The Resurrection and the Life

ran a story about how some people try to live forever.

And they rely on a pseudoscience called cryonics,

which is a practice of preserving corpses at an extremely low temperature

with the hope that future medical advances, scientific advances,

would enable people to resuscitate them if they preserve the body.

Now, despite the fact that the scientific community generally frowns on this practice,

200 people so far are stored in liquid nitrogen,

and at least 2,000 more are signed up to be frozen after their death in the U.S.

It's a growing business.

And this kind of reminds us, right, even though death is really universal,

and we've experienced it for generation after generation after generation,

it still strikes us as something that's strangely abnormal.

It feels unnatural for someone to die.

It feels like an interruption to life.

And perhaps that's why humanity has marshal its greatest ingenuity and resourcefulness

to defy death and at least to delay death.

We have fought against death throughout all of humanity's history.

And in a letter that he wrote, C.S. Lewis, to his friend Sheldon Vonneken, an American author,

he writes about this phenomenon.

He says,

A wish may lead to false beliefs, granted.

But what does the existence of the wish suggest?

At one time, I was much impressed by Arnold's line,

nor does the being hungry prove that we have bread.

But surely, though it doesn't prove that one particular man will get food,

it does prove that there is such a thing as food.

If we were a species that didn't normally eat,

weren't designed to eat, would we feel hungry?

Do fish complain of the sea for being wet?

Or if they did, would that fact itself not strongly suggest that they had not always been

or would not always be purely aquatic creatures?

Notice how we are perpetually surprised at time.

How time flies.

Fancy John being grown up and married.

I can hardly believe it.

In heaven's name, why?

Unless, indeed, there is something in us which is not temporal.

In this passage, we're confronted with the reality of death,

but it points us beyond death to an even greater reality,

namely that Jesus is the resurrection and the life

who reveals God's glory to those whom he loves.

And this passage shows us three things in which God reveals his glory.

First is our suffering and death.

Second is our resurrection and life.

And third, it's Christ's death and resurrection.

These three things reveal God's glory.

Because we're surprised by time, we're surprised by death,

because we weren't meant to die.

We were created for eternity, as Ecclesiastes 3.11 notes.

Now read verses 1 to 4 with me.

It sets the scene for our story here.

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, whose brother Lazarus was ill.

So the sister sent to him, saying,

Lord, he whom you love is ill.

But when Jesus heard it, he said,

This illness does not lead to death, for it is for the glory of God,

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

So John tells us that Lazarus was the brother of Mary who anointed Jesus' feet with oil.

And this story, actually, John hasn't told us yet.

We're going to hear about it in the following chapters.

So it shows the fact that he mentions this as a reference,

shows that people probably knew about this before John told the story,

probably from the Gospel of Luke,

because it's recorded there also in chapter 10.

Now, so Lazarus was ill,

and it seems that the family was very close to Jesus,

because the sister sent for him and write,

Lord, in verse 3,

He whom you love is ill.

And I don't think that means, you know,

just that Jesus loves everyone,

so they're referring to him as he whom he loves.

No, they seem to think that Jesus has a special affection for him and his family.

And so, right when he hears this in verse 4,

he says that Jesus promises,

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.

And, of course, having the benefit of hindsight,

we know what Jesus means,

because Lazarus does, in fact, die.

That's not what Jesus means,

that it will not end in death.

But he means that it will not ultimately end in death,

because he's going to be raised again.

And now, in the Gospel of John,

the word glory is significant,

and it doesn't primarily refer, in the Gospel of John,

to something that we bestow on God,

the praise or glory that we give to God,

but rather to the glory that emanates from God,

that emanates from God,

that's his, rightfully his.

So when Jesus says that it is for the glory of God,

that the Son of God may be glorified through it,

he's saying that Lazarus' illness

is going to lead to the revelation

of the glory of the Son of God.

It's going to reveal God's glory.

Now, this knowledge that Jesus has

leads to something quite strange in verses 5 and 6.

Please follow along with me.

Now, Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill,

he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

Now, notice the repetition of the word love, right?

They wrote to him saying,

the one whom you love is ill,

and now Jesus confirms,

John the narrator confirms it.

Now, Jesus loved Martha and Mary and Lazarus.

So, Jesus loves them.

And now, from that verse alone,

you would think that what follows immediately

after that sentence would be,

well, Jesus loved them,

so he got up immediately and left for Bethany.

That's what you would expect to see.

But you see exactly the opposite.

It says in verse 6,

So, that's therefore,

when he heard that Lazarus was ill,

he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

This is curious indeed, right?

Lazarus is deathly ill,

and Jesus, knowing this supernaturally,

decides to delay his coming.

And as soon as he finds that Lazarus is dead,

it almost functions like a divine signal for him.

He says, okay, now let's go.

What's going on?

And it may have been related to the fact

that there was a Jewish superstition in those days

that said that a soul of the deceased

hovered over the dead,

over the corpse basically for three days.

And during those three days,

would hover over the diseased corpse

and try to reenter that body.

But around the fourth day,

when decomposition kicks in

and the body starts to rot,

it would abandon all hope and leave.

So that was a superstition that was around at the time

among the Jewish people.

And so that may be why

John specifically notes in verse 17

that when Jesus came,

he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb

four days after that time.

So Jesus seems to be intentionally delaying his coming

to make sure that Lazarus is good and dead

and to make sure that everybody,

no one's going to have a mistake in their mind

that Lazarus is actually dead

and he's never coming back to life.

And so he's,

which is still baffling to us, right?

It's baffling to everyone around him as well

because Lazarus is ill and he loves him.

Why not go and heal him right away?

And you see this doubt expressed throughout this passage.

In verse 21, when Martha meets Jesus,

she says, Lord, if you had been here,

my brother would not have died.

Where have you been, Jesus?

Our courier returned several days ago

and reported that he relayed the message to you

in a timely fashion.

Where have you been?

You could have prevented this.

Do you not care?

And Mary echoes those sentiments in verse 32.

Lord, if you had been here,

my brother would not have died.

And the watching crowd also says the same thing

in verse 37,

could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man

also have kept this man from dying?

And the answer, of course, is yes.

He could have.

But he didn't.

And that's ultimately the question we ask

in our suffering as well, isn't it?

When we're suffering,

when we're going through difficulties,

this is the question we ask.

God, you are sovereign and all-powerful.

Couldn't you have prevented this?

If you had been here, Jesus,

my mother would not have died of cancer.

If you had been here, Jesus,

my brother would not have died of drug overdose.

If you had been here, Jesus,

I would not still be a lonely single

when I desperately want a spouse.

If you had been here, Jesus,

I would not still be barren and infertile.

If you had been here, Jesus,

I would be working a different job.

I'd be a different place in my career.

If only you had been here, Jesus.

And note that at this point of the passage,

we don't know yet that Jesus is going

to raise Lazarus from the dead.

And so as Martha, Mary, and the onlookers

are mourning Lazarus' death,

Jesus' delay is totally unexplainable.

You can't understand that.

Because they did not understand

that Jesus intended to raise them from the dead

and so doing, build up their faith

and reveal God's glory.

And that, in the end,

revealing God's glory is the best thing

He can do for us.

It's the most good thing He can do for us

because God Himself is love.

God Himself is life.

Life itself resides in Him.

And so getting a glimpse of Him

and His glory and partaking in that glory,

that's the best thing,

very best thing that God can do for us.

And that's what Jesus wants,

the very best for Mary and Martha and Lazarus.

That's why the Westminster Shorter Catechism teaches

that man's chief end is to glorify God

and to enjoy Him forever.

To glorify God is to enjoy Him

and to enjoy Him is to glorify Him.

And this, you have to note that it doesn't mean

what's good for us is necessarily painless.

A trip to the dentist should be enough to convince us of that.

What's good for us is not necessarily painless.

But God always promises,

God promises always to act for His glory and our good.

And in a letter to his friend, once again,

it's a different letter that C.S. Lewis wrote,

and he's writing about his wife,

Joy Davidman's cancer

and what that might have in store for them.

And he writes,

We are not necessarily doubting

that God will do the best for us.

We are wondering how painful

the best will turn out to be.

What is best for you,

what is good for you,

might be extraordinarily painful

as it was for Lazarus,

as it was for Martha and Mary.

And you might not know

how your story is going to end,

but you can be assured

that it is for the glory of God,

which is for your good.

In all the suffering of those who trust in Jesus,

there is glory in the end,

and your suffering is not meaningless.

It may seem meaningless to you

because you can't connect,

you don't see the full picture, right?

If you purchase the puzzle from Toys R Us

and you come home

and let's say it has two pieces

that don't fit.

And if that was,

if it only had two pieces

and the two pieces didn't fit,

well, you'd have the right

to go back and complain

and say this was a defective product,

give me a new puzzle, right?

But what if that two piece of puzzle

that don't fit

is part of a thousand piece puzzle

and you just don't have those pieces?

Well, then they would say you're crazy

to come try to return that.

You just don't,

you just haven't figured out yet

how it fits, right?

In the same way,

we might not know how the story ends.

We might not know how this will be

for God's glory and for our good,

but God sees the whole picture.

And so in spite of the uncertainty,

we can trust in Him

and that this contradiction in our life

will find its reconciliation

in the transcendent mind of God.

And our suffering and even death,

it's for our glory and good,

but there's one more thing

that God offers us,

that Jesus offers us

to help us in the midst

of our pain and suffering.

And that's the assurance of God's love.

Because remember verse five,

now Jesus loved Martha

and her sister and Lazarus.

So when He heard that Lazarus was ill,

He stayed two days longer

in the place where He was.

It was not indifference

or callousness or selfishness

that motivated Jesus to delay.

It was His love for Lazarus

and Martha and Mary

that motivated Jesus

to let them suffer

and grieve for a time.

Remembering God's love

in the midst of our suffering

provides much comfort for us

because you know

that love does no harm.

Love does no wrong.

And God loves us.

His love lies behind every trial,

every travail we experience.

And not only that,

Jesus, the Son of God,

empathizes with us

in the suffering.

Verse 33, it says,

When Jesus saw her weeping

and the Jews who had come with her

also weeping,

He was deeply moved

in His spirit

and greatly troubled.

And the same word,

deeply moved,

is used again in verse 38.

Now, a slight tweak

of how you might understand that

because the phrase deeply moved

is a translation

of one Greek word

that denotes emotional outrage

and indignation.

So that's a New Living Translation

actually I think gets this right,

which is rare

for it to get it right

better than the ESV.

It says here,

When Jesus saw her weeping

and saw the other people

wailing with her,

a deep anger welled up within Him

and He was deeply troubled.

Because the same word

is used only three other times

in the entire New Testament

and in all three

of those instances

it refers to Jesus

sternly rebuking

or warning someone.

It refers to His indignation,

anger.

And in the Greek translation

of the Old Testament,

Psalm 711,

Lamentations 2.6,

the word is used

to refer to God's fierce

indignation in judgment.

So it's tempting

if you're a translator

to read this

and try to sanitize the word

because I mean

who doesn't want to think

about Jesus being deeply moved

as He sees our suffering.

But that's not exactly

what's going on.

Jesus is deeply moved indeed

but it's an indignation

at something.

But at what exactly?

It says that Jesus

became indignant

when He saw the people weeping.

And I think the connection

might be that

Son of God,

as John tells us

in another one of His writings,

in 1 John 3.8,

the Son of God

came to destroy

the works of the devil.

Jesus came to destroy,

to defeat sin and death.

And Jesus is angered

by the sight of death,

consuming and grieving

the people He loves

and the sin that caused it.

Jesus is angry

that the precious people

who were created through Him,

who were intended for eternity

and life with Him,

are now marred by sin and death.

So as our champion

against sin and death,

Jesus' anger swells up in Him

as He sees this,

as He prepares to rescue Lazarus

from the jaws of death,

He's indignant.

So Jesus is angry

at sin and death,

but He's also compassionate

toward those who are weeping.

Where do we get that?

Look at verse 35,

the shortest verse in the Bible,

Jesus wept.

It's short,

but it packs a punch,

doesn't it?

He sorrows,

He feels

our suffering.

He's not a stoic God

indifferent to the sufferings

of mere mortals

sheltered in some Mount Olympus,

untouched by the earthly realities.

No, Jesus is the God

who came down to earth.

Jesus is the God

who became man.

Jesus is the one

who is able to empathize

with us in our weaknesses.

As Isaiah 53 prophesied,

Jesus would be a man

of sorrows

and acquainted with grief.

He has borne our griefs

and carried our sorrows.

Jesus identified

with the frailty

of humanity

because He loved us.

And so He wept.

And the Jews,

seeing Him weep,

say in verse 36,

see how He loved them.

So next time you're grieving,

maybe you're grieving now,

you're filled with sorrow,

remember that Jesus wept

and He weeps with you.

Behind every Christian suffering

is God's love

and at the end

of every Christian suffering

is God's glory.

And that removes

the sting of bitterness

from any suffering

for the Christian.

So God's glory

is revealed

even through our suffering

and death.

And secondly,

God reveals His glory

in the eternal life

and resurrection

that He offers us.

So after Lazarus dies,

Jesus leads His disciples

back to Bethany

in Judea.

And when Martha

sees Him,

she says to Him,

verses 21 to 22,

Lord,

if you had been here,

my brother would not have died.

But even now,

I know that whatever you ask

from God,

God will give you.

Now,

we can mistakenly think

that Martha's saying,

well, even now,

God will give you

whatever you ask

means that she has faith

that Jesus is going to raise

Him from the dead.

But I don't think

that's what's going on

because if you look

at her obtuseness

in verse 24

and her unbelief

in verse 39

that shows that,

no,

she didn't have

that faith at all.

So that's not

what she's saying,

but she's rather

just expressing

a general vote

of confidence.

Lord,

you missed this one.

You didn't get here on time.

But, you know,

I still believe

that you have

a special access to God.

So that's kind of

a general thing

that Martha is saying

to her.

And so Jesus responds

to her

in verse 23,

your brother

will rise again.

That's a wonderfully

ambiguous statement,

right?

Because they believe

in the resurrection

of the dead

at the end of time.

It has a double meaning.

So on the one hand,

Lazarus will rise again

on the last day

and that's how

Martha understands him.

But Jesus means

more than that,

right?

He will rise again

here and now.

So Jesus corrects her

in verses 25 and 26.

I am the resurrection

and the life.

Whoever believes in me,

though he die,

yet shall he live.

And everyone who lives

and believes in me

shall never die.

Jesus redirects Martha

from an abstract faith

in the resurrection

at the end times

to a personal faith

in Jesus

as the resurrection

and the life.

And Jesus seems to be

referring to two

different things here.

The future bodily

resurrection

of believers,

right?

And also

the present spiritual life,

eternal life

that God offers us.

And I think

that's what it means

when he says,

whoever believes in me,

though he die,

yet shall he live.

So that's a reference

to the final resurrection,

the resurrection of the body.

We will die.

We will all eventually die.

But we will yet live.

We'll live again.

We'll be raised to life.

And then

I think the second half

of Jesus' statement

is where Jesus talks about

eternal life

here and now.

Because he says,

everyone who lives

and believes in me

shall never die.

So of course,

those two things

can't be referring

to the same death.

Because on the one hand,

he said that you will die

and yet you will live.

But on the other hand,

he says you will never die.

So they're not referring

to the same kind of death.

The second kind of death

he's referring to

is spiritual death

that we are all born into.

And he's saying

that if you believe in me,

you will live

and you will never die.

Now,

so

if we,

this is

such an important truth

and I want us

to really

get

the joy

and the hope

that lies

in our resurrection

and eternal life.

And I want you

to appreciate this rightly.

So let's talk first

about eternal life,

what that means

for us,

the life that Jesus promises.

Because sometimes people

think about eternal life

in heaven

and they think of

these embodied spirits

floating around in heaven

and playing harps

and that's kind of

what they think of heaven,

right?

And that's not very appealing

for a lot of people.

And that's,

but don't think about

eternal life that way.

I want you to think

about eternal life

this way, right?

What's the most precious thing

that this life offers?

What's the most beautiful thing

that you see in this life,

right?

It's love, right?

That's why people sing about it.

That's why people

make movies about it,

right?

And it's,

and imagine maybe

the unbreakable bond

of parental love

or maybe that intimate

commitment

of romantic love,

right?

Well,

scripture teaches us

God is love,

right?

He's the one

that defines love

and he is the light

of the world

as John told us.

He,

God is life.

And so eternal life,

which as Christians

we begin to experience

here and now,

is nothing less

than perfect communion

with God,

union with Christ

and fellowship

with the triune God.

So,

and a Christian,

of course,

is by definition

someone who loves God

because they have been

loved by God.

And if that's you,

then there's nothing

more ecstatic,

delightful,

and joyful,

and rapturous

than enjoying communion,

union with God,

right?

who loves us perfectly,

supremely.

That's eternal life.

There's nothing

better than that.

And that's not

the end of it.

That's the other part,

resurrection life.

Because the resurrection

still awaits us

after we die.

Jesus will return

to earth once more

and when he does,

he will consummate

his kingdom

here on earth

and our bodies

will be raised,

resurrected,

and perfected.

heaven up there,

so to speak,

is not the final

destination.

It's a layover.

The final heaven

is here.

As Revelation 21,

3 prophesies,

behold,

the dwelling place

of God

is with man.

He will dwell

with them

and they will be

his people

and God himself

will be with them

as their God.

The ultimate heaven

is not us

with God

over there,

but God

with us.

Heaven will come down

and we will have

heaven on earth.

And Paul

writes about this

in 1 Corinthians 15,

in a moment,

in a twinkling of an eye

at the last trumpet,

for the trumpet

will sound

and the dead

will be raised

imperishable

and we shall be changed.

For this perishable body

must put on

the imperishable

and this mortal body

must put on

immortality.

Our perishable bodies

will be raised

imperishable.

Our dishonorable bodies

will be raised

honorable.

Our inglorious bodies

will be raised

glorious.

Our weak bodies

will be raised

in power.

All our infirmities

and imperfections

that we experience

in this life

will be gone.

Right?

Just think about that

and the implication

of the resurrection

of the body

also is the renewal

of the entire creation,

of course,

as Romans 8,

21 and 23 suggest.

So think about that

for a moment.

That means,

personally,

my mother,

who has debilitating

chronic arthritis,

will be able

to use her hands again

and be able

to run again.

Right?

That means

the blind people

who never got

to see

and behold

the beauties

of this colorful world,

the Grand Canyon,

Van Gogh's painting,

the flowers,

human beings,

they will see again.

and it will be

infinitely more beautiful

than the world

that he missed.

That means

the deaf

who never got

to relish

Mozart's

unforgettable melodies,

never got to hear

the chirping of birds

in the morning

or the waves

crashing over the rocks,

they will hear again.

That means

the anosmic

who is not able

to smell

the pleasing aroma

of roasting coffee beans,

or fresh baked bread

coming out

of the oven,

they will smell

things

that they

could never imagine.

People inflicted

with agusia

can't taste anything.

They have not tasted

the salty

unami

of chicken noodle soup

or that

bittersweetness

of chocolate.

They will taste

truly heavenly food.

And even

for those of us

who don't have

any physical disabilities,

I mean,

I'm speculating here,

but we only see

a spectrum,

like limited range

of things

that other creatures

hear and see,

right?

I wonder

whether we'll see

all of that.

Can you imagine

the beauties

that lie behind

the possibilities?

You see,

the resurrection

of the body

and heaven

coming down

to earth

means that

we can have hope

even when we have

the most dull

and boring life

right now,

even when those of us

who maybe some of you

have never left

your hometown,

you've always been here,

you've never seen

the world.

Even for those of you,

those people

in other parts

of the world

that live in

war-torn regions

where they're persecuted

for their faith,

all of us

are going to live again.

And that time

and that life,

we're going to have

eternity

to enjoy

and to bask

in everything

glorious

that God has created.

It's going to be new.

And this resurrection

also imbues

everything we do

with such meaning

and infinite worth,

doesn't it?

Right?

Because if heaven

is going to invade

the earth,

then what we do

on earth matters.

Right?

This life

is not the end,

it's practice,

it's like rehearsal

for that next life,

that is coming.

It prepares us

for a resurrection life.

So whether your job

is to translate languages

or to create softwares

or to raise kids

or to sell products

or to clean streets

and houses,

you're enhancing

the beauties

and glories

of this earth

and you're adding

to the culture

of humanity

and you're improving

the lot of humanity

and your work,

everything that you,

every sweat,

every day that you shed,

everything you expend

for God's glory

will come to full fruition

in that life.

Nothing you do

for the Lord

will be wasted.

And we'll have eternity

to make friendships,

realize our dreams.

That's why I think

the bucket list mentality

doesn't make any sense

for the Christian.

Right?

That makes sense

if this is all we have.

But no,

we're going to have

this life again

and it's going to be better.

Eternity

to discover new things

about God's world

and about God

to get to know people,

love people,

to enjoy all that is true,

noble,

beautiful,

lovely,

good,

and excellent.

Heaven on earth

is going to be awesome.

And I hope

it captures your imagination

because that's going to change

how you live.

So Jesus is here

making an amazing promise.

He's the resurrection

and the life.

And then Jesus,

to prove this

audacious claim,

raises Lazarus

from the dead.

Verse 39,

He says,

take away the stone.

But Martha

objects

and you see here

her unbelief.

Lord,

sorry to break this to you,

but by this time

there will be

an order

for he has been dead

four days.

And Jesus

admonishes her

in verse 40,

did I not tell you

that if you believed

you would see

the glory

of God?

And then he prays

a prayer of thanksgiving

to his father

and he bellows out,

he says in a loud voice,

Lazarus,

come out.

And incredibly,

even the dead body

recognizes

the voice of its creator,

the author of life,

and it springs back

to life.

And in verse 44,

he says,

the man who had died,

remember,

notice how it doesn't

say Lazarus,

it says the sister

of the dead man,

because to emphasize

that he was really dead,

he says again,

the man who had died

came out,

his hands and feet

bound with linen strips

and his face

wrapped with a cloth.

And you can still

visit his tomb

in the West Bank.

The Palestinian territory

within Israel,

the town has now

been renamed

by the Muslims

who lived there

as Al-Azaria

after Lazarus.

God reveals

the glory

of the Son of God

through our suffering

and death

and also through

our resurrection

and life.

And then finally,

also in Jesus'

death

and resurrection.

Because,

you see,

what Jesus is doing here

presents a big,

seemingly insurmountable

theological problem.

because Romans 6.23

teaches that the wages

of sin

is death.

That's the proper wage

of sin.

It is death.

And Lazarus

is a sinner.

And we're all sinners.

Then how can Jesus

offer us

resurrection

and the life?

What we deserve

is death.

That's the proper wage

of sin.

How can God,

who is the righteous

judge and ruler,

let the wicked

roam free?

Imagine a drunk driver

rams into your

parked car.

He could feel

really sorry,

but that doesn't

really make up

for it,

does it?

He could go to court

and the judge

might unexplainably

pardon him,

but that still

doesn't make up

for it,

does it?

Somebody has

to pay the cost.

It's either

going to be him

or you're going

to have to absorb

the cost

of the damages.

Who is going

to absorb

the cost

of sin?

It's death.

Who is going

to absorb that?

And we see hints

of this

throughout the passage.

Now backtrack

with me for a moment

to verses 9 and 10

because when Jesus

tells his disciples

that they're going

back to Judea

and they object

and sensibly

they object to this

saying,

look,

do you not remember

they were just

trying to kill you

right there?

So what do you mean

let's go back

to Judea?

And Jesus says this,

are there not

12 hours in the day?

If anyone walks

in the day

he does not stumble

because he sees

the light of this world.

But if anyone

walks in the night

he stumbles

because the light

is not in him.

So walking

in the day

represents the time

when Jesus

is with his disciples

because he's the light

of the world.

But his mention

of the night

when the light

is not with them

suggests a night

that is coming.

And in fact

it is coming

very soon

and this night

represents the time

in the absence

of the light

of the world

the intervening time

between Jesus' ascension

and the Holy Spirit's descent.

That time

that period

that the ministry

does not go forward.

And then so

Jesus says

that the night

is

Jesus hints

that the night

is coming

and it's coming

very soon

because this is

the last

and climactic miracle

that Jesus

performs

before his death.

And so

Thomas speaks

better than he knows

when he says

in verse 16

let us also go

that we may die

with him.

Jesus is going

to die.

And the presence

of many Jews

right in verses

18 to 9

he said that

there were many

Jews there

mourning the death

of Lazarus.

Right?

And that's

also alarming

and it points

to what's going

to happen later

because Jesus

is going to become

so popular

after this

and so many people

are going to be

following and

believing him.

This last miracle

becomes

and the witnessing

of the many Jews

that were there

is going to become

the last straw

that breaks

the camel's back.

It's going to

finally

bring the Jewish

leaders'

patience to its end

and they're going

to deliberately

start to plan

to kill Jesus

after this.

So all of these

are pointing

and finally

this final sign

is in verse

33

because it tells us

not only that

Jesus was indignant

in his spirit

it also says

that he was

greatly troubled

and that's the word

that's used

later in 1227

and 1321

to say that

Jesus was troubled

in his spirit

as he contemplated

his death.

So as Jesus

is indignant

at the death

and the sorrow

and the suffering

of his people

he is also troubled

by what that entails

because the only way

he can raise them

from the dead now

to promise them

the resurrection

and the life now

is for him

to later pay

the price

for him

to die

so he's troubled

in his spirit

because

in order to kill death

he who is the resurrection

and the life

must die

then

the curse

will be reversed

and because

Jesus

is the resurrection

and the life

none of us

can find

resurrection

and life

anywhere else

so if you're not

a believer

here with us

this morning

you have to remember

you cannot find

that life

you cannot find

that resurrection

apart from him

you must

turn to him

there is no alternative

and if you are

already a Christian

you've entrusted

your life

to Jesus

then let me

encourage you

to daily

seek him

and grow

in your love

for him

because as we've

talked about

how you love him

and pursue him

in this life

is going

to matter

in the next life

this was hard

for you to understand

for a while

and I think

maybe a couple

illustrations

might be helpful

for you

imagine a sprinter

he's an Olympic

sprinter

he's dedicated

his entire life

to that one race

he's subordinated

his relationships

his routines

all of it

so that he can

win that race

and finally

the day has come

and he races

and his body

is prepared

for this

he's got air

in his lungs

he sprints

and he's faster

than anybody else

and he crosses

that finish line

and just tears

streaming down

his face

I'm sure you guys

have seen this

if you've seen

the Olympics

because of

the reward

of all that

commitment

all that sacrifice

all that dedication

just now floods him

as he's rewarded

that joy

now imagine

in contrast

that I somehow

by a stroke of luck

or a miracle

by God

won that Olympic race

now

I'm going to be happy

sure

but I'm not going to have

that joy

that gratification

that satisfaction

that that Olympic sprinter

who dedicated his life

to that race

will have

do you understand

what I'm saying

think about it

this way

an alternative way

think about someone

you love

really

a lot

you love very much

and then imagine

having to be separated

from that person

for a long time

so you have your

regular

you know

phone calls

and Skype dates

but everyday

you pine

to be with that person

and

imagine

the day finally comes

when you're reunited

with that person

you run

into each other's

arms

you embrace

and tears

streaming down

your face

because you love

that person

you're reunited

with that person

and now

contrast that

imagine

that

you're separated

from a friend

that you like

but I mean

you don't care

too much

and then you

finally reunite

I mean

hey

that's good

to see you

you know

but there isn't

that love

the joy

the expectation

heaven's going

to be similar

remember the greatest

commandment of our Lord

is to love him

with all our heart

soul mind

and strength

and every Christian

will be rewarded

every one of us

every Christian

will be rewarded

with perfect union

with Christ

and through him

perfect fellowship

with the triune God

and we will each

be fully satisfied

in our

respective

capacities

but our capacities

for enjoying

the glories

and the beauties

of Christ

are not going

to be the same

because that depends

on how we loved him

and served him

in this life

there's some of you

here

just the thought

of being reunited

with Christ

brings you to tears

and there's some

of you

who really haven't

thought about it

too much

it's going to matter

that's what

2 Corinthians 5

10 implies

for we must all

stand before Christ

to be judged

and we will each

receive whatever

we deserve

for the good

or evil

we have done

in this earthly body

everything we do

in this earthly body

will matter

and God will repay

as we deserve

1 Corinthians 3

13-15

is even more specific

it says that

on the judgment day

fire will reveal

what kind of work

each builder

has done

the fire will show

if a person's work

has any value

if the work survives

that builder

will receive a reward

but if the work

is burned up

the builder

will suffer

a great loss

the builder

will be saved

but like someone

barely escaping

through a wall

of flames

there will be a difference

on that final judgment

there will be some

who are saved

but just themselves

with no lasting work

to show God

and there will be some

who are saved

and rewarded

for the work

they have done

Jonathan Edwards

in his book

entitled

Charity and Its Fruits

there's a chapter

in the whole book

at the end

called Heaven

a World of Love

and there he

writes about heaven

and he writes

about this

he says

though all are

perfectly free

from pride

yet as some

will have greater

degrees of divine

knowledge than others

and will have

larger capacities

to see more

of the divine

perfections

so they will see

more of their own

comparative littleness

and nothingness

and therefore

will be the lowest

abased in humility

so we will all

be fully satisfied

in our respective

capacities

and remember

that it's heaven

there's no sin

there's no pride

there's no jealousy

or envy

or comparison

so we are

going to be

perfectly happy

in our own

capacities

but there will

be a difference

in our respective

capacities

to be able

to enjoy God

his glory

and his beauties

so then I urge you

brothers and sisters

if we have no

justification

for complacency

press on

to win the prize

for which God

has called you

heavenward

in Christ Jesus

press in

to follow Jesus

to love him

to pursue him

and the greater

the love

that we have

for him

the more glorious

joyful

and beautiful

that final

blissful union

with him

will be

so let's look forward

to that resurrection

and our life

and live in light

of that day

let me pray for us

God we want

to be people

who are defined

not by

earthly life

fleshy life

but by the life

of the spirit

by resurrection life

so won't you

please

capture our

imaginations

transform

our hearts

affections

so that we

love you

truly more

than anything

else in the world

so that we

truly love you

with all our

heart soul

mind

and strength

so that we

can

so that that

reunion with you

is sweet

help us God

in Jesus name

we pray

amen