November 3, 2024
Morning Service

Last week as we began chapter 11 with a challenge Jesus gave to Martha; to praise in the midst of pain.  After revealing to her that He was the Resurrection and the Life, He asked her. “Do you believe this?”  Despite it being very obvious that she was a believer, Jesus challenged her to confess her faith revealing her acceptance of God’s will over her own.  That is our challenge as well as we must acknowledge that we are following Jesus and whatever road He chooses to take us down is where we will go trusting Him as our Good Shepherd to choose what is best for us.  This can only happen if we are totally sold out to God believing by faith that He is the One in control of all things.  Today Jesus shows us that He is worthy of this kind of faith and trust by doing His final large, public miracle before He enters into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.  This is not the first time Jesus raises someone from the dead.  He did it for a very small audience with Jairus’s daughter (Matt. 9) and at the funeral of the widow’s son (Luke 7) with a large crowd looking on.  This is a very open miracle where Jesus announces what He is going to do, and then does it.  First we must finish what happens leading up to Lazarus arising from the grave as there is more to that story.

When we view those who are suffering around us, it touches us deeply.  But when it is our close friends or family the pain grows to a much greater level.  Jesus knew and loved Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.  Today we get to see into the heart of our Lord on just how much He cares for us, and suffers with us in our times of pain.  When He leads us down the dark roads of pain and despair, we see today that it hurts Him to see us struggle with the pain of our circumstances.  Come look with me into the very heart of Jesus.

 John 11:28-37 And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, "The Teacher has come and is calling for you."  (29)  As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him.  (30)  Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him.  (31)  Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, "She is going to the tomb to weep there."  (32)  Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."  (33)  Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.  (34)  And He said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to Him, "Lord, come and see."  (35)  Jesus wept.  (36)  Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!"  (37)  And some of them said, "Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?"

            Upon arriving Mary falls at His feet and also immediately confronts Jesus with her question of “Why?”  Why did you not come sooner to heal him?  She too has great faith, but is struggling with why Jesus has allowed her brother to die.  They had prayed over him and even sent word to Jesus to come, but here they are mourning his passing despite their prayers and efforts.

Have you been there?  I have and it is a great test of your faith.  Do I really believe He is the Resurrection and Life?  Can I truly trust Him by faith that death is not the end?  How can I believe in the midst of this pain when I don’t understand why?  We can because we KNOW He loves us and cares for us.  Look at how John describes Jesus in this moment (Read vs 33-35).  “He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.”  He was feeling the exact pain that Mary and Martha were experiencing.  He suffers with you when you are in pain and confusion.  When we hurt, He hurts.  When we weep, He weeps.  Jesus wept. (Chosen scene).

This is not how I have pictured this scene in my mind at all.  But I believe this is accurate as John tells us “Jesus wept;” he did not say He shed tears or cried, but He wept.  In the heart of our Lord is a love for us that is even greater than our love for one another.  We are made in His image and the pain we feel when we lose a loved one is the pain our Lord shares with us in that moment.  God knows the happy ending to our story, but He is with us along the sometimes painful journey and does not ignore our pain looking to the results.  What a wonderful revelation that is for us, that God is not distant and stoic in our pain, but near to us and shares it with us.  Peter who saw this whole scene was able to share this with us:

 

 

1Pe 5:6-7 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, (7) casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

          Our Lord and Savior is there for us in the good times and especially in the bad.  He calls for us to “cast our cares upon Him,” why? because “He cares for you.”  In our study today we see that love on display as He weeps with Mary and Martha in their time of pain despite knowing it will be short lived.  So let’s wake up Lazarus.

 

Joh 11:38-44 Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, 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 him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days."  (40)  Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"  (41)  Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.  (42)  And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me."  (43)  Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!"  (44)  And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go."

            Can you imagine what was going through everyone’s mind as He told them to roll the stone away?  They probably were asking, is this really happening?  Is He going to call him from the grave?  Martha now shows a lack of faith as she states that there will be an odor from the decomposition of the body and Jesus rebukes her and all of them for their lack of faith in that moment in saying, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?”  It is not uncommon of us to doubt as we look at the natural law of nature as Martha did, but we serve a God who wrote those laws and has no restrictions on what He can or can’t do as He proves again right here.  We must be gullible enough to truly believe all that God says is true, trusting Him for who He is.

 In Jesus’ prayer we see the real reason behind this miracle; “that they may believe that You sent Me.”  Jesus proves to us when He says something, it will happen.  He claimed to be the Resurrection and Life, and then called a dead man from the grave proving His claim.  In the near future, He will go to the next level and arise from the grave Himself, just as He has told them He will do.  These that were baptized today believe that by confessing with their mouth and believing in their heart they will be saved (Rom 10).   They believe their baptism was their death, burial and resurrection to a world where God promises all things to be new (Rom 6). That is the Savior we follow; He is the Way the Truth and the Life.  His promises are true and will happen just as He says.  God said it, I believe it and that settles it for me!

Does this event build your faith this morning in Jesus being the Christ the Son of the Living God?

  I know most of you have heard this story before, but is it different today?

  The next time you are faced with pain and despair, will you trust Him more than ever before because these scriptures have strengthened your faith in Him?

 I hope so, that is their purpose.  It is written so YOU may believe.  Don’t let the Word of God return to Him void (with no results).  Allow these true events of what our Lord and Savior did build your faith to a higher level that He loves you, cares for you, and walks with you in the pain.  In so doing you will find that you are not only able, but feel the need to praise Him in the midst of the pain simply by trusting in the joy of His presence in the moment.

 

Heavenly Father, thank You for loving us in such a wonderful manner.  Help us to stand firmly upon our faith and trust You especially in our times of pain and confusion trusting that You are with us.