Essential Truths from the Miracle of Lazarus
The Gospel of John
John 11:43-57
Sermon by Rick Crandall
Grayson Baptist Church - April 26, 2017
(Revised December 3, 2019)
BACKGROUND:
*Please open your Bibles to John 11, as we look again at the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. In this great Bible story, Lazarus, Martha and their sister Mary were all very close to Jesus.
*But vs. 1 tells us that Lazarus was sick, and in fact, Lazarus was about to die. That's why Mary and Martha sent someone to tell Jesus. Verses 3-6 say:
3. Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.''
4. When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.''
5. Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
6. So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.
*Then in vs. 7, Jesus said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again.'' By this time, it was extremely dangerous for Jesus to return to Judea, because the leaders who wanted to kill the Lord were there in Jerusalem. That's why in vs. 8 the disciples said, "Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?'' This is also why in vs. 16 Thomas said this to the other disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him.''
*It was very dangerous for the Lord to return to Judea, and vs. 6 tells us that the Lord waited two more days before He did return to Judea, but Jesus did not delay out of fear. He delayed for the glory of God. He delayed because He loved Lazarus and his sisters. Jesus also delayed because He knew that He was going to raise Lazarus from the dead and because He wanted us to know that He has the power over death.
*We saw a small touch of the Lord's infinite power last week in vs. 39-44:
39. Jesus said, "Take away the stone.'' Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.''
40. Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?''
41. Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.
42. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.''
43. Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!''
44. And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go.''
*With this background in mind, let's read vs. 43-57 to see some of the key things that happened next.
MESSAGE:
*By His miraculous power, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead! But what happened next? God's Word shows us tonight.
1. AND FIRST, MORE SOULS WERE SAVED.
*Many more souls were saved by believing in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! We see this outstanding result in vs. 43-45, where God's Word says:
43. Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!''
44. And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go.''
45. Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him.
*Lazarus coming back from the dead moved many people to believe in the Lord. Albert Barnes explained that "there could not be more striking proof of the divine mission and power of Jesus." Raising someone from the dead was a miracle that couldn't be topped. And there were many witnesses present who knew that it surely happened. (1)
*Some scholars see a double miracle when Jesus called Lazarus out of the tomb. John Gill explained that is because of the way Lazarus was buried according to the custom of that day. His whole body was wrapped up by many layers of grave clothes with his arms tight by his side. And tied up like that, there was no way Lazarus could use his hands or feet to help him sit up, stand up, and walk out of the cave to Jesus. In that case, William McDonald noted that Lazarus' body must have come out of the tomb through the air until his feet touched the ground in front of the Lord Jesus. (2)
*There's no reason to doubt it. If Jesus could raise Lazarus from the dead, and He did! Then surely He could have transported Lazarus' body the few yards it had to go. Jesus said, "Lazarus, come forth!'' John Phillips commented that Jesus "spoke with that word of power which, in the dawn of time, commanded 'Light,' and light was. It was like the powerful word that said to the leper, 'Be clean,' and immediately his leprosy vanished. It was the same power that commanded a legion of demons to leave a tormented soul, and at once they fled."
*Church: The number of soldiers in a Roman Legion varied from 3,000 up to even 12,000. But the most common number was six to seven thousand soldiers. And Jesus spoke with such power that they all had to instantly leave that tormented man.
*Jesus spoke with the power of God because He is God! When He spoke to a mighty storm in Mark 4:39 Jesus said, "'Peace, be still!' And the wind ceased and there was a great calm." It's just 3 words in English. That's all it took to calm that raging sea.
*In the original language, it was just 2 words. The first word was "hush," like you would say to a whining child or a barking dog. It's been a long time, but I can remember lots of times I've said "hush" to a little child, without too much effect. Freckles goes nuts barking when somebody knocks on the door, and my "hush" doesn't make a difference there either. But Christians, we have a Savior who can calm the fiercest storm, with a little "hush." And just to be sure, that word for "be still" meant to put a muzzle on something. There is no storm too big for Jesus to muzzle!
*Jesus Christ spoke with the power of God. And Phillips noted that in vs. 43 the "power of the Lord's word rang out again. And of course, Lazarus came forth! What else could he do?" (3)
*It was such a mighty, obvious and public miracle. No wonder so many people there believed in Jesus! Those people did the most important thing we can ever do in life. They did the best thing we can ever do in life! They believed on Jesus. They put their trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. They believed that Jesus is the Messiah sent from Heaven to save us from our sins.
*And they didn’t know anything about the cross, but now we know that Jesus had to die on the cross to pay the price for our sins. And He loves us so much that He was willing to do it, so we can trust the Risen Savior completely. And we must! -- Because nobody can save our souls but Jesus Christ!
*What happened after Jesus raised Lazarus? Many more souls were saved by believing in Jesus.
2. BUT THE UNBELIEVING LEADERS WERE STILL LOST.
*Only the hardest hearts could refuse to believe in Jesus after a miracle like that. But almost all of the chief priests and Pharisees still refused to believe in Jesus. What happened to those men?
[1] ONE THING WAS THEY FELT THE WRONG FEAR.
*We see this fatal mistake in vs. 46-48:
46. But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did.
47. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, "What shall we do? For this Man works many signs.
48. If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation.''
*Those men on the high court of Israel should have been fearing the Lord. Everybody needs a proper and healthy fear of the Lord. As A.W. Tozer once wrote, "No one can know the true grace of God who has not first known the fear of God." (4)
*In Psalm 19:9-11, David said:
9. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
10. More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
11. Moreover by them Your servant is warned, And in keeping them there is great reward."
*Proverbs 9:10 tells us that "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. . ." Proverbs 14:27 says, "The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to avoid the snares of death." Proverbs 22:4 says, "By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life." And in Matthew 10:28, Jesus gave us this crucial warning, "Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."
*Those chief priests and Pharisees should have been fearing the Lord God Almighty. But they were more concerned about pleasing the godless Romans than they were with pleasing God! That was a fatal and selfish mistake. You see, they were on top of their world, and they wanted to stay there.
[2] THEY FELT THE WRONG FEAR. AND THEY WERE WILLING TO DO THE WORST THINGS.
*In vs. 49-50:
49. . . One of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all,
50. nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish.''
*Then, in vs. 53, "From that day on they plotted to put Him to death." Many of the ruling Jews had been trying to kill the Lord for as long as a year and a half. But on that day the Pharisees and Sadducees of the High Council came together to make it their official policy.
*They were cold-blooded murderers. It was "expedient" to kill Jesus. They thought it was the practical thing to do. But it was wicked in the extreme, and maximum rebellion against God. What happened after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead? The unbelieving leaders were still lost.
3. BUT CHRIST IS IN CONTROL.
*God is always in control! And we saw this key truth when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.
[1] BUT WE ALSO SEE THIS TRUTH IN THE NEW PROPHECY HERE.
*Starting in vs. 48, the chief priests and Pharisees said:
48. "If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation.''
49. And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all,
50. nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish.''
51. Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation,
52. and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad.
*God was still writing His Holy Word at that time, and Caiaphas shows us something about how God wrote His Word. Caiaphas may have been the high priest, but he certainly wasn't trying to speak a new prophecy. Caiaphas wasn’t seeking to do the will of God. He was seeking to kill the Son of God! But our God is in control! He had the power to put the right words in Caiaphas’ mouth at just the right time. And by His Holy Spirit, that is exactly what God did.
*Most of the Bible was written through holy men. As 2 Peter 1:21 says, "Prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." But God’s Spirit can move anywhere, and in this case, God spoke through a corrupt priest who had murder in his heart.
*As one friend told me years ago, "The truth is the truth on the lips of a liar." And God’s prophecies are true, even coming from the cruel lips of Caiaphas.
[2] CHRIST IS IN CONTROL! WE SEE THIS IN THE PROPHECY. AND WE SEE IT IN GOD’S PROVISION.
*This prophecy was all about what Jesus was going to do for us. So please look at it again in vs. 49-52:
49. And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all,
50. nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish.''
51. Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation,
52. and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad.
*God had instituted the sacrifice of the Passover lamb over 1,400 years before. And over those centuries, millions of Passover lambs had been sacrificed. Every one of those lambs was a symbol of what Jesus was going to do for us on the cross. But now the real Passover lamb had come. God had provided the promised lamb, so in John 1:29, the first thing John the Baptist said when he saw Jesus was, "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"
*God had provided the real Passover Lamb, and by His death on the cross, Jesus provided eternal life for us, peace with God, forgiveness for our sins, a home in Heaven, and all we will ever really need. Verse 52 tells us that God has provided all of these things for the children of God scattered all over the world. And who are the children of God? -- Anyone and everyone who truly believes in Jesus, anyone and everyone who will receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
[3] CHRIST IS IN CONTROL! WE SEE THIS IN GOD’S PROVISION. AND WE SEE IT IN GOD'S PLAN.
*Starting in vs. 53, the Bible says:
53. Then from that day on they plotted to put Him to death.
54. Therefore Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there into the country near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, and there remained with His disciples.
55. And the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went from the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves.
56. Then they sought Jesus, and spoke among themselves as they stood in the temple, "What do you think that He will not come to the feast?''
57. Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a command, that if anyone knew where He was, he should report it, that they might seize Him.
*The chief priests and Pharisees were in a rush to find Jesus, because they did not want to carry out the death sentence on Passover. Matthew 26 tells that part of the story, and there in vs. 1-2, God's Word says:
1. Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, that He said to His disciples,
2. "You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.''
*That was the Lord's plan, but in Matthew 26:3-5, the chief priests had something else in mind:
3. Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people assembled at the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas,
4. and plotted to take Jesus by trickery and kill Him.
5. But they said, "Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.''
*They did not want to commit this murder during the Passover. But God had this very time in mind when He established the Passover in Egypt 1,400 years before. The chief priests and Pharisees had a plan, but God had a greater plan! And there is no way to outsmart God!
*J. Vernon McGee explained, "This is the sixth recorded time Jesus has told them that He was going to die. Six months before this, beginning at Caesarea Philippi, He announced His impending death. And now He sets the time of His death. He tells them that He will die during the Passover. But the religious rulers had other plans. They said, 'Not on the feast day lest there be an uproar among the people.'
*The very ones who put Him to death said that they would not crucify Him during the Passover. He said that He would die during the Passover. When did He die? He died during the Passover. Jesus, not His enemies, set the time of His execution. The Lord was in control! And even when Jesus seemed more helpless and weak than at any other time, He was still in charge." (5)
*Praise the Lord! And remember that in John 10:17-18 Jesus had said, "Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father."
CONCLUSION:
*Jesus had a perfect plan to lay down His life at a certain place, at a certain time, in a certain way. That was God's plan, and nobody was going to stop it. God was in control then, and He is still in control today!
*He had a plan for the cross. He also has a plan for His people. The most important part of God's plan for our lives is found in vs. 52: That Jesus "would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad." That means all Christians gathered together as one on earth in the Body of Christ, and then gathered together in Heaven forever.
*Jesus has a trustworthy plan for all of our lives. Lazarus, Martha and Mary found this out in a most unusual way, but we can also be sure. Jesus Christ has a trustworthy plan for all of our lives, and we can trust Him to carry it out completely. Thank God! -- And worship the Lord as we go back to God in prayer.
(1) Adapted from ALBERT BARNES' NOTES ON THE BIBLE by Albert Barnes - Published in 1847-85 - John 11:44
(2) Sources:
-JOHN GILL'S EXPOSITION OF THE BIBLE by Dr. John Gill, D.D. - 1697-1771 - Published in 1746-1766, 1816 - John 11:44
-BELIEVER'S BIBLE COMMENTARY by William MacDonald - Edited by Arthur Farstad - Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville - Copyright 1995 - "The Seventh Sign: The Raising of Lazarus" - John 11:38-44
(3) Sources
-Adapted from EXPLORING THE GOSPELS: JOHN by John Phillips, Kregal Publications, Grand Rapids - "An Amazing Resurrection" - John 11:43-44
-JOHN GILL'S EXPOSITION OF THE BIBLE by Dr. John Gill, D.D. - 1697-1771 - Published in 1746-1766, 1816 - Mark 5:9
(4) Source for Tozer quote: SermonCentral sermon "Preparing to Worship God" by Timothy Jones - Exodus19:1-15 - 01/27/2003
(5) THROUGH THE BIBLE WITH J. VERNON MCGEE by J. Vernon McGee - Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville - Copyright 1981 - "Plan to Kill Jesus" - Matthew 26:1-5
