Okay, well, death.
It's a stark word, isn't it?
And bitter experience forces everyone to recognize that stark reality,
recognize that awfulness.
The statistics are brutal.
One out of one dies.
Now, instinctively, we move away from death, don't we?
We tend to move away from any notion of death,
and we move towards notions of life.
In fact, I think if you scratch below the surface,
most people develop a way of thinking about death
as a necessity which allows enjoyment of life.
And I think the problem is largely driven by relationships.
Parents, children, siblings, friends.
We really value relationships.
We would do anything to maintain relationships,
but constantly they're being ripped away from us by death,
whether that death comes through illness,
accident suddenly,
or simple old age.
There's never a moment where we're ready to give up those relationships into death.
We're horrified.
We're traumatized.
We sense that this is not right.
We sense that we're made for something better,
something more permanent.
We long for something better.
And angrily, sometimes, we wonder why it has to happen
and wish something could be done to prevent it.
We actually want to defy death,
but no, we can't.
In spite of our efforts to look young or extend our lives,
death catches up.
And so I think what we do in our society
is default to the next best thing.
We avoid talking about it.
And so traditionally,
death has been one of those impolite subjects at a dinner party.
Even when we have to talk about death,
and sometimes we do,
we tend to sanitize the notion of death these days in our society.
We sanitize the reality by saying that someone has passed.
When's the last time you heard of somebody dying?
People today just pass.
I'm not sure where they're passing to,
but that's the language.
It seems to soften it.
Funerals are increasingly given over totally
to a celebration of the life of the person who's passed.
Now, there's nothing wrong with celebrating the life,
but somehow these celebrations are now dominating,
and there's no time given
to consider the stark reality of that body
before friends and family.
And the termination of relationships
that's represented in that body
before the family and friends.
No amount of celebration can really offset that.
And then again, changing direction slightly,
we all want to know how a story ends.
We like to watch a movie to the completion.
We follow scandals through the newspapers to completion.
And no less do we desire to know
how our own personal story is going to end.
And so, in our society,
some, perhaps even increasingly so, I think,
turn to fortune tellers and mystics.
Increasingly common also in our society.
People just assume a view of what happens after death
without really thinking it through.
So, you'll hear people commonly talk today
about reincarnation.
And I'm thinking, really?
Do you know what goes around all that?
Or some people will just say,
well, after death there's nothingness,
there's oblivion.
Well, how have you come to that conclusion?
Or people commonly say,
well, I'm going to be resurrected and go to heaven
because I'm basically a good person,
at least better than those people over there.
And sometimes even we talk about hell.
We talk about hell in a way
that has sort of domesticated it.
We're in hell as now a place of fun.
And if I end up in hell,
well, I'll be there with all my mates.
It'll be a romping old party.
But you know what?
When you scratch below the surface,
in spite of all these strategies to deal with death,
so many people still fear it.
So many people still fear death.
Ignoring it doesn't make it go away.
Won't hold it at bay.
Won't make it any easier when the moment comes.
And that, if you need a reason this morning,
tune into what the Bible said.
And that is why we need to listen
to the words of Jesus in this passage before us.
Because the words of Jesus
promise a good end to our personal story.
Jesus doesn't avoid the reality of death.
He feels it deeply.
We'll see that in the passage.
But he promises to move us through death to life.
That's his passion.
That's his mission.
To move people from death to life.
He promises life everlasting.
The good life that we long for
every time we go to a funeral.
The life we since were created for.
He promises that to any and all
who believe or trust in him.
So with that introduction,
let's turn to the story.
One of these stories in which the truth
is a sight more strange than fiction.
One of these stories in which the truth
is a story of Jesus.
One of these stories in which the truth
is a story of Jesus.
One of these stories in which the truth
is a story of Jesus.
And if you're a visitor this morning
and not familiar with it,
the outline of what I'm saying
is on the back of that sheet
you get given at the front door
as you came in this morning
or should have been given.
So I want to walk through
the first part of the story
under the heading
of words speak louder than actions.
Words speaking louder than actions.
And I'm using that heading
because I'm hoping it will actually
help us avoid tripping up
on a couple of real problems
in the story early on.
Because there's a couple
of really jarring moments
in this story as it unfolds.
And those jarring moments
if we trip on them
will cause us to miss
the big point of the picture
or the big point of the drama altogether.
So here we go.
Jesus is in a region called Batanea
which is up in the northwest of Palestine.
About four days travel
from Bethany where these guys live.
And the story
at a big picture level
develops really, really slowly
over a minimum of six days.
Now that slowness I think
is pretty incredible
given that the story starts
with Jesus getting the message
that nobody wants to get.
His good friend from a family
he was obviously very close to
was ill.
Now the word there is ill.
It doesn't mean he just had a headache
or a bit of an upset stomach.
It means he was seriously ill.
He was at death's door
and deteriorating.
And this messenger arrives
and the news was already there
for four days old
when Jesus got it.
And so with the message
we get no trouble I think
sensing the desperate hope
that was attached
to that message
by the two sisters.
They would have known
of Jesus' miraculous power
intervening and reversing
other similar situations.
And so their hope
attached to this message
was that just perhaps
in some
I don't know what way
Mary and Martha might have thought
just
maybe Jesus can do something.
maybe he can intervene
in the situation
for our brother.
Either by coming
to him immediately
and they know
he had done that
by crossing the sea of Galilee
crossed it immediately
it says
or healing him
from a distance.
Now this is the first
stick point
Jesus' response
into this
urgency
this tragedy
unfolding tragedy
he sends the messenger
back with another message
essentially saying
to Mary and Martha
knowing that the messenger
would take four days
to get back
to deliver this message
don't worry
everything will work out
alright.
And again
it's not hard
to imagine Mary and Martha
questioning the messenger
remember
when you look at
the time sequence
of the story
by the time the messenger
gets back
Lazarus has already
been dead for two days
and you can just
imagine
Martha and Mary
quizzing the messenger
is that it?
Is that all he said?
He didn't offer to heal
he didn't offer to do anything?
But it gets worse
even more
apparently heartless
was Jesus'
purposeful delay.
Look at the way
verses 5, 6 and 7
are put together.
Now Jesus
we're just told
in verse 5
how much
Jesus loved
the family.
And then look at
verse 6
the so
in our English versions
is therefore
it's a very strong word
so it reads like this
now Jesus loved
Martha and her sister
and Lazarus
therefore
when he heard
that Lazarus was ill
he did nothing
for two days.
He did nothing
for two days.
and then
verse 7
two days later
when he knew
that Lazarus
was dead
then he says
to his disciples
now let's go
to Judea
let's go and see
Lazarus.
but the disciples
then come
into the picture
and if Jesus
is heartless
they're
insensitive
because
it would appear
that they're
off in a different
direction altogether
because their
concern
when they hear
the word Judea
is hang on a minute
that's going to be
a strategic mistake
if we go back
there we're as good
as dead
they're operating
on their own agenda
of what they think
Jesus' mission
should have been
and for them
the idea of death
doesn't figure
if Jesus is going
to lead a revolt
against the Roman
occupation force
Jesus has no use
dead
go back there
you're as good as dead
no Jesus
we can't do it
and verse 9 and 10
then Jesus challenges
their agenda
again speaking
purposefully
purposefully rather
he says
look
I'm light
and by definition
light dispels
darkness
even more than that
Jesus is saying
there that he
is the light
of God's
salvation purpose
this is
my mission
I'm involved
in God's
salvation purpose
so what can go
wrong
what can go wrong
when you're
fulfilling God's
plan
is what Jesus
is saying to them
but still they persist
when Jesus then
tells them that
Lazarus has fallen
asleep
they misunderstand
it because
they're not
thinking
they're not
engaged
they're thinking
of their own
agenda
and he sees
on that
as further
reason not to
go back to
Jerusalem
well if
Lazarus
shone some
signs of
recovery
we don't need
to go there
and put our
lives at risk
put the bigger
mission at risk
and again
that prompts
another apparently
heartless response
by Jesus
verse 14
Jesus clarifies
Jesus said
told them
plainly
Lazarus
has died
look at what
follows
and for your
sake
I am glad
I was not
there
so that you
may believe
but let's
go to him
how could
Jesus be
glad
he wasn't
there
and yet
is now
determined
to go to
him
after he's
dead
friends
that's why
I use
the heading
for this
first part
of the
story
it's really
important
we hear
Jesus'
words
rather than
getting tripped
up by his
apparent actions
his words
are purposefully
designed
to point
to the
heart of the
story
to point
towards belief
as we're told
in verse 14
see the story
is not about
Lazarus
it's about
Jesus
setting the
scene
where the
death of
Lazarus
becomes a
powerful
demonstration
of the
character
purpose
and goodness
of the
father
and of
Jesus
himself
the word
glory
is used
to describe
all that
and so
this whole
story
is orchestrated
and that's
a very strong
word but it's
the word
that needs
to be used
Jesus
orchestrates
every circumstance
here
so that they
might believe
that he is
saviour
and king
and so
the way
the story
unfolds
at the end
of the first
part
we are
face to
face
with an
indisputable
power
the power
of death
life
the life
of Lazarus
succumbs
to death
Lazarus
is dead
and Thomas
I think
speaks
for the
disciples
following
through
this notion
of death
and heaviness
Thomas speaks
for the
disciples
verse
16
well
he says
we may
as well
go with
him
because
we're
all as
good
as
dead
if we
go back
to
Judea
there's
just a
heaviness
brooding
over this
whole story
death as it were
is coming at them
from every which
angle
and four days
later
the heaviness
continues
four days
later
they finally
arrive at the
home of
Lazarus
and they're
confronted
with a
scene of
devastation
the reality
of death
dominates
there as
well
the despair
the confusion
the broken
heartedness
the pain
the anger
the grief
which comes
inevitably
with death
is all
there
palpable
as Jesus
arrives
at the
family
home
and in
conversation
with Martha
and then
Mary
we sense
these two
girls
trying to
be restrained
trying to
keep it
together
but oozing
with hurt
and disappointment
why didn't
you do
something
Jesus
it was
within your
power to
do something
why
if only
man
isn't that
the questions
we ask
we're so
familiar with
those questions
at a funeral
aren't we
we sit
beside
the bedside
of somebody
who's
dying
that's the
question
isn't it
and so
John has
drawn us
brilliantly
into an
all too
familiar
yet dreadful
scene
we've all
been there
we've all
been there
sisters
brothers
wider family
parents
children
friends
we've all
been there
as one of
those groups
gathered to
grieve
numb with
pain
and confusion
wrestling
in our
hearts
with the
anger
it shouldn't
be like
this
the big
questions
why
what if
longing that
could have
been different
but at the
same time
not knowing
how
and quietly
recognizing
in a way that
we never
ever admit to
quietly
recognizing
that the
unwelcome
visitor who
has just
turned up
again and
snatched away
ripped away
one love
deeply
by us
will one
day turn up
for us
it will be
my turn
soon
all too
soon
so let's
look at the
second part
of the
story
where
Jesus'
actions
speak much
louder than
his words
Jesus walks
into this
tragic scene
dominated by
death and
despair
with words
of promise
words of
promise that
overflow with
hope
comfort and
blessing
look at
verse 23
he pushes
Martha
to a
whole new
level
of belief
Jesus said
to her
your brother
will rise
again
Martha said
to him
I know
he will
rise again
in the
resurrection
on the
last day
Jesus said
to her
I am
the resurrection
and the
life
see
Martha
like most
Jews
believed
there would
be a
sort of
general
resurrection
sometime
in the
future
at the
day of
judgment
at the
end of
the
world
because
they
believed
that God
would not
allow
death
to have
the final
word
in the
lives
of his
special
people
things
and the
life
was to be
found
in
relationship
with him
and might
be known
and enjoyed
now
Jesus
said to
Martha
I need
you to
believe
in me
that I
am the
one
I am
Messiah
I am
the one
who can
cross
the boundaries
between
life and
death
this world and the next world, I can cross that boundary and bring back to life any whom I choose
to do so, any I choose to give life to. This is my mission. This is my specialty, is what Jesus
is asking Matthew to believe. My specialty is moving people from death to life.
I am the source of real life, says Jesus. And wherever I am, I'm so identified
with resurrection and life that you can actually say, I am the resurrection. Wherever I am,
says Jesus, there will be real life, life that will never end, relationship that will never break
or cease to be or be ripped away, life that will always satisfy and never disappoint.
More than that, if that was possible, more than that, trusting Jesus or being in relationship
with him means that though we will actually at some point in the future experience actual physical
death and decay, we will never experience a break in relationship with God, but we'll pass through
death into heaven and eternal relationship with him. Death won't be the end of our story.
It's a new chapter as the life we have in Jesus now takes on a whole new dimension as the life we have
with Jesus in heaven forever. Now look at Martha's response in verse 27. Now we've got to cut the
woman a bit of slack. This is pretty big call to come at this sort of stuff. Martha says in verse 27,
yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.
Now she doesn't quite get there, does she?
She's a couple of steps short of what Jesus or where Jesus wanted her to be. Nevertheless,
John records this very, very carefully. She doesn't get fully that resurrection life is a present
reality to be enjoyed. But here's the goal that John wants us to understand. What she does know is,
what she is sure about, is that Jesus is the Christ. That is, that Jesus is God's King and Savior
sent into the world to reverse the effects of sin, principle of which is death.
So she doesn't know how it's all going to work. She can't quite get her head around what Jesus
sent her, but she knows enough to know that life lies with Jesus.
And interestingly also, when you look at the bigger picture, step right back, big picture stuff,
John chapter 20 verse 31, John gives us his one reason for writing the whole record,
and it's almost identical words to which, to that, to those which he puts in Martha's,
Mary or Martha, whoever it was, one of them anyway, one of the sisters,
almost identical words to what he puts in her mouth now.
In other words, John's saying, yet she doesn't understand all the details,
but she's there. She believes.
She is a demonstration of that very thing that Jesus has come to achieve.
She is entrusting herself in the face of death to Jesus, the face of life.
Then the story moves on, and that was Martha, obviously.
Jesus meets Mary then, and once again is confronted by the utter devastation that comes with death.
These girls have been chatting away.
They had been having a word or two about Jesus before Jesus arrived,
because she leads out with almost identical sentence to Jesus.
Jesus, if only you had been here, my brother wouldn't have died.
So there's a fair bit of conversation that wasn't reported to Jesus there, I would suspect.
And in response, Jesus acts in wonderful tenderness and compassion with Mary as he did with Martha.
And you can just see it.
He felt their pain, and he identified with them.
And verses 33 and 34 then.
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping,
he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.
And he said, where have you laid him?
The whole scene, as Jesus observes it, prompts an overflow of incredible emotion on the part of Jesus.
Now, we need to understand these words here, because in the English translation again,
it says he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.
And it suggests that it might have been in response to saying the girl's weeping.
But the language is much, much stronger than that.
The word there means, in English, what was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.
The word actually is better rendered outraged.
Jesus was absolutely outraged at what he saw before him.
So what was Jesus outraged at?
Well, I take it he was outraged as he observed the mess caused by sin among God's image bearers.
You remember back at the start of Jesus' ministry, one of the first things he did, he went to the temple.
And the same word, he was outraged.
He was outraged back then because he saw in the temple, the very place of worship,
he saw how sin, how far sin had taken God's people away in their heart from worshipping God.
So it had just become a den of robbers and thieves.
A place to make money.
And he was outraged.
Sin takes people away from God, into death.
Sin messes up the world, messes up lives, and ultimately takes us to death.
And he was outraged.
And he's outraged at the end of his ministry because he looks at the unnaturalness of death in God's good creation.
He's outraged at the misery of the human race, the carnage of sin,
and the destructive power of Satan, who is the power of death,
and whom he had come into this world to defeat and destroy.
His outrage then comes with tears.
He weeps.
He weeps because of the mess of sin he sees before him.
He weeps because sin means that God's not honoured as he ought to have been honoured by those he made.
He weeps because in just over a week, he would do battle to defeat Satan, who is the power of death,
knowing that that battle would cost him his life.
So he weeps for what's ahead, I believe, as well.
So here we have it, as we move to the climax of this miracle.
The final action of the drama unfolds with Jesus standing in front of the tomb of Lazarus,
not in a state of inconsolable grief,
but driven by absolute outrage at the mess sin causes in God's world.
And with that, we see for the second time in this story,
a confrontation with that indisputable power
as Jesus moves Lazarus from death to life.
Come back from the dead, Lazarus, now.
Come back from death to new life, now.
And immediately, the stinking, and that's the word, not a polite odour.
Man in a 50 degree climate after four days.
Do you want me to describe it to you?
Alison begged me not to.
Yep, the stinking decomposition that Lazarus had become
is reversed.
Totally reversed.
Immediately reversed.
And Lazarus bunny hops out of the grave,
looking a bit stupid in a sense,
wrapped in these grave clothes.
He couldn't have walked.
And Jesus says,
take those things off and let them go.
Almost an anticlimactic statement.
Because the climax was the saviour of this world,
Jesus Christ,
the one who claimed over and over and over again to be God
because he had the power that only God could demonstrate.
And he demonstrated that power, saying,
come back across the divide, Lazarus.
Come back to life.
And even bigger still,
and we'll deal with this next week,
the second half of verse, chapter 11.
Even bigger still,
the scene was just a shadow
of what would be repeated
in just over a week.
Where Jesus would confront the real enemy,
Satan,
who has the power of death,
and defeat him
and prove his lordship over everything
by himself coming back from the grave.
Remember in chapter 10,
Jesus said that,
nobody will take my life from me.
For the sake of my sheep,
as a good shepherd,
I will lay down my life.
And then I will take it back up again.
But who else but God
has the power to come into this world
and exit the world
and come back into it
on his own volition?
Only Jesus has the power
to deal with sin
which inevitably results in death
and thereby reverse
the curse of death
and restore life
as it was meant to be
to God's image bearers.
That is his mission.
He confirms that mission
as he prays to his father.
He openly says,
I'm not praying this
because I need to pray.
I'm praying this to show you guys
that I and the father
are absolutely one
in this mission
of moving people
from death to life.
So John arranges this story
as a report of Jesus
to do this.
It's one thing for Jesus
to have the big words,
to promise words of life.
But in this part of the story,
his actions speak much louder
than his words.
He actually delivers life
from death
in this very public
and orchestrated setting.
Could anything bring more glory
to the Lord?
More honour to the Lord
than this?
I don't think so.
So I'll finish with this question.
Same question that Jesus asked Martha.
Do you believe?
Surveys of Christians show
that I've read,
there's probably lots
of different ones,
but I've read surveys
that show 60 plus percent
of Christians
don't actually believe
in the resurrection.
I'm talking Christians,
I'm not talking pagans.
So I ask the question again,
do you believe?
Do you believe?
Jesus said he was the good shepherd.
Chapter 10,
the good shepherd
who pursued his lost
and wayward sheep,
pursued his sheep
right to the point
of their being dead
in their trespasses and sin.
He calls them back by name.
He delivers them
into the good life
of relationship with God
as we were created to enjoy.
That's what Jesus said he did.
And here he delivers.
My friends,
here's the practical application.
Jesus is that something
we long for
when we're confronted with death.
He is that better life
we sense we were created for.
He offers his life
in the midst of coping
with dying bodies
that fail us constantly
and increasingly.
The big issues of life,
what happens when I die,
can be sorted now
by believing
that in Jesus
there's forgiveness,
new acceptance,
new relationship with God
and the good life,
eternal life,
life abundant,
life that will go with us,
from this life
into heaven and eternity
in an unbroken continuity.
So again,
as we've seen week after week
going through John's gospel,
the question is this,
will you put your hope
for the future
into building security
and longevity
into your current life
by your own resources?
obsessively even
trying to defy age
and death
and my goodness,
our society's given to that
now, isn't it?
And we in the church
just trot along
behind society,
obsessively trying
to defy age
and death.
Or will you invest
your future
in real life,
true life,
defined by relationship
with Jesus,
life that will take you
across the divide
that one day
we will all have to cross
into a continued life
of never-ending enjoyment
of Jesus in heaven.
My friends,
I just ask you,
I beg you,
to consider these words.
Let me pray.
Lord, it's a hot morning,
not conducive to concentration.
Lots of distractions
around us
and in our own hearts
and minds.
I pray, Lord,
that you might
cut through all those things
and imprint your word
in our hearts.
Give us great joy
for those who
have already
committed ourselves
to life in Jesus.
And Lord,
for those who are here
this morning
who have not yet done that,
break through
resistance, Lord,
so that they might
also choose life.
Amen.