Well, as we come to the Word of God this morning,
I hope you're hungry.
I hope you're ready to hear from what He has to say.
That's what this time is about.
It's about Him speaking to us through His Word.
And so if you have your Bible with you,
please open it up to John chapter 10.
John chapter 10, verse 14.
I'll put it up on the screen there for you as well.
This is Jesus talking.
He said,
And one shepherd.
The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life
only to take it up again.
No one takes it from me,
but I lay it down of my own accord.
I have authority to lay it down
and authority to take it up again.
This command I received from my Father.
Well, as I was reading through this again this past week,
past weeks really,
I kept coming across this question.
There's just something that makes me wonder.
What does Jesus mean when He says,
I lay down my life only to take it up again?
What does that mean?
The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life
only to take it up again.
It seems totally clear what Jesus means when He says,
I lay down my life for my sheep.
I think we all get that.
But then He adds,
only to take it up again.
And it's here that we're probably thinking,
what are you talking about, Jesus?
Imagine the look on the Pharisees' faces
as they hear Him say this.
I bet you their faces went from scowls
to scrunched up.
Like, huh?
What are you talking about?
Nobody talks about life and death like this.
Like, I'm going to give up my life,
die,
and then I'm going to take my life back to myself again.
These are strange words.
And you have to know the people also who were listening
thought these were strange words.
In fact, in verse 19,
which comes just shortly down the page here right after this,
it says,
the Jews who heard these words were again divided.
Many of them said,
He is demon-possessed and raving mad.
Why listen to Him?
These words sound crazy.
I'm going to lay my life down,
die,
and then I'm going to take it back up again.
As in,
bring myself back to life again?
Who talks like this?
Well, Jesus, the Son of God,
talks like this.
And it is strange,
and it is weird at the first,
but it feels a little less strange
three days after Jesus' death
when it comes true,
when He rises from the dead.
That's what Jesus is talking about here,
His death for His sheep,
and then His resurrection from the dead
three days later.
And I think we all know that Jesus is talking about
His resurrection here.
I mean, what else could it mean
to lay down your life
and then take it back up again?
But even though we know
Jesus is talking about resurrection,
these words still sound very strange.
At least to me they do.
For starters,
rising from the dead is uncommon.
Not just uncommon,
it's exceedingly rare.
There are not many people
who we,
even in the entire Bible here,
were raised from the dead.
In fact,
in the entire Old Testament
there were only three.
From creation to the time of Christ,
only three people that we know of,
that's recorded,
were raised from the dead.
There was
the widow of Zarephath's son,
the Shunammite woman's son,
and that guy whose dead body
touched Elisha's bones
and he came alive
when he was being buried.
Then during the ministry of Christ,
Jesus raised
three more people from the dead.
The widow of Nain's son,
Jairus' daughter,
and we're going to get to Lazarus
in John chapter 11 soon.
Now we're up to six.
The moment Jesus died,
there was also a group of people
who were raised from the dead.
It says in Matthew 27, verse 50,
we don't know how many,
but it says that they came
out of their tombs
and came into the city.
And then there were two people
raised from the dead
after Jesus ascended into heaven.
There was Tabitha and Eutychus,
the guy who fell asleep
to Paul's preaching
and fell out the window.
And then of course,
there was Jesus' own resurrection
from the dead.
So including Jesus,
that's a total of nine people
plus this unknown number
who were raised from the dead.
Nine plus an unknown number
over a period of,
we'll say,
six to eight thousand years.
So it's exceedingly rare
for someone to come back
to life from the dead.
Why is it so rare?
Well, for starters,
only God can raise people
back to life from the dead.
Only the Creator has the power
to give life
and to undo death.
And as far as we know,
throughout the time period
of the Scriptures,
He's only chosen to do it
ten times,
unless there's a few others
that He didn't tell us about.
Why doesn't God do it more often?
Well, that's a big question.
And it's not one that we get
a direct and comprehensive answer to
in the Bible.
But maybe it's not quite
the question we should be asking.
Maybe instead we should be asking,
why did God make an exception
to the norm of death
in these ten instances?
Here's a couple passages of Scripture
which may lead us to some answers.
Hebrews 9.27.
It says,
Just as people are destined to die once,
or it is appointed unto man
once to die,
and after that,
to face judgment.
Who has appointed it
to be like that?
Well, it's God that's decided that.
And we all know from the bigger story
of the Bible
the reason why.
Death comes to all of us
as a part of our punishment for sin.
And this verse,
Hebrews 9.27,
makes it clear that it's the norm
for people to die.
And so why did God make an exception
to this norm
for these ten instances
and undo their death?
Well, we're not going to look in depth
at each one of these resurrections,
but here's a couple reasons why.
Acts 2.22.
This is Peter,
on the day of Pentecost,
preaching to the Jewish people,
to all who are gathered there.
He says,
fellow Israelites,
listen to this,
Jesus of Nazareth
was a man
accredited
by God
to you.
How?
By miracles,
wonders,
and signs,
which God did among you
through him
as you yourselves know.
There's a lot in there,
but do you see God's purpose,
one of his purposes,
in doing miracles,
signs,
and wonders?
It's to
validate
Jesus,
to accredit Jesus,
to prove
before
the eyes of all who saw
that Jesus
is
my son.
And yes,
I indeed
am speaking
through him.
Therefore,
I work through him
the things that only I can do.
It's like God's signature.
It's like his
stamp of authenticity
on Jesus.
His words to you
are my words to you.
And this is not the only passage
like this,
but this is kind of a general principle.
God's purpose,
one of them,
in working signs
and wonders
and miracles,
including raising
some people
from the dead,
was to confirm
and validate
that the person
who he did it through
was his chosen
prophet
or apostle.
Or in the case of Jesus,
not just a prophet,
but son,
lamb,
life,
light,
Messiah,
good shepherd,
and the list goes on
for Jesus.
Contrary to the idea
of some,
God reserves
miracles,
signs,
and wonders
for special moments
and situations.
He uses
those things
to mark
his chosen
servants.
servants,
and I don't mean
all of his servants,
but specifically
those who speak
for him,
those who are
his mouthpieces,
the ones who,
when they speak,
it's really God
who is speaking
through them.
how can we know
for sure
that what they are
saying is the word
of God?
God does
what only he can
do
through them.
Special acts
of power.
This is a general
principle in scripture
and it's how we know
that the prophets
in the Old Testament
were sent from God
as opposed to those
false prophets
who couldn't do
those things.
and it's how we know
that Jesus is
who he said he is.
It's how we know
that the apostles
who came after Jesus
really did speak
on Christ's behalf
and were sent out
by him.
Let's look at
one example of this.
The apostle Paul
in his letter
to the Corinthians,
1 Corinthians 2,
verse 4,
he said this,
he said,
my message
and my preaching
were not with
wise and persuasive
words,
but with a demonstration
of the Spirit's
power.
Well,
what demonstration
of the Spirit's power
is he talking about?
Paul actually
tells us
what that is
in his second letter,
2 Corinthians 12,
verse 12.
He's,
in that letter,
defending his
apostleship.
He tells the
Corinthians there,
I persevered
in demonstrating
among you
the marks
of a true apostle,
including signs,
wonders,
and miracles.
In other words,
it's the signs,
the wonders,
the miracles
that Paul did,
that's how you know
that I, Paul,
really do speak
for Christ.
I really was sent
out by him
as an apostle,
a true apostle
of the Lord Jesus.
If you look down
a little further
in chapter 13,
verse 3 of 2 Corinthians,
you can see,
Paul says,
on my return,
I will not spare
those who sinned
earlier,
or any of the others,
since you are
demanding proof
that Christ
is speaking through me.
So this is the issue.
The Corinthians
are saying,
we're not so sure
that you are
an apostle anymore,
that the Lord Jesus
is really speaking
through you,
that we need
to obey your words
as if we're obeying
the Lord Jesus,
and Paul's giving
his defense.
Don't you remember
when I first came
to you?
I did all the things
that a true apostle
does,
including signs,
miracles,
wonders.
So one primary reason
that God works
miracles,
signs,
and wonders
is to authenticate
his chosen messengers.
Let's think about
who was involved
in each of these
ten resurrection
moments in the Bible.
There was the prophet
Elijah,
who raised
a person from the dead
only once.
There was the prophet
Elisha,
who did it once
as well.
Well,
once while he was alive
and once from his bones.
Then there was
Peter,
the apostle,
who did it once.
And there was
Paul,
who did it once.
Jesus,
on the other hand,
he raised three people
from the dead
and was himself
raised from the dead.
And at the very moment
of Jesus' death
on the cross,
it says that many
were raised
from the dead.
that's God's
unique,
one-of-a-kind
signature way
of saying,
pay attention
to what is happening
in this moment
as all those people
come alive
in the very moment
that the Son of God
dies.
Or in the cases
of the other
resurrections,
it's God's way
of saying,
listen to this person.
This person speaks
on my behalf.
Now let me say
briefly,
authenticating
the messenger
and spotlighting
the moment
are not the only
reason God
does miracles,
of course.
It's not the only
reason he raises
the dead.
God can have
more than one purpose
for doing things.
And often he does.
Another reason
he did,
I think,
is simply because
he had compassion
in his heart
and was moved
deeply
to do this
for these people.
You think of that
small number
of people
that were raised
from the dead.
Three out of nine
of the individuals
named
were widows.
Or at least
the sons
were the ones
who were raised.
Sons of widows.
I don't think
that's a coincidence.
We are told
time and time again
about how God
has a special
care and concern
for the fatherless
and the widow.
So he also
raises from the dead
out of compassion
for those who
lost loved ones.
Probably who would
be in dire straits
without their help
to provide.
And of course
we can safely assume
that God
in some of those
instances
raised them back
to life
because he had
a purpose for them.
He had work
that he planned
to do through them
as they continue
to live.
We see that
with Lazarus
who became
living proof
and a walking
testimony to Jesus.
But now
let's finally
talk about
the difference
between Jesus
and the rest.
This is what our
sermon is all about
this morning.
With Elijah
and Elisha
and Peter
and Paul
those are the only
four men
aside from Jesus
who raised someone
from the dead
in the Bible.
with those
four men
we know
that it wasn't
by their own
power.
Just as Paul
said we read
my message
and my preaching
came to you
with a demonstration
not of my power
but of the
Spirit's power.
God's the one
who did the miracles.
It was his power
that made it happen.
That's how
Eutychus
was raised
from the dead.
Paul gives the
credit to God.
But watch this.
Jesus speaks
a little bit
differently.
I'll read it again.
John 10
17 and 18.
The reason
my Father loves me
is that I lay
down my life
only to take
it up again.
No one
takes it from me
but I lay it
down of my own
accord.
I have authority
to lay it down
and authority
to take it up
again.
This command
I received
from my Father.
Do you hear it?
I'm going to
lay down
my life
of my own
accord
and I'm
going to
take up
my life
again.
You must be
mistaken Jesus.
What you really
meant to say
was I'm going
to lay my
life down
and my
Father's going
to raise me
up again
or restore
it to me
again.
no that's
not what
Jesus said.
He said
I'm going
to lay
down
my life
of my
own accord
and I'm
going to
take
my life
up
again.
I have
authority
to lay it
down
and I have
authority
to take
up
my life
again.
Do you hear
it now?
this is why
some thought
Jesus was
crazy.
Like Jesus
are you
saying that
you are
going to
raise
yourself
from the
dead?
Yes.
That's what
Jesus is
saying.
But that's
impossible.
How can a
dead person
act upon
themselves?
Once you're
dead you're
dead.
Well that's
how it is
for you
and me.
We can't
do much
of anything
without a
body.
But this
is where
we see
the unique
difference
between
us
and Jesus
Christ
the Son
of God.
Yes
the body
of Jesus
died
but that
immaterial
part of
Jesus
did not
die.
Jesus
the Son
of God
did not
cease to
exist
and
Jesus
raised
Jesus
from the
dead.
I know
that sounds
weird and
strange
but I
say it
that way
on purpose
to draw
you in
so that
you hear
what Jesus
is saying.
He says
I have
authority
to take
up my
life
again.
I will
lay down
my life
I will
surrender
my body
to death
but then
I will
retake
my life
I will
take it
up again
not just
incidentally
because
the Father
restores
it to
me
but
actively
I will
take
it up
I'm
the one
that has
authority
to do
that.
Yes
Jesus
is saying
I will
raise
myself
back
to life
from the
dead
I will
restore
what was
destroyed
my body
back to
life again
maybe you're
thinking
Josh
that's so
strange
I've
never
heard
that
in all
my
years
are you
sure
you're
not
off
on
this
well
let's
look
back
at what
Jesus
said
in
John
chapter
2
verse
19
you
remember
that
he's
in
the
temple
courts
he's
driving
out
the
sellers
there's
a
heated
exchange
between
him
and
the
temple
officials
they
say
give us
a sign
by what
authority
are you
doing
these
things
and
what does
Jesus
say
to
them
he
says
destroy
this
temple
and
I
will
raise
it
again
in
three
days
and
John
the
author
tells
us
that
in
that
moment
Jesus
was
not
talking
about
the
temple
building
but
about
his
body
that's
John
chapter
2
verse
19
they
replied
it
has
taken
46
years
to
build
this
temple
and
you're
going
to
raise
it
in
three
days
but
the
temple
he
had
spoken
of
was
his
body
you
hear
what
Jesus
is
saying
destroy
this
temple
my
body
and
I
will
raise
it
again
in
three
days
do
you
hear
it
I
have
authority
to
lay
it
down
and
I
have
authority
to
take
it
up
again
unlike
the
other
four
human
beings
that
we
know
were
involved
in
raising
another
person
from
the
dead
this
resurrection
is
different
there's
something
about
this
Jesus
that
is
unlike
any
other
human
being
Jesus
himself
is
unbeatable
even
by
death
how
can
that
be
Jesus
is
not
just
any
other
human
being
he
is
the
God
man
he
is
both
human
and
divine
as
we
sung
about
earlier
meekness
and
majesty
now
some
of
you
who
notice
details
might
be
thinking
but
Josh
what
about
those
24
passages
that
all
say
that
it
was
God
who
raised
Jesus
from
the
dead
three
of
which
specify
that
it
was
the
father
who
raised
Jesus
from
the
dead
here's
one
of
them
Galatians
1
verse
1
Paul
an
apostle
sent
not
from
men
nor
by
a
man
but
by
Jesus
Christ
and
God
the
father
God
the
father
who
raised
him
that's
Jesus
from
the
dead
did
God
the
father
raised
Jesus
from
the
dead
or
did
Jesus
raise
himself
from
the
dead
my
answer
is
it's
not
either
or
it's
both
in fact
it's
all
three
father
son
and
holy
spirit
acting
together
in
perfect
harmony
Romans
8
verse
11
tells
us
about
how
the
spirit
is
involved
in
this
too
and
if
the
spirit
of
him
who
raised
Jesus
from
the
dead
is
living
in
you
he
who
raised
Christ
from
the
dead
will
also
give
life
to
your
mortal
bodies
because
of
or
through
as
some
translations
say
his
spirit
who
lives
in
you
father
son
and
holy
spirit
were
all
at
work
together
in
raising
Jesus
back
to
life
from
the
dead
it's
not
either
or
it's
both
and
this
confirms
what
Jesus
has
been
telling
us
all
along
about
this
special
relationship
that he
has
with
his
father
we'll
go back
to
John
chapter
five
and
read
it
one
more
time
Jesus
said
very
truly
I
tell
you
the
son
can
do
nothing
by
himself
he
can
do
only
what
he
sees
his
father
doing
here
it
is
because
whatever
the
father
does
the
son
also
does
they
work
together
in
everything
including
Jesus
resurrection
the
father
raises
Jesus
back
to
life
from
the
dead
and
in
that
same
moment
in
perfect
unison
Jesus
raises
his
own
body
back
to
life
from
the
dead
he
reassumes
his
existence
in
that
body
now
a
body
completely
transformed
and
restored
a
glorious
body
destroy
this
temple
and I
will
raise
it
again
in
three
days
I
lay
down
my
life
for
my
sheep
only
to
take
it
up
again
I
have
authority
to
lay
it
down
and
I
have
authority
to
take
it
up
again
so
what
do
we
do
with
all
this
well
if
you're
here
mainly
to
find
out
more
about
yourself
or
your
situation
you
might
be
a
little
bit
disappointed
with
my
message
I
could
say
it
more
directly
this
message
is
not
about
you
it's
about
Jesus
it's
about
what
he
said
that
day
and
it's
not
that
it
has
nothing
to
do
with
us
I
mean
we've
been
celebrating
I
hope
for
the
past
number
of
weeks
that
Jesus
laid
down
his
life
for
his
sheep
for
you
and
for
me
but
Jesus
wants
you
to
know
in
the
midst
of
all
that
even
before
it
happens
though
he
will
die
he
will
die
he
will
not
stay
dead
when's
the
last
time
you
heard
anyone
successfully
predict
their
own
resurrection
this
is
why
we
need
to
take
everything
that
Jesus
says
so
seriously
this
is
why
we
need
to
hold
his
words
in
the
highest
of
regards
far
above
all
the
words
that
are
flying
around
in
our
world
today
sometimes
the
things
Jesus
says
sound
a little
weird
like
talking
about
raising
himself
back
to
life
from
the
dead
but
then
it
happened
and
this
should
change
everything
about
how
we
see
Jesus
here's
where
it
hits
home
to
us
specifically
over
and over
again
in
John's
gospel
we've
heard
Jesus
say
if you
truly
believe
in me
like from
the heart
sincerely
in the
heart
if you
truly
believe
in me
I will
give to
you
eternal
life
we
could
hardly
even
count
the
number
John
3
15
John
3
16
John
3
36
John
4
14
John
5
24
and
25
John
5
28
John
6
27
6
34
to
35
6
47
and
the
list
goes
on
there's
even
more
all
of
these
if
you
believe
in
me
I
will
give
you
eternal
life
6
verse
40
if
you
believe
in
me
I
will
raise
you
up
at
the
last
day
that's
quite
the
promise
to
make
isn't
it
especially
given
that
10
out
of
10
people
die
and
as far
as we
know
up to
this
point
in
the
story
there's
only
ever
been
five
people
who
have
been
raised
from
the
dead
ever
and
later
they
too
died
a
second
time
how
can
we
be
sure
that
Jesus
can
deliver
this
promise
I
will
give
you
eternal
life
and
I
will
raise
you
up
at
the
last
day
we
can
be
sure
we
can
be
confident
because
Jesus
exercised
his
own
life
giving
authority
and
power
on
his
own
dead
body
and
did
what
is
truly
miraculous
he
rose
up
from
the
grave
and
conquered
death
and
so
yes
he
can
raise
you
and
me
to
no
problem
and
give
us
life
that
never
ends
or
fails
on
the
last
day
and
so
I
want
to
invite
you
come
to
the
Lord
Jesus
and
if
you
have
not
done
this
yet
repent
and
believe
in
him
this
is
his
promise
to
you
if
you
do
and
if
you've
already
done
that
then
I
want
to
invite
you
to
rejoice
with
me
this
morning
our
Lord
Jesus
conquered
death
I
mean
think
about
that
he
did
what
none
of
us
can
do
on
our
own
he
had
a
showdown
with
death
itself
and
after
taking
the
worst
blow
that
death
could
deal
to
him
he
got
up
and
gave
death
itself
the
knockout
punch
and
that's
why
we
do
more
than
just
celebrate
Jesus
we
worship
him
we
give
him
glory
we
worship
and
give
him
glory
just
as
we
worship
and
give
glory
to
God
the
father
he's
worthy
of
it
let's
pray
Lord
Jesus
we
thank
you
that
you
have
this
great
power
and
authority
to
give
life
and
we
need
that
even
as
we
are
reminded
today
that
life
doesn't
always
last
as
long
as
we
think
it
will
one
day
our
time
is
coming
each
one
of
us
the
day
that
we
will
die
and
yet
you
offer
us
something
supremely
valuable
and
I
pray
that
we
would
hold
fast
to
your
promise
and
we
give
you
glory
that
one
day
we
will
live
forever
with
you
thank
you
we
love
you
amen
doing
a
and
oh
I
love
you
I
vey
you
I
why
it
I