STUDY THEME: ONE SOLITARY LIFE: THE LIFE OF JESUS 5-21-01

UNIT 5: LORD OF THE KINGDOME: EXPERINCING ETERNAL LIFE.

JOHN 11:1-54 JOHN 11: 20-24, 25-26, 27, 38-45.

PLEASE OPEN YOUR BIBLE TO JOHN 11.

In John 10:30 Jesus, while teaching in the temple had proclaimed, “I and My Father are One.” Then the Jews took up stones to stone Him. Jesus then withdrew from Jerusalem to Bethabara in Perea where John had begun baptizing. This is near what is now called Allenby’s Bridge.

The main theme of the eleventh chapter of John is the raising of Lazarus from the dead. In Romans 1:4 we are told that our Lord Jesus Christ is “declared to be the Son of God with power---by the resurrection from the dead.”

In John 11:1 we are told there was a problem in Bethany, some 2 miles from Jerusalem. In the home where Jesus often stayed when visiting Jerusalem, Lazarus was sick, and Jesus was not there. If He had been there, everything would have been different, so the sisters thought, and probably they were right. In their trouble they did the natural thing, they sent a message to Jesus saying “Lord, behold, he that thou lovest is sick.” They felt quite confident if He hears He will come. I wish we had time to study these three siblings of Bethany more thoroughly: Martha, Mary and Lazarus.

From Vs. 4 to 16 we find ourselves beyond Jordan in Perea. When Jesus received the message He said in Vs. 4, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” “This sickness is not unto death” did not mean that Lazarus would not die. As a matter of fact, Lazarus was already dead when the messenger arrived. The word of Jesus meant that death was not the final word. He knew that Lazarus was dead. The distance between Bethany and the place where Jesus was took a day to travel. Jesus stayed there two day after receiving the message. He stayed there because he loved Lazarus, Martha and Mary. After the two day delay, he took a day to travel back to Bethany. That makes four days. Presently Martha said “he hath been dead four days.” It is evident then that when the messenger arrived with the message, Lazarus was already dead. Yet the Lord said, “This sickness is not unto death.” Death is not the last word in this matter. The end will be the glory of God, and the glorification of the Son of God.

Jesus was devoted to Martha, Mary and Lazarus yet He let enough time elapse for the death to be certified that there could be no doubt about the power to be manifested.

When Jesus said in Vs. 11 “Our friend Lazarus sleeps” the disciples said “that is a good thing; if he is asleep, he will recover.” It was then that Jesus said plainly, “Lazarus is dead.” Then He says what seems a strange thing. “And for your sake I’m glad I was not there, so that you may believe.” This reminds me of the fellow who went to visit his brother, and after he had been there for awhile his brother asked him, “so, how’s the cat.” “Well, the cat’s dead---he replied.” DEAD is a word we don’t often use in today’s society. At the hospital you may hear the call “Code Blue,” you know someone is dying. At the nursing home they just say so-an-so expired. That’s right expired. Come on now, parking meters expire, drivers licenses expire; people die; with one exception. I will probably expire but it will only be because I forgot to mail in my renewal. Death is the last enemy: once we’ve got past that I think everything will be alright. I think we all share the sentiments of the tombstone that read, “I expected this but not yet.”

Jesus said plainly, “Lazarus is dead.” Make no mistake, Lazarus was dead. His tomb was saled with a slab of rock. Martha and Mary were in mourning. Their home was crowded with extended family and friends—there was intensive grief.

Martha must have questioned “”Where is Jesus.” How many times had she asked that question over the past four days? If Jesus were the friend that He professed to be wouldn’t he have come. But she had waited and Lazarus got worse, and she waited and Lazarus died, and she waited and Lazarus had been buried.

And then a murmer began to weave its way through the crowd that had gathered to mourn with the two sisters, The Master is here, Jesus had arrived. And Martha couldn’t help herself, she was on her feet rushing to meet her friend. The thought that had burned in her heart was already on lips.

1. PLEASE READ JOHN 11: 20-24.

After reaching Jesus Martha got right to the point. “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” I suppose some of you are asking “If” questions as well. “If” only I had spent more time with him or her.” “If” I had only listened more. “If’ I’d only had done this—or that.” These kinds of “If” questions are normal. Don’t blame yourself—it’s not healthy, and it’s not right. It’s really senseless to either accuse God or try to defend Him. There were three preachers and a room full of Christian friends praying in the intensive care waiting room, even as Lucille died. God could have kept Lucille from dying. But for some reason He didn’t. Eccl. 3: 2 reminds us that “there is a Time to be born and Time to die.” It was Lucille’s Time to die.

“Lord, if you had been here my brother would not have died.” I don’t think it was said with a mean or vindictive spirit, but I don’t think it was simply a statement of fact either. I think she was disappointed in Jesus and felt betrayed and I’m sure the same question even though unasked could be read in her eyes, “When you heard he was sick, why didn’t you come then?” How often have we heard “God if you existed my child wouldn’t have died”, “if you”d have answered my prayers my life wouldn’t be empty”, “if you cared my mother wouldn‘t have developed cancer.”

A woman was talking to her friend whose young son had cancer and made this comment: “Perhaps God will be good and heal your son.” The reply from the mother was “God is good whether he heals my son or not.” That is what Martha was saying. “Even now I believe you can do anything.” Martha’s statements are not words of criticism but of grief, sorrow, and faith. She believe that if Jesus had arrived sooner, her brother would still have been alive. She was confident in His power to heal, However, she had not considered that Jesus could raise the dead. The point is that even in the midst of her pain and hurt, she still believed in Jesus. Her heart was broken at the loss of her brother, but her trust in Jesus remained true. What a wonderful example Martha is for us today! Even in sorrow and disappointment, we can continue to trust the God who sent His son.

The sister’s grief is a grief shared by all of humanity. At some point in life each of us feels the deep sense of loss from the death of someone we love. Only faith gives adequate support for the grieving, and Christian hope is the only true basis for confidence of the continuing life of the dead in Christ and often the only true comfort for the bereaved. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians and stated in 1 Thess. 4:13 that they “do not grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.”

As Hershel Hobbs wife of 57 years lay dying she asked, “Am I dying?” He said “Yes, darling.” “Why?”she asked. He told her I don’t know. Then he said “All I can tell you is that I will hold your hand as long as I can, and when I can go no farther, Jesus’ hand will take hold and lead you through.” She never asked again. She never complained. Her only concern was for those left behind.

In the midst of Martha’s grief, Jesus stated a fact. “Your brother will rise again.” Martha agreed, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection of the last day.” Martha was filled with grief, but her grief was tempered by her belief that at the end of time, Lazarus would rise again in the resurrection. Martha stated a theological truth that she accepted as true---God will raise the body from the grave on the day of the rapture.

Resurrection is a unique belief. Most religions and philosophies teach one of three things concerning what happens when we die.

Option A. When we die, we are dead for ever. Once the heart stops beating, we are dead and gone. All of who we are ceases to exist. No afterlife of any kind.

Option B. Some religions teach that when we die our soul escapes the body and drifts back to heaven and joins the boundless pool of soul stuff in the sky. Our soul exist forever, being reincarnated over and over again in anything from insects, to animal, to people.

Option C. Some believe that when we die we become angels, and wait around in heaven ‘till George Bailey’s Savings and Loan is in jeopardy and then do good deeds to earn our wings.

Martha believed none of these things; she believed in the resurrection. None of those three options are found in the Bible. Instead the Bible teaches about the resurrection. Belief in the resurrection is the Biblical idea that when we die God will give us new life. But Jesus had something more immediate and unexpected in mind for Lazarus.

2. PLEASE READ JOHN 11: 25-26

Did you catch it? Jesus does not talk about the resurrection as an event to come—He refers to the resurrection as a person. Resurrection is not simply an event that we believe will happen someday after we die. Resurrection is a person, the person Jesus. Jesus is saying that He is the very power of God to create new life. Belief in the resurrection is belief that Jesus is the life-giving creative power of God in human flesh. Jesus told Martha that any one who accepts the truth about Him, will experience that life-giving creative power.

There’s only one requirement for entrance into the resurrection life—it’s not a matter of trying to be good or even going to church—the only requirement is that you personally believe that Jesus exchanged His life for yours by absorbing your sins on a cross and that He rose again so that a the moment of your death you will rise too.

Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 5:8 “But demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

3. PLEASE READ JOHN 11: 27.

This verse is Martha’s response to Jesus question in Vs. 26 “Believest thou this?”

Here Martha expressed one of the most profound Christological confessions in all of Scripture. It is amazingly similar to the purpose stated of John’s Gospel in John 20:31 and Peter’s confession at Caesarea Philippi. “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”

In response to Jesus’ question, “Do you believe this”, Martha said, “Yes Lord…I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.” This is a magnificent confession of faith. Yes, Lord is an acknowledgment of Jesus as Master and she as His follower, His disciple. I believe, I have come to a settled disposition to believe. You are the Christ is an affirmation that Jesus is the Messiah, the Anointed One of God and the fulfillment of O.T., promise concerning a deliverer sent from God. The Son of God is a Messianic title often ascribed to Jesus and it is an affirmation of His deity.

Who was to come into the world again affirms that He is the fulfillment of God’s promise in the O.T. to send a Savior into the world. We cannot be certain to what extent Martha understood the significance of her confession. Vs. 34 seems to indicate she was not expecting Jesus to raise her brother Lazarus to life again. Still, her confession flows naturally from her commitment to, and trust in the one she believes is the resurrection and the life. The original readers of John’s Gospel must have felt the excitement and anticipation build as Jesus moved closer to the tomb of Lazarus.

Rather than skip completely let’s briefly summarize vs. 28-37.

Having affirmed the faith she had in Vs. 27 Martha returned to the house of mourning and secretly said to Mary, “The master is here and is calling for you.” Evidently Martha’s intentions were that Mary would find her way to Jesus, without being anyone else there. But the mourners thought she was going to the tomb and followed her.

Mary uttered the same words as Martha had, but there was a different tone in Mary’s voice than that of Martha. I think Martha meant, “Why didn’t you hurry when we sent for you?” I think Mary meant, “I wish it had been possible for you to have been here.” When Mary arrived she went to Jesus’ feet. Martha did not. She stood upright. Back in the Gospel of Luke you will note the difference in the personalities of these two sisters.

In Vs. 33 we see Jesus gathering to Himself all the misery resulting from sin. Then in Vs. 35 “He wept.” This weeping Jesus is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrow, and acquainted with grief—Jesus was obviously moved by what was happening. He shed tears of sympathy for Martha and Mary, with all he sorrow caused by sin and death. Weeping is a revelation of God’s sympathy, so quick and sensitive. The Jews present said, “Behold how He loved him.” They felt the tears Jesus was shedding was because He had lost Lazarus. They marveled too that He had not prevented Lazarus death.

But the story doesn’t end there, because Jesus goes to the tomb. Let’s read John’s account of what happened. After all John was there.

4. PLEASE READ JOHN 11: 38-45.

In Vs. 34 Jesus asked, “Where have you laid him.” This is the only occasion in all the records of Jesus asking anyone for information. Now watch the process. He acted in the raising of Lazarus against unbelief, or rather, in spite of unbelief. Remember He has only raised two persons prior to this from the dead. The daughter of Jairus in Capernaum and the son of the widow in Nain.

Jesus told the men with Him to remove the stone. At this point no one knew why, though Martha must have thought that Jesus wanted to view the body. She protested, “But Lord—by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”

This confirms that Martha did not expect Jesus to raise Lazarus. The fear of the smell from a decomposing body would indicate it had not been embalmed. Four days may reflect a Jewish tradition that said after death a person’s spirit hovered near the body for three days with hope of reentering the body, but that on he fourth day it would depart. Whether Martha, Mary, or any others held to this belief is not stated. What is certain is that Lazarus was dead. No question about the reality of his death remained. Jesus responded to Martha’s objection with a reminder of something He had already said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God? Martha and all the other must have been quite puzzled still about what Jesus had in mind.

The stone was removed, and Jesus looked to heaven to pray, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me.” Jesus began with a characteristic address of intimacy with God. His Father, uniquely so to Jesus. He also said that the Father had already heard Him. Jesus had already asked for Lazarus’s life. All He needed to do now was thank the Father for His answer. “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.” Jesus was intentionally public in this prayer. Its purpose was to help the hearers come to the Father by seeing Jesus as the Son whom He had sent to be the Savior.

After His prayer, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out! The dead man came out…Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” It has often been said that the power and authority of Jesus over death and the grave is so great that Had He not specifically called for Lazarus, all the tombs would have been opened and all the dead would have come out! Jesus called and his old friend obeyed. One can only imagine the celebration that broke out!. The grave clothes would not have prevented Lazarus from shuffling out, but he would have been restricted. Jesus commanded the resuscitated man to be freed from the clothes of burial. .

When Jesus was raised from the dead in John 20-21 there was no need for His grave clothes to be removed. He, in His resurrected, spiritual body, discarded them and neatly folded them as He left. We talk about the raising of Lazarus. That is correct, but it is not a raising in the sense our Savior was raised from the dead. Ii was the bringing back of the spirit to the same body and the healing of the body, with all that had happened to it. In due time Lazarus will die again.

Many of the unbelieving Jews who were friends to Mary and Martha and had come to comfort them in their time of sorrow, saw the miracle and were converted and put their faith in Christ. Others saw what He did and plotted His death. To see the Son of God work is not enough. Personally and individually, each person must receive Him as his or her own Lord and Savior. To see and not believe---nothing could be more tragic.

John wrote, “These things are written that ye may believe that Jesus is the messiah, the Son of God”. “Jesus went about doing good, healing the sick, casting out demons and bringing all kinds of blessings to men in the physical realm.”

CONCLUSIONS:

1 The raising and changing of our mortal bodies into spiritual bodies is clearly taught in the Scripture and this is called “resurrection.”

2. The Christian doctrine of the resurrection is not simply a resuscitating of our physical bodies with their material molecules, but is the transforming of these bodies for spiritual existence in the future.

3. While some people have ph8ilosophical and scientific objections or problems with the resurrection and transformation of the body, the clearest historical validation of this doctrine is the resurrection of Jesus Christ Himself.

4. The doctrine of the resurrection is important because it includes the saving, redeeming, and transforming of the total person and simply not our souls or spirits.

But it is not enough to simply affirm the reality of a bodily resurrection, for aperson can be resurrecdd and still be lost in sin and separated from God forever. True “resurrected life” comes only from the power and saving grace of Christ.

Jesus used His own resurrection from the dead as the supreme truth that He was the Son of God and Savior of the world.

Christians would do well to read again 1 Cor. 15 as we study the lesson about Jesus being the resurrection and the life.

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