¡§I Am The Resurrection, And The Life¡¨
John 11:1-46 (17-27)
The time of Jesus¡¦ earthly ministry is winding down as he has been traveling and ministering to the people of Israel. Jesus has set His face toward Jerusalem (Luke 9:51), the miracle that we will be looking at today, is the most powerful to date. Even though we will not get into it today, this miracle, which should have proved, beyond a shadow of a doubt, to the Jews that this was their Messiah, it proved to be the one that sealed the death of Jesus (John 11:53).
I) Lazarus Gone
a) Shortly after they send for Jesus, Lazarus dies. Jesus is about 1 day journey from Bethany.
i) the man leaves to get Jesus
ii) the man arrives to tell Jesus
iii) Jesus waits 2 days
iv) Jesus travel to Bethany
b) Some views of what happens after death
i) Death „³ the end of all existence. You die, they put you in the ground, and your body simply breaks down to dirt, and you are no more.
ii) Reincarnation (Transmigration) „³ Upon death, your soul moves to another living being, and depending upon your actions in the previous life, you move up or down the hierarchy of the social scales, until you either reach total enlightenment, and become total spiritual energy, or you moved down until you become an inanimate object, such as a rock, or as Plato maintained, you wind up in Tartarus, the place of eternal damnation.
iii) Transformation „³ which in itself has many different views. They know that this human body dies, but after death:
1) The good people go to nirvana, or spiritual paradise, and the bad just simply cease to exist.
2) The good go to nirvana and the bad go to hell, or some place of punishment and:
„± They stay there forever. No redemption.
„± They stay there until they have adequately paid for all of their wrongs, then they will simply cease to exist.
„± They stay there until their debt is paid for, and then they are escorted into nirvana.
3) Everyone simply goes to heaven, because deep inside, everyone is essentially good.
iv) The Biblical View
1) Men are to die, then face judgment
„± Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
2) For the believer, heaven is our destination.
„± Luke 16:22-23 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom:
„± 2 Corinthians 5:8-9 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. (9) Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.
3) For the unbeliever, hell is the destination
„± Luke 16:22-23 ¡K the rich man also died, and was buried; (23) And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
„± 2 Peter 2:3-4 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. (4) For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
II) Disciples Go
a) Vs. 7 They knew the risk. They knew that the religious leaders were looking to stone Jesus. They couldn¡¦t believe that Jesus would want to go where they were looking to take His life.
b) Vs. 12 They misunderstood Jesus. They tried to persuade Jesus to stay where it was safe, by taking what He had just told them, and saying if he is sleeping and getting better, why do we need to go.
c) Vs. 16 They followed. Jesus clarified His statement about Lazarus death, and said we need to go. Thomas, even though we mainly just think of him as a doubter, here we see his commitment to follow Jesus, even if it meant his death. My beloved, all of the disciples met a martyr¡¦s death, except John, which his life was not easy. Are you, or would you be, willing to give your life for the cause of Jesus?
III) Mary and Martha Grieves
a) With the death of Lazarus, they grieved for the loss of their brother. Many of the folk from Jerusalem and Bethany had come to comfort the sisters in this time of death.
b) Vs. 21-22 When Martha heard that Jesus was close, she went to him. She had questions about what took him so long to come, however she believed that even at this point He might be able to still do something.
c) When Martha and Jesus finish talking, Martha goes to get Mary. Mary comes to Jesus with the same statement as Martha. Vs. 32
d) Mary and Martha teach a lesson on how we should deal with grief. Martha still confesses belief in Jesus (Vs. 27), and Mary is at Jesus¡¦ feet worshipping (Vs. 32). When grief comes our way, we need to come to the one who knows what we feel, and really cares for us.
IV) Jesus Glorified
a) This was to be one of the greatest demonstrations of Jesus¡¦ power to date. Vs. 4, 15
b) Jesus gives Martha the statement of being the resurrection and the life. Resurrection is hinted at in the Old Testament, but here Jesus makes it personal by stating that he has this power.
c) When Mary comes to Jesus, and the crowd follows her, Jesus sees the pain of those gathered, it brought so much pain that Jesus wept. Vs. 35
i) He did not create us for this. He created us to love and fellowship us.
ii) He created us to enjoy His wonderful creation.
iii) He sees now the anguish and pain caused by sin upon his creation, and it causes great pain.
iv) My beloved, when Jesus sees us in pain, it still grieves Him. (Stephen seeing Jesus Standing)
d) Jesus prays to the Father and then to show that He has come from above, He calls Lazarus to come from the grave.
i) Had Jesus not called Lazarus by name, there would have been many in that graveyard heading to the Master¡¦s voice
ii) This is not the first time Jesus has raised someone from the dead.
„± Matthew 9:23-25 And when Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise, (24) He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn. (25) But when the people were put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose.
„± Luke 7:11-15 And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people. (12) Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her. (13) And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. (14) And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. (15) And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother.
iii) However, this is the first time one has been raised that had been dead for 4 days. This is a significant point of the story. The Pharisees of that day held the view, that when one died, the spirit of that person would hover close to the body for three days, and anytime during that period, the spirit could reenter the body and bring it back to life. With Jesus going to this length, it should have proved beyond any doubt that He was who He claimed to be.
e) Many believe because of this miracle; however some go back to Jerusalem to inform Jesus¡¦ enemies of what he did. As I stated earlier, this sealed the determination to put Jesus to death, however the religious leaders also wanted to kill Lazarus because he was the demonstration of Jesus¡¦ power. (John 12:10-11)
V) Resurrection Guaranteed
a) Even though Jesus brought Lazarus back from the dead, it was only temporary. For Lazarus would soon die again physically. However the Bible does speak of the permanent resurrections.
b) The Greatest Resurrection „³ Jesus
i) He laid down his life, and He took it up again
ii) Though man many times has tried to disprove the resurrection, they have never been able to get anything permanent to stick.
1) They bribed the guards to say the disciples stole the body while they slept (Matt. 28:12)
2) They have tried to say that Jesus was only unconscious when they put him in the grave, and later came to and slipped out and was nursed back to health by the women.
3) Some will continue to say that the disciples stole and hid the dead body, and just claimed that he had risen. However this does not explain the numerous people who saw Him during the 40 days before ascension, nor how or why his followers would be willing to give their lives for a lie.
c) The First Resurrection „³ Will happen in two parts, just as Jesus¡¦ 2nd coming will be in two parts.
i) The resurrection part 1 „³ The Church at the Rapture (Some say, the Old Testament saints will also be called at this time.)
„± 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 (15) For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. (16) For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: (17) Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
ii) The resurrection part 2 „³ The Tribulation Saints (Some say this is when you will have the resurrection of the OT saints. Either way the OT saints will take part in the first resurrection)
„± Revelation 20:4-6 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (5) But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. (6) Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
d) The 2nd Resurrection „³ The Great White Throne Judgment
„± Revelation 20:11-15 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. (12) And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. (13) And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. (14) And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. (15) And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Conclusion
There is now a decision you must make, do decide which one of these resurrections you will appear at.
„± John 3:5-7 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (6) That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (7) Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
That dead spirit inside of you must be raised in this life, resurrected, born again, if you plan on being at part of the first resurrection. You will not get a second chance if you die before giving your life to Him. You are hear today because God has made sure that you have the chance to respond to His voice calling. My friend, if you hear Him calling, don¡¦t tune Him out, for you may not have another chance.
Those who have once answered the voice, but have since slipped out of the sheepfold, the Master is calling you to come back home today. Don¡¦t wait until it is too late to come home. Choose this day to serve God and nothing or no one else.
My friend, Jesus is the resurrection, and He offers LIFE to all, and He makes it so simple that anyone can come. All you need to have life is:
Look to Jesus, He will not cast you away
Invite Jesus to live in your heart, He will enter if you call Him
Forsake the life of sin you were living in
Enter in to His forgiveness, and you will find peace
