MESSAGE: “Comfort from Jesus”
INTRODUCTION:
1.) In John chapter eleven the scene opens that a friend of Jesus was quite sick.
A.) Lazarus would have been a good friend of Jesus.
B.) Whenever Jesus came to Bethany he would always drop by for a meal, or to spend the night with this man and his sisters.
2.) Our text tells us that not only was Lazarus sick, but it was obvious the sickness would result in death.
A.) Because of this, the man’s sisters called for Jesus.
aa.) Part of their motivation in calling for Jesus was so he could see his good friend before death.
ab.) Another reason was their hopes that perhaps if Jesus could get there in time, he would be able to prevent death from coming to their brother.
3.) Today I think each of us can relate to the desire and request of these women for Jesus to come.
A.) Had this been today, we would likely have made the same request.
B.) When a loved one is facing death most of us would do whatever we could to preserve that person’s life.
4.) Yet as we look at this account, Jesus did not get there before death had occurred.
A.) Like that family so many years ago, we have also come here today with heaviness of heart, and sorrow.
B.) Like those who wished Jesus had come sooner, we wish a diagnosis could have been made earlier, and that things could have been different with ________.
5.) Today I want to give you some encouragement from this passage of Scripture.
I. TAKE TIME TO GRIEVE.
1.) Mary and Martha had to have a time of grieving just as you do today.
A.) John 11: 17-19
“ On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Now Bethany was less than two miles[b] from Jerusalem, 19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother.”
B.) As we pick up the scene the funeral had already taken place, and Lazarus had been in the grave for four days.
ba.) Even after the funeral the family was in a time of mourning.
bb.) Likewise, when the funeral is done today you will still have grief and mourning for some time.
bc.) We need to remember our grief is not a destination, but a journey we must go through.
bca.) The twenty-third Psalm reminds us that: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil for thou art with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me.
bcb.) There is no denying that the journey through death’s dark valley is a hard and lonely journey.
.01) Yet even through the Valley of the Shadow of death, God is with us.
.02) For those of us left behind it is also a hard trip, and yet even now God is walking along side, giving you his strength and comfort.
II. JESUS UNDERSTANDS OUR GRIEF.
1.) When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. (20).
A.) The reactions of Mary and Martha were quite different.
aa.) For Martha, her need was to see an old friend someone who could give her a hug, and just by his being there she would receive comfort.
ab.) Mary would come later, but at this time Mary just needed some time by herself, to quietly mourn the loss of her brother.
ac.) There are times when we will mourn in one way, and times when we will mourn in another.
aca.) It is all part of the healing process and through it God gives us the strength for each new day.
2.) At that time Jesus was not just there for the family, he was also there as a mourner.
A.) John 11:33-36
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked.
“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.
35 Jesus wept.
36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
B.) Notice a few phrases of Jesus’ reaction at that time:
ba.) he was deeply moved in spirit.
baa.) Jesus and Lazarus were good friends.
.01) They had spent a good many hour together enjoying each other’s company.
.02) Next to the twelve Lazarus may well have been one of the closest friends of Jesus on this earth.
bab.) Even though Jesus knew what he would do, and that his plan was to raise Lazarus from the dead, for a time Jesus allowed his human side to share in the grief and sorrow with this family grieving along with them.
bb.) and troubled. Jesus wept.
bba.) Jesus was himself mourning and in sorrow over the loss of his friend.
bbb.) Even though Jesus is God, He also for his years on this earth became a man. The human side of Jesus experienced pain and sorrow because his friend had passed away.
.01) Jesus experienced much of the same pain and sorrow you are facing today.
bbc.) Just as Jesus was able to be there to bring his comfort and love that day, He is also with us today to share with you in your time of loss.
.01) Jesus can relate to our pain, sorrow, and suffering today just as he did back then.
.02) Jesus also comes to join us today as the Eternal God of heaven.
.021) As the Almighty God, Jesus brings us the strength and comfort today that only a loving God could bring to us.
III. GOD HAS KNOWLEDGE WE DO NOT HAVE.
1.) Today in our grief we have many questions:
A.) Why did________ have to get cancer?
B.) Why didn’t she have more years on this earth?
C.) Why couldn’t the doctors bring healing to her body?
D.) There are so many questions at times like this.
2.) Mary and Martha also had questions:
A) Both women questioned Jesus.
B) They both said if you had only got here sooner.
ba.) Those statements have been made not only at the funeral of Lazarus, but also of countless other funerals through the ages.
E.) Yet today many of our questions remain unanswered.
F.) While there are things we may not understand, there is a very real truth we know today just as Mary and Martha knew after the death of their brother 2,000 years ago.
da.) That truth is that our God is beside us today.
daa.) Even as Jesus was ascending into the clouds to leave this world his last words were: “I am with you always, even to the end of age.”
dab.) It is a comfort to us today knowing that Jesus is here and sharing in our pain.
IV. GOD IS OUR REFUGE AND STRENGTH.
1.) A few minutes ago, we heard the reading of psalm 46.
A.) The Psalmist said, “God is our refuge.”
aa.) What is a refuge?
ab.) It is a place where we can go when there is no other place.
B.) We are also told that “God is our strength, and an ever-present help in trouble.”
ba.) That is exactly who we need today. We need someone who gives us His strength in this time of weakness, loneliness, and sorrow.
bb.) What a blessing that God is an ever-present help.
bba.) Even when we wake up in the wee hours of the night, and there is nobody else in the room, we can talk to God and experience His closeness to us.
C.) The Psalmist went on to say that “we will not fear, thought the earth give way, and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea.”
ca.) In some ways the last week has seemed as though the earth and the mountains, and we might add our whole lives have been shaken as though every part of life itself had fallen into the sea.
cb.) These are words which have come from God assuring us that He knows what you are going through and wants to be there to share in it with you.
cbb.) The very last phrase of Psalm 46 reminds us: “The Lord Almighty is with us.”
D.) The portion of Scripture we read from 2 Corinthians reminds us that He is “The Father of compassion, and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles.”
E.) God is here with you today and is giving you his strength and comfort even during this difficult time.
2.) Just as God is walking beside you, he wants to be there in every part of your life.
A.) I would encourage you that not just today in this hour of need, but in every day and every part of your lives you would make the choice to allow God to walk beside you and to be your God.
B.) As much as God is with you today, he also wants you to live in the fullness of His love daily.
C.) As we leave here today, may we find comfort and strength as we look to our God.
