UNBINDING LAZARUS
Jn. 11:43-44
INTRO. A great part of the grandeur of our Lord’s earthly ministry was His willingness to associate His disciples with Himself. Anything that they could do, He allowed them to do.
He sent Peter and John to prepare the upper room for the Last Supper.
On a later occasion, we know that while they could not go to Calvary and die for the sins of the world, He took them to Gethsemane and encouraged them to watch and pray with Him.
And while Peter could not still a storm with a single word, he was invited to walk on the water.
As a father smiles to see his children imitating him, and attempting to help him in his work, so it pleases Jesus to see our feeble efforts on His behalf. We can not melt sin-hardened hearts or humble proud spirits, we are commissioned to proclaim the Gospel message to a lost and dying world.
As we noticed in last week’s sermon, there are some things that only God can do. On the other hand, there are those things that He wants us to do. In fact, He invites our participation in more things than we actually partake of.
Only Christ has the authority to command the dead to "come forth". But once that miracle has been accomplished He turns to His disciples and encourages them to join in the blessing by instructing them to "Loose him, and let him go.
Such is the case in our text this morning. (II Cor. 6:1) -- "We then, AS WORKERS TOGETHER WITH HIM, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain." Christ invites us to walk with Him that we may behold His glory and enjoy the blessings that come from close relationship with Him.
I. NOTE THE CONDITION OF THE DELIVERED MAN.
(vs. 44a) A great miracle had occurred. There was no doubt about that, but it required a finishing touch. The man was raised but was not yet completely free. Look closely at the picture here.
A. He is a living man still clothed in the garments of death. He was still wrapped in his graveclothes.
1. It would be an awful thing to see a living man wearing his death shroud.
2. Yet there are many, even in this church, who have been made alive by the grace of Jesus Christ but they continue to wear their grave-clothes.
3. In fact, some are in such a state that, unless you asked them, you would think they were still dead. Such was the case with the church at Corinth.
a. They were saints (I Cor. 1:2)
b. But they were still wearing their old sinful graveclothes.
1. (1:10-13) - divisions
2. (3:1-4) - carnal
3. (5:1-2) - fornication and indifference to fornication
4. (11:17-22, 30) - heresies and abuse of the Lord’s Supper.
4. It makes little difference how you feel personally about the matter; the truth remains that people judge you by what they see in you. When Lazarus came forth perhaps someone said, "He must still be dead, he is wearing his grave-clothes." To this Jesus would reply, "Loose him and let him go."
B. He was a man moving yet bound hand and foot.
1. He may have been wrapped so that he could not freely walk yet he could shuffle along like a man in a sack.
2. I know Christians who are able to move in one direction yet they do not seem to be able budge an inch in any other direction.
3. There are those who have been born again so that they can weep, mourn, and groan over sin in the world around them; yet their belief seems to be so bound that they can not take one step forward in faith.
4. There are those who can give up sin or crush a bad habit yet they can not seem to grasp hold of the promises of Jesus.
C. He was a strong man, yet helpless.
1. He was strong enough to come out of the grave, and yet he could not remove his own bandages.
2. Just as there are those who are strong enough in one area of their Christian life yet there are other areas in which they are like mere babes.
3. Such as those who are firmly steeped in proper Bible doctrine yet they do not know how to worship God in the manner He prescribes...or maybe you don’t give as you should...or you don’t witness or pray.
Which brings us to our next point...
II. THERE ARE TIMES WHEN WE NEED ASSISTANCE AND THERE ARE TIMES WHEN WE ARE CALLED UPON TO GIVE ASSISTANCE.
A. What are some of the more common bonds which hold back Christians?
1. ignorance -- They have the capacity for knowledge but they need to be led. Unless you already know all there is to know about God’s Word, then you need to be in attendance for Sunday School, Morning Worship, Sunday Evening, and Mid-Week Service.
2. Some are held back by their sorrow for the past while some are held back by their fear of the future.
a. Jesus Christ became your substitute in order to pay for the sins of your past.
b. This same Jesus rose from the grave as the champion over death and hell in order to secure your hope for the future.
3. Some are bound by the corrupt mentality of their life before Christ. Some of you fit in this category. You need to be taught, over and over again that "if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (II Cor. 5:17)
B. There seems to be two basic reasons why these graveclothes are left on one who has been raised.
1. They might be likened to a butterfly’s cocoon.
a. As an unbeliever, sin was your life. You wrapped yourself in sin and sought for fleeting peace and safety there.
b. But when Christ transformed you into His own righteousness you were expected to work out your salvation. This would mean struggling past the sins that had been such a large part of your past life. The struggle is hard but it also strengthens you so that, once free, you may mount up with wings as eagles.
2. The graveclothes were left on so that the disciples might enter into rare fellowship with Christ.
a. They could say, "Our Lord raised Lazarus, and I was there and helped to unloose him from his grave-clothes."
b. There is a very special sweetness in the knowledge that we may have done something to cheer, or to teach, or to help sanctify a soul. This gives you a vested interest in that person. (See I Cor. 16:14-16)
c. You may do many kind things for those who seem ungrateful and forgetful. But what we don’t recognize is that Jesus does not send us to them for their benefit but rather for ours.
1. How many times have you heard someone say, "I won’t help them again because they weren’t grateful enough."? But have you ever heard a mother make a statement like that about her newborn child?
2. The Lord binds the stronger to the weaker in love by permitting the stronger to help the weaker.
CONCLU. There are 2 reasons why brothers and sisters in Christ ought to be quick and ready to help each other in the removal of grave-clothes.
1. The Lord commands it. He encourages us to comfort the feeble and support the weak. If He commands a thing there need not be any other reason.
2. But there is this also, every child of God has, at some time, felt the pressure and imprisonment of the grave-clothes of our past life. We should be the first to sympathize and the first to run to the aid of those who need it.
Selfishness and pride are arrogant sins and God hates them. We must be willing to follow the example of Jesus and sacrifice for the benefit of others and so that the name of Christ will be glorified.
