WEBVTT 00:00:00.760 --> 00:00:07.299 So we're going to read together from John chapter 11. So if you have your Bibles, we'll be in John 00:00:07.299 --> 00:00:14.380 chapter 11 and we're going to read the first 44 verses before thinking about it briefly. 00:00:15.200 --> 00:00:22.240 Let's hear God's word. Now a man named Lazarus was ill. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and 00:00:22.240 --> 00:00:28.300 her sister Martha. This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay ill, was the same one who poured perfume 00:00:28.300 --> 00:00:35.020 on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. So the sisters sent word to Jesus, Lord, the one you 00:00:35.020 --> 00:00:42.159 love is ill. When he heard this, Jesus said, this illness will not end in death. No, it is for God's 00:00:42.159 --> 00:00:49.019 glory so that God's son may be glorified through it. Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 00:00:49.380 --> 00:00:54.480 So when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed where he was two more days. And then he said to 00:00:54.479 --> 00:01:01.159 his disciples, let us go back to Judea. But Rabbi, they said a short while ago, the Jews there tried 00:01:01.159 --> 00:01:07.019 to stone you and yet you are going back. Jesus answered, are there not 12 hours of daylight? 00:01:07.739 --> 00:01:14.060 Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble for they see by this world's light. It is when a person 00:01:14.060 --> 00:01:20.359 walks at night that they stumble for they have no light. After he had said this, he went on to tell them, 00:01:20.359 --> 00:01:27.579 our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to wake him up. His disciples replied, 00:01:27.819 --> 00:01:34.480 Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better. Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought 00:01:34.480 --> 00:01:41.400 he meant natural sleep. So then he told them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And for your sake, I am glad I was 00:01:41.400 --> 00:01:48.960 not there so that you may believe, but let us go to him. Then Thomas, also known as Didymus, said to the 00:01:48.959 --> 00:01:57.500 rest of the disciples. Let us also go, that we may die with him. On his arrival, Jesus found that 00:01:57.500 --> 00:02:03.399 Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, 00:02:03.939 --> 00:02:08.240 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 00:02:09.199 --> 00:02:14.359 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. 00:02:14.360 --> 00:02:21.460 Lord, Martha said to Jesus, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even 00:02:21.460 --> 00:02:28.360 now God will give you whatever you ask. Jesus said to her, your brother will rise again. Martha answered, 00:02:28.460 --> 00:02:34.500 I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection 00:02:34.500 --> 00:02:41.020 and the life. The one who believes in me will live even though they die. And whoever lives by believing 00:02:41.020 --> 00:02:47.620 in me will never die. Do you believe this? Yes, Lord, she replied. I believe that you are the Messiah, 00:02:47.760 --> 00:02:53.520 the Son of God, who is to come into the world. After she had said this, she went back and called 00:02:53.520 --> 00:02:59.300 her sister Mary aside. The teacher is here, she said, and is asking for you. When Mary heard this, 00:02:59.379 --> 00:03:05.300 she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the 00:03:05.300 --> 00:03:10.800 place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house comforting her, 00:03:11.360 --> 00:03:16.560 noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb 00:03:16.560 --> 00:03:22.939 to mourn there. When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell to his feet and said, 00:03:23.100 --> 00:03:30.120 Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who 00:03:30.120 --> 00:03:36.599 had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. Where have you laid 00:03:36.599 --> 00:03:44.819 him? He asked. Come and see, Lord, they replied. Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, see how he loved him. 00:03:45.420 --> 00:03:49.900 But some of them said, could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying? 00:03:50.920 --> 00:03:56.980 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 00:03:56.979 --> 00:04:03.519 Take away the stone, he said. But Lord, said Martha, the sister of the dead man, by this time there is a 00:04:03.519 --> 00:04:10.419 bad odor, for he has been there four days. Then Jesus said, did I not tell you that if you believe 00:04:10.419 --> 00:04:16.740 you will see the glory of God? So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, Father, 00:04:17.279 --> 00:04:22.959 I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of 00:04:22.959 --> 00:04:29.139 the people standing here that they may believe that you sent me. When he had said this, Jesus called in 00:04:29.139 --> 00:04:36.959 a loud voice, Lazarus, come out. The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen 00:04:36.959 --> 00:04:45.500 and a cloth round his face. Jesus said to them, take off the grave clothes and let him go. 00:04:45.500 --> 00:04:53.259 So it's a long passage, but it's a wonderful passage as we think about the raising of Lazarus, 00:04:53.339 --> 00:05:00.379 which is, in John's Gospel, his final signpost as to the identity and the mission of Jesus. And it 00:05:00.379 --> 00:05:07.800 stands as a climax. Here is Jesus described and identified, revealed as the divine yet human 00:05:07.800 --> 00:05:16.139 saviour who has come to defeat the power of death and the devil. It is a sign that reveals the glory of 00:05:16.139 --> 00:05:25.060 God. It reveals the power and love of Jesus and it points us towards the cross and the resurrection. 00:05:26.240 --> 00:05:36.699 All the way along, we've been reminding ourselves of John's conclusion to why he chose to have these 00:05:36.699 --> 00:05:44.360 signs in his gospel. In John chapter 20 verse 31, these are written that you may believe that Jesus is 00:05:44.360 --> 00:05:52.899 the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. In other words, 00:05:53.279 --> 00:06:00.339 these are written so that we might believe so that like Mary and Martha, when trouble or suffering 00:06:00.339 --> 00:06:10.759 or death comes, Jesus would be the friend we would know and call on. Jesus would be the Son of God and 00:06:10.759 --> 00:06:20.279 Saviour that we would depend on. That we would see Jesus as the good news, the good person, 00:06:21.000 --> 00:06:29.879 the good God that we all need. So to think about this story, it begins with an announcement. First, 00:06:30.339 --> 00:06:36.879 17 verses, there is this announcement that comes from Martha and Mary, comes to Jesus, 00:06:37.420 --> 00:06:45.199 Lazarus, who you love, is ill. And that's followed up by some announcements from Jesus. Jesus says to 00:06:45.199 --> 00:06:51.159 his disciples, this will not end in death. Notice he doesn't say Lazarus will not die, he says death is 00:06:51.159 --> 00:06:58.899 not going to be the end of the story for Lazarus. But rather, this event will reveal the glory of God 00:06:58.899 --> 00:07:09.120 and will reveal the glory of Jesus, his Son, as he performs this sign. Jesus then announces in time 00:07:09.120 --> 00:07:19.560 that he will go. And he says he will go to wake Lazarus from the sleep of death. And he's going to do that, 00:07:19.560 --> 00:07:28.720 we're told in verse 15, that the disciples may believe. So again, it's always moving us towards 00:07:28.720 --> 00:07:38.060 that response of believing. Now just as we get going, a couple of things to notice about Jesus here. 00:07:38.060 --> 00:07:48.720 One, he enjoyed friendships and he shared love with individual people, here with a family. 00:07:50.160 --> 00:07:58.480 So the message comes from the sisters, Lord, the one you love, Lazarus, is ill. And then we're told in 00:07:58.480 --> 00:08:09.400 verse 5, Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Now nobody had a schedule like Jesus. 00:08:09.520 --> 00:08:15.939 Now our schedule's all been flipped upside down, but you imagine yourself at your busiest and your life 00:08:15.939 --> 00:08:22.939 is nothing like as busy as Jesus. We read frequently that he was so overwhelmed by people wanting to hear 00:08:22.939 --> 00:08:30.139 him teach and to heal. Then he didn't even have time to eat. He didn't have a moment's peace. He would go to a quiet 00:08:30.139 --> 00:08:38.539 place with his disciples and crowds would come and he wouldn't have any space, a pattern of preaching and teaching 00:08:38.539 --> 00:08:45.460 and doing miracles and travelling from place to place and at the same time facing so much opposition and rejection. 00:08:45.620 --> 00:08:52.259 But that didn't harden him. Some welcomed Jesus and he enjoyed friendship. 00:08:52.259 --> 00:08:57.399 He has this wonderful balance that he's a public figure preaching and teaching the kingdom of God, 00:08:57.460 --> 00:09:04.700 but he also has these personal loving friendships. Those who welcomed him enjoyed friendship with him. 00:09:04.740 --> 00:09:11.159 And that's amazing to just sort of step back and think. This Jesus who John has described as the creator 00:09:11.159 --> 00:09:17.939 and sustainer of all things, as the Lord of all, as the saviour of the world, is also a friend. 00:09:17.940 --> 00:09:25.100 Is it your friend? Are you enjoying and growing in that friendship with God today, with Jesus today? 00:09:26.020 --> 00:09:31.660 The sister's instinct is important for us to recognise. In their suffering and their crisis, 00:09:32.580 --> 00:09:37.140 they turn to Jesus. You know, we sang a few minutes ago, 00:09:37.139 --> 00:09:41.740 what a friend we have in Jesus. All our sins and griefs to bear. What a privilege 00:09:41.740 --> 00:09:47.759 to carry everything to God, Jesus, who is God, in prayer. Mary and Martha knew that. 00:09:49.460 --> 00:09:54.220 Do we know that ourselves? Are we making use of that wonderful resource we have in prayer? 00:09:55.220 --> 00:10:02.139 Suffering, I guess we've said this a few times during lockdown, suffering serves as a stress test 00:10:02.139 --> 00:10:10.319 on the foundations that we build on. If their life, if their family life had been based on comfort 00:10:10.319 --> 00:10:14.240 and health and a lack of suffering, then those foundations would crumble. 00:10:14.980 --> 00:10:19.960 But what we see in Mary and Martha is their faith is fixed on Jesus. He is the rock 00:10:19.960 --> 00:10:24.559 that they have chosen to build on. That's one of the images that Jesus gives. 00:10:24.559 --> 00:10:29.740 The Bible gives of Jesus. He is the rock. He is the foundation. He is the cornerstone that we are to build 00:10:29.740 --> 00:10:37.840 our life on. And these friends of Jesus, they've done that. Jesus is their friend. 00:10:38.379 --> 00:10:45.960 But we also see that Jesus would reveal the glory and the power of God in these events. 00:10:46.500 --> 00:10:51.919 So in verse 4, this illness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be 00:10:51.919 --> 00:10:59.460 glorified through it. So Jesus comes to reveal the glory of God. And he'll do it again in this 00:10:59.460 --> 00:11:05.980 sign. And we're also here reminded that Jesus shares glory and honour with his Father. Jesus is not 00:11:05.980 --> 00:11:15.060 simply fully human. He is also fully God and deserving all glory and honour. And then in verse 00:11:15.060 --> 00:11:22.200 11, we're reminded of his power. Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to wake him 00:11:22.200 --> 00:11:27.639 up. He's our friend, but only I can wake him. And for Jesus, his power is so great that raising Lazarus 00:11:27.639 --> 00:11:35.199 from the dead will be like waking him up from an afternoon nap. And again, remember the purpose 00:11:35.199 --> 00:11:42.539 of the sign that you may believe in this Jesus. The goal is for the disciples here to grow and be 00:11:42.539 --> 00:11:48.439 strengthened in their faith. That as the glory of Jesus is revealed to them once more, that it would 00:11:48.440 --> 00:11:59.180 call out a personal response in them. So today, as we reflect on this, can you and I, will we, trust Jesus 00:11:59.180 --> 00:12:11.580 in our pain, in our suffering, and even with our own death? Bearing in mind that Jesus is the same 00:12:11.580 --> 00:12:20.320 yesterday and today and forever. We are encouraged to recognise that Jesus still has that same love, 00:12:20.740 --> 00:12:31.379 that same compassion, that same power in heaven that he had on earth. So let this story help you to see 00:12:31.379 --> 00:12:38.320 Jesus so that you might trust him as friend and as saviour. 00:12:40.639 --> 00:12:46.919 Moving on from that announcement, we come to, I suppose, the centre of the story with the comfort 00:12:46.919 --> 00:12:55.039 that Jesus provides. But first of all, there's a tension. Verse 17, on his arrival, Jesus found that 00:12:55.039 --> 00:13:01.379 Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. And so the question is, is Jesus too late? And we 00:13:01.379 --> 00:13:08.500 discover with Jesus, it's never too late. Such is his power and wisdom. He will show himself as the 00:13:08.500 --> 00:13:14.779 friend who loves and the son of God who has come to deliver. And again, we get this beautiful portrait 00:13:14.779 --> 00:13:22.599 of the divine yet human saviour who stands at the centre of our faith. He is unique in all the 00:13:22.600 --> 00:13:31.460 faiths. He is the only head of a religion that claims to be God who has entered in. He's the only 00:13:31.460 --> 00:13:41.060 one who shows the grace of God. And here he is also standing in the middle of human suffering and grief, 00:13:41.139 --> 00:13:48.740 not standing on the sidelines, not distant and remote. And he comes to these two sisters who share 00:13:48.740 --> 00:13:56.560 a common faith. Both of them, verse 21 and 32, come to Jesus and say, Lord, if you had been here, my 00:13:56.560 --> 00:14:04.100 brother would not have died. So they have faith in the identity of Jesus, in the presence of Jesus. 00:14:05.139 --> 00:14:12.860 And what we see in Jesus is that he loves each of them and he knows each of them and he knows their 00:14:12.860 --> 00:14:21.440 particular needs in that moment. So we see him, to borrow from Tim Keller, operating a ministry of truth 00:14:21.440 --> 00:14:31.960 where he sort of pushes Martha with truth towards hope, eternal hope. But then with Mary exercising a 00:14:31.960 --> 00:14:41.700 ministry of tears, entering into the grief and the sorrow. And we need this kind of saviour. 00:14:41.700 --> 00:14:50.040 This isn't somebody that anybody would make up. Fully human, fully divine. So let's take a look. 00:14:50.420 --> 00:15:00.820 First of all, the ministry of truth. As we meet Martha, we discover Martha as, like many of the Jews of her day, 00:15:01.360 --> 00:15:07.259 she had a general hope of end time resurrection. That at the end of history, 00:15:07.259 --> 00:15:18.740 the people of God would be raised to a new life, to enjoy a new world. And Jesus brings a different hope 00:15:18.740 --> 00:15:25.879 when he says, I am the resurrection and the life. And he says to Martha, your brother will rise again. 00:15:26.259 --> 00:15:32.139 Jesus will bring not a general hope, but a personal hope of not simply an end time resurrection, 00:15:32.139 --> 00:15:38.360 but an end time, in the middle of history resurrection, something that's utterly unique. 00:15:38.699 --> 00:15:45.220 And how is Jesus able to do that? Here the focus is on who Jesus is. He is the one who brings 00:15:45.220 --> 00:15:54.080 resurrection life because he is the I am. That's a title of God. He is the resurrection and the life. 00:15:54.080 --> 00:16:02.259 He is the one who in and of himself can give eternal life, which is both a quantity, perfect life forever. 00:16:02.920 --> 00:16:08.240 And it's a quality of life that begins now. Eternal life is to know relationship with God, 00:16:08.340 --> 00:16:17.460 to call on him as father, to enjoy his love and his salvation today, as well as for all of eternity. 00:16:17.460 --> 00:16:29.560 And so Jesus says that death will not be the end. Eternal life beyond death is the reality for those who believe. 00:16:31.920 --> 00:16:39.879 Martha's response when Jesus says, do you believe this? Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, 00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:43.340 the son of God who is to come into the world. Martha's right. I believe absolutely. 00:16:43.340 --> 00:16:49.440 And she recognises for you to deliver on those promises, Jesus, you must be the Messiah. 00:16:49.899 --> 00:16:54.840 You must be the son of God. She understands the connection between the sign and the identity of 00:16:54.840 --> 00:17:00.720 Jesus performs the sign that he is in none other than the son of God and the promised saviour who was 00:17:00.720 --> 00:17:07.079 to come into the world. So there is this ministry of truth to Martha to bring her towards hope and 00:17:07.079 --> 00:17:13.000 eternal hope. But then towards Mary, it's different. There's this ministry of tears. 00:17:13.339 --> 00:17:19.279 Jesus. When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come along with her weeping, 00:17:19.399 --> 00:17:29.480 he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. And then in verse 35, we simply read, Jesus wept. 00:17:29.480 --> 00:17:44.480 Jesus feels the horrific power of death. Jesus feels the grief of love lost, of separation experienced. 00:17:45.480 --> 00:17:56.759 Jesus feels the pain of brokenness in a fallen world. Jesus is a king, but he's not like a visiting 00:17:56.759 --> 00:18:07.259 dignitary, coolly assessing the scene of a tragedy. He doesn't stand on the sidelines and make notes 00:18:07.259 --> 00:18:15.500 and offer a passing nod to those in grief. He's not that kind of king. No, in love he enters in. 00:18:16.079 --> 00:18:22.099 And do you know what's remarkable? Remember, Jesus has already told the disciples what he's going to do. 00:18:22.099 --> 00:18:31.339 So he knows he's going to raise Lazarus. And yet, faced with the sorrow and the grief and the anguish of death, 00:18:31.839 --> 00:18:47.119 compassion and tears overflow. The author Dane Ortland describes this as Jesus's perfect, unfiltered compassion. 00:18:47.119 --> 00:18:55.159 It's different to ours. It's a different quality to ours. Sometimes we can find that we are self-absorbed, 00:18:55.579 --> 00:19:02.259 so that we fail to provide the help and relief that we ought to. Sometimes we become numb and cold 00:19:02.259 --> 00:19:10.799 to suffering, so it doesn't move us like it ought to. Sometimes we just run empty. We run out of capacity 00:19:10.799 --> 00:19:22.940 to love and to care, but never Jesus. And Jesus also has that perfect wisdom to know what we need at all times. 00:19:23.720 --> 00:19:32.799 We know this in our own experience when we suffer, when we grieve. There are times where what we want is 00:19:32.799 --> 00:19:45.019 solid truth, hope from the Bible. And at other times, we want someone's tears. We want someone to sit with us, 00:19:45.200 --> 00:19:47.319 to put an arm around us. 00:19:47.319 --> 00:19:56.339 For you and I, sometimes we don't read the signs and we lack wisdom. We don't always comfort well. 00:19:58.859 --> 00:20:04.839 But Jesus never fails to be the perfect comforter. And he sent the Holy Spirit 00:20:04.839 --> 00:20:10.740 to be God with us and in us to comfort us in our suffering. 00:20:10.740 --> 00:20:22.200 Let's think now about the victory of Jesus here at the graveside. 00:20:22.700 --> 00:20:29.900 Verses 38 to 44. What do we feel when we stand at a graveside? 00:20:31.740 --> 00:20:39.519 Often, it's an experience of deep loss, overwhelmed by grief. 00:20:40.740 --> 00:20:43.440 A sense of the permanence of that parting. 00:20:44.920 --> 00:20:52.079 Maybe as Christians, if we're mourning the loss of another Christian, we have the hope of heaven, 00:20:52.180 --> 00:20:57.059 of eternity, that sense of comfort that they're now with their Lord. 00:20:59.279 --> 00:21:05.000 One last thing to notice about the emotions of Jesus. 00:21:05.000 --> 00:21:11.279 In verse 38, and we've already seen it in verse 33, it says, 00:21:11.440 --> 00:21:18.220 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. Now, what's that getting at? 00:21:19.400 --> 00:21:24.240 It's getting at the fact that Jesus is actually outraged in his spirit. 00:21:25.140 --> 00:21:31.500 Jesus comes to the tomb with a sense of horror and anger as he stands there. 00:21:31.500 --> 00:21:34.500 Now, what is it that causes him to be angry? 00:21:35.779 --> 00:21:44.319 Well, surely it's the sin and the sickness and the death that he is face to face with. 00:21:45.019 --> 00:21:50.880 Features of life in a broken world, misery and ruin that comes because of sin. 00:21:51.359 --> 00:21:57.960 There is pain at the intrusion of death, the great and the last enemy. 00:21:57.960 --> 00:22:04.360 Bebe Warfield has an essay called The Emotional Life of Our Lord. 00:22:04.799 --> 00:22:12.759 And speaking of this passage, he says that death is the object of Jesus' wrath. 00:22:13.360 --> 00:22:16.500 And behind it, him who has the power of death. 00:22:16.500 --> 00:22:29.500 And he goes on to say, the raising of Lazarus becomes an open symbol, a signpost of Jesus' conquest of death and hell. 00:22:30.319 --> 00:22:38.960 Here is King Jesus going to war against death, that great enemy. 00:22:38.960 --> 00:22:46.559 And Jesus goes into battle with the power and authority to bring that reversal. 00:22:47.319 --> 00:22:54.720 In raising Lazarus from the dead, he gives proof that he is the resurrection and the life. 00:22:55.519 --> 00:23:00.400 In verse 43, when Jesus calls out in a loud voice, 00:23:00.400 --> 00:23:30.380 Lazarus comes out. 00:23:30.400 --> 00:24:00.380 Jesus calls out in a loud voice, 00:24:00.380 --> 00:24:15.400 bearing our sin, facing our judgment, experiencing our death as our substitute and our sacrifice before rising in victory. 00:24:16.400 --> 00:24:24.620 Jesus has both the power and the love to bring the greatest reversal, to bring the greatest renewal. 00:24:24.619 --> 00:24:28.619 He and he alone can bring life where there is death. 00:24:28.619 --> 00:24:32.539 He can bring spiritual life where there was spiritual death. 00:24:32.599 --> 00:24:36.119 He can bring eternal life beyond physical death. 00:24:36.119 --> 00:24:38.119 All of this pointed to him, to bring the greatest of life beyond the world. 00:24:38.119 --> 00:24:39.359 All of this pointed to him, this sign. 00:24:39.459 --> 00:24:45.519 And remember, Jesus in heaven is not less loving and he's not less powerful than he was on earth back then. 00:24:45.919 --> 00:24:55.939 So to hear his voice today and to respond with faith is to have Jesus as your friend. 00:24:55.940 --> 00:25:04.340 To have the comforting presence of the Savior Jesus in your life when you need him. 00:25:04.400 --> 00:25:06.539 The friend who sticks closer than any brother. 00:25:06.539 --> 00:25:15.859 And it's to have that promise that you will hear his voice again at the end of time when he comes again to judge the living and the dead and to make all things new. 00:25:16.319 --> 00:25:17.839 And to bring perfect restoration. 00:25:18.379 --> 00:25:22.539 He will welcome you into the new heavens and the new earth. 00:25:23.240 --> 00:25:27.379 When suffering and death will be nothing but a distant memory. 00:25:27.380 --> 00:25:33.700 So as we finish our time in John's seven signs. 00:25:35.360 --> 00:25:40.600 Have you come to see the glory of Jesus for yourself? 00:25:41.980 --> 00:25:47.800 And as you see his glory, will you come to him and keep coming to him? 00:25:49.260 --> 00:25:54.820 Will you go to him in your pain and your suffering and your tears? 00:25:54.819 --> 00:25:59.259 Will you trust him in your suffering and facing death? 00:25:59.599 --> 00:26:04.259 Knowing that he alone can make everything sad come untrue. 00:26:04.899 --> 00:26:09.899 Because he alone is the resurrection and the life.