Jesus' Power Over Death Series

Jesus’ Power Over Death

John 11: 32-44

June 13, 2004

Death! Death is the great equalizer in life. We may all have different lives, come from different backgrounds, experience different joys and sorrows, but the one thing that links all mankind together is death. We are all going to die.

Some of the questions that mankind has tried to answer about death are:

- Is death the end?

- Is there life after death?

- Why is there death?

- Will we live again?

Twenty-seven people are banking on the idea that modern science will someday find or engineer a fountain of youth. Those twenty-seven people, all deceased, are “patients” of the Alcor Life Extension Institute in Scottsdale, Arizona, where their bodies have been frozen in liquid nitrogen at minus 320 degree Fahrenheit awaiting the day when medical science discovers a way to make death and aging a thing of the past.

Ten of the patients paid $120,000 to have their entire body frozen. Seventeen of the patients paid $50,000 to have only their head frozen, hoping that molecular technology will one day be able to grow a whole new body from their head or its cells. It sounds like science fiction, by it is called cryonics.

As you can imagine, cryonics has its share of critics and skeptics. Of course, Stephen Bridge, president of Alcor, cautions, “We have to tell people that we don’t even really know if it will work yet.”

Nevertheless, Thomas Donaldson, a fifty-year-old member of Alcor who hasn’t yet taken advantage of its services, brushed aside the naysayers and explained to a reporter why he’s willing to give cryonics a try: “For some strange reason, I like being alive…I don’t want to die.”

There is a more certain way to bring about the hope of eternal life. This morning we are going to learn how Jesus truly does have the power over death. Not only in His own life, but in the lives of others as well.

Open up your Bibles to John 11:1-44

Read The Text

What do we learn about Jesus here in this text? I believe that there are three lessons that we can learn about Jesus from our text this morning.

1. Jesus is compassionate!

What happened when Jesus was confronted with Mary? He broke down and He cried.

I believe that we sometimes fail to remember that Jesus Christ was fully human.

Why did He cry here?

There are two different reasons given by most commentary writers.

A. Some teach that He wept because He saw the pain that the family and friends of Lazarus were in.

I think that this is a strong possibility.

Jesus cared about people.

You know we can learn a lot from what Jesus did here. He shared the grief that everyone around Lazarus was experiencing.

As a matter of fact the Bible reminds us that we too are to share the grief and pain of one another.

In the Word of God we are taught that the Church is the body of Christ. Now imagine for a moment our brain not knowing that our arms were hurting, we can’t imagine that at all.

However, when we turn a blind eye to the pain and suffering of our brothers and sisters in Christ, that is exactly what is going on.

Listen to what Paul wrote to the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 12:26:

If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

I think that one of the things that we remember most about pain and suffering is where our friends and family were during that time.

Jesus here set an example for us to follow. He saw people hurting, and He felt their pain with them.

Like I said, some believe that He was weeping because of the pain the family and friends were in. I believe that is part of it. However, I believe that Jesus was weeping mainly because of the effects of sin.

It is so easy to take sin for granted. We get away with this here and that there. We begin to think that we can pretty much do what we want.

What happens is that we forget the consequences of sin.

What are those consequences? Death!

The Bible tells us in Romans 6:23:

The wages of sin is death…

Why was Lazarus dead, because of sin!

Why do people die today, because of sin!

Why are there people suffering everyday, because of sin!

Why are there children starving, because of sin!

Sin is serious business! So serious that everyone of us will feel it’s sting. What is that sting? Death!

Jesus was so overcome by the depravity of sin here that He wept aloud.

B. Jesus was moved by compassion to do something. What was it He did? He raised Him from the dead!