The Resurrection and the Life (Easter 2019)
Notes
Transcript
While You Were Out
While You Were Out
Anyone like my family who got obsessed with redecorating shows in the early 2000s?
Trading Spaces, Flip that House...
How about “While You Were Out”
Family member leaves for a 2 day vacation and a crew comes in an redecorates a room.
When they walk back they walk into a brand new, freshly designed room.
Or there was “Extreme Home Makeover” in which I cried like a tired three year old leave McDonald’s play ground ever episode.
Scene 1: Jesus STAYS (John 11:1-6)
Scene 1: Jesus STAYS (John 11:1-6)
1 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.
John 11:1-
Mary, Martha, and Lazarus lived in Bethany and Jesus had been there before.
He was close to the family, staying there at least a few times as we have recorded.
“He whom you love is sick.” - Jesus loved Lazarus and his family.
When Jesus heard Lazarus was sick he declares “This will not lead to death…it is for the glory of God and the glory of the Son.”
BIBLE WORD- What does the word Glory mean?
The beauty, magnificence, grandeur, hugeness of God
The set-apartness of Jesus
Jesus is saying “Pay attention, this news has a powerful purpose.”
You are going to see me for who I really am!
Vs 5 and 6 are hard passages to read if we don’t get vs 4.
Jesus loved Martha and Mary, SO he STAYED two days longer.
Jesus knew what was best for Mary, Martha, and even Lazarus.
He could have left right away and arrived just in time to heal Lazarus and save the family from the pain and suffering.
But Jesus had a bigger, more satisfying purpose.
EXPERIENCING the GLORY of Jesus is our true NEED.
EXPERIENCING the GLORY of Jesus is our true NEED.
We are not any different than Mary, Maratha and Lazarus.
We are in the middle of life and sometimes it seems to be overwhelming and full of struggle and disappointment.
You may be asking the question “Why has Jesus not shown up in my life?”
Perhaps you are looking at it from Mary and Maratha’s perspective.
They both thought Jesus coming and healing their brother was what they needed most.
Actually why don’t you go ahead and fix all the brokenness in my life, keep me out of trouble.
Jesus said to Mary, Maratha, Lazarus and his followers, it is more important for you to know the preeminence and the power of God than you being happy, comfortable, or prosperous.
Your perceived happiness, your perceived comfort, and/or your perceived prosperity are likely the things keeping you from knowing and following Jesus.
Your happiness, your comfort, and/or your prosperity are likely the things keeping you from knowing and following Jesus.
As long as the kids are healthy, the bank account is secure, the job is smooth, the house is in order… you can rest and be “happy”.
As long as the kids are healthy, the bank account is secure, the job is smooth, the house is in order..
I can rest and be happy.
I can rest and be happy.
But all the while you are missing out on seeing the glory, magnificence, and goodness of Jesus.
Scene 2: Martha, the RELIGIOUS Sister (John 11:20-27)
Scene 2: Martha, the RELIGIOUS Sister (John 11:20-27)
john 11:17-
17 Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. 20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. 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.”
Jesus reveals the TRUTH about His GLORIOUS IDENTITY.
Jesus reveals the TRUTH about His GLORIOUS IDENTITY.
Maratha is a good woman, hardworking, faithful and deeply religious.
Maratha limited Jesus to the parameters her religious knowledge allowed for.
“But even now I know whatever you ask God will give you” = I “know” you could raise my brother in theory, but you can’t really or at least you wouldn’t at this point.
But it sounds good to say.
Jesus says “Your brother will rise again.” THE EXACT THING SHE WANTED TO SEE HAPPEN
Maratha’s response is much like many of us good church folk would respond.
24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”
Oh yeah I know what the Bible says, I know about heaven and God’s power, all that stuff.
Thanks Jesus, that is what I needed to hear.
Maratha knows all the right things to say
She understand the world based on what she
Even at the tomb hearing all she had from Jesus, Maratha just can’t get over what she thinks she knows about Jesus and about the world she lives in.
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.”
john 11
Jesus proclaims the TRUTH about His GLORIOUS POWER.
Jesus proclaims the TRUTH about His GLORIOUS POWER.
Martha was full of words; but she completely missed Jesus’ message to her.
Maratha is much like many of us, who may be able to mouth all the correct theological statements about Jesus but actually have failed to bring words and life together.
The New American Commentary: John 1–11 (3) The Encounter with Martha (11:17–27)
The point is that Jesus and Martha had been talking on two levels. Martha was full of words; but she completely missed Jesus’ message to her.
The story thus serves as a significant warning even to evangelicals who may be able to mouth all the correct theological statements about Jesus but actually have failed to bring words and life together. It is not enough to make statements about Jesus. Indeed, if a person would make a statement akin to Martha’s in some churches, the tendency would be to baptize such a person and accept him or her into membership. But we must all be warned that verbal confessions and life commitments are not always partners with each other.
It is not enough to make statements about Jesus.
Many of us have been in VBS, Sunday School, Church services, and the like for so long we know all the right words.
But do those truths bring you LIFE?
DO they bring you LIFE when your broken down by trials and overcome by grief?
DO they bring you LIFE when you are drowning in worry or consumed by anger or bitterness?
DO they bring you LIFE when the temporal pleasures of this world begin to look more satisfying?
The true test of faith is not in a test of knowledge but in the bunkers of everyday struggles and every day decisions of life.
Jesus’ response reveals a life altering truth for Maratha, for Lazarus, and for each of us here today.
Jesus’ response reveals a life altering truth for Maratha, for Lazarus, and for each of us here today.
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?”
john 11 25
Jesus wants Martha, and Mary, to shift their hope from earthy circumstances and limitations, and set that hope on Him—their resurrection.
Martha’s eyes are on the closed tomb of her brother but Jesus wants to move them onto the future empty tomb of her Savior. Death is a certainty for all of us, but Jesus has come with an offer of true life:
Martha’s eyes are on the closed tomb of her brother but Jesus wants to move them onto the future empty tomb of her Savior.
Scene 3: Mary, the EMOTIONAL Sister ()
Scene 3: Mary, the EMOTIONAL Sister ()
Jesus is the resurrection and the life.
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.[a] 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?” –
He does not say He’s bringing these things, he is the embodiment of the undoing of the curse of sin.
Jesus is the resurrection and the life. He does not say He’s bringing these things. Jesus is the embodiment of the undoing of the curse of sin. Jesus is saying that He is the resurrection for this dying creation; He is the hope for the entire world. Suffering and death is not the end of our story because it was not the end of Christ’s story.Scene 3: Mary, the EMOTIONAL Sister ()
He is the hope for the entire world.
Suffering and death is not the end of our story because it was not the end of Christ’s story.
Scene 3: Mary, the EMOTIONAL Sister ()
Scene 3: Mary, the EMOTIONAL Sister ()
28 When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” 29 And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. 31 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. 32 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.” 33 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. 34 And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus wept.
28 When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” 29 And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. 31 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. 32 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.” 33 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. 34 And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus wept. 36 So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?”
Jesus exposes the BROKENNESS of this SIN-STAINED WORLD.
Jesus exposes the BROKENNESS of this SIN-STAINED WORLD.
Jesus exposes the BROKENNESS of His SIN-STAINED WORLD.
Jesus exposes the BROKENNESS of His SIN-STAINED WORLD.
Mary comes to Jesus is a much different way.
Broken, weeping, and in despair over the loss of her brother.
Lazarus was the head of the household and much depended on him.
Mary was heartbroken, but also fearful of what this meant for their family.
And Jesus COULD HAVE stopped it!!
Jesus sees Mary’s brokenness, the sadness of those around her, and took in the picture of death, evil, unbelief, and all that was around him...
He had an emotional reaction
He was deeply moved
He was the darkness and despair that defines this world is about to be overturned.
For Mary, her hope in ever hearing her brother’s voice was forever lost.
35
33 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. 34 And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus wept.
Jesus felt the weight of the reality the destruction of sin
The weeping all around him
The Unbelief of His closest followers
The doubting of the world.
Jesus was deeply moved and greatly trouble, brought to tears...
Not because He was sad about Lazarus, he was going to raise him.
literally he is outraged and shaken.
He is facing down His greatest foe, Death.
Mary wears the brokenness of death on her face and in her tears.
But this realization not only moves Him to tears, it moves Him to action.
42 saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” 43 And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. 44 And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
luke 22 42
Scene 4: A GREAT DISPLAY ()
Scene 4: A GREAT DISPLAY ()
36 So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?”
36 So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
Jesus unveils His REALITY of
Scene 5: A glimpse of a NEW REALITY ()
Scene 5: A glimpse of a NEW REALITY ()
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.”
John
Jesus uncovers the HOPE of His GLORIOUS SALVATION.
Jesus uncovers the HOPE of His GLORIOUS SALVATION.
Jesus unveils the HOPE of His GLORIOUS SALVATION.
Jesus unveils the HOPE of His GLORIOUS SALVATION.
As doubting Jews, mourning sisters, and fledgling disciples stand around Lazarus’s tomb, Jesus commands the stone be removed.
Maratha’s words express the faithlessness of the crowd “He is too far gone Jesus!”
But He is about to put on display the TRUE GLORY of the Son of God.
Three simple words… “Lazarus, come out.” and the man who had died came out...
The ultimately MIC DROP moment.
In those words Lazarus’s rotting flesh was restored, his lifeless heart began to beat once more, his dead, decaying brain came to life, sending impulses throughout his body.
What once was unfathomable was now a reality.
A dead man was walking out of his tomb ALIVE once more.
Scene 5: Another EMPTY TOMB ()
Scene 5: Another EMPTY TOMB ()
1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went back to their homes.
The disciples and the sisters are walking around in a world that is bound by death and their lives are defined by this believe.
Jesus ushers in a WHOLE NEW REALITY.
Jesus ushers in a WHOLE NEW REALITY.
That first Easter morning was unlike ANY morning there had ever been and changed the world we live in forever.
What He foreshadowed just a few weeks before in Lazarus had now become reality.
Jesus defeated our greatest enemy, DEATH!
and in that He defeated every other enemy any of us could ever imagine.
our shame, our pain, our lostness, our sickness, our grief, our anxiety, our lies, anger, bitterness, self indulgence, greed, pride, vanity, envy, slander, idolatry, addictions, selfishness...
our shame, our pain, our lostness, our sickness, our grief, our anxiety,
What do you do now?
What do you do now?
He was pierced for our lies, anger, bitterness, self indulgence, greed, pride...
He was crushed for our vanity, envy, slander, idolatry, addictions, selfishness...
Believe on the Lord Jesus and receive life and hope in His name.
If you believe you are going to see the GLORY of God.
Do you believe?
Pray that the wonder and glory of this New reality would seep into every part of your life.
Don’t let sin reign in your life, it has BEEN DEFEATED!!!