The Resurrection and the Life:

Context:

• By the time Jesus arrives, Lazarus has been in the tomb four days.
• The grieving process was well under way.
• Martha, not Mary, meets Jesus - Mary remained in the house.
• She expresses her faith that Jesus could have prevented her brother’s death.
• She also expresses that a faith in His ability to petition God.

John 11:23,24 “...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...”

What did Jesus know?

• The current will of the Father.

What did Martha know?

• The current belief about future events.

What is the difference between what Jesus knows and what we know?

• 1 Corinthians 13:12 “...For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known...”
• Jesus knows the beginning from the end - He’s the Alpha and the Omega.
• We, at our best, know but a fraction of the truth.

John 11:25-26 “...Jesus said to her, “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. Do you believe this?...”

What was Jesus proclaiming?

• That he is integral to our current and future existence.
• That death is not the final chapter.
• That believing in Jesus has eternal, non-death consequences.

John 11:32-35 “...Now when Mary came 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?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept...”

How did Mary’s comment to Jesus differ from Martha’s comment?

• They both believed Jesus could have prevented the death.
• It was “too busy” Martha, not “sit at His feet” Mary, who expressed confidence that Jesus could still do something about the situation.

Why did Jesus weep?  Do real men cry?

• This is the shortest verse in the Bible, but not the least significant.
• Jesus had tender emotion, validating the appropriateness of sorrow.
• The Jews said his weeping was proof that He loved Lazarus.
• Romans 12:15 “...Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep...”
• Luke 19:41 “...And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it,...”
• He wept with those who wept.
• He wept over those who were separated from God.

John 11:38-39 “...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...”

When do people respond inappropriately to the commands of Jesus?

• When they operate on their understanding instead of His.

Would you have agree with Martha?

How much do we trust the words of Jesus?

John 11:40 “...Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God? ...”

What does belief bring to situations?

• The visible glory of God.

John 11:41-42 “... 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...”

What does the visible glory of God bring to situations?

• Belief.

John 11:43-44 “...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...”

What does the compassion of Jesus accomplish?

• The will of the Father.
• Release from death.
• Freedom from that which binds us.

John 11:47-48 “...So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation...”

How did the religious leadership respond to the raising of the dead?

• With selfish concern for their position.

John 11:54 “...Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples...”

How did their selfishness affect their exposure to Jesus?

• They no longer had Him openly with them.

How does our selfishness affect our exposure to Jesus?