I Am the Resurrection and Life

One of the things that seminary did not prepare me for was a funeral. And it's kind of weird, and you would think that if anything at seminary, that'd be one thing that they would do, but they really don't. And if you think about funerals, they're kind of strange things, aren't they? There's a lot of formality and culture that surrounds funerals that's just kind of learned and assumed and passed down. And as a new pastor, it's honestly kind of intimidating. But one of the things that I learned is that being the pastor gives you a lot of freedom. It's kind of my show to run when I'm the one doing the funeral. And so a lot of the normal kind of social rules don't apply. The pastor is usually free to come and go basically as he pleases and is often even required to be involved in some of the most intimate moments in a family's life together. And as a pastor, I've really come to cherish those opportunities, as difficult as they are. And it's interesting to see in those moments how differently people respond to death. Some are very emotional and some are just kind of numb. Some people really want to listen and hear from others. Some people really want to talk and remember the person who's passed away. Some want to gather and be with others. Some people really want to be by themselves. And there's no really right or wrong way to do it, but it's really interesting to see and learn a lot about people in those moments. But the constant, the reality in all of it, is death. Right? Death is inescapable. It confronts us with our frailty and our weakness, both in the life of the person who has died and the fact that no one could stop that from happening, but also in our lives as we look at a coffin and realize that's going to be us someday. Death is our greatest enemy. It's the consequence of the fall of our rebellion against God for our sin, and it renders each one of us utterly helpless. But the good news of the Gospel is that Jesus came to conquer death. He came to bring life from death. And that's what we'll be considering in the sermon this morning. We're continuing our series through these I Am sayings of Jesus in the Gospel of John, where John is using this technique to describe and to paint a picture for us of who Jesus is. I am, identifying with Yahweh, the God of the Old Testament, and then expanding on that, filling in the blank. I am something. So we've heard, I am the bread of life. I am the light of the world. I am the good shepherd. We've been considering these things where Jesus is identifying with God very clearly and then explaining further what that means. And so this morning we're going to consider the claim, I am the resurrection and the life. as we just heard Cheryl read. Now the story breaks down into kind of six different scenes, these different encounters, interactions with, or responses to Jesus. And so what I want us to do is just walk through the story and get a sense of how these are playing out and what each one is doing, and then we'll draw some applications at the end. So we're gonna work through these six, hopefully relatively quickly. So first we're gonna just look at the news, when Jesus gets the news in verses one to six. So in verse one, we have some of the main characters. We have Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. They're from the town of Bethany, which is a town outside of Jerusalem, just less than a couple of miles away. And it's a place that's becoming increasingly hostile to Jesus. As we heard about last week, they ran him out of town, they tried to stone him, they tried to arrest him. And we're introduced here to the main problem. Lazarus, who's a friend of Jesus, he's the brother of Mary and Martha, and he is ill. And every verse, 1, 2, 3, 4, makes a point of saying, talking about the illness of Lazarus. And it's obviously not just a kind of common cold that he's going to get over. It's one of those illnesses that we need Jesus to stop, right? They're summoning Jesus. And so Mary and Martha have sent messengers to do that. And Jesus answers, just like they, and if we, if we were in that situation, hope like he would, hope that he would. Verse 4, 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. So we're thinking, all right, here we go. It's Jesus's time to shine, right? He's healed the man born blind. Now he's going to make Lazarus better. The glory of God is displayed. Everything is good. And so in this claim, right, we see Jesus continuing to show his absolute sovereignty, right? He's saying exactly what's gonna happen. This illness will not end in death, but in the glory of God. And he's once again proving himself to be the son of God, even by making this claim right at the outset. And that makes his next move really, really confusing. He stayed two days longer. He didn't pack up, he didn't rush to his friend's bedside immediately. In fact, he intentionally delayed his departure for two days. Now, why would he do that? John explains, it's because he loved Mary and Martha and Lazarus. It's so strange, isn't it? He delayed his coming because he loved them. And we'll see why and how that is as the story unfolds. So next, so that was the news in verses 1 to 6. Next we'll look at Jesus with the disciples, the disciples in verses 7 to 16. So two days later, after getting the news, he decides it's time to go back to Judea. And it seems like God has just revealed this to him. In his divine knowledge, Jesus knows now Lazarus has died and that's the signal. Now it's time for me to go back. And so his disciples now question his sanity, right? Verse 8, Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again? They're saying, Jesus, come on, man, you just escaped with your life. Why in the world would you go back there? It seems like they don't really know what's going on with Lazarus, and he doesn't tell them immediately. He talks about walking in the day and not in the light, about seeing clearly and not stumbling. And basically what he's telling them is the work is not over. It's not quitting time yet. As long as there's light, as long as I am with you, the light of the world, doing the will of the Father, as long as you're with me, you're right where you should be, and we're doing exactly what we should be doing. And it's only after that that Jesus starts to explain what's going on. Lazarus is asleep. Let's go wake him up. And to the disciples, this makes absolutely no sense. If he's sleeping, Jesus, he's going to wake up. Why would we be risking our lives to wake somebody up? And so verse 14, Jesus told them plainly, Lazarus has died. And for your sake, I'm glad that I was not there so that you may believe, but let us go to him. So Jesus is speaking plainly for which we're all grateful. Lazarus has died. And the implication right here is that Jesus is going to be raising him from the dead. That's what he's saying he's going to do. And notice that he is very explicit about the purpose of this miracle. I'm glad I wasn't there so that you may believe. This is about the disciples' faith. What he's about to do is going to grow their faith. And so in the Gospel of John, what we see regularly is people having faith, but that faith being incomplete and needing to grow and continue. And so Jesus is still working to help to expand their faith. The disciples don't get it yet. Even though Jesus is telling them exactly what's about to happen, speaking words of life, all they can see is death. So Thomas says, let's go die with him, right? Thomas is not the most optimistic of the disciples. We know that from a couple of places, and we'll come back to that statement a little bit later. So now in verses 17 to 27, we pick up the story with Martha. Verse 17, now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been dead, had already been in the tomb for days. And so Jesus got the news about Lazarus. He waited two days, and then it took him four days to get to this village Bethany, which was about a hundred miles from the other Bethany where he was staying. That's what's kind of confusing about chapter 10 and 11. There's two Bethany's. One of them is about a hundred miles away from the other one. So it took him four days to get there. And Lazarus is not the only problem. The disciples had pointed this out already. This is right next to Jerusalem, right? It's in the heart of Judea. The influential Jews are all around. And there is tension, growing tension, between Jesus and the Jewish leaders. And so this is a complicated funeral scene. Martha goes out to meet Jesus while Mary stays home. And this is strange. I mean, even in our context, right, we normally expect the mourners to kind of stay put and we go to those who are mourning. But in this case, Martha goes to Jesus. Maybe it shows this great honor that he's worthy of her breaking her mourning to go to him, or maybe she just wants a private interaction with him. And it's here that we really get to the heart of the passage of what's going on. So verse 21, Martha said to Jesus, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." So notice that Martha is not at all questioning Jesus's power, right? She knows that he could have healed Lazarus. We've seen many miracles at this point. There's every reason to believe that Jesus could have and would have healed his friend. And there may be sort of a mild kind of slight rebuke here, right? Jesus, you're kind of late, man. If you had been here, he wouldn't have died. And then she goes on, but even now, I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you. Now it's not clear at all what Martha is really getting at here. There seems to be this assertion that she's continuing to believe, she's continuing to trust in Jesus, she has confidence in him, but based on what happens later in the story, she's not at all expecting him to raise Lazarus from the dead immediately. But she's looking to Jesus to do something. Verse 23, Jesus said to her, your brother will rise again. Now at this time in Judaism, there were kind of different schools of thought, and there were Pharisees who believed in a bodily resurrection at the end of time in the future, and there were Sadducees who did not, which is why they were so sad, you see. And it's almost as if Jesus here is speaking piously. You know, sometimes now people die and we'll say things like, oh, well, we know they're in a better place or whatever. And that may or may not be true, given the individual. But Martha seems to take it that way, that Jesus is just kind of saying these religious platitudes. And so verse 24, she said to him, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day. So Jesus, I know, come on, come on, Jesus. And Jesus's response here is shocking. It should arrest our attention. 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? So Jesus says, He is the resurrection. The resurrection is not just a theological concept out there someday. It is a person. Right? Jesus is not something way out there. It's standing right in front of you. Resurrection is here, Martha. It's me, is what Jesus is saying. So he draws this strong connection between faith and life. Everyone who believes shall live. Everyone who lives and believes shall never die. So I think we need to unpack this a little bit. First he says, whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. And then, everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. It almost sounds contradictory, doesn't it? Is it that we'll live even after we die, or that we'll never die? And I think really he's saying both claims, right? He's making both claims. Jesus says, I am the resurrection. And he is talking about that final resurrection on the last day. Something that he will bring about by his power. He promises to raise those who believe in him to life with God forever. But he's saying that starts now. when you believe in him. And so he says, I am the life. And he's referring to immediate possession of eternal life. It's not something abstract way out there in the future. It starts now, the instant you enter into a relationship with Jesus. And once somebody is made alive spiritually, they will never die. It's really the same thing Jesus has been saying for quite a while. The controversy over the man who was born blind is about who really sees, right? The man born blind now sees physically, but he also sees spiritually because he knows who Jesus is. He responds appropriately to Jesus. And the Pharisees, even though they have 20-20 vision, they are actually blind because they can't see Jesus for who he is. Jesus makes the same point here with regard to life and death. Those who are spiritually alive will be raised to eternal life even after their physical death, and those who are made alive spiritually will never again experience spiritual death. And so lest we miss that connection, Jesus is saying that all of us start off spiritually dead. We may look perfectly healthy, but we're really zombies. We are really dead. And this death is the consequence for our rebellion against God. Ever since the garden, when Adam and Eve listened to the voice of the serpent, they chose autonomous existence over dependence upon God. In that moment, we died. We all died. But Jesus says here, he is the source of spiritual life. That those who believe in him receive spiritual resurrection now. And even if we die physically one day, we have confidence that we will be raised. And Jesus presses this home with Martha and really all of us. Do you believe this? It's the most important question any of us can ask. Do you believe Jesus really is who he says he is? That spiritual life, that transformation, that resurrection are only found in him? And Martha really gives us a model answer in verse 27. She said to him, yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the son of God, who is coming into the world. So she makes a very theological confession, right, from Martha. Jesus is the Christ. He's the Messiah, which means he's the anointed one. He's God's chosen one to come and speak to and rule over his people. He's also the son of God, which refers to his unique relationship with God. God had promised David, Israel's model king, that he would be a father to David's son one day. And Jesus is that son. And then he's the one who is coming into the world. The Jews have been waiting and waiting for God's coming king, right? And Martha rightly confesses this is who Jesus is. Now the confession about who Jesus really is becomes the essential identifying marker for Christians. It's how we know who a Christian is, the person who says and believes and lives in light of the right things about Jesus. And we heard that even earlier in the service as we confessed the Apostles' Creed. The right things about Jesus are essential to being a Christian. This union, this mysterious union of human and divine, that Jesus is fully God and fully man. We don't understand exactly how that is, but we receive it because it's what God has told us in his word. And because of that, Jesus is the only source of salvation, the only worthy object of our faith. So if you're here this morning and you're not a Christian, we are thankful that you've chosen to be here with us. But this is what you must believe. The most important question you can ask is, who is Jesus? And understand that Martha, that he is the Christ, the son of the living God, the one who has come into the world. That is the right answer. And in some ways the story could stop right there, right? Martha has said everything that needs to be said. The rest really flows right out of that, but there's more for us to glean. And so we pick up with Mary in verse 28. Jesus wants to speak with Mary and so Martha goes to her and the crowd of mourners follows her. We'll start in verse 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. So Mary falls at his feet, she seems to be emotionally raw in a way that Martha was not. She says the exact same thing that Martha just said, the exact same words, both from Mary and Martha. And notice Jesus' response to Mary, verse 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. So John tells us what's going on inside of Jesus's heart and mind, his emotions during this. He is deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. Now, a lot of the translations really kind of don't know what to do with this deeply moved because the word just means angry. The only time it doesn't mean angry is when it's talking about a war horse who's kind of snorting ready to go into battle, which sounds angry to me too. So this is how Jesus feels. And if you've lost a loved one, you know what this is like, don't you? It's an aspect of grief we don't really talk a lot about, but anger is there and it's a right response to death. It's not the way it's supposed to be. We were created to live in harmony with God forever. And death is the most pronounced way that we encounter the utter brokenness of this world. Anger is the sense that things are not right. And that's never more true than in the face of the death of someone you love. And that explains what Jesus does next. And he said, where have you laid him? They said to him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. It's amazing to me how different these two interactions are, right? There's no theological explanation, no invitation to believe. He just asks where Lazarus is, and he weeps with Mary. I think it's really hard for us to balance outrage and compassion. Most of us tend to lean one way or the other, and when we're compassionate without outrage, it's just kind of sentimentality, and when it's Outraged without compassion, it comes across very self-righteous, but Jesus shows us the right way to feel when bad things happen, both outraged and compassionate. But given what we already know, what Jesus has already said even, it's kind of a confusing response, isn't it? Why would Jesus be so upset about Lazarus when he's already said he's going to raise him from the dead? Where does this emotion come from? But I think it makes sense if you understand what I was just saying about anger, right? Consider that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, the one who's coming into the world. The very reason he is here is to address this problem. The world is hopelessly broken and it's only Jesus that can save it. And so he's not just feeling the weight of the loss of his friend, but the state of the whole world. Lazarus represents every one of us, cold, stiff, rotting in a grave. We are in bondage to sin under the domain of darkness, and that's exactly why Jesus is here. And even more, Jesus knows what's coming, right? He knows that in order to deliver us from death, he will have to give up his life and enter into the tomb, not just physically die, but spiritually be separated from God his Father. And so this is one more reminder, one more glimpse into the coming judgment that Jesus is about to take upon himself. Now, not surprisingly, when Jesus is weeping, there's a mixed reaction from the crowd. Verse 36, so the Jews said, see how he loved him. Verse 37, but some of them said, could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying? So some people see in Jesus genuine compassion. Others, though, are confused by his inaction and are maybe skeptical of his motives. They know he's done harder things, so why couldn't he have kept his friend alive? Now both of these are partially right and partially wrong, right? Jesus is merciful. He certainly is merciful. He did love Lazarus. And so to take mercy without power to do anything about it is not really that helpful. He'd be just like any one of us in a situation. There's a whole crowd of people mourning with Mary that are powerless to do anything. On the other hand, Jesus is powerful. He could have kept Lazarus from dying. But if he's powerful and not merciful, then that's terrifying. There'd be no confidence, no assurance that he has our good in mind. He'd really just be like any other God, hoping to be pleased with him. But Jesus proves both of them wrong. So let's look at his interaction with Lazarus in verses 38 to 44. Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. So you can feel the tension here starting to build, and you can see the determination on Jesus' face as he moves toward the tomb. He orders the stone to be removed, and Martha protests that it's gonna stink. And so again, it shows that she doesn't have a category. She doesn't anticipate at all what's about to happen. And Jesus said to her, did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God? So Jesus is, again, clarifying. That isn't just some future, end-time promise out there. It is right here, right now. You are about to see the glory of God. As Jesus demonstrates that he is the Son of God, the resurrection and the life, he is going to show he is the Son of God with power and authority over life. And so they remove the stone. And then Jesus prays. Verse 41, 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." And so Jesus has already prayed about this privately. He has this intimate, ongoing communication with his Father. But the purpose of this interaction is explicit, that they may believe that you sent me. It's what he said to the disciples earlier. It's what he's saying again here. The reason for this whole scene is that people would believe that he is the Son of God, to show his mercy and his power toward those who are in need, to show that he is the author and the sustainer and creator of life, to show the unity that he has with the Father as his Son. And so verse 43, when he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, Lazarus, come out. And the man who had died came out. his hands and feet bound with linen strips, his face wrapped with a cloth. And Jesus said to them, unbind him and let him go. It's just, it's amazing. It's so much that it's hard to get our minds into this scene. There's no drama. There's no spitting and washing like the blind man. He doesn't even touch Lazarus. He doesn't make any kind of magical incantations, no long drawn out words, nothing. He simply calls out, Lazarus, come out. And he comes. It's the same way he commanded them to move the stone and it was moved, to unbind Lazarus and let him go. So he calls into the tomb of death and commands Lazarus to come out. And he comes out. And it's because Jesus is God. And for God, his speaking is his doing. Just as he spoke the world into being from nothing, and so Jesus calls out to Lazarus, let there be life. And there was life. And so God's glory was clearly demonstrated in Jesus's power to command life, to raise the dead by his word. And this was just a glimpse of the glory of the coming resurrection of Jesus. Now if we didn't know any better, if the story ended there, we would think it could continue something like this. And finally they got it, and everyone believed in Jesus. But that's not how it goes. We'll look last at the religious leaders beginning in 45. Many of the Jews, therefore, who had come with Mary had seen what he did, believed in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. So many believed, praise God, but some of them, it seems like, went and tattled on Jesus to the religious establishment. And so verse 47, 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. Now notice what's happening here among these religious leaders. They're not disputing his signs, right? He's not a magician. He's not a charlatan. He's not tricking the people. They're seeing the signs. They know that Jesus has just raised somebody from the dead. They don't dispute that at all. But they're not drawing the right conclusions. Rather than celebrating the fact that their long-awaited Messiah is finally here, they are threatened that he will disrupt their place in society. They've been able to wiggle their way into power, to have influence over the people so that the oppression of the Romans isn't quite so uncomfortable. In fact, these religious leaders have come to benefit and live quite nicely, kind of in harmony with the Romans. And so Jesus is a threat to that. Verse 49, but one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, you know nothing at all, nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish. So Caiaphas is saying, come on guys, this is our way out, right? We'll let him take the fall for all of us. This is a perfect opportunity to get what we want. but it's God who says to Caiaphas, it's you who knows nothing at all. Verse 51, he did not say this on his own accord, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. So God used Caiaphas' twisted mind to make a crystal clear prophecy of exactly what Jesus was gonna do. Someone did have to die for the people. But it wasn't to pacify the Romans, but to pacify the wrath of God against our sin. And that's exactly what Jesus would go on to do. The one who is the resurrection in life would willingly enter into the heart of death in order to destroy it. So the author of Hebrews puts it this way, since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. Or Paul, simply in 2 Timothy, he abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. So that's what Jesus came to do. He came to die to end death. And it takes us back to the irony of Thomas's words at the beginning. Not only did Jesus have to die, but we also have to die with him in order to be raised with him. And so Paul says in Romans 6, for if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. So that's the work that Jesus came to do is to die and to be raised so that his people with him could die and be raised. But we also have this beautiful declaration that he didn't die just for the Jewish nation, but to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. Jesus's mission is wonderfully global, to find every one of God's children and unite them into one family. And this is good news for the majority of us who are here this morning who are not Jewish, right? We benefit from Jesus's work because we are his children by faith. 53, so from that day on they made plans to put him to death. 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. So this plan marks the end of Jesus's public ministry. He's no longer walking openly, he's no longer doing signs. This chapter of his life is over, and it sets the stage for the showdown that's coming shortly. So what are we to take away from a story like this? Six applications. First, Death is your reality. Death is your reality. Now, I realize that's not the most comfortable thing to talk about and think about, but we just can't escape it, right? We like to pretend that death isn't there. We cover it up with dyes and creams. We compensate with diet and exercise. We wear seat belts and helmets. We train and prepare and do all sorts of things. We even deny death directly by having celebrations of life. But the reality is that apart from the return of Jesus Christ, at the end of the age, every single one of us is going to die. Every single one of us, without exception, right? Raise your hand if you've ever met Lazarus. He's kind of the star of the story, right? But he too went on to die after he was raised, because his resurrection was just a parable of what Jesus had come to do. The inescapability of death is your greatest problem. And until you get that, you can't receive the help that's available to you. So death is your reality. Second, death is not the end. So it would be sad enough if the naturalistic worldview was true, that there were just complicated chemical reactions that once the essential ones break down, we just don't exist anymore, right? That would be sad enough. But no, the Bible says clearly that we are our body and soul, that we are physical and spiritual, and that it's been appointed for man to die once, and after that comes the judgment. And so after we die, we must give an account of ourselves to God. And one thing is certain, in God's presence, each one of us will be found lacking. Each one of us will have failed to live up to God's standard of holiness, have violated his commands, have suppressed the truth about him in unrighteousness. Because as Jesus said, we love darkness rather than light because our deeds are evil. Every one of us has said and done and thought things that we know are wrong. And those things may be trivial here on earth, but their moral offense is not based on the actions themselves, but who those actions are against. And there is no such thing as a small sin against a holy God. So death is not the end. Number three, resurrection is your only hope. The condition that I've just described is spiritual death. We sin because we are sinners by nature. None of us is inherently righteous. We don't learn sin from others. We sin because it's who we are. That is spiritual death. And that's why Lazarus's physical resurrection is a picture of the spiritual reality that Jesus has to do in us in order for us to be saved. Think about it. What did Lazarus contribute to his resurrection? Nothing, right? He was four days in the tomb. He was already breaking down, stinking, as Martha so lovingly put it. And yet when Jesus commanded him, that command brought with it life. Hearts started beating, synapses started firing, lungs began to expand and contract. It was only because he was made alive that he could obey Jesus' command. For Jesus, it was just a matter of waking him up, right? He wasn't being facetious with the disciples. He really was going to wake him up because that's what Jesus does. The glory of God is displayed clearly in his power over our greatest enemy, death. And that's what happens to each of us when we believe Jesus. We were dead in our trespasses and sins, but God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive in Christ, with Christ. We are saved by grace through faith. And this happens when we hear and respond to God's word, the gospel of Jesus. Faith comes by hearing. And that's why Jesus asked that most important question, do you believe this? It's so critical for all of us this morning that we see this. Your only hope is to believe that Jesus really is the son of God, that he really did come and live a perfect life, that we deserve, that we should have lived, that we owe to God, to die on the cross in the place of sinners, to be raised gloriously, to offer forgiveness to everyone who does believe in him. That's the gospel. The only way to know that someone believes it is that they obey his word. It wasn't Lazarus's obedience that made him alive, but it was his obedience that demonstrated that he was alive, right? Believing in Jesus necessarily produces evidence that corresponds to that spiritual life. We learn from Lazarus that seeing is not believing. The chief priests and the Pharisees did not dispute the claim that Lazarus had been raised. They just didn't like it. And so just as they plotted to kill Jesus, they also plot to kill Lazarus because he's walking evidence of Jesus's divine claims. We like to think that if we just saw some of the things that these people had seen, it would be so much easier to believe. But story after story of the Bible says that that's not true. Just consider the crowd at the scene, right? They saw Lazarus come out of the tomb. They saw the dead man walk out of an empty tomb. Sometimes when I'm at a funeral and doing a funeral, I just try to wrap my mind about what that would feel like. Right? Death is so irreversible. It's so final. And yet Jesus comes and commands life. And the crowd witnessed this with their own eyes, and yet many of them did not believe in Jesus. They walked away unchanged. It's because they are spiritually dead. And it's true for all of us. We can look right at the evidence that demands only one clear verdict and still not come to the right conclusion. And so if you're here this morning, again, I urge you to consider the claims of Jesus Christ. If you're not a Christian, consider his offer for forgiveness and life. Like Lazarus, come to him. Ask God to give you life. Respond to his call by trusting in Jesus's words, turning away from your sin. If that's you this morning, please talk to me or someone you know after the service if you have questions about that. And if you're here this morning and you call yourself a Christian, are you confident that you've actually responded to Jesus's words? How is your life different? How could you show someone that you have been raised up, that you've been walked out of the tomb, that you've removed the grave clothes? What distinguishes you from the corpses that surround you every day? Jesus raised up Lazarus to show his glory, that he has the power of life. And that same power that raised Jesus from the dead and now lives in his people. And so one of the reasons he calls us into community together as a church is to see and to celebrate evidence of his resurrection power. And so this is one of the best ways you can serve your brothers and sisters as members of this church. Be a detector of God's glory here. When you see evidence of his glory, when you see resurrection power at work around you, call it out and invite other people to celebrate it with you. Fourth, God's providence may seem strange. God's providence may seem strange. Go back to the beginning of the story. Jesus's waiting two days seems like the most counterintuitive thing he could possibly do, doesn't it? If you're looking in from the outside, it looks like if he cared about Lazarus at all, he'd get there as quickly as he could. But Jesus had greater purposes for Lazarus, so that God's glory would be displayed in his power to raise the dead. But for Lazarus, that meant more time being sick, I mean, actually dying? And who knows what's going through Lazarus's mind as he's dying, right? Did he know that they had sent word to Jesus? Was he hoping that Jesus would show up at the last minute to rescue him? Who knows? We don't always understand what God is doing and why. We don't always see how he's using our suffering, but scripture assures God's people that he is always at work for his glory and for our good. And so for Mary and Martha and Lazarus, this was a particularly difficult week, right? Some of us have endured trials that last for months and years, and some of us our whole lives. And our faith is regularly tested as we're confronted again and again with the temptation to doubt God's goodness and his care for us. But Christian, look to Jesus, the Son of God, who came into the world as all the evidence that you need, that God is for you. Paul encourages us to do this in Romans 8. He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? You may get some relief from trials in this life. You may look back sometimes and see how God was at work, but you may never see that fully until the resurrection and the world to come. But be assured that Jesus's death and resurrection are the guarantee that death and grief and crying and pain will be no more because these former things will pass away. and consider in your trials that maybe God is helping you to see that you're looking to something other than Jesus for life. Number five, people are different. It's really interesting to see how differently Jesus interacts with Mary and Martha. And I'm sure that if you did studies, you could do introvert, extrovert, Myers-Briggs, Enneagram, all these kind of things on Mary and Martha. But I think it's really helpful and challenging to see how he responds to the exact same words, right? Mary and Martha both say the same exact things. And I think Jesus provides for us a model that we should follow as we minister to each other in suffering. Jesus knows his friends well. He listens carefully. He watches their posture. He expresses understanding and compassion. He knew when to speak and when to mourn. And I think we should be careful to do the same thing when we approach fellow sufferers, not to impose our own sense of what someone needs, but to do our best to minister to them in their need. Now, of course, Jesus is perfect, right? He knows all things. He knows exactly what they need. He will do it perfectly. We won't. But I think we learn from him how to balance truth and love as we approach people who are suffering. I think we should be careful not to let perfectionism keep us from trying to minister to people in need, right? We can be present, we can listen carefully, we can respond graciously, like Jesus, doing our best, depending upon his grace. I think also as people who suffer, we should be gracious in receiving the help that other people try to offer. Suffering is a very vulnerable thing, but it's also a very powerful thing, right? We should be aware of our own tendencies to use suffering to manipulate other people and assert control over them. So lastly, six, Jesus's mission is to gather God's children. So John's editorial remark in verse 52 reminds us of what Jesus was all about. The resurrection and the life that he offers is for everyone. People from every tribe and tongue and nation, men and women, rich and poor, strong and weak, powerful and simple. Anyone who realizes that their accomplishments and their failures all amount to the same spiritual death before God. It's a glorious offer for anyone who will receive it by faith. and those who do receive it are gathered together. And we long for the day when we are gathered together in God's presence, where we experience the fullness of the promised resurrection life. But we are also called to gather together now in local churches, where we live in resurrection community together. We're like Lazarus's friends, we help remove the old grave clothes and adorn ourselves with light. We're like Mary's friends, we mourn the reality of sin. Where, like Martha, we confess the truth of Jesus' identity, and where, like the disciples, we stay with Jesus even unto death, and behold the glory of God. And so, brothers and sisters, let us fulfill our calling by striving to be that community of help, by holding out the resurrection hope that is Jesus Christ, with the confidence that we are empowered by the same spirit that raised him from the dead, to the glory of God. Amen. Let's pray.