Dead Man Walking

Dead Man Walking

12/27/09

John 11:1-44

The title of my sermon comes from the days of inmates who were on what was known as “Death Row”. Death Row is where condemned prisoners were housed while waiting for execution. And as they were being lead down the hallway of the prison to face eternity, the prison guard would call out, “Dead man walking, dead man walking here”.

Can you imagine what it must have felt like to know that you are a few minutes away from death and have it reminded to you as you are walking to that death?

When we enter this world and we come to the knowledge of right and wrong, we all become dead men (women, and children) walking. We read in Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

When I think about wages, I think about something that is earned. We go to work so we earn a pay check. We earn our wages. And it tells us the wages for sin is death. This is not talking about the physical death, but rather the spiritual death, being eternally separated from God. We ether die physically and we go to a place called Hell being in torment separated from God or we go to heaven to have eternal life with Christ.

Some times the word dead is used in other ways other than the physical or the spiritual. It could be making reference to a church service. I could be making reference to a marriage, or something as simple as a car battery. It simply means there is no life; it’s dead.

Death is not looked upon as a positive, but a negative. Whether it is your spiritual death, or your marriage, Jesus wants us to have life. While Satan comes to destroy, Jesus wants to restore. John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

This morning we will look at death as it was presented when Jesus walked this earth so that we can be restored again. First I want you to realize...

Jesus Loves You when you are Dead

John 11:1-3 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick."

The one whom You love is sick. Now Lazarus was one who Jesus had no doubt spent a lot of time with. We read in the Bible about the two women were often having Jesus over for dinner. It is believed that these two sisters lived with their brother, there by making him share many a meal with Jesus. It would be easy to see why Jesus loved him.

But you know what? Jesus loves you even when you don’t love Him. If you are here this morning and you chose to wait, or to ignore your need of a Savior, then He still loves you.

I think back to the time when they crucified Him. The beat on Him; they spit in His face. They drove the nails in His hands and feet and yet we read in Luke 23:34 Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do."

That is the last thing I would want to do to them, yet Jesus loved them. No matter what shape on condition you are in. No matter how bad you may think you are. Jesus loves you. He loved Lazarus. He loved the ones who drove the nails in His hands and feet. And He loves you!

Jesus Hears You when you are Dead

John 11:4-7 When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it." Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."

John 11:11-15 These things He said, and after that He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up." Then His disciples said, "Lord, if he sleeps he will get well." However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him."