I hope you have enjoyed our celebration thus far but there’s one more part of the celebration we want to observe – and that is – reading about the resurrection from the Word of God, the Bible.
Central to the message of Easter is the story of the resurrection of Christ from the grave. But this Easter we’re going to back track in the life of Christ and tell the story of someone else Jesus resurrected before His own death and resurrection. We’re going to do this because we need to see that Easter, and the resurrection of Jesus, is about all of us. Jesus rose from the dead because He wants every one of us to have eternal life.
The man whom Jesus resurrected in the Scripture we’re going to read from today was named Lazarus and the Bible says he was a friend of Jesus. I want to talk to you today about Jesus being your friend.
Jesus wants to be your friend - but of course, friendship is a two-way street so you have to make a decision on whether or not you want to be Jesus’ friend. Lazarus had made that decision and from a chapter in his life I want you to see
7 Ways Jesus is the Best Friend You Could Ever Have
The first way Jesus is the best friend you could ever have is
1 – He wants to perfect you – not pamper you.
Like any good friend, Jesus wants you to be the "best you" that you can possibly be. A good friend doesn’t just think of your short-term success; he or she thinks of your long-term happiness. Let me show you what I’m talking about by beginning our narrative.
John 11:1-2 (CEV) A man by the name of Lazarus was sick in the village of Bethany. He had two sisters, Mary and Martha. This was the same Mary who later poured perfume on the Lord’s head and wiped his feet with her hair. 3The sisters sent a message to the Lord and told him that his good friend Lazarus was sick.
4When Jesus heard this, he said, "His sickness won’t end in death. It will bring glory to God and his Son."
If Jesus loved Lazarus so much, why did he let him get sick? And of course, he died. Jesus didn’t say that Lazarus wouldn’t die – He simply said that death wouldn’t be the end! That’s some great news we’ll get to in a few minutes. But the question for now is, "Why did Jesus let His good friend Lazarus get sick and die?"
Have you ever asked, "Why does God allow suffering and injustice, pain and sorrow? If God is a God of love why do bad things happen to good people?" Have you questioned God and said, "God, If you love me, why have you allowed bad things to happen to me?"
Yes, Jesus could have prevented "his good friend Lazarus" from getting sick. He could even have healed him from where He was. But He deliberately chose not to. Jesus had something even better for his good friend!
Jesus used the resurrection of Lazarus from death as concrete evidence that there is life after death! He used this miracle to prove that death is not the end of it all, that, if you, like Lazarus, will place your faith in Him, you will have abundant life here on earth and eternal life forever with God in heaven!
Here’s an illustration from nature. You’ve probably always figured that a possum was a dumb animal. You hardly ever see one except when its dead on the road. There’s a joke that goes, "Why did the chicken cross the road? To show the possum that it could be done."
But in spite of the bad press, possums actually are smart, at least in one area. Did you know that a possum won’t go into a hole in the ground if there’s only one set of tracks outside the hole? They know that something is still in there. But if there’s a set of tracks leading in and another set of tracks leading back out, the possum isn’t afraid to enter the hole.
The message of Easter is that we can enter the grave - we don’t have to fear death because not only are there a set of tracks heading into Jesus’ tomb - but there is also a set of tracks heading back out!
Sickness and death were bad things to happen to Lazarus and his family - but resurrection was a better thing!
The second way this story illustrates that Jesus is the best friend you could ever have is
2 – He laid His life on the line for you.
5Jesus loved Martha and her sister and brother. 6But he stayed where he was for two more days. 7Then he said to his disciples, "Now we will go back to Judea."
8"Teacher," they said, "the people there want to stone you to death! Why do you want to go back?"
9Jesus answered, "Aren’t there twelve hours in each day? If you walk during the day, you will have light from the sun, and you won’t stumble. 10But if you walk during the night, you will stumble, because you don’t have any light." 11Then he told them, "Our friend Lazarus is asleep, and I am going there to wake him up."
The disciples were afraid for Jesus’ safety. They knew that Christ’s enemies were looking for an opportunity to kill Him. Why would Jesus risk this by going back to the vicinity of Jerusalem?
There’s only one reason. He was willing to lay His life on the line for His friends!
The Good News is that Jesus not only did this for Lazarus and Martha and Mary – He did it for us also! He hung between heaven and earth, between God and man, between good and evil – on Skull Hill, the literal meaning of Golgotha, the summit outside of Jerusalem on which they crucified Christ, so named because it resembled a skull - certainly a fitting name for a place with the atmosphere of death. On Skull Hill Jesus was making a public statement for all the world to see and hear: "I am giving my life for my friends!" In fact, the Bible says,
John 15:13 (NCV) The greatest love a person can show is to die for his friends.
At the yard sale for missions here at the church yesterday I saw some stuff I didn’t realize my wife had donated. I didn’t buy anything back yesterday but I remembered one church yard sale where I did. Sometimes my wife thinks I’m not interested in something just because it has collected dust in the closet for ten years. Go figure.
My point is, I have been known to buy something back that once belonged to me.
That’s what Jesus was doing on the cross. Jesus created you. And then sin separated you from Him. On the cross He was paying the price to buy you back. He laid His life on the line for you.
The third way Jesus is the greatest friend you could ever have is
3 – He initiates the opportunity for friendship.
When Jesus told his disciples why He was going back, even in spite of the danger to His life,
12They replied, "Lord, if he is asleep, he will get better." (The insinuation probably was, "perhaps we don’t really have to go back and endanger our lives.") 13Jesus really meant that Lazarus was dead, but they thought he was talking only about sleep.
14Then Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead!
15I am glad that I wasn’t there, because now you will have a chance to put your faith in me. Let’s go to him."
16Thomas, whose nickname was "Twin," said to the other disciples, "Come on. Let’s go, so we can die with him."
Jesus gives us the chance to put our faith in Him. He left heaven, became human, died for your sins, and then conquered death for you – all in an attempt to show you how interested He is in being your friend. He took the initiative!
Don’t you like to have friends who take the initiative? You can tell they really love you because you’re not the only one always picking up the phone or starting the conversation. You’re not the only one trying to get together. Jesus wants to be your friend so badly that He took the first step.
But there’s more!
The 4th way Jesus is the best friend you could ever have is
4 – His promises will get you through difficult times.
17When Jesus got to Bethany, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18Bethany was only about two miles from Jerusalem, 19and many people had come from the city to comfort Martha and Mary because their brother had died.
20When Martha heard that Jesus had arrived, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed in the house. 21Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22Yet even now I know that God will do anything you ask."
23Jesus told her, "Your brother will live again!"
The greatest comfort Jesus could give his grieving sisters was the promise of resurrection. "Your brother will live again!"
There isn’t a greater promise in the universe than knowing that you can live forever!
I read last week that babies born now, in the early part of the 21st Century, can expect to live to be 150 years old! Because of the advancements in health care – the first grandchild Deb and I are expecting this fall might possibly live to be a century and a half old! That’s amazing!
Want to know something even more amazing? You can live forever because of the promise Jesus has made to you!
But there’s more!
The 5th way Jesus is the best friend you could ever have is
5 – He offers you eternal life for believing in Him.
How does Jesus offer eternal life to you? What’s the catch?
When Jesus told Martha of the resurrection of her brother, here’s how she responded.
24Martha answered, "I know that he will be raised to life on the last day, when all the dead are raised." 25Jesus then said, "I am the one who raises the dead to life! Everyone who has faith in me will live, even if they die. 26And everyone who lives because of faith in me will never really die. Do you believe this?"
27"Yes, Lord!" she replied. "I believe that you are Christ, the Son of God. You are the one we hoped would come into the world."
28After Martha said this, she went and privately said to her sister Mary, "The Teacher is here, and he wants to see you." 29As soon as Mary heard this, she got up and went out to Jesus.
Jesus didn’t merely say that there is life after death - He said He is the One who provides that life!
A Philadelphia legal firm sent flowers to an associate in Baltimore upon the opening of a new office building. Through some mix-up, the banner on the flowers read, "Deepest Sympathy." When the florist was informed of the mistake, he let out a shriek, and exclaimed, "Then the flowers that went to the funeral said, "Congratulations on your new location!"
That’s what death is - it is simply , moving to a new location. If you have placed your faith in Christ - after you experiece physical death you will enjoy eternal life!
You couldn’t possibly have a better friend than One who offers you eternal life!
Why would He make this offer?
That leads us to the 6th way Jesus is the greatest friend you could ever have.
6 – Jesus loves you.
I remember 25 years ago when my mother died from cancer. Her last words to me before her death were, "I love you son."
Deb and I have been married 29 years next month and I still enjoy hearing her say, "I love you Brian."
It’s good to be loved. God created you to be loved. There’s nothing to compare with loving and being loved. And God is the source of love.
Look at how much Jesus loves His friends.
30He was still outside the village where Martha had gone to meet him. 31Many people had come to comfort Mary, and when they saw her quickly leave the house, they thought she was going out to the tomb to cry. So they followed her.
32Mary went to where Jesus was. Then as soon as she saw him, she knelt at his feet and said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."
33When Jesus saw that Mary and the people with her were crying, he was terribly upset 34and asked, "Where have you put his body?" They replied, "Lord, come and you will see."
35Jesus started crying, 36and the people said, "SEE HOW MUCH HE LOVED Lazarus."
37Some of them said, "He gives sight to the blind. Why couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?"
The Greek word for love used in verse 35, talking about how much Jesus loved Lazarus, is phileo, brotherly love, friendship love.
I reiterate what the Bible says on this subject,
John 15:13 (NCV) The greatest love a person can show is to die for his friends.
Jesus proved how very much He wants to be your friend by dying in your place on the cross on Skull Hill.
The Bible says we are all sinners.
Romans 3:23 (CEV) All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory.
And sin has a horrible price tag.
Romans 6:23 (NLT) For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Jesus loves you so much that He took the penalty of your sin for you!
And the final way this story of the resurrection of Lazarus illustrates how Jesus is the best friend you could ever have is
7 – Jesus is the only One who can truly set you free.
After the conversation with Lazarus’ sisters
38Jesus was still terribly upset. So he went to the tomb, which was a cave with a stone rolled against the entrance. 39Then he told the people to roll the stone away. But Martha said, "Lord, you know that Lazarus has been dead four days, and there will be a bad smell."
40Jesus replied, "Didn’t I tell you that if you had faith, you would see the glory of God?"
41After the stone had been rolled aside, Jesus looked up toward heaven and prayed, "Father, I thank you for answering my prayer. 42I know that you always answer my prayers. But I said this, so that the people here would believe that you sent me."
43When Jesus had finished praying, he shouted, "Lazarus, come out!" 44The man who had been dead came out. His hands and feet were wrapped with strips of burial cloth, and a cloth covered his face.
Like Lazarus, your only hope against death, physical and eternal, is faith in Jesus.
Man could roll the stone away but only Jesus could issue the command for the dead to rise to new life.
You may have tried many things in your life to find true freedom. Some of the things you have tried may have even been religious. But true freedom doesn’t come from religion – it comes from a relationship – a personal relationship with the greatest friend that you could ever have – Jesus.
You begin that relationship by making a faith commitment to Jesus. You need to tell Jesus that you believe in Him and that you appreciate what He did for you on the cross and what He did for you by rising from the grave.
We want to give you that opportunity today. Would you please bow your heads in prayer with me?
If you want to begin that personal relationship with Christ today, if you want to be set free, if you want to have abundant life here and eternal life hereafter, I want to ask you to pray this prayer silently in your heart and mind right now,
"Dear God, I realize that you love me and want to be my friend. Today I want to ask you to forgive all my sins and let me begin a personal friendship with Jesus today. Thank you for giving your life on the cross to prove your love for me Jesus – and to prove how much you want to be my friend. I want to live for you. Help me learn more about you."
While our heads are still bowed in reverence to God, maybe there’s someone here today that would like to renew their commitment to Jesus.
I want to ask you to pray this prayer silently in your heart and mind right now,
"Father, forgive me for not placing as much importance on our relationship together as I should have. I know that you have done so very much for me and I want to ask you to help me to a consistent friendship with you. Help me to overcome the bad things that have happened and to realize that you have better things for me if I will trust in you."
