Far More
Transcript Search
Notes
Transcript
Today’s Theme
Today’s Theme
Today we have a theme verse.
It is not the passage we will be studying but it
clearly sums up the main truth
you and I should understand from listening to the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead
Four Days Dead!
20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
If you take nothing else away from today's message, remember that God is so powerful that,
He can do
far more,
immeasurably more,
than we can imagine
due to His Power.
Before we turn this morning to John chapter 11 where Lazarus gets sick and dies, we’ll have a little humor.
In Indiana a food stamp office sent out a letter, because they were informed that the person had passed away.
The letter read
Your food stamps will be stopped effective March ....
because we received notice that you passed away.
May God bless you. You may reapply if there is a
change in your condition.
I think what they meant to say is
or should have said was
if the report of your death is incorrect, please notify us immediately.
Just kind of a way of double checking what was reported to them, I assume.
The person was really dead, and some family member got the letter to the local newspaper and the national papers picked it up.
This was in 1992.
Resurrections don’t happen every day of the week.
The gospels only record three Resurrections done by Jesus
The raising of the widow’s son at Nain Luke chapter 7:11-17
The raising of Jairus daughter Mark 5:21-43.
The raising of Larzarus John 11:1-44.
Waiting for Death
Waiting for Death
Our text today in in John chapter 11 starting at verse one where Jesus is informed that his friend Lazarus was sick,
Sick enough that they wanted Jesus help.
Let’s begin reading at verse 1
1 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) 3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”
Mary and Martha have been mentioned in other places in the gospels and we learn of their brother, Jesus friend with this urgent letter for help.
Does Jesus love Lazarus?
Does he care about Lazarus?
The sisters believe so.
4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, 7 and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”
Now this passage is curious, because it says in verse 5
john11.5
5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
But it also says
6 So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days,
That doesn’t seem to make sense,
Some people, who don’t want Jesus as their Lord and Savior might just hang onto that passage as a reason
not to like Jesus but there is something else going on here
That will bring Glory
Fame and a whole lot of attention to Jesus Christ, God’s son.
Attention the he previously avoided
as much as possible.
We get our first description of this in verse 4
John 11:4 (NIV)
4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”
There is a higher purpose going on here that will ultimately help convince many, many more people that JESUS IS THE CHRIST!
So after 2 days, Jesus said
“let us go back to Judea”
The trouble with going back to Judea is that things got pretty hot there the last time, specifically in Jerusalem which is only about 2 miles from Bethany, the town of Mary, Martha and Lazarus.
The disciples, not knowing how this all fits into the Lords time table, are not too keen on the idea, and they say
8 “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?”
They probably counted themselves very lucky to have survived their last trip to Jerusalem.
I don’t blame them for being reluctant, but listen to Jesus reply
9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. 10 It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.”
As long as Jesus is with them, it is the day
it is the season of His ministry and
Jesus is not going to die, until the appointed time by the Father
Premature, stumbling and falling won’t happen until it’s night,
when Jesus is taken away from them.
John 11:11–12 (NIV)
11 After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”
12 His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.”
So now Jesus is explaining that it is time for him to go help Lazarus.
Jesus says
The New International Version Chapter 11
Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”
Generally speaking, when a persons fever breaks and they get a good night sleep, they are on the mend,
they will get better but Jesus was using sleep as a euphemism for death.
To this day, that is one of the ways we refer to death:
sleep
final rest
Paul also talks about death as gone to sleep in the Lord
13 Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.
So death is often gently referred to as sleep but
we know that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord
As Paul said to the Corinthians in his second letter
6 Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 For we live by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
So it doesn’t sound like the dead are actually sleeping, until Christ return.
More on that another time.
But we know from scriptures that to be apart from the body, is to be present with Christ, that’s
13 Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.
14 So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”
So Lazarus is dead and
for some mysterious reason
that will bring God Glory and help Jesus disciples believe more firmly
Jesus is glad that he was not there,
was not around to be asked to heal Lazarus before he died.
And Thomas, doubting Thomas as he has been called responds
16 Then Thomas (also known as Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
To some, this is an example of Thomas’s gloomy disposition but
Look at his dedication to Christ.
Thomas, expects this trip will end in death,
and he is the first one to stand up with Jesus and take this trip.
Good Job Thomas.
Things didn’t happen exactly as he predicted but he did make a courageous step of faithfulness to Jesus Christ, and we should honor that.
The Resurrection and the Life
The Resurrection and the Life
Nothing is recorded in John’s gospel about the trip to Bethany.
The narrative picks up arriving there.
17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, 19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
So, they are 2 miles from Jerusalem and
many Jews have come to pay their respects, to morn with, the comfort Mary and Martha.
And Martha is not happy with Jesus.
she blurts out
The New International Version Chapter 11
“if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
They both know that is true.
If he had been there in time, he could have healed Lazarus and saved him from death.
We know that Jesus really didn’t have to travel at all,
Jesus could have just said the words be healed and Lazarus would have been healed
but that level of faith was rare,
the Centurian had that level of faith
One other man in the galilee area had that level of faith, took Jesus word and went back home but for Mary and Martha
they thought Jesus had to be there to heal Lazarus and had hoped he would come riding in like a pony express rider to heal him.
But the Father had a higher purpose, for Jesus to do an astounding miracle, in a very populated area, just prior to
the triumphal entry
the week of cleansing the temple and special teachings
the week where Jesus died on the Cross for you and me.
Martha also said something very profound, but she didn’t realize just how profound.
She said
The New International Version Chapter 11
22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
She is saying, even now Jesus has the healing power to save people at deaths door like her brother was at.
Even now he could save someone else’s brother or sister
The fact is Jesus can and will that day do far more then Martha or Mary could have hoped for or imagined with their brother 4 days in the grave.
23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
So Martha believed in the resurrection at the end of days
but Jesus was talking about today
TODAY HER BROTHER LAZARUS WOULD RISE AGAIN!
Amen? Amen!
On that day of Judgement that Martha was referring to,
The dead in Christ will see Jesus as their resurrector and
those alive will see him as their source of life.
Martha believed Jesus was God’s only son, the messiah
Now Martha goes to bring or send Mary to Jesus.
Jesus weeps
Jesus weeps
The heading is a little early yet.
but skipping down to
32 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 charge.
They both believed in Jesus and his power but they were both disappointed,
that he had not come a running to save Lazarus.
They had no idea that a bigger miracle was coming.
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked.
“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.
35 Jesus wept.
36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
illus: I'm embarrassed to watch movies with others these days,
because some events touch me much more then they would have in the past,
I try to hold the emotions in and these
deep body shaking sobs come out of me
and I just want to go hide until it’s over.
And there is Jesus
Just about to be the hero and Resurrect Lazarus from the dead
four days dead.
He should be smiling and happy
But the heartache around him was more than he could bare,
and he wept.
35 Jesus wept.
the shortest bible verse to memorize
Jesus wept.
I’m glad HE WEPT
I’m glad our Lord
The King of the Universe knows how to feel pain with us
As it says in Hebrew
15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.
People saw Jesus weeping, but some continued the ladies complaint
Couldn’t he have saved Lazarus
They don’t know the higher purpose
the bigger healing that is about to happen
Jesus Raises Lazarus
Jesus Raises Lazarus
Here comes the big moment,
the tension is mounting
38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “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.”
40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
Wouldn’t that be shocking, to have someone want to see the body after 4 days without embalming?
Only Jesus knew what he was about to do.
For everyone else, it most have been horrifying
You want us to do WHAT!
REMOVE THE STONE!
I can picture many Many people objecting to this but Jesus insisted and for some reason
they obeyed.
41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 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.”
43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”
How long did it take for Lazarus to get up and hoble out to the entrance of his tomb.
It must have seemed like decades to those watching
It must have been an agonising time
Has the teacher gone nuts
And then their was Lazarus
Big as Life
there was Lazarus
and Jesus said
44 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.”
WOW
That must have been earth shattering news.
Can you picture people running to tell others
He’s Alive
Lazarus was dead but he is alive
that Jesus guy did it.
Lazarus is alive.
And something like that must have happend.
How many people would have been convinced that Jesus was the messiah if he had only healed a sick man?
How many were now deciding Jesus really is the Messiah
with Lazarus raised from the dead after 4 days?
45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.
But the next verse shows that not everyone rejoiced at this great miracle
46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.
“What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”
Let me ask you,
Looking at Jesus work in our passage, our bible story today
Has Jesus shown that the Father and the Son can do immeasurably more than we could ask or imagine?
Yes he has.
We could tale a minute and reflect on suffering, everybody suffers or feels they suffer in various was and depths.
Why do we suffer?
sometimes, it’s the consequences of our poor choices
sometimes, it’s just a part of being a human being
the rain fall on the just and the unjust.
sometimes, it’s because, God has a higher purpose.
I’m sorry Lazarus had to die,
4 days later, he got his life back and many many more people chose to believe in christ because of Jesus healed Lazarus
after he died.
Dying with love and dignity,
dying with thanksgiving to god for the good things in our lives
is something beautiful, while tragic.
Dying with hate and mallice
bitterness and slander
is not a pretty picture.
But we don’t want to start another sermon now.
Please stand and receive the benedictions.
20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Have a Blessed Day!