The glory of God is something that we think about, we sing about it, we hear definitions
of it, such as God's glory is the sum total of all that he is, his very essence is glory.
There are Old Testament and New Testament references of God's glory.
God's glory was seen in the spectacle of the giving of the law on Mount Sinai, the time
of Moses.
Moses, those who were wandering in the wilderness witnessed it every day in the form of a cloud
during the day and a pillar of fire at night.
Cloud always telling him where to go or where to stop, where to set up camp, where to move
on.
All of that, a visible image, as it were, of the presence of God.
First in the tabernacle, later in the temple, the glory of God in the form of a cloud filled
those structures, providing a visual image again of this invisible essence and presence
of God.
Glory of God is seen in the New Testament, in Jesus, in his teaching, in his miracles, the
miracles that he performed as recorded by the gospel writers.
On the Mount of Transfiguration, you recall that Jesus, as he's standing there, begins
to glow.
His essential glory begins to shine forth.
When John wrote his gospel in the very first chapter, he said,
And the word became flesh and dwelled among us.
And we have seen his glory.
Glory as of the only Son from the Father.
I assume that John was including Jesus' miracles as well as his glorified state after the resurrection
and what he saw.
The record of the glory of the Lord Jesus was given that we might believe that Jesus is
the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing, we might have life through his name.
The glory of God is made known through the Son of God.
When Jesus had received word that Lazarus was ill, he told his disciples,
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.
Somewhere in that conversation with Martha, Jesus had said something earlier, apparently,
for in today's text, Jesus asked this rhetorical question.
Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?
If you want to turn your Bibles to John chapter 11, you can turn there.
We're going to look at just the last portion of that account of Lazarus.
And I put some notes in your bulletin.
Kelly, put those for us.
And they'll help you follow.
And if you don't have a Bible with you, the text of what I'm dealing with is actually printed
on the back of your bulletin.
So along with Mary and along with Martha and the disciples and everyone else at the funeral,
we are about to be exposed to the glory of God.
That glory will be made known as a result of obedience to three commands that Jesus gave in this text.
The first command was take away the stone.
So let me read that portion of the text.
Verse 38.
Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb.
It was a cave.
And a stone lay against it.
Jesus said, take away the stone.
Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him,
Lord, by this time there will be an odor.
Or if you have King James, he stinketh.
All right?
Pretty raw.
But that's the idea.
The rest of the text, that section of the text says, for he has been dead four days.
Jesus said to her, did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?
And so they took away the stone.
It's interesting to me in verse 39 that there is somewhat of a hesitation by Martha when Jesus makes that command.
I think that Martha didn't really have confidence that Jesus knew what would be exposed when the tomb was opened.
I mean, from her perspective, that looked like a really bad idea.
I mean, generally, Jews did not embalm their dead.
So the spices that were used were used to mask the putrid odor of decay, which would be evident very quickly.
Four days was a long time.
Now, there were some people who had the superstition that the spirit of dead people would hang around for up to three days after death.
But after that, there would be no return to mortal life.
Now, that isn't true, but that's what many believed then and, frankly, even believe now.
With Lazarus being four days in the tomb, any suspicion or superstition, I should say, from what Jesus was about to do would be removed.
Lazarus was dead.
But the challenge is there by Jesus.
For hesitation, or let's just call it what it is, unbelief, stood in the way of the display of the glory of God.
But the challenges there by Jesus, the words of Jesus are connected to what he had said earlier, actually, in the same chapter in verse 4 in regard to the glory of God.
In verse 4 of chapter 11, he says this,
Think about that.
This illness is for the glory of God so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.
And now he says to Martha in our text,
Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?
The glory of God wasn't on her radar, but it soon would be.
So Jesus was about to demonstrate what he had announced to Martha a little bit earlier,
that he was the resurrection and the life, and that the people were about to witness the display of the glory of God.
Jesus' statement, though probably not understood at the time, seemed to be enough for the command to be carried out.
So, people moved the stone.
The text says,
So they took away the stone, and what they saw or smelled was not told.
That's not really important, though it is interesting to speculate.
I mean, I'm guessing what they saw and smelled was not good.
Lazarus was still dead when the stone was removed.
He was not mostly dead.
He was dead.
What they saw, and at that time, again, is not told, but the decay had not been halted.
Lazarus was dead, and he had been dead for four days.
There was no airbrushing the situation.
For a brief time, nothing happened.
The open tomb remained quiet.
I have no idea what the people were expecting Jesus to do,
but I don't think they were prepared for what was about to happen.
Now, with the tomb opened, the next command was the command to the dead guy, Lazarus.
Lazarus, come out.
But before Jesus gives that command, he prays.
According to our text, it says this.
Jesus lifted up his eyes and said,
Father, I thank you that you have heard me.
I knew that you always hear me,
but I said this on account of the people standing around,
that they may believe that you sent me.
When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice,
Lazarus, come out.
And the man who had died came out,
his hands and feet bound with linen strips,
and his face wrapped with a cloth.
Before Jesus gives this command, he prays.
And it's a prayer of thanksgiving.
This was, by the way, not a request.
Most of the time when we pray, we're asking for things.
We're making requests.
This was not a request by Jesus.
This was a recognition of the Father's will
and thanksgiving for the Father's provision.
This was already the plan.
Jesus in the flesh always did the will of the Father.
And this was the will of the Father to make his glory known
and to glorify his Son.
What Jesus was about to do would accomplish that very purpose.
Many would believe that he had been sent by the Father
and they would then see the glory of God.
This was recognition that the Father always hears the Son.
Not only does Jesus acknowledge that the Father heard him,
but he also acknowledged,
I knew that you always hear me.
This was recognition that what Jesus was about to do
would result in people believing who he was,
the one who was sent by the Father.
This prayer was to the Father,
but it was also a public prayer.
Jesus intended other people to hear it.
There was a message in there for them.
Sometimes, it happens in church some,
sometimes when we pray publicly,
we also are praying and giving messages to the congregation.
Sometimes that's very appropriate.
Sometimes not.
But here Jesus, as he's praying,
he's talking to the Father,
but he's also talking to the people around him.
He wants them to hear his prayer to the Father.
And after the prayer of thanksgiving,
there was this impossible command that's given.
Lazarus, come out.
Dead people don't respond.
We know that.
They don't respond.
Command all you want,
but they are not going to do anything
unless Jesus,
who is the resurrection and the life,
would call them.
I work part-time in a funeral home.
I look like I do, maybe.
I don't know.
So, I've witnessed
dozens and dozens and dozens of funerals.
I've never seen somebody crawl out of the casket yet.
It doesn't happen.
When you're dead, you're dead.
And this line cannot be crossed.
Death is separation of the spirit from the body.
And when that separation happens,
nothing can restore mortal life,
except, in this case,
the one who holds the keys to death.
Dead people don't respond.
And there's a reason for that.
They don't respond because they can't respond.
They're dead.
Now, think a little bit about this.
This gets a little bit weird, maybe,
but think about this.
I was reading a commentary recently,
and this person helps to get the picture here.
He said,
this kind of divine power,
this power of Jesus,
as he calls Lazarus to come out,
this kind of divine power
stops the progress of decay,
reverses rigor mortis,
pours new life into rotted organs,
starts a bloodless, decomposing heart,
beating and pumping fresh new blood
to every organ and every limb.
The kind of power that creates a brand new body
that creates blood out of nothing
and makes it flow fast and fresh.
This is the kind of power
that takes sightless, decomposed eyes
and gives new tissue,
new nerve, new vision,
that takes a non-functioning,
decomposed mass of brain tissue
and recreates it so that it can think
and feel and move and speak.
It's a staggering demonstration of power
of a man four days dead.
Dead people can't respond
unless Jesus brings them to life.
And when he did,
when he did call in this situation,
the dead guy lives.
So the man who died came out.
Just process that for a minute.
He's dead,
dead for four days.
He's in the tomb.
It's a funeral service.
Jesus has to move the tomb,
the stone,
calls his name,
he walks out.
All the way back in John chapter five,
actually Jesus had said,
truly, truly, truly,
I say to you,
an hour is coming
and is now here
when the dead will hear
the voice of the Son of God
and those who hear
will live.
For as the Father
has life in himself,
so he has granted the Son
to have life in himself.
And he has given him authority
to execute judgment
because he is the Son of Man.
Do not marvel at this.
For an hour is coming
when all who are in the tombs
will hear his voice
and come out.
Those who have done good
to resurrection of life
and those who have done evil
to the resurrection of judgment.
So what was all of this
really about?
I mean, ultimately,
this was not so much
about the raising of Lazarus
as it was the glory of God.
I mean, think about it for a minute.
This was not a great blessing
for Lazarus.
He was brought back,
presumably from paradise,
to an earthly life,
and he would have to die again.
It was, at best,
a temporary blessing
for his sisters to have him back,
but there would be
another grieving process later.
This was a picture
taken out of reality,
the reality of physical life,
to illustrate what God does
in relation to spiritual life.
Lazarus was dead.
Lazarus was unable to respond.
There was no hope.
But when Jesus came
and called his name,
that which was impossible
happened.
Lazarus came back to life.
He didn't decide to come alive.
He didn't negotiate with Jesus
about coming to life.
He didn't believe
in order to be raised.
When Jesus called his name,
what did he do?
He did what he couldn't do.
Namely, he comes to life
and walks out of the tomb.
See, we are dead in our sin,
and nothing can change that.
We can't respond.
We're dead.
But when Jesus calls,
there's no hesitation.
We are quickened.
We come alive.
The former death and decay are gone.
We are new creations
in Christ Jesus.
The miracle of resurrection
to mortal life for Lazarus
was only an illustration
of the glory of God
evidenced by eternal life in Jesus.
Remember why John wrote the book.
Toward the end of the book,
in chapter 20,
he says,
these are written
that you might believe
that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of the living God,
and by believing,
you might have what?
Life through his name.
So Lazarus came out of the grave,
and then Jesus gives
a final command here.
Unbind him and let him go.
Why did he say that?
I'm guessing that he gave
those instructions
for a couple of reasons.
One, because the people
were, I think,
frozen in stunned observation.
I mean, think about it.
What would you do
if someone emerged
from the tomb
who had been dead
for a long time,
and he comes walking out
still wrapped in the grave club?
What would you do?
If you didn't run away,
you would probably stand there
in stunned unbelief.
I think that's what we have here.
The people didn't know
what to make of it.
So Jesus calls to them
to unbind Lazarus
and let him go.
Beyond the obvious,
is there anything else
that we should get
from that command?
I'm going to suggest something here
that may seem a little odd,
but I'm going to call this
the call to care and feeding.
By that I mean this.
Only God can grant life.
Bottom line,
God can do whatever
he wants to do,
and he does.
But God also gives us
the privilege
and the responsibility
to do certain things
in concert
with what he does.
See, God uses his word
in conjunction with his spirit
to bring life to sinners.
That's regeneration.
For those of you
who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ
as your Savior,
you're saved,
born again,
whatever term you want to use there,
you belong to him,
you were regenerated
at some point in your life.
As it were,
you were dead like Lazarus
and he called your name
and you embraced him by faith.
You did that
because he regenerated you.
He made you alive in Christ.
Salvation is entirely
the work of God,
but he uses people
to disseminate his message.
That's why we're told
to sow the seed of the gospel.
That's why we're told
to go and tell.
That's why we're told
to make disciples.
Here, Jesus raised Lazarus
from the dead,
all Jesus doing,
but he calls the people
to remove the grave clothes
so Lazarus can walk.
Jesus alone brings
spiritually dead people to life,
but he gives us the privilege
of caring for these new believers
and teaching them
and helping them
so they can walk
in their newfound faith in Christ.
So as Lazarus came out
of the tomb,
he was now alive,
but some of the things
that covered the deadness
and the stench
were still attached.
They were a distraction
from what was otherwise
this miraculous life
now on display.
So it is with us.
We were dead,
not just four days,
but we were dead spiritually
and really had never been alive.
But Jesus called our name
and we came forth,
alive in him.
Everything about us was new,
but some of the wrappings
of the past were still attached.
They needed to go.
They served no purpose.
The beauty of life
was obscured by the rags of death.
So Jesus asked the people
to help their friend.
God alone brings life,
but he uses people
to make it visible.
It's part of the work
of the body of Christ
to help one another
walk without hindrances.
We all still have
some grave clothes
that need to be removed.
All of us.
May we not resist those
who are trying to help us
and may we not turn away
from those who need our help.
So when we work together,
God's glory is fully on display.
He's still calling,
unbind him,
and let him go.
Now there's more to this,
I think,
that we need to see and apply,
but let me just conclude
with a few observations
in regard to this miracle
and the glory of God.
First of all,
the glory of God
is seen in the granting
of life from death.
This account from John,
chapter 11,
listen, it really happened.
This was a real-life,
historical thing, all right?
Sometimes when we read the Bible,
I think some people think that,
for whatever reason,
that this was just a story,
it didn't happen.
No, this happened.
This was real.
This happened around 30 AD,
and all this took place.
But it's also an illustration
of God's glory
in the granting of eternal life
to people who are spiritually dead.
What better way to teach
the concept of what we cannot see
by showing us something
that we can see?
That's what we have here.
But I think there's more,
not just that we see something
of the glory of God
in the granting of life
from the death,
but also the idea
that the glory of God
is seen in the demonstration
of this whole resurrection account.
Jesus taught in John 5,
as I read earlier,
that a day was coming
when the graves would be open,
and those who belonged to him
would be raised
and would be forever with him
in glory,
never to die again.
And those who did not belong to him,
they also would be raised,
but raised to endure judgment
forever apart from him.
It's John 5.
Now, this miracle of Lazarus
was a picture of what will happen
at the end of the age.
For example,
the Apostle Paul
would later write
1 Thessalonians 4,
as he described something of that.
Or 1 Corinthians 15.
Now, these bodies,
are you ready?
These, pinch yourself, okay?
These bodies,
these very bodies,
this flesh,
one day,
if the Lord delays his coming,
we will die.
We will be buried,
cremated, something.
We will be put away, alright?
But, someday,
these bodies
will be raised.
Right?
That's amazing.
But that's not something
even new to the New Testament.
In fact,
if you go all the way back
to the time of Job,
who probably lived
during the time of Abraham,
I mean,
a long time ago,
and knew very little
about the whole plan
and purpose of God
and sending the Lord Jesus
and all of that,
listen to what he says.
This is phenomenal.
For I know that my Redeemer lives,
and at the last,
he will stand upon the earth.
And after my skin
has been thus destroyed,
yet in my flesh,
destroyed,
yet in my flesh,
I shall see God,
whom I shall see for myself,
and my eyes
shall behold
and not another.
That's amazing.
Later,
the Apostle Paul
would kind of pick up
that idea
and share it with
many,
particularly,
I'm thinking of the
Philippian church.
He said this,
but our citizenship
is in heaven,
and from it,
we await a Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ,
who will transform
our lowly bodies
to be like his glorious body
by the power
that enables him
even to subject
all things to himself.
Keep in mind
that the miracle
of raising Lazarus
was not just an illustration
of our resurrection,
but it was also
a reminder
and a prelude
to the resurrection
of Jesus.
In just a couple of weeks,
Jesus would be crucified
and buried,
but on the third day,
he would rise from the dead,
but not like Lazarus
merely to mortal life,
but to immortality,
to glory,
glorified.
The miracle glorified,
this miracle
in John 11
glorified God
in anticipation
of what would soon happen
in regard to Jesus,
the one who is
the resurrection
and the life.
And finally this,
the glory of God
is seen
in the response
of the people.
Jesus told Martha
in verses 25 and 26
of John 11,
I am the resurrection
and the life.
Whoever believes in me,
though he die,
yet shall he live.
And everyone who lives
and believes in me
shall never die.
And then he asked her
an interesting question.
Do you believe this?
And she affirmed
that she did.
And then in verse 40,
he says,
he asked Martha this,
did I not tell you
that if you believed,
you would see
the glory of God?
Because she believed in him,
she was able to see
his glory.
Many who had come
to mourn Lazarus' death
ended up believing
in the Lord Jesus.
And they came,
they came away
from all of that.
They came,
they came weeping,
they left rejoicing.
They too believed
and they too recognized
the glory of God.
And God was glorified
in that.
But there were others
who saw the same miracle.
I'm sure they were
blown away by that.
How could you not be?
But they didn't believe
that Jesus was
who he said he was.
In fact,
you know what they did?
They ran to the religious leaders
to tell them
what Jesus had done.
And though their intention
actually was to undermine
and destroy Jesus,
even what they were doing
would ultimately result
in the glory of God,
though they would never see it.
Without knowing it,
they would carry out
the will of God
in bringing Jesus to the cross
that he might accomplish
his work
for the salvation of many.
In the words of Jesus,
did I not tell you
that if you believed,
you would see
the glory of God?
When John recorded
the life of Jesus,
he showed his readers
Jesus' glory.
And when we believe in him
as the Christ,
the son of the living God,
and realize that it is Jesus,
and in Jesus,
and in him alone
that we have eternal life,
we will,
in the words of the Apostle Paul,
behold his glory.
And as we do,
Paul said this in 2 Corinthians,
he is at work transforming us
by his glory
in order that we might be like him.
This is an account
about the glory of God.
In some ways,
Lazarus is a bit player
in this great text.
He was the object
to illustrate
God's glory.
When the disciples
saw things,
when people saw things,
I should just say,
when people saw things
that Jesus did,
they were amazed
at the miracles
and so forth,
but they never saw the glory
until they trusted him.
When we trust Jesus,
we suddenly see his glory.
We suddenly realize
all that he is
and all that he's doing
and we should be overwhelmed
by that.
And so we come together
on Sunday mornings
and we worship God
because he is a glorious God
and we have seen his glory,
as John said,
and we worship him.
What a great and glorious God he is.
It is about him,
isn't it?
And so,
as we close this time together,
may our focus be
on this God of glory
who has given us
this incredible opportunity
to be in Christ Jesus
and to one day
see him
in his glorious state
face to face.
Let's pray.
Father,
thank you for your word
and thank you for this text.
How we allow things
so much to cloud
our attention
or sometimes hindered
by things that ought not
to be in our lives.
I pray that you would help us
to see more clearly daily
who you are,
to see your glory,
and to be
overwhelmed by it
and may you continue
to transform us
by your glory.
Be with each one here.
Grant your mercies
and your grace today
and may there be
frequent times
of considering you,
even today,
as a glorious
Savior and Lord,
as a glorious God
and King,
as a glorious one
who will one day
bring us
into your very
glorious presence.
In the name of
the Lord Jesus,
we pray.
Amen.