Questions Jesus Asked - Week 6: March 29, 2026

Pastor Nate Rovenstine

Transcript

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I was having such a good time worshiping. I almost forgot I was supposed to get up here. I'm Nate. I'm the lead pastor. Aren't you glad those other people to help me know what I'm supposed to be doing? So, hey, next Sunday, this is a great isn't it great to see our kids in here? We are intentionally intergenerational. We want, we believe generations can help each other. And we want we want to work in that and continue in that. So I love this morning when our kids and our students are involved so much. And next week's Easter, don't forget that. Yeah, he's risen, right? You can say that. You'll know what to say next week, all right? He's risen indeed. He still is. He always is. Um, so invite some friends. And there's some cards as you leave the sanctuary if you didn't get one last week in that little vestibule or out at the welcome center. But uh love to have you here and see you all next Sunday with some of your friends. So we're gonna continue in this series. We've been looking at the questions Jesus asked. We've been working on memorizing a verse. This will be the last Sunday we look at it together. So read with me from Proverbs chapter 18. A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion. And so we've been the premise of this uh series has been that one of the ways to really gain understanding of other people is to ask good questions. And Jesus did that a lot. And we want to learn from those questions that Jesus asked. And so if you have questions you want to put on the question wall out there, we love seeing those and and reading through those. Um, make sure and do that. Also, after service or after I'm done uh preaching today, we always invite any of the one that wants to pray with some of our prayer team across the lobby. And specifically today, I want to say we're gonna do some baptisms. And we're gonna be baptizing a number of people here in second service. We did one in first service, and baptism is a great way to proclaim your faith in Jesus. And some of you today, as I'm preaching, might sense that the Holy Spirit is saying, today's the day for you to do that. And if you're not prepared for that, that's okay. We have some folks that will meet you over there and pray with you and prepare you. We have clothes you can change into. We'll take all that we would we'll find a way to make sure you get baptized today if God's calling you to that. And also just want to let you know where we're going today, so you know when we get there, that was intentional. Today we're gonna talk about a question Jesus asked that all of us need to face. And I just wonder if some of you today might say, you know, I've never really trusted Jesus, and I want to do that today. We'll get there. There's a lot of other stuff in the sermon for all of us, but I want you to know that's where we're headed. But as we start that journey, I want to tell you about the most frustrating and entertaining airplane ride I've ever been on in my life. We were flying to Florida for a conference that is, it was preceded by a very important meeting that I needed to be to, Tenet and I. And so we've it was the day a couple weeks ago when the traffic was, uh the air traffic was messed up because of weather all across the nation. Planes were canceled, delayed. We get to Kansas City, our plane is delayed, and then it's and then the Dow, the they tell us the flight out of Dallas is canceled, and they say, Don't worry, we'll get you to Dallas. And I'm like, Well, I don't want to get to Dallas and get stuck there. Don't worry, we'll get you on standby. And uh we were number two and three on the standby list, and by the time we got ready to get on that chart uh flight, we were number 18 and 20 because we didn't have status anyway. We didn't get on the first standby flight. We finally got on a standby flight at 11:30, 10:30, something like that at night, uh, which is like three hours past our bedtime. So not quite that bad, but we were tired, and everybody, a lot of people, probably a third or more of the people on that plane were in a similar situation to us. You know, flying standby, frustrated, everybody's frustrated. So walk on the plane as we're walking on the plane. And by the way, we didn't get to our destination until 6 o'clock the next morning because we had multiple delays, so it was just rough. Walking on the plane, there's a lady, and she's clearly has was dealing with the stress of this situation by drinking. And she had a hard time walking to her seat. She sat in the wrong seat. I walked past her and I thought, oh, I'm glad she's not sitting next to me. Well, she was in the wrong seat. So Janet and I had middle seats because we were flying standby. So I go back. I'm in the bulk head, and so I have leg room. So I'm walking to the seat. She, the lady's still not there. I'm walking towards the seat. I'm like, okay, middle seat, leg room, that's okay. Um, and I sit down, and as I'm sitting down, before I could buckle my seatbelt, the 28-year-old man next to me says, How you doing? And I knew this was gonna be a conversation. He too, it looked like maybe had been coping with uh the delays in the same way as uh the lady had. And so we're sitting there and we're starting, it seems a very nice gentleman, and we start talking, and then here comes my friend. She was from New Orleans, the young man was from Montana, so I'm gonna call him New Orleans in Montana. And not Hannah, but anyway, so we she comes and sits down and then begins the most bizarre conversation I've ever had on an airplane between these two people. Both of them, uh, you know, they they were kind of at one point. That's how I know everybody's age. At one point, she said, How old are you? I'm 28. I'm 42. How old are you? I'm 63. Oh wow, that's cool. You're in your 20s, you're in your 40s, and I'm in your 60s. I'm like, are we just asking everybody's age on the plane? I mean, that's and she somehow felt that that connected us in a weird way. I'm like, I don't know what our age has to do with anything here. I'm sitting between these two folks, and they kind of start flirting and fighting with each other over me. Right? I'm sitting there, and this young lady, this 42-year-old woman, she was like touching me. Now you all know, if you don't know, you know, this made me very uncomfortable. It wasn't inappropriate, but it was inappropriate. You know what I mean? Like, you just don't touch someone you meet on the plane within three minutes. You don't start putting your hand on their shoulder and getting real close. I'm like, anyway, it was very awkward. And this whole thing went back and forth the whole flight. And I could tell you story after story about the conversation. Um, but it was really, really awkward. And before we took off, I mean it was so awkward, but even before we got in the air, I texted Janet. I said, Ugh honey, I'm sitting between crazy people. I shouldn't have done that. I know, I know I shouldn't have done that, but you gotta know. Anyway. Near the end of the flight, we land, we're on the tarmac for another 45 minutes. So the airline stewardess sets in the jump seat on the back of the bathroom right there. You know, so she's on a little jump seat they put down. So now the airline stewardess is sitting almost knee to knee with the with New Orleans. And New Orleans, as is her thing, kept touching the airline stewardess on the knee. Honey, how are you doing today? I'm like, stop touching her. Like I was saying that, but this point we had developed a relationship and and we were all friends, and I said, Stop touching her. But I also wanted to say this too, and I should have. I said, listen, she's not with me. She's not my daughter, she's not my friend, she's not with me. I didn't. It was so awkward. So, so awkward. About halfway through the flight, she found out I was a pastor. And 28-year-old Montana didn't care much about that. He was fine, but he he doesn't have a faith. New Orleans was really excited that I was a pastor, and between the F word and Jesus, I don't know which was said more, but she started talking about how much she loves Jesus and how estranged she is from her husband. And Montana started talking about his personal life, and he said, You know, I lost two friends last year. They were they were both killed in an accident in the mountains, and I I spent time up in the mountains looking for them, and and we they finally found him, they'd been struck by lightning. And I believe that story to be true the way he told it. And how are you dealing with that? Uh New Orleans wanted to know how Montana was dealing with that. I'm just plowing through, they're on my shoulder, they're watching over me. I'm plowing through one day at a time, and that's not gonna get me down. You know, this bothered New Orleans because she felt like Montana needed to deal with his grief, and so she started counseling him now across me, actually was giving pretty good counsel. He started crying and emotions got and she felt excited that she had got him to a point of grief. You know, it was just like so weird, all of it. And as I I tell that story, not to belittle these folks. I hope you understand my heart here. Not to say what a terrible experience I had, but to say I was sitting in the midst of the human condition. I was sitting in the midst of the human condition. And lots of times you sit on an airplane, you're in the midst of the human condition, but the human condition doesn't talk. These folks were really glad to tell me all their stuff. Because people have big questions, and people have significant loss, and people are longing for real relationships. And as I sat on that plane, I began thinking about this sermon. And by the way, hanging out with a pastor, you just never know what they're thinking. But be careful because you might be a sermon illustration Sunday. No, I'm just kidding. In today's passage, Jesus encounters two women who are experiencing profound loss, just like my friends, Montana and New Orleans. And he asks him three very relationally deep questions that validates their pain and answers their deepest questions in a powerful way. And I think it's worth looking at this story because we're all in the human condition, all right? So Luke 11. Uh we're gonna be in the sort of third of the way down a little bit later, but at the beginning of this passage in Luke 11, which we're not gonna read, but we need to understand to set this up. Jesus has three friends. I told First Service, the way I think about this is these folks were in the friend group with Jesus, right? So, like if it were today, they would all be following each other on fine friends, right? That's that kind of a group. It was Lazarus and Mary and Martha. Those three were siblings and they hung out with Jesus. It seems clear that they had a relationship that was beyond just, you know, a teacher and a student. And in the first few verses of John chapter 11, Mary and Martha send words of Jesus, who's a uh a ways away. They send word that Lazarus, your friend, you know, the one in our friend group, my our brother, he's sick. And when Jesus heard this, Jesus intentionally delayed his trip to Bethany. This is the man who heals people. This is a man who walks on water. Like if anybody could help someone in the friend group, it would be Jesus, and he said, I'm not coming. And it seems strange to the disciples, and they form their own opinions and theories of what's going on, but Jesus clarifies it in a way that they didn't understand then, but makes sense now. 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. And this is, as most, if not all, of Jesus' miracles, but this one very clearly is not just a miracle that's about to happen, but it's a sign of something. It tells us something. It's like a road sign tells us something. This miracle tells us something that God wanted people to know about his son Jesus. So in John chapter 11, verse 17, now on the screen, we'll jump into the story. When people, well excuse me, when Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, and many of the Jews from Jerusalem, implied, had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother. Now, John specifically mentions four days for several reasons. I mean, he wanted to show that Jesus was not just mostly dead, that he was really dead. And because there was a common belief in that time amongst a variety of people, both Jews and others, that the spirit of a person upon death hovers over the body for three days before it leaves. And Jesus waited till the fourth day to help those who had that mindset to understand Lazarus is dead. Also, mourners would grieve for seven days, but the first three days were the deep mourning. You know, that's kind of maybe when there's some sense that maybe there's a chance. But after three days, you know, kind of tells off. And guests who come to support the family, they've got to go back to work and take care of their family. And so they leave typically, they start leaving after three days. And even more, or science teaches us now, and it's actually referenced later, is that decomposition in the body sets in after two or three days. So this is the fourth day. So Jesus is like speaking to people who wonder, is he dead? He's dead. He waited four days, and again, not-I mean, he could have healed in so many ways. In fact, you'll remember, Jesus healed two other people, like, but it was pretty quick. Like they were still on their way in those days, they didn't embalm people as much, and so they were on their way. And you could have said, well, maybe they really weren't dead, or maybe they were mostly dead. Jesus waited four days to say, No, this is different because this is a sign. There's a message here in what I'm about to do. And Jesus was intentional about that. We have to remember that. Then so, verse 20, as soon as Martha, one of the ones, a sibling of Lazarus, heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. But Mary remained seated in the house. And then Martha said to Jesus, Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn't have died. Yet even now, I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you. I love that little seed of faith that, hey, maybe something had happened. And Martha said to him, Uh, and Jesus said, Your brother will rise again. And Martha said, I know that he'll rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live. Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. And here's the question: Do you believe this? Yes, Lord, she's told him, I believe you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who has come into the world. Jesus said, Do you believe I'm the resurrection and life? And Martha said, I believe you're the Messiah. Interesting. You know, the question, do you believe this? really focused Martha to consider her questions about the afterlife. She, Jesus was saying, What do you believe about what happens when people die, Martha? Martha possessed a robust understanding of her faith. She believed in Jesus as Messiah, and she believed in that so much that she was certain her brother would rise again on the last day. In fact, this was a common belief among Jewish people. Not all of them, the Pharisees believed in the resurrections, the Sadducees didn't, and that's why they were sad, you see. So but Jesus, there were a lot of people in Judaism and in culture that believed that in the afterlife, in something beyond. I mean, God's written that into our hearts. It tells us in Ecclesiastes, eternity is written in our hearts. Like most people, when they think about death, think about something next, and they think about family who's gone on. In fact, Montana, when he talked about his friends that were killed, he talked about them sitting on his shoulder alive, and someday I'm going to see them. We watched a show recently, my wife and I, like many other shows where someone dies and there's a bright light that they walk into. There's no, like it's the expectation that everybody moves into this next life. We have that on our hearts. Now, not everybody believes it, and some people don't realize it or don't own it, but the fact is, all of us have this desire for something next beyond the physical, the 80, 90, 20, 10 years that we have on this planet, whatever it is. We want there to be more. And Martha embraced this. But in the depth of her grief, perhaps she had not considered that Jesus could or would bring Lazarus back to life in that moment. She hinted at it a little bit, but she couldn't bring herself to that. And so Jesus asked her this clarifying question, Martha, do you believe this? He had already said, I'm the resurrection. Do you believe this, Martha? Yes, I believe you're the Messiah. Yes, I believe in the general idea of a resurrection. But ultimately, Jesus said to her in this moment, I am the champion over death. Martha, do you believe this? She wasn't quite ready to embrace that, but she was getting close. All right, so that's Martha. We'll come back to that. But after Martha was reassured by Jesus of the personal nature of the resurrection and that Jesus was that personal nature of the resurrection, Jesus moves to the conversation with Mary, the sister. Having said this, verse 28, having said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, saying in private, the teacher is here and is calling for you. As soon as Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. The Jews who were there with her in the house, consoling her, saw that Mary got up quickly and went out. And they assumed that she was, they followed her, assuming that she was going to the tomb to cry there. As soon as Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and told him, Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn't have died. Same thing Martha said. Lord, they said, Come and see. Jesus wept. So the Jews said, See how he loved him. But some of them, again with the same sort of mindset of Mary and Martha, said, Couldn't he who opened the blind man's eyes also have kept this man from dying? Valid question, right? Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Now remember, all of this is a sign. It's a miracle for sure, but it's a sign. Jesus is teaching something, he's saying something in this. And then the question, where have you put him? You know what Mary, you know what Jesus does for Mary? He says, I validate your pain. I'm comfortable going to the place of your greatest pain. Take me there. I want to be there. It's okay to have those places in our life. Mary was weeping. And the crowd was weeping, and you've all been around or participated in mourning, grieving, weeping, right? Where it's just too much to contain. And however you are wired, whether you're reserved or extroverted, when we're in those moments, there's something that almost wells up in us that is uncontrollable, even though it may manifest itself different with all of us. If you've ever been there, you know. And that's what was going on all around Jesus. And Jesus also wept. And I think there's some empathy where Jesus sees their pain and weeps with them. But I think there's more than that. In fact, the Greek helps us see that there's more than that. The Greek words used to describe the weeping of Mary, Martha, and the others indicated this near hysterical wailing. But the Greek word used for Jesus weeping points to a quiet, more controlled sorrow. In fact, the original language suggests a sound like the snorting of an angry horse. That that's the kind of crying Jesus was doing is a cry of anger. Certainly empathy, right? There's that's there. But deeper than that, Jesus is mad. He's angry that his children have to go to these places of pain. He's mad that the plan that the Trinity set up in the garden has been messed up. He's not mad at them for their grief. He's not angry at them for any of it. He hurts for them. He's angry that this is hurting his children. He's angry that New Orleans is coping with her bad marriage through alcohol. And that Montana is coping with his loss of his friends by being a workaholic. And by the way, at one point in the flight, New Orleans suggested that I needed therapy. So God is hurting that there's a pastor who deals with pride and needs help. That my life isn't what you see what I'm saying? He's hurting for the human condition. He's angry at sin. So he's dealing with all that emotion. And this is all part of the sign. But the ultimate manifestation of this sign, this thing that Jesus wanted to proclaim, happens at the end. And aren't we glad we get to this? Verse 39. Remove the stone, Jesus said. They're now at the right, they're at the place of Martha's, excuse me, Mary's pain. Well, Martha's too, but Mary's pain. And Jesus says, Remove the stone. Jesus said, Martha said, you know, hey, there's already a stench. He's been here for four days. We're back to that four-day mark. Jesus said, Didn't I tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God? So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised his eyes and said, Father, I thank you that you heard me. I know you always hear me, but because of the crowd standing here, I said this so that they may believe you sent me. I love that Jesus is stinking out loud as he's praying. Like he's telling, hey, I know you hear me, God, but I just want everybody else to know you know. After he said this, he shouted with a loud voice, Lazarus, come out. And the dead man came out, bound hand and foot, with linen strips and his face wrapped in a cloth. And Jesus said to them, Unwrap him and let him go. So the question here is, didn't I tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God? This is the sign. The sign of Jesus' glory. The sign that he is God. The question reorients their focus from their lost to Jesus' power. Think about it, friends. The same voice that said, Let there be light, said Lazarus come forth. This is the statement of God, Jesus' divinity, of his glory. He's not bragging as if we need. Brag to show off who we are. He's simply revealing himself. It's a sign. Again, it's more than a miracle. As good as that is, it's a sign about who he is. Jesus is saying this sign shouts that Jesus is God, that Jesus defeats death, and that Jesus glory is revealed. And Paul in Romans chapter 4, verse 17, talks about God, and he says, as it is written, I have made you a father of many nations. He is our father in the sight of God in whom we believe, the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not. So here's Jesus calling into being things that were not, giving life to the dead and showing that he is God. This is the ultimate sign. This is the last sign. This is the sign that changes everything. This this Lazarus' death and resurrection were a sign of Jesus' glory and a foreshadow of Jesus' resurrection, which included the added benefit of not only victory over death, but victory over sin. What a beautiful, powerful sign. So why would we preach about the resurrection the week before we preach about the resurrection? Well, because Maddie put this series together and this is where she told me to preach it. It's more than that. It's way more than that. Because this is the moment where people had to make a choice. A lot of the other miracles, I don't want to say they could be explained away, but there was a little wiggle room. Maybe there was a natural phenomenon. Maybe they weren't really dead. Maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe. Maybe the feeding of the 5,000 was just people being generous and digging out. Like all those maybes. I don't believe those, but I'm just saying there was a little maybe. This is a sign. In fact, it tells us later that when the enemies of Jesus wanted to kill Jesus, they also had Lazarus on their hit list because they knew this was different. And so the sign came, and now people have to make a choice. And a bunch of people decided, oh yeah, this is a Messiah. And we have Palm Sunday. Not long after. This is what led to Palm Sunday. This is what brought the crowd together in Hosanna, Hosanna, that we've been singing about today. And this is also the moment where it had been talked about before, and there had been intense, but they're the leaders that were trying to control things and not let this thing get out of control. They're like, we've got to do something. So this moment led to both Palm Sunday and Good Friday. This was a sign. And the choice echoes throughout history down to us. Do you believe this? Do you believe this? Now, do you believe generically that there's a resurrection and that we'll be with Jesus someday or we'll be in heaven someday or we'll be in a good place someday? That's the eternity written in our hearts for every human being. But do you believe that Jesus is the one that makes that possible? And also I also want you to notice what the question is not. The question is not, do you understand this? Hey everybody, hey Martha, do you understand everything that's going on here? Because the answer to that would have been no, this is crazy. I don't get all this. I think sometimes when we come to putting our faith in Jesus, we have to, we we have this mental mindset. I don't understand all this. Understanding will come, by the way, when faith starts the journey. You'll learn more and more, and you'll never stop learning what it means that Jesus died for you and rose from the dead. But the question is, do you believe this? Are you ready to are you ready to put your life on this truth? And the question also was not, the question was not, does this answer all of your questions and resolve all of your doubts? I I just have to be honest, and it it frustrates me when I when I hear people trying to have this idea that it's either faith or doubt. You don't need faith if you don't have any doubts. Jesus will help you through the doubts. Your doubts are fine. I think you've been around here enough, you know we've created that environment where you can have your doubts and questions. But the question is, will we trust Jesus and let him work on our doubts? And the last thing, the last question that's that this is not is can you show me that you're worthy of this? Martha, have you been a good girl? Do you deserve this miracle? Do you deserve this sign? Have you worked hard enough, proven yourself to me that I can use my power? No, none of that. None of that. Do you believe this? Very simple question. Do you believe not in a generic belief in the afterlife, but that Jesus is the resurrection and life? And that this life is not only power over physical death, but power over spiritual death that is operative in our lives right now. The resurrection of Lazarus does us no good except being an inspiration. It's a sign. If you're going to go to Estes Park, the signs along the way will help you get there, but you're not there till you get to Estes Park. The resurrection of Jesus is what transforms us, and the resurrection of Lazarus proves that that resurrection matters. And the resurrection of Jesus means not only someday the eternity that's written in our heart will be manifest by living forever in his presence, but that it can start now. I love, listen to Romans 8. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the spirit gives life because of the righteousness. And if the here, catch this phrase. And if the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of the spirit who lives in you. This power that was unleashed when Jesus said, Lazarus come forth, this power that was unleashed when Jesus rose from the dead through the Spirit is available for us who say yes to Jesus, that I believe this. It's what Montana needed. It's what New Orleans needed. It's what the therapy pastor needed. It's what you need, it's what I need, it's what everyone around us needs. Jesus' resurrection provides answers to our biggest questions, power to deal with our deepest loss, and the presence that we are longing for in relationship. The only thing left for us to consider is do we believe this? And that's the question I leave with you. Do we believe this? And why not today? Why not today to be like Mary and Martha, who say, okay, this general understanding of Jesus is coming into focus. I still have a lot of questions. I don't understand everything, but I'm hearing him say, you don't deserve this, you don't earn this, but I want to give you this gift of eternal life. And as I said earlier, this is the road we were going on, and now we're here. There's not going to be any pressure. You know me well enough. You've been around connect enough. Nobody's gonna make you stand, no one's gonna have you raise your hand, but we are gonna say, as we're doing baptisms, or in that last song that we sing, if you want to go talk to someone across the way to help that flesh that out, we would love to have that conversation. If you want to be baptized today to say, you know, I believe this, and I just kind of been floating around with this idea of baptism, and there's reasons and excuses I haven't done it, but today I want to do it. I want to make this happen. We would love to have that conversation with you. So do you believe this? I'm gonna pray a little bit, a little bit of a prayer that you can make your own. Don't just say these words with me, but a little bit of a prayer that you can center your thoughts on, and maybe today this will be the day that you say yes to this. And by the way, if you do that, I would love if you talk to one of our staff or somebody trusted in the congregation to help solidify that. So, Lord, thank you for being the risen Lord. Thank you for showing that you are the risen Lord through the sign of Lazarus. Would you in this moment enter my life as I confess my sin to you? I confess I can't do this on my own. Jesus, I believe you died and rose for me. I don't understand it all. I still have questions, I still have doubts, I know I can't earn it, but I trust you with my life. I answer yes to the question you ask Martha. Yes. I believe it. And Lord help me to walk in obedience as I grow and learn to understand.