This is an excerpt of a sermon I shared with Aldersgate Methodist Church, Youthphoria on 23rd March 2020.
John 11:1-15 The Death of Lazarus
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.”
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. 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.”
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Waiting in Christ (John 11:1-6)
v.6 Jesus waited 2 days before leaving to see Lazarus, and nobody knew how long that wait would be until after the 2 days were up. Jesus chose to delay the deliverance that he could have brought to Lazarus. Right from the start, Jesus knew what he was doing, in v.4, Jesus claims, “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.”
The delay of deliverance is not the denial of deliverance. Sometimes, God makes us wait to show us what it truly means to be waiting at the foot of the cross. At some point along our journey of faith, we will all have moments when it gets desperate. We will face struggles, hardship and deal with unfortunate circumstances. Sometimes, in our weariness, we will cry out, how long must I wait, God? When will You show up for me? We stop expecting God to answer us when we call. We let prior disappointments, past let-downs and unanswered prayers, taint our thinking. We quit expecting anything from God.
Know this: God is never too busy and if He lets us wait, if He delays in His response, there is a reason. Before you get discouraged and assume God doesn’t hear you, remember, if the blessing is delayed, God allowed that delay. And when He’s ready, He will release all He has for you. There is no one and nothing that has authority to override the sovereign will of God. He does what He wants to do when He gets ready to do it.
Lesson 1: Delay of deliverance is not a denial of deliverance.
Walking in Christ (John 11:7-15)
vv9-10. Jesus implied that if the disciples followed Him, they wouldn’t be in danger, as they “will not stumble”. Despite the circumstances he was in (in the previous Chapter, Jesus and his disciples were stoned in Jerusalem – Bethany was near Jerusalem), Jesus is in full harmony with God’s will and in obedience to it. Jesus considered the importance of his kingdom assignment of raising Lazarus and saw that the circumstance that He was in pales in comparison to the need to complete the miracle of raising Lazarus.
The disciples were trying to persuade Jesus not to go to Bethany, not because they fear for him, but for themselves. Jesus saw through this and reminded them that they were walking in the light. Do we, like the disciples, live in fear despite walking in the light? Do we claim to children of the Light, but live in fear because of the circumstances that we are in? Nothing should daunt us for doing the will of God for our lives. The point is this, and I say this with assurance from Scriptures, that if we walk in Jesus Christ and under the will of the Father, there is no reason for anxiety and we will not expire before His providence for us has completed its course.
Lesson 2: Kingdom perspective helps us see our circumstances differently.
Principle 1: Kingdom perspective allows us to witness and experience God’s perfectly timed deliverance.
In the first 15 verses alone, even before we reach the town where Lazarus’ body lay, where the actual miracle takes place, John wants to drive the point across to us that every thing happens in God’s time. Deliverance from our circumstances happens in God’s time, and while we are grappling with these circumstances, take on Kingdom perspective and consider how it can stretch your faith. Faith, of not just your own, but as you share your struggles and how God delivered you, it also stretches the faith of others. God is going to use the circumstances in your life to shape and mould you, so that your priorities are flipped around and your faith is stretch like never before. All these, so that you are certain that the God you worship is the one true God.
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John 11:17, 21-27, 38-44 Jesus Raises Lazarus
17 Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.
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.” 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.”
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Trusting in Christ (John 11:17, 21-27)
v.22 “But I know that even God will give you whatever you ask,” v.24 “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” These were Martha’s response to Jesus as Jesus explains that he is the resurrection and the life. Martha used choice words to express her trust in Jesus, that is the word ‘know‘.
Martha’s trust in Jesus was rooted in what she learnt from Jesus’s teachings. Jesus said during the feeding of the 5,000 that the He would resurrect those who believe in Him on the last day. Her belief was also rooted in the sovereignty of Jesus as the Messiah. She had so much confidence in Jesus because she knew who Jesus is and who He claims to be. Her knowledge of Christ reinforced her confidence and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.
vv.25-26 Jesus said to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he dies, yet he shall live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” Martha replied Jesus (v.27), “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming int the world.” Not only did Martha know, Martha also believed!
Lesson 3: Trusting is also rooted in knowledge and belief.
In difficult times, it is easy to feel neglected by God. But we know that it is not the case, it is not the character of God to neglect us. Our feelings may seem to suggest one thing, but our knowledge of God should draw us back to the character of God. During this difficult time that Martha was going through, she continued to trust Jesus because of her knowledge and belief in Jesus Christ. In times of agony or when you are in tough circumstances. Is your trust in God shaped by your circumstances? Or is your trust in God reinforced in your knowledge of the character of God and your belief in his sovereignty?
Freedom in Christ (John 11:38-44)
vv.42-43 “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.” When he had said this, Jesus called out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”. We finally arrive at the tomb, the climax of the entire story, where Jesus performed the miracle as He called Lazarus out of the tomb.
I want to pause and allow us to consider this. Jesus could have healed Lazarus when he was still sick with a word of command, even though He was a far distance from Bethany. Jesus had that kind of power to do so. It would have been an incredible miracle, if way back in v.4, Jesus just said the words to heal Lazarus, this entire story would have been 40 verses shorter, and it reveals the power that Jesus has to heal at a distance. But the fact that Jesus allowed Lazarus to die, the words in v.43 “Lazarus, come out!” is so much mightier. These words are more powerful that healing at a distance, as it now covers a greater distance, the distance between the living and the dead.
On the day of the raising of Lazarus, only Lazarus was set free from death. But by believing, the greater miracle performed by God on Calvary would be the miracle that would set all who believed in Jesus Christ free for eternity. Christ, died and rose again, and He says to all who believe in Him, “unbind him from eternal death and let him go.”, “unbind her from eternal death and let her go.”
Lesson 4: Christ unbinds us and sets us free.
Principle 2: Freedom comes through faith and belief in Jesus Christ the Messiah.
The Gospel of John is written for a unified purpose that is nicely summarised in the closing words of the book. John 20:30-31 “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” And it is in these words “you may have life in his name”.
All of the signs and miracles performed by Jesus were revelations of who Jesus is and what he offers. The final sign, the raising of Lazarus, points most clearly to what has been at the heart of the revelation of the identity of Christ, and what was emphasised in Jesus’ key message — that Jesus is the one who gives life. The irony, of course, is that he gives life by giving up His own life on the cross.
“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live”
John 11:25
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