OUR ONLY TRIUMPH OVER DEATH
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
-The video showed a lady whose culture was steeped in Buddhist beliefs. Although, from a Christian standpoint there are many things wrong with Buddhism, what SHE pointed out was that it did nothing to prepare her for life’s biggest problem which left her with a great sense of fear and foreboding—and that problem is death.
~Buddhism did nothing to prepare her to die or give her any hope of what to expect—she could find no peace about the subject of death until she trusted in Jesus Christ
-Death is definitely not a peaceful subject to talk about or deal with for anybody—it is not generally a subject that we start discussing at dinner parties; we don’t go out on dates and start talking about death with the man or woman we are trying to impress; we don’t talk about death in the middle of business meetings
~It’s just not a comfortable subject to bring up
-Even we conservative, evangelical Christians with our personal relationship with Christ have a tendency to either avoid the subject like the plague or we try to use humor to ease the tensions of the subject
-But we need to be able to rightly handle this subject because it is an inevitable subject—we all have had loved ones who have died and all of us are going to die. That is an inescapable fact.
~But the subject does not have to be uncomfortable for the Christian. It is not something we need to avoid. It is not something we need to tell jokes about to make it easier. It is a subject we can hit head-on and even come to a sense of peace and hope in spite of it. And that is possible because of Jesus Christ, who alone is our only hope of triumph over death.
-In the passage that we are looking at today (in John 11), Jesus had gotten news that His friend Lazarus was sick, but Jesus did not immediately go to attend to him or the family. He had something even more important in mind that would give Him and the Father glory.
~Lazarus died, and now Jesus goes to Bethany to attend to the family and to perform what is the last great miracle recorded in the gospel of John. But before He performs that miracle, He has an important discussion with Martha that reveals the identity and power of Jesus.
-What Jesus reveals about Himself is that, even though death is a present reality, He offers the only means of triumphing over it. And my prayer is that this leads us to run to Jesus for comfort when loved ones die and to trust in Jesus so that we too triumph over death.
17 Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.
18 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off,
19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother.
20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house.
21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.”
23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,
26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”
-How do we approach the subject of death from a Christian worldview—what has Jesus accomplished that allows us to triumph? Let’s look at the passage and consider the overall theology of death.
(1) Death is a reality because of sin
(1) Death is a reality because of sin
-First, I want us to consider why Lazarus died to begin with; and, by extension, why is death something that we have to deal with?
~The answer to that is found in the book of Genesis (that we don’t need to turn to, but I will summarize it)—in Genesis 2 God created man and woman, placed them in the garden He created, and gave them one simple rule: eat fruit from any tree except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and gives this dire warning: IN THE DAY THAT YOU EAT OF IT YOU SHALL SURELY DIE
-In Genesis 3 the devil shows up and tempts Eve by lying and twisting God’s words, so she disobeys and eats from that forbidden tree and Adam (who was right there with her) also eats.
~But they didn’t physically die on the spot. Instead, what happened, is that they immediately spiritually died, but then the physical decaying process began and physical death became an inevitability
-In short, because of sin, because of their rebellion against God’s words and standards, death was introduced into the human race. Adam and Eve’s nature changed such that now spiritually they had the inclination toward sin and physically they would decay which leads unto death.
~And this nature of theirs is passed down to all of their descendants (which is all of us)—we are born spiritually dead, we have a natural inclination toward sin, and we physically die
-Lazarus was no exception. Lazarus was probably a good guy. He was a friend of Jesus. Nevertheless, he was born with the sin nature, he personally committed sins, he was separated from God without Jesus, and he could die.
~All of us are born with a sin nature, we personally commit sins, we are lost and separated from God without a Savior (who is Jesus Christ) and we also will physically die…
(2) Grief is a natural reaction to death
(2) Grief is a natural reaction to death
-It says in our passage that Mary and Martha, Lazarus’ sisters, needed consolation. They were grieving, and it indicates that many Jews came to them at their house to comfort them in their grief.
-You have to consider this—Mary and Martha knew Jesus about as well as anybody. You can tell by Martha’s confessions in this passage that she had a good grasp on who Jesus was and what He could do. At minimum she knew that He could have healed Lazarus, and she may have held out hope for more.
~But even with the knowledge that Jesus could do all of that, it was still natural for her to grieve. In grief there is a recognition that there is something inherently wrong with death—that it ought not have a place in the world.
-And we know that later in the chapter that even Jesus Himself wept. Jesus knew what He was going to do in raising Lazarus up, and Jesus knew what He would accomplish with His own death and resurrection. Yet, even Jesus grieved.
~Why? Because death was not an original intention for creation. He wept because of the awful consequences of sin. He wept because of the pain that death causes.
-And so, with that in mind, I don’t ever want us to think or to let someone tell us that Christians shouldn’t grieve over death. Just because we have the right theology and have all the Bible in our heads that knows that Jesus triumphs over death doesn’t mean we shouldn’t grieve.
~Death is something that God Himself grieves over—why wouldn’t we? So, don’t ever berate yourself or let anyone else berate you when you grieve over someone’s death. Even knowing the end result, grief is natural because we know death is not natural to God’s creation…
(3) Run to Jesus with our experience of grief
(3) Run to Jesus with our experience of grief
-When Martha hears that Jesus has come to the area, she runs out to Him—she tells Him that she knows if He had been there Lazarus wouldn’t have died. This is not a guilt trip that she is laying on Him but is just a statement about what she knows is true about Jesus.
~She had seen Jesus heal others and she had heard about Jesus healing others and raising others from the dead. Martha may not have gotten a grasp on everything about Jesus, but she knew that her only source of help would come from Jesus.
-And so, she continues by saying that she also knows God will hear Jesus and give Jesus whatever He asks for. This may be a slight plea to raise Lazarus from the dead. But at minimum this is Martha baring her soul saying that in this time of grief she has no one else to turn to. She ran out to Jesus with a full confidence that Jesus alone could give her help.
-If all she needed was some worn out clichés or the platitudes of other weak humans, she would have stayed in the house with the Jews who came to console her. But Martha knew that mere human consolation would not sustain her in her grief. So, she ran to Jesus with confidence that even if He didn’t heal Lazarus or raise Lazarus, Jesus was still who she needed.
-And so, in our grief, other human beings can only do so much. When death has come into our lives, only Jesus has what we need for the healing of our spirits and comfort to our souls. So, we run to Him.
(4) Bodily resurrection is a theological certainty
(4) Bodily resurrection is a theological certainty
-Although the promise of bodily resurrection at the end of the world is a little more subtle in the Old Testament, nevertheless it is there. In Job 19, Job confidently says that he will see God in the flesh. In Daniel 12 there is the promise that those who have fallen asleep (a picture of death) shall awake and rise out of the dust of the earth. So, the Jews had the concept of a resurrection, even though there was disagreement among the religious leaders—the Pharisees believed in the resurrection while the Sadducees did not.
-But in our passage, Jesus tells Martha that her brother would rise again. And Martha immediately thinks He is talking about the general resurrection on the last day where believers are raised unto life and unbelievers are raised unto eternal death.
~And you notice that Jesus doesn’t correct her. So, when He said her brother would rise there may have been a double meaning—Jesus was about to raise him from the dead then and there, but then at the end of the world Jesus would raise Lazarus from the dead again.
-This is where our hope lies—our resurrection from the dead in Jesus Christ. Those who have trusted in Christ and His death on the cross for their sins and in His own resurrection will be raised never to die again.
~According to Revelation, though, those who have not believed are raised only to be thrown into the lake of fire that is described as the second death
~Hence, there is the cliché, when you are born twice you die once, but if you are born only once you die twice.
-So, Jesus, with the raising of Lazarus right then, would give a taste of this reality—believers will rise unto eternal life. And I believe this is picture in 1 Thessalonians. Although several teachers think that this passage refers to a rapture before a tribulation period, it is talking about the resurrection:
13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.
14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.
16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
18 Therefore encourage one another with these words. (1 Thess. 4:13-18 ESV)
-At the end, Jesus will resurrect the dead believers and give them new bodies, and then He will resurrect the believers still alive on the earth and give them new bodies and that is how they will exist for all eternity.
~This is the promise—death doesn’t have the final say. Death doesn’t have the victory. Believers in Jesus Christ will triumph over death…
(5) Jesus alone is the source of life
(5) Jesus alone is the source of life
-Jesus is the source of life physically (as John 1:3 reminds us that all things were made through Him and without Him was not any thing made that was made), but He is the source of spiritual life as well.
-Look at vv. 25-26
25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,
26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. …
(Jn. 11:25-26 ESV)
-Resurrection and life are only possible because of Jesus. Resurrection and life are bound to His person and nature
~You notice He starts the phrase saying I AM—Jesus is making a revelation of His identity. John records several I AM statements of Jesus which point to the fact that Jesus is the great I AM of Exodus. He is fully God in nature and existence which is why He is the resurrection and life
-Before this passage Jesus revealed Himself, saying: I AM the bread of life … light of the world … the door for the sheep … the good shepherd—revealing His nature as God
-Here again, He alone as God has life bound up within Himself—apart from Jesus there is no life
~But for this life to have its effect, death has to be conquered—in order to have life, there has to be a triumph over death
-By Jesus Himself dying on the cross for the forgiveness of sin, and then raising from the dead, He did what was necessary to take power away from death and give the necessary life.
~Death is a consequence of sin—by His own death He took that consequence; He raised Himself from the dead, thereby He has the power of resurrection—therefore, He is the resurrection and life such that even if we physically die, we will still live
This is born out through several Scriptures:
8 He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken. (Isa. 25:8 ESV)
26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. (1 Cor. 15:26 ESV)
54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory."
55 "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?"
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Cor. 15:54-57 ESV)
18 [I am] the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. (Rev. 1:18 ESV)
-Death is not in control. Jesus is in control, and He triumphs over death…
(6) We triumph over death by faith in Jesus
(6) We triumph over death by faith in Jesus
-Since Jesus is the one that triumphs over death, we then join in that triumph when we join ourselves to Christ by faith and repentance
-After making this amazing statement about being the resurrection and life, Jesus asks Martha if she believes it, and she replies in v. 27:
"Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world." (Jn. 11:27 ESV)
-Jesus said believers in Him would never die, and Martha says that she believes everything He has revealed about Himself—therefore that means Martha will never die.
-Now, when Jesus says that believers will never die, He obviously does not mean that they will not die physically (Martha physically died)—but whoever believes in Jesus Christ will not die spiritually and will be raised unto everlasting life
~Although it does not specifically state it, the inverse is also true=whoever does not believe in Jesus will spiritually die because that is the consequence of sin
-But when it talks about believing here and elsewhere in the Bible, it is not merely having some sort of intellectual assent to certain facts or truths—it is not merely believing that in history Jesus was born of a virgin and in history He died on a cross and in history He rose from the dead
-Biblical belief is a trust—you know you have no other options to defeat sin and defeat death==Jesus is all you have, so you thrust yourself upon His mercies and submit yourself to His authority as God
-Jesus says that when you do that—you accept Him for who He revealed Himself to be and accept His death and resurrection on your behalf, then you join Him in His triumph over death
Conclusion
Conclusion
-So, in short, the only comfort I have for you about the subject of death is that in Jesus Christ you can triumph.
-You know, as a pastor, I have done many funerals over the years. When I do a funeral of a believer the atmosphere is one of grief yet with hope. There is sorrow, and yet there is also comfort.
~But many times I have been asked to do funerals of unbelievers. And the atmosphere is completely different. There is also grief, but it is a grief with no relief in sight. There is a grief and a darkness about a loss that can never be recovered; a death that is permanent.
-But that doesn’t have to be. The Bible tells us that we all die and after that is judgment. In the present world before death you have a chance to completely alter the course of your eternal destiny and have a chance to triumph over death, but it is only by trusting in Christ.
-Maybe you aren’t sure about your destiny after physical death, and maybe you can’t say for sure that you will triumph over death because you never trusted in Christ. I invite you today to receive the resurrection and life found in Jesus. Through Him you will triumph over death instead of death triumphing over you. Come to me during the invitation and believe in Jesus and receive life.
-Maybe as a Christian you fear death. I invite you to come to the altar and ask God to bring you peace and assurance of the great gift of life He has given you.
-Or maybe you are grieving over the loss of a loved one. Come to the altar and run to Jesus who offers you comfort.
-Or maybe you have loved ones who are lost and need this life. Come and pray to God that their hearts would be open to the gospel…
-Or maybe you want to join yourself to a church that preaches the only hope of triumph over death, Jesus Christ….