Introduction
I. One of the questions that I typically ask of scripture is “Why?”
A. Why did God have this particular passage placed in His written word to us?
B. Particularly in the case of the gospels, the easy answer is that it is the next act that a particular writer remembers or wants to convey, but
C. If we believe that God superintended the writers to convey as God himself desired, then no story or part of a story is included through the mere chance of the writer.
D. Logic dictates that if we can answer the question of why a particular passage is included, then it becomes much easier to understand what we are to learn from it.
II. This morning we are going to explore John chapter 11, the story of Lazarus.
A. In one sense, John 11 closes the public ministry of Jesus.
B. John 12, verse 23 reads, “And Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”
1. To that point in John’s gospel Jesus had consistently said, “My hour has not yet come.”
2. But with the conclusion of the raising of Lazarus, the trip to the cross really begins.
III. How fitting that Jesus final miracle is the raising of a man, four days in the grave.
IV. How fitting as well that the conclusion of this story, in John 11, verses 45 and 46 read, “Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him, But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done.” indicating many did not believe.
A. How in the world could people see all the miracles and signs that Jesus had performed and yet not believe He was God in the flesh?
B. If we can understand that, then perhaps we can understand how so many people today can hear the testimonies of Jesus’ power in our lives, and even see miracles that are credited to Christ today, and yet not believe.
C. Maybe as well, we can get a better understand of how even those of us that do believe in Christ can have times when our faith falters, and maybe even fails.
V. We will explore this a bit more in a couple of weeks, but I believe one of the major themes of all the gospel writers is that
A. Though multitudes were drawn to Christ
B. Though multitudes saw miraculous signs
C. Though multitudes heard Jesus teach,
D. Only many would place their faith in Him.
VI. Today, though there really are few people that have not heard of Jesus Christ, relatively few will place their faith in Him.
VII. There really is nothing new under the sun.
VIII. Now here is the basic story of John 11
A. Jesus has only recently given sight to the man born blind, and he and the disciples have retreated to another area.
B. Mary, Martha and Lazarus, a family that Jesus evidently stayed with from time to time, and a family that felt his great love, knew where He was, about a 1 day hard walk from their home.
C. Lazarus, the brother has gotten extremely sick, therefore Mary and Martha have sent for Jesus, in order that their brother would not die; much like our prayers in times of crisis.
D. Upon receiving news of the impending death, rather than immediately leaving to help, Jesus tarry’s for two days.
E. Lazarus must have died even before the message got to Jesus, for by the time Jesus arrives, Lazarus has been dead for four days.
F. After some conversation with the sisters, Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead, and many believe in Him, while many do not.
IX. What I would like to do this morning is look at a few important points concerning strengthening our faith in Christ, as illustrated in this passage.
Christ’s Delay Does Not Mean His Lack of Concern (vs. 5-6)
11:1 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 And it was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. 3 The sisters therefore sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” 4 But when Jesus heard it, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified by it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. 6 When therefore He heard that he was sick, He stayed then two days longer in the place where He was.
I. Have you ever been in a situation where you prayed, asking God to intervene in some situation; maybe even prayed and prayed, and yet it seemed God was not very attentive to your need?
A. Who can give us an example?
B. Sometimes, our prayers, and our response to God’s seeming lack of concern, almost get the feel of expecting God to respond based on our schedule.
II. Personally, I find verses 5 and 6 just a bit perplexing.
A. “Now, (which could also be “but” “and” or “moreover”) Jesus loved Martha, and her sister and Lazarus. 6 Therefore He waited two days longer in the place where He was.”
B. What, because he loved them, He waited two days.
C. What sense does that make?
III. I could understand,
A. Because of his love he immediately left for their home, or
B. I could understand him sending back the messenger with “Lazarus is fine now.”
C. But the text states, “Because he loved them he waited two days before he even left for their home” and in the meantime Lazarus has died and been put in the grave.
IV. What kind of love is that?
A. In waiting, even allowing Lazarus to die, Jesus was about to teach that He had the power of every circumstance that this world has to offer.
B. If the power of God could give physical life back to one that was dead, what circumstance was to large for God.
C. Lazarus did die, and unfortunately, he would eventually die again, but at this point in time, Jesus would demonstrate that only he could offer second life to that which was dead.
V. For that message to be fully presented, Jesus had to allow time for, can I say, “Nature to take it’s natural course.”
A. Yes Jesus could have stepped in and healed Lazarus, even without taking a step towards his home, and while that might have demonstrated to the family that he cared, and while they may even have believed, a far greater lesson to a far greater number of people was to come.
B. Jesus would tell the sisters, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” (11:25-26, NASB)
VI. Sometimes delay does not mean a lack of concern, but is a demonstration of a concern greater than we might understand.
Adversity Can Strengthen Our Faith (vs. 14-15)
7 Then after this He *said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” 8 The disciples *said to Him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone You, and are You going there again?” 9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 “But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” 11 This He said, and after that He *said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, that I may awaken him out of sleep.” 12 The disciples therefore said to Him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” 13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of literal sleep. 14 Then Jesus therefore said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him.” 16 Therefore Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.”
I. Verse 15 contains another interesting phrase.
A. Jesus says, “I am glad for your sakes that If was not there.”
1. That word “glad” means “to rejoice exceedingly.”
2. Jesus was rejoicing in the fact that the disciples were about to see the ultimate demonstration that He possessed power of life over death.
B. It would be only a relative few days more and Christ’s own life would be taken.
II. Perhaps after three years of traveling with Jesus, it had become almost routine to see him doing miracles.
A. There were multitudes that were coming and being healed.
B. The last thing John would write in his gospel was “And thee are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.” (John 21:25, NASB)
C. So the ministry of Christ was full, and the disciples were witnesses to all of it.
III. I wonder how often we miss the miracles that God performs in our lives?
A. Had Christ healed Lazarus without going to his home, it might well seem like just another miraculous healing to those that believed.
B. It might have seemed like just another event in trusting Christ.
IV. I wonder how many times we miss the miracles of God because we give credit to others factors.
A. Maybe Lazarus was healed because
1. The doctors came calling or
2. The sisters took really good care of him, or
3. He simply got well.
B. Jesus says, “I rejoice exceedingly because you will have another opportunity to believe that I am the resurrection and the life.”
V. Let me ask you, “Has there ever been a situation in your life where a seeming delay in God’s response to your concern, ultimately ended up with an increase in your faith?”
VI. Peter sometimes get a great deal of credit for say, “Even though all may fall away because of You, I will never fall away” and then of course he did.
VII. But here Thomas of all people says in verse 16, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him” and they went.
VIII. We can experience God doing great things in our lives and grow some, but it is during the greatest trials that we often grow the most, because “Adversity can serve to strengthen our faith.” No Crisis Is To Large For Christ (vs. 23)
17 So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off; 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to console them concerning their brother. 20 Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him; but Mary still sat in the house. 21 Martha therefore said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 “Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” 23 Jesus *said to her, “Your brother shall rise again.” 24 Martha *said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She *said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world.”
I. Martha, always running about taking care of details.
A. In Luke’s gospel, it had been Martha who had been busy in the kitchen, while Mary sat at the feet of Christ to learn.
B. Now, it is Martha who upon hearing that Jesus is coming runs out to meet him, while Mary again sits in the house.
II. In their time we Jesus Martha has learned something though.
A. In verse 21 Martha states that if Jesus had been present, Lazarus would not have died.
B.
III. Later, when she comes to meet with Jesus in verse 32, Mary makes the same statement; “If you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
IV. How many times have you heard something similar.
A. If God is love, how could he allow such a thing as this to have happened.
B. Where was God when the person I cared about died, or as the person I care about suffers from some intolerable disease.
V. We know the fact is God is present everywhere, and yet because of the sin in this world, and because Satan is still the prince of this world, bad stuff, even death happens.
A. John would later write in 1st John that “God is love” and yet God’s love does not keep physical death at bay forever.
B. Even Lazarus would eventually die a physical death.
VI. In her time with Jesus Martha has moved beyond the mere knowledge that Jesus could perform miracles of healing.
A. Look at her statement in verse 22.
1. “Even now I know that whatever you ask of God, he will give you.”
2. Some might think that Martha was asking Christ to give life back to Lazarus now, but I do not think that was the case.
B. When Jesus says, “You brother will rise again” Martha makes clear that she believes in the eventual resurrection of the dead, but she is looking toward that day, not this day.
VII. I believe Martha’s statement was one of faith in Christ, even though, for whatever reason, He had decided not to heal Lazarus.
A. Martha’s statement was one of continued trust, even though she may not have understood why Jesus had failed to respond.
B. That is the place of faith in which I want to live, and in which I believe we should all seek to live.
VIII. We may not understand why God chooses to all various circumstances in our lives, but we must believe that the nature of God is love for His children.
IX. Martha must have been just a bit confused again.
A. When she said, “I know that he will rise again” she was speaking in the future tense.
B. When Jesus told here, “Your brother shall rise again” he also was speaking in the future tense.
C. But when Jesus “I am the resurrection and the life” that statement is in the present tense.
X. The idea,
A. Those that believe in me now, even though they shall die shall live forever.
B. More interesting is the statement in verse 26, “they shall never die.”
1. Of course they will.
2. Most if not all of us will eventually physically die.
C. But for those that believe in Christ, our souls shall never die, for Christ is the resurrection and the life, NOW.
XI. Why did God insure that John included this passage in scripture?
A. Certainly it teaches that Christ has power even over death.
B. But I believe it is also included to make the statement that if Christ has been given the power of life over death, and if He can bring even the dead to life, what could there possibly be in my life that he does not have power over?
XII. When it was clear that Lazarus was deathly ill, Martha and Mary took the appropriate steps
A. First they sent for Christ, let’s call that prayer.
B. Then the welcomed Him, even though He had not responded in the manner that they would have preferred.
C. Then, Martha expressed her faith that He truly was the Son of God, blessed by God, able to move even the hand of God the Father to respond to His will.
XIII. How can we strengthen our faith in Christ?
A. Understand that His apparent delay, does not mean lack of concern.
B. Allow the adversity to strengthen your faith.
C. Believe that no crisis is to larger for Jesus to handle.
D. If we can keep those steps in mind, our faith will be rewarded, even when His answer may not be what we first desire.
