christ, the

Son of God

who has

authority over

the dead?

And not just

death in

general, he

has authority

over your

death in

particular.

You know,

Jesus also

raised Jairus'

daughter, Mark

5.

He also

raised the

son of a

widow in the

town of Nain,

Luke 7.

He has a

record of

raising people

from the

dead.

But those

people died

again.

Jesus

himself died,

was raised,

and is

alive today,

right now.

He's

defeated

death.

And do you

know what he

holds in his

hands?

Jingle,

jingle.

Revelation

1.18.

The keys to

death and

Hades.

It's a

picture of

him having

all authority

over death.

This is good

news.

Here's how we

apply it.

In light of

Jesus'

authority over

death,

demonstrated in

the raising of

Lazarus,

demonstrated his

own resurrection,

knowing that he

loves you,

Christian,

knowing that he's

in it for his

glory,

you need

not be

enslaved to

the fear of

death.

You need not

to be enslaved

to that.

You don't need

to fear that.

Your ears,

you're going to

hear someday,

Michael,

come out,

and there's

no resisting

it.

He will

raise you.

He will

give you a

new body

that matches

up with the

eternal life

already possessed.

Who likes

doing math?

Greater than,

less than,

or equal to?

Is Jesus

greater than,

less than,

or equal to

death?

Let's get

personal.

Is Jesus

greater than,

less than,

or equal to

your death?

Amen.

With words,

he will call

you back

to life.

Here's a second

application.

What do you

do when Jesus

doesn't show

up?

What do you

do when you're

asking for

something over

and over again

and it

doesn't happen?

My guess,

if you're like

me,

you may start

to question

Jesus.

Like Mary and

Martha did,

what we're

assured of here,

the face of

death in

particular,

Jesus loves

us,

and he's in it

for his glory.

glory.

So if he's not

doing what I'm

asking,

that's not a

failure on his

part.

I am able to

say,

based off this

passage then,

oh, he's got

the power,

and he loves

me,

and he's in it

for his glory.

So he must have

a bigger and

better glory in

store.

And I'm going

to wait on

that.

I'm going to

wait on that.

I'm going to

continue to pray

in faith,

but I'm going

to wait on

that.

It's for his

glory and our

good.

If you entered

this building

today,

fearing your

death,

my prayer is

that you're

going to leave

this building

today with a

greater sense of

confidence that

your life and

your death are

in the hands

of Jesus.

In other

words,

even death

cannot snatch

you from his

hands.

At the end

of this chapter,

the Sanhedrin,

such an

motion to

kill Jesus.

Jesus once

again, and we

see this in

54,

Jesus leaves.

He goes into

the wilderness.

It's not his

time.

And then in

verses 55

through 57,

we learn that

the Passover is

at hand.

It's going to

be Jesus'

last Passover.

And the

question all

these people who

are coming into

Jerusalem are

asking is this.

They know the

Sanhedrin wants

to arrest him,

and they're like,

is he going to

come?

And what is he

going to do if

he comes?

And we'll see

that answer next

week.

Will you pray

with me?

God in heaven,

we're so

grateful for

you, that

Jesus, you are

the resurrection

and the life.

You are our

resurrection.

You are our

life.

And you are

good.

God, would you

stir our hearts

to be freed

from the fear,

freed from being

slaves to the

fear of death?

death.

You've overcome

it.

And you've got a

track record of

doing it.

All glory to

your name.

Amen.

Amen.