This sermon was delivered to St Oswald’s in Maybole,
Ayrshire, Scotland on the 6th April 2014
(a Scottish Episcopal Church in the Dioceses of Glasgow and Dumfries).
Summary: Why do we doubt God’s ability to answer our prayers? Is there more to our prayers than we know? Is there more to us than we know? Do we know that God is already working his will through us? Are we grateful, possibly not?
Ezekiel 37:1-14 Romans 8:6-11 John 11:1-45 Psalm 130
“Please join me in my prayer.” Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of our hearts, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength, and our redeemer. Amen. (Ps. 19:14)
John 11:1-45
Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, "Lord, he whom you love is ill." But when Jesus heard it, he said, "This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God's glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it." Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.
Then after this he said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again." The disciples said to him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?" Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them." After saying this, he told them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him." The disciples said to him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right." Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead. For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him." Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him."
When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him." Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" She said to him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world."
When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, "The Teacher is here and is calling for you." And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see." Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, "See how he loved him!" But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"
Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days." Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, "Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me." When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."
Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.
Introduction: Belief.
We are here this morning to worship the Lord; because we believe that Jesus is the son of God. Why else would we be here, but do you know that his disciples and his friends had their doubts. After his death and resurrection which was compelling for us all, we all know they believed, but before the crucifixion, today’s reading shows us that they were all unsure as to who he was, and what he was really capable of doing.
Because when Jesus first heard that Lazarus, his good friend was dead, Jesus did not react in the way many thought he would react, in fact he did not seam to be really bothered at all. He even gave a high handed answer of “This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God's glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it".
I mean, you can almost imagine him adding a further sentence “now beat it and gee me sum peace”, which suggests that the opposite was true, that Jesus was really troubled by Lazarus’s death, and it was virtually impossible for him to communicate to the disciples what he was about to do next, as it was by far the greatest miracle he had yet to do.
So I believe Jesus then did the same as he did before, he retired to some quite place, and spend time with his father in heaven until the time was right.
Up until this point, Jesus had performed many miracles starting from, and growing from the changing of water into wine … onto the deliverance of evil spirits … and onto the miraculous healings … and today we hear of him at the end of his ministry, about to raise someone from the dead. This even for Jesus, was a big step up.
Jesus then remained two days longer in “the place where he was”, wherever that was, but we do now it was two days travel from Bethany; and so adding on the two days Lazarus was dead give us the title that he is know by today as “Lazarus of Bethany”, or “Saint Lazarus” or … “Lazarus of the Four Days”.
So on the second day, after hearing the news of Lazarus death, Jesus announces to his disciples that they are about to return to Bethany in Judea, and so we can understand now why the disciple’s reacted in the way they did by saying: And I will paraphrase again in verse 8 "Wait a minute Jesus, only recently they tried to kill you by stoning you, and now you are wanting to go back? What for"!
… how far did their belief in him go to make that statement? Yes they escaped a stoning in Judea … probably only just, because it was still fresh on their minds and they were afraid, if not for themselves … for Jesus who was on the receiving end.
But Jesus tries to reassure them, and he tells them that Lazarus has simply fallen asleep. Now I am not sure if I like that term, well I don’t, because it simply suggests sleep … as it did to the disciples, and so they simply said, "ok Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right”; there is no need for the heroics, he will waken himself.
But Jesus had been speaking about the sleep of death, not a natural sleep, and then Jesus bluntly tells them that "Lazarus was truly dead"; … and then Jesus says a very strange thing, "and for your sake I’m glad I was not there, so that you may believe." Jesus was about to teach them … (and us), something awesome … that somebody could be raised from the dead; and four days rotting in a tomb proved that Lazarus was dead indeed.
This is quite a troubling statement, because who could be glad that their friend has died? And think about those who were left behind, like Mary and Martha, what were they all feeling. … We all here know the pain of death, so you must wonder what was Jesus thinking … does he really care about them?
There is more to this story than the obvious, but it becomes clearer as we progress, particularly that he does care; because we are told twice how he was moved with emotion … he was moved to tears … as he witnessed the pain of those who mourned Lazarus.
The Disciples did not have enough faith in Jesus.
You see, the disciples at this stage had less faith in Jesus than us, despite his previous miracles, because Jesus had not yet died and rose again to reveal his deity, and so their belief in Jesus still needed to grow.
There is an old Irish proverb which says, "Never doubt in the darkness, what you believed in the light" and this is very similar to what Jesus said in verse 9, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day and do not stumble because they see the light of this world. … But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them."
This is familiar as we have heard similar words before at the start of Chapter 9 when Jesus was talking about giving sight to a blind man … so we can conclude that the apostle John sees a parallel with this earlier miracle, but to a much greater extent … and I like this because it implies that while we walk under God’s direction … our paths will be made clear, even when the darkness is forever threatening.
But here the disciples are only seeing the darkness, the negative, the recent stoning, and the fact that Lazarus is dead. They have forgotten all that they had witnessed, and understood as they walked with Jesus; but again, we too can relate to this, especially when things get tough. To them, death was death, and up until this point, nobody had ever been raised from the dead … so I am not cannot be too sore on the disciples as there was a purpose in the delay.
The Purpose of the Delay.
To Mary and Martha, Jesus had let them down; … they must have waited on his return, with disappointment; and again we can relate with them as this takes me deeper into to a painful part of being a Christian, a part that I do not fully understand and that is this: why does God takes so long to answer our prayers; … and unlike the great evangelist we have today, this bothers me.
Have you wondered the same thing, I am sure you have, and I am also sure you can give me plausible explanation like: maybe this prayer is too much, and God does not want us to be glorified in it, because we do not deserve it; but that question denies grace. … and grace means undeserved favour.
Another reason could be that we are asking for the wrong things, like asking for fire and lighting to come down from heaven to strike those whom you do not like. Yes! But that won’t happen either because that is definitely not in God’s will. …
Maybe we think prayer is a waste of time, and it is just wishful thinking; and we have all thought that. …. Maybe we have been asking for the wrong things … or with the wrong motives; but again if it is within the will of God he will, it says in the bible that he will honour that … he has to, because it is his will. So we can conclude that our prayers should start with, “God what is your will”, and end with “yes we will go along with that”, because he is God.
James has something to say about this in his epistle, that it might be something to do with God waiting for certain evens too happen, … in other words the time is not just right … or God is waiting for attitudes to change … and those attitudes most probably not be ours … being the attitudes of others who will be affected … by our prayers. You see, God is using us, to answer his prayers, and we do not know it; God is always waiting … for an opportunity to bring the greatest effect he can bring … to bring the most glory to himself and to us … but at a time when it suits him.
You see, God’s delays aren’t signs of our failure, because, when you think about all the things that have happened in the Bible … one theme that runs right through them all, and that is that the great plans of God were all delayed at some time or another … except for the crucifixion … and even then, that it could be argued that it too was delayed.
Hebrews 11 has a list of the great people of faith who were all waiting at some point for God to fulfil his plan. I am sure I have mentioned this list before, but people like Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Esau, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Samuel, King David and his son Solomon to name but a few … they all experience God being slow to answer their prayers.
2 Peter 3 says: "But do not ignore this one fact beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. The Lord is not slow about his promise as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance”. Attitudes need to change … others need to repent … or even feel remorse within; It is not always about us, as Christine keeps telling me. …
We all know how hard it is to wait on God, particularly when our worlds are about to collapse … and worse … when our noses are rubbed in it, by watching evil … when it seems to triumph. It is at moments like these that our faith is severely challenged, and that we need to look at things as God would look at them … from his viewpoint.
It is at these moments of darkness, that we need to think back to the moments of light when we saw things clearly … when we remembered the promises of God … of where we have been … and how we have been delivered ever since. We need to look forward to the good things that God has planned for us … and we need to continue to walk in his light … trusting in him to keep us secure, even when everything around us is falling to pieces.
The Path to Belief.
To continue with our story onto Bethany, remember that … well we discover a remarkable level of belief on the part of Martha, as she charges out to meet Jesus, disapprovingly … but she still expressing her belief in his ability to have healed Lazarus, “had he been there”.
And then she adds, almost despairingly, "But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him". Now that is some faith, although it is not clear what she’s asking him to do, because later she objects to the tomb being opened.
But Jesus re-assures her that Lazarus will rise again in this life, and he then quotes his qualifications in order to achieve this, he says "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die."
This statement is so very important, not just for Martha and Mary and the disciples, but for us as well, as it reveals Jesus’ anointing from God, for what he is about to do … he is going to raise Lazarus from the dead; and we all know this miracle, but how many know that this statement preceded this event.
Martha’s response therefore was correct, "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world." But there’s more to this than that, because the reason Jesus came into the world … is to bring the gift of resurrection and eternal life to us all … all being those who believe in him.
Finally, Jesus goes to the Tomb and orders the stone to be taken away … much to the distress of Martha … but again, Jesus reminds them that they all need to believe, that they need faith, even though they know what Jesus is about to do.
This was a massive miracle, and I think Jesus needed every prayer he could get, and so to lead them, Jesus prays a prayer, for the benefit of his hearers, so they’ll believe that it is God who has sent him; and it is by God's power that he is about to do this incredible miracle. So Jesus calls, and Lazarus come back to life all restored.
What a miracle, "Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him." How could they not believe in him? Lazarus was standing before them … whole and well again. Who but God could do such a thing, and the one who performed it was obviously of God, the son of God, the Resurrection and the Life.
From this we can take away an assurance that Jesus has the power to give us eternal life, to raise us up on the last day. We can also be re-assured that when God seems to delay the answers to our prayers … it isn’t a sign of failure on his or our parts … but God is busy tying up loose ends, waiting for others to change; but in the end, it is all for his Glory, and we are through Jesus, truly in him.
Amen. Let us pray.
Father we thank you for Jesus, we thank you that he is your son and not some a great holy man with magical powers. We thank you that Jesus is our resurrection and life, and he draws his power directly from you.
Father forgive us this morning for doubting you, for doubting that you answer our prayers, as we cannot see things from your perspective; … and with that grant us the ability to see things as you see them, … with patience and fortuities as we wait on you.
Father forgive us also for failing to see the power you have given us; instead we condemn ourselves for being useless, as we watch others being promoted over us; not understanding that that we are in your will, and we are in a place exactly where you want us to be, a place that is guarded over by you, and a place where you control our entire being.
Father forgive us for not being content with what you have done for us; … forgive us for our own selfish ambitions; … and forgive us for being unhappy in our lives.
Instead Father, remind us to rejoice in you, to be happy in you, to be full of hope in you, to be humble but powerful in you, and to be protected over and guided by you. We ask in Jesus name. Amen.
Note to the reader:
If you have been blessed by this sermon, or any of my sermons, I would be greatly honoured to receive an e-mail from you saying so; I like so many others need encouragement.
I often feel that to deliver a sermon one time to my congregation is such a waste; where as many more could be blessed by its message, after all, it is not for my glory but for his. I would therefore like my sermons to bless more people, preferably internationally and not only in a small part, of a small country called Scotland. A formatted PDF copy is available on request.
Simply let me know where you are in the world … and any other information you may want to share or be prayed for. I would also take it as a compliment for you to use my sermons in order to bless others in his almighty name. I do not even need acknowledged, but he does, and I will receive a blessing directly from him.
Thank you for taking the time to read, and I wish you "all the best" as we say in Scotland … and I pray that your endeavours in the Lord are equally blessed. Yours in Christ, Gordon McCulloch, Scotland.
Compiled By: Gordon McCulloch (Worship Leader),
St Oswalds Episcopal Church,
Maybole. Ayrshire.
Scotland. UK
KA19 8KF
E-Mail: gccmcculloch @ aol.com or through Sermon Central
