Raising Lazarus
Notes
Transcript
John 11:38-44
John 11:38-44
today we are to discuss the Miracle of Lazarus
I hope to:
Give you a renewed sense of WHO JESUS IS and what He alone is capable of
To Clarify what He did and What He is Going to DO
and to remind you of Jesus’s Motivation for this earth and His People
Jesus loves you Deeply
Lets Read our Scripture for today.
John 11:38–44 (ESV)
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.”
The raising of Lazarus from the dead was not our Lord’s last miracle,
but it was the last of the public miracles and is most certainly the greatest
It is also the one that aroused the most response from Friend and Foe
It is the CLIMATIC miracle in our Lord’s Earthly Ministry
Jesus had raised from the dead before
BUT this time Lazarus was dead for 4 days
This miracle could not be denied or avoided by the leaders of the Jews
Friends
When you are sick you want the best doctor, not a medical book
When you need a lawyer you want the best to defend you, not a law book
AND
When you face the enemy, or death, or life in general you don’t need to hear a passage in the Bible,
You need to KNOW THE SAVIOR
You need to BE HIS
You need to Understand that you are entwined with Him, abide in Him,
that He is your WAY, Your TRUTH, and YOUR LIFE.
Friends we focus on the future for certain
But we must live with Christ moment to moment, hour by hour, day by day
In our Study of Lazarus
we see that Martha, Mary, and the believers around Jesus where focused on the Resurrection
Mary and Martha both knew Jesus could heal Lazarus, THEY KNEW IT
Martha said that she KNOWS that Lazarus will RISE AGAIN
She believed in the power in the Promise of the Future
She limited what JESUS GOD, could do right NOW.
Friends --- I remind you JESUS can do
ALL THINGS, ANYTHING, there is nothing that CHRIST cannot do to GLORIFY GOD
We must learn to be patient, trusting, and confident in our LORD
We all limit GOD in our minds
We struggle, and maybe even experience the impossible to think with out boundaries
Can you really understand a LIGHT YEAR?
or the HOW or WHY of the weather?
We seek to predict it, but we can not control it
Seriously, can you imagine if we could
we cannot agree to a perfect temperature in a car, or house
ITS TOO HOT, ITS TOO COLD
It is always the THREE LITTLE BEARS of Decision making
We simply learn to trust in GOD.
If we don’t love the climate we have the Freedom to MOVE.
So it is a great example of the control
that we do have and the control that we don’t
Mary and Martha were thinking this way
They understood only what they understood
Jesus is getting ready to blow their socks off
Demonstrating the POWER OF GOD
over ALL THINGS
to GLORIFY GOD and FRANKLY TO GROW OTHERS CLOSER TO HIM
They were going to have Their
Minds Blown
Eye widened
and their Faith Strengthen
Let’s talk about some Words that will be important
as you grow as a Christian
and as God uses you as an APOLOGETIC Champion for His Purposes.
The RE’s
The RE’s
There is a lot of information on the subject of Resurrection, and i believe we need to discuss the challengers
but focus on the meaning
1 Corinthians 15:42–44 (ESV)
42 So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable.
43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.
44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.
Paul’s writing in the New Testament give us points that we need to consider
Jesus was resurrected
Died
Risen
Transformed
Taken to Heaven
The words that i want to get you some simple clarity on:
Resuscitation
Resuscitation
Restored to life
Temporary, as death is still eminent
Still a final death
Still on earth in the same location
Limited on the ability to achieve, 4-5 hr after “death”
Very circumstancial
Decay, Organ viablity, decomposition all are issues
Reincarnation
Reincarnation
Come back different --- cow, human, bird, etc
Life in a different body
new mind, same soul
Rebirth of soul in different physical elements
Total new existence
Religion is based on works
Do good your a cow
Do bad your a snail ( no idea??)
Reanimation
Reanimation
Weekend at Bernie’s
maybe in something like Lenon’s Tomb
Dead, Dead, Dead
outside stimuli to create motion
Open casket funeral is a slight version of this
Body is made up
BUT still deceased
Rebirth
Rebirth
Ah our CHRISTIAN JOY
Spiritual Rebirth
same blood, same body, same Physical attributes
Change in Heart,
Change in Attitude
Change in ALTITUDE
TOTAL change in Who’s we are
Title transfer to a new OWNER
Resurrection
Resurrection
And YES the GOAT ( the GREATEST OF ALL TIMES)
Permanant
Cannot be undone
Live forever
Total transformation
You are YOU, but nothing else is the same
You are in a blink of an eye in HEAVEN
You are no longer a target for temptation, Sin, Sadness, Pain
nothing in this World. NOTHING
can resurrect you EXCEPT JESUS
What does it all mean?
What does it all mean?
Lets do a quick review to anchor some facts
Jesus was about (john 10:40) 20 miles away where John was baptizing
Jesus Day one --- Gets a messenger that His Friend Lazarus is ill
Jesus (john 11:4) comforts and sends message that this “sickness will not lead to death”
it is for the Glory of God, so that the Son of God may be Glorified
Jesus sends the message back, waits two more days and travels to Bethany
By the time Jesus arrives Lazarus has been dead fourdays.
The Bible Exposition Commentary (Chapter Eleven: The Last Miracle—The Last Enemy (John 11))
Day 1— The messenger comes to Jesus (Lazarus dies).
Day 2— The messenger returns to Bethany.
Day 3— Jesus waits another day, then departs.
Day 4— Jesus arrives in Bethany.
There is a message here for all of us
Jesus could have prevented Lazarus from even getting sick
Jesus could have healed him from sickness
Jesus could have have done many things
Jesus RESUSCITATED and RESTORED Lazarus
To Show the POWER and the GLORY of the Father forever and ever AMEN
Don’t miss the MIRACLE
Jesus overcame the Decay
Jesus displaced the ODOR
Jesus restored Lazarus to LIFE
Jesus overcame the physical laws of this World
to show you the Power of the NEXT
to show you the Power in JESUS
TO show you the LOVE and Strength
To fulfill the Promises of the Father
But Jesus chose to perfectly time an opportunity to Glorify God
How can we do that daily?
We can focus on the Ultimate Result and not the temporary situation.
The Bible Exposition Commentary (Chapter Eleven: The Last Miracle—The Last Enemy (John 11))
It is not important that we Christians are comfortable,
but it is important that we glorify God in all that we do
_________________________
Friends
We need to believe!!
We need to not put Barriers around our LORD
We need to TRUST
For Christ has dominion over all things
and All things are under HIS COMMAND.
Lets Pray