The Resurrection and the Life

A young school boy came down with leukemia. As a result of his treatments, the cancer was halted. So was his hair -- he became quite bald. Fearing the stares and embarrassment of his classmates, the young boy was reluctant to go to school. In an amazing show of support, every one of his school mates volunteered to have their heads shaved. The class called itself "the bald eagles." Though the pain of this illness cannot be minimized, and death was a real possibility, it sparked a revival in the heart of each classmate. Why is it that it often takes a confrontation with death to make us realize how precious life really is?

Jesus met some of his friends in a dramatic confrontation with death. In this encounter from John 11, we see the amazing truth that Jesus is indeed the master of life and death. The glory and reality of God are obvious in Christ through His resurrection of a man named Lazarus. Even more important than the resurrection to life of a man who died physically is the resurrection to eternal life of those who were present. Through this encounter, they put their trust in Jesus as the Christ or Messiah and committed themselves to following Him. For Jesus had told them, "He who believes in Me has everlasting life" (John 6:47, NKJV).

Scripture Passage: John 11:1-46
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Main Thought: As the resurrection and the life, Jesus Christ brings life to people who are dead spiritually and even physically. Hope and assurance of life beyond the grave is ours in Jesus Christ alone.

A hurting man with a heavenly plan.
A heavenly man on a wake-up mission.
A grieving woman with a growing faith.
The heavenly man with real-world tears.
A practical view of a heavenly situation.

Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick." (John 11:3,NKJV)

1. A hurting man with a heavenly plan. (John 11:1-4)

Counting on a friend: Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were brother and sisters. They were close personal friends of Jesus. When Lazarus got very sick, they naturally sent word to their friend, Jesus, whom they knew could help him get well. There was such a close relationship among them that to Jesus Lazarus was called "he whom You love" (John 11:3, NKJV). They counted on Jesus. They trusted Him to respond to their cry for help.

A strange response: When Jesus heard this plea for help from His close friends, He gave a rather strange response: "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it." (John 11:4, NKJV). Jesus said there was a purpose in this suffering far beyond what pain Lazarus was experiencing. The purpose was for the glory of God and His Son. It would not end in death but life -- for life is always the end of God's plan.

A greater purpose: For the child of God, there is always a greater purpose in suffering than the physical pain itself. While God may permit certain painful things to enter your life, the pain is never the point. The work of God is to refine you, mold you, enlighten you, strengthen your faith, and remake you into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. But when we trust in the LORD through our suffering, we truly know and share in Christ's sufferings for us. (Phil. 3:10) So when you hurt, look up! There is hope for the future because God is at work through it all.

These things He said, and after that He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up." (John 11:11,NKJV)

2. A heavenly man on a wake-up mission. (John 11:5-17)

Wake-up whom? Jesus spoke of Lazarus' death as "sleep" but the disciples misunderstood him. In verse 14, Jesus says plainly that Lazarus is dead. So who was Jesus going to wake-up? Certainly He intended to raise Lazarus from the dead. But this was not all He had in mind to do. In verse 15, Jesus states, "And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe" (John 11:15,NKJV). The raising of Lazarus from the dead was a mighty work of God -- something only God could do. Yet Jesus saw this as an opportunity to bring people to faith in Himself as the King of Kings and LORD of Lords.

Then why tarry two days? When Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick, "He stayed two more days in the place where He was." (John 11:6, NKJV). This makes it appear that either:

Jesus did not really care that His friend was sick.

Jesus waited for Lazarus to die so He could show off with a greater miracle.

Neither of these two options is true. Either one would violate the character of God. Since Jesus claimed that He only did what God the Father told Him to do and said only what God the Father told Him to say, this would make Him out to be a liar and sinner. Certainly He could not be the Savior we so desparately need. But there is a simple solution to this. In the last part of chapter 10, we find Jesus ministering to people beyond the Jordan where John the Baptist preached. (John 10:40) Many people were coming to faith in Jesus Christ there. (John 10:41-42) Now this area was east of the Jordan River. Follow the timing on this:

This means that Jesus was at least a two day walk away from Bethany.

When the sisters of Lazarus sent a messenger to Jesus, it took him at least two days to get there.

If Jesus had left immediately, it would have taken Him at least two days to get back.

When Jesus finally arrived, Lazarus had been IN THE TOMB for four days. (John 11:17,39)

Since Lazarus had been formally prepared for burial with the customary graveclothes and wrappings, this means that Lazarus had been dead for 4 1/2 to 5 days.

So Lazarus died sometime after the messenger left and BEFORE HE ARRIVED TO TELL JESUS!

Jesus really does care: And His miracles were never to "show off" for Himself but to show off the power of God so that people would be drawn to faith in Himself. This was His "wake-up mission" -- to bring the people in that community to faith in Himself. Many understood Him to be the promised Christ or Messiah. They needed to see that He was not just a man, but God Incarnate. As Isaiah said, speaking for the Almighty Himself, "I, even I, am the LORD, and besides Me there is no savior" (Isa 43:11,NKJV). And again, "Who has declared this from ancient time? Who has told it from that time? Have not I, the LORD? And there is no other God besides Me, a just God and a Savior; there is none besides Me" (Isa 45:21,NKJV). And again, "You shall know that I, the LORD, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob" (Isa 60:16,NKJV). The claim to be Christ was a claim to be God, according to Scripture. Real hope in Christ must be founded on real faith. This was the wake-up mission of Jesus in Bethany.

Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" (John 11:23-26,NKJV)

3. A grieving woman with a growing faith. (John 11:18-27)

A growing faith:Martha was a woman who grieved at her brother's death yet had faith that was helping through this process. Her faith revealed that:

She knew Jesus could have completely healed her brother when he was alive. (John 11:21)

She knew that God listened to Jesus and answered His prayers. (John 11:22)

She affirmed her belief in the general resurrection of the dead. (John 11:24)

She affirmed her trust in Jesus as both the Christ and the Son of God.

Had she reached a point of affirming the full deity of Jesus as the Creator who became human -- the God-Man? Not yet...but she was headed in the right direction. She knew who to look to for help. She said she believed. And Jesus was faithful to guide her into all truth -- and the marvelous grace inherent within the truth of His deity. He told her:

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" (John 11:25-26,NKJV)

The startling reality: Jesus makes one of the seven "I AM" statements recorded in the gospel of John. John's intent in this gospel is clear: "but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name." (John 20:31,NKJV). Jesus' declaration to be "the resurrection and the life" is a declaration of deity -- He claims to be the author of life and the power over death. You cannot reach any other conclusion here and be faithful to the text. He did not claim to have come on behalf of God to resurrect and bring life -- He claimed to be THE resurrection and THE life! As we will see shortly, Martha's faith was not quite to this point but it was a growing faith and Jesus is the One, the Only One, who can resurrect and impart eternal life.

Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. And He said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to Him, "Lord, come and see." Jesus wept. (John 11:33-35, NKJV)

4. The heavenly man with real-world tears. (John 11:28-37)

The tears of Jesus: One of the shortest and most misunderstood verses in the Bible is John 11:35. When you finally realize how critical it is to memorize God's word, this will be a good verse to start with -- "Jesus wept." Jesus was really moved to tears because of His love for Lazarus and the grief of the people near the gravesite, right? Well, certainly He "felt their pain." I'm sure He was moved to tears because of His great love for Martha, Mary, and their brother Lazarus. But the preceding verses reveal another insight into the tears of Jesus Christ. Mary came to Him and said the same thing Martha said: "...Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died." (John 11:32, NKJV)

The heart of Jesus: The next verse reads "therefore" which means because of Mary's despair and that of the Jews who were with here, He "...groaned in the spirit and was troubled." The words translated "groaned" and "troubled" indicate stern agitation inside. This was not just grief, though He was indeed a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. (Isaiah 53:3) His human tears were real. Incredibly, Martha, Mary, and the company of mourners were looking only to the present trial and not to the LORD of glory who was with them. They saw a great miracle worker with a big heart (John 11:36) who could heal (John 11:37) but never even considered Him having the power to raise the dead. The tears of sorrow reflect the pain over sin used by Satan to keep people blind to the truth of Jesus Christ, who alone imparts life. Their hope for Lazarus had faded with his death. And Jesus wept.

Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days." Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" (John 11:39-40,NKJV)

5. A practical view of a heavenly situation. (John 11:38-46)

Rolling away the stone: Martha, always the practical one, objects to Jesus commanded the stone covering the tomb be rolled away. Do you tend to shy away from the supernatural things God wants to do in your life? Martha trusted Jesus but this was way out of her comfort zone. Yet see the compassionate yearning in Jesus' reply: "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" (John 11:40, NKJV) We always want to "see" the proof before we believe anything. Jesus reminds Martha of her need for faith in Himself ["He who believes in Me" (John 11:25,26, NKJV)]. Through what was about to happen, Martha would see the glory of God -- something God shares with no one. (Isaiah 42:8) Clearly, Jesus is preparing the people for the revelation that He is God in the flesh. The reality of God and His kingdom can only be seen through faith in His Son -- believing IS seeing.

Raising the dead to life: When Jesus shouted, "Lazarus, come forth!" (John 11:43, NKJV) Lazarus was physically raised from the dead. It was a startling miracle to the people around the gravesite. Lazarus must have been pretty startled also! He had been in paradise for four days and now he had to come back to this fallen world. What a disappointment! But this too shall pass and Lazarus died a second physical death and entered into the throne room of God in Heaven for to be absent from the body is to be present with the LORD. (2 Cor. 5:8) And to live is Christ but to die is gain for we are then with Him forever! (Philippians 1:21) Lazarus had hope. Many of those at the graveside, and certainly Mary and Martha by this time also had real hope for the first time for it says, "many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him" (John 11:45, NKJV).

Resurrection inside and out: Jesus worked more than one miracle here. Not only was Lazarus raised from the dead physically but many people were raised from the dead spiritually.

They received eternal life because of their faith in Christ -- and you can too!

They had hope for the present because Jesus said "I AM the resurrection and the life" (John 11:25, NKJV) not "I WAS" or "I will be" but "I AM" -- and you can too!

They had hope for their future because Jesus promised even to raise them from the dead (John 11:25-26)-- and you can too!

They had hope beyond the grave because Jesus showed them He is the Author of life and the power over death -- and you can too!

They had hope for a quality life (abundant, purposeful, a life worth living) and a quantity of life (eternal life in Heaven with Jesus) -- and you can too!

Jesus provided hope in the resurrection of Lazarus because of who it indicates He really is -- not just a man with divine favor but God in human flesh who grants divine favor to all who believe in Him. With that belief comes hope -- hope for the present and hope beyond even the grave itself. Let us praise Him for His divine revelation to us and thank Him for the gift of eternal life He grants to all who call on His name.

Reflect on YOUR life: Have you reached the point of believing in Jesus as both LORD and Savior? His identify as the Almighty God in flesh and blood is clear from this and many other texts. His proof of this was His own resurrection from the dead -- proving His authority to forgive your sins through His death on the cross, proving His power over death and ability to impart eternal life to you. Trust in Him now! If you have previously done so, have you realized that same resurrection power in the LORD Jesus is available to you today? He grants to all those who call on His name that resurrection power to work in your life: power to love, power over sin, power to keep peace inside, power to rejoice even in the midst of great suffering, power to keep going when you just can't make it any longer, and the power over death itself. As Vernon Grounds once said, "Death is the last chapter of life and the first chapter of eternity." ("Our Daily Bread," Radio Bible Class, March 21, 1998) Look to the LORD Jesus Christ to find hope -- and spend the eternal life He grants to you with Him.