OPEN: “How many of you know the name of the brother of Mary and Martha who Jesus raised from the dead?” (most of the audience raised their hand). Who was it? Lazarus.
Read text: John 11:1-47 followed by prayer.
ILLUS: A few years back I read a story about a may village in southwest France where they had a problem. The cemetery was full and there was no room to bury anyone. This presented something of a crisis, and the mayor came up with a unique solution: he passed a law that declared no one was allowed to die.
The Mayor (Gerard Lalanne) posted an ordinance in the council offices advising the village's 260 residents that "all persons not having a plot in the cemetery and wishing to be buried in Sarpourenx are forbidden from dying in the parish."
It added, "Offenders will be severely punished."
APPLY: Now, I’m not sure he can enforce that
Unless we’re fortunate enough to be here when Jesus comes back, everybody is going to die, and no mayor, or president, or king can stop it from happening.
Hebrews 9:27 “.. it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:’
No matter who you are, how much you own, who you know… we’re all going to die.
And that reality has always plagued mankind with fear
Hebrews 2:15 tells us
Jesus came to “free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”
That’s why – at Lazarus’ funeral so many were crying.
Now, Mary and Martha believed – ONE DAY – there would be a resurrection of the dead.
When Jesus said to Martha, "Your brother will rise again" Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." John11:23-24
And Martha believed that, because that’s what the Scriptures taught her.
Job – for example – declared:
“I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes— I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” Job 19:25-27
And Isaiah promised Israel:
“But your dead will live; their bodies will rise. You who dwell in the dust, wake up and shout for joy. Your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead.” Isaiah 26:19
And in Hosea God declared:
"I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. Where, O death, are your plagues? Where, O grave, is your destruction?” Hosea 13:14
Martha believed in the resurrection of the dead… but that was just theology. The cold reality was that her brother was dead in the grave… and Jesus could have stopped that had He wanted to.
So, why didn’t He?
Why didn’t Jesus prevent Lazarus from dying?
It’s not like He couldn’t. He’d healed hundreds of people over the past 3 years and Martha and her sister had sent him a message over 4 days ago.
Yet Jesus didn’t come.
In fact he deliberately delayed coming.
He knew Lazarus was sick
And He knew Lazarus was going to die if He didn’t do something
And before he left, He knew Lazarus HAD died and was buried.
But He waited 4 whole days before arriving for the funeral.
What made this even more puzzling was that Lazarus was one of Jesus’ good friends
When Mary and Martha sent Him their message they said Lazarus was sick…but they didn’t say “Lazarus” is sick. What did they say?
(pause) "Lord, the one you love is sick." John 11:3
A person might be excused for thinking:
If this is how Jesus treats someone He loves… I’d hate to be someone He didn’t like!
But the fact remains, Lazarus was someone Jesus loved.
Now bear in mind – Jesus loves everyone…
He loves you. He loves me.
He doesn’t care who you are, where you’ve been, what you’ve done. He loves you.
But I get the impression something set Lazarus apart. Hewas someone special.
This was a man Jesus could relax with… a special close friend.
He was the kind of friend you go fishing with, or watch a game with.
Lazarus was the kind of guy that just “clicked” with Jesus
Kids today have a special designation for those kinds of friends. They refer to them as BFF’s.
You know what a BFF is?
It means “Best Friends Forever”
That’s Lazarus.
Now, if I’ve got a best friend, and they’re really sick and want me there beside them… do I just ignore them? If they’re in the hospital… do I say “Hey, I’m kind of busy right now, but I’ll show up in a few days?”
Of course not… they’re my best friend.
If they hurt, I hurt. If I can stop them from hurting, I’ll do whatever I can to sooth their pain.
If I have a friend, I want to do GOOD things for them… I don’t want to be hurt.
So what is this about Jesus treating Lazarus like this?
Well, let’s go back to that central truth - Lazarus was a special friend of Jesus (one whom Jesus loved). You know… as I was preparing this sermon I realized that I’d never seen that before. I’d never realized that Lazarus was one of Jesus’ special friends.
And I got to wondering: if Lazarus was such a special friend why wasn’t he one of Jesus’ 12 disciples? Jesus prayed all night selecting those 12 men who would be His closest followers, but in the morning – Lazarus wasn’t one of them.
Why not?
Well, obviously the other 12 men had something Lazarus didn’t. They had abilities or personalities that God wanted to have in these 12 apostles. Lazarus just didn’t make the cut.
But Lazarus was still Jesus’ BFF.
If Lazarus couldn’t be one of the 12, Jesus intended to give him an even better role in His ministry.
At the beginning of this sermon I asked if you knew who Lazarus was and most of you raised your hands. But now - if I asked you to name the 12 apostles, how many of you could you name all 12?
How many could get ½ of them?
I’m a preacher and I struggle getting all their names right.
But I know who Lazarus was!
Lazarus was the man Jesus raised from the dead.
ILLUS: Now think for a minute about the heroes and heroines you remember from Scripture. If you thought about long enough, you’d realize that the reason you know who they were is because of the stories when these people faced impossible – even tragic - situations?
· Joseph was a slave, and spent time in prison.
· Moses, attempting to rescue an Israelite from danger and ended running for his life in the wilderness for 40 years.
· Gideon faced an army 100s of times bigger than his own.
· David faced Goliath.
· Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego were thrown into the fiery furnace.
· And Daniel was locked in a Lion’s den.
Each of those heroes faced tragedy.
Situations they couldn’t control.
Even death itself.
But when God called their name their lives changed… and they had a story to tell.
And here – in the grave – lay Lazarus… the man Jesus’ loved.
And Jesus cried out “Lazarus come forth!”
And not only does Lazarus come out of the grave… his life was never the same.
He had a story to tell.
Jesus gave Lazarus something none of His 12 apostles had.
Jesus gave him a testimony that was unlike any of theirs!
Jesus gave His best friend a story to tell that no one else could boast
And notice what Lazarus was able to do with that testimony:
When the people saw that Lazarus had been risen from the dead “…many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him.” John 11:45
Lazarus was such a powerful witness for Christ that even Jesus’ enemies paid attention. John 12:10 tells us “…the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death”
Of course, they didn’t get it done.
ILLUS: The story’s told of Lazarus being put on trial and being ordered to deny his faith in Christ, but Lazarus refused to answer the judge. The judge became angry and shouted
“Don’t you realize I have the power to put you death?’
And Lazarus looked up at the man… and started to laugh!
He’d been there and done that!
How do you threaten a man with something that God has already rescued him from?
Jesus loved his friend… and so He gave him something really good.
He gave Lazarus a story of God’s power in his life.
A testimony that defined who he was for the rest of his life.
And Jesus said He loves you too.
In fact, He tells you that you are His friends.
“I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” John 15:15
When Jesus loves someone, He wants to do something “good” for you.
Jesus wants. to make you live count for something.
He wants to give you a story about what He has done in your lives.
He wants to give you a Testimony
But testimonies are often born out of hardship/ tragedy and loss.
In His sermon on the Mount Jesus said this is one the greatest testimonies we can have:
“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
And in I Peter 4:12-13 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.
When we face tragedy, hardship or loss – these are opportunities for God to make our lives mean something. They’re opportunities for God to give us a story to tell. A testimony to share.
For God’s stories are all about hope
God’s stories are all about what God can do in our lives.
God once told Paul “My grace is sufficient for you: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9
And Paul thought about for a bit and then said “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:10
How could Paul face hardships and persecutions distresses?
He could face it because he realized Jesus loved Him
And because Jesus loved him Paul could face any hardship or difficulty
Because Paul realized that because of Jesus love for him, when he was weak, God would make him strong.
ILLUS: Philip Bliss was once overwhelmed by the thought of how much Jesus had loved him.
He had just sung “Oh, How I Love Jesus,” and he thought about what he’d sung. He said: “Those words are true. Yet I feel guilty for having sung so much about my poor love for Christ and so little about his endless love for me.” So he wrote a hymn with these words:
“I am so glad that our Father in heaven tells of his love in the book he has given;
Wonderful things in the Bible I see this is the dearest, that Jesus loves me.
(CHORUS) I am so glad that Jesus loves me, Jesus loves me, Jesus loves me
I am so glad that Jesus loves me, Jesus loves even me.
If one should ask of me, how can I tell?
Glory to Jesus, I know very well!
God’s Holy Spirit with mine doth agree
Constantly witnessing Jesus loves me. ”
How can I tell that Jesus loves me?
I can tell because He loves me so much that He gives me His strength when I are weak
He loves me so much that when I can’t handle what life gives me, God promises “My grace is sufficient for you: for my strength is made perfect in weakness”
(PAUSE) The reason Jesus waited while Lazarus died wasn’t because He was being cruel! It was because He was giving Lazarus the opportunity to be one of the most powerful witnesses of His power over death and the grave.
And that’s the same kindness He gives to you and I.
Romans 6 tells us that was God’s message to us when we are baptized.
Romans 6:4 tells us “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”
When we were baptized we died!
We died to our past.
We died to the sins we’d committed.
We died to controlling our own lives and we turned them over to Jesus.
But when you died to all that, and you were buried in the waters of baptism…did we leave you there? No.. we raised you up out of a watery grave, like you were being raised from the dead.
And that was God’s ultimate goodness to you.
Not only did your past die the day you were baptized, but in being raised out of those waters you were given a promise that – just like Lazarus rose from the grave – so shall you rise to live again.
CLOSE: In his book “Light in the Shadow of Jihad: The Struggle for Truth” by Ravi Zacharias of standing by the tomb of Lazarus in Larnaca, Cyprus, where Lazarus had become the bishop of the church. There’s a simple inscription on the tomb that says,
“Lazarus, Bishop of Larnaca—Four days dead, Friend of Jesus.”
