Text: John 11:1-45
v. 5 “Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.”
I’m thinking that Jesus had a lot of friends back in his day, I mean he had healed lots of people, complete strangers all over Judea and the surrounding area. Jesus, in just a couple of years time had become a lightning bolt, when you mentioned his name, electricity seemed to flow, either for him or against him, depending on who you were and what you wanted to believe. That hasn’t changed has it?
I bet if Jesus had a Facebook page, He would have the world record for friend requests, don’t you think?
Listen to how Jesus describes his relationship with his disciples in John 15:12-15 “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”
Jesus demonstrated his love for everyone that he was around, as we see in his discussion with his disciples, he loved them, he called them friends, and he let them in on what the “big picture” plan was that the Father had given to Him. One of the ways that we describe our relationship with Jesus is by using the term “Friend”.
Friendship is important to us, we need to be connected to other people in real and meaningful relationships. One of the main reasons calls us to Fellowship within the church is to help meet this important need in peoples lives, we need each other…amen?
How is your friendship going with Jesus today?
The truth is we need to spend time with our friends to keep those relationships growing and healthy. I know we get frustrated when we don’t get to spend time with each other, I know I do. But, our relationship with Jesus is so important, our Friendship with Him flows out of our time spent with Him, it flows out of our obedience to His Word. Our Friendship with Jesus is very important.
This morning I want to tell you something really important, something we all need to hear…something that I believe is at the heart of this story…it’s what God wants us to hear this morning.
1. Jesus is so much more than a Friend! V. 11 “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to wake him up.”
I want you to hear me correctly this morning…. Does Jesus count us as Friends, and want us to be intimate with Him, like best friends do? Yes. But what I want you to understand is this…. He is so much more than a Friend!
Let’s be honest. In our social networking society that we now live in, like it or not, becoming someone’s friend has been made as easy as a click of a button. If you send a friend request to someone, and they accept it, guess what? Your friends on FB. Let’s be honest, that’s not really friendship…. I have people on my friend list that I haven’t talked to in 20 years… I have one guy that I never talked to 20 years ago when we were in school, but now we do talk or debate on line, that’s really weird. What’s my point? Just because you say you are someone’s friend, doesn’t make it so.
Jesus didn’t come to be the Friend of all Friends. He came to be the King of Kings.
Jesus didn’t come to be the most popular person ever….He came to Lord and Savior.
Jesus didn’t come so people could feel warm and fuzzy on Sunday mornings….He came to set people free from sin so that they wouldn’t spend eternity in a real place called Hell.
Don’t think that being a good friend is enough, it’s not.
What do you mean Pastor? A little over 18 years ago God blessed Nola and I with twin baby girls, and they have been the best gift I have ever received outside of my salvation. One of my goals was to be their friend….no doubt being a friend to my girls is important, and there have been plenty of times I haven’t been very good at it. But listen carefully, me being their friend was not my only responsibility….. some of the other important characteristics of this relationship include: Teacher; disciplinarian; Husband to their mother; coach; cheerleader; protector; provider; tutor; hopefully a good example; mentor; and spider killer, (just to name a few)
My friendship with my girls is important, and I work on keeping it healthy…but there is so much more to our relationship. How much more is this true in our relationship with Jesus, our Savior?
I believe Jesus was going to use the death of his friend Lazarus, to teach a very important lesson.
Not only is Jesus more than a Friend……
2. Jesus is more than a good doctor…. V.25-26 “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
Have we seen God heal in our church?
Have you seen God bring healing to hurts, to relationships, to physical needs in your own life?
Have we not been learning in God’s Word that Jesus is a miracle worker, healer of those who are sick and blind, lame and deaf…even today….the one who can bring the dead back to life?
I want you to hear me correctly this morning…. Jesus is our Friend….but He’s so much more than that.
Jesus can heal, we have seen it and experienced it ourselves….but He is so much more than just a miracle worker….amen?
In verse 25, Jesus makes a statement that I believe is at the crux of this whole passage, it’s the point of this whole lesson, it central to his Mission…..it’s the greatest news you will ever hear.
“I am the resurrection and the life.”
Jesus has come to Mary and Martha and is revealing something very important to them and to us. He is telling them, I am more than your online friend. I am more than your emergency on call doctor. I am more than your fix all my problems person that you call on when you get in a jam.
Jesus is claiming to be so much more. Jesus is claiming to have power over Death, to have Power over Sin, to have the answer to our greatest fear….Jesus is claiming to be God, Lord of Lords, King of Kings….the promised messiah, He is telling the whole world…. What your about to see…. Only God can do.
Look at verse 38, let’s see what Jesus does…. Read v. 38-44
Can you imagine what it must have been like to be there? You had all the mourners from Jerusalem there, you had the family and friends gathered, there was a huge crowd… have you ever seen a funeral procession in the Middle East?
“Take away the Stone!” My friends that was not a question, that was not a statement. That was a command.
Some of you here this morning need to take away the stone of disbelief that is keeping you from seeing and experiencing Jesus in a real and personal way. It’s time to move from the shallow friendship that has had no life changing effect on you….to a intimate, personal relationship with the King, that will change you from the inside out, you will be transformed by the resurrection power of Jesus Christ, why? Because He is the Resurrection, and He will give you new life!
“Take Away The Stone!” How can we say we have Jesus, the resurrection power living in our lives if nothing has changed? If I still talk the same way, if I still think the same way, if I still behave the same way, if I still react the same way….if I am still living the same way I did when I was without Jesus…then something is missing! It’s time to take the Stone away and find the resurrection power that Jesus has…. It’s not something he is going to offer to you if you want it… IT IS WHO HE IS! WHEN YOU TAKE HOLD OF HIM, YOU GRAB ONTO RESURRECTION POWER AND YOU WILL BE TRANSFORMED!
Jesus is so much more than just a friend…. Jesus is so much more than a miracle worker…. He is the Resurrection and the Life… and He has a message for you this morning….
3. Take off the Grave clothes! Read v. 41-44
If I was Jesus, the one who gives New Life, who Gives Resurrection power to all those who call upon Him, I would say that it would be very frustrating to watch those people that have been given this new life, this resurrection power…to watch them walking around in their grave clothes acting like they were still dead.
Friends, I’m preaching to myself today. I think it’s time that Christians would start acting like we have something that can’t be taken away! I think it’s time we start believing that what we possess is so important, so life changing that we have to share it with other people….
What we have is the answer to our world’s problems….and yet, we keep it bottled up out of fear, out of apathy, out of misguided priorities…whatever the cause…we need to Take the Grave Clothes off, we have been Set Free to Live!
Have you ever wondered how Lazarus lived the rest of his life? The guy has already been dead once! I’m guessing that he lived his life like his hair was on fire, telling anyone who would listen his story, telling anyone who would listen that he was dead and Jesus brought him back to life….I’m guessing that knowing Jesus as the Resurrection and Life became the motivating factor in his life….He knew that there was nothing to fear because he was going to live forever, eternally with Jesus.
You do know that truth don’t you? You are going to live forever. When Jesus tells us that He is the Resurrection and the Life, what He is saying is that there is no need to fear death, there is no need to sit around ringing our hands over what might happen in this old world, what he is telling us is that He has it all under his control….so what he wants us to do is simple….
Take the Grave Clothes off and start living the Resurrected Life….
V.25-26 “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
Do you really believe this? Are you living your life like it is a reality? Don’t allow this world to lull you to sleep, to just go through the motions….Jesus is calling you to life, to live for Him.
