I Am the Resurrection and the Life

We hope that you enjoy this teaching from Christ Church.

This material is copyrighted and no unauthorized duplication, redistribution,

or any other use of any part is permitted without prior consent from Christ Church.

Please consider donating to this work in the San Francisco Bay Area online at ChristChurchEastBay.org.

Good morning. My name is Brian Lee, and my family and I are part of the Alameda Community Group.

The Lord's word for us this morning comes from the Gospel according to John, chapter 11, verses 17 to 53.

John 11:17–53

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.

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.

Jesus said to her, your brother will rise again.

Martha answered, I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.

Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life.

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?

Yes, Lord, she replied.

I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.

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 here, my brother would not have died.

When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping,

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?

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 is a bad odor, for he has 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.

So from that day on, they plotted to take his life.

This is the gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, O Christ.

Good morning, Christ Church.

Thank you so much, Brian.

If you're new with us, on November 14th, we commended Isaac, Brian, and Seung-yoon's son into the Lord's hands

as he passed from this world into the world to come.

And our hearts just broke that Sunday morning.

And I threw the sermon that I had prepared into the trash.

And we just stumbled our way through this text about the death of Jesus' friend.

And so we love you guys.

And it's not often you get to preach the same text twice in a year.

Fortunately, this one is a rich one.

And I hope I can bring something fresh and helpful to you today.

It's the first Sunday in Lent.

And those Ash Wednesday words, those sober words, ring especially true these days.

Remember that you're dust, and to the dust you shall return.

There's nothing like a once-in-a-hundred-year killer virus to remind us of our frailty,

where it's felt at times like nature itself is trying to destroy us.

And then there's nothing like, you know, national vitriol just spewing

and internationally rockets launching to make us conclude that if nature can't kill us,

then we certainly are capable of doing it ourselves.

And, you know, there's one place.

Sorry, this thing doesn't want to fit my ear this morning.

I don't know what happened to my ear.

But there's one place I know to go and find big-picture help in our dust-to-dust reality of our lives and of this world,

and that's the Bible.

But as we open the Bible, I remember a book that I opened a few years ago by a philosopher named Luke Ferry.

He's a professor of philosophy at the University of Paris,

and he served as the French minister of national education.

And he wrote this book called A Brief History of Thought, A Philosophical Guide to Living.

And this is what Luke Ferry says.

He says,

When I was a student in 1968, when religious questions were not the most fashionable,

we basically ignored, lumped together, and cheerfully channel-hopped our way through the great monotheistic religions.

It was possible to pass our exams and even become a philosophy professor by knowing next to nothing about Judaism, Islam, or Christianity.

As a result, for years, I knew more or less nothing about the intellectual history of Christianity beyond the cultural commonplaces.

And Ferry says,

This strikes me as absurd, and I would not wish you to repeat the mistake.

Even if one is not a believer, and all the more so if one is hostile to religion, we have no right to ignorance.

If only we oppose it, we must at least be familiar with religion and its various forms and understand what we are opposing.

There is not a museum of art or even of contemporary art which does not require a minimum of theological understanding if one is to fully understand its contents.

That's a striking quote to me because as we think about the universal aspirations of humankind,

the kind of stuff philosophers work on, the search for identity, the quest for meaning, the sense of guilt, longing for freedom,

the hunger for love, the instinct to worship, the dread of death, and the desire to survive,

I would argue that Jesus corresponds rather wonderfully and beautifully to these deep and universal human aspirations.

And so I agree with Luke Ferry that it's strange and rather shocking that Jesus would be so studiously ignored by philosophers

and by the educated elites of the Western world.

Think about it.

We have more evidence about Jesus than all the great figures of ancient history,

and part of that evidence is the Gospel of John and the story of Lazarus.

And when you think about all the great heroes of history,

how many of them have stood in a cemetery and with the power of a word raised a human being from death to life?

Now, if that happened and we have strong evidence and tough-minded reasons to believe that it did happen,

wouldn't we want to know more about this person, who they are, what they came to do,

what their philosophy of life is all about?

And shouldn't that have some bearing on our philosophy of life and our approach to how we're going to live it?

So what I want to say this morning from John 11 is that Jesus gives us tombstone truth,

graveside grace, and primal power.

I just want to walk us through each one of those.

Jesus gives us tombstone truth, graveside grace, and primal power.

First of all, Jesus gives us tombstone truth.

Look at verse 21.

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.

And Jesus said to her,

Your brother will rise again.

And Martha answered,

I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.

These are orthodox doctrines of Scripture.

That God is all-powerful,

that nothing's impossible for him,

that he listens to the prayers of the righteous,

that at the end of history,

God will raise his covenant people to new life.

That's sturdy biblical theology that gives us hope in the hardest times.

And though it's true,

it's kind of cold comfort to grieving Martha.

And so Jesus gives an even deeper comfort to her

with what are perhaps some of his most famous words in verse 25.

He says,

I am the resurrection and the life.

Anyone 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, when he says,

I am the resurrection,

he's claiming to be the Lord of our physical death.

If you're trusting in me,

he says,

even though you die,

you will live.

Now, you'll not escape the experience of death,

but you will survive it.

You'll live with God in a disembodied state temporarily.

And then as the scriptures teach,

when Jesus comes again on the last day,

you will be raised up.

You will be re-embodied with him and like him

with a new resurrection body like Jesus' body

that has unimaginable powers.

So though your body now is weak and fragile and mortal,

your new body will be immune from pain and disease and fatigue

and shame and age and death

because that body will be free finally of sin.

So Jesus says,

I am the resurrection.

You don't need to look to a future event.

You need to look to the present person with you now.

Now, the resurrection is not so much a distant hope

as it is God in the flesh talking to you.

Jesus is saying,

I've come to win a victory.

I've come to triumph and conquer over death.

And so it follows logically

that my beloved believers,

for them,

death will not be the last word.

You guys tracking with me?

I need like an amen or I need,

I can't keep preaching the sermon.

This is like not a monologue here.

Yes, you are going to share in the shock

and the scandal and the sadness of death,

but for you,

your final state will be the reversal

of the reality of physical dissolution.

So don't look to the future for your hope.

Look to me right now

for I am the resurrection

and I have come to bring people

from death to life.

The resurrection is not a doctrine.

The resurrection has a living face

and a name.

It's Jesus.

I'm the resurrection.

That's a claim to be the Lord

over physical death.

And when he says,

I am the life,

that is a claim to be the Lord

over spiritual death.

Jesus says in verse 26,

I'm the life

and whoever lives by believing in me

will never die.

Or as one translator says,

they will never ever die

an eternal death.

For all people are born

under the judgment of God

for our sins.

We arrive at life

already in a state of death,

alienated from God,

separated from the God of life

under his just condemnation.

But Jesus says,

when we experience him

who is life with a capital L,

we will come alive.

That as he taught Nicodemus,

we will be born again from above,

that the Holy Spirit

will come down

and bring the divine,

eternal life of God

into us.

That Jesus,

who is the life

by the Holy Spirit,

will bring us

into the fellowship of love

with his Father.

And if that's true of you,

if you're in this circle

of life and love

with God,

you can never die

a spiritual death.

Nothing can separate you

from the love of God.

If you have this real,

true,

deep experience

of life in Christ,

your moment of physical death

will not even be a blip.

This life will be so strong,

so full,

so rich,

so indestructible

that in comparison

with your physical death,

it will be trivial.

You will simply go

straight from living

with Christ in this world

to a more intensified form

of life

with him

in the world to come,

which the scriptures tell us

is better by far.

Jesus has been building up

to this

through the whole gospel.

And we heard him say

in John chapter 5,

John 5:24

verse 24,

he says,

very truly I tell you,

whoever hears my word

and believes him

who sent me

has eternal life,

not will have eternal life,

but has,

as a present,

authentic experience,

you have eternal life

now,

and you will not be judged

because you crossed over

from death

to life.

And Jesus goes on,

he says,

very truly I tell you,

a time is coming

and has now come

when the dead

will hear the voice

of the Son of God

and those who hear

will live.

We heard him say

a couple weeks ago

in John chapter 8,

John 8 · chapter mention

very truly I tell you,

whoever obeys my word

will never see death.

And Jesus is going to go on

in his great

high priestly prayer

in John 17,

he's going to pray this.

He's going to say,

now this is eternal life

that they may know you,

the only true God

and Jesus Christ

whom you have sent.

Eternal life

is not a thing,

it's not an object

that you possess.

Eternal life

is a person,

it's a relationship,

it's an experience

that you enter into.

And Jesus,

I have to say,

he's pretty excited

about not only life

after death

but life before death

right now.

He's come

and he's come

to deal with

the problem

of life

and its meaninglessness

and he's also come

to deal with

the problem

of death

and its certainty.

And that's why

he says,

I am both

the resurrection

and the life.

Do you believe this?

Do you believe that?

That's the question

that he asked

and we're going to come

to Martha's answer

in a little bit.

But this is,

this is just good

tombstone truth

and you're going

to need it.

You're going

to need it

because you're all

going to stand

at a tombstone.

And so Jesus gives us

not only tombstone truth

but he also gives us

graveside grace.

He gives us

not just tombstone truth

but graveside grace.

I was with one

of my New Testament

professors last week,

Reggie Kidd

and we were talking

by the fire

drinking some strong

beverages

talking about

how much we love

the gospel of John

because in it

we get this

high divinity

of Jesus

but also this deep

humanity of Jesus.

Jesus is the word

of God

who made the world

but he also

has the longest

and deepest

conversations

and dialogues

with people

whom he radically

is transforming.

And John 11

is no different.

Here we see

Jesus' divine power

and his great

humanity.

Look with me

at the end

of the story

where Jesus says

in verse 43

called out

in a loud voice

Lazarus come out

and the dead

man came out.

Now that's a power

beyond human imagining.

We can put a man

on the moon

but can we

call the dead

out of a grave?

Of the greatest

achievements

of the 20th century

Jesus' achievement

in the first century

was even greater

I have to say.

We get

this amazing

description

of divine power

here

but alongside

it we get

this lovely

description

of humanity.

Jesus is close

with this family.

It says that

he had great

affection for them.

He loved Martha.

He loved Mary.

He loved Lazarus.

When they saw him

weeping over his friend

they said

see how

see how

he loved him.

This was his

home base

his spiritual family

that he had adopted

when he'd come down

to Jerusalem

this is where

he would be

with this family.

And

alongside

of his divine

power

we see

a deep

sympathy

that Jesus

has with those

he calls

friends

especially when

they're going

through a family

tragedy

we see Jesus

weep

with those

who weep.

We get here

a picture

of the supernatural

power that

separates Jesus

from us

because we can't

do that

we can't stand

in a graveyard

and call people

to come out

but we also

get here

a picture

of a human

sympathy

from Jesus

that draws

us close

to him

and if

in his divinity

he does

for us

what we cannot

do for ourselves

in his humanity

he sets

for us

a pattern

of what

we ought

to be

like

in our life

and in our

experience

and look

at what

he does

with these

two sisters

Martha

and Mary

in their

different

personalities

and their

drastically

different

needs

we read

in verse

32

that when

Mary reached

the place

where Jesus

was

and saw

him

she fell

at his

feet

and said

Lord

if you

had been

here

my brother

would not

have died

the same

statement

as Martha

they must

have been

saying it

to one

another

for days

all week

long

if only

the Lord

were here

but Mary

in contrast

she doesn't

want to

talk theology

she doesn't

want to

talk the

truth

with Jesus

she's

so

stricken

with grief

that all

she can

do

is throw

herself

down

on the

ground

at his

feet

and some

of us

know what

that means

some of us

know what

it means

to be so

sad

and so

broken

that all

you can

do is

just crumble

up in a

pile

and in a

puddle

of tears

but look

at verse

35

kids

this is a

great one

if your

parents want

you to do

some scripture

memory

I recommend

starting here

what does

it say

it says

Jesus

wept

my son

Walter

was reflecting

on this

verse a few

weeks ago

he said

dad

isn't it

amazing

that the

most powerful

person in

the universe

cries like

us

and that he

cries with

us

it is

amazing

it's amazing

that he

shares our

tears

and what's

amazing

is that

he's

deeply

moved

and

troubled

with

us

in

verse

33

it

says

that

when

Jesus

saw her

weeping

and the

Jews

who had

come along

with her

also

weeping

he was

deeply

moved

in spirit

and

troubled

we could

also

interpret

that

that

he

was

outraged

and

grief

stricken

and if

you know

anything

about

bereavement

you know

that tears

and anger

often

flow

together

Jesus

I think

is outraged

why

because

is he

seeing

the raw

havoc

that

suffering

and sin

wreak

on our

lives

as we

encounter

death

is Jesus

looking down

the corridors

of time

looking down

through the

centuries

at all the

tombs

and all the

funerals

of all of

his beloved

people

unable to

hold back

his tears

as he

sees his

loved

ones

losing

their

loved

ones

I

think

Jesus

is

outraged

in this

moment

because

he

sees

all the

tears

of

Christian

people

and he

knows

that the

turmoil

and the

bitterness

that's in

the heart

of this

family

at this

particular

graveside

is going

to be

repeated

countless

numbers

of times

through

Christian

history

and that

question

of verse

37

is going

to be

asked

over

and over

again

Lord

where

were

you

if

only

you

had

been

here

my

loved

one

would

not

have

died

and

Jesus

knows

that in

the future

he will

not do

what he's

going to do

for Lazarus

in each

case

that despite

the fact

that he

wins

the victory

over death

at Easter

death

will continue

to cause

us

intense

grief

and so

he's

outraged

and he's

grief stricken

at the

prospect

of this

pattern

repeating

itself

down

the

ages

so

friends

I hope

you can

see here

that

John 11's

tombstone

truth

assures

us

of Jesus

power

over

physical

and

spiritual

death

but it

also

assures

us

of

Jesus

love

it

assures

us

that

he

is

in

fact

the

suffering

servant

of Isaiah

53

who

has

borne

our

griefs

and

carried

our

sorrows

and if

Jesus

is the

pattern

for our

humanity

then we

too

are to

bear

one

another's

grief

and we

too

are to

carry

one

another's

sorrows

and to

weep

with those

who

weep

in fact

I would

say

that our

visits

and the

tears

of

Christians

are one

of the

major

ways

the

world

can

experience

God

today

amen

so

Jesus

gives

us

tombstone

truth

and

graveside

grace

but finally

he also

gives us

primal

power

the

prologue

of this

gospel

we learn

that Jesus

came from

the father

full of

grace

and truth

but

he doesn't

just tell us

he's full of

grace and

truth

he gives

us

a visual

aid

in verse

39

we read

take away

the stone

he said

but lord

said

Martha

the sister

of the

dead

man

by this

time

there is

a bad

odor

for he

has been

there

four

days

now I

love the

old

King James

version

because

Martha

says

there

but lord

he stinketh

he stinketh

and that

just tips

me off

that the

gospel

is about

turning

tragedy

into

comedy

right

lord

he

stinketh

and Jesus

says

well did I

not tell you

that if you

believe

you will see

the glory

of God

and then

down in

verse 43

he called

out in a

loud voice

Lazarus

come out

and the

dead

man

came out

his hands

and feet

wrapped

with strips

of linen

and a

cloth

around his

face

and Jesus

said to

them

take off

the grave

clothes

and let

him go

now this

is a

heart

stopping

glorious

moment

because an

immovable

object

meets with

an

irresistible

force

death

meets

Christ

and Christ

conquers

this is a

power that

should drive

us to

awe

and thanks

and hope

this is a

power that

should be

the center

of our

philosophy

of life

now if

you think

about it

there are

most likely

other newly

buried people

in this

tomb

and so

it's a

good thing

that Jesus

said the

name

Lazarus

otherwise

many people

would have

come out

Jesus

would have

been like

no Kevin

I'm sorry

not you

not now

at least

but there

is a

kind of

miracle

within a

miracle

here

that

Lazarus

comes

stumbling

out

somehow

wrapped up

in his

burial

clothes

I mean

we don't

know

really

how

he

did

that

Jesus

doesn't

bring him

out in

pristine

condition

he gets

his friends

involved

and I think

that's a

little picture

of the

mission

of the

church

he says

to his

disciples

around him

take off

the grave

clothes

and let

him go

free

and that's

really kind

of our

job

with each

other

you're not

dead

anymore

you're

alive

you need

to go

free

and walk

and follow

Jesus

but how

did Jesus

reveal the

glory of

God

how did he

life out

of death

we're told

in the story

that he did

it through

prayer

verse 41

then Jesus

looked up

and said

father

I thank

you that

you have

heard me

I knew

that you

always

hear me

Jesus I

think invites

us to pray

like him

to look

up

to open

our eyes

to talk

straight to

our father

in heaven

to say

thank you

so much

for hearing

us

and he

invites us

to pray

and ask

God

to hold

at bay

the forces

of death

and to

cause

life

to triumph

over death

and we

should try

to pray

this way

we should

try to pray

like Jesus

for the war

in Ukraine

for strained

marriages

for troubled

youth

for broken

hearts

for gospel

breakthrough

we should

ask God

would you

let life

triumph

over death

and Jesus

when he

thanks his

father

for hearing

his prayer

he's referring

to the fact

that he's

been praying

for Lazarus

for days

for days

before he

even got

to this

prayer

he's been

praying

that though

he die

he'd be

preserved

from corruption

that his

body in the

tomb

would be

whole

and complete

that he'd

be ready

to be

summoned

back

to life

and Jesus

prayers

are powerful

and we're

told in the

new testament

that Jesus

prays for

us

Jesus

is praying

right now

from the

throne of

God

and the

power of

the Holy

Spirit

for you

by name

in all

the circumstances

that you're

going through

and that

should give

us incredible

confidence

for our

lives today

it should

also give

us incredible

confidence

for our

future

that one

day Jesus

prayers are

going to be

answered

and he is

going to

say

Jonathan

Barry

St.

Claire

come

out

and that's

exactly what

I'm going

to do

so if

that's

what's

going to

happen

why am

I afraid

what do

I have

to be

afraid

of

now notice

as we

close

that Lazarus

is not

given a

body like

Jesus

resurrection

body

Jesus

does not

come out

of his

tomb

bound

hand

and foot

his

resurrection

body

is so

powerful

that we're

told in

the end

of this

gospel

that he

just passed

through his

grave

clothes

Jesus

just passed

through his

tombstone

right

that wasn't

moved for

Jesus to

get out

it was

moved for

us to

get in

and see

that the

tomb

was empty

Jesus

has gone

through

death

and out

the other

side

into a

life that

can never

die

into an

indestructible

life

but Lazarus

merely comes

back to

ordinary

human life

the process

of death

has been

reversed for

him and

he's not

given

a new

body

which I

imagine

caused him

to feel

a little

bit

ambivalent

on this

day

yes I'm

glad to be

welcomed back

by my

sisters

yes I am

glad that

Jesus used

me to

convince the

world that

he's the

son of

God

but I

gotta say

I'm a

little

bummed

I'm a

little

bummed

to be

leaving

the

joys of

heaven

behind

I'm a

little

bummed

that I

gotta come

and face

disease and

dying all

over again

I'm a

little

bummed

because it's

bad enough

to die

once

right

for most

of us

one funeral

is sufficient

that's all

I want

why does

Jesus go

through the

trouble

with his

friend

Lazarus

why does

he bother

with this

because we're

told in

verse 53

from that

day on

they plotted

to take

his life

Jesus I

think conspires

with his

friend Lazarus

and he knows

that this is

going to be

the triggering

event

he knows

that if he

goes to

war with

death

Jesus is

signing his

own

death

warrant

no one's

gonna want

me around

anymore

this is

too much

power

this threatens

the powers

that be

if I

bring

Lazarus

out

I'm

essentially

burying

myself

if

Lazarus

is raised

I'm

gonna sink

if Lazarus

lives

then I

have to

die

but Jesus

is joyfully

going to

die

why

because he

knows

that the

resurrection

and the

life

must die

if he's

going to

destroy

the power

that death

holds

over us

Jesus

is going

to have

to go

into

death

and dismantle

it from

the inside

and so

the immortal

God

in the

flesh

joyfully

walks

into the

jaws

of death

on the

cross

for you

and for

me

to give

us life

life to

the full

life

abundant

life

everlasting

life

that can

never

die

do you

believe

this

that's

the question

that

Jesus

asked

to

Martha

do you

do you

believe

this

and

John

tells us

at the

end of

his

gospel

he says

in John

20

that Jesus

performed

many other

signs

in the

presence

of his

disciples

which are

not recorded

in this

book

but these

signs are

written

this

sign

of

Lazarus

was

written

down

as the

seventh

and

climactic

of the

great

signs

in this

gospel

it was

written

down

so that

you

may

believe

that

Jesus

is the

Messiah

the

Son

of

God

and that

by

believing

you

may

have

life

in

his

name

do

you

believe

Martha

says

in

verse

27

yes

Lord

I

believe

that

you

are

the

Messiah

the

Son

of

God

who

was

to

come

into

the

world

on

the

lips

of

this

woman

in

a

culture

by

the

way

that

hadn't

been

revolutionized

by

Jesus

yet

they

hadn't

learned

from

Jesus

how

to

value

women

yet

on

the

lips

of

this

woman

comes

the

highest

confession

of

faith

in

the

gospel

three

amazing

affirmations

about

Jesus

person

that

you're

the

Messiah

you're

the

Son

of

God

and

you're

the

one

who

was

to

come

to

bring

life

to

this

world

Martha

brings

together

objective

intellectual

conviction

with

subjective

personal

commitment

believing

in the

person

of

Jesus

trusting

in the

work

of

Jesus

she

said

yes

Lord

I

believe

do

we

believe

do

we

believe

in

this

Jesus

who

brings

tombstone

truth

who

brings

graveside

grace

and who

brings

us

even

now

and

especially

on

the

last

day

primal

power

to

bring

the

dead

back

to

life

may

God

help

me

believe

may

he

help

you

believe

in the

name

of

the

Father

Son

and

Holy

Spirit

Amen