WEBVTT 00:00:11.920 --> 00:00:14.699 What do you say at a graveside when the silence 00:00:14.699 --> 00:00:17.399 feels like the final word? That's where John 00:00:17.399 --> 00:00:20.679 11 begins with sisters grieving, friends consoling, 00:00:20.679 --> 00:00:23.460 a prayer that sounds more like an accusation. 00:00:23.460 --> 00:00:27.190 Lord, if you'd only been here. It's a story that 00:00:27.190 --> 00:00:29.089 presses on to the questions we'd rather avoid. 00:00:29.309 --> 00:00:32.490 Why didn't God prevent this? Why did he wait? 00:00:33.270 --> 00:00:36.549 Why do we still have to hurt? And yet, this is 00:00:36.549 --> 00:00:38.789 also the story where Jesus speaks one of his 00:00:38.789 --> 00:00:41.530 clearest, boldest promises. I am the resurrection 00:00:41.530 --> 00:00:44.929 and the life, not only for some distant day, 00:00:45.009 --> 00:00:47.969 but here now for those who believe. So let's 00:00:47.969 --> 00:00:49.909 walk into Bethany together this morning. Let's 00:00:49.909 --> 00:00:52.210 listen for his voice in the middle of sorrow, 00:00:52.310 --> 00:00:56.649 because where Jesus speaks, life follows. And 00:00:56.649 --> 00:00:59.750 if this word blesses you, challenges you, steadies 00:00:59.750 --> 00:01:01.770 you for the week ahead, subscribe, share it. 00:01:02.590 --> 00:01:05.430 Invite someone else to hear the good news. I'll 00:01:05.430 --> 00:01:14.049 see you on the other side. So I've got the good 00:01:14.049 --> 00:01:18.590 news and I've got some bad news. The good news 00:01:18.590 --> 00:01:20.109 is the good news. We're going to find the good 00:01:20.109 --> 00:01:22.370 news out here in just a minute, but let me go 00:01:22.370 --> 00:01:23.670 ahead and give you the bad news. The bad news 00:01:23.670 --> 00:01:25.930 is. I realized as I was setting up here this 00:01:25.930 --> 00:01:28.950 morning that I need about a half a more sermon 00:01:28.950 --> 00:01:32.510 to put on top of this sermon to make this sermon 00:01:32.510 --> 00:01:35.829 see the good news. So that's the bad news. So 00:01:35.829 --> 00:01:37.689 it's probably a good time at this point just 00:01:37.689 --> 00:01:40.549 to remind you that class is dismissed when I'm 00:01:40.549 --> 00:01:46.150 done, not when the bell rings. So let me start 00:01:46.150 --> 00:01:51.760 this morning by really stepping way back. because 00:01:51.760 --> 00:01:56.120 we've reached the end of one of our little stories, 00:01:56.239 --> 00:02:00.200 sessions together. And that has been, we have 00:02:00.200 --> 00:02:03.859 been looking at these sections that we find in 00:02:03.859 --> 00:02:09.080 the book of John, where the apostle John, John 00:02:09.080 --> 00:02:12.120 3 .16, we know this one, right? For God so loved 00:02:12.120 --> 00:02:15.340 the world, that guy. Okay, he's writing at the 00:02:15.340 --> 00:02:18.919 end of the first century. It's like in the 90s. 00:02:19.949 --> 00:02:22.650 So Matthew, Mark, and Luke already been written, 00:02:22.689 --> 00:02:26.370 shared. John comes along at the end and says, 00:02:26.509 --> 00:02:29.509 I was there too. I love what those guys put down 00:02:29.509 --> 00:02:32.210 on paper, but I want to tell my side of the story 00:02:32.210 --> 00:02:35.689 too. One of the things John tries to do with 00:02:35.689 --> 00:02:43.849 his book is to say, I believe that Jesus is really 00:02:43.849 --> 00:02:48.409 the Messiah. We all grew up good Jewish boys 00:02:48.409 --> 00:02:53.370 and girls. We all knew our Torah. We all prayed 00:02:53.370 --> 00:02:57.110 for that Redeemer, that one that would come and 00:02:57.110 --> 00:03:00.030 rescue and save the people of God again. It was 00:03:00.030 --> 00:03:03.409 promised to us throughout what we Christians 00:03:03.409 --> 00:03:05.789 might call the Old Testament, what they would 00:03:05.789 --> 00:03:09.990 call the Scriptures. And John is saying, Jesus 00:03:09.990 --> 00:03:14.330 is really that dude. And he says, now, I don't 00:03:14.330 --> 00:03:17.780 want you to just take my word for it. I want 00:03:17.780 --> 00:03:21.300 to show you, and in his instance, he takes seven 00:03:21.300 --> 00:03:25.740 signs or miracles or wonders, and he kind of 00:03:25.740 --> 00:03:28.520 puts them back to back to back to back to back 00:03:28.520 --> 00:03:31.479 to back to back to say, this is my evidence that 00:03:31.479 --> 00:03:33.860 I'm laying out that Jesus is the Messiah. Because, 00:03:34.000 --> 00:03:37.479 John is saying, if you know your Hebrew scripture, 00:03:37.639 --> 00:03:41.139 you'll know that the things Jesus did specifically 00:03:41.139 --> 00:03:45.219 point back to the Messiah's coming that we read 00:03:45.219 --> 00:03:48.580 about growing up. And what's also interesting 00:03:48.580 --> 00:03:54.099 is, I learned this from my friend Tim Mackey. 00:03:54.240 --> 00:03:57.680 He has this website called, or project called 00:03:57.680 --> 00:03:59.379 the Bible Project. You may have heard of him. 00:03:59.960 --> 00:04:02.180 It's really fascinating. If you don't, if you 00:04:02.180 --> 00:04:03.500 haven't checked out the Bible Project, go check 00:04:03.500 --> 00:04:04.900 it out. But one of the things that's really cool 00:04:04.900 --> 00:04:09.919 about Dr. Mackey is he had this... I was listening 00:04:09.919 --> 00:04:12.300 to him teach on Matthew one time and he said, 00:04:12.360 --> 00:04:15.479 what's fascinating about the Bible is so often, 00:04:15.520 --> 00:04:19.899 so much of the gospel accounts really are stories 00:04:19.899 --> 00:04:24.839 about people wrestling with the reality that 00:04:24.839 --> 00:04:30.660 Jesus is the Messiah. And how people thought 00:04:30.660 --> 00:04:34.779 about what Jesus said and did. ranges the gamut 00:04:34.779 --> 00:04:38.019 of human emotion. Some dropped their fishing 00:04:38.019 --> 00:04:41.920 nets, walked away from their livelihoods when 00:04:41.920 --> 00:04:46.139 he said follow and just started following. Some 00:04:46.139 --> 00:04:51.259 flat out rejected. Couldn't be. Of the devil 00:04:51.259 --> 00:04:54.800 kind of stuff. Some, most, kind of somewhere 00:04:54.800 --> 00:05:01.439 in between. I don't know what Jesus is. But Jesus 00:05:01.439 --> 00:05:05.160 does stuff and says things I have never heard 00:05:05.160 --> 00:05:10.100 another person say or do. It's all along that 00:05:10.100 --> 00:05:15.139 spectrum, right? Because when the Son of God, 00:05:15.259 --> 00:05:19.180 when the Messiah fulfilled, when God is standing 00:05:19.180 --> 00:05:21.759 in front of you, it's one thing to read about 00:05:21.759 --> 00:05:26.439 it in a story from 2 ,000 years ago. It's another 00:05:26.439 --> 00:05:29.519 thing to actually make sense of it if it's you. 00:05:30.680 --> 00:05:32.779 And I think we kind of struggle with that same 00:05:32.779 --> 00:05:36.240 thing today too, don't we? A lot of us grew up 00:05:36.240 --> 00:05:38.560 in church or know something about church or really 00:05:38.560 --> 00:05:41.819 buy into church. Some folks that don't buy into 00:05:41.819 --> 00:05:44.259 church at all. And we all have that, still have 00:05:44.259 --> 00:05:47.899 that same kind of gamut of emotions about how 00:05:47.899 --> 00:05:51.220 do we respond to the possibility that Jesus is 00:05:51.220 --> 00:05:53.959 who Jesus says that he is. Some of us leave our 00:05:53.959 --> 00:05:58.000 nets and follow. Some of us think it's all fairy 00:05:58.000 --> 00:06:01.250 tales. Most of us, though, live in the tension 00:06:01.250 --> 00:06:04.829 in between. Most of us live in that tension of, 00:06:04.949 --> 00:06:08.410 I think it sure seems that Jesus is who Jesus 00:06:08.410 --> 00:06:11.009 says he does, but I don't know for sure exactly 00:06:11.009 --> 00:06:15.649 what I'm supposed to do about it. And those are 00:06:15.649 --> 00:06:17.870 the exact same problems that the first century 00:06:17.870 --> 00:06:20.930 people were dealing with as well. How do we deal 00:06:20.930 --> 00:06:23.089 with the fact that Jesus is who he says that 00:06:23.089 --> 00:06:26.600 he is? John says, I'll tell you what, I believe 00:06:26.600 --> 00:06:29.139 it, and I want to show you the stuff that I've 00:06:29.139 --> 00:06:33.500 seen and witnessed myself to prove it. And he 00:06:33.500 --> 00:06:36.300 doesn't just pick up his favorite seven favorite 00:06:36.300 --> 00:06:38.439 things that his buddy Jesus did and wrote it 00:06:38.439 --> 00:06:41.620 down. John is trying to teach us much more than 00:06:41.620 --> 00:06:44.040 that. John actually, remember, his comes at the 00:06:44.040 --> 00:06:45.879 end of the writing of all these other books. 00:06:45.920 --> 00:06:49.209 He knows what these other books say. And he's 00:06:49.209 --> 00:06:53.970 reminded, I think, of a story we find very early 00:06:53.970 --> 00:06:58.670 on in Jesus' earthly ministry. In fact, so early 00:06:58.670 --> 00:07:01.930 on, his cousin, John the Baptist, the guy who 00:07:01.930 --> 00:07:04.810 baptized Jesus, the Holy Spirit came down. Remember 00:07:04.810 --> 00:07:07.550 that scene? John the Baptist gets thrown in jail 00:07:07.550 --> 00:07:11.860 for speaking truth to power. There was some chicanery 00:07:11.860 --> 00:07:14.720 going on in Herod's household that was not of 00:07:14.720 --> 00:07:17.740 God. John was flat out telling people that this 00:07:17.740 --> 00:07:24.040 is going on, and it's not true. And so Herod 00:07:24.040 --> 00:07:26.740 ends up throwing John the Baptist in the jail. 00:07:26.779 --> 00:07:29.500 Another Bible story for another day. Ends up 00:07:29.500 --> 00:07:33.000 John the Baptist's head on a platter. But in 00:07:33.000 --> 00:07:35.139 the in -between, when John is still in prison, 00:07:35.879 --> 00:07:38.839 Jesus is beginning his earthly ministry. John 00:07:38.839 --> 00:07:42.319 knows who Jesus is. John has no doubt who Jesus 00:07:42.319 --> 00:07:47.600 is. But John's in jail. And his buddy, Jesus, 00:07:47.860 --> 00:07:51.579 his cousin, that he knows is the Messiah, is 00:07:51.579 --> 00:07:57.519 not knocking the jail walls down. Why, if you're 00:07:57.519 --> 00:08:00.199 the Messiah, I know you are. Why am I in jail, 00:08:00.360 --> 00:08:03.379 John says. And he starts to actually doubt whether 00:08:03.379 --> 00:08:06.759 Jesus really is. So he sends his disciples to 00:08:06.759 --> 00:08:10.720 Jesus to ask him if he really is the Messiah. 00:08:11.579 --> 00:08:14.259 And Jesus doesn't just say, go tell John yes, 00:08:14.480 --> 00:08:19.120 or go tell John no. He answers with a statement 00:08:19.120 --> 00:08:22.620 about things that are happening and occurring 00:08:22.620 --> 00:08:27.990 that can be not denied. And in Matthew 11, Jesus 00:08:27.990 --> 00:08:31.870 tells him, go tell John this. Tell him that because 00:08:31.870 --> 00:08:37.909 of me, the blind now see, the deaf now hear, 00:08:38.090 --> 00:08:44.129 dead people are being raised, and the good news 00:08:44.129 --> 00:08:49.529 is being preached to the poor. Well, Jesus, that 00:08:49.529 --> 00:08:51.850 probably just sounds like a laundry list of stuff 00:08:51.850 --> 00:08:56.179 you just did today. No, Jesus is... He's repeating 00:08:56.179 --> 00:09:00.559 prophecy from Isaiah 43 that says when the Messiah 00:09:00.559 --> 00:09:03.820 will come, this is what you'll see. You'll see 00:09:03.820 --> 00:09:07.200 the blind seeing. You'll see the deaf hearing. 00:09:07.299 --> 00:09:10.700 You'll see the dead walking when the Messiah 00:09:10.700 --> 00:09:13.399 comes. And John says, or Jesus says, this is 00:09:13.399 --> 00:09:16.220 what's happening. Go tell him that. Let him decide. 00:09:17.179 --> 00:09:19.600 John's doing the same thing. He's using his signs, 00:09:19.740 --> 00:09:22.360 looking back to Old Testament prophecy and saying, 00:09:23.000 --> 00:09:25.659 The Old Testament, our scripture says that when 00:09:25.659 --> 00:09:28.080 the Messiah comes, this is going to happen. This 00:09:28.080 --> 00:09:29.600 is going to happen. This is going to happen. 00:09:29.639 --> 00:09:31.519 This is going to happen. And John is saying, 00:09:31.600 --> 00:09:34.860 and here's Jesus doing this, that, this, that. 00:09:35.120 --> 00:09:38.120 And we have now reached number seven, the last 00:09:38.120 --> 00:09:44.899 of the signs. And it's about Lazarus. Jesus in 00:09:44.899 --> 00:09:50.120 his last sign, according to John, raises Lazarus 00:09:50.120 --> 00:09:55.139 from the dead. Now, this is the last point of 00:09:55.139 --> 00:09:57.960 the pre -sermon that I want you to front load 00:09:57.960 --> 00:10:01.379 in your brain. It's very interesting here, right? 00:10:01.639 --> 00:10:06.399 Because Jesus raises Lazarus, who we'll find 00:10:06.399 --> 00:10:10.279 was well beyond just dead. He was dead, graveyard 00:10:10.279 --> 00:10:15.679 dead. And then he resurrects himself, right? 00:10:15.759 --> 00:10:19.200 And that's where we find the climax. But what 00:10:19.200 --> 00:10:24.090 happens? If we take Lazarus' resurrection out, 00:10:24.250 --> 00:10:29.509 but Jesus still dies and is resurrected, what 00:10:29.509 --> 00:10:33.590 does that tell us? Tells us, yay, Jesus is Superman. 00:10:35.049 --> 00:10:38.350 No, no, no, no, no. Now that Jesus has raised 00:10:38.350 --> 00:10:41.870 Lazarus from the dead, John is showing us that 00:10:41.870 --> 00:10:45.909 same power over death is not just localized to 00:10:45.909 --> 00:10:52.100 Jesus, but it's available to you and to me. It's 00:10:52.100 --> 00:10:55.460 not about conquering death. It's about conquering 00:10:55.460 --> 00:11:02.220 your, insert name here, death. Your personal 00:11:02.220 --> 00:11:06.159 death. The one where Jesus calls you by name 00:11:06.159 --> 00:11:11.559 out of your tomb, death. So with that in mind, 00:11:11.759 --> 00:11:18.059 Bethany. sits on the far slope of the Mount of 00:11:18.059 --> 00:11:21.159 Olives. It's only two miles from Jerusalem. I 00:11:21.159 --> 00:11:22.940 was thinking about this earlier. I don't know, 00:11:22.960 --> 00:11:27.100 maybe the high school to the Walmart? Two miles? 00:11:29.519 --> 00:11:33.779 That's how far. Not far. Certainly not in a day 00:11:33.779 --> 00:11:36.860 when everybody walked everywhere, right? Bethany, 00:11:37.000 --> 00:11:40.639 right outside of town. And from where you stand 00:11:40.639 --> 00:11:44.039 in Bethany, You can actually see the city wall, 00:11:44.279 --> 00:11:46.840 the Jerusalem city wall. You can see the Temple 00:11:46.840 --> 00:11:50.899 Mount glittering in the distance. But here at 00:11:50.899 --> 00:11:53.759 this house in Bethany, the air is different. 00:11:53.820 --> 00:12:01.220 Here, grief hangs like a fog. And you can hear 00:12:01.220 --> 00:12:07.419 it before you see it. Wailing. A deep moan rolling 00:12:07.419 --> 00:12:11.639 through narrow alleys. Cries. that rise and fall 00:12:11.639 --> 00:12:16.179 like wind through a canyon. Jewish custom demands 00:12:16.179 --> 00:12:22.200 seven days of shiva, seven days where neighbors 00:12:22.200 --> 00:12:25.980 would gather with the family when tears are expected 00:12:25.980 --> 00:12:29.240 and where their voices are filled with lament 00:12:29.240 --> 00:12:35.419 because no one grieves alone in Israel. The sister's 00:12:35.419 --> 00:12:39.740 home is swollen with people. The narrow street 00:12:39.740 --> 00:12:42.340 outside is lined with neighbors sitting low to 00:12:42.340 --> 00:12:45.720 the ground. Robes are torn at their collars. 00:12:45.840 --> 00:12:50.700 Ash and dust cover the heads. Clay lamps flicker 00:12:50.700 --> 00:12:54.980 in doorways. Incense smolders, a sweet smoke 00:12:54.980 --> 00:13:00.460 trying to mask what everybody knows. The sour 00:13:00.460 --> 00:13:03.580 bite of death is waiting on the edge of town. 00:13:06.570 --> 00:13:10.409 had been in the tomb four days, four days. In 00:13:10.409 --> 00:13:13.629 Jewish thought, the soul hovered near the body 00:13:13.629 --> 00:13:18.090 for three, but on the fourth, it departed, and 00:13:18.090 --> 00:13:22.809 hope had gone with it. You watch the sisters. 00:13:22.950 --> 00:13:27.509 Mary sits still, her head bowed, her body racked 00:13:27.509 --> 00:13:32.879 with silent sobs. Martha paces back and forth, 00:13:32.919 --> 00:13:36.519 her jaw tight, her eyes searching down the road. 00:13:37.120 --> 00:13:40.980 Fred's bring food, bread, olives, lentils, but 00:13:40.980 --> 00:13:44.820 no one has an appetite. Children cling to skirts. 00:13:45.200 --> 00:13:49.720 Old men shake their heads, quoting psalms under 00:13:49.720 --> 00:13:52.259 their breath. Out of the depths I cry to you, 00:13:52.299 --> 00:13:57.399 O Lord, Lord, hear my voice. This is not a quiet 00:13:57.399 --> 00:14:03.340 house. This is a house. filled with lament. And 00:14:03.340 --> 00:14:10.179 the sting? Jesus was close enough to come. He 00:14:10.179 --> 00:14:14.899 was only two miles away. The sisters had sent 00:14:14.899 --> 00:14:18.679 for him. Lord, the one you love is ill. They 00:14:18.679 --> 00:14:21.200 knew he could heal. They had seen it before, 00:14:21.299 --> 00:14:26.519 but he didn't come. He waited. You know that 00:14:26.519 --> 00:14:31.080 place too, don't you? Not Bethany, perhaps, but 00:14:31.080 --> 00:14:34.620 somewhere like it. The hospital waiting room 00:14:34.620 --> 00:14:37.399 with the fluorescent hum where no one wants to 00:14:37.399 --> 00:14:41.039 say the word. The living room too quiet after 00:14:41.039 --> 00:14:45.039 hospice has carried the bed away. The graveside 00:14:45.039 --> 00:14:49.539 with folding chairs. You know this place. This 00:14:49.539 --> 00:14:54.000 is Bethany. This is where you stand and you feel 00:14:54.000 --> 00:15:00.299 like God didn't show up. Friends, hold the scene. 00:15:01.120 --> 00:15:04.580 Smell the incense. Hear the cries of the neighbor. 00:15:05.700 --> 00:15:10.000 See the stone rolled across the cave. Into this 00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:13.879 silence, into this scene, let the word of God 00:15:13.879 --> 00:15:17.500 speak. For it is not an old tale, friends. It 00:15:17.500 --> 00:15:21.779 is breath and bone still. But tune your ears, 00:15:21.840 --> 00:15:28.059 for the Spirit speaks. John chapter 11. Now a 00:15:28.059 --> 00:15:31.860 certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, village 00:15:31.860 --> 00:15:35.440 of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one 00:15:35.440 --> 00:15:38.220 who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped 00:15:38.220 --> 00:15:41.220 his feet with her hair. Her brother Lazarus was 00:15:41.220 --> 00:15:44.419 ill. So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, 00:15:44.519 --> 00:15:47.740 Lord, he whom you love is ill. But when Jesus 00:15:47.740 --> 00:15:52.000 heard it, he said, this illness does not lead 00:15:52.000 --> 00:16:00.899 to death. may be glorified through it. Accordingly, 00:16:00.899 --> 00:16:05.299 though, Jesus loved Martha and her sister and 00:16:05.299 --> 00:16:09.600 Lazarus. And after hearing that Lazarus was ill, 00:16:09.679 --> 00:16:14.179 he stayed two days longer in the place where 00:16:14.179 --> 00:16:18.679 he was. Then after this, he said to the disciples, 00:16:19.120 --> 00:16:26.080 let us go to Judea again. The disciples said 00:16:26.080 --> 00:16:29.399 to him, Rabbi, the Jews just now were trying 00:16:29.399 --> 00:16:34.639 to stone you. Are you going there again? Jesus 00:16:34.639 --> 00:16:37.580 answered, are there not 12 hours of daylight? 00:16:37.659 --> 00:16:39.980 Those who walk during the day do not stumble 00:16:39.980 --> 00:16:42.360 because they are able to see the light of the 00:16:42.360 --> 00:16:44.919 world. But those who walk at night stumble because 00:16:44.919 --> 00:16:48.919 the light is not in them. After saying this, 00:16:48.940 --> 00:16:51.600 he told them, our friend, Lazarus has fallen 00:16:51.600 --> 00:16:55.429 asleep, but I am going there to wake him. The 00:16:55.429 --> 00:16:57.230 disciples said to him, Lord, if he has fallen 00:16:57.230 --> 00:17:00.730 asleep, he'll be all right. Jesus, however, had 00:17:00.730 --> 00:17:03.909 been speaking about his death. They thought he 00:17:03.909 --> 00:17:07.509 was referring merely to sleep. And then Jesus 00:17:07.509 --> 00:17:13.869 told them plainly, Lazarus is dead for your sake. 00:17:14.309 --> 00:17:17.950 He says to them, for your sake, I'm glad I was 00:17:17.950 --> 00:17:21.410 not there so that you may believe, but let us 00:17:21.410 --> 00:17:24.490 go with him. Thomas, who was called the twin, 00:17:24.609 --> 00:17:26.710 said to his fellow disciples, Let us also go 00:17:26.710 --> 00:17:30.809 that we may die with him. When Jesus arrived, 00:17:30.970 --> 00:17:33.089 he found that Lazarus had already been in the 00:17:33.089 --> 00:17:35.250 tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, 00:17:35.430 --> 00:17:39.089 some two miles away. And many of the Jews had 00:17:39.089 --> 00:17:41.069 come to Martha and Mary to console them about 00:17:41.069 --> 00:17:43.430 their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was 00:17:43.430 --> 00:17:46.589 coming, she went and met him while Mary stayed 00:17:46.589 --> 00:17:49.950 at home. Martha said to Jesus, Lord, if you had 00:17:49.950 --> 00:17:53.599 been there, my brother would not have died. But 00:17:53.599 --> 00:17:57.119 even now I know that God will give you whatever 00:17:57.119 --> 00:18:01.359 you ask of him. Jesus said to her, your brother 00:18:01.359 --> 00:18:04.900 will rise again. Martha said to him, I know that 00:18:04.900 --> 00:18:07.700 he will rise again in the resurrection on the 00:18:07.700 --> 00:18:11.660 last day. Jesus said to her, no, I am the resurrection 00:18:11.660 --> 00:18:15.759 and the life. And those who believe in me, even 00:18:15.759 --> 00:18:19.420 though they die, will live. And everyone who 00:18:19.420 --> 00:18:21.819 lives and believes in me will never die. Do you 00:18:21.819 --> 00:18:26.000 believe this? She said to him, Yes, Lord, I believe 00:18:26.000 --> 00:18:28.480 that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the 00:18:28.480 --> 00:18:31.420 one coming into the world. And when she had said 00:18:31.420 --> 00:18:33.579 this, she went back and called her sister Mary 00:18:33.579 --> 00:18:36.299 and told her privately, The teacher is here and 00:18:36.299 --> 00:18:39.779 calling for you. And when she heard it, she got 00:18:39.779 --> 00:18:42.960 up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not 00:18:42.960 --> 00:18:45.019 yet come to the village, but was still at the 00:18:45.019 --> 00:18:48.980 place where Martha had met him. The Jews who 00:18:48.980 --> 00:18:52.779 were in her house consoled her and saw Mary get 00:18:52.779 --> 00:18:54.839 up quickly. They followed her because they thought 00:18:54.839 --> 00:18:58.319 she was going to the tomb to weep there. When 00:18:58.319 --> 00:19:01.480 Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt 00:19:01.480 --> 00:19:03.980 at his feet and said, Lord, if you had only been 00:19:03.980 --> 00:19:08.339 here, my brother would not have died. When Jesus 00:19:08.339 --> 00:19:11.279 saw her weeping and the Jews who came with her 00:19:11.279 --> 00:19:14.220 also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit 00:19:14.220 --> 00:19:17.740 and deeply moved. He said, where have you laid 00:19:17.740 --> 00:19:21.619 him? They said, Lord, come and see. Jesus began 00:19:21.619 --> 00:19:27.299 to weep. So the Jews said, see, see how he loved 00:19:27.299 --> 00:19:31.539 them. But some of them said, could not he who 00:19:31.539 --> 00:19:34.539 opened the eyes of the blind have kept this man 00:19:34.539 --> 00:19:37.980 from dying? And Jesus, again, greatly disturbed, 00:19:38.119 --> 00:19:41.779 came to the tomb. It was a cave. Stone was lying 00:19:41.779 --> 00:19:43.980 against it. Jesus said, take away the stone. 00:19:45.440 --> 00:19:47.619 Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, 00:19:47.700 --> 00:19:50.599 Lord, there's already a stench because he has 00:19:50.599 --> 00:19:54.140 been dead four days. Jesus said to her, did I 00:19:54.140 --> 00:19:56.059 not tell you that if you believed, you'd see 00:19:56.059 --> 00:19:59.799 the glory of God? So he took away the stone and 00:19:59.799 --> 00:20:01.960 Jesus looked upward and said, Father, I thank 00:20:01.960 --> 00:20:06.180 you for having heard me. I knew that you always 00:20:06.180 --> 00:20:08.890 hear me. But I have said this for the sake of 00:20:08.890 --> 00:20:11.089 the crowd standing here so that they may believe 00:20:11.089 --> 00:20:14.450 that you sent me. And when he said this, he cried 00:20:14.450 --> 00:20:19.329 with a loud voice, Lazarus, come out. The dead 00:20:19.329 --> 00:20:22.450 man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips 00:20:22.450 --> 00:20:25.549 of cloth, his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus 00:20:25.549 --> 00:20:31.549 said to him, unbind him and let him go. Thus 00:20:31.549 --> 00:20:34.980 ends the reading, but not the story. Sound is 00:20:34.980 --> 00:20:36.980 still in your ears. The smell of it's still in 00:20:36.980 --> 00:20:39.319 your nose. You can still hear the stone grinding. 00:20:39.519 --> 00:20:42.460 You can hear the shuffle of bound feet. Beloved, 00:20:42.460 --> 00:20:45.460 the word has been spoken, and it still echoes 00:20:45.460 --> 00:20:48.619 across every graveyard of your life. This, friends, 00:20:48.700 --> 00:20:52.940 is not about Lazarus. It is about you. The question 00:20:52.940 --> 00:20:56.559 still hangs in the air. Do you believe this? 00:20:58.640 --> 00:21:01.519 You step onto the road with Martha. The disciples 00:21:01.519 --> 00:21:04.859 trail behind Jesus, whispering, Rabbi, The Jews 00:21:04.859 --> 00:21:07.599 will try to stone you. Are you really going back 00:21:07.599 --> 00:21:11.299 there? Fear rides their voices. Jesus continues 00:21:11.299 --> 00:21:15.299 to walk. Martha's face is streaked with tears. 00:21:15.460 --> 00:21:18.559 Her robe is torn. Her jaw is clenched. When she 00:21:18.559 --> 00:21:20.799 sees him, she doesn't bow. She doesn't flatter. 00:21:21.059 --> 00:21:24.400 She doesn't play polite. She says what any one 00:21:24.400 --> 00:21:27.079 of us would have said to Jesus in that moment. 00:21:27.160 --> 00:21:31.319 Lord, if you were here, my brother would not 00:21:31.319 --> 00:21:36.460 have died. You've prayed it in the ICU when the 00:21:36.460 --> 00:21:40.380 monitor went flat. You whispered it in the kitchen, 00:21:40.460 --> 00:21:44.480 staring at an empty chair, shouted it into your 00:21:44.480 --> 00:21:46.980 steering wheel on the drive home if you had only 00:21:46.980 --> 00:21:53.200 been there. But Martha adds something. Even now, 00:21:53.339 --> 00:21:56.779 I know that God will give you whatever you ask. 00:21:57.200 --> 00:22:02.660 Even now, faith and frustration knotted together. 00:22:04.329 --> 00:22:07.450 And Jesus says, your brother will rise again. 00:22:07.589 --> 00:22:11.589 Martha nods. Yes, Lord, I know. On the last day 00:22:11.589 --> 00:22:15.250 at the resurrection. And Jesus says, what no 00:22:15.250 --> 00:22:21.910 rabbi would dare to say. No, I am the resurrection 00:22:21.910 --> 00:22:28.589 and the life. Not someday, not one day, but here, 00:22:28.630 --> 00:22:37.680 now, in sandals. In flesh. Martha runs back to 00:22:37.680 --> 00:22:40.160 the house. She whispers to her sister, the teacher 00:22:40.160 --> 00:22:44.440 is here and he is asking for you. Mary rises, 00:22:44.599 --> 00:22:47.880 her robe heavy with tears. The mourners follow 00:22:47.880 --> 00:22:49.920 her thinking she's going to the tomb and she 00:22:49.920 --> 00:22:52.640 falls at Jesus' feet. The same feet she once 00:22:52.640 --> 00:22:55.420 anointed with perfume and wiped with her hair. 00:22:56.240 --> 00:22:59.099 She says the same words as Martha. Lord, if you 00:22:59.099 --> 00:23:01.859 had just been here, my brother would not have 00:23:01.859 --> 00:23:10.750 died. But she adds no hope. She just weeps. And 00:23:10.750 --> 00:23:14.269 Jesus doesn't silence her. He doesn't bypass 00:23:14.269 --> 00:23:20.029 Greek. The Greek for deeply moved, I'm not going 00:23:20.029 --> 00:23:21.930 to bore you with a bunch of this, but the word 00:23:21.930 --> 00:23:24.369 for deeply moved, that's a really neat phrase. 00:23:24.789 --> 00:23:29.190 It means to snort with rage like a horse in battle. 00:23:31.690 --> 00:23:36.789 He trembles. He seethes. He's angry at death. 00:23:37.390 --> 00:23:41.349 He's angry at what death steals from us. And 00:23:41.349 --> 00:23:45.430 then he weeps. Two words, right? We all learned 00:23:45.430 --> 00:23:47.470 this one growing up. Shortest verse in the Bible, 00:23:47.569 --> 00:23:51.269 Jesus wept. The resurrection and the life has 00:23:51.269 --> 00:23:54.410 tears running down his face. The one who will 00:23:54.410 --> 00:23:59.150 trample death lets death break his heart. Where 00:23:59.150 --> 00:24:02.519 have you laid him, he asks. They lead him. The 00:24:02.519 --> 00:24:06.400 crowd follows. You follow. The tomb is a cave 00:24:06.400 --> 00:24:10.019 carved in limestone, sealed with a round stone 00:24:10.019 --> 00:24:14.579 rolled into place. The body inside is bound with 00:24:14.579 --> 00:24:17.880 strips of linen. Spices have been layered to 00:24:17.880 --> 00:24:22.640 mask that smell. Myrrh, aloes, enough for the 00:24:22.640 --> 00:24:32.119 first day, but not for the fourth. Martha warns 00:24:32.119 --> 00:24:36.859 Jesus of this, and she's right. When the stone 00:24:36.859 --> 00:24:40.799 begins to grind, the air rushes out foul and 00:24:40.799 --> 00:24:46.099 final. Incense cannot cover it. The smell roils 00:24:46.099 --> 00:24:51.019 the crowd. People stagger back. Children cover 00:24:51.019 --> 00:24:55.440 their noses. Jesus lifts his eyes and prays, 00:24:55.440 --> 00:25:01.220 not because he doubts. but so that you will overhear. 00:25:01.980 --> 00:25:05.740 Father, I thank you for hearing me. I know that 00:25:05.740 --> 00:25:07.859 you always hear me, but I say this for the sake 00:25:07.859 --> 00:25:13.079 of the crowd. They may believe. And then he bellows. 00:25:13.079 --> 00:25:17.220 Again, the Greek cried with a loud voice. It 00:25:17.220 --> 00:25:23.099 means a thunderous shout. It means Lazarus, come 00:25:23.099 --> 00:25:32.309 out. And then silence. And then a shuffle, a 00:25:32.309 --> 00:25:39.109 scrape. And then he appears, stumbling, wrapped 00:25:39.109 --> 00:25:44.549 from head to toe, hands bound, feet tied, face 00:25:44.549 --> 00:25:49.329 covered, still smelling of death. And Jesus turns 00:25:49.329 --> 00:25:54.430 not to him, but to you and says, unbind him and 00:25:54.430 --> 00:25:59.099 let him go. You lean forward, you peel away the 00:25:59.099 --> 00:26:02.579 strips, you untie the jaw cloth, you unwrap his 00:26:02.579 --> 00:26:06.079 face. The dead man breathes fresh air again. 00:26:07.940 --> 00:26:11.140 The cave still smells, but out here in the open, 00:26:11.259 --> 00:26:16.960 there is now life. The text says Jesus loved 00:26:16.960 --> 00:26:23.099 him. That's agapio. It means covenant love. Steadfast, 00:26:23.339 --> 00:26:27.240 chosen, enduring, he loved them. And so he waited. 00:26:27.920 --> 00:26:31.700 But that feels to us like, and to them, like 00:26:31.700 --> 00:26:37.200 a betrayal. But he waited until all human hope 00:26:37.200 --> 00:26:41.599 was gone so that when life came, no one could 00:26:41.599 --> 00:26:47.059 call it a recovery. It had to be a resurrection. 00:26:49.000 --> 00:26:54.720 You see him weep. Jesus wept. Again, one more 00:26:54.720 --> 00:26:59.240 Greek one, one more. Maybe two, right? But it's 00:26:59.240 --> 00:27:03.960 not loud wailing here. Jesus wept. It's actually 00:27:03.960 --> 00:27:09.880 quiet, personal tears. Psalm 30 whispers, weeping 00:27:09.880 --> 00:27:13.279 may linger for the night, but joy comes with 00:27:13.279 --> 00:27:18.920 the morning. Jesus doesn't skip the night. He 00:27:18.920 --> 00:27:25.390 lives in it. And you hear his rage. I had mentioned 00:27:25.390 --> 00:27:28.309 this again, the Greek for deeply moved, the snort 00:27:28.309 --> 00:27:31.549 of fury, like a war horse charging forward into 00:27:31.549 --> 00:27:35.329 battle. Death is not natural. It is an intruder. 00:27:35.690 --> 00:27:39.289 And God in flesh meets it with anger before he 00:27:39.289 --> 00:27:46.109 meets it with power. And when he shouts, it's 00:27:46.109 --> 00:27:50.420 like a cosmic thunderclap. You hear Ezekiel's 00:27:50.420 --> 00:27:53.420 valley come from the four winds, O breath, and 00:27:53.420 --> 00:27:55.900 breathe upon these slain that they may live. 00:27:56.779 --> 00:28:00.039 You hear Isaiah, he will swallow up death forever. 00:28:00.259 --> 00:28:03.480 You hear Genesis, let there be light. The same 00:28:03.480 --> 00:28:09.339 voice says now Lazarus come out. The tomb makes 00:28:09.339 --> 00:28:13.920 it undeniable. Family chambers cut in limestone, 00:28:14.180 --> 00:28:19.400 linen wrappings soaked in spices. On day four, 00:28:19.420 --> 00:28:24.900 the body swollen, the sight overwhelming. That's 00:28:24.900 --> 00:28:30.640 why no one can deny this miracle. And then you 00:28:30.640 --> 00:28:33.960 realize Jesus didn't unbind him. He commands 00:28:33.960 --> 00:28:39.920 us to do it. Unbind him. Resurrection is God's 00:28:39.920 --> 00:28:44.490 alone, but the unbinding is yours. The church's 00:28:44.490 --> 00:28:47.490 calling is to help one another peel away the 00:28:47.490 --> 00:28:51.210 grave clothes that we all share of shame and 00:28:51.210 --> 00:28:55.750 fear and addiction, despair. Resurrection and 00:28:55.750 --> 00:29:00.950 unbinding go together. You stand in that ICU. 00:29:01.210 --> 00:29:04.109 The monitor goes flat. The nurse lowers her eyes. 00:29:04.269 --> 00:29:09.269 The silence is deafening. And you whisper Martha's 00:29:09.269 --> 00:29:15.109 word, Lord, if you had only been there. Sit under 00:29:15.109 --> 00:29:17.630 a funeral tent, folding chairs in the Oklahoma 00:29:17.630 --> 00:29:21.470 wind. Sound of dirt falling on the coffin. You 00:29:21.470 --> 00:29:24.450 say Mary's words, Lord, if you had only been 00:29:24.450 --> 00:29:29.609 there. You walk into the living room with that 00:29:29.609 --> 00:29:32.549 space now where the bed once was. Hospice has 00:29:32.549 --> 00:29:35.789 rolled it away. The quiet is unbearable. You 00:29:35.789 --> 00:29:39.900 think, Lord, if you had only been there. You 00:29:39.900 --> 00:29:42.980 look into the mirror at your own shame, your 00:29:42.980 --> 00:29:45.980 own regret, the addiction you hide, the mistakes 00:29:45.980 --> 00:29:49.220 you can't undo, and you smell the stench of your 00:29:49.220 --> 00:29:53.039 own tomb, Lord, if you had only been there. And 00:29:53.039 --> 00:29:58.619 Jesus stands there still. He still weeps with 00:29:58.619 --> 00:30:04.039 you. He still rages against that which still 00:30:04.039 --> 00:30:09.960 binds you up. He still calls your name. And he 00:30:09.960 --> 00:30:13.059 still sets you in a community to help unwrap 00:30:13.059 --> 00:30:16.359 you strip by strip until you can breathe again. 00:30:18.599 --> 00:30:23.819 This isn't just Lazarus' story. It's a rehearsal 00:30:23.819 --> 00:30:28.960 for another tomb outside of Jerusalem. Lazarus 00:30:28.960 --> 00:30:33.039 came out bound. Jesus came out free. Grave clothes 00:30:33.039 --> 00:30:38.059 left behind, right? And if you call Lazarus by 00:30:38.059 --> 00:30:43.480 name, He'll call your name, too. You stand here 00:30:43.480 --> 00:30:46.500 now, Bethany, in your nostrils, the echo of his 00:30:46.500 --> 00:30:49.640 shout in your chest, and he asks you, just as 00:30:49.640 --> 00:30:56.640 he asked Martha, do you believe this? Despite 00:30:56.640 --> 00:31:00.200 the pain that may linger, resurrection is loosed 00:31:00.200 --> 00:31:04.559 in the world. The stone has been rolled away. 00:31:04.619 --> 00:31:08.180 The voice still calls. Grave clothes are already 00:31:08.180 --> 00:31:20.839 falling. Amen? Amen. When Lazarus walked out 00:31:20.839 --> 00:31:23.039 of the tomb, he wasn't polished, finished, or 00:31:23.039 --> 00:31:26.220 strong. He was still bound up, still in need 00:31:26.220 --> 00:31:28.759 of help. Resurrection was God's work, but the 00:31:28.759 --> 00:31:31.859 unbinding, that was entrusted to people around 00:31:31.859 --> 00:31:35.089 him. That's where we should live as a church, 00:31:35.089 --> 00:31:37.150 as a group of followers. Jesus has called us 00:31:37.150 --> 00:31:40.509 into life and then gives each of us each other 00:31:40.509 --> 00:31:43.430 to keep helping, praying, forgiving, encouraging, 00:31:43.609 --> 00:31:46.509 to walk with one another as cords of fear and 00:31:46.509 --> 00:31:49.829 shame are slowly undone. So if you leave here 00:31:49.829 --> 00:31:51.789 still carrying sorrow, you're not disqualified. 00:31:52.750 --> 00:31:55.009 If you leave here with more questions than answers, 00:31:55.049 --> 00:31:57.579 you're not forgotten. If you leave here stumbling 00:31:57.579 --> 00:32:00.140 more than striding, you're still called. Jesus 00:32:00.140 --> 00:32:02.240 is still speaking your name, and he gives us 00:32:02.240 --> 00:32:05.440 this promise. Death does not have the last word. 00:32:05.559 --> 00:32:09.279 Life in him always does. Carry that truth with 00:32:09.279 --> 00:32:11.299 you into this week. Be a part of someone else's 00:32:11.299 --> 00:32:14.599 unbinding. Trust that Christ is already at work 00:32:14.599 --> 00:32:17.980 in yours. And if this message has spoken to you 00:32:17.980 --> 00:32:21.849 today, comforted you, challenged you, Maybe it 00:32:21.849 --> 00:32:23.890 reminded you you're not alone. Hey, share it 00:32:23.890 --> 00:32:26.009 with a friend. Subscribe so you won't miss what's 00:32:26.009 --> 00:32:28.869 next. And help keep spreading the hope of Jesus. 00:32:29.109 --> 00:32:30.150 I'll see you next time.