[0:00] be speaking from John 11. If you have a Bible, you can open that up to John 11. If not, it'll be up behind me as well. I'm just going to read some verses from John 11. Yeah. I'm just going to read some verses from John 11 and then speak a bit about this amazing solution to the problem of death that we all face. This is an impossible problem for humans, but there is a solution. So let me read from John 11. Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters, that's Mary and Martha, sisters of Lazarus, Lazarus sent to Jesus saying, Lord, he whom you love is ill. But when Jesus heard that, he said, this illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God so that the son of God may be glorified through it. Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. And then after this, he said to the disciples, let us go to Judea again.
[1:45] The disciples said to him, Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you. And are you going there again? And Jesus answered, are there not 12 hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles because the light is not in him. And after saying these things, he said to them, our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him. And the disciples said to him, Lord, if he's fallen asleep, he will recover. Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought he meant taking a rest and sleep. Jesus told them plainly, Lazarus has died. And for your sake, I'm glad that I wasn't there so that you may believe. But let us go to him. So Thomas called the twins said to his fellow disciples, let us also go that we may die with him. Now when Jesus came, he found that
[2:54] Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother.
[3:07] So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him. But Mary remained seated in the house. Martha said to Jesus, she met him on the way. She said to him, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you. Jesus said to her, your brother will rise again. And Martha said to him, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day. And Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life.
[3:52] Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? She said to him, yes, Lord.
[4:06] I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into this world. Amen.
[4:19] My prayer is and my hope is that God's word would speak to you, that the Spirit of God would speak to you through his word to give you hope and life in Jesus.
[4:31] If you're anything like me, you have made choices, even in this past week, choices that you're both glad about and others that you would change if you could. We all reflect on the choices we make, don't we? I wonder if you were to think just now about the choices, not critically, but reflectively, if you were to think about the choices that you already made today, what would you think?
[5:01] See, I can see some of the consequences of your choices already. Because you wouldn't be here if you didn't make a choice to come out. Or you made a choice, all of you made a choice to wear clothes, and I'm glad of that.
[5:17] Especially given the weather. At some point, you chose to go out. You could have stayed at home this afternoon. You could have went shopping. You could have got coffee somewhere.
[5:30] You could have went to the Bell Mill Hotel. That would have been a good choice normally. I figured that out with Stephen one time. Choices don't just exist in the mind.
[5:40] That's the point. They don't just exist in the mind. Choices have actions. It's our volition. A cognitive process by which we decide on and commit to a particular course of action.
[5:53] That's what a choice is. The capacity to initiate actions based on internal decisions. See, it's no point in me saying to Jennifer, Honey, I'll be home at 3.30.
[6:07] Unless I get in the car after this and go home. We make choices every day. Remember the old sayings? Don't sit too close to the TV.
[6:19] Or, you get square eyes. Don't make that face. If the wind changes, you'll stay that way. Or an old favourite.
[6:33] You better put on clean underwear in case you get into an accident. Well, in John's Gospel, chapter 11, at this moment in John's Gospel, we're going to see that someone's faced with a choice.
[6:47] The reason John records this is because it's a choice that we all must make. It's a choice that will define our lives. This choice that Jesus presents.
[7:00] See, this person was ill. A friend of Jesus. Certain man, Lazarus of Bethany, he had two sisters, Mary and Martha. Lazarus was ill.
[7:13] So they sent word to Jesus. Lord, he whom you love is ill. He loves this family, Jesus does.
[7:26] See, at this point, Lazarus is not in a good way. You don't just send for someone to tell them that their friend has a cold. You send for them because the person doesn't have much time left.
[7:39] It's usually the case, isn't it? I'm sure you've all at some time experienced this. There's usually a call, isn't there? There's a call before.
[7:50] In fact, I was preaching from this passage one time, I remember this time last year in Adiwell. And two days afterwards, I myself received the call.
[8:04] It's your gran. You need to come. There's a call, isn't there? There's always a call and then there's a rush. Suddenly, everything else becomes less important.
[8:14] A person you love is about to die. This is the last time that you'll see them. You need to do something about that. The last words that you will exchange, the most precious words, the most important, the last opportunity that you have to tell someone that you love them.
[8:36] Last opportunity to make amends, to reconcile. You drop everything and you go to them. Now this is the thing, there's many poetic quotes about death, but the truth is when death comes knocking, there's absolutely nothing poetic about it.
[8:53] Nothing. Jesus received this call and look at the way the sisters word it. He whom you love is ill. Isn't that a great way to say it?
[9:04] See, you'll find that throughout the Bible. People appeal to God, not based on how much we love God or how good we've been or all the actions and stuff that we've done, but people appeal to God on the basis of his own love and commitment.
[9:19] And let me tell you, if you have someone in mind that you want to pray for, appeal to God on the basis of his love and goodness and the fact that life comes from God. And that's what they're doing.
[9:30] They're appealing to Jesus on the basis of his own love for Lazarus. Jesus really loves Lazarus. And I think there's a couple of reasons why they sent word to Jesus.
[9:42] Number one, because he was known for his ability to heal. When you're all out of options, when all hope is lost, get Jesus in the room. When Jesus is around, anything's possible.
[9:55] He's done it before with others. Surely he's going to do it with someone that he loves. Surely. Get Jesus there. He can heal him. And number two, because Jesus genuinely did love Lazarus and would want to know.
[10:09] So they appealed to his love. Come and see your friend. The one you love. He's dying. You can help him. And you would want to see him. Usually there's a call.
[10:21] And then there's a rush. You drop everything and you go. But when Jesus heard it, he said, this illness does not lead to death. It's for the glory of God so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.
[10:36] So when he heard it, he stayed two days longer. What is that all about? It doesn't go right away. There's no hurry. Strange, isn't it? Where's the rush?
[10:46] Isn't Lazarus important to Jesus? He might never get a chance to see him again. He might never get a chance to speak to him again. What is he doing? Why is he waiting around for two days?
[10:58] But from what Jesus said, it actually doesn't seem like it's as bleak as the sisters make out. This illness does not lead to death. So the disciples, I mean the disciples don't think that Lazarus is going to die.
[11:14] Nor do they question Jesus' decision to stay longer. The disciples are not surprised that Jesus isn't rushing away. And they're actually pretty glad of it as well because the last time Jesus was near Jerusalem, he nearly got stoned.
[11:29] And they don't want to go back to that area again, especially if they don't need to. So they're thinking, okay, this illness doesn't lead to death. There's no need to go. Therefore, it makes sense that Jesus is hanging around.
[11:41] Jesus also said it's for the glory of God so that the Son of God may be glorified through it. But whatever the disciples think that means, they're at least settled on the idea that Lazarus isn't in any grave danger and therefore there's no need to rush away to see Lazarus.
[12:00] But then after two days, Jesus says, let's go to Judea again. And the disciples are like, what? Why? The disciples don't think Lazarus will die, so they protest.
[12:12] Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, trying to kill you. In other words, the disciples are saying, have you lost your mind? Do you have a death wish?
[12:25] Well, if you know the story, it's actually the opposite. So Jesus says, our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.
[12:36] Again, the disciples, what are you talking about? We're going to risk our lives to wake up a friend. If he's fallen asleep, he will recover.
[12:48] Don't you just love this? Don't you love it? The fishermen, these fishermen, giving medical advice to the healer, as if he had to be informed on how the body works.
[13:02] But how often do we do that? How often do we give God advice on how to how to run things, how best to grow us, how to bless us? How often do we give God advice on what to do with our lives?
[13:15] How to save us? How best to do justice in the world? How best to control things that are going on in the world? We do that, don't we? All of us. It's really easy to think that we know we know better.
[13:30] The disciples are doing the same thing, trying to give advice to Jesus, the Son of God. So Jesus, he just speaks plainly to them. Listen guys, Lazarus has died, okay?
[13:42] You don't get it. It's just a euphemism. Okay? He's not actually asleep. Let me spell it out. He is D-E-A-D. He's dead. The implication is he will not recover.
[13:54] Unlike what you've said, disciples, he won't recover. He cannot be woken up. He's dead. But, do you see the bigger implication of what Jesus is actually saying?
[14:08] See, if Jesus is referring to dying as having fallen asleep, then using that euphemism, what does he mean when he says that he goes to awaken him? If he's using sleep as a euphemism for death, then he's using awake as a euphemism for life.
[14:26] And look at what that implies. To every human being on earth throughout the whole of history, death is final. But not to Jesus.
[14:38] No. The way that he is talking is like death can be reversed, just like someone can be woken up. To Jesus, death is no more final or problematic to life than sleep is to being awake.
[14:52] When someone is asleep, does that mean they'll never be awake again? No. I know that every single morning when Levi comes rushing through saying, wake up daddy.
[15:05] And if his words don't work, a loving slap to the face does, let me tell you. And in that moment in the morning, I know that sleep is not final.
[15:17] sometimes I wish it was. But to Jesus, death is no more final than sleep. It doesn't mean the end of life any more than sleep means the end of being awake.
[15:31] Not only does he understand death as not being final, but he says that he is the one, he's the only and very one who can awaken people. See, he says, our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but he doesn't say we go to awaken him.
[15:47] He says, I, I go to awaken him. The implication, Jesus is saying he is the only one who can give dead people life. And brothers and sisters and friends, that matters.
[16:02] Nothing poetic about death, but Jesus can give even a dead person life. And that's why Jesus says, and for your sake, I'm glad that I wasn't there.
[16:14] For your sake, disciples, I'm glad I wasn't there. So that you may believe. Well, Jesus, no need to be insensitive. Not only did you delay and you could have prevented this, but now you're saying you're glad you didn't make it.
[16:31] But what makes the difference is what you understand of death and who you think Jesus is. So Thomas, relegated to the idea that they're going to go, says, fine, let's all go and we'll die too.
[16:47] And you see in that response, Jesus' point is proven. This is why he's glad, because they don't get it. They still think death is bigger and more powerful than Jesus.
[17:00] But I wonder, what do you think about that today? When death comes, it looks pretty big, it looks pretty powerful.
[17:12] What do you think about Jesus when that happens? Do you think death is more powerful? Do you think death is final? Or that it's no more problematic to Jesus than someone being asleep?
[17:27] What do we think? See, that's why John, the writer of this gospel, is writing, so that we believe the very thing that Jesus wanted him to believe, because he was there.
[17:39] He was one of the disciples. He was one of the ones that Jesus was talking about when he says, I'm glad this is for your sake. This is for your sake, John, so that you would believe.
[17:51] And he saw it, and he did, and he wrote this because he wants us to believe, because he was a witness. It was for John's sake, so that he would believe, and he's writing for our sake.
[18:04] Do you believe? Now, this is the thing about this account here of Lazarus. Jesus has risen people from the dead before. We've got two accounts in Mark 5, the daughter of the synagogue ruler.
[18:17] Remember, he used the same euphemism. The child is not dead, but sleeping. And then again, in Luke 7, it was a widow's son who was being carried out dead. But in both of these, they weren't even in the tomb yet.
[18:31] In fact, it was the same day that they died that Jesus rose them. And people were absolutely amazed. He was known for the healer. That's what he was known as, the healer.
[18:42] But they might have just thought that he somehow resuscitated them, or revived them. But what is really different now, precisely because Jesus delayed, is that Lazarus was already in the tomb.
[18:57] Already too far gone. In fact, you get an idea of it if you've got an old King James Bible. When he says to open the tomb, the people protest. He stinketh.
[19:08] He's too far gone. Nobody can do anything at this point. We're in the tomb for four days. He's decomposing.
[19:22] See, nowadays, when the heart stops, when people stop breathing, there's a little bit of time you can work with. But with a four-day-old dead body, no man or machine could do a thing.
[19:35] So when Jesus arrives late, not in a rush, Martha runs out to him. Lord, Lord, if you had been here, if only you had been here, he wouldn't have died.
[19:46] And then she says, but I know that whatever you ask of God, it's like she's she's in these moments. She says what she really wants to say, what she feels, and then she says what she thinks she should say.
[20:03] Jesus says, your brother will rise again. Martha, I mean, there's nothing you can do for Lazarus. So she says, yeah, yeah, I know.
[20:16] And the sweet by and by, it'll be all right. I know he'll rise in the resurrection at the very last day. But the last day isn't today.
[20:32] That's how Martha feels. The last day isn't today. The last day doesn't help with today, does it? But what Jesus says is basically, but I'm here today.
[20:49] Yeah, but it's too late. Jesus, he's too far gone. He's well dead. You're not getting it, Martha. I'm here today and there's something that you need to know.
[21:02] I am the resurrection and life. Not some last day. Not some theoretical moment in time. Person. Jesus says, I am the resurrection and the life.
[21:16] Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this, Martha?
[21:29] Well, she says she believes at least that Jesus is the Christ. That's all she can muster. Not unlike the disciples. Yeah, Lord, you are the Christ.
[21:43] Yeah, but do you believe that he is the resurrection and the life? Do you believe that the power of Jesus is greater than the power of death?
[21:54] Of all the choices that we have made, have we placed our life and hope in who Jesus is? Do we believe that life, the very life that we have this day, is found in Jesus?
[22:11] A life that is greater and more powerful than death? That is no insignificant decision for us to truly believe and trust that Jesus is the resurrection in life.
[22:24] To hold on to that in the face of death. That is a decision that will change your life forever. That's the thing in verse 15 that he wants the disciples to believe.
[22:39] It's the very thing that he wants Martha to believe and Mary to believe and the Jews to believe and this is the very thing that John, the gospel writer, wants us to believe. That's why that Jesus is glad to have let Lazarus die because people need to know what Jesus can do.
[23:00] Jesus could have healed him, people believe that but no one involved in this thinks that Lazarus will be alive again. Nobody thinks they'll see him alive again.
[23:13] Only by letting this body go way beyond the means of any medicine, any healing for it to be too far gone, only then would people see that Jesus has the power to give life even to the dead.
[23:29] See, Jesus already said this in John chapter 5 verse 26. He said, as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.
[23:42] Jesus already said this, he has already claimed that he has life in himself. I don't know if you know exactly what that means but let me tell you, no other human and human existence has life in themselves.
[23:57] See, unlike us, Jesus does not rely on anyone else for the life that he has for his own existence. See, we are much less in control of our own lives than we would like to believe.
[24:09] We don't have life in ourselves. Otherwise, we would never die. Think about it, the breath that you have right this very moment, where are you getting it from?
[24:22] You're not getting it from yourself. You should be thankful in every moment for the life that we have from God. Every breath, he is wanting you to see who Jesus is so that you might have this life forever.
[24:38] Jesus is the possessor of life. life. He has life in himself. You might say, ah, but Jesus died. He gave his life.
[24:49] No one took it, and death could not hold it anyway. Jesus is self-existing. Jesus does not rely on anyone or anything else for his life, because he is God.
[25:03] That's who God is. Jesus was born as a human, but he was never created. He has always existed and always will. He was with the Father in the beginning, in glory before the creation of anything.
[25:18] And as John said at the beginning of his gospel, all things were made through him. Not one thing that was made was made without him. Jesus is the possessor of life, and Jesus has the authority to give eternal life to all who are given to him.
[25:35] Where are you going to get life when it runs out? There's only one place, and it's not even a place, it's a person. See, we trust in doctors, don't we, all the time? We trust in surgeons, our nation, every Thursday night out clapping for the NHS, because who doesn't want to save lives?
[25:57] Who doesn't want to show appreciation for life and the life that we have? We try to prolong life all the time, but in the end we cannot do anything to prevent death.
[26:08] None of us. No one can do anything to prevent death. And once that happens, we cannot do a thing about it, because we don't have life in ourselves.
[26:20] We do not possess life that we could give it to someone else. Our very lives that we have today doesn't come from us, doesn't come from our parents, doesn't come from the doctors, or a machine.
[26:32] Our lives that we have this very moment come from God. He has life. As Paul said, in him we live and move and have our being.
[26:45] Where do you think we get the life that we have from? It's a common grace and gift of God that any human is alive, even those who don't thank him for it. But this common grace cannot last forever, because God must judge and do justice to all, as we all by our actions bring about death.
[27:05] If life is to continue, it must be without sin, without evil, without corruption, without death. So God, the Father sent his son, Jesus, and gave his son, so that whoever believes in him, though he die, yet might he live, that he would not perish, but by believing have eternal life.
[27:30] in and through Jesus, who is the very source of all life. Whoever believes in Jesus, though that person may die, yet they will live.
[27:42] How? Because Jesus has life and he gives it out to those who come to him, to those who listen to him, and to those who trust him. Whoever lives in Jesus and believes in Jesus will never die.
[27:56] What a glorious thing. because then you are with the one who is the source of all life. If you cut yourself off from Jesus, you cut yourself off from life.
[28:08] It's a choice we all must make, a choice that will be the defining moment of our entire existence. Do you believe? Because your choice will determine whether you choose life or not, whether you choose resurrection or death.
[28:26] See, Jesus didn't come just to heal people. He came to save people. Let me say something I think that we all need to hear, myself included.
[28:39] We shouldn't ever think that if we become ill, that Jesus doesn't love us. Don't ever think that. If you're already believing in Jesus, don't ever think that any illness or suffering or trial that you go through is a sign that Jesus doesn't care.
[28:55] And if you're not a Christian, don't think that Christians should never experience pain or suffering just because they follow Jesus. And let me tell you why.
[29:06] You see, Jesus absolutely loved Lazarus. He did. He really cared about his friend, but he didn't heal him. Don't think that Jesus doesn't care just because you're not healed.
[29:22] In fact, we shouldn't even think that Jesus doesn't get the message. We shouldn't even think that Jesus doesn't know or that he doesn't hear about our situations.
[29:33] He knows. He knows what we're going through. He got the message about his friend. We shouldn't think that Jesus doesn't care just because we're going through some difficulty because Jesus didn't heal it or prevent it.
[29:48] He didn't do that with Lazarus either, did he? But he loved him. And you might say, well, that's okay. That's okay for Lazarus. Jesus did one better.
[29:59] Jesus raised him. Exactly. If that's what you think, exactly. That's John's point. If you believe in him, he will raise you as well. That's the point.
[30:11] But do we get up? Do we get hung up about his timing? He delayed with Lazarus to the point that Lazarus couldn't be helped. Do we get hung up that we have to wait a little longer than four days before he raises us?
[30:28] Isn't that also to the glory of God? I mean, look at Christians in the past. Look at the disciple writing this, John. There's no doubt, absolutely no doubt that these people are dead.
[30:42] No question that they are way beyond repair. just dry bones. In fact, some Christians have wondered whether it's wrong to be cremated or not.
[30:57] But that's not the point. To Jesus, it's not about what you do with your remains. He doesn't need our help to raise us. It's about whether you believe that he's the resurrection and the life.
[31:09] See, on just on Thursday there, Thursday past, I held in my hands the ashes of a person, a human being, a person.
[31:26] Jesus doesn't have any trouble raising that person. Jesus didn't have any trouble in the beginning creating all of this. he will not have any problems whatsoever raising us from the dead.
[31:45] Jesus can give life to you no matter what state your body is in. He can raise you no matter what is left of you. It doesn't matter if they're just bones or ashes, whether it's been four days or four hundred years.
[31:58] Jesus is the resurrection and the life. He's the source of life. You and me this very day move and breathe, have our life in our very being because he gives it to us.
[32:11] He created us from nothing in the first place and how many parts of that body are left make no difference to his ability to raise us to eternal life in a new body.
[32:23] Jesus is the resurrection and the life. You don't need to worry about preserving your body, nor do you need to worry about preserving your remains, nor do you need to worry about preventing death, nor do you need to worry about the situation that you're going through.
[32:39] Jesus will raise you and give you life eternal. We don't need to worry about these things. What is required of us is that we trust that he will do it, which comes from believing that he really is the resurrection and the life.
[32:56] So many choices we make every day, many choices, some insignificant, some will change the course of our existence, some will be defining moments in our lives.
[33:10] So many choices every day, each one will affect something. We might be able to use medicine and doctors to keep us alive a little bit longer, but we will all face death and it won't be poetic and it's not a sign that Jesus doesn't care.
[33:31] It is the ultimate litmus test of faith. Do you believe now that your death is no more difficult to Jesus than simply waking you up from your sleep?
[33:46] Friends, we've got nowhere else to look. Peter said that. Loads of people left Jesus. Jesus turned to his disciples and said, do you want to leave also?
[33:57] Peter says, Lord, to whom? Whom shall we go? You're the one that has the words of life. There's no one else in the high street giving out life.
[34:11] Jesus is. Resurrection and life is found not in a place in no other person other than Jesus Christ. Like the choice you made to come out had to involve your mind moving your body into action and the direction of where you were going.
[34:30] Let me encourage you not to just let this question sit in your mind but to act on it. When Jesus says, I am the resurrection and the life.
[34:41] Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Let me leave you with Jesus' question.
[34:54] Do you believe this? well, Drew's going to minister to us in song and then I'll pray. But let that question sit in your mind and have hope in the one who can give you life.
[35:09] and have each of