Jesus Christ Our Resurrection

I trust that hearing the account of the resurrection from a different perspective has helped you to think a little bit more about what they morning must have been like.

Turn in your Bible’s with me to John 11.

John 11:20-26

PRAY

I want to talk with you this morning about Jesus Christ being our resurrection.

Our drama spoke of the hope we have in Jesus. We have hope because He rose from the dead.

In 1 Cor. 15 Paul says that without this hope, we are miserable.

The hope we have in Christ is a very special hope to me.

Many of you already know this, but my bride Jessica and I have lost two children to miscarriage.

This time of year, Easter, when we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, is particularly difficult for us.

It was this time of year that both of our children went to be with Jesus.

This week has been hard.

I struggled to study.

Emotions and tensions ran high at home.

And I honestly didn’t put it all together until Friday afternoon when Jess mentioned that it was this time of year we lost our children.

It is hard when all around you people are celebrating life, but it only reminds you of the lives that were taken.

At the same time, I am here to tell you that the death of our two children has made the hope we have in Jesus that much sweeter.

Because Christ is risen, I am confident that one day I will stand in the presence of Jesus, and I will meet my children.

That is what it means to have hope in Jesus.

Join me as we talk about the hope we have in Jesus as our resurrection.

Today we will explore two reasons to have hope.

When we have hope we are able to live with boldness and confidence.

When we are bold and confident we share Christ with others.

Reason #1. We can have hope because…

1. Jesus Is The Resurrection And The Life

If you have been following our Facebook page at all you have seen us going through John 11. I am not going to reteach all of that. I want to focus on just a couple of things this morning.

If you haven’t been following our Facebook page, shame on you. :)

Just kidding.

In John 10 we have Jesus teaching about being the good shepherd and knowing His sheep.

In v. 30 He states that He and the Father are one, thus claiming to be God.

The people get ready to stone Him and Jesus and the disciples escape.

The very next thing that John records is the death of Lazarus.

READ vv. 1-6

John 11:1-6

Lazarus, described here as someone Jesus loved, is sick.

Instead of rushing to his side Jesus waits 2 days.

Lazarus dies and Jesus tells His disciples that he is dead before they leave to go to Bethany.

Look at verse 17.

John 11:17

Lazarus has been dead 4 days before they arrive.

Jesus is in the same place as many of us. A loved one has died.

Verses 19-22 record Jesus meeting Martha.

John 11:19-22

Martha’s brother has been dead for 4 days yet we seet her faith here in verse 22!

Even though her brother is dead she is confident that God the Father will do what Jesus asks!

She has hope.

Let’s keep reading; verses 23, 24.

John 11:23-24

Wow! This is where she has fixed her hope! In truth! She knows Jesus! She knows that God will give what Jesus asks; she knows her brother will rise again!

Let’s keep reading; verses 25-27.

John 11:25-27

This woman of faith knows Jesus. And because she knows Jesus she is confident that her brother will live again. Confident that Jesus is who He claimed to be.

How about you and me? What do we know of Christ?

Does what we know give us hope?

Do you know Jesus?

If not, We want to invite you to place your faith in Jesus. He is the resurrection and the life.

In our drama we heard the disciples in hiding, they were afraid.

Many today are in hiding. Not from Roman authorities, but from Jesus.

You are afraid that coming to Jesus would mean giving up your lifestyle. You are afraid that Jesus won’t really want you because you are so bad.

Stop living in fear! He is risen! Death has been defeated!

To have life all you need to do is trust in Him!

If you want hope in this life and the next, place your faith in Jesus.

What does that mean?

It means you believe that He died on the Cross for your sin, that He was buried, and that He rose again.

Reason #2. We can have hope because…

2. Jesus Has Power Over Death

As we continue in the story, we come to Mary, the other sister of Lazarus.

Look with me at vv. 28-32.

John 11:28-32

I love the simple faith of these two sisters!

Mary quickly went to Jesus and fell down at His feet bringing her grief to Him.

Where do we take our grief?

If we take it anywhere else but to His feet we are wasting our time!

We are told that Mary arose quickly.

She knew that the only place where her grief could find relief was at the feet of Jesus!

Fellowship with Him is the only answer!

He is our only source of hope!

If you find yourself in need of comfort, peace, and strength this morning. Follow the example of Mary.

Fall at the feet of the Savior and pour out your heart to Him.

Now let’s talk about Lazarus.

Interestingly enough Lazarus is the often overlooked one in this story.

Let’s take a few minutes to talk about this key player in the story.

Of first importance is the fact that he was dead (11:11-14).

John 11:11-14

This is the part that I think we really need to grasp. Lazarus is really dead.

He isn’t faking it, this is no trick. Lazarus is dead.

Then we find that he was raised (11:38-44).

John 11:38-44

Martha is intensely practical here. Lazarus has been dead and his body is decaying.

Verse 40 gives us another key to this passage.

The first is found in verse 15.

The disciple’s belief is going to be strengthened and all those present will see the glory of God!

Lazarus has been dead for 4 days and he walks out of the tomb!

He was bound (v. 44). He is still bound in the grave clothes, but he was loosed (v. 44).

The miracle doesn’t stop with Lazarus’ being raised.

If we were to keep reading we would find that he feasted after his resurrection (12:1, 2).

This proves that it really was Lazarus and that the miracles was complete!

One of the last things we learn about Lazarus is that his life was a powerful witness (12:9-11).

The simple fact that Lazarus is alive gave testimony to the power of Jesus and truthfulness of His claims.

The rulers plotted to kill both of them to try and silence the truth.

I believe that Lazarus is a type of us all!

We are dead and bound in sin until Jesus frees us!

Rom. 3:23 - all have sinned. Rom. 6:23 - the penalty for sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life!

Jesus frees us from sin!

And He does so completely! He loosens us from our bondage and allows us to feast on His goodness and mercy!

The only reason Jesus can do this is because He too is alive!

Like Lazarus Jesus died.

Like Lazarus Jesus was in a tomb for days.

Like Lazarus He rose again!

The only reason we have hope, in this life or the next, is because we serve a risen Savior!

As the Good Shepherd He gave His life for His sheep.

Then three days later, He rose from the dead.

The tomb is empty, Jesus is alive.

Conclusion

As we learned in our drama this morning, Jesus rose from the dead miraculously and supernaturally.

One of the greatest proofs of Jesus’ resurrection is the inability of his enemies to produce a body.

The angel said to the women that Jesus was “Risen as He said.”

Jesus appears to Mary. He appears to the two on the road. He appears to the disciples.

They were able to touch Him, He was able to eat. It was really Him.

Jesus tells Thomas to believe.

This is the key.

We must believe.

When Paul and Silas were asked how to be saved they told the Philippian jailer to “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be Saved.”

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.

You cannot come to the Father except through Him.

Our drama ended with these words”

“As we draw this week’s special presentation to a close we’d like to remind each and every one of our listeners out there that Jesus Christ Paid It All. There’s nothing we can add to His completed work upon the cross. There is no amount of money we can pay, or humanitarian works we can perform to earn our salvation. As Jesus Himself said when He gave up His spirit on our behalf, ‘It is Finished!’ Thank the Lord for that.”

The resurrection of Jesus Christ gives us hope.

Hope of seeing loved ones again.

Hope of a life that has meaning and purpose.

Hope of an eternity with our Savior.

We can have hope because Jesus rose from the dead.

His resurrection is meaningless if we do not trust in him.

Believe in Jesus and have hope.

John 11:20–26 NKJV

20 Now Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house. 21 Now 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 of 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 at the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

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