Comfort From Jesus

MESSAGE: “Comfort from Jesus”

INTRODUCTION:

1.) In John chapter eleven the scene opens that a friend of Jesus was quite sick.

A.) Lazarus would have been a good friend of Jesus.

B.) Whenever Jesus came to Bethany he would always drop by for a meal, or to spend the night with this man and his sisters.

2.) Our text tells us that not only was Lazarus sick, but it was obvious the sickness would result in death.

A.) Because of this, the man’s sisters called for Jesus.

aa.) Part of their motivation in calling for Jesus was so he could see his good friend before death.

ab.) Another reason was their hopes that perhaps if Jesus could get there in time, he would be able to prevent death from coming to their brother.

3.) Today I think each of us can relate to the desire and request of these women for Jesus to come.

A.) Had this been today, we would likely have made the same request.

B.) When a loved one is facing death most of us would do whatever we could to preserve that person’s life.

4.) Yet as we look at this account, Jesus did not get there before death had occurred.

A.) Like that family so many years ago, we have also come here today with heaviness of heart, and sorrow.

B.) Like those who wished Jesus had come sooner, we wish a diagnosis could have been made earlier, and that things could have been different with ________.

5.) Today I want to give you some encouragement from this passage of Scripture.

I. TAKE TIME TO GRIEVE.

1.) Mary and Martha had to have a time of grieving just as you do today.

A.) John 11: 17-19

“ On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Now Bethany was less than two miles[b] from Jerusalem, 19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother.”

B.) As we pick up the scene the funeral had already taken place, and Lazarus had been in the grave for four days.

ba.) Even after the funeral the family was in a time of mourning.

bb.) Likewise, when the funeral is done today you will still have grief and mourning for some time.

bc.) We need to remember our grief is not a destination, but a journey we must go through.

bca.) The twenty-third Psalm reminds us that: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil for thou art with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me.

bcb.) There is no denying that the journey through death’s dark valley is a hard and lonely journey.

.01) Yet even through the Valley of the Shadow of death, God is with us.

.02) For those of us left behind it is also a hard trip, and yet even now God is walking along side, giving you his strength and comfort.

II. JESUS UNDERSTANDS OUR GRIEF.

1.) When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. (20).

A.) The reactions of Mary and Martha were quite different.

aa.) For Martha, her need was to see an old friend someone who could give her a hug, and just by his being there she would receive comfort.

ab.) Mary would come later, but at this time Mary just needed some time by herself, to quietly mourn the loss of her brother.

ac.) There are times when we will mourn in one way, and times when we will mourn in another.

aca.) It is all part of the healing process and through it God gives us the strength for each new day.

2.) At that time Jesus was not just there for the family, he was also there as a mourner.

A.) John 11:33-36

33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked.

“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.

35 Jesus wept.

36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”

B.) Notice a few phrases of Jesus’ reaction at that time:

ba.) he was deeply moved in spirit.

baa.) Jesus and Lazarus were good friends.

.01) They had spent a good many hour together enjoying each other’s company.

.02) Next to the twelve Lazarus may well have been one of the closest friends of Jesus on this earth.

bab.) Even though Jesus knew what he would do, and that his plan was to raise Lazarus from the dead, for a time Jesus allowed his human side to share in the grief and sorrow with this family grieving along with them.