“I Am the Resurrection and the Life” [Matt's Messages] ~ Matt Mitchell

“I Am the Resurrection and the Life”

Life in Jesus’ Name - The Gospel of John

Lanse Evangelical Free Church

April 14, 2024 :: John 11:1-53

We’ve reached chapter 11, which tells the story of Jesus’ last major public miracle in the Gospel of John before His arrest.

And it’s a doozy!

This is probably a story that you know, at least for many of us. Many of you have known it all of your life and heard it told many many times. I’ve preached it at many a funeral over the years.

But try, if you can, to read this with fresh eyes. Listen to this story as if all you know about Jesus is what you’ve read so far in the first ten chapters of John.

And then you read this. John chapter 11, verse 1.

“Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. So the sisters sent word to Jesus, ‘Lord, the one you love is sick.’” (vv.1-3).

What do you think is going to happen? Knowing Jesus, what do you think is going to happen?

So, what do you think is going to happen?

This man, Lazarus, was sick. We don’t know what ailment he had. My guess is maybe cancer? Maybe it was something else. A virus?

Whatever it was, it was serious. His family was worried. He had two sisters, Mary and Martha, and all 3 siblings were friends with Jesus. Mary and Martha get mentioned in the other gospels, Lazarus, only here. Mary (v.2 says) is going to figure prominently in a story in chapter 12, tune in next week for that. They lived a couple miles outside of Jerusalem in a town called “Bethany.”

Lazarus was sick, and the sisters knew that Jesus would care, so they sent him an email (or a text message) or actually probably a courier of some kind with the message, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”

What do you think Jesus is going to do?

Well, from what we’ve read so far in the Gospel of John, I expect Jesus to heal him! Maybe from a distance. Maybe with some creative application of mud. Maybe with just a word. But I expect Jesus to heal Lazarus. And that’s what it sounds like He’s going to do according to verse 4.

“When he heard this, Jesus said, ‘This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it.’” (v.4).

Familiar themes! This sickness is not for death. It is for God’s glory. Like the man born blind. And not just God’s glory, but for the glory of God’s beloved Son! The monogenays. God’s One and Only Son is going to get ultimate glory from this healing.

And the one who is sick is not just some random person who applies to Jesus for help, but someone that Jesus already knows and loves. He loves the whole family. Verse 5.

“Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.”

What? Did I read that right? "Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days."

Huh. Many translations are even stronger. They say, “So...he stayed where he was two more days.” Or “therefore.”

I don’t get it. It says that Lazarus is sick. It says that Jesus loves Lazarus. But then Jesus does not rush to Lazarus’ side.

Maybe Jesus knows that He’s not really that sick. Or maybe Jesus is scared to go because they want Him dead down in Jerusalem? No, that doesn’t sound right either. And in verse 7, Jesus says, “Ok. Now, let’s go.” V.7

“Then [after the two days] he said to his disciples, ‘Let us go back to Judea.’ ‘But Rabbi,’ they said, ‘a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?’

Jesus answered, ‘Are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world's light. It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light’” (vv.7-10).

So Jesus is not scared. (We didn’t really think He was.) He says, in effect, “Now is the time to go. Today’s the day. It’s daylight now. Let’s go; I’m on a mission. Because I am the ‘Light of the World.’”

“And nobody can kill me when it’s not my time to go.” Jesus is not scared. He’s going to go and heal Lazarus!

Except that Lazarus has already died. V.11

“After he had said this, he went on to tell them, ‘Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.’ His disciples replied, ‘Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.’ Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep. [They are so prone to misunderstanding.] So then he told them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him’” (vv.11-16).

The goal of this sermon today is to awaken and to strengthen your faith in Jesus.

That is, of course, the goal of all of my sermons, especially these ones on the Gospel of John because that’s the whole point of this whole book. John said he wrote it so “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (Jn. 20:31).

But today, I especially want to awaken and to strengthen your faith in Jesus in three big ways.

After studying John 11 today, I want you to believe like you’ve never believed before that Jesus loves you.

#1. BELIEVE THAT JESUS LOVES YOU.

I want you to come away from today’s message more convinced than ever before that Jesus loves you.

Even when it does not seem like it.

Because it probably didn’t feel like it to this grieving family.

I was struck this week as I meditated on this passage how many times and how many ways John insists that Jesus loved Lazarus, Martha, and Mary.

We’re only up to verse 11 and how many times have we seen it so far?

Verse 3. “Lord, the one you love is sick.”

Verse 5. “Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.”

Verse 11. “Our friend [same word for love, our loved one] Lazarus has fallen asleep.”

Jesus loved Lazarus.

And yet He did not rush to His side. He did not heal him from nearby or from afar.

Was it because He couldn’t heal him?

This must have been so hard for them. Sometimes it really seems like Jesus does not care. You might be going through a season like that right now. You feel like your prayers are hitting the ceiling and bouncing back down. Where is Jesus? It seems like He’s holding back.

This is especially true when we encounter sickness and death.

There is a pernicious lie going around that if Jesus loves you then you will only experience health, wealth, and prosperity.

That’s a lie.

Tell that to Job.

Tell that to Paul.

Tell that to Lazarus, Mary, and Martha.

Jesus loved them, and Lazarus still got sick and died.

Heather and I are empty-nesters this weekend. All of our kids are either living and working out West or visiting those who are living and working out West. So we came to church by ourselves today. Thankfully my folks are nearby and Dad’s sister is visiting them this weekend, so we have some kinfolk around the table for family dinner.

But 25 years ago this month, we came to church then without any kids because our oldest child, a daughter, was stillborn at 6 months gestation. It’s still pretty much the hardest thing that has happened to me yet. I feel it in my bones every time April rolls around.

Death. Grief. Pain. Sorrow. Heartache. Death in the womb.

Where was Jesus?

Heather and I believed then, and we believe now, that Jesus loves us.

But to believe that, we have to believe that Jesus loves us in a way that is deeper than we can truly understand. We must believe that Jesus cares more about our faith than our health and even our very lives.

So that Jesus stayed back those two days for a reason, and it was not indifference. It was love.

And see what He said in verse 15. He said, “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you believe.”

He doesn’t mean that He’s glad that Lazarus died. We will see that very clearly in just a few verses! But He is glad he missed the death itself because He cares about something even greater than our health and life.

He cares about our faith. “So that you may believe.”

Jesus wants us to trust Him even to the brink of death and then beyond. Jesus wants us to believe like never before that He loves us. That He is our Good Shepherd. That He knows us. That He calls us by name. That He wants good things for us. That He cares. And that He knows what He’s doing.

Jesus loves you. Do you know that? Jesus loves you.

And then He says, “But let us go to him” (v.15). “Let’s go to Lazarus.” As if Lazarus would care if he had visitors!

Look at verse 16. “Then Thomas (called Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, ‘Let us also go, that we may die with him.’”

Thomas may be more famous for doubting but he should be famous for his courage. He knows how unpopular Jesus is with the authorities, but he’s like, “Oh well, let’s go die with Jesus! Let’s run towards the trouble.” And he was right, they are going to get Jesus before too long, though (spoiler alert), he isn’t going to die with Him. So they head down to Bethany. V.17

“On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother.”

In this time period, the Jews mourned for at least a month. They are still in the first week of that. Lazarus has been dead and buried for four days.

He was long gone before Jesus arrived. And everybody is grieving and grieving hard.

One of the sisters, Martha, hears that Jesus is coming (finally), and she goes out to greet Him. Verse 20.

“When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. ‘Lord,’ Martha said to Jesus, ‘if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.’”

Do you feel her grief? It’s not quite a rebuke. She doesn’t say, “Where were you?!” But she is feeling it. “If you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

I don’t think she’s expecting Jesus to heal Lazarus now, she’s just saying, “I still believe You are powerful. I still believe in You even though I don’t understand You. And I don’t understand why You let this happen. I still believe you love us.” Verse 23.

“Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ [Does the hair on the back of your neck stand up when you hear that? ‘Your brother will rise again. He doesn’t say when. Martha thinks she knows when. V.24] Martha answered, ‘I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.’ [She believes her Bible. She knows her eschatology. She has read Daniel chapter 12. But Jesus is talking about something much bigger and much nearer! He’s talking about Himself. Verse 25.]

Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’”

There’s our title for today and it’s also the fifth “I Am” statement of Jesus in the Gospel of John.

Jesus said:

“I am the Bread of Life.

I am the Light of the World.

I am the Gate for the Sheep.

I am the Good Shepherd.

I am the Resurrection and the Life.”

What an amazing thing to say!

Notice that He doesn’t just say that He gives people life. He says that He is the Resurrection and the Life. Personally! Himself! In Himself.

It’s another claim to deity. It’s like saying, “I and the Father are One.”

“Before Abraham was I am.”

“I am the Resurrection and the Life.” He is the thing itself. “He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’”

Here’s the second of three things that I want you to believe today like you’ve never believed before:

#2. BELIEVE THAT JESUS WILL RAISE YOU FROM THE DEAD.

Believe that Jesus loves you even when it really doesn’t seem like it.

And believe that Jesus will give you life again even if you die.

You see Jesus is the cure for death.

Jesus promises to kill death and to give new resurrection life to those who believe in Him (see Revelation 21:4). I think verse 25 is talking about resurrection to physical life and verse 26 is talking about spiritual life.

“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies [that’s resurrection] and whoever lives and believes in me will never die [that’s spiritual life, eternal abundant life, life that never ever ever ever ends].”

“Do you believe this?”

That’s a big question. That’s a big question that Jesus asks Martha. He has made a bold claim, and He asks her very simply, “Do you believe this?” What is your answer?

A lot rides on it. Have you heard the phrase, YOLO? “You Only Live Once.” People who believe that often take risks but it’s because they think this is their one shot to really live. But Jesus says that if you believe in Him, you live twice. And that will change the kind of risks you take in this first life. You will take risks that affect the life to come.

You will live for Jesus’ Kingdom instead your own.

You will head out to Kansas City on a Challenge Trip.

You will jump a plane for Malawi.

You will talk to your neighbor or your co-worker about Jesus.

You will grieve over your dead loved ones because they’re gone for now, but you grieve with hope.

You will lean on the “everlasting arms.” And your anchor holds. Your “anchor holds.”

You really believe that Jesus really loves you and that one day He will really raise you from the dead.

We should be fearless.

“I am the resurrection and the life...[Martha,] Do you believe this?”

Matthew, do you believe this?

“Do you believe this?”

Look at verse 27.

“‘Yes, Lord,’ she told him, ‘I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.’”

Woohoo! Way to go, Martha! That is THE right answer. That’s John 3:16. That’s the way to life in Jesus’ name (20:31). That’s faith.

“‘Yes, Lord,’ she told him, ‘I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.’” That's John 1:9, “The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.”

“Yes, Lord, I believe.”

“I believe like never before that you love me and that you will raise me from the dead.”

That’s not a metaphor. I expect to die and to be buried in some way, and then, one day, for Jesus to bring me back to life.

Remember what Jesus said in chapter 5?

“I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man. Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out...” (Vv.25-28).

“Yes, Lord, I believe.”

And with that, Martha goes and fetches Mary. V.28.

“And after she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. ‘The Teacher is here,’ she said, ‘and is asking for you.’ When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him” (vv.28-29).

These two sisters are very different in some ways and very similar in others. They both were grieving really hard. V.30

“Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there. [“Oh, we’re going to the graveside to mourn with Mary at the tomb.”] When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’”

Same thing as Martha said. Same grief. Same bewilderment. Same belief in the power of Jesus to heal. Same sorrow. She’s weeping away.

And then Jesus starts to get emotional! V.33

“When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.”

Those words are hard to translate into English to really get the sense of hem

The King James says, he “groaned in spirit.” The Greek word is “embrimaomai” and it comes from the sound that a horse makes when it’s angry. It’s almost a snort of indignation. It’s a release of air from the body in such a way that expresses extreme outrage and emotion. And the word for “troubled” has the idea of his body shaking with it. Jesus was rip-snorting-mad and distressed at...what?

He wasn’t mad at these people. He was mad at death. Jesus hates death. Death is an enemy. Don’t let anyone tell you differently.

Jesus loved Lazarus. And Jesus loved Martha. And Jesus loved Mary. So Jesus hated this death. He hated that they were grieving. He hated that they were ripped apart as a family. It made him cry and shake to see them weeping like this.

And so now He’s going to do something about it. And He’s going to prove that He is the Resurrection and the Life. V.34.

“‘Where have you laid him?’ he asked. ‘Come and see, Lord,’ they replied. Jesus wept.”

Shortest verse in the Bible, but so meaningful.

“Jesus wept.” In those words, we see how human Jesus was. He was really human. And He was as manly as they come, and He cried. And He was full of compassion. And He was full of grief. And He was a man of sorrow. He shows us how to live as a fully human person, not afraid of our emotions.

Men, don’t be afraid to cry. Ladies, don’t be ashamed of tears. Don’t be afraid to cry when you love someone and they die. Verse 36.

“Then the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him!’”

And He loves you! Jesus loves you. This is how He would feel at your graveside. Or the graveside of the one you love. V.37

“But some of them said, ‘Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?’”

They don’t believe. Yes, He could have done that. He’s not crying because He couldn’t heal Lazarus. He’s crying because His friend is dead, and because He hates death. And because loves these people so much. Here’s that word again. Verse 38.

“Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance.

‘Take away the stone,’ he said. ‘But, Lord,’ said Martha, the sister of the dead man, ‘by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.’

Then Jesus said, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?’

So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.’

When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’”

I believe that if Jesus had not specified Lazarus, then there would have been people coming out of their graves all around the world!

Jesus had told the disciples in verse 11 that He was going to wake up Lazarus, and now Lazarus awakes. Verse 44.

“The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, ‘Take off the grave clothes and let him go.’”

He’s alive!

Lazarus is alive! He was dead. Totally dead. And now he’s back.

Jesus is the resurrection and the life!

Oh, the questions we have! I wonder all kinds of things like if Lazarus was disappointed that He had been brought back (only to die again another day down the road).

But we don’t get to ask those questions yet.

We just have to sit with the question Jesus asked Martha in verse 26.

“Do you believe this?”

Because not everybody did. Even people who were there did not believe in Jesus after that! Look at verse 45.

“Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.”

They even saw the miracle and they just wanted to get Jesus in trouble.

And He did get into trouble. I told Jenni we’d stop at verse 46, but look what happens next. V.47

“Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. ‘What are we accomplishing?’ they asked. ‘Here is this man performing many miraculous signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.’”

Oh, how terrible it would be if they believed in Him. V.49

“Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, ‘You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.’ [We’re going to have to kill him.]

He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. So from that day on they plotted to take his life.”

Here’s the third and last thing I want you to believe like you’ve never believed before:

#3. BELIEVE THAT JESUS DIED FOR YOU.

Caiaphas had it all wrong, and he had it all right. Jesus did have to die for the nation. Just not like Caiaphas thought. And Jesus had to die not just for the Jewish nation but for (v.52) “the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one.”

That’s Gentiles like you and me. The other flock that Jesus was talking about last chapter.

Jesus had to died for you and me. The Good Shepherd had to lay down His life for His sheep only to take it up again.

Jesus had to die for you even though you did not deserve it.

Jesus had to died for you and me.

So that He could give us forgiveness.

And so that He could give us new life.

Do you believe this?

I do. You know why? Because Lazarus walked out of His tomb.

"Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the resurrection and the life."

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