The Sisters And The Savior (John 11) Series

The Sisters and the Savior

John 11: (Pew Bible p. 843)

Good morning, and Happy Palm Sunday. Please turn to John 11. If you are new to Christianity and aren’t really sure what all the different days mean, Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week. It’s the day Jesus entered Jerusalem on the back of a donkey, which fulfilled an Old Testament prophecy that the Messiah would enter Zion this way. You can look it up for yourself if you want—Zechariah 9:9—written over 400 years before this happened.

And maybe you are a little surprised we aren’t talking about that story this morning. But as we begin this Holy week, which you know is going to end with Jesus’ death on Friday and his resurrection three days later, I want us to look at an event that happened at some point before Jesus’ triumphal entry. And it’s a story that shows, maybe better than any other story in the gospels that Jesus understands everything we go through and experience.

The Bible says that Jesus was like us, in every way, yet was without sin (Hebrews 4:15). He experienced joy and sadness, hunger, thirst, the love of family and friends. We didn’t really need a multimillion dollar super bowl ad campaign to know that He gets us.

With that, let’s hear God’s Word this morning, from John 11, beginning in verse 17:

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[c] 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.[d] 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?”

[Prayer]

If there is one lesson that has really hit home with me during this study of the I AM statements of Jesus, it’s that context matters. These seven statements are profound, for sure. But remember that every conversation or teaching Jesus had was at a specific time, in a specific place, to a specific group of people. And that is true for this I AM statement also. Probably more than any of them.

Chapter 11 opens with a messenger coming to them with news that a man named Lazarus was sick. This was the brother of Mary and Martha, and they lived in a town called Bethany, just outside of Jerusalem. These siblings had a very special relationship with Jesus. Verse 5 says Jesus loved them. Which makes verse 6 really confusing to me:

6 So, when he heard that Lazarus[a] was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

The Bible doesn’t say why Jesus waited two more days before heading to Bethany. I would have expected it to say, “so when he heard Lazarus was ill, he left immediately to see Him.” The only clue we get as to his motives is in verse 4:

“This sickness will not end in death,” he said. “No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” (11:4)

The strange thing is that Lazarus may have already been dead by this point. We aren’t sure where Jesus was at this time, but we know he waited two days before he set out, and we learn later that Lazarus had been dead for four days. So by the time they start toward Bethany, Lazarus was already dead, and Jesus knew it. Look down at verse 14:

So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” (v. 14)

What is going on here? Verse 4 Jesus assures the disciples that the sickness will not end in death. Verse 14 says Lazarus is dead. Which is it?

It’s both. For every one of us, death isn’t the end of the story. So with the rest of our time together this morning, I want to walk us through the six movements of this story: Martha’s pain, Jesus’ promise, Mary’s pain, Jesus’ passion, Martha’s practicality, and Jesus’ power.