Jesus vs. Death

Well, as we come to the Word of God this morning,

I hope you're hungry.

I hope you're ready to hear from what He has to say.

That's what this time is about.

It's about Him speaking to us through His Word.

And so if you have your Bible with you,

please open it up to John chapter 10.

John 10 · chapter mention

John chapter 10, verse 14.

John 10:14

I'll put it up on the screen there for you as well.

This is Jesus talking.

He said,

And one shepherd.

The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life

only to take it up again.

No one takes it from me,

but I lay it down of my own accord.

I have authority to lay it down

and authority to take it up again.

This command I received from my Father.

Well, as I was reading through this again this past week,

past weeks really,

I kept coming across this question.

There's just something that makes me wonder.

What does Jesus mean when He says,

I lay down my life only to take it up again?

What does that mean?

The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life

only to take it up again.

It seems totally clear what Jesus means when He says,

I lay down my life for my sheep.

I think we all get that.

But then He adds,

only to take it up again.

And it's here that we're probably thinking,

what are you talking about, Jesus?

Imagine the look on the Pharisees' faces

as they hear Him say this.

I bet you their faces went from scowls

to scrunched up.

Like, huh?

What are you talking about?

Nobody talks about life and death like this.

Like, I'm going to give up my life,

die,

and then I'm going to take my life back to myself again.

These are strange words.

And you have to know the people also who were listening

thought these were strange words.

In fact, in verse 19,

which comes just shortly down the page here right after this,

it says,

the Jews who heard these words were again divided.

Many of them said,

He is demon-possessed and raving mad.

Why listen to Him?

These words sound crazy.

I'm going to lay my life down,

die,

and then I'm going to take it back up again.

As in,

bring myself back to life again?

Who talks like this?

Well, Jesus, the Son of God,

talks like this.

And it is strange,

and it is weird at the first,

but it feels a little less strange

three days after Jesus' death

when it comes true,

when He rises from the dead.

That's what Jesus is talking about here,

His death for His sheep,

and then His resurrection from the dead

three days later.

And I think we all know that Jesus is talking about

His resurrection here.

I mean, what else could it mean

to lay down your life

and then take it back up again?

But even though we know

Jesus is talking about resurrection,

these words still sound very strange.

At least to me they do.

For starters,

rising from the dead is uncommon.

Not just uncommon,

it's exceedingly rare.

There are not many people

who we,

even in the entire Bible here,

were raised from the dead.

In fact,

in the entire Old Testament

there were only three.

From creation to the time of Christ,

only three people that we know of,

that's recorded,

were raised from the dead.

There was

the widow of Zarephath's son,

the Shunammite woman's son,

and that guy whose dead body

touched Elisha's bones

and he came alive

when he was being buried.

Then during the ministry of Christ,

Jesus raised

three more people from the dead.

The widow of Nain's son,

Jairus' daughter,

and we're going to get to Lazarus

in John chapter 11 soon.

John 11 · chapter mention

Now we're up to six.

The moment Jesus died,

there was also a group of people

who were raised from the dead.

It says in Matthew 27, verse 50,

Matthew 27:50

we don't know how many,

but it says that they came

out of their tombs

and came into the city.

And then there were two people

raised from the dead

after Jesus ascended into heaven.

There was Tabitha and Eutychus,

the guy who fell asleep

to Paul's preaching

and fell out the window.

And then of course,

there was Jesus' own resurrection

from the dead.

So including Jesus,

that's a total of nine people

plus this unknown number

who were raised from the dead.

Nine plus an unknown number

over a period of,

we'll say,

six to eight thousand years.

So it's exceedingly rare

for someone to come back

to life from the dead.

Why is it so rare?

Well, for starters,

only God can raise people

back to life from the dead.

Only the Creator has the power

to give life

and to undo death.

And as far as we know,

throughout the time period

of the Scriptures,

He's only chosen to do it

ten times,

unless there's a few others

that He didn't tell us about.

Why doesn't God do it more often?

Well, that's a big question.

And it's not one that we get

a direct and comprehensive answer to

in the Bible.

But maybe it's not quite

the question we should be asking.

Maybe instead we should be asking,

why did God make an exception

to the norm of death

in these ten instances?

Here's a couple passages of Scripture

which may lead us to some answers.

Hebrews 9.27.

It says,

Just as people are destined to die once,

or it is appointed unto man

once to die,

and after that,

to face judgment.

Who has appointed it

to be like that?

Well, it's God that's decided that.

And we all know from the bigger story

of the Bible

the reason why.

Death comes to all of us

as a part of our punishment for sin.

And this verse,

Hebrews 9.27,

makes it clear that it's the norm

for people to die.

And so why did God make an exception

to this norm

for these ten instances

and undo their death?

Well, we're not going to look in depth

at each one of these resurrections,

but here's a couple reasons why.

Acts 2.22.

This is Peter,

on the day of Pentecost,

preaching to the Jewish people,

to all who are gathered there.

He says,

fellow Israelites,

listen to this,

Jesus of Nazareth

was a man

accredited

by God

to you.

How?

By miracles,

wonders,

and signs,

which God did among you

through him

as you yourselves know.

There's a lot in there,

but do you see God's purpose,

one of his purposes,

in doing miracles,

signs,

and wonders?

It's to

validate

Jesus,

to accredit Jesus,

to prove

before

the eyes of all who saw

that Jesus

is

my son.

And yes,

I indeed

am speaking

through him.

Therefore,

I work through him

the things that only I can do.

It's like God's signature.

It's like his

stamp of authenticity

on Jesus.

His words to you

are my words to you.

And this is not the only passage

like this,

but this is kind of a general principle.

God's purpose,

one of them,

in working signs

and wonders

and miracles,

including raising

some people

from the dead,

was to confirm

and validate

that the person

who he did it through

was his chosen

prophet

or apostle.

Or in the case of Jesus,

not just a prophet,

but son,

lamb,

life,

light,

Messiah,

good shepherd,

and the list goes on

for Jesus.

Contrary to the idea

of some,

God reserves

miracles,

signs,

and wonders

for special moments

and situations.

He uses

those things

to mark

his chosen

servants.

servants,

and I don't mean

all of his servants,

but specifically

those who speak

for him,

those who are

his mouthpieces,

the ones who,

when they speak,

it's really God

who is speaking

through them.

how can we know

for sure

that what they are

saying is the word

of God?

God does

what only he can

do

through them.

Special acts

of power.

This is a general

principle in scripture

and it's how we know

that the prophets

in the Old Testament

were sent from God

as opposed to those

false prophets

who couldn't do

those things.

and it's how we know

that Jesus is

who he said he is.

It's how we know

that the apostles

who came after Jesus

really did speak

on Christ's behalf

and were sent out

by him.

Let's look at

one example of this.

The apostle Paul

in his letter

to the Corinthians,

1 Corinthians 2,

1 Corinthians 2:4

verse 4,

he said this,

he said,

my message

and my preaching

were not with

wise and persuasive

words,

but with a demonstration

of the Spirit's

power.

Well,

what demonstration

of the Spirit's power

is he talking about?

Paul actually

tells us

what that is

in his second letter,

2 Corinthians 12,

2 Corinthians 12:12

verse 12.

He's,

in that letter,

defending his

apostleship.

He tells the

Corinthians there,

I persevered

in demonstrating

among you

the marks

of a true apostle,

including signs,

wonders,

and miracles.

In other words,

it's the signs,

the wonders,

the miracles

that Paul did,

that's how you know

that I, Paul,

really do speak

for Christ.

I really was sent

out by him

as an apostle,

a true apostle

of the Lord Jesus.

If you look down

a little further

in chapter 13,

verse 3 of 2 Corinthians,

you can see,

Paul says,

on my return,

I will not spare

those who sinned

earlier,

or any of the others,

since you are

demanding proof

that Christ

is speaking through me.

So this is the issue.

The Corinthians

are saying,

we're not so sure

that you are

an apostle anymore,

that the Lord Jesus

is really speaking

through you,

that we need

to obey your words

as if we're obeying

the Lord Jesus,

and Paul's giving

his defense.

Don't you remember

when I first came

to you?

I did all the things

that a true apostle

does,

including signs,

miracles,

wonders.

So one primary reason

that God works

miracles,

signs,

and wonders

is to authenticate

his chosen messengers.

Let's think about

who was involved

in each of these

ten resurrection

moments in the Bible.

There was the prophet

Elijah,

who raised

a person from the dead

only once.

There was the prophet

Elisha,

who did it once

as well.

Well,

once while he was alive

and once from his bones.

Then there was

Peter,

the apostle,

who did it once.

And there was

Paul,

who did it once.

Jesus,

on the other hand,

he raised three people

from the dead

and was himself

raised from the dead.

And at the very moment

of Jesus' death

on the cross,

it says that many

were raised

from the dead.

that's God's

unique,

one-of-a-kind

signature way

of saying,

pay attention

to what is happening

in this moment

as all those people

come alive

in the very moment

that the Son of God

dies.

Or in the cases

of the other

resurrections,

it's God's way

of saying,

listen to this person.

This person speaks

on my behalf.

Now let me say

briefly,

authenticating

the messenger

and spotlighting

the moment

are not the only

reason God

does miracles,

of course.

It's not the only

reason he raises

the dead.

God can have

more than one purpose

for doing things.

And often he does.

Another reason

he did,

I think,

is simply because

he had compassion

in his heart

and was moved

deeply

to do this

for these people.

You think of that

small number

of people

that were raised

from the dead.

Three out of nine

of the individuals

named

were widows.

Or at least

the sons

were the ones

who were raised.

Sons of widows.

I don't think

that's a coincidence.

We are told

time and time again

about how God

has a special

care and concern

for the fatherless

and the widow.

So he also

raises from the dead

out of compassion

for those who

lost loved ones.

Probably who would

be in dire straits

without their help

to provide.

And of course

we can safely assume

that God

in some of those

instances

raised them back

to life

because he had

a purpose for them.

He had work

that he planned

to do through them

as they continue

to live.

We see that

with Lazarus

who became

living proof

and a walking

testimony to Jesus.

But now

let's finally

talk about

the difference

between Jesus

and the rest.

This is what our

sermon is all about

this morning.

With Elijah

and Elisha

and Peter

and Paul

those are the only

four men

aside from Jesus

who raised someone

from the dead

in the Bible.

with those

four men

we know

that it wasn't

by their own

power.

Just as Paul

said we read

my message

and my preaching

came to you

with a demonstration

not of my power

but of the

Spirit's power.

God's the one

who did the miracles.

It was his power

that made it happen.

That's how

Eutychus

was raised

from the dead.

Paul gives the

credit to God.

But watch this.

Jesus speaks

a little bit

differently.

I'll read it again.

John 10

17 and 18.

The reason

my Father loves me

is that I lay

down my life

only to take

it up again.

No one

takes it from me

but I lay it

down of my own

accord.

I have authority

to lay it down

and authority

to take it up

again.

This command

I received

from my Father.

Do you hear it?

I'm going to

lay down

my life

of my own

accord

and I'm

going to

take up

my life

again.

You must be

mistaken Jesus.

What you really

meant to say

was I'm going

to lay my

life down

and my

Father's going

to raise me

up again

or restore

it to me

again.

no that's

not what

Jesus said.

He said

I'm going

to lay

down

my life

of my

own accord

and I'm

going to

take

my life

up

again.

I have

authority

to lay it

down

and I have

authority

to take

up

my life

again.

Do you hear

it now?

this is why

some thought

Jesus was

crazy.

Like Jesus

are you

saying that

you are

going to

raise

yourself

from the

dead?

Yes.

That's what

Jesus is

saying.

But that's

impossible.

How can a

dead person

act upon

themselves?

Once you're

dead you're

dead.

Well that's

how it is

for you

and me.

We can't

do much

of anything

without a

body.

But this

is where

we see

the unique

difference

between

us

and Jesus

Christ

the Son

of God.

Yes

the body

of Jesus

died

but that

immaterial

part of

Jesus

did not

die.

Jesus

the Son

of God

did not

cease to

exist

and

Jesus

raised

Jesus

from the

dead.

I know

that sounds

weird and

strange

but I

say it

that way

on purpose

to draw

you in

so that

you hear

what Jesus

is saying.

He says

I have

authority

to take

up my

life

again.

I will

lay down

my life

I will

surrender

my body

to death

but then

I will

retake

my life

I will

take it

up again

not just

incidentally

because

the Father

restores

it to

me

but

actively

I will

take

it up

I'm

the one

that has

authority

to do

that.

Yes

Jesus

is saying

I will

raise

myself

back

to life

from the

dead

I will

restore

what was

destroyed

my body

back to

life again

maybe you're

thinking

Josh

that's so

strange

I've

never

heard

that

in all

my

years

are you

sure

you're

not

off

on

this

well

let's

look

back

at what

Jesus

said

in

John

John 2:19

chapter

2

verse

19

you

remember

that

he's

in

the

temple

courts

he's

driving

out

the

sellers

there's

a

heated

exchange

between

him

and

the

temple

officials

they

say

give us

a sign

by what

authority

are you

doing

these

things

and

what does

Jesus

say

to

them

he

says

destroy

this

temple

and

I

will

raise

it

again

in

three

days

and

John

the

author

tells

us

that

in

that

moment

Jesus

was

not

talking

about

the

temple

building

but

about

his

body

that's

John

John 2:19

chapter

2

verse

19

they

replied

it

has

taken

46

years

to

build

this

temple

and

you're

going

to

raise

it

in

three

days

but

the

temple

he

had

spoken

of

was

his

body

you

hear

what

Jesus

is

saying

destroy

this

temple

my

body

and

I

will

raise

it

again

in

three

days

do

you

hear

it

I

have

authority

to

lay

it

down

and

I

have

authority

to

take

it

up

again

unlike

the

other

four

human

beings

that

we

know

were

involved

in

raising

another

person

from

the

dead

this

resurrection

is

different

there's

something

about

this

Jesus

that

is

unlike

any

other

human

being

Jesus

himself

is

unbeatable

even

by

death

how

can

that

be

Jesus

is

not

just

any

other

human

being

he

is

the

God

man

he

is

both

human

and

divine

as

we

sung

about

earlier

meekness

and

majesty

now

some

of

you

who

notice

details

might

be

thinking

but

Josh

what

about

those

24

passages

that

all

say

that

it

was

God

who

raised

Jesus

from

the

dead

three

of

which

specify

that

it

was

the

father

who

raised

Jesus

from

the

dead

here's

one

of

them

Galatians

Galatians 1:1

1

verse

1

Paul

an

apostle

sent

not

from

men

nor

by

a

man

but

by

Jesus

Christ

and

God

the

father

God

the

father

who

raised

him

that's

Jesus

from

the

dead

did

God

the

father

raised

Jesus

from

the

dead

or

did

Jesus

raise

himself

from

the

dead

my

answer

is

it's

not

either

or

it's

both

in fact

it's

all

three

father

son

and

holy

spirit

acting

together

in

perfect

harmony

Romans

Romans 8:11

8

verse

11

tells

us

about

how

the

spirit

is

involved

in

this

too

and

if

the

spirit

of

him

who

raised

Jesus

from

the

dead

is

living

in

you

he

who

raised

Christ

from

the

dead

will

also

give

life

to

your

mortal

bodies

because

of

or

through

as

some

translations

say

his

spirit

who

lives

in

you

father

son

and

holy

spirit

were

all

at

work

together

in

raising

Jesus

back

to

life

from

the

dead

it's

not

either

or

it's

both

and

and

this

confirms

what

Jesus

has

been

telling

us

all

along

about

this

special

relationship

that he

has

with

his

father

we'll

go back

to

John

chapter

five

and

read

it

one

more

time

Jesus

said

very

truly

I

tell

you

the

son

can

do

nothing

by

himself

he

can

do

only

what

he

sees

his

father

doing

here

it

is

because

whatever

the

father

does

the

son

also

does

they

work

together

in

everything

including

Jesus

resurrection

the

father

raises

Jesus

back

to

life

from

the

dead

and

in

that

same

moment

in

perfect

unison

Jesus

raises

his

own

body

back

to

life

from

the

dead

he

reassumes

his

existence

in

that

body

now

a

body

completely

transformed

and

restored

a

glorious

body

destroy

this

temple

and I

will

raise

it

again

in

three

days

I

lay

down

my

life

for

my

sheep

only

to

take

it

up

again

I

have

authority

to

lay

it

down

and

I

have

authority

to

take

it

up

again

so

what

do

we

do

with

all

this

well

if

you're

here

mainly

to

find

out

more

about

yourself

or

your

situation

you

might

be

a

little

bit

disappointed

with

my

message

I

could

say

it

more

directly

this

message

is

not

about

you

it's

about

Jesus

it's

about

what

he

said

that

day

and

it's

not

that

it

has

nothing

to

do

with

us

I

mean

we've

been

celebrating

I

hope

for

the

past

number

of

weeks

that

Jesus

laid

down

his

life

for

his

sheep

for

you

and

for

me

but

Jesus

wants

you

to

know

in

the

midst

of

all

that

that

even

before

it

happens

though

he

will

die

he

will

die

he

will

not

stay

dead

when's

the

last

time

you

heard

anyone

successfully

predict

their

own

resurrection

this

is

why

we

need

to

take

everything

that

Jesus

says

so

seriously

this

is

why

we

need

to

hold

his

words

in

the

highest

of

regards

far

above

all

the

words

that

are

flying

around

in

our

world

today

sometimes

the

things

Jesus

says

sound

a little

weird

like

talking

about

raising

himself

back

to

life

from

the

dead

but

then

it

happened

and

this

should

change

everything

about

how

we

see

Jesus

here's

where

it

hits

home

to

us

specifically

over

and over

and over

again

in

John's

gospel

we've

heard

Jesus

say

if you

truly

believe

in me

like from

the heart

sincerely

in the

heart

if you

truly

believe

in me

I will

give to

you

eternal

life

we

could

hardly

even

count

the

number

John

3

15

John

3

16

John

3

36

John

4

14

John

5

24

and

25

John

5

28

John

6

27

6

34

to

35

6

47

and

the

list

goes

on

there's

even

more

all

of

these

if

you

believe

in

me

I

will

give

you

eternal

life

6

verse

40

if

you

believe

in

me

I

will

raise

you

up

at

the

last

day

that's

quite

the

promise

to

make

isn't

it

especially

given

that

10

out

of

10

people

die

and

as far

as we

know

up to

this

point

in

the

story

there's

only

ever

been

five

people

who

have

been

raised

from

the

dead

ever

and

later

they

too

died

a

second

time

how

can

we

be

sure

that

Jesus

can

deliver

this

promise

I

will

give

you

eternal

life

and

I

will

raise

you

up

at

the

last

day

we

can

be

sure

we

can

be

confident

because

Jesus

exercised

his

own

life

giving

authority

and

power

on

his

own

dead

body

and

did

what

is

truly

miraculous

he

rose

up

from

the

grave

and

conquered

death

and

so

yes

he

can

raise

you

and

me

to

no

problem

and

give

us

life

that

never

ends

or

fails

on

the

last

day

and

so

I

want

to

invite

you

come

to

the

Lord

Jesus

and

if

you

have

not

done

this

yet

repent

and

believe

in

him

this

is

his

promise

to

you

if

you

do

and

if

you've

already

done

that

then

I

want

to

invite

you

to

rejoice

with

me

this

morning

our

Lord

Jesus

conquered

death

I

mean

think

about

that

he

did

what

none

of

us

can

do

on

our

own

he

had