If you would, please open up your Bibles to John
chapter 11. John 11, today we're going to look
at verses 1 through 46 as we continue in our
sermon series through some, not all, but some
of the miracles of Jesus and no doubt the one
that we come upon today. is a miraculous miracle.
It is a miracle that prepares us for what Jesus
will do when Jesus will lay down his life and
then take it up again. And so let's look at this.
John chapter 11, 1 through 46. Now a certain
man was ill. Lazarus of Bethany, the village
of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who
anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his
feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was
ill. So the sisters sent to him saying, Lord,
he whom you love is ill. 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. Now, Jesus loved
Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he
heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days
longer in the place where he was. Then after
this, he said to the disciples, let us go to
Judea again. The disciples said to him, Rabbi,
the Jews were just now seeking to stone you and
are you going there again? Jesus answered, are
there not 12 hours in the day? If anyone walks
in the day, he does not stumble because he sees
the light of this world. But if anyone walks
in the night, he stumbles because the light is
not in him. After saying these things, he said
to them, our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep.
But I go to awaken him. The disciples said to
him, Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.
Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought
that he meant taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus
told them plainly, Lazarus has died. And for
your sake, I am glad that I was not there. So
that you may believe, but let us go to him. So
Thomas called the twin. said to his fellow disciples,
let us also go that we may die with him. Now
when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already
been in the tomb four days. Bethany was near
Jerusalem, about two miles off. And many of the
Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them
concerning their brother. So when Martha heard
that Jesus was coming, she went and met him.
But Mary remained in the house. Martha said to
Jesus, Lord, if you had been here, my brother
would not have died. But even now I know that
whatever you ask from God, God will give you.
Jesus said to her, your brother will rise again.
Martha said to him, I know that he will rise
again in the resurrection on the last day. Jesus
said to her, I and 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? She said
to him. Yes, Lord I believe that you are the
Christ the Son of God who is coming into the
world When she had said this she went and called
her sister Mary saying in private the teacher
is here and is calling for you And when she heard
it she rose quickly and went to him. Now Jesus
had not yet come into the village, but was still
in the place where Martha had met him. 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. Now when Mary came to Jesus, 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. 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. And he said, where have
you laid him? And they said to him, Lord, come
and see. Jesus wept. So the Jews said, See how
he loved him But some of them said could not
he who opened the eyes of the blind man also
have kept this man from dying Then Jesus deeply
moved again came to the tomb. It was a cave and
a stone lay against it 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 Jesus said to
her Did I not tell you that if you believed you
would see the glory of God? So they took away
the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said,
Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 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. When he had
said these things, he cried out with a loud voice,
Lazarus, come out. 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. Many of the
Jews therefore who had come with Mary and had
seen what he did believed in him. But some of
them went to the Pharisees and told them what
Jesus had done. This is God's Holy Word, let
us pray. Holy Spirit, as you have inspired the
words of the text of the Bible, these words,
we also ask that you would open up our hearts
and our minds to understand what is here, to
apply this text to our lives, and to more and
more follow after Jesus. with complete trust,
these things we ask in his name. Amen. There
was once a Sunday school teacher, a class with
a bunch of small children. And on this particular
day in this class, the teacher was going over
some facts from the Bible, some Bible trivia,
if you will. And so the teacher asked the students,
how many books of the Bible are there? And the
kid screamed, 1 ,000. She said, no, no, no. There's
66. And she said, can anyone tell me who was
it that was in the den with the lions? And the
kid screamed out, it was David. She said, no,
no, no. It was Daniel. Can anybody tell me what
happened in the book of Jonah? Don't know and
the teacher began to get exasperated. Why don't
these children know anything? She said I she
said to herself. I'll give them a softball question.
I'll give them an easy one What's the shortest
verse in the Bible and all the kids screamed
Jesus wept Why is it that we remember that fact
So much so over other things I can remember being
a boy and knowing that Jesus wept being the shortest
verse in the English Bible I probably knew that
before I ever knew that there was a book called
Philemon in the Bible I Think that we know this
one because it's short But we need to know more
than just the trivia We need to know the context
we need to understand why Jesus wept. And so
for this, we have this amazing text. Now, it
is a longer text, and so I want to break this
up into three parts so maybe we can understand
it better. I want us to look at the sickness
of Lazarus from verses one to 16, the sorrow
over Lazarus in 17 through 37, and the summoning
of Lazarus. in 38 through 45. Let's start with
the sickness of Lazarus. You can see within this
text that Jesus really loved Lazarus, and he
really loved Mary and Martha, but they are in
Bethany. And when Lazarus gets sick, Jesus is
not there, right? Where is Jesus? Well, if you
look in the context in chapter 10, you can see
that he was elsewhere. He was doing his work.
Verse 42 of chapter 10 says, and many believed
in him there. So Jesus is doing a wonderful work,
but he's not in Bethany. And yet when he gets
word that Lazarus is sick, what does he do? According
to the text, he does not go immediately to Lazarus,
does he? You might say, why not? Why doesn't
Jesus hustle to the side of his dear friend?
Look in verse six. When he heard that Lazarus
was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place
where he was. We're reading this, and if you
didn't know the context, if we hadn't read all
of this, you might be thinking, Jesus, how is
this friendship? How is this love and kindness?
Get there, right? But Jesus has a special purpose.
for not being there right then. And you can see
the purpose statement that's written in verse
four. When Jesus heard it, meaning Lazarus's
illness, 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. And so
what is on the line with this story? It is the
very glory of God. And yet, you see what Jesus
says here. For when God is glorified, the Father
glorified, so is the Son. Why? Because the Son
and the Father, they're on the same page, aren't
they? Conversely, when those do not honor the
Son, do not honor the Father. And we can see
from this text, because it says it over and over
again, that God the Father glorified when people
believe in God the Son. God is surely glorified
by this. You remember other texts that tell us
that there is a celebration in heaven when people
believe and no doubt as people believe in this
text we can expect that same sort of celebration.
But you can see in the beginning of this as Jesus
is talking to his disciples they don't fully
understand everything do they look down in verse
14 Jesus here speaks to them plainly Lazarus
has died and for your sake I am glad I was not
there so that you may believe the disciples at
first think that Jesus is just talking about
Lazarus sleeping Jesus puts it, as I said, very
plainly for them. He's not just sleeping. He
is really dead. Friends, we're like the disciples,
aren't we? Sometimes we just don't know everything.
Sometimes we don't understand what is God doing?
Why am I suffering like this? Why am I going
through this? Why would God put me through these
things? Sometimes we just don't know. or waiting
for something to happen and it just never seems
to get there. We can take heart from this passage
that everything that God ordains is right even
when we don't understand it. We can take comfort
in the fact that God's timing is always perfect.
I don't know what you're waiting for. I don't
know what you're waiting on. But you can trust,
you must trust that his timing is perfect. Jesus
had a perfect timing. He had purpose to his delay.
And you can see that everything worked out perfectly.
Now, as I said, these disciples don't understand
everything that's going on, but they are committed,
aren't they? Look at what Thomas says. I think
it's in verse 16. So Thomas called the twin,
said to his fellow disciples, let us also go
that we may die with him. Again, they don't understand
everything, but they are committed. Thomas is
saying, hey, we're going with him. If he's going
to die, we're going to die with him. And Thomas
doesn't know how right he is, does he? For we
know this about the disciples, right? That excluding
Judas, of course, and excluding John, they were
all martyred. And so Thomas, while they're not
going to be killed at the same time as Jesus,
they will be. And so Thomas is very, very right.
For this reason and many more, I hope that the
doubting Thomas nickname that he has, I hope
that that is gone in glory. I am certain it will
be because he shows commitment to Jesus here.
Well, as I said, we also want to look at the
sorrow of the passage. Not just the sorrow of
Jesus, but let's start with the sorrow of Martha
and then Mary. we said Jesus delays coming to
Bethany and Martha is the first one to go to
Jesus and it's four days it's on the fourth day
since Lazarus died you might think why four I
thought three was the biblical number right well
according to some sources in rabbinical teaching
the teaching of rabbis in Jesus's day that a
person's spirit hovered over them for three days.
But after three days, the spirit was gone, meaning
that there was no opportunity to revive the person.
This was the teaching of rabbis at the time.
Sproul says here, by delaying his return, Jesus
let enough time pass to make it absolutely certain
that the raising of Lazarus was completely against
nature. and could not be seen as anything other
than a miracle. And so, as this is a sermon series
on the miracles, how perfect is this? And so,
Martha comes to Jesus first. Look in verse 21.
She says these agonizing words here. She says
to Jesus, Lord, if you had been here, my brother
would not have died. And Mary, utters a very,
very similar thing in verse 32. This is what
Jesus has to hear, if you would have just been
here. But verse 22 also shows us that Martha
believes that Jesus can do all things. And so
he's talking to her about this and look in verse
24. After Jesus says, I know your brother, he
says, your brother will rise again. Martha says,
I know. He will rise again in the resurrection
on the last day. And so she's thinking about
the return of Jesus here. I would like to say
this. Martha has really good theology. Many people
in Jesus's day did not believe in the resurrection
of the dead. The Sadducees, notably in Matthew
22, reject the resurrection of the dead. Martha
has good theology. She just doesn't know exactly
what Jesus is going. to do here. And it's the
same with us. We have good theology, prayerfully,
we're giving ourselves, committing ourselves
to the teaching of the Bible, but we don't know
all things. Just this week I've been asked questions
about the hardening of Pharaoh's heart. And then
I was asked about free will versus sovereignty.
And then I was asked about polygamy. And then
I was asked what in the world is going on in
Romans chapter nine. We have a lot of questions,
don't we? But we must seek the answers in faith.
And that's what I believe Martha is doing here.
Jesus makes it plain again. Look in verses 25
and 26. this incredible line from Jesus. 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. And then he asked this question that I ask
all of you today. Do you believe this? Do you
believe? Nod your heads. that Jesus is the resurrection
and the life. He is. Praise God. Jesus had to
come to die in order to be raised. A friend asked
me not too long ago, why did Jesus have to be
raised? And I said, so that you will be. Jesus
goes before us. And he is raised. And he demonstrates
this through this miracle with Lazarus. But also,
please see this, Jesus is not giving a lecture
here. He's not just dispensing information, is
he? We can see this because you have Martha crying.
You have Mary. They're both so burdened, right,
for Lazarus. But Jesus also is burdened too,
isn't he? And that takes us to that trivia question,
the shortest verse in the English Bible, Jesus
wept. Please see that Jesus is fully God and
fully man. And how remarkable is it that Jesus,
who knew what he was going to do, he knew that
he was going to raise Lazarus, and yet he still
weeps. over his friend. Jesus demonstrates that
line, weep with those who weep. This is Jesus
with his friends. And so please understand this.
Your Savior is not distant. Your Savior is not
aloof. Your Savior sympathizes with your weaknesses,
right? Your Savior is Emmanuel. God with us.
Look in verse 37, though. People are wondering,
what do we do with this weeping rabbi? Some of
them said how he loved him. And others said,
could not he who opened the eyes of the blind
man also have kept this man from dying? Remember,
though, the purpose of all of this so that people
would believe. So in verse 38 Jesus begins the
miracle look there Jesus deeply moved again came
to the tomb And it's a cave and a stone lay Against
it and we are reminded here that Lazarus has
been dead four days and then look in verse 40
Jesus said to Martha did I not tell you that
if you believed you would see the glory of God
so just a reminder I'm doing the very thing that
I told you I would do, showing you the glory
of the Father. And then what does Jesus have
done? He has the stone rolled away, not so that
Jesus could go in, but so that Lazarus, the dead
man, could come out. This demonstrates the power
of Jesus to command life, the man who was really
dead. for four days comes walking out, wrapped
up, just as he had been placed into the tomb.
And this is amazing. And it has many witnesses,
right? That here comes the dead man. And really
what this illustrates, what this story illustrates
is exactly what God does in us at conversion.
Go back earlier into John, chapter five, verse
25. to see what happens in us when Jesus makes
us spiritually alive. John 525, truly, truly
I say to you, an hour is coming and is now here
when the dead will hear the voice of the Son
of God and those who hear will live. This is
getting at something that Reformed Christians
like to call the effectual call the Holy Spirit
awakening those who believe in Jesus with the
gift of faith Friends, you know this we cannot
save ourselves For without the work of the Holy
Spirit regenerating us. We are spiritually dead
But with faith given to us by God we are made
spiritually Alive and that's one of the reasons
that I think that this miracle stands out so
beautifully Because it demonstrates not just
Jesus's power over the grave But it reminds us
what God does in our hearts that Jesus does something
that we could not do That Jesus saves us from
eternal death and gives us eternal life This
also demonstrates the very sovereignty of God
look in verse 45 Many of the Jews, therefore,
who had come with Mary and had seen what he did,
believed in him. But some of them went to the
Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.
And so you see the whole purpose of this that
started kind of small with the disciples and
Mary and Martha just keeps getting bigger as
more people believe and yet not everybody believes,
right? And what all of this is doing is showing
us that, yes, this is an incredible miracle,
but it's also designed to do something else.
It sets the ball in motion for Jesus to lay down
His life. Look in verse 53. I know that's outside
of our reading today. Verse 53, it says, So from
that day on they made plans to put Him to death.
So because of what Jesus does with Lazarus, the
people make plans to put him to death. This shows
that faith is a gift, and God is sovereign over
all, right? And yet we know this. Jesus had to
go to the cross for us. Jesus had to die for
us. This is what Jesus does for us that is great
as this miracle is. Death. would come again for
Lazarus. There would be more tears shed for Lazarus.
Friends, it's not just enough to stay alive.
We need eternal life, for you know what happened
in the fall. You know that Adam, as our representative,
disobeyed God when he ate the fruit and brought
sin to every person who is conceived in natural
generation. And so from then on, death reigned
For the wages of sin is death but thanks be to
God Jesus on the cross Exclaims it is finished
and he defeats death and the devil and sin What
he does when Jesus goes to the cross is he undergoes
Everything for us as our substitute the story
doesn't end even with death Even with Jesus'
death, because he undergoes resurrection for
us too, so that one day when death comes for
us, when our days are up, they have really just
begun. Puritan Thomas Watson said this, we are
more sure to arise out of our graves than out
of our beds. Think about that. We are more sure
to arise out of our graves than out of our beds.
This is the truth for Christians raised to everlasting
life, not to everlasting death, that though we
weep now, Jesus will dry our eyes in the resurrection.
I begin to close here with this. Perhaps you
know this passage from Revelation chapter 21.
Verse 4 He will wipe away every tear from their
eyes and death shall be no more Neither shall
there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore
For the former things have passed away Church
family take heart Jesus's comment about being
the resurrection and the life And the fact that
he was raised, Jesus was raised himself, gives
you the surety, the certainty to know that one
day you, just like Jesus, will also be raised
to eternal life with him. Thanks be to God. Let
us pray.