WEBVTT 00:00:00.560 --> 00:00:13.019 Morning. Let me just pray quickly. Lord Jesus, we invite you now to come pour out your spirit upon us to draw close to us. And we thank you. Amen. 00:00:15.500 --> 00:00:26.600 It's a cheery note that this morning's gospel reading ends on. I'm going to speak to the whole chapter. I don't want anybody to be left hanging that this is the punchline for the sermon. 00:00:26.600 --> 00:00:43.040 Let's go follow Jesus and die with him. There's more to this chapter. This message this morning is a great passage. John is a great storyteller. He's a master of literary devices. 00:00:43.420 --> 00:00:50.660 When I was in seminary, I kind of decided John was my favorite gospel because of this, because he is such a good storyteller. 00:00:50.659 --> 00:01:00.140 And anytime a writer of a gospel slows down the narrative, it's a signal for us that we should slow down too and pay close attention. 00:01:00.780 --> 00:01:02.359 That's what's happening in John 11. 00:01:03.500 --> 00:01:12.400 So Tommy preached a message on John 11 at a service of a lament a few weeks ago. If it was recorded, I'd go give it a listen. It was great. 00:01:12.400 --> 00:01:21.640 This morning's message is about how Jesus was encountered by Martha and Mary, Lazarus, his disciples, and even by his critics. 00:01:22.480 --> 00:01:28.880 It's also a passage that's highly relevant to healing prayer, a new ministry offering here at Advent. 00:01:29.719 --> 00:01:33.860 And I say this because healing prayer is always about encountering Jesus. 00:01:33.859 --> 00:01:43.200 And I tell people that the goal of healing prayer, whether it's inner or emotional healing or physical healing, is that people walk away feeling loved. 00:01:44.599 --> 00:01:48.420 And today's passage has three acts like all good dramas. 00:01:49.280 --> 00:01:51.539 Absence, presence, and resurrection. 00:01:52.780 --> 00:01:54.539 So, act one, absence. 00:01:55.599 --> 00:01:58.200 This drama opens by setting the scene. 00:01:58.200 --> 00:02:02.920 Lazarus, a close friend of Jesus, is sick with a deadly illness. 00:02:03.659 --> 00:02:08.819 And Lazarus' sisters, who are also close friends of Jesus, ask him to come help. 00:02:09.819 --> 00:02:14.099 And in this first act, there are two groups of people who experience Jesus. 00:02:14.879 --> 00:02:17.620 Mary and Martha and Jesus' disciples. 00:02:18.120 --> 00:02:20.120 I want to talk about Mary and Martha first. 00:02:20.840 --> 00:02:22.680 They're not explicitly mentioned. 00:02:22.800 --> 00:02:25.360 They don't show up in this first part, but they're there. 00:02:25.360 --> 00:02:30.480 And their experience of Jesus is as silent and absent. 00:02:31.260 --> 00:02:33.300 It's one of the hardest moments of their lives. 00:02:33.780 --> 00:02:35.340 Their brother died. 00:02:35.440 --> 00:02:37.120 He's sick, and he's on the verge of death. 00:02:37.160 --> 00:02:38.520 And they call upon Jesus. 00:02:39.180 --> 00:02:42.100 They send him a message asking him for help. 00:02:42.680 --> 00:02:45.620 In effect, they pray to Jesus, come help. 00:02:46.500 --> 00:02:52.220 While John doesn't say one way or another for sure, Jesus doesn't seem to answer them. 00:02:52.219 --> 00:02:58.379 He doesn't send a message back to them or in any way even acknowledge their message. 00:02:58.900 --> 00:03:01.740 He's silent in response to their cries for help. 00:03:02.620 --> 00:03:06.539 And equally hard, Jesus doesn't answer their prayer in substance. 00:03:07.340 --> 00:03:11.439 Martha and Mary ask Jesus to come heal their brother, and he doesn't. 00:03:12.800 --> 00:03:20.740 What's already a painful and grief-filled moment for Martha and Mary is made worse by Jesus' silence and absence. 00:03:20.740 --> 00:03:26.420 The reason they sent a message to Jesus in the first place is because they knew him. 00:03:27.020 --> 00:03:29.020 They knew what he was like and what he could do. 00:03:29.700 --> 00:03:33.700 They knew he eagerly wants to heal and that he can heal anything. 00:03:35.340 --> 00:03:42.140 And so to send a message in faith and confidence that their friend would come and heal their brother like they knew he would, 00:03:42.620 --> 00:03:46.420 and then for Jesus not to come would have been very difficult. 00:03:46.419 --> 00:03:51.939 I tried to imagine what they were telling Lazarus during this moment while he was ill. 00:03:52.379 --> 00:03:55.719 They were probably telling him things like, don't worry, we sent for Jesus. 00:03:56.039 --> 00:03:56.879 It's going to be okay. 00:03:57.359 --> 00:03:57.879 Hold tight. 00:03:59.039 --> 00:04:03.099 And then as they watched Lazarus get more and more sick and decline, 00:04:03.839 --> 00:04:08.459 as Lazarus got worse, there was no word from Jesus. 00:04:09.439 --> 00:04:10.579 He wasn't showing up. 00:04:10.580 --> 00:04:13.840 This was devastating. 00:04:14.760 --> 00:04:19.540 Devastating to watch their brother for sure, but also as they struggled to know what to say, 00:04:20.060 --> 00:04:22.420 what answer to give him when he said, is he here yet? 00:04:23.240 --> 00:04:24.139 What hope to give? 00:04:25.699 --> 00:04:26.620 And then he died. 00:04:28.000 --> 00:04:33.180 It would be hard to quantify the depth and severity of pain that Martha and Mary felt at that moment. 00:04:33.180 --> 00:04:41.620 When deep suffering sets upon us, and suffering is a thing that does befall us, 00:04:41.959 --> 00:04:43.780 everything gets thrown into question. 00:04:44.639 --> 00:04:48.439 We thought Jesus was our friend, that he cared about us. 00:04:48.980 --> 00:04:50.500 So why didn't he respond? 00:04:51.639 --> 00:04:57.280 We thought Jesus was the most loving and kind person we've ever met, maybe ever. 00:04:57.279 --> 00:05:01.899 And that limitless power works through him for good. 00:05:02.679 --> 00:05:03.419 So what happened? 00:05:04.219 --> 00:05:05.979 Is he not that kind or good? 00:05:06.459 --> 00:05:08.599 Was this too much for him and his power? 00:05:10.259 --> 00:05:12.659 What if Jesus isn't who he said he is? 00:05:13.179 --> 00:05:15.519 And if that's true, maybe God isn't either. 00:05:17.259 --> 00:05:20.299 For any of us who have suffered deeply, even traumatically, 00:05:20.819 --> 00:05:23.319 we even question whether anything is good, 00:05:23.759 --> 00:05:25.739 whether life, the universe, or reality. 00:05:25.740 --> 00:05:32.100 Suffering in the silence and absence of God is what Fleming Rutledge calls godless. 00:05:33.600 --> 00:05:39.319 The silence and absence of God in suffering carries with it the sense that we're over here, 00:05:39.720 --> 00:05:43.199 in our pain, apart from God, and that God is over here, 00:05:43.519 --> 00:05:45.680 with all who he says he is, and everything he made, 00:05:45.740 --> 00:05:47.000 and everything he's supposed to be about. 00:05:48.019 --> 00:05:52.680 It carries with it the sense that our pain and suffering is actually what's most real. 00:05:52.680 --> 00:05:59.660 In this first act, we see Martha and Mary. 00:06:00.600 --> 00:06:01.439 We hear about them. 00:06:01.500 --> 00:06:02.980 We know what's going on with them. 00:06:03.379 --> 00:06:07.720 But we also see Jesus as disciples and their experience with him. 00:06:08.699 --> 00:06:13.720 In this first act, we hear, we learn some things about what's happening on Jesus' side 00:06:13.720 --> 00:06:16.860 from what John says and what Jesus says. 00:06:18.000 --> 00:06:22.920 One thing John tells us is that although Jesus loved the sisters and Lazarus, 00:06:22.940 --> 00:06:24.260 he chose to stay put. 00:06:24.800 --> 00:06:25.940 It's kind of interesting. 00:06:26.040 --> 00:06:27.180 It's an interesting phrase. 00:06:27.760 --> 00:06:33.180 It's one of the few times when John explicitly says about Jesus that he loves someone. 00:06:33.780 --> 00:06:35.140 In most of his gospel, 00:06:35.139 --> 00:06:40.599 he shows Jesus' love by what he says to people and how he interacts with them. 00:06:42.139 --> 00:06:46.459 Jesus staying put in those circumstances was significant enough for John 00:06:46.459 --> 00:06:49.199 that he had to go out of his way to underscore, 00:06:49.939 --> 00:06:52.680 despite how it looks, Jesus did love his friends. 00:06:53.199 --> 00:06:56.379 And he underscored this not just by stating this explicitly, 00:06:56.979 --> 00:07:01.259 but by naming each of these friends individually when he said so. 00:07:01.259 --> 00:07:05.439 John wanted us to see this and have this in mind. 00:07:07.039 --> 00:07:09.800 Jesus also tells his disciples a few things. 00:07:10.339 --> 00:07:12.719 When the news of Lazarus' illness arrives, 00:07:13.159 --> 00:07:15.019 he says it won't lead to death, 00:07:15.079 --> 00:07:17.399 but will bring glory to God and to the Son of God. 00:07:17.779 --> 00:07:21.019 And then later he says he's going to go wake up Lazarus, 00:07:21.319 --> 00:07:23.539 a euphemism referring to Lazarus' death. 00:07:24.920 --> 00:07:26.019 Despite all that, 00:07:26.959 --> 00:07:30.199 despite even how Jesus comes out and says explicitly, 00:07:30.199 --> 00:07:31.099 Lazarus died, 00:07:31.199 --> 00:07:33.539 the disciples just aren't tracking with him. 00:07:34.920 --> 00:07:38.899 John tells us as his readers that Jesus loved his friends, 00:07:38.979 --> 00:07:40.079 even though he stayed put, 00:07:40.420 --> 00:07:41.339 which was confusing. 00:07:42.159 --> 00:07:45.139 And that creates this disconnect between us and the disciples. 00:07:45.920 --> 00:07:47.019 What we are told, 00:07:47.539 --> 00:07:49.740 the disciples don't seem to understand. 00:07:50.419 --> 00:07:51.039 And worse, 00:07:51.360 --> 00:07:54.560 they're not focusing on what Jesus is trying to focus on, 00:07:54.860 --> 00:07:57.240 about Lazarus' illness and going to wake him up. 00:07:57.240 --> 00:08:01.740 What they do focus on is what Jesus said, 00:08:02.079 --> 00:08:03.460 which was eventually, 00:08:04.019 --> 00:08:05.019 let's go to Judea. 00:08:05.720 --> 00:08:07.100 So he can wake up Lazarus, 00:08:07.180 --> 00:08:08.360 but the disciples only hear, 00:08:08.620 --> 00:08:09.540 let's go to Judea. 00:08:09.920 --> 00:08:11.319 And they have a freak out moment. 00:08:12.180 --> 00:08:13.420 Their immediate response is, 00:08:13.639 --> 00:08:14.560 why are you doing that? 00:08:14.620 --> 00:08:15.460 Why would you go there? 00:08:15.519 --> 00:08:16.980 There are people there trying to kill you. 00:08:18.579 --> 00:08:20.240 And when they decide as a group, 00:08:20.340 --> 00:08:21.180 it is time to go, 00:08:21.360 --> 00:08:22.360 Thomas says, 00:08:22.740 --> 00:08:24.379 the verse we ended the passage on, 00:08:24.379 --> 00:08:26.300 let's go too so we can die with him. 00:08:27.219 --> 00:08:30.360 So I always like to imagine the disciples in these little moments, 00:08:30.579 --> 00:08:33.639 somebody should have looked at Thomas and kind of said to him, 00:08:33.799 --> 00:08:35.679 enough with the good ideas today, 00:08:35.759 --> 00:08:36.039 Thomas. 00:08:36.840 --> 00:08:38.559 I kind of liked you better when you were doubting, 00:08:38.720 --> 00:08:38.939 Thomas, 00:08:39.019 --> 00:08:39.539 you're quieter. 00:08:40.840 --> 00:08:45.139 The thing that the disciples missed was that Jesus said Lazarus' illness 00:08:45.139 --> 00:08:47.600 would bring glory to God and the Son of God. 00:08:48.059 --> 00:08:49.480 We should pause on this for a sec. 00:08:50.580 --> 00:08:51.980 What's Jesus saying? 00:08:52.039 --> 00:08:52.720 What does he mean? 00:08:52.720 --> 00:08:54.180 Why would he even say this? 00:08:55.060 --> 00:08:58.200 It's probably good to say maybe what Jesus isn't saying. 00:08:58.700 --> 00:09:02.379 He isn't saying that Lazarus' death isn't a big deal, 00:09:02.680 --> 00:09:03.639 and therefore it's okay. 00:09:04.240 --> 00:09:07.740 He isn't saying that it's okay that Lazarus dies 00:09:07.740 --> 00:09:09.019 because it's for a good cause. 00:09:10.019 --> 00:09:13.940 He isn't saying that the illness and eventual death of Lazarus 00:09:13.940 --> 00:09:16.800 now all make sense and is therefore okay. 00:09:16.799 --> 00:09:23.419 Jesus doesn't minimize, trivialize, or dismiss Lazarus' suffering 00:09:23.419 --> 00:09:26.099 or that of Martha and Mary. 00:09:26.519 --> 00:09:31.339 And he doesn't offer a clear why that makes it all less painful. 00:09:31.879 --> 00:09:32.740 So what is he saying? 00:09:33.979 --> 00:09:38.139 When Jesus speaks of God being glorified and the Son of God being glorified, 00:09:38.240 --> 00:09:40.699 he's speaking of contrasting proportions. 00:09:40.700 --> 00:09:44.620 When Jesus points to what he's pointing to, 00:09:44.640 --> 00:09:46.620 when he says the glory of God would be revealed, 00:09:47.060 --> 00:09:50.980 is he saying that the love and goodness and beauty and life 00:09:50.980 --> 00:09:53.560 that is who God is would show forth. 00:09:55.440 --> 00:09:58.000 The suffering of Lazarus, what's happening to him, 00:09:58.040 --> 00:10:00.180 and what's happening to Mary and Martha is great. 00:10:00.720 --> 00:10:02.080 Jesus doesn't dismiss it. 00:10:02.080 --> 00:10:06.740 He's just saying that the glory of God is something entirely other 00:10:06.740 --> 00:10:08.639 and proportionally greater. 00:10:10.240 --> 00:10:13.500 Paul kind of gets at this when he writes to the Romans in chapter 8. 00:10:13.980 --> 00:10:14.379 He says, 00:10:14.620 --> 00:10:17.900 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time 00:10:17.900 --> 00:10:22.960 are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 00:10:23.820 --> 00:10:26.740 Paul is not dismissing anybody's sufferings. 00:10:27.100 --> 00:10:28.820 He's just speaking proportionately. 00:10:28.820 --> 00:10:35.280 So we don't get an answer about why this is all happening in Jesus' statement 00:10:35.280 --> 00:10:38.379 or when or even how this is going to happen. 00:10:38.560 --> 00:10:40.100 How will God be glorified? 00:10:40.480 --> 00:10:44.760 We only get the assurance that Jesus will show forth his love 00:10:44.760 --> 00:10:46.700 and goodness and beauty and life 00:10:46.700 --> 00:10:50.120 in the midst of and even through and despite 00:10:50.120 --> 00:10:53.280 what's going on with Lazarus and Mary and Martha. 00:10:53.680 --> 00:10:55.560 And yes, it will make a difference, 00:10:55.920 --> 00:10:57.220 even if we don't know how yet. 00:10:58.820 --> 00:11:03.000 Martha and Mary don't benefit from what Jesus is saying to his disciples 00:11:03.000 --> 00:11:04.940 and his disciples who do hear all this 00:11:04.940 --> 00:11:06.700 aren't really getting it either. 00:11:07.520 --> 00:11:10.500 They seem to be thinking from a different frame of mind. 00:11:10.860 --> 00:11:12.400 They miss what Jesus is saying. 00:11:13.540 --> 00:11:16.660 Jesus is listening to and following his father's leading 00:11:16.660 --> 00:11:19.820 and it seems beyond his disciples at the moment. 00:11:21.120 --> 00:11:22.580 In this first act of John, 00:11:22.660 --> 00:11:23.740 there's plenty of mystery 00:11:23.740 --> 00:11:27.440 and plenty of the disciples being still on their own journey with Jesus. 00:11:27.440 --> 00:11:31.640 Act 2 of this chapter, 00:11:32.100 --> 00:11:34.240 Jesus does decide to finally go. 00:11:34.620 --> 00:11:35.620 He arrives in Bethany 00:11:35.620 --> 00:11:38.440 and he's found out that the situation is, 00:11:38.660 --> 00:11:39.380 if possible, 00:11:39.940 --> 00:11:40.900 is even worse. 00:11:41.960 --> 00:11:44.620 Lazarus has been in the tomb for four days now. 00:11:45.360 --> 00:11:46.520 I don't mean to be indelicate, 00:11:46.780 --> 00:11:49.380 but a body was in the tomb for four days 00:11:49.380 --> 00:11:50.240 and it's not good. 00:11:50.540 --> 00:11:51.760 It's starting to break down. 00:11:51.759 --> 00:11:55.179 And according to popular Jewish belief, 00:11:56.100 --> 00:12:00.059 a person's soul was thought to linger for three days after death 00:12:00.059 --> 00:12:01.059 and then depart, 00:12:01.720 --> 00:12:03.580 which means in everybody's minds, 00:12:03.860 --> 00:12:05.539 Lazarus is dead beyond hope. 00:12:07.539 --> 00:12:09.419 Martha hears Jesus arrived 00:12:09.419 --> 00:12:10.860 and she goes straight to Jesus 00:12:10.860 --> 00:12:12.679 and frankly gets straight to the point. 00:12:13.419 --> 00:12:14.139 If you'd been here, 00:12:14.279 --> 00:12:15.840 my brother would not have died. 00:12:16.720 --> 00:12:18.639 Her words carry grief and anger. 00:12:18.639 --> 00:12:20.699 Mary comes later. 00:12:21.179 --> 00:12:22.559 She falls at Jesus' feet 00:12:22.559 --> 00:12:23.759 and says the same thing, 00:12:24.199 --> 00:12:27.279 but her words come with a little less anger, 00:12:27.819 --> 00:12:29.220 maybe more grief in it. 00:12:30.100 --> 00:12:31.059 In this act, 00:12:31.580 --> 00:12:32.679 Jesus is present. 00:12:33.059 --> 00:12:34.600 He's present to Martha and Mary. 00:12:35.240 --> 00:12:36.860 There's a couple things that this means. 00:12:37.759 --> 00:12:38.500 First of all, 00:12:38.980 --> 00:12:40.600 it means that he's just simply there. 00:12:41.159 --> 00:12:41.919 He's with them, 00:12:42.580 --> 00:12:43.279 simply put. 00:12:43.279 --> 00:12:46.319 But it also means that he receives. 00:12:46.899 --> 00:12:48.579 He receives Martha and Mary 00:12:48.579 --> 00:12:50.000 and their words, 00:12:50.539 --> 00:12:51.179 and their grief, 00:12:51.839 --> 00:12:53.339 their confessions of pain, 00:12:53.860 --> 00:12:54.559 their confusion, 00:12:54.740 --> 00:12:55.319 their anger, 00:12:56.100 --> 00:12:57.299 even their accusations, 00:12:58.199 --> 00:12:58.779 their lament. 00:12:59.480 --> 00:13:01.679 He receives them in everything they bring, 00:13:01.759 --> 00:13:02.620 without condition, 00:13:03.299 --> 00:13:04.879 without reservation or restriction. 00:13:05.919 --> 00:13:07.019 Nothing is not allowed. 00:13:07.019 --> 00:13:09.779 Martha and Jesus 00:13:09.779 --> 00:13:10.500 have a bit more 00:13:10.500 --> 00:13:11.740 of an extended conversation 00:13:11.740 --> 00:13:13.439 than Jesus and Mary. 00:13:14.480 --> 00:13:14.980 For me, 00:13:15.139 --> 00:13:15.600 incredibly, 00:13:15.740 --> 00:13:16.740 in the midst of her pain, 00:13:16.919 --> 00:13:18.079 she still believes 00:13:18.079 --> 00:13:19.379 that God will give Jesus 00:13:19.379 --> 00:13:20.439 whatever he asks. 00:13:21.179 --> 00:13:22.879 And then Jesus offers something else 00:13:22.879 --> 00:13:24.059 that comes with his presence, 00:13:24.679 --> 00:13:25.019 words. 00:13:26.299 --> 00:13:27.480 Jesus responds to her 00:13:27.480 --> 00:13:29.439 like he did to his disciples earlier, 00:13:30.559 --> 00:13:32.019 probably for the simple fact 00:13:32.019 --> 00:13:32.899 that like the twelve, 00:13:33.220 --> 00:13:35.039 Martha is his disciple too. 00:13:35.039 --> 00:13:37.240 And he takes her as a person 00:13:37.240 --> 00:13:39.240 and as his follower seriously, 00:13:39.500 --> 00:13:41.519 and he takes her suffering seriously too. 00:13:42.579 --> 00:13:44.259 Like he did earlier with the disciples, 00:13:44.599 --> 00:13:45.759 he invites Martha 00:13:45.759 --> 00:13:48.519 to a deeper place in himself, 00:13:48.879 --> 00:13:50.379 a deeper place of knowing 00:13:50.379 --> 00:13:51.399 who he is 00:13:51.399 --> 00:13:52.740 and what he's like for her 00:13:52.740 --> 00:13:55.759 in the midst of her deepest pain. 00:13:56.679 --> 00:13:57.299 Jesus says, 00:13:57.620 --> 00:13:58.939 Lazarus will live again. 00:13:59.839 --> 00:14:01.399 But Martha doesn't quite catch 00:14:01.399 --> 00:14:02.399 what Jesus means. 00:14:02.959 --> 00:14:04.360 She thinks that he means 00:14:04.360 --> 00:14:05.440 Lazarus will rise 00:14:05.440 --> 00:14:06.500 and the general resurrection 00:14:06.500 --> 00:14:07.300 in the afterlife. 00:14:08.100 --> 00:14:09.460 But Jesus presses her 00:14:09.460 --> 00:14:11.560 to believe something more 00:14:11.560 --> 00:14:12.419 about himself 00:14:12.419 --> 00:14:13.759 right here and right now. 00:14:14.500 --> 00:14:15.659 That believing in Jesus 00:14:15.659 --> 00:14:17.039 means overcoming death. 00:14:18.580 --> 00:14:19.580 And when he asks Martha, 00:14:19.700 --> 00:14:20.500 do you believe this? 00:14:20.580 --> 00:14:21.740 She makes a confession 00:14:21.740 --> 00:14:22.539 about him 00:14:22.539 --> 00:14:24.060 that actually exceeds 00:14:24.060 --> 00:14:25.580 Peter's best confession 00:14:25.580 --> 00:14:26.899 anywhere in the Gospels. 00:14:28.420 --> 00:14:29.779 Martha's an amazing person. 00:14:29.779 --> 00:14:31.860 And Jesus draws out 00:14:31.860 --> 00:14:33.299 of Martha's hurting heart 00:14:33.299 --> 00:14:34.899 during this time 00:14:34.899 --> 00:14:36.179 of deepest suffering 00:14:36.179 --> 00:14:37.360 a new level of faith 00:14:37.360 --> 00:14:37.879 in himself. 00:14:39.939 --> 00:14:41.120 But even so, 00:14:41.459 --> 00:14:43.059 as readers, 00:14:43.220 --> 00:14:44.299 we hear Jesus' words 00:14:44.299 --> 00:14:44.819 to Martha 00:14:44.819 --> 00:14:45.659 about him being 00:14:45.659 --> 00:14:46.240 the resurrection 00:14:46.240 --> 00:14:46.799 and the life, 00:14:46.860 --> 00:14:47.399 and we know 00:14:47.399 --> 00:14:48.459 there's more to it 00:14:48.459 --> 00:14:49.620 than what Martha 00:14:49.620 --> 00:14:50.659 is confessing 00:14:50.659 --> 00:14:51.279 in that moment. 00:14:52.620 --> 00:14:53.620 And there's one more thing 00:14:53.620 --> 00:14:54.419 Jesus brings 00:14:54.419 --> 00:14:56.519 when he brings his presence. 00:14:57.199 --> 00:14:58.339 He brings his feelings, 00:14:58.340 --> 00:14:59.019 his emotions. 00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:01.480 We have to know 00:15:01.480 --> 00:15:02.420 when reading about 00:15:02.420 --> 00:15:03.460 Jesus' emotions 00:15:03.460 --> 00:15:04.560 during this chapter 00:15:04.560 --> 00:15:06.340 how invested he is 00:15:06.340 --> 00:15:07.600 in Martha and Mary 00:15:07.600 --> 00:15:09.200 and their experience. 00:15:09.920 --> 00:15:10.980 We have to understand 00:15:10.980 --> 00:15:12.320 that he's not just 00:15:12.320 --> 00:15:14.200 with Martha and Mary, 00:15:14.580 --> 00:15:15.920 he is going through it 00:15:15.920 --> 00:15:16.440 with them. 00:15:17.759 --> 00:15:19.519 The emotion Jesus feels 00:15:19.519 --> 00:15:20.960 when he sees Mary weeping 00:15:20.960 --> 00:15:21.960 and the Jews 00:15:21.960 --> 00:15:23.019 who came from Jerusalem 00:15:23.019 --> 00:15:24.340 to weep with Mary 00:15:24.340 --> 00:15:27.160 is deeply moved in spirit 00:15:27.160 --> 00:15:28.100 and greatly troubled 00:15:28.100 --> 00:15:30.019 it's a little sanitized. 00:15:30.600 --> 00:15:31.379 The Greek word 00:15:31.379 --> 00:15:32.460 is 00:15:32.460 --> 00:15:33.740 abrimameo mai. 00:15:34.379 --> 00:15:35.200 It describes 00:15:35.200 --> 00:15:35.840 a deep, 00:15:36.120 --> 00:15:37.080 from the gut 00:15:37.080 --> 00:15:38.420 exhalation 00:15:38.420 --> 00:15:39.560 of raw grief 00:15:39.560 --> 00:15:40.080 and anger. 00:15:40.440 --> 00:15:41.320 It's not a word 00:15:41.320 --> 00:15:42.000 that's spoken, 00:15:42.259 --> 00:15:43.659 it's like an exhalation 00:15:43.659 --> 00:15:44.840 of deepest 00:15:44.840 --> 00:15:45.980 raw emotion. 00:15:47.300 --> 00:15:48.820 And then that exhalation 00:15:48.820 --> 00:15:50.320 turns into weeping. 00:15:52.139 --> 00:15:53.320 Jesus being present 00:15:53.320 --> 00:15:54.560 means he is, 00:15:55.259 --> 00:15:55.879 means knowing 00:15:55.879 --> 00:15:56.820 how he feels 00:15:56.820 --> 00:15:57.460 about us 00:15:57.460 --> 00:15:58.340 and our pain. 00:15:59.539 --> 00:15:59.980 And so what was 00:15:59.980 --> 00:16:01.179 Jesus crying for? 00:16:01.259 --> 00:16:01.980 What were his emotions 00:16:01.980 --> 00:16:02.340 about? 00:16:02.879 --> 00:16:03.299 Frankly, 00:16:03.439 --> 00:16:03.799 everything. 00:16:05.159 --> 00:16:06.320 That Lazarus 00:16:06.320 --> 00:16:07.039 had to experience 00:16:07.039 --> 00:16:07.460 sickness 00:16:07.460 --> 00:16:08.320 and then die, 00:16:08.879 --> 00:16:09.840 that this ripped up 00:16:09.840 --> 00:16:10.639 Mary and Martha, 00:16:11.220 --> 00:16:12.200 that this impacted 00:16:12.200 --> 00:16:13.240 a whole community 00:16:13.240 --> 00:16:14.700 with grief, 00:16:15.159 --> 00:16:16.100 that sickness 00:16:16.100 --> 00:16:16.980 and death 00:16:16.980 --> 00:16:17.820 even existed, 00:16:18.100 --> 00:16:19.100 that people suffered 00:16:19.100 --> 00:16:20.120 like this at all, 00:16:20.820 --> 00:16:21.679 and because when God 00:16:21.679 --> 00:16:22.720 made everything 00:16:22.720 --> 00:16:23.659 through his son, 00:16:23.659 --> 00:16:24.500 none of this 00:16:24.500 --> 00:16:25.759 was supposed to happen, 00:16:25.899 --> 00:16:26.379 none of this 00:16:26.379 --> 00:16:27.360 was supposed to be. 00:16:28.240 --> 00:16:29.079 Jesus wept 00:16:29.079 --> 00:16:29.799 because this was 00:16:29.799 --> 00:16:30.579 all wrong. 00:16:32.620 --> 00:16:33.759 Jesus being present 00:16:33.759 --> 00:16:34.360 means he takes 00:16:34.360 --> 00:16:34.980 our pain 00:16:34.980 --> 00:16:35.919 and grief 00:16:35.919 --> 00:16:37.000 and trauma seriously. 00:16:37.279 --> 00:16:38.159 There's no waving 00:16:38.159 --> 00:16:39.120 of a magic wand. 00:16:41.100 --> 00:16:41.779 Act 3 00:16:41.779 --> 00:16:43.799 is a resurrection. 00:16:45.159 --> 00:16:45.679 This actual, 00:16:45.860 --> 00:16:47.039 this part of the story, 00:16:47.299 --> 00:16:48.539 the actual raising 00:16:48.539 --> 00:16:49.139 of Lazarus 00:16:49.139 --> 00:16:49.779 from the dead 00:16:49.779 --> 00:16:51.279 is surprisingly brief. 00:16:51.279 --> 00:16:53.379 Jesus tells people 00:16:53.379 --> 00:16:54.539 there to roll away 00:16:54.539 --> 00:16:55.159 the stone. 00:16:55.720 --> 00:16:56.620 Martha objects. 00:16:57.100 --> 00:16:57.939 Jesus reminds her 00:16:57.939 --> 00:16:58.559 if she believes, 00:16:58.620 --> 00:16:59.299 she'll see the glory 00:16:59.299 --> 00:16:59.779 of God. 00:17:00.319 --> 00:17:01.419 And so people roll back 00:17:01.419 --> 00:17:02.299 the stone covering 00:17:02.299 --> 00:17:02.759 the tomb. 00:17:04.259 --> 00:17:06.259 Jesus' longest speech 00:17:06.259 --> 00:17:07.859 part is a prayer 00:17:07.859 --> 00:17:08.559 to his father. 00:17:09.379 --> 00:17:10.379 He doesn't ask God 00:17:10.379 --> 00:17:10.960 to do anything 00:17:10.960 --> 00:17:11.500 in this prayer. 00:17:11.779 --> 00:17:12.119 In fact, 00:17:12.180 --> 00:17:13.039 it seems that Jesus 00:17:13.039 --> 00:17:14.180 was already praying 00:17:14.180 --> 00:17:15.119 before this moment 00:17:15.119 --> 00:17:15.980 because he says, 00:17:16.879 --> 00:17:17.879 thank you for hearing me. 00:17:17.920 --> 00:17:18.339 And I don't know 00:17:18.339 --> 00:17:18.960 when he was praying, 00:17:19.039 --> 00:17:19.899 maybe when he was waiting 00:17:19.900 --> 00:17:20.780 before coming, 00:17:20.880 --> 00:17:21.680 maybe on his way 00:17:21.680 --> 00:17:22.640 walking to Bethany, 00:17:22.740 --> 00:17:23.840 maybe while he was 00:17:23.840 --> 00:17:25.200 talking to Mary or Martha, 00:17:26.040 --> 00:17:26.960 maybe when he was weeping. 00:17:27.400 --> 00:17:28.320 But he had been praying 00:17:28.320 --> 00:17:29.720 and he now thanks God 00:17:29.720 --> 00:17:30.519 for hearing him 00:17:30.519 --> 00:17:32.000 and acknowledges 00:17:32.000 --> 00:17:33.100 that people are watching. 00:17:35.280 --> 00:17:36.240 And he prays 00:17:36.240 --> 00:17:37.340 that this would make people 00:17:37.340 --> 00:17:38.380 believe that his father 00:17:38.380 --> 00:17:38.980 sent him. 00:17:39.920 --> 00:17:40.560 And then comes 00:17:40.560 --> 00:17:41.080 the miracle. 00:17:42.040 --> 00:17:43.160 His words are simple, 00:17:43.280 --> 00:17:43.840 three words, 00:17:44.060 --> 00:17:44.660 Lazarus, 00:17:44.860 --> 00:17:45.519 come out. 00:17:46.759 --> 00:17:47.900 So we don't know 00:17:47.900 --> 00:17:49.040 what happens spiritually 00:17:49.039 --> 00:17:49.740 in this moment. 00:17:50.159 --> 00:17:50.759 We don't know 00:17:50.759 --> 00:17:51.559 what happened 00:17:51.559 --> 00:17:53.059 once Jesus spoke 00:17:53.059 --> 00:17:54.019 out loud like that. 00:17:54.700 --> 00:17:56.180 It was on the surface 00:17:56.180 --> 00:17:57.559 ordinary speech 00:17:57.559 --> 00:17:59.200 at an outside gathering 00:17:59.200 --> 00:18:00.039 in front of a tomb. 00:18:01.480 --> 00:18:02.379 It was audacious. 00:18:03.000 --> 00:18:04.119 It was a high risk 00:18:04.119 --> 00:18:04.859 thing to say, 00:18:04.980 --> 00:18:05.940 something that spoke 00:18:05.940 --> 00:18:06.940 against the grain 00:18:06.940 --> 00:18:07.680 and flow 00:18:07.680 --> 00:18:10.000 and way of too much 00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:10.740 of how things are 00:18:10.740 --> 00:18:11.740 in the world and life. 00:18:12.759 --> 00:18:13.740 It was too much 00:18:13.740 --> 00:18:14.700 for his disciples 00:18:14.700 --> 00:18:15.519 and Martha 00:18:15.519 --> 00:18:16.299 to get their heads 00:18:16.299 --> 00:18:17.299 around in advance. 00:18:17.299 --> 00:18:20.700 I came across 00:18:20.700 --> 00:18:21.279 a quote. 00:18:23.259 --> 00:18:24.180 I'm going to pull it up 00:18:24.180 --> 00:18:24.759 and I'm going to read it 00:18:24.759 --> 00:18:26.039 because there's something 00:18:26.039 --> 00:18:26.680 of the mystery 00:18:26.680 --> 00:18:27.440 of what I'm talking 00:18:27.440 --> 00:18:28.039 about in this. 00:18:28.259 --> 00:18:28.720 I'm quoting 00:18:28.720 --> 00:18:29.919 the great theologian 00:18:29.919 --> 00:18:30.819 Matthew Perry, 00:18:31.019 --> 00:18:31.940 the actor who played 00:18:31.940 --> 00:18:32.440 Chandler 00:18:32.440 --> 00:18:33.919 on Friends. 00:18:34.720 --> 00:18:35.960 So he wrote a new book. 00:18:36.119 --> 00:18:37.079 It's not an endorsement 00:18:37.079 --> 00:18:37.639 of his book. 00:18:38.059 --> 00:18:39.000 We all love Friends. 00:18:39.359 --> 00:18:40.539 The book's probably good 00:18:40.539 --> 00:18:42.119 but this is Matthew 00:18:42.119 --> 00:18:44.039 talking about his life 00:18:44.039 --> 00:18:44.960 and as I think 00:18:44.960 --> 00:18:45.619 a lot of us know, 00:18:45.619 --> 00:18:46.659 he struggled deeply 00:18:46.659 --> 00:18:47.339 with addiction 00:18:47.339 --> 00:18:48.359 for a long time. 00:18:49.579 --> 00:18:49.739 So, 00:18:50.739 --> 00:18:52.179 I'm pulling out 00:18:52.179 --> 00:18:52.979 a couple passages. 00:18:53.159 --> 00:18:53.819 It's worth reading it 00:18:53.819 --> 00:18:54.459 in its entirety. 00:18:54.559 --> 00:18:55.139 We're going to pull out 00:18:55.139 --> 00:18:55.899 a couple parts. 00:18:56.719 --> 00:18:57.299 At one point, 00:18:57.399 --> 00:18:59.019 Matthew says, 00:18:59.879 --> 00:19:00.919 God, please help me. 00:19:01.979 --> 00:19:02.639 He whispers, 00:19:02.799 --> 00:19:03.619 God, please help me. 00:19:03.739 --> 00:19:05.139 Show me that you are here. 00:19:05.319 --> 00:19:06.399 God, please help me. 00:19:07.799 --> 00:19:08.699 And he describes 00:19:08.699 --> 00:19:10.059 a change coming over him 00:19:10.059 --> 00:19:10.819 and then he says, 00:19:10.879 --> 00:19:11.939 I started to cry. 00:19:12.159 --> 00:19:12.459 I mean, 00:19:12.500 --> 00:19:13.959 I really started to cry. 00:19:13.960 --> 00:19:15.579 That shoulder-shaking 00:19:15.579 --> 00:19:17.240 kind of uncontrollable 00:19:17.240 --> 00:19:17.680 weeping. 00:19:18.340 --> 00:19:19.140 I wasn't crying 00:19:19.140 --> 00:19:20.120 because I was sad. 00:19:20.200 --> 00:19:20.960 I was crying because 00:19:20.960 --> 00:19:21.980 for the first time 00:19:21.980 --> 00:19:22.579 in my life, 00:19:22.700 --> 00:19:23.660 I felt okay. 00:19:24.259 --> 00:19:25.140 I felt safe, 00:19:25.660 --> 00:19:26.579 taken care of. 00:19:27.240 --> 00:19:28.259 Decades of struggling 00:19:28.259 --> 00:19:28.819 with God 00:19:28.819 --> 00:19:30.039 and wrestling with life 00:19:30.039 --> 00:19:30.840 and sadness 00:19:30.840 --> 00:19:32.900 all was being washed away 00:19:32.900 --> 00:19:34.140 like a river of pain 00:19:34.140 --> 00:19:35.319 gone into oblivion. 00:19:36.539 --> 00:19:37.740 I'd been in the presence 00:19:37.740 --> 00:19:38.299 of God. 00:19:38.799 --> 00:19:39.620 Picture Chandler 00:19:39.620 --> 00:19:40.220 saying this. 00:19:40.700 --> 00:19:42.100 I'd been in the presence 00:19:42.100 --> 00:19:42.680 of God. 00:19:42.680 --> 00:19:43.860 I was certain of it 00:19:43.860 --> 00:19:44.920 and this time 00:19:44.920 --> 00:19:45.460 I had prayed 00:19:45.460 --> 00:19:46.480 for the right thing, 00:19:47.000 --> 00:19:47.299 help. 00:19:48.380 --> 00:19:48.900 Eventually, 00:19:49.039 --> 00:19:50.539 the weeping subsided 00:19:50.539 --> 00:19:51.400 but everything 00:19:51.400 --> 00:19:52.320 was different now. 00:19:52.940 --> 00:19:54.120 I stayed sober 00:19:54.120 --> 00:19:55.120 for two years 00:19:55.120 --> 00:19:55.779 based solely 00:19:55.779 --> 00:19:56.500 on that moment. 00:19:57.259 --> 00:19:58.259 God had shown me 00:19:58.259 --> 00:19:58.799 a sliver 00:19:58.799 --> 00:20:00.000 of what life could be. 00:20:00.519 --> 00:20:01.799 He'd saved me that day 00:20:01.799 --> 00:20:02.940 and for all days, 00:20:03.299 --> 00:20:04.060 no matter what, 00:20:04.560 --> 00:20:05.340 he had turned me 00:20:05.340 --> 00:20:06.140 into a seeker, 00:20:06.620 --> 00:20:07.779 not only of sobriety 00:20:07.779 --> 00:20:08.360 and truth 00:20:08.360 --> 00:20:09.700 but also of him. 00:20:09.700 --> 00:20:12.420 He doesn't know 00:20:12.420 --> 00:20:13.240 what happened to him. 00:20:13.700 --> 00:20:14.900 He just knows 00:20:14.900 --> 00:20:16.120 that he encountered Jesus. 00:20:19.200 --> 00:20:20.799 Whatever happened spiritually 00:20:20.799 --> 00:20:22.380 in this moment 00:20:22.380 --> 00:20:23.480 in John 11, 00:20:23.680 --> 00:20:25.259 Jesus' voice went out 00:20:25.259 --> 00:20:26.240 in the hearing 00:20:26.240 --> 00:20:27.279 of everyone watching. 00:20:27.779 --> 00:20:29.380 It went into that tomb, 00:20:29.580 --> 00:20:30.620 into the stench 00:20:30.620 --> 00:20:31.259 and darkness 00:20:31.259 --> 00:20:32.619 and it went down 00:20:32.619 --> 00:20:33.359 into death 00:20:33.359 --> 00:20:35.480 and it gave a command 00:20:35.480 --> 00:20:37.440 that could not be resisted 00:20:37.440 --> 00:20:38.240 by anything 00:20:38.240 --> 00:20:40.299 and Lazarus 00:20:40.299 --> 00:20:41.400 walked out of the tomb 00:20:41.400 --> 00:20:42.539 alive again. 00:20:43.839 --> 00:20:45.099 It just happened 00:20:45.099 --> 00:20:46.400 and we don't know how. 00:20:48.259 --> 00:20:49.359 Incredibly to me, 00:20:49.859 --> 00:20:51.259 John doesn't describe 00:20:51.259 --> 00:20:52.379 anyone's reaction. 00:20:52.380 --> 00:20:55.420 He only says 00:20:55.420 --> 00:20:56.840 that many there 00:20:56.840 --> 00:20:57.800 believed in Jesus 00:20:57.800 --> 00:20:59.300 and some, 00:20:59.800 --> 00:21:00.280 for some, 00:21:00.460 --> 00:21:01.100 it accelerated 00:21:01.100 --> 00:21:02.240 their plan to kill him. 00:21:03.220 --> 00:21:04.360 It's just grievous to me. 00:21:04.460 --> 00:21:05.440 How is that possible? 00:21:05.560 --> 00:21:06.420 They knew a miracle 00:21:06.420 --> 00:21:07.040 had happened 00:21:07.040 --> 00:21:08.700 and their response was, 00:21:09.140 --> 00:21:09.980 wow, that was amazing. 00:21:10.320 --> 00:21:11.020 We should hurry up 00:21:11.020 --> 00:21:11.940 our plans to kill him. 00:21:13.180 --> 00:21:14.320 John never mentions 00:21:14.320 --> 00:21:15.600 Martha or Mary 00:21:15.600 --> 00:21:17.500 or even Lazarus' reaction 00:21:17.500 --> 00:21:19.920 or the disciples' reactions 00:21:19.920 --> 00:21:20.460 who were there 00:21:20.460 --> 00:21:21.240 but this time 00:21:21.240 --> 00:21:22.100 not mentioned. 00:21:23.380 --> 00:21:24.760 I think if I was writing it 00:21:24.760 --> 00:21:25.980 I would have said something like 00:21:25.980 --> 00:21:26.960 and at that moment 00:21:26.960 --> 00:21:28.600 everybody just lost their mind. 00:21:29.260 --> 00:21:29.680 Like it would have, 00:21:29.840 --> 00:21:31.420 like it was joyous 00:21:31.420 --> 00:21:33.060 and they were in shock 00:21:33.060 --> 00:21:33.660 and they said, 00:21:33.800 --> 00:21:34.320 can you believe 00:21:34.320 --> 00:21:35.120 what just happened? 00:21:36.440 --> 00:21:37.680 We would probably all say, 00:21:37.800 --> 00:21:37.900 yeah, 00:21:37.980 --> 00:21:38.580 that was probably 00:21:38.580 --> 00:21:39.120 what happened. 00:21:40.280 --> 00:21:41.020 But John, 00:21:41.140 --> 00:21:41.320 I think, 00:21:41.360 --> 00:21:41.960 is intentional. 00:21:43.060 --> 00:21:44.120 He leaves us 00:21:44.120 --> 00:21:45.880 with this astonishing miracle 00:21:45.880 --> 00:21:47.780 and then lets us 00:21:47.780 --> 00:21:49.180 have our own reaction 00:21:49.180 --> 00:21:49.780 to Jesus 00:21:49.780 --> 00:21:50.680 and what he did. 00:21:51.240 --> 00:21:52.060 He invites us 00:21:52.059 --> 00:21:52.779 to go deeper 00:21:52.779 --> 00:21:53.379 with Jesus 00:21:53.379 --> 00:21:54.440 in the process. 00:21:56.440 --> 00:21:57.500 So maybe a couple 00:21:57.500 --> 00:21:58.000 takeaways 00:21:58.000 --> 00:21:59.659 at the close 00:21:59.659 --> 00:22:00.319 of this drama. 00:22:01.319 --> 00:22:02.220 What are some 00:22:02.220 --> 00:22:02.779 of the takeaways? 00:22:03.379 --> 00:22:03.819 For one, 00:22:03.940 --> 00:22:04.480 healing prayer 00:22:04.480 --> 00:22:05.859 doesn't trivialize suffering. 00:22:07.019 --> 00:22:08.200 Just as Jesus 00:22:08.200 --> 00:22:09.379 didn't minimize 00:22:09.379 --> 00:22:10.399 the awfulness 00:22:10.399 --> 00:22:11.159 or seriousness 00:22:11.159 --> 00:22:12.679 of Lazarus' death 00:22:12.679 --> 00:22:13.899 or illness, 00:22:14.539 --> 00:22:15.440 praying for healing 00:22:15.440 --> 00:22:16.819 takes the suffering 00:22:16.819 --> 00:22:17.679 and woundedness 00:22:17.680 --> 00:22:18.279 of others 00:22:18.279 --> 00:22:19.360 as seriously 00:22:19.360 --> 00:22:21.060 as it deserves. 00:22:22.060 --> 00:22:23.200 In healing prayer, 00:22:23.340 --> 00:22:24.000 the silence 00:22:24.000 --> 00:22:24.660 and absence 00:22:24.660 --> 00:22:25.180 of Jesus 00:22:25.180 --> 00:22:26.380 is fully acknowledged. 00:22:27.060 --> 00:22:27.480 The goal 00:22:27.480 --> 00:22:28.500 is not to explain 00:22:28.500 --> 00:22:29.140 away anything 00:22:29.140 --> 00:22:30.160 or find a why 00:22:30.160 --> 00:22:30.759 for anything 00:22:30.759 --> 00:22:31.360 that's happened 00:22:31.360 --> 00:22:31.880 to anyone. 00:22:32.840 --> 00:22:33.759 In healing prayer, 00:22:33.900 --> 00:22:34.539 we sit with 00:22:34.539 --> 00:22:35.320 the mystery 00:22:35.320 --> 00:22:36.120 that we don't know 00:22:36.120 --> 00:22:36.519 how, 00:22:36.900 --> 00:22:37.400 but Jesus 00:22:37.400 --> 00:22:38.820 will show forth 00:22:38.820 --> 00:22:39.480 his love 00:22:39.480 --> 00:22:40.460 and goodness 00:22:40.460 --> 00:22:41.180 and beauty 00:22:41.180 --> 00:22:41.700 and life. 00:22:42.560 --> 00:22:43.440 In healing prayer, 00:22:43.519 --> 00:22:44.000 it's always 00:22:44.000 --> 00:22:45.640 awaiting on the Lord 00:22:45.640 --> 00:22:46.480 with others 00:22:46.480 --> 00:22:47.099 for Jesus 00:22:47.099 --> 00:22:47.960 to show up 00:22:47.960 --> 00:22:49.000 and journeying 00:22:49.000 --> 00:22:49.559 with others 00:22:49.559 --> 00:22:50.279 when he does. 00:22:52.079 --> 00:22:52.799 Healing prayer 00:22:52.799 --> 00:22:53.680 is about presence. 00:22:54.619 --> 00:22:55.140 Healing prayer 00:22:55.140 --> 00:22:55.900 is about inviting 00:22:55.900 --> 00:22:57.319 Jesus to be present 00:22:57.319 --> 00:22:58.160 with someone 00:22:58.160 --> 00:22:59.160 so his words 00:22:59.160 --> 00:22:59.980 can be heard, 00:23:00.099 --> 00:23:00.680 his heart 00:23:00.680 --> 00:23:01.500 can be known, 00:23:02.039 --> 00:23:02.680 and so people 00:23:02.680 --> 00:23:03.160 can know 00:23:03.160 --> 00:23:03.680 that Jesus 00:23:03.680 --> 00:23:04.480 is there, 00:23:04.799 --> 00:23:05.759 that he's going through 00:23:05.759 --> 00:23:06.680 and he went through 00:23:06.680 --> 00:23:07.259 their suffering 00:23:07.259 --> 00:23:07.740 with them. 00:23:09.000 --> 00:23:09.599 Healing prayer 00:23:09.599 --> 00:23:10.579 is about being open 00:23:10.579 --> 00:23:12.460 to Jesus' invitation 00:23:12.460 --> 00:23:13.099 for people 00:23:13.099 --> 00:23:13.759 to come 00:23:13.759 --> 00:23:14.879 and find more 00:23:14.879 --> 00:23:15.220 of him 00:23:15.220 --> 00:23:16.019 and who he is, 00:23:16.259 --> 00:23:17.119 what he is like 00:23:17.119 --> 00:23:18.559 at their lowest, 00:23:18.960 --> 00:23:19.259 darkest, 00:23:19.460 --> 00:23:20.299 and most painful 00:23:20.299 --> 00:23:21.359 of experiences. 00:23:23.680 --> 00:23:24.480 I have found 00:23:24.480 --> 00:23:25.339 that there's a place 00:23:25.339 --> 00:23:25.819 in God 00:23:25.819 --> 00:23:26.519 that can only 00:23:26.519 --> 00:23:27.220 be accessed 00:23:27.220 --> 00:23:28.180 when Jesus 00:23:28.180 --> 00:23:28.960 meets us 00:23:28.960 --> 00:23:30.000 in our deepest 00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:31.460 places of woundedness. 00:23:31.900 --> 00:23:32.460 It's not because 00:23:32.460 --> 00:23:33.460 Jesus is mean 00:23:33.460 --> 00:23:34.660 and withholds himself 00:23:34.660 --> 00:23:35.339 ordinarily, 00:23:35.879 --> 00:23:36.619 it's because 00:23:36.619 --> 00:23:37.579 he gives us 00:23:37.579 --> 00:23:38.519 an experience 00:23:38.519 --> 00:23:40.140 of his disproportionately 00:23:40.140 --> 00:23:41.259 greater glory 00:23:41.259 --> 00:23:42.400 in the places 00:23:42.400 --> 00:23:43.160 where we most 00:23:43.160 --> 00:23:43.720 need it. 00:23:44.480 --> 00:23:45.059 It doesn't mean 00:23:45.059 --> 00:23:46.240 we look for suffering 00:23:46.240 --> 00:23:47.140 or try and suffer, 00:23:47.240 --> 00:23:47.660 and it doesn't mean 00:23:47.660 --> 00:23:49.039 God engineers suffering 00:23:49.039 --> 00:23:50.519 in order to give us 00:23:50.519 --> 00:23:51.240 this experience. 00:23:51.440 --> 00:23:52.440 It just means 00:23:52.440 --> 00:23:53.319 he responds 00:23:53.319 --> 00:23:54.619 to what should 00:23:54.619 --> 00:23:55.500 never have been 00:23:55.500 --> 00:23:57.180 with more of who he is 00:23:57.180 --> 00:23:57.740 and what he wants 00:23:57.740 --> 00:23:58.180 for us. 00:24:00.420 --> 00:24:00.839 Lastly, 00:24:00.980 --> 00:24:01.539 healing prayer 00:24:01.539 --> 00:24:02.879 receives the resurrection. 00:24:04.140 --> 00:24:04.519 Sometimes, 00:24:04.759 --> 00:24:05.200 when you're praying 00:24:05.200 --> 00:24:05.819 for healing, 00:24:05.960 --> 00:24:06.859 whether it's inner healing 00:24:06.859 --> 00:24:07.740 or physical healing, 00:24:08.079 --> 00:24:08.879 it feels like you're 00:24:08.879 --> 00:24:09.460 just choosing 00:24:09.460 --> 00:24:10.200 to roll back 00:24:10.200 --> 00:24:11.099 the rock of the tomb. 00:24:12.099 --> 00:24:12.719 There wasn't a lot 00:24:12.719 --> 00:24:13.119 of faith 00:24:13.119 --> 00:24:13.939 in that moment. 00:24:14.740 --> 00:24:15.439 Martha and others 00:24:15.439 --> 00:24:16.699 objected, 00:24:16.779 --> 00:24:17.299 and Jesus said, 00:24:17.379 --> 00:24:18.000 roll it back, 00:24:18.099 --> 00:24:19.159 and so they just did. 00:24:21.099 --> 00:24:21.919 And Jesus 00:24:21.919 --> 00:24:22.719 and the whole crowd 00:24:22.719 --> 00:24:23.319 was standing 00:24:23.319 --> 00:24:24.159 in front of this 00:24:24.159 --> 00:24:25.719 contradictory data 00:24:25.719 --> 00:24:26.599 of a dead man, 00:24:26.839 --> 00:24:27.379 a tomb, 00:24:27.699 --> 00:24:28.359 days old, 00:24:28.699 --> 00:24:29.399 a stench, 00:24:29.839 --> 00:24:30.659 and all heavily 00:24:30.659 --> 00:24:31.659 resisted faith. 00:24:32.819 --> 00:24:33.539 Martha and the others 00:24:33.539 --> 00:24:34.699 only had obedience 00:24:34.700 --> 00:24:36.160 to do what Jesus said, 00:24:36.220 --> 00:24:37.200 to roll the rock back, 00:24:37.279 --> 00:24:38.080 but that obedience 00:24:38.080 --> 00:24:39.039 held enough faith. 00:24:40.500 --> 00:24:41.259 And a lot of time 00:24:41.259 --> 00:24:41.900 when we're praying 00:24:41.900 --> 00:24:42.460 for each other, 00:24:42.500 --> 00:24:43.519 we pray in the face 00:24:43.519 --> 00:24:45.259 of contradictory data. 00:24:46.100 --> 00:24:46.759 Our prayers 00:24:46.759 --> 00:24:48.019 come in obedience 00:24:48.019 --> 00:24:49.620 to Jesus' instructions 00:24:49.620 --> 00:24:50.200 that we pray 00:24:50.200 --> 00:24:50.799 for each other, 00:24:51.539 --> 00:24:52.880 but we always press 00:24:52.880 --> 00:24:54.380 towards seeing God 00:24:54.380 --> 00:24:55.019 and his Son 00:24:55.019 --> 00:24:55.799 be glorified. 00:24:57.640 --> 00:24:58.420 I have seen 00:24:58.420 --> 00:24:59.240 some amazing answers 00:24:59.240 --> 00:24:59.700 to prayer, 00:25:00.180 --> 00:25:00.880 really amazing. 00:25:01.539 --> 00:25:02.420 I've also been 00:25:02.420 --> 00:25:03.720 painfully disappointed 00:25:03.720 --> 00:25:04.900 for myself 00:25:04.900 --> 00:25:05.620 and for others 00:25:05.620 --> 00:25:06.620 by not receiving 00:25:06.620 --> 00:25:07.579 answers to prayer. 00:25:09.500 --> 00:25:10.039 So my prayer 00:25:10.039 --> 00:25:10.539 is that people 00:25:10.539 --> 00:25:11.799 would encounter 00:25:11.799 --> 00:25:12.980 the resurrected Jesus 00:25:12.980 --> 00:25:14.400 in a prayer time. 00:25:16.380 --> 00:25:17.720 And that my experience 00:25:17.720 --> 00:25:19.000 through amazing highs 00:25:19.000 --> 00:25:20.000 and hard lows 00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:21.360 is that when I look back, 00:25:21.640 --> 00:25:22.559 Jesus has always 00:25:22.559 --> 00:25:23.259 shown up, 00:25:23.579 --> 00:25:24.420 and he always does 00:25:24.420 --> 00:25:25.519 eventually show forth 00:25:25.519 --> 00:25:26.039 his glory. 00:25:26.420 --> 00:25:27.200 And so I keep praying. 00:25:28.519 --> 00:25:29.980 So the healing prayer ministry 00:25:29.980 --> 00:25:30.880 is new at Advent. 00:25:31.279 --> 00:25:32.079 I want to invite 00:25:32.079 --> 00:25:33.240 anyone who wants 00:25:33.240 --> 00:25:33.740 to pray, 00:25:34.500 --> 00:25:35.259 who wants people 00:25:35.259 --> 00:25:36.359 to come pray with them 00:25:36.359 --> 00:25:37.980 to find Jesus 00:25:37.980 --> 00:25:38.980 and see how he would 00:25:38.980 --> 00:25:39.940 draw close to them 00:25:39.940 --> 00:25:40.900 and mark them 00:25:40.900 --> 00:25:41.640 with his glory 00:25:41.640 --> 00:25:43.779 to come seek it out. 00:25:44.259 --> 00:25:44.720 Prayer ministers 00:25:44.720 --> 00:25:45.500 who come over 00:25:45.500 --> 00:25:46.059 at the side 00:25:46.059 --> 00:25:46.839 after services, 00:25:47.920 --> 00:25:49.039 and if you want 00:25:49.039 --> 00:25:49.720 to actually set up 00:25:49.720 --> 00:25:50.599 a time for prayer, 00:25:51.140 --> 00:25:52.019 contact Hillary. 00:25:53.400 --> 00:25:54.039 And there are lots 00:25:54.039 --> 00:25:54.620 of people who would love 00:25:54.620 --> 00:25:55.480 to come pray with you 00:25:55.480 --> 00:25:56.180 and see what Jesus 00:25:56.180 --> 00:25:56.660 would do. 00:25:57.539 --> 00:25:58.400 Let me close 00:25:58.400 --> 00:25:58.800 in prayer. 00:26:02.160 --> 00:26:02.840 Lord Jesus, 00:26:02.980 --> 00:26:03.600 we thank you 00:26:03.600 --> 00:26:04.580 that you offer 00:26:04.580 --> 00:26:05.980 yourself to us. 00:26:07.280 --> 00:26:08.340 You promise us 00:26:08.340 --> 00:26:09.160 that you will 00:26:09.160 --> 00:26:10.140 show forth 00:26:10.140 --> 00:26:11.220 your love, 00:26:11.440 --> 00:26:12.080 your goodness, 00:26:12.820 --> 00:26:13.340 your beauty, 00:26:13.380 --> 00:26:13.920 and your life 00:26:13.920 --> 00:26:14.400 somehow. 00:26:17.040 --> 00:26:17.840 And somehow 00:26:17.840 --> 00:26:18.560 it happens, 00:26:19.340 --> 00:26:20.080 and sometimes 00:26:20.080 --> 00:26:20.640 it happens, 00:26:20.720 --> 00:26:21.580 and we don't even know 00:26:21.580 --> 00:26:22.780 how it happened. 00:26:22.860 --> 00:26:23.920 It's just suddenly there. 00:26:23.920 --> 00:26:26.140 you've done something, 00:26:26.820 --> 00:26:27.940 and we are grateful. 00:26:28.380 --> 00:26:29.720 We want to see you 00:26:29.720 --> 00:26:30.640 keep doing this. 00:26:32.519 --> 00:26:33.240 So Lord, 00:26:33.300 --> 00:26:33.960 we invite you 00:26:33.960 --> 00:26:35.440 to come draw close 00:26:35.440 --> 00:26:35.940 to us 00:26:35.940 --> 00:26:37.039 in those places 00:26:37.039 --> 00:26:37.620 of pain 00:26:37.620 --> 00:26:38.660 where we most need 00:26:38.660 --> 00:26:39.820 to be marked 00:26:39.820 --> 00:26:40.580 by your glory. 00:26:42.420 --> 00:26:42.940 Amen.