He is the Resurrection and the Life!

He is the Resurrection and the Life!

John 11:38-46

Introduction: The miracle in today’s Scripture, the raising of Lazarus, was the apex of the “signs” done by Jesus in the first half of John, only to be eclipsed by Jesus’ own death and resurrection. There was no room for doubt. Only God could do this! This sign would be compelling, uncontestable evidence of the presence and power of God in Christ. It would also reveal historically the truth that Jesus spoke of in the parable of the Rich Man and (another!) Lazarus, Luke 16:19-31,,,

" There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. 20 "But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, 21 "desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 "So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 "And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 "Then he cried and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.' 25 "But Abraham said, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. 26 'And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.' 27 "Then he said, 'I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father's house, 28 'for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.' 29 "Abraham said to him, 'They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.' 30 "And he said, 'No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' 31 "But he said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.' "

We see that very truth lived our here in this passage in John. The evidence in incontrovertible – a man rose from the dead – still the leaders refuse to consider the implications of the sign. The Big Idea: Jesus is working in our lives for our good, seeking to help us see more of His glory. The Context: The Perplexity extends to the onlookers in 11:37. It’s clear that Jesus loved Lazarus, He wept at his graveside! Could not this miracle worker have intervened for his friend? They were perplexed, it didn’t make sense. And the request Jesus was about to make didn’t make sense to Martha.

I. But Jesus wants us to trust Him even when life doesn’t make sense (11:38-39).

“Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39 Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days." Martha seems to want to “inform” Jesus of the reality of the situation, almost as though he didn’t have all the facts! Martha has just made a tremendous declaration of faith “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” She seemed to say she believed anything was possible, perhaps even hinting, though hesitant to ask, that Jesus could raise Lazarus when she says in v.22 “But even now I know whatever you ask of God, God will give you…” And yet, as Jesus gives instruction to roll back the stone she feels compelled to explain the situation to Him. Proverbs 3:5,6 was one of the first passages of Scripture I memorized as a new Christian (I almost said “learned,” but in reality I still learning to live it out!). “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on you own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.” Martha said she believed Jesus, yet now as He told her to do something that was impossible, she hesitated, doubted, was unsure if Jesus had taken into account all the variables—after all it was four days! Martha said, “I believe!” But when Jesus said “Roll back the stone,” she hesitated. Did Jesus understand what He was asking? Did he take into account the reality of the situation? I have a cross stitch frame in my office that Mary Ann made for me, that is a reflection on the benediction in Ephesians 3:20,21, where it says,

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

The cross stitch references those verses and says, “If you knew that you couldn’t fail, what would you do for the glory of God?” If it is done for His glory we can’t fail, not in terms of eternity. First of all, God can do anything. The messenger told Sarah that truth when she laughed at the idea of having a child in her old age… The angel spoke to Mary who didn’t understand how she, an unmarried virgin, could give birth to the Messiah. And Jesus will reveal that truth to Martha and Mary and all those who will witness the raising of Lazarus. It’s easy to trust Jesus when things develop according to our plans and expectations. But what about when life seems to lead us on an unexpected course? Are you going through a season where things are happening that don’t make sense, are you willing to trust Him? Is He leading you to do something that seems beyond your capacity? Will you trust Him with all your heart, and lean not on your own understands? *** Jesus is working in our lives for our good, seeking to help us see more of His glory.

II. Jesus wants us to believe Him so we can perceive the glory of God (11:40).

In John 11:40 Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" As he wrote this gospel, some decades after the events described, John, by then an old man, could look back and say “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14). For [Jesus] the “glory of God” was the most important thing. This means that the real meaning of who He was and what He would do would be accessible only by faith. All who were there, believers or not, would see the miracle, but seeing is not necessarily believing. Jesus is promising Martha a sight of the glory. The crowd would see the miracle, but only believers would perceive its real significance, the glory. What a privilege! Moses had asked to see God’s glory (Ex 33) but would only be allowed a “glance” of it as God put him in the cleft of a rock and put his hand over him as He passed by. As great as he was Moses wasn’t allowed to see the glory of God. Jesus’ disciples on the other hand got to see His glory in the signs. It all started in Cana, in Galilee, at a Wedding when the wine ran out too soon. Jesus turned water into wine, John 2:11 “…This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.” They didn’t understand a lot at that point, but the Light was shining in the darkness, and they were beginning to see the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in face of Christ Jesus… (2 Cor 4:6b). ***Jesus is working in our lives for our good, seeking to help us see more of His glory.

III. Jesus wants us to pray to the Father in Faith, knowing that He hears and answers in the way that is best for us.

Prayer is an indispensable resource as we navigate life in a fallen world (11:41-42).

“Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 42 "And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me."

It is interesting to note that we frequently see Jesus praying in the Bible. In John 17 we are going to see a fairly extensive prayer of Jesus as he anticipates his departure and prays for his disciples and for “those who would believe through their testimony” (that’s us, and every other New Testament believer!). If Jesus, God the Son, felt prayer was important, how much more should we be devoted to prayer. A couple of observations: Jesus prayed to God his “Father” – Obviously John is making it very clear that Jesus has a unique relationship with the Father. That can encourage us since there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. He prays for us, and you can know beyond question that the Father always hears and answers Him. Yet it is also true that “As many as received Him to them gave he the right (power) to become children of God…” We can go to Him, praying to Abba, Father, knowing that He knows us intimately, and He loves us, and is longing to hear from us. The prayer here is a prayer of thanksgiving, expressing full assurance that God has heard and answered his prayer, just as surely as He always did. As we pray according to the will of God we can have that same assurance. He hears. He will answer. Mary understood that the Father heard Jesus prayers. Remember John 11:22

"But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You."

But what about us? In the upper room Jesus will teach his disciples much about prayer. For example:

John 14:13-14 13 "And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 "If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

John 15:7-8 7 "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 "By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

John 16:23-24 23 "And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. 24 "Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

***As we learn to pray and seek God in prayer we learn that…

IV. Jesus wants us to experience His glorious power which promises victory over sin and death (11:43-44).

“Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!" 44 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go."

It’s a pattern that is established soon after the fall, “…and then he died…” The Bible itself says “It is appointed unto man once to die, after this the judgment…” The good news is that whereas “In Adam all die” so also “in Christ all shall be made alive…” It’s in Jesus that we can have eternal life, the abundant, everlasting life of blessing He purchased for us. Martha and Mary understood that, but here Jesus does a miracle, a sign, raising Lazarus to life, because it served his purpose—He was graciously revealing something about himself, who he is, showing his power, his divine nature. A preliminary “glimpse” of the promise of life in Him. He did it because He loved them, for their good, and for ours… By the way, the same power that called Lazarus from the tomb is at work in you if you have trusted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. You were dead in your trespasses and sin. He made you alive, by grace, through faith, unto good works which God ordained beforehand (Eph 2:1-10). *** Jesus is working in our lives for our good, seeking to help us see more of His glory.

V. Signs, Faith, and Unbelief (11:45-46).

Here we read about the response to this sign: “Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him. 46 But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did.” Though the evidence is clear most people refuse to believe. This was the mountain top, the apex of the “signs” that Jesus did which were recorded in the first part of John’s Gospel. It would only be transcended by the death and resurrection of Jesus himself. And yes, many saw and believed. Some however, went away to the Pharisees and told them the things that Jesus did. There is an intentional contrast here, they weren’t trying to share the good news with the Pharisees. They were “reporting” the story, knowing they were watching Jesus. This is an example of what we read in John 3:18-19

18 "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 "And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”

What is God saying to me in this passage? Jesus is working in our lives for our good, seeking to help us see more of His glory. As you read this story, do you see the glory of God?

What would God have me to do in response to this passage?

Jesus proved that He is the resurrection and the life. The Light has shined in the darkness. Have you seen the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus? As surely as He raised Lazarus to life, He has done the same for you—you were dead, in Him you have life! Consider His work, see His glory, walk with Him in new life! Amen.