DEATH STINKS
John 11:1-44
S: Jesus, death, life
Th: Resurrection!
Pr: JESUS IS OUR LIFE.
?: Inductive
KW: Parallels
TS: We will find in our study of John 11:1-44 five parallels that will lead us to the conclusion that Jesus is our life.
The _____ parallel with our lives is…
I. When you need help, call on Jesus.
II. When you don’t have Jesus, you’re dead.
III. When you don’t like the delay, learn to wait.
IV. When you are sad, you can cry.
V. When you are overwhelmed, recognize that Jesus is bigger.
Version: ESV
RMBC 21 March 04 AM
INTRODUCTION:
ILL Notebook: Death (surprise me)
It was a difficult subject to bring before his aged mother, but John felt that he must.
"Mom, you are no longer a spring chicken and you do need to think ahead of what will happen in the future. Why don’t we make arrangements about when..... you know... when... you pass on?"
The mother didn’t say anything, just sat there staring ahead.
"I mean, Mom, like.... how do you want to finally go? Do you want to be buried? Cremated?"
There was yet another long pause. Then the mother looked up and said, "Son, why don’t you surprise me?"
Well, one thing is for sure…
1. Death is the one subject that throws us off.
When it occurs, we are often left not knowing what to say.
Not only that, we are often full of questions.
Why did things happen the way they did?
Couldn’t there be some other way?
Consider, though, this story…
ILL Death (Geisinger Med. Ctr)
Many years ago, an event happened at the Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pennsylvania that was unforgettable. The chaplain was called to the bedside of a woman who had a severe heart attack. By the time she got there, the woman had been pronounced dead. All the staff had gone except a doctor and a nurse.
She turned to leave, but she felt God telling her to stay. So she entered the room, sat down, and started to pray. And as she prayed, she felt the Holy Spirit praying through her. Suddenly, the dead woman bolted straight up and cried, “What’s going on here?”
Now, who was more frightened – the woman, the staff, or the chaplain – is hard to say. But one thing for sure, it was unexpected!
Well, that chaplain would be left with more questions about life and death.
But she also may be able to sympathize with many of the characters in today’s story that were faced with a life and death situation in an unforeseen way.
So…
2. In our study of John 11:1-44, we will find the significance of what Jesus says about life and death.
THE TEXT:
The first thing that is worth noting is that…
1. Jesus has friends (1-4).
[1] Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. [2] It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. [3] So the sisters sent to him, saying, "Lord, he whom you love is ill." [4] But when Jesus heard it he said, "This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it."
This was a family that was very dear to Jesus.
He had a unique personal fondness for them.
It was, for Jesus and His disciples, a home.
It was a place they could slip off their sandals and relax.
We know nothing of the personality of Lazarus except for this story.
But Martha we know.
She was the type of person that was forthright.
She spoke her mind in a matter-of-fact manner.
Mary, on the other hand, was more emotional and more retiring.
We might even call her more mystical.
But now the family was in disarray.
Lazarus was sick…very sick…and so they sent word to Jesus.
It was their assumption that he would hurry.
They knew Jesus.
They felt and understood His love for them.
So, they were of the opinion that…of course…Jesus would come.
When the news reaches Jesus and His disciples, His reaction is found in the words, “It is not a sickness unto death.”
We are being clued in that the ultimate issue here is not death.
Instead, it is the glory of God.
Something really big is going on.
But then…
2. Jesus unexpectedly delays (5-6).
[5] Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. [6] So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.
Note how John describes His love for this family.
It was an “agape” type of love.
It was a love that was unstoppable.
There was an absolute commitment that Jesus had for Martha, Mary and Lazarus.
But then the text tells us something strange.
Our text says he loved Mary, Martha, and Lazarus so much that He stayed away.
Does that make sense?
It is incredible and unexpected.
But there is a matter of perspective that we need to gain here.
First of all, let us note that Jesus is not waiting for Lazarus to die.
As the passage unfolds, we can say with confidence that Lazarus was already dead when the message reached Jesus.
It would have taken the messenger at least one full day to get to Jesus.
And Lazarus probably died right after this unnamed messenger left, because the messenger takes the one day, Jesus waits for two days, and then travels to arrive on the fourth day, as we will see later in this text.
So Jesus waits for two days.
And as we will see later, it was on purpose.
But next, let us note that…
3. Jesus unexpectedly returns (7-16).
[7] Then after this he said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again." [8] The disciples said to him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?" [9] Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. [10] But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him." [11] After saying these things, he said to them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him." [12] The disciples said to him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover." [13] Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. [14] Then Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus has died, [15] and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him." [16] So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him."
Jesus informs them that it is time to go back.
Since we have lost the context of our study of John here, we need to be reminded that there was considerable risk in returning to Jerusalem.
The Jewish leadership was bent on putting Him to death.
So, Jesus and His disciples had done the prudent thing and made their way out of town.
To the disciples, this must have been a relief.
Now that Jesus was claiming that it was time to return, they probably were filled with unease.
In acknowledgement of their restlessness, Jesus encourages them to take comfort that He was still with them.
They had the light.
They knew the way to go.
They were so much better off than those that were without Him.
Those kind of people would be forever stumbling in the dark.
Then He discusses the Lazarus issue by telling them that Lazarus is asleep, but He is going to wake him up.
The disciples, of course, didn’t get this.
They think that if Lazarus was just sleeping, why go?
Someone else can wake him up.
But Jesus was using the metaphor of sleep to show that something bigger is going on.
He was going to show them that death was not the ultimate power.
Something great was going to happen here and Jesus is happy for it.
When He gets to Bethany, the disciples’ faith was going to be strengthened.
Though they already believe, the belief is not yet strong enough to withstand what is coming.
Their faith must yet grow stronger.
Before we go any further here, we need to give Thomas credit.
This was one loyal disciple.
He fully understood the impact of returning to Jerusalem area.
But he looked death in the face and chose death with Jesus rather than life without Him.
Now we come to the next section (which is slightly different than your insert) and we see here that…
4. Jesus teaches about life (17-27).
[17] Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. [18] Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, [19] and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. [20] So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. [21] Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. [22] But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you." [23] Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." [24] Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." [25] Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, [26] and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?" [27] She said to him, "Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world."
This is the point of the text that I mentioned before that demonstrates that Lazarus was already dead.
We are now at the fourth day since he died.
The ritual mourning now would reach its highest point.
For it is on the fourth day, the body was decaying and now there was truly no hope.
In an aside, John, the writer, notes the distance between Jerusalem and Bethany.
John wants us to know that Jesus has almost reached Jerusalem.
And so, we are to note that this incident in Bethany is not the climax of the Jesus story.
The events in Jerusalem will be.
“If Jesus had only been here…”
We can be sure that these were the words that both Martha and Mary had uttered over and over.
So when Jesus arrived and Martha met Him at the edge of town, Martha could not but help to say what was on her mind.
“If you had only been here…”
It was not a statement of rebuke in any way.
Instead, it was a statement of regret.
She may have still had a small hope that something could be done, but it was not a high hope.
It seems that it is more wistful than anything else.
It is at this point that Jesus says Lazarus will rise again.
And here we see that Martha is a fair theologian.
She understands that things will be better some day.
There is a resurrection at the end of the age, thus she will see Lazarus again.
Jesus, though, is speaking of the immediate.
And this is the very thing that He wants her to realize.
It is better now because Jesus was there.
He came to bring life from death, in their now and for their eternity.
"I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?"
Once again, we are to understand that when Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life,” the full force of Deity is being communicated.
“I am” was the name God used when He identified Himself to Moses at the burning bush.
Jesus was noting that this was God-power at work.
He was communicating much more than a resurrection in the future.
There was resurrection now.
There was new life now, because He is the resurrection.
Resurrection was more than a concept or an event.
It was a person.
And He was about to show His power, though she doesn’t see it coming.
He had power over death.
In part, Martha gets it.
He gives her hope, probably more than she expected, for she does confess belief.
She agrees with Jesus.
She accepts what Jesus has said.
And her faith is not vague.
Martha understands that He is her Lord.
He is the Messiah.
He is the Son of God.
And she proves to be a great believer, a remarkable woman of faith.
As we move into the next section, we find an interesting, and sometimes missed concept…that is…
5. Jesus feels what we feel (28-37).
[28] When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, "The Teacher is here and is calling for you." [29] And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. [30] Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. [31] When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. [32] Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." [33] When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. [34] And he said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see." [35] Jesus wept. [36] So the Jews said, "See how he loved him!" [37] But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?"
Martha’s faith in Jesus is reaffirmed and now it is Mary’s turn.
She comes to Jesus.
And we notice immediately that her reaction is much different than her sister’s.
She is more emotional and falls to His feet.
She too knows of Jesus’ power and knows that Jesus would have saved Lazarus had Jesus been on time.
But note that she does not seem to presume or ask for anything now.
Jesus’ response is so intriguing.
The text tells us that He was moved in His spirit.
The original language used this word when it described a horse snorting.
And when it was used for a human being, it was usually a noise that was associated with anger.
So what we have here is Jesus letting out an involuntary gasp.
But it is more.
It is emotional.
It is a response that shows He is troubled, perhaps even angered, feeling the sorrow of the moment.
It is at this point that Jesus asks to be directed to Lazarus’ place of burial.
And we find that Jesus is no stoic.
The tears were literally coming down His face.
He is not unmoved.
We don’t know why He specifically weeps.
It was probably a multitude of reasons.
Certainly, He was moved by the emotion that surrounded the event.
Death, by nature, is sad.
But it had to be more.
He must have been moved by the pain of those that were around Him.
But even more, we can be sure He was moved by the harmful effects of sin.
Death was unnatural.
We were not created for death.
We were created for life.
His tears, however, are misinterpreted.
People think He is frustrated because He is too late.
But they have missed the point.
Soon, though, they will learn that…
6. Jesus speaks and things happen (38-44).
[38] Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. [39] Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days." [40] Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?" [41] So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. [42] I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me." [43] When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out." [44] The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."
Again, we see that Jesus is deeply moved in His spirit.
It is the same word we considered earlier.
This scene of death is causing this involuntary groaning.
Nevertheless, He very much has something in mind.
It is time to move the stone.
And though Martha has believed the person of Jesus and understood it better than most, she has not fully understood the application of her confession.
“Pardon me, Jesus, but this is really going to stink!”
“Jesus…death stinks!”
We are not quite sure whether this is a demonstration of doubt, or if she is just stating the facts.
One thing for sure, though, she is going to see glory, right at that very moment.
After offering a prayer of thanksgiving, it is time to prove that He is the resurrection.
So Jesus calls out for Lazarus.
There are some commentators that believe that if Jesus hadn’t called for Lazarus specifically, they all might have come out.
But do note this…
Jesus offered no incantations of magicians and wizards.
No, it is just the power of a command.
“Lazarus! Come!”
Then, at that very moment, the blood starts coursing through the veins.
The heart resumes beating.
The eyelids twitch.
And air finds its way into his lungs.
Muscles stretch and move and mummy-like, Lazarus enters into the sunlight.
And, oh, what the reaction must have been.
After the astonishment of seeing a dead man alive, there was a unwrapping that could only be described as feverish.
There was joy that was full of tears.
Hugs abounded.
Mourning had turned into dancing and leaping for joy became the appropriate response of the day.
The funeral had become a party.
What a day!
APPLICATION:
So what can we learn from this marvelous event?
Let me share some parallels to our own lives today.
The first is…
1. When you need help, call on Jesus.
We have to appreciate the priority of Martha and Mary.
When Lazarus was sick, they knew who to call on.
They called on the Lord Jesus.
In the same way, prayer has to be priority for us as well.
When we are troubled by the events of the world or in our own life, we must send word to Jesus.
When a crisis brings us to our knees, we are in a perfect position to pray to Jesus.
The next parallel is…
2. When you don’t have Jesus, you’re dead.
I don’t mean to be flippant at this point, but when Jesus is missing in our lives, we are in trouble.
ILL Eternity (elevator)
There was a tour group that was going to the top of the Empire State Building. At about the 102nd floor, a woman asked the tour guide, “If the cables on this elevator break, do we go up or down?”
The tour guide answered, “Well, that depends on how you are living.”
Well, let us recognize that the testimony of Scripture is that the wages of sin is death.
Sin is a deep trap you can’t get out of on your own.
We need Jesus in our lives.
He is the One that gives life.
The next parallel is…
3. When you don’t like the delay, learn to trust and wait.
Mary and Martha were unhappy that Jesus had not come.
They kept thinking that if He had just been there, all would have been fine.
Why couldn’t He have come in time?
Sometimes, it is easy to blame God for bad things in our lives.
Things are unfolding for us differently than we like.
And we wonder, “Where is He?”
Why is heaven silent?
But, just as Martha and Mary learned, perseverance pays off.
What was a disaster four days earlier, turned out to be great joy in the end.
Wait on God.
A lot can happen when we are patient.
We must never lose sight of the fact that God is always at work.
The fourth parallel is…
4. When you are sad, you can cry.
When we read the shortest verse in Scripture, “Jesus wept,” it is a statement that is loaded with meaning.
Jesus was fully human, as well as fully God, and He demonstrates that emotion is natural.
It is nothing to be ashamed of.
So if you cried when you saw “The Passion” that’s OK.
If you cry at funerals, that’s OK.
Death is sad.
And if the effects of sin cause you to break down because of the hurt they cause, that’s OK.
We weren’t created for sin and death.
We were created for life.
The last parallel we are to consider is that…
5. When you are overwhelmed, recognize that Jesus is bigger.
When we read the gospels, every time Jesus is at a funeral, He breaks it up.
He has a knack of turning disaster into deliverance.
He turns discouragement into delight.
And we learn, then, that there is no crisis too big for God.
So no matter what you are facing, realize that it is Jesus that sets us free.
He tells us to take off the grave clothes and find that He is bigger.
Every crisis that drives us crazy with worry is an opportunity for God to show us what He can do.
And we can have confidence in this…
He will work for our good, and more importantly, He will work for His glory.
ILL Life (right side of the grass)
There were three senior golfers that were griping continually.
“The fairways are too long,” said one.
“The hills are too high,” said another.
“The bunkers are too deep,” complained the third.
Finally an 80-year-old put things into perspective. “At least,” he noted, “we’re on the right side of the grass.”
Well, let me tell you, there is one way to stay on the right side of the grass eternally.
It is to have Jesus in our life.
And when…
6. JESUS IS OUR LIFE.
…we have all that we need!
Death is what sin does to sinners.
But resurrection is what Jesus does for those who put their faith in Him.
Jesus is the very power of God to create new life…in you!
Do you believe that?
Is He your life today?
BENEDICTION: [Counselors are ]
Let Jesus be your life…when you feel the circumstances of your life are overwhelming, do not fear…be of good courage…for God is with you, and will strengthen you to live both in and above your situation.
Let Jesus be your life…for the alternative is simply death; when we choose our way over His sacrifice, we doom ourselves for eternity.
Let Jesus be your life…for He is the Resurrection and the Life…our eternal hope is in Him alone…we are not hopeless, rather we are confident to live the difference in our present and confident that our eternity is secure in His hands.
Now to him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.
RESOURCES:
Morris, Leon, The New International Commentary: The Gospel According to John
Hughes, R. Kent, Preaching the Word: John
Sermoncentral.com
How to Live Really Free, Russell Brownworth
When Disaster Strikes, James Chandler
Friends, Funerals and Faith, Greg Nance
The Resurrection and the Life, Byron Harvey
Jesus 1, Death 0, John Beehler
Raising the Dead, Bruce Emmert
No Matter What Your Stinking Problem Is, Get Up Anyway, Pat Cook
God’s Strange Ways, Ray Stedman
