I Am the Resurrection

All right, well, we're back in the story of Jesus told by John,

and we made it out of chapter 10, and now we're into chapter 11.

If you have a Bible, please open it up to chapter 11.

If you forgot your Bible, there's some in the seats right in front of you,

the little black ones there.

There'll be some passages that I don't put on the screen

because they're longer chunks that we'll be reading today.

So I encourage you to follow along if you're able.

Well, last we heard, Jesus was nearly stoned and arrested in Jerusalem.

And we heard that Jesus left Jerusalem.

He went to the other side of the Jordan

where John had been baptizing in the earlier days.

And the people began coming out to him when he was there,

and many believed in him.

And at some point, we're not exactly sure when somebody arrives

to meet Jesus with a message for him.

I'm reading from John chapter 11, verse 1.

John 11:1

Now a man named Lazarus was sick.

He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.

This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick,

was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord

and wiped his feet with her hair.

So the sisters sent word to Jesus,

Lord, the one you love is sick.

So a messenger arrives and brings this news about Lazarus,

that he's sick.

And up until now in the story,

we haven't even heard anything about Lazarus

or his two sisters, Mary and Martha.

But Luke has already told us that in his gospel,

that Jesus had met Mary and Martha

on one of his many journeys down to Jerusalem.

There was a small village just outside of Jerusalem,

about two miles out, called Bethany.

And as Jesus was passing through there,

Luke tells us that Martha opened up her home to Jesus.

And it was probably then that he first met Mary, her sister,

and probably also Lazarus, their brother.

It was quite possible that their house

became kind of a regular stop-in for Jesus

as he would go down to Jerusalem

for the festivals that happened each year.

And it seems that Jesus had a special bond with Lazarus,

the brother of these two women.

Enough that when they sent word to Jesus,

they said,

Lord, the one you love is sick.

And of course, it makes sense why they sent word to him,

because after all,

he is very well known for healing people of sicknesses.

Verse 4.

When Jesus heard this, the message,

Jesus said,

This sickness will not end in death.

No, it is for God's glory,

so that God's Son may be glorified through it.

Mark these words of Jesus well.

This sickness will not end in death.

So Jesus declares what's going to happen in the future

for Lazarus with his sickness.

Not only that, but he states the purpose of the sickness.

He says,

This sickness is for God's glory,

and specifically,

so that the Son may be glorified through it.

So this sickness somehow is to bring praise and glory and honor to Jesus,

God's Son.

God has a good purpose for Lazarus going through this,

suffering through this.

Lazarus doesn't know that.

Mary and Martha don't know that.

And even Jesus' disciples,

who have just been told this,

probably don't know it either.

Let's consider for a moment

what the disciples probably heard

and understood as Jesus said this.

He said,

This sickness will not end in death.

So the disciples,

how else would they understand these words

but that Lazarus would not die

from this sickness?

Verse 5.

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

So when he heard that Lazarus was sick,

he stayed where he was two more days.

And then he said to his disciples,

Let us go back to Judea.

But Rabbi, they said,

A short while ago,

the Jews there tried to stone you,

and yet you are going to go back?

Jesus answered,

Are there not twelve hours of daylight?

Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble,

for they see by this world's light.

It is when a person walks at night that they stumble,

for they have no light.

After he had said this,

he went on to tell them,

Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep,

but I am going there to wake him up.

His disciples replied,

Lord,

if he sleeps,

he will get better.

Jesus had been speaking of his death,

but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.

So then he told them plainly,

Lazarus is dead,

and for your sake,

I am glad I was not there,

so that you may believe.

But let us go to him.

Then Thomas,

also known as Didymus,

said to the rest of the disciples,

let us also go,

that we may die with him.

So Jesus,

upon hearing of Lazarus' sickness,

decides to stay where he was two more days.

And the disciples are probably not too worried,

because after all,

Jesus said,

this sickness will not end in death.

In fact,

the disciples were probably relieved to hear this.

They're probably thinking,

whew,

I thought for a moment there,

that we were going to have to go back,

to Bethany,

right near Jerusalem.

But then two days later,

Jesus says,

all right,

time to go.

We were going to go down to Judea.

And the disciples protest.

Are you out of your mind,

Jesus?

Like,

we were just there,

and they tried to kill you.

You remember the stones in their hands?

You want to go back there?

You can't be serious.

It's not safe.

Finally,

in verse 11,

Jesus tells them the news,

and the reason that they're going back.

He says,

our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep,

but I'm going there to wake him up.

And you can't really blame the disciples

for misunderstanding Jesus here.

They're taking his word literally.

If he's sleeping,

he'll get better.

Eventually,

he'll wake up.

We don't have to go down to Bethany for that.

Well,

finally,

Jesus makes it plain to them.

In verse 14,

he says,

Lazarus is dead.

And for your sake,

I'm glad I was not there,

so that you may believe.

Lazarus is dead.

But you said,

Jesus,

just a few days ago,

that this sickness would not end in death.

What's going on here?

Did you get it wrong?

Maybe we should have gone down

when we first heard about this,

and then you could have healed Lazarus.

But now it's too late.

Thomas is especially cheerful about it.

He's like,

oh,

oh,

great.

Let's all go down there

so that we can die with Jesus.

Maybe it would have been a little easier

to slip in

and heal Lazarus

and slip out

while he was still alive.

But now that Lazarus is dead,

there will be the funeral.

There will be the mourners,

everybody who knew him.

And we're just bound to end up

in another situation

like we did last time

we were down near that

neck of the woods.

And they're not going to kill

just you,

Jesus.

They're going to kill all of us too,

says Thomas.

What really struck me

in all of this

are these two statements of Jesus.

I'll put them up

on the screen back to back

so you can see them both together.

This sickness will not end in death,

says Jesus.

And two days later,

Lazarus is dead.

I think there's a lesson here

for all of us.

Sometimes as we're following Jesus,

things won't always go

as we expect them to.

In fact,

things may go

the exact opposite

of what we're expecting

and hoping for.

We may look at what God has said

about something

even in his word

and then look up

at the situation

right in front of us

and just say,

why does it not match up?

This sickness

will not end in death.

And yet,

Lazarus is dead.

Jesus,

what's going on here?

God,

why is this happening to me

when your word says,

fill in the blank.

God

and his son,

Jesus,

have a way of deliberately

doing things

in order to teach us

to trust.

God,

I'm glad I was not there

to heal him

is implied,

says Jesus,

so that you may believe.

Believe what?

Believe my word.

Believe me.

I said,

this sickness

will not end in death.

So this is not really

all about Lazarus

and it's not about

the disciples

feeling safe

or comfortable.

This is about

each one of them,

even Thomas,

learning to trust Jesus

even when they don't see

or understand,

even when what Jesus

says to them

doesn't seem to make sense,

even if they don't feel safe.

Maybe you find yourself

in the same kind of place

this morning

where you look at your life

or you look at a situation

in your life

and you're wondering,

God,

Jesus,

where are you

in the midst of this?

How can you let this happen?

Maybe you've even been

praying for something

but it's not been happening.

Could it be

that God may yet

answer your prayers

but that in the meantime

He wants you

to surrender your heart

and simply trust Him

with this?

I couldn't help

but think of that old song,

Trust and Obey

for there's no other way

to be happy in Jesus

but to trust and obey.

And as I was thinking

about that,

I got looking at this

and just really realized

trust and obedience,

they really need

to go together,

don't they?

Thomas is ready

to obey.

He's going to follow Jesus

wherever he goes,

he's going to go down

to Bethany

but his comment

reveals what's really

going on in his heart.

It's the trust part,

the believing part,

believing what Jesus said

earlier

that's missing.

Thomas,

don't you remember

what Jesus said

last time you guys

were in trouble?

He said,

I give my sheep

eternal life

and they shall

never perish.

No one will snatch

them out of my hand.

Are there some situations

or things going on

in your life

today

that you need

to simply

trust Jesus with?

Verse 17,

on his arrival

Jesus found

that Lazarus

had already

been in the tomb

for four days.

Now Bethany

was less than

two miles

from Jerusalem

and many Jews

had come to Martha

and Mary

to comfort them

in the loss

of their brother.

When Martha

heard that Jesus

was coming

she went out

to meet him

but Mary

stayed at home.

So Lazarus

has been dead

for four days now.

I don't know

what day

Lazarus died on

but to help us

feel this

let's just imagine

we're grieving

with the family.

Imagine he died

on a Monday.

It's now Friday.

John tells us

that already

many had come

to Martha

and Mary

to comfort

her,

them,

in the loss

of their brother.

Lazarus' body

is already

in the tomb

so a significant

part of the

funeral proceedings

are already over

and finally

they get word

that Jesus

the one

that they

had sent

for and

hoped

might make

it

before this

is coming

is soon

to arrive.

Martha decides

to go out

to meet Jesus

and Mary

stays at home

with the guests

and Martha

reveals

what she's

been hoping

all along.

Lord,

Martha said

to Jesus,

if you had

been here

my brother

would not

have died.

But I know

that even now

God will give

you whatever

you ask.

There's grief

here.

Martha's heart

is broken.

She's just

lost her

brother.

I don't want

to read too

much into

her words

but surely

there was

longing

that somehow

Jesus

could have

come sooner

and that

everything

that she's

just lived

through

in the past

week

had never

happened.

If only

you had

been here

you could

have healed

him

just like

you always

do

with everybody

who comes

to you

who's sick.

Just say

the word

just touch

him

he would

have been

well.

Even in

her grief

she expresses

such great

faith in

Jesus power

to heal.

And then

she throws

in this

somewhat

surprising

statement.

She says

now it's

difficult to

know what

to make

of these

words.

We might

think that

she's

gently

hinting

that Jesus

could raise

Lazarus back

to life

from the

dead.

But probably

not with

what she's

about to

say next.

She's not

looking for

that for

a long

time.

Or we

may wonder

if Martha

is tactfully

asking why

Jesus did

not pray

and ask

God to

heal

Lazarus

when he

first heard

the word

of his

illness.

Whatever

she means

one thing

is clear.

She seems

all the more

to be

expressing her

complete

confidence

in Jesus.

It's as

though she's

saying I

still believe

I still

trust that

you

that you

have that

special

relationship

with God

and that

God will

grant your

every request.

In other

words none

of what's

happened with

my brother

in the past

week lessens

my faith in

you.

This is

amazing.

Where the

disciples fail

to trust

Jesus

Martha's

unwavering

trust in

Jesus just

shines.

My brother's

dead and I

still believe

in you

Jesus.

God didn't

grant me

what I

was asking

for my

brother but

I still

believe that

he will do

whatever you

ask him.

Verse 23

Jesus said

to her

your brother

will rise

again.

Martha

answered

I know

he will

rise again

in the

resurrection

at the

last day.

here again

we see

faith from

Martha.

She really

does have

faith in

God.

Here's a

woman who's

been grieving

for days

and right

now she's

saying yes

I believe

that my

brother

Lazarus

will rise

again

at the

resurrection

on the

last day.

we don't

really know

what her

understanding

of the

resurrection

or the

last day

was.

We know

that some

Jews believed

in the

resurrection

and others

like the

Sadducees

did not

but whatever

Martha knew

about it

she believed

that this was

not the end

for her

brother.

but I'm

guessing

that what

Jesus said

next

probably took

her breath

away.

I know

he will

rise again

in the

resurrection

at the

last day

Jesus said

to her

I am

the

resurrection

and life.

let those

words

sink deep

into your

soul.

I am

the

resurrection

and the

life

says

Jesus.

I am

the one

who gives

life.

I am

the one

who will

raise

your

brother

back to

life

from the

dead

on that

day.

That

event

that you

just

mentioned

the

resurrection

that's

me.

That's

me

who will

be at

work.

That's

me

making

alive.

I

wasn't

here

when

Lazarus

departed

but I

myself

am

the

one

who

will

bring

him

back

to

life.

I

am

the

dead

razor.

I

am

life

itself.

Jesus

goes

on.

He

says

the

one

who

believes

in

me

will

live

even

though

they

die.

And

whoever

lives

by

believing

in

me

will

never

die.

Do

you

believe

this?

Jesus

makes

two

more

statements

here.

First,

he

says,

the

one

who

believes

in

him

will

live

even

though

they

die.

Quite

literally,

the

one

believing

in

me

and

if

ever

he

should

die,

he

will

live.

So

in

this

first

statement,

Jesus

doesn't

say

that

those

who

believe

in

him

will

not

die.

But

that

if

ever

they

do,

they

will

yet

live.

How

can

this

be?

Jesus

is

talking

about

resurrection.

He's

talking

about

raising

those

who

believe

in

him

back

to

life

after

they

die.

Do you

remember

what

Jesus

said

back

in

John

John 6:40

chapter

6

verse

40?

He

said,

for my

father's

will

is that

everyone

who

looks

to

the

son

and

believes

in

him

shall

have

eternal

life

and

I

will

raise

them

up

at

the

last

day.

So

not

that

we

will

not

die,

but

that

we

will

have

life

again

after

death.

The

second

statement

Jesus

makes

is

this,

whoever

lives

by

believing

in

me

will

never

die.

Quite

literally,

all those

living

and

believing

in

me

will

not

ever

die

unto

the

ages.

Depending

on your

translation,

you might

be thinking

that it's

kind of a

contradiction

here.

In

one

breath

he's

saying

that if

you

ever

die,

you'll

live.

In

the

next

breath

he's

saying

you'll

never

die.

Which

is

it?

But

I

don't

think

we

should

really

pit

these

things

against

each

other.

I

think

Jesus

is

simply

talking

about

a

sequence.

Whoever

believes

in

me

will

have

life

after

death

because

I

will

raise

them

back

to

life.

I

am

the

resurrection

and

that

life

that

I

give

them

at

the

resurrection

will

last

forever,

never

to

die

again.

Do you

believe

this?

Jesus

asks

Martha

and

Martha's

response

is

this.

Yes

Lord,

I

believe

that

you

are

the

Messiah,

the

Son

of

God

who

is

to

come

into

the

world.

Again

we

see

a

beautiful

faith

from

Martha

here.

All

you've

just

said

Jesus,

I

believe

it.

You

are

the

Messiah.

You

are

the

Son

of

God.

You

are

the

one

who

comes

into

the

world.

So

Jesus

gave

Martha

the

ultimate

words

of

comfort.

Lazarus

is

dead,

yes,

but

Lazarus

in

another

sense

is

not

dead.

This

is

not

the

end

for

him.

And

it

doesn't

need

to

be

the

end

for

you

either,

Martha.

Everyone

who

believes

in

me

will

live

forever

after

they

die

and

I

raise

them

again.

Verse

28.

After

she

had

said

this,

she

went

back

and

called

her

sister

Mary

aside.

The

teacher

is

here,

she

said,

and

is

asking

for

you.

When

Mary

heard

this,

she

got

up

quickly

and

went

to

him.

Now

Jesus

had

not

yet

entered

the

village

but

was

still

at

the

place

where

Martha

had

met

him.

When

the

Jews

who

had

been

with

Mary

in

the

house

comforting

her

noticed

how

quickly

she

got

up

and

went

out,

they

followed

her,

supposing

she

was

going

to

the

tomb

to

mourn

there.

When

Mary

reached

the

place

where

Jesus

was

and

saw

him,

she

fell

at

his

feet

and

said,

Lord,

if

you

had

been

he

was

deeply

moved

in

spirit

and

troubled.

Where

have

you

laid

him?

He

asked.

Come

and

see,

Lord,

they

replied.

Jesus

wept.

Then

the

Jews

said,

see

how

he

loved

him.

But

some

of

them

said,

could

not

he

who

opened

the

eyes

of

the

blind

man

have

kept

this

man

from

dying?

Mary,

it

seems,

felt

the

same

as

Martha,

only

when

she

finally

meets

Jesus,

we

see

that

she's

probably

grieving

even

more

intensely.

John

says

that

Mary

fell

at

Jesus'

feet.

And

the

first

thing

she

says

to

Jesus

is

the

same

as

Martha.

If

only

you

had

been

here,

Jesus,

if

only

you

had

been

here,

my

brother

would

not

have

died.

And

then

John

tells

us

that

Mary

wept.

The

tears

were

flowing.

But

what's

truly

touching

in all

of this

is

Jesus'

reaction

to it.

Seeing

the grief

and the

sorrow

of Mary

and the

others

with her,

John

tells us

that

Jesus

was

deeply

moved

and

troubled

in

spirit.

The

words

behind

these

in the

original

language

are

very

strong.

Intense

emotion

welled up

inside

of him

as he

saw face

to face

the pain

and the

grief

and the

sorrow

of his

dear

friend

Mary

and all

the others.

So much

so that

Jesus

himself

broke

down and

started

crying.

he

wept.

And it

wasn't for

the loss

of Lazarus

as we'll

see in a

moment

but for

the anguish

and the

grief

felt by

his dear

friends.

The pain

and the

brokenness

that they

were

experiencing

because of

the death

of Lazarus.

He cried

enough

that the

Jews who

were there

paying their

respects

noticed

and remarked

whoa

he must

have really

loved

Lazarus

a lot.

He's

really

feeling

it

right

now.

But now

let's

read how

the story

ends.

Verse

38

Jesus

once more

deeply

moved

came to

the tomb.

It was

a cave

with a

stone

laid

across

the

entrance.

Take

away

the

stone

he

said

but

Lord

said

Martha

the

sister

of

the

dead

man

by

this

time

there's

a

bad

odor

for

he's

been

there

four

days.

Then

Jesus

said

did I

not

tell you

that if

you

believe

you

will

see

the

glory

of

God?

So

they

took

away

the

stone.

Then

Jesus

looked

up

and

said

father

I

thank

you

that

you

have

heard

me.

I

knew

that

you

always

hear

me

but

I

said

this

for

the

benefit

of

the

people

standing

here

that

they

may

believe

that

you

sent

me.

When

he

had

said

this

Jesus

called

in a

loud

voice

Lazarus

come

out.

The

dead

man

came

out

his

hands

and

feet

wrapped

with

strips

of

linen

and

a

cloth

around

his

face.

Jesus

said

to

them

take

off

the

grave

clothes

and

let

him

go.

Amazing.

The

one

who

moments

before

claimed

to be

the

giver

of

life

the

raiser

of

the

dead

the

resurrection

and

the

life

proved

that

it's

true

by

raising

Lazarus

from

the

dead.

One

of the

most

spectacular

miracles

of

Jesus

an

amazing

display

of

power

one

of

the

greatest

signs

that

Jesus

ever

did

that

he

really

is

the

one

that

he

has

been

claiming

to

be.

I

would

have

loved

to have

been

there

to see

this.

If I

could

pick

any

one

miracle

to

go

back

and

just

witness

it

myself

with

my

own

eyes

this

would

probably

be

it.

To

see

Lazarus

stumble

out

of

the

tomb.

To

see

the

utter

shock

and

amazement

of

his

sisters.

To

see

the

tears

of

grief

and

sorrow

change

into

tears

of

joy.

Joy

like

few

ever

feel

in

this

world.

If

there's

any

miracle

of

Jesus

that

I

would

see

this

would

be

it.

The

reaction

of

the

people

who

had

just

earlier

been

to

his

funeral

seen

his

dead

body

laid

in

the

tomb

now

completely

in

shock

murmuring

to

one

another

what

just

happened

how

can

this

be

we

saw

him

he

was

dead

and

now

he's

alive

this

doesn't

happen

well

it

just

happened

today

because

the

one

who

is

the

resurrection

and

the

life

is

here

among

you

let's

notice

a couple

details

of this

wonderful

miracle

how

does

Jesus

do

it

first

notice

this

prayer

of

Jesus

to

the

father

he

prays

out

loud

so

that

everyone

can

hear

I'm

not

even

sure

that

we

have

the

whole

prayer

written

here

it's

almost

like

we

just

start

listening

in

mid

conversation

to

what

Jesus

is

saying

to

God

he