[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alpharetta, Georgia. This is the next message in our series on the book of John entitled Jesus is God.
[0:15] I praise the Lord. To die is gain. To live is Christ. Amen. Take your Bibles if you would and open them to John chapter 11. John chapter 11. I'm so glad to have Tracy here this weekend and what a blessing she is.
[0:27] Thank you for that song. John. You too, Ed. John chapter 11, please. John chapter 11. If you would. This is an exciting story. We're at the end of the story.
[0:38] Jesus was off ministering and Lazarus got sick. He got sick and he was dying from the sickness. It won't be long. It won't be long until Lazarus dies.
[0:50] They send word to Jesus. Probably while they're on their way, Lazarus dies. They get to Jesus. They tell him, Jesus, Lazarus died. And when he hears that, he just waits for two more days.
[1:02] And he doesn't seem to get all agitated and come running when you would have hoped that that's what he would have done. And he waited two more days and then he decided that he would head to Judea.
[1:12] And his guys got all scared because there were people wanting to stone him there. And they show up and they see Martha and Mary. And Martha runs out to meet Jesus and she's like, so good to see you.
[1:25] I'm glad you came. If you'd have been here, he wouldn't have died. And then Jesus goes in and he talks to Mary. And Mary says, if you'd have been here, he wouldn't have. Or Mary actually gets to him and he'd have been here.
[1:36] He wouldn't have died. And Jesus is groaning in his spirit. Jesus is going to weep. He's brokenhearted, I think, because they, knowing all they know, don't believe.
[1:47] Then they go out to the grave. And when they get to the grave, he's standing there and he says, hey, God, I know you always hear me. I know you've already heard me. But so these people standing around can know how big you are and how you answer prayer.
[2:00] And how great are your gods you are? I'll say it out loud. And then he calls Lazarus out of the grave and they've rolled the rock away. And this dead guy, wrapped up like a mummy, stands up and comes walking out.
[2:12] His hands are bound. His feet are bound. And Jesus says, loose him and let him go. And he's alive. You can only imagine what's going on in people's minds. I think some of them might have passed out. I think some of them might have run.
[2:23] I'll tell you, if I saw a dead guy get up, it would scare me to death. How many of y'all would get scared if you saw a dead man stand up and say amen? I don't think it takes a lot to imagine that.
[2:34] I can only imagine how you could get scared with that happening. And here he is. I mean, now this is like Jesus pinnacle. I mean, it's like, hey, do you know who I am?
[2:45] I have walked on water. I have turned water into wine. I have made food out of just a little bit of food, enough to feed thousands of people. I have raised dead people. I have worked miracle after miracle.
[2:56] I've gone into town after town and everybody in the town has gotten healed. And now I'm standing outside the grave of a man that's been dead four days. And I'm fixing to call him out and he calls him out.
[3:07] You would think, you would think that here and now everybody would believe. I mean, honestly, if you're standing there and you watch a dead guy get up, that everybody knows is dead, that he's waited long enough, that there are people in the house that know he's dead.
[3:25] There are people in the community that know he's dead. The mortician knows he's dead. The people that got the grave ready know he's dead. Everybody knows he's dead and he comes alive. He's been dead four days.
[3:35] Everybody's scared he's going to stink. You would think, man, they're all going to be believers. I mean, Jesus just won a whole bunch of disciples to himself. That's what you think. But you know what's going to happen?
[3:47] They are not all going to believe. Look, if you would, John chapter 11, verse 45. And then many of the Jews which came to Mary and had seen the things which Jesus did believed on him.
[4:00] Now that's interesting. A lot of them that had came, they'd seen all these things and they believed. But here comes the big word. Are you ready? But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees and told them what things Jesus had done.
[4:14] Jesus always causes division. Some always refuse to believe. Honestly, I don't think anybody in this room could believe that some would not believe right there.
[4:28] I mean, they have seen paranormal activity. They've seen every kind of thing you can imagine happen. I mean, I think the news reporters would be there. I think it would be headline news. I think it would be on CNN and Fox News and every other group of people that could put together a news show.
[4:44] I think they'd all be talking about how Jesus had this guy. They might be trying to talk about how he tricked them. But Jesus had this guy been dead four days come out of the grave. But here's what happens.
[4:55] Many still refuse. Can I just stop right here and tell you that you are out witnessing for Jesus and you're inviting people to come to church. And you're praying for family members. And you honestly just cannot believe.
[5:07] They can look at the same set of facts you look at and they can't see it. You can tell them about what Jesus has done. Your life shows what Jesus has done. You've testified. And somehow you feel guilty that they won't believe.
[5:18] And somehow you feel a pressure like, man, I don't know why I can't get them to believe. Well, let me just tell you. Jesus has just pulled off the biggest miracle you can imagine. And they still won't believe.
[5:29] So you can just go ahead and understand this. When you tell people about Jesus, they're not all going to believe. Fact is, the ones that didn't believe, they ran to the Pharisees. Now, what did they run to the Pharisees for? I'm not sure.
[5:40] What was their conversation? Did they run to the Pharisees and say, you Pharisees ought to get saved? You wouldn't believe what I just saw? I doubt that's what happened. We know what happens is the Pharisees said, oh my goodness, he's raising dead people.
[5:51] He's working a whole lot of miracles. We better kill him. The Pharisees didn't get the idea they ought to get saved. Did they run to the Pharisees and say, Pharisees, can't believe you bunch of heathens.
[6:02] You can't do what Jesus does and yet you condemn him. Or did they go and say, how in the world? We know he's a fake because you told us he's a fake, but he seems to be doing stuff that you can't do. What happened when they went?
[6:13] I don't know. But I think there's a big truth you need to learn. Many refuse to believe in Jesus. I don't know how it works. I have preached my heart out.
[6:24] I've shown people the gospel. I've shown them the truth. God has worked in their family. And you would believe that there's no way they wouldn't get saved. They wouldn't believe. And yet they refuse to believe.
[6:34] Some will just be hard. They will refuse. They won't trust in Jesus. Are you here this morning? Are you one of those hard cases? Are you here this morning in your head?
[6:46] You refuse to believe that Jesus is the son of God. That Jesus is the Christ. Let me tell you, I can't convince you. Your mom and dad can't convince you. Your brothers and sisters can't convince you.
[6:57] Your cousins can't convince you. And no preacher can convince you. Can't convince you. Only the Holy Spirit of God can. But I believe he's at work in your heart trying to show you. You need to listen to what the Holy Spirit of God is saying to you.
[7:08] The second thing I want you to see this morning. Some refuse to believe. The second thing I want you to see. Is that this, that Caiaphas, who is the high priest, he is going to accidentally prophesy a great biblical truth for all of us.
[7:22] That one would die for the people. One would die for all. That Jesus would die for everybody. You've heard the three musketeers, one for all and all for one. Well, let me give you a hint. Jesus died for all.
[7:34] And Caiaphas figured that out. Look if you would in your Bible at John chapter 11 and verse 47. John chapter 11 verse 47. Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council and said, What do we?
[7:45] For this man doeth many miracles. I think that's funny. I'll just stop right there and say, I don't. Do you understand what they just said? They didn't say he faketh many miracles. They didn't say we're not sure what's happening.
[7:55] He's a great magician. They said we know he's doing a lot of miracles. Verse 48. If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him. And we got to stop this. There are people actively.
[8:07] There's a conspiracy. There are people actively doing what they can to get people not to believe. You turn on your television and they mock Jesus and anybody who believes in Jesus.
[8:21] You go to your school and they teach you theories that would show you that God didn't create the world. That he got here by an accident. And they do everything in their power to convince you that it's not true.
[8:32] I find that happening right here. He said, man, we know he's real. We know he's working miracles. We got to do something or they're all going to believe on him. You say, who's in charge of this conspiracy? The devil is.
[8:43] He's trying to convince you not to believe. Verse 48. If we let him thus alone, all men will believe. And the Romans will come and take away our place.
[8:53] They're going to lose their political position. They're going to lose their power. They're going to lose the respect of the people. Did you know religion and politics and science? I mean, they do not want to humble themselves to the Lord Jesus.
[9:06] They don't want to humble themselves to God. They don't want to acknowledge that he has all that power. It would really be a blow to their ego to realize there is a God. And so they're in a conflict.
[9:16] So Caiaphas, go to verse 49, makes a prophecy. Look what he says. And one of them named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year said, you guys don't know anything.
[9:26] You know nothing at all. Nor consider, y'all haven't even figured this out yet, that it's expedient. It's good for us that one man should die for the people and the whole nation perish not.
[9:38] Now, you know what Caiaphas is trying to say, don't you? He's saying, let's kill him. If we kill him, we save the nation Israel. Oh, Caiaphas is not really there going, I believe in Jesus and he's going to die for us.
[9:49] That's not what he's saying. Caiaphas is like, well, I tell you how I got the solution. Let's kill him. But he doesn't know that God's using him to teach you a great truth. Look in your Bible, if you would, at verse 51.
[10:01] This spake he not of himself. You heard me say he didn't know what he was saying. He didn't speak that of himself. But being a high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation. He said, I don't know what I'm saying.
[10:14] I just said that because I got a political motive, but God's going to use it. And one man will die for the people. One man will die for the nation. Verse 52. This will get the rest of us.
[10:26] And not that nation only, but also that he should gather together in one, the children of God that were scattered abroad. If you've got a circle, if you've got a Bible marker or pink pen, put a circle around the word one, draw a line to the margin, write the word church.
[10:41] You know what he did? He saved those Jews and he saved those Gentiles. He brought them all together in one. And that's what's going on today. In the church, Jesus has done a great work. Jesus will die for one or for all.
[10:53] He felt like it was worth it if one guy would die. He meant to get rid of Jesus and save the Jewish nation. He had no idea that what he was saying was true. The Lord Jesus will save. One man dies for the people rather than the whole nation die.
[11:08] And I don't have a lot of time, so I need you to listen quick. Look up this here. Salvation is really down to this one phrase he said. One dies for the nation, for all the nations. One dies for the nation, for all the nations.
[11:20] The wages of sin is death. All we, like sheep, have gone astray. We have turned every man into our own way. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
[11:32] We have sinned against the holy God. We are under the penalty of death. We are born dying, but not only dying on our way to hell. But God, in his gracious mercy and kindness, sent Jesus to pay the sin debt for the world.
[11:49] You need to mark this verse. These are some of those you ought to memorize. That'll become just central to your life. 1 Timothy chapter 2, verses 3 through 6. 1 Timothy chapter 2, verse 3. You ought to look them up.
[12:00] You ought to mark these verses. Because Cap has said it by accident. The Bible says it clearly. 1 John chapter 2, verse 3, if you would. The Bible says, For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior.
[12:14] Look at it. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior. What I'm about to say to you is good and acceptable. God likes it. Look at verse 4, if you would.
[12:24] Who will have? How many men to be saved? Say it. Who will have? I don't hear you well. Who will have? All men to be saved. And to come to the knowledge of the truth.
[12:36] Did you know that God in heaven loves you, wants you to be saved? Did you know they realized the nation was in trouble? And the only way they could save the nation of Israel politically was to destroy Jesus. Because Jesus had come to set up another kingdom.
[12:48] The kingdom of God. And they weren't really in favor of that. Do you realize that you deserve to die? But God sent Jesus to die. And he wants everybody to be saved and to come to the knowledge of Christ. Look at verse 5. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men.
[13:03] The man, Christ Jesus. Only one guy stands between judgment that God's going to have in the end. And man who's on his way to hell. Only one stands in the way. One mediator, Jesus.
[13:15] Verse 6. Who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time. I want you to look this way. Just listen a second. Our salvation is never ever based on anything that we've done.
[13:29] Or anything that we do. Sometimes we turn it into a lot of a list of moral to-dos and not to-dos. And we kind of think we earned enough brownie points to get saved. That's not what happened. Your sin takes you to hell.
[13:42] And only one way gets you out of hell. And that's that Jesus, the sinless son of God, dies and pays your sin debt. And you get salvation through him and what he did.
[13:53] Look at Isaiah chapter 53, if you would, verses 5 and 6. Isaiah chapter 53, verses 5 and 6. I'm sure you know this verse. I'm sure I've preached this so many times. You're almost tired of it. But I don't think you would be if you saved.
[14:04] Look at verse 5. Look what it says. And he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him.
[14:16] And with his stripes we are healed. Verse 6. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone into his own way. And the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
[14:27] Now watch this real quick. John chapter 11 is about death. John chapter 11 is about resurrection. John chapter 11 is about the power of God. John chapter 11 is how God through Jesus pulls Lazarus out of the dead.
[14:42] Those people refuse to believe. Cappas says, let's kill him. And he accidentally slips up and says something that God's already teaching. And that is that one would die for the nation and all the other nations.
[14:55] And then all the children got to be made one. Something great's happening. Jesus is dying in our place. Jesus is paying our sin debt. Jesus is going to the cross.
[15:07] And all of our iniquity. All of our sin. All of our twistedness. All of our messed up junk. All the slop in our past is placed on Jesus. And he takes the punishment for it.
[15:19] This morning you came and you're not saved. This morning you came and you're not going to heaven. Though you may think you are because you think, I was born in America, raised in America. I'm a good God.
[15:29] I hadn't done a lot of stuff wrong. But the Bible says, all we like sheep have gone astray. Every one of us have turned out of the way. Every one of us said, God will do our own thing. We'll live our own life. Every one of us will determine what's right and wrong.
[15:41] And we're not going to believe in you. And Jesus came and took our punishment. Our chastisement. Jesus was a ransom for our sin. Jesus paid our sin debt.
[15:52] Kappa says, Kappa said, it'd be better if one guy died than the whole nation get messed up. There's nothing new in this story. It's been going on all the way from the beginning of time till now.
[16:03] And that is the nation of Israel got together and they sacrificed a lamb every year. They sacrificed lambs. And that lamb took the sin debt of entire families at the Passover. That lamb took the sin debt of the entire nation on a day of atonement.
[16:16] That lamb was constantly the way God forgave sin. God never said, turn over a new leaf. Try again. Do over. Start again.
[16:28] Be good. He never said that. He said this. You stink. You always mess up. No matter how many chances I give you, you keep messing up. So instead of letting you fix it, I'll just fix it.
[16:39] And he did that through Jesus. Isn't that wonderful? It's like the most wonderful news in the world. Jesus paid our sin debt.
[16:50] I want you to go into the last thing. Verse 53. Best laid plans of mice and men don't work out. Old Caiapus and the Pharisees and the council.
[17:02] Here's what they got in mind. Watch this for you. Read the verse. We'll read it in a second. Here's what they got in mind. Let's kill him and be done with it. We'll get rid of him and everything will be all right.
[17:14] And so they get together and they plan. Go with me if you would now to verse 53. Then from that day forth, they took counsel together for to put him to death. So they got together.
[17:25] You can see them now. They got their calculators and their computers and they got their cell phones and they're triangulating his position. And they're trying to figure out exactly how to get him and when to get him and how they're going to take him out. But what they don't know is ain't nobody going to kill Jesus.
[17:40] You didn't hear that. But ain't nobody going to kill Jesus. So they're like, we'll get him. We'll take him out. We'll ruin him. But here's what's happening. Jesus didn't come to let anybody kill him.
[17:51] He came to lay down his life. He didn't come to be killed. He came to die. There's a big difference. It wasn't like he was some innocent guy. Sometimes those videos, man, they make it like he was a sweet little old Jesus.
[18:01] He's almost effeminate and he's always being nice to everybody. He's just the sweetest guy you've ever seen. And they grab him and they beat the poor little guy up. That's not the story at all. He was God's man on earth.
[18:12] He was God in human flesh. And when they got ready to kill him, they couldn't. They tried and they couldn't. I'm going to prove it to you in the Bible. But when he got ready, he said, it's time now. I'll let you. Because I came to give my life.
[18:25] Look at your Bible, chapter 11, verse 54. Jesus, therefore, walked no more openly among the Jews, but went thence unto a country near the wilderness into a city called Ephraim. And there he continued with his disciples.
[18:35] He said, I'm not ready to die yet. I think I'll spend some time with the boys. In verse 55, he says, and the Jews' Passover was not at hand. And many went out of the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves.
[18:46] Then they sought for Jesus and spake among themselves as they stood in the temple. What do you guys think? Will he come to the feast? We're going to be able to get him here? Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees have given him the commandment. If any man knew where he were, he should show it that they might take him.
[19:01] Now listen to this, and I'm through. You know what? Jesus isn't ready to die. We're in chapter 11. We got a few more to go. We're fixing to enter into something. But here's what's happening. Jesus is saying, I'm not at your mercy.
[19:15] You're at mine. I'm not the guy y'all are going to kill. I'm here to rescue you. I came to give my life, and I will die. And I will die on a Roman cross, and I will die because you falsely accused me.
[19:28] But I'll die when I'm ready, the way I'm ready, for the reason I'm ready. Because I'm God. And I'm in charge. And so let me just stop and say this to you. Some of you this morning are just as bad as these Pharisees.
[19:38] You've got your little plan. I'll get saved when I'm older. I'll get saved on my deathbed. I'll get saved when I've had all my fun. And you're laying the best laid plans of mice and men, and you think you've got it under control.
[19:52] You're plotting and scheming to say, I'll take Jesus when I want. But just let me give you a hint. Your plans don't work out. It's God in charge of this here situation. I don't know how long you'll live.
[20:02] I don't know what will happen, but I do know this. It is God who is king. It is Jesus who is king. It is Jesus that came to give his life. It is Jesus that died, and you won't. Jesus died on purpose.
[20:14] It was God's plan from the beginning. Amazing how many of us seem to have our own plans and still refuse to acknowledge that he is Lord. If you're not saved today, let me just remind you of something.
[20:27] Some people won't get saved because they're just hard-hearted. But Jesus did die for you. But you can make all the schemes and all the plans you want. They won't work out. There's only one thing you can do. Humble yourself.
[20:40] Come down off your big high horse. Quit thinking you're the big stuff. Quit thinking you got the plans and the schemes and the ways to work things out. And humble yourself before the God of heaven. And he will save you.
[20:53] Father in heaven, I love you. And I pray that your name would be honored and glorified. And I pray you'd save those that don't know you. And I pray, God, that you'd help Christians today to trust you. God, I pray that today's messages from John 11 have made a difference.
[21:08] And I'll give you praise. You have been listening to Austin Gardner, pastor of Vision Baptist Church. For contact information, location, service times, or more audio and video recordings, log on to www.visionbaptist.com.