A Genuine Miracle
Fortifying the Foundations # 26
John 11:38-54
1-4-04
At the beginning of the service we read our text in John 11:38-54[1]. It is the story of Jesus’ last great miracle before his crucifixion: The resurrection of Lazarus.
Miracles play a central role in John’s gospel. In Chapter 20 he tells us the purpose of his book. John 20:30-31 “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” NIV
The Greek word translated “miraculous signs” is semeion (say-mi’-on). A sign is something that points us to something else. The miracles John records are designed to point us to Jesus as the Messiah.
“But these are written that you may believe...” In these first eleven chapters John records eight miraculous signs:[2]
1.John 2:1-11 Turning Water into Wine
2.John 2:12-25 Cleansing the Temple
3.John 4:43-54 Healing the Officer’s Son
4.John 5 Healing the Man at the Pool of Bethesda
5.John 6:1-15 Feeding the 5000
6.John 6: 16-21 Stilling the Storm
7.John 9:1-38 Healing the Man Born Blind
8.John 11 Resurrection of Lazarus
This morning as we consider the resurrection of Lazarus I want us to keep this question in mind: What are the characteristics of genuine miracles?
Miracles are a significant aspect of proclaiming the gospel effectively.
Paul wrote in 1Corinthians 2:4 “ My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.” NIV
God does not limit Himself to human reason. Our gospel is a supernatural gospel for today! “Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.”[3] He stills heals the sick; saves the lost; and delivers the oppressed. When the gospel was preached with signs following in the Book of Acts the kingdom of God advanced mightily. And even today throughout the world when the gospel is preached with power and demonstration people commit their lives to Christ.
When confronted by his enemies in John 10:38, Jesus referred those skeptics to his miracles as proof of his commission from God (“...even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father." ) NIV
On the one hand, miracles validate God’s involvement. Nicodemus was right when he said to Jesus, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him."
John 3:2 NIV The miracles were significant proof that God was working through Jesus.
On the other hand, the Bible warns us to not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God (1 John 4:1). Just because something is supernatural does not necessarily mean it’s of God. In fact, it may be of the devil. It’s important to be able to tell the difference.
There has come an interesting shift in our society. A few decades ago humanism was the predominant influence in secular society. It was in vogue to be skeptical of anything supernatural. People proudly claimed to be totally scientific in their approach to reality—denying anything that could not be demonstrated in the laboratory test tube.
For many people that limited worldview proved to be a totally inadequate explanation of reality. It denied far too many undeniable experiences. So there has now come in America an unprecedented receptivity to the miraculous. It is a wonderful opportunity for us to proclaim the living God. But this change, this openness to the supernatural, is not without its problems as well.
Most people who accept the supernatural do not have much discernment between the hand of God and the hand of the devil. They are enticed and lead astray by lying wonders partly because they are not familiar with the real thing. I have heard that the way banks teach their employees to spot counterfeit money is to teach them what the real thing looks like. When you really know the real thing you don’t fall for the false.
A real $ 20 bill has certain characteristics that are hard to duplicate. So the trained employ holds the bill up to the light and looks for those characteristics.
The miracle in John 11 has characteristics that can help us be a discerning people.
I. The miracle was designed to meet human need.
There was Martha and Mary grieving over the death of their little brother, Lazarus. They were hurting and Jesus felt their pain. Notice how he connects with them emotionally in verses 33-38. Two small words (“Jesus wept”) communicate volumes. He sees the pain these people are in and two distinct emotions rise up within him: (1) Compassion for those who are hurting and (2) Indignation toward the devil and his works.
Jesus is deeply moved with divine indignation[4] as he approaches the tomb. His wrath is not against people but against the Destroyer, against Death (the consequence of sin.).[5] There in the tomb lays a man designed by God to live forever. But the Destroyer has interfered with God original design. The smell of death is in the tomb.
This is Jesus coming against the spirit of death. “Be angry and sin not.”[6] There is a holy, righteous indignation that should move us to deliver oppressed people from their bondgage. God gave you and me the capacity to be angry. That anger is not to be directed toward people but toward spiritual wickedness that is robbing people of God’s best.
Tears streamed down Jesus’ cheeks[7] as he connected with Mary in her pain. The crowd misinterpreted Jesus’ tears. They thought he was weeping because he had lost his friend Lazarus. But Jesus knew what he was about to do. He was not crying for himself but was empathizing with Mary’s pain.
There was a little girl who came home late one day from school and her mother was upset because of it. The mom immediately started to ranting and raving over the fact that she had come home late. Finally the mom settled down enough to ask her why she was late.
The girl told her mom that today was “show and tell” and that Sarah had brought a china doll that her grandmother had given her and on the way home she had dropped it and broken it. When the girl told her mom that she had stayed to help her friend the mom changed her tone and told the girl how proud she was that she stopped to help Sarah fix her china doll.
The little girl looked up at her mom and said, “No Mommy the doll was too broke to fix. I just stayed to help Sarah cry.”[8]
“Weep with those who weep.”[9] Jesus is doing that in John 11:35 because he genuinely cares about Mary’s pain.
Genuine miracles are motivated by compassion. They are designed to relieve human suffering. They are not like the magical tricks designed to impress the crowd.
How does pulling a rabbit from a hat relieve human suffering? False signs often fail this test. Who cares if someone can pull a card from behind someone’s ear? It really benefits no one. [10] Do you know the fundamental difference between a Harry Potter levitation trick and a genuine miracle of grace?
II. The miracle required people to do what they could in the situation.
No one there but Jesus was empowered to give life to Lazarus. That part of this event was beyond their capacity. No matter how much Martha and Mary grieved over the death of Lazarus, their grief could not bring Lazarus back. No matter how much the crowd sympathized with these grieving sisters their sympathy was powerless against death. But, Jesus is the resurrection and the life and he will supply what they can not supply: life-giving power.
Now notice what Jesus does require these people to do. Verse 39 “Take away the stone.” How many believe that Jesus could have spoken to that stone and told it to move out of the way and it would have obeyed his command? I suspect that one who could bring back to life to a man who has been dead four days could have spoken the word and moved that stone. Think of the awe people would have experienced as the stone floated in the air. How mundane it is to roll the stone by hand compared to a magical levitation trick.
Why didn’t Jesus supernaturally move the stone? He was there to relieve human suffering. He was not trying to put on a show. He was not trying to entertain these people. He required them to do what they could do.
Haven’t you found that God generally works that way in your life? We definitely saw God work in our behalf while building the new facility. But how many also got an opportunity to do some physical work? Wouldn’t it be neat if you could just pray and God would put the stain on the floors and the paint on the walls? But that is not the way God works.
Without God’s involvement rolling the stone away would have been an exercise in futility. But when the human effort is put forth in obedience to Jesus’ command it is the prelude to a miracle. And what a blessing it is to be a part of the process. How good God is to let us do our part in cooperation with Him so that by His grace we become co-laborers with God.[11]
Could Jesus have had Lazarus come out of that grave with a supernatural wind removing the strips of linen and the cloth around his face? I think so. And it might have been quite a spectacle. But instead there comes Lazarus wobbling out of the tomb. I think he might have even looked a little humorous. There during the demonstration of this great power of resurrection is this humbling sight of a weak human being bound up in grave clothes.
There was a value in them removing the grave clothes. They had smelled the stench of death in the tomb. Their sense of smell had told them this was a genuine miracle. They had seen Lazarus come forth. Their sense of sight verified the miracle. But what does the removal of the grave clothes do? It gives them the opportunity to verify the miracle with their sense of touch as well. Some of these people had wrapped the dead body of Lazarus. Now they are removing that same wrapping. This is no trick of some magician. This is no illusion. They recognize the strips they had previously put there. They touch the revived body of the man who had been dead four days.[12]
When God works the miraculous He does not deny the human side of the event. His goal is not spectacular special effects but supernatural deliverance from pain and suffering.
I fear that the bombardment of special effects from the media upon our senses may desensitize us to the real thing. Do you know the difference between reality and fantasy? Do you know the difference between a genuine miracle and special effects?
III. The miracle was designed to glorify God.
Verse 41 “Then Jesus looked up and said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have heard me.”
Jesus prays publicly at the tomb of Lazarus. The prayer was not designed to intercede for Lazarus’ resurrection. Jesus had already prevailed in that prayer in private. We are not told exactly when that private prayer took place. But we do know that even before Jesus began his one-day journey to Bethany he already had assurance from the Father that Lazarus would be raised from the dead. The old timers used to call this “praying through”. Jesus had prayed until he knew that God had heard his prayer and had given him his petition.
When the work of intercession has already been done in the prayer closet the public event is a done deal before it ever happens. Jesus came knowing he would raise Lazarus from the dead. He had the stone removed knowing God had already granted the resurrection.
So why did he pray? We are told in verse 42 that he prayed for the benefit of those standing around there. He specifically prayed to be heard by people. I have had people refuse to pray in public because they thought any public prayer was hypocrisy. They quote Bible verses like Jesus’ warnings in Mark 12:40 against the hypocrisy of the Pharisees where he says they for a show make lengthy prayers.
But Jesus does not condemn public prayers per say. He is condemning the motivation of self-glory. In our text Jesus is praying publicly for the specific purpose of giving God the glory for what is about to happen. He wants there to be no mistake about the source of this miracle. He is working this miracle as one sent by the Father. John 10:40 (Jesus words to Martha), “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” Jesus’ ultimate purpose (even beyond the relief of human suffering) is to glorify God. And any magician or miracle worker who takes the credit is certainly not following Jesus’ example. “To God be the glory.” That is the theme behind genuine miracles.
As an authorized agent of the Father Jesus called out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” Was the loud voice for the sake of Lazarus? I doubt it. It was most likely for the sake of the crowd. Although I want us to see that Jesus tone of voice in no way diminishes his dignity. It is an appropriate expression of human passion as well. I personally believe he felt such a surge of spiritual authority that it came out loud and it came out passionate and the weight of his words could be felt by the crowd. This is a place where the Greek text is most inspiring. There is no verb in Jesus command to Lazarus. Just two adverbs, deuro exoo (Here! Outside!)[13] Do you feel the authority in his voice, “Here, Outside”?
I must not pass up the opportunity to make a couple of comments about authoritative prayer. When is it appropriate to speak a command like that? When by the unction of the Holy Spirit we know that it is God’s will and God’s time for it to happen. There are a lot of things that we know are the will of God simply by reading scripture. But it takes a vital connection with the Holy Spirit to know the time and place He wants to do it. Two days earlier was not the time to say “Here! Outside!” The thing must be prayed through. If the Father says wait two days, we wait. This kind of authoritative prayer can only be prayed effectively when we are hearing God and following His directives on the specific case at hand.
Jesus did all of this in such a way that God was glorified by the miracle.
Perhaps we should also talk about what did not happen in our story. Notice that Lazarus did not come out and satisfy our curiosity about near-death experiences. Humanly speaking isn’t there something in all of us that would like to know what Lazarus experienced during those four days in the grave. But genuine miracles are not about satisfying human curiosity. Deut 29:29 “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.” NIV
This is not John Edwards connecting you with dear old departed Aunt Lucy on his show, Crossing Over. Many people have been lured into deception because at the beginning they were just curious. Spiritualism is dangerous past time. It may seem innocent enough to begin with. It might sound like fun to go to a Psychic but you are playing with fire—strange fire at that.
What does God say about such things?
Isa 8:19-20 “When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.” NIV
Deut 13:1-5
13:1If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, 2and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, "Let us follow other gods" (gods you have not known) "and let us worship them," 3you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. 4It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. NIV
Genuine miracles are not designed to satisfy human curiosity. They are designed to cause us to glorify God in thanksgiving for His goodness to us.
IV. The miracle invoked a moral decision.
Why do people follow horoscopes and psychics and extra terrestrials with a passion—but refuse to turn to Jesus with their need? Sometimes it is pure and simple ignorance. They are seeking some kind of spiritual reality and so far this is all they’ve found. That could very well be our fault. Maybe they have not encountered a genuine witness of Jesus Christ. Maybe all they’ve seen of Christianity is rules, regulation, and ritual. That’s why a gospel with power and demonstration must be proclaimed in America by simple people like you and me.
But there is another element that is sometimes a factor. Most of these spiritists and psychics are not addressing moral accountability. It is an offer of power and spirituality without any moral restraint. That is a diabolical combination and terribly destructive. Revelation[14] by its very nature brings accountability. Listen to what Jesus said about the cities that had experienced his miracles yet continued in their own ways,
Matt 11:20-23 “Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. 21"Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.” NIV
The miracle in our text was associated with a revelation of truth. God’s miracles are not just an end in themselves but reveal to us the Lord. Jesus had said to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the truth.” The resurrection of Lazarus was a revelation of that reality. There was something about God and His plan that they were to learn from the miracle.
There was something about Who His is and what He is like that is to be entered while experiencing the miracle. The miracle is a sign pointing us to the one true God.
This experience brought the crowd to a decision. Look at verse 45 “Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him.” NIV There is nothing surprising to me in that statement. It would seem to be the most natural thing in the world to see Jesus as the resurrection and the life in this context and to put one’s faith in him.
But the next statement is most surprising, verse 46 “But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.” NIV Not only did they not put their faith in Christ but they hardened themselves in their position against him. This is amazing. They see a man (who has been dead four days) resurrected[15] and still they won’t repent. The miracle did not guarantee believing faith for believing faith has an element of surrender to the Lordship of Christ in it. These people believed Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. We don’t see them denying the miracle. It is an undeniable fact. But just seeing the miracle does not change their hearts. It is an opportunity to turn to God. But these people don’t choose to do that. They go tell Jesus’ enemies where he is and what he has done.
All these people in the crowd see the same miracle. But there are two very different responses. Some put their faith in Christ. Others choose to oppose him. But all have experienced something more than show and entertainment. All are brought to a moral decision.
Conclusion:
We have talked about four characteristics of a genuine miracle.
The miracle was designed to meet human need.
The miracle reflects a blending of the awesome power of God at work with the humble participation of human involvement.
The miracle was designed to glorify God.
The miracle invoked moral decision.
I am not trying to law down a set of rules and laws. I am trying to help you learn from Scripture a sense of how God works in the miraculous so that you are not confused or deceived by the barrage of supernatural phenomena depicted in today’s media. Parents, are you training your children to discern the difference between a sorcerers’s magic and the marvelous works of the Holy Spirit? My prayer is that we would be a people who are able to discern the difference between what God is doing and what some other spirit is doing. In fact, I want to close with a prayer that Paul prayed for the Christians at Philippi.
Phil 1:9-11 “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ-to the glory and praise of God.” (from New International Version)
Notice how Paul prays that these Christians will have insight so that they may be able to discern. That’s the prayer I want to pray for you this morning.
“Father, we thank you that you have given us Your word and Your Spirit so that we can know the truth and walk in it. We pray that Your love would be shed abroad in our hearts and that we would abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight. Enable us to discern the difference between what You give as a loving Father and what the spirit of the world offers in its lure and deception. Help us to reject those things that would be destructive to us. Cleanse us of any influence that is contrary to Your very best for us. We set ourselves this day to follow You with all our hearts and to teach our children Your ways rather than the ways of the world. Amen.
Text: John 11:38-54
38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 "Take away the stone," he said.
"But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days."
40 Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"
41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me."
43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."
45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.
"What are we accomplishing?" they asked. "Here is this man performing many miraculous signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation."
49 Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, "You know nothing at all! 50 You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish."
51 He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, 52 and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. 53 So from that day on they plotted to take his life.
54 Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the Jews. Instead he withdrew to a region near the desert, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples. (from New International Version)
Richard Tow
Grace Chapel Foursquare Church
Springfield, MO
www.gracechapelchurch.org
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[1] Provided at the end of this message for convenient reference.
[2] G. Campbell Morgan, The Gospel According to John (Los Angeles: Revell)
[3] Hebrews 13:8
[4] Robertson points out that the word used in John 11:33(also 38), enebrimeesato, is
First aorist middle indicative of embrimaomai (NT:1690), an old verb (from en (NT:1722), and [brimee], strength) to snort with anger like a horse.
(from Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft & Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament. Copyright (c) 1985 by Broadman Press)
[5] I John 3:8 and Heb. 2:4. Also OT passages like Psalms 18:1-17
[6] Ephesians 4:26
[7] Not klaioo (wailing) like others there were doing but edakrusen (Ingressive first aorist active indicative of dakruoo (to shed tears)). See Robertson Word Pictures
[8] Ray Stedman, sermon entitled “Death’s Conqueror”
[9] Romans 12:15
[10] Consider how Jesus consistently refused to give this kind of sign: Luke 23:8; Matthew 4:6-7; Luke 11:29
[11] 1 Corintihians 3:9
[12] Charles Spurgeon, A Treasury of Spurgeon on the Life and Work of Our Lord, Vo. IV (Grand Rapids: Baker Book, 1979) p. 445
[13] Jay Green Sr., ed., The Interlinear Greek-English New Testament, Vol. IV (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1985) p.288
[14] Perhaps a better term would be illumination since we are in no way equating our insight on truth in scripture to the inspiration of the writers of scripture.
[15] This miracle is sometimes referred to as a resuscitation to distinguish it from a resurrection with an eternal glorified body like Jesus had after he rose from the dead. See G. Campbell Morgan p.201
