Jesus, the God Man: The Gospel of John
“Courageous Faith”
John 11:7-16
Introduction: Most of us remember these memorable lines from The Wizard of Oz: Cowardly Lion: Courage! What makes a king out of a slave? Courage! What makes the flag on the mast to wave? Courage! What makes the elephant charge his tusk in the misty mist, or the dusky dusk? What makes the muskrat guard his musk? Courage! What makes the sphinx the seventh wonder? Courage! What makes the dawn come up like thunder? Courage! What makes the Hottentot so hot? What puts the "ape" in apricot? What have they got that I ain't got?
Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Woodsman: Courage!
Cowardly Lion: You can say that again!
Many people think that in order to be brave or act in a courageous manner we must, like the Cowardly Lion, go in search of something called courage and the answer according to the Wizard is to simply give him a medal which immediately bestows on him courage.
Scripture teaches that courage is not found in acts of bravery or in a medal, but rather it is our faith in a big and mighty, powerful God that loves us and calls us to trust Him. Jesus teaches this to His disciples as He prepares to go to his sick friend Lazarus and in doing so He teaches them about “courageous faith.”
1. Face fear with faith. (vv. 7-10)
“after this” – After waiting two days.
“Let’s go” – It is NOW the right time. Lazarus has been dead for three days. There is now urgency where before He had waited. It is NOW the right time to go and accomplish that which God has planned.
“Judea again” – This is perhaps a test. Notice He did not say let’s go to Bethany or Martha’s house, but rather Judea which would conjure up fear in their minds as they remembered what happened last time they were there.
v. 8 – “Rabbi” – students now try to instruct their teacher.
“Last time we were there they tried to stone you to death. Are you sure you want to go back there?”
There is not only fear for His life but for theirs as well. They are afraid to go back.
But don’t we like to think that we know better than God?
v. 9 – Instead the Teacher teaches them again. This was a common phrase in that time. It meant 12 hours of daylight not 12 hours in a day.
There is only a little time to get things done. We must work while it is daylight – while the light is still shining.
Compare this to John 9:4-5.
We need to remember that we, too, only have so much time allotted to get things completed and, after that, the night closes in and we are done.
Man's days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed. Job 14: 5 (NIV)
Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12 (NIV)
Jesus calms their fears by reminding them to trust Him for He is the Light.
You will think that once Jesus arrives in Bethany it is too late – that night has long since passed because Lazarus is dead, but Jesus is right on time! It is still daylight!
What are you facing? Does it seem like it is night in your life and in your soul? Don’t be afraid! Face your fear with faith because the Light is still here. It is still day. Jesus is still able. He is still working. He will be on time!
Don’t worry!
v. 10 – The safest place is in the middle of God’s will – obeying Him. You walk with God and you will not stumble or fall. The reason is because, as a believer, the Light is in you so you are never in the dark.
Sometimes we worry that if we go where God tells us that we will suffer harm but according to this verse you are not in the dark (or in danger of harm) because you are in the light. As long as God wants you alive, nothing can harm you. The same is true of your death. But also…
2. Remember that you may not understand everything. (vv. 11-13)
“our friend” – Tender words about their friend. He was obviously not only Jesus’ friend, but the disciples’ friend as well.
WOW! Don’t you love being known as Jesus’ friend?
I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for every-thing that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.
John 15:15 (NIV)
The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ Luke 7:34 (NIV)
Jesus is a friend even of sinners. He can be your friend today.
“Listen guys I have to go wake Lazarus up! It’s time! I must be on time to wake him. I wouldn’t want him to oversleep!
v. 12 – “Well, Jesus if he’s asleep leave him alone. Don’t wake him up. He needs his rest since he’s sick!”
Being good pseudo doctors they knew what to prescribe for the sick patient – plenty of rest!
v. 13 – John then helpfully asserts that Lazarus was really dead and the disciples (of whom he was one) did not understand this.
The disciples spent a lot of their time not always understanding what Jesus was doing or talking about.
These are those hard moments when God does things we do not understand. We cannot figure them out…Yet what they reveal is how little we understand. It is God who is the realist. He never deceives himself. He always acts in perfect accord with what the situation demands. Ray Stedman (1917-1992), former pastor, Peninsula Bible Church, Palo Alto, CA
The Scriptures (both OT and NT) often spoke of death as sleep. This is not a soul sleep where our souls are sleeping until Jesus returns. The disciples should have known this as well, but that is what fear can do to you – make you not think clearly.
Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—1 Corinthians 15:51 (NIV)
For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 1 Thessalonians 4:14 (NIV)
He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. 1 Thessalonians 5:10 (NIV)
Like the disciples, we may not always understand either, but that is why Jesus calls us to faith and trust. We must trust even though we may not understand.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV)
3. Follow Jesus where He leads. (vv. 14-16)
Since they did not understand, Jesus tells them plainly that Lazarus is dead.
He indeed does know what is going on and He is working on His Father’s timetable not theirs.
Soon some will ask or insist that He should have come sooner, but as the God-Man He KNOWS what is going on. No other messengers had come to update Him on Lazarus’ condition but rather as God He KNOWS!
v. 15 – Brace yourself… “I’m glad I was not there…”
WHAT? You are glad that you were not there to heal or help your sick friend? What kind of uncaring, heartless sadist are You, Jesus?
“for your sake” – “I am glad because you are going to learn so much more about Me from my prolonged absence and your faith will be increased by it!”
For one thing, Lazarus would NOT have died if Jesus had been there. He would have been healed.
"It is beautifully congruous to the divine decorum that in presence of the Prince of Life no one is ever said to have died." –Johann Bengel (1687–1752), Exegetical Annotations on the New Testament
Dead people simply did not stay dead around Jesus because death does not win, Life does!
Jesus may be saying the same thing to you today: “I am glad this difficulty or suffering has come into your life because you are going to learn so much more about Me and your faith is going to increase.”
“But that’s beside the point NOW. Let’s go!”
v. 16 – Thomas aka Twin or Didymus tells the other disciples: We may as well go with Him to His death. If He is going to go and get Himself killed we may as well be with Him than to try and live without Him.”
What Thomas lacks in faith he makes up for it in love. Faith would have said, “He has escaped death thus far so I can trust Him to keep us safe.”
I like to ask is this resignation or a reveille?
Some call Thomas an Eeyore Christian: “If I’m gonna die, I might as well be with Him.”
Christians may differ in their faith and personality but they are still Christians nonetheless.
Conclusion: How would you define your faith? Would you say it is weak and scared or would you call it courageous? Faith is meant to be put into action. It is not something you keep in your pocket for emergencies. It is who and what you are. It is that which helps people look beyond you to the God that you serve.
The first step of faith for which Scripture calls is for you to trust in Jesus for your salvation.
After that Jesus calls for you to live by faith every day. It is not easy. But it is “courageous faith.”
