Lazarus Come Forth!
John 11:1-45
1 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.
Luke 10:38 Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” 41 And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.
2 It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.
This is one of the greatest stories of worship in NT. John is going to tell us this story in our next chapter…
3 Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”
The Greek word translated “love” here is not agape, (unconditional, selfless, sacrificial love) but phileo, which speaks of friendship.
Jesus loved Lazarus with agape love…
But here were told that Jesus loved His friendship with Lazarus!
This is true of you too! Jesus loves His friendship with You!
Jesus is not a distant, loving savior but a loving friend who is closer than a brother. (Proverbs 18:24)
Drive to Washington.
Mountain biking alone
4 When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
In a fallen world… sickness eventually leads to death!
All of us.. either already know OR one day we will know the GRIEF we’re reading about in our story!
5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
Jesus loved them.. this is a FOUNDATIONAL TRUTH.
In hard times we fall back on foundational truth!
Love
Good
Faithful
6 So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.
We would expect to read… Jesus mounted a horse and rode to them as quickly as He could…. that’s what Mary & Martha were hoping… in sending this note to Jesus .
But that’s not what Jesus did…
Jesus stayed two more days in the place where He was.
Jesus had a higher plan then healing a sick Lazarus.
A plan that would bring God glory!
A plan that would cause the Son of God to be glorified.
A plan that would cause the pages of Scripture to speak for 1000’s of years to millions of people of Jesus’ DEITY!
This perspective is so so important for us to have!
Scripture lets our eyes see…what natural man can’t see
Scripture gives us Gods Perspective!
Scripture gives us Gods vantage point.
Scripture reveals God always has an intended end!
Book after book in the Bible… we learn that God is a God who lets BAD things happen to GOOD people.
The Bible speaks, SHOUTS of God’s plan in SUFFERING!
God NEVER allows His people to suffer needlessly!
Isaiah 55:9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.
John 7:6 My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.
Jesus wasn’t letting Mary and Martha suffer needlessly..
7 Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”
8 The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?”
John 10
9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”
Jesus makes it clear that He still had work to do while it was day.. the night for Jesus was coming.
11 These things He said, & after that He said to them, Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.
This is a wonderful truth…Jesus refers to death for the believer as sleep… for the believer death is just like going to sleep and waking up in the presence of the Lord.
To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord
Tragically… for the unbeliever… (We learn in Luke 16)
To be absent from the body is to awake in HELL in torment.
Easter Sunday… INVITE people unsaved to join you.
When is the last time your plead w/ someone?
12 Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.” 13 However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.
14 Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead.
15 And I am glad for your sakes… that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.”
Jesus plan was NOT to heal but to raise Lazarus from the dead…. proving that He was the Son of God!
16 Then Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.”
Church tradition says that Thomas was called the Twin because he looked like Jesus, putting him at special risk.
The disciples all did die! Proof- The resurrection is true!
17 So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days.
18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away. 19 Many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha & Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.
Death brings grief! Tears! Because we are at a loss. Martha & Mary had been weeping for the last 4 days (Dad)
20 Now Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went & met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house.
21 Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.
Why? Lord we called for you…Why didn’t you come and heal him?
22 But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.”
WOW! Deep Faith- Jesus all you have to do is ask God…
Suffering draws out of us a DEEPER FAITH… then if we were not suffering! WORD
. 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 at the last day.”
. 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.
. 26 And whoever 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 to come into the world.
28 And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, “The Teacher has come and is calling for you.”
29 As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him.
31 Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, “She is going to the tomb to weep there.”
Weeping is a normal and even healthy part of grieving!
32 Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”
So hard to understand… Why? Why didn’t You come?
33 Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.
Jesus ached for her loss! He hurt for her. (involuntary gasp)
34 And He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.”
Four days earlier they had wrapped there dead brother in grave clothes & carried him to this tomb… for 4 days they had been weeping.
35 Jesus wept. 36 Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”
Jesus was NOT weeping for Lazarus the way Martha and Mary were weeping… Right? So why was Jesus weeping?
What we learn about Jesus here is..
When we hurt He hurts! When we’re crushed He feels it too!
Isaiah 53:3 He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
37 And some of them said, “Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?”
Yes… Jesus had a different plan… that involved different timing… that would bring Him greater Glory! WORD
38 Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.
Similar to Jesus tomb. (In Israel we see tombs like this.)
Tombs were typically large enough for several people…
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.” Hopeless!
40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?”
41 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.”
43 Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!”
Had Jesus just cried out…. “come forth”
44 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”
This is the miracle of RESURRECTION life!
Makes the dead ALIVE!
LOSSES us & FREES us from our dead past!
44 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”
Jesus could have loosed him Himself… but so often… the way of Jesus … is to include us in the miracle…
Jesus invites us to participate with Him!
Jesus can do everything Himself but He choses to use us… to do what we can do…
Q. What can you do to PARTICIPATE with Jesus?
This is the way we should serve God too!
Don’t just… serve God alone… always invite others to participate with you!
45 Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him.