WEBVTT 00:00:13.679 --> 00:00:16.320 Welcome to City Church Dublin Sermon Archives. 00:00:16.480 --> 00:00:21.199 Join us this week as we continue to work through the book of John in our series The Gospel of John. 00:00:24.480 --> 00:00:29.120 Today's reading is from John chapter 11, verses 1 to 44. 00:00:29.920 --> 00:00:34.960 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 00:00:35.280 --> 00:00:41.759 It was Mary who anointed the Lord with the anointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. 00:00:42.079 --> 00:00:47.119 So the sisters went to him, saying, Lord, he whom you love is ill. 00:00:47.439 --> 00:00:52.159 But when Jesus heard, heard it he said, The illness will not lead to death. 00:00:52.399 --> 00:00:57.280 It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it. 00:00:58.479 --> 00:01:01.920 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and her Lazarus. 00:01:02.079 --> 00:01:07.200 So when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in this in the place where he was. 00:01:08.159 --> 00:01:12.799 Then after this he said to the disciples, Let us go to Judea again. 00:01:13.040 --> 00:01:19.120 The disciples said to him, Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and you are going there again? 00:01:19.599 --> 00:01:23.439 Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? 00:01:23.680 --> 00:01:28.640 If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble because he sees the light in this world. 00:01:28.959 --> 00:01:33.519 But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles because the light is not in him. 00:01:34.159 --> 00:01:41.599 After saying these things he said to them, Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him. 00:01:42.560 --> 00:01:46.799 The disciples said to him, Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover. 00:01:47.680 --> 00:01:53.200 Now Jesus had spoken about his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. 00:01:53.920 --> 00:02:02.079 Then Jesus told him plainly, Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that he I was not there, so that you may believe. 00:02:02.319 --> 00:02:03.920 But let us go to him. 00:02:04.400 --> 00:02:11.280 So Thomas, called the twin, said to his fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him. 00:02:13.280 --> 00:02:17.759 Now when Jesus came he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:26.479 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Mary and Martha to console them concerning their brother. 00:02:27.039 --> 00:02:32.719 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, Jesus went and met him, or she went and met him. 00:02:33.039 --> 00:02:35.759 But Mary remained seated in the house. 00:02:36.319 --> 00:02:41.840 Martha said to Jesus, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 00:02:42.400 --> 00:02:47.680 But even uh but even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you. 00:02:48.080 --> 00:02:50.960 Jesus said to her, Your brother will rise again. 00:02:51.120 --> 00:02:56.080 And Martha said to him, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day. 00:02:56.479 --> 00:03:00.479 Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection resurrection and the life. 00:03:00.639 --> 00:03:04.479 Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet he shall live. 00:03:04.800 --> 00:03:08.000 And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. 00:03:08.319 --> 00:03:09.680 Do you believe this? 00:03:10.080 --> 00:03:16.800 And she said to him, Yes, Lord, I believe that you are Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world. 00:03:17.840 --> 00:03:24.879 When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, The teacher is here and is calling for you. 00:03:25.360 --> 00:03:28.800 And when she when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. 00:03:29.439 --> 00:03:35.199 Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but it was still in the place where Martha had met him. 00:03:35.840 --> 00:03:47.039 When the Jews were who when the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary quickly rise and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 00:03:48.319 --> 00:03:58.479 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. 00:03:59.360 --> 00:04:08.960 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her were were also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. 00:04:09.280 --> 00:04:11.759 And he said, Where have you laid him? 00:04:12.000 --> 00:04:14.400 They said to him, Lord, come and see. 00:04:14.879 --> 00:04:16.240 Jesus wept. 00:04:17.600 --> 00:04:20.720 So the Jews said, See how he loved him. 00:04:21.040 --> 00:04:29.279 But some of them said, Could he not o could he, could not he who opened the eyes of a blind man, have also kept this man from dying? 00:04:29.759 --> 00:04:33.360 Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. 00:04:33.680 --> 00:04:36.560 It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 00:04:36.800 --> 00:04:39.360 And Jesus said, Take away the stone. 00:04:39.920 --> 00:04:47.040 Martha the sister of the dead man said to him, Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead for four days. 00:04:47.279 --> 00:04:53.199 And Jesus said to her, Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God? 00:04:54.079 --> 00:05:01.439 So they took away the stone, and Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, Father, I thank you for I thank you that you have heard me. 00:05:01.600 --> 00:05:09.759 I knew that you have always heard me, but I I say this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you have sent me. 00:05:10.879 --> 00:05:15.360 When he had said these things, he cried out in a loud voice, Lazarus, come out. 00:05:15.920 --> 00:05:22.800 The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his head wrapped with a cloth. 00:05:22.959 --> 00:05:26.399 And Jesus said to him, Unbind him and let him go. 00:05:26.639 --> 00:05:28.399 And so reads God's Word. 00:05:30.879 --> 00:05:33.120 And it's great to open God's Word with you. 00:05:33.279 --> 00:05:41.279 Uh God's word is contained in the sixty-six books that we have uh with us in the Bible, as we call it, the scripture, uh, the word of God. 00:05:41.519 --> 00:05:44.319 And uh this is uh an incredible book to come to. 00:05:44.560 --> 00:05:56.399 I don't know if you're uh used to reading books or not so much, um, but each author in the Word of God had a purpose behind what he was trying to do. 00:05:56.720 --> 00:06:04.160 Uh, this was a purpose that was governed, we believe, by the Holy Spirit as he inspired the authors, but also that the author himself consciously came to. 00:06:04.240 --> 00:06:13.439 Um and John is very upfront about what his purpose is when he writes the Gospel of John, and it's a purpose statement that is very much in line with what we're looking at this morning. 00:06:13.519 --> 00:06:19.519 And so I would like to turn your attention to it in John chapter 20, verses 30 and 31. 00:06:19.920 --> 00:06:34.160 Because if you know why John wrote his book, and then you listen to what we've just read in the light of what John was trying to do, then you'll see exactly where he wants to bring you in this sermon. 00:06:35.199 --> 00:06:42.000 John chapter 20, verses 30 and 31 reads, Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 00:06:43.040 --> 00:06:55.120 But these are written, these signs, including the sign concerning Lazarus, these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. 00:06:55.519 --> 00:07:14.800 So as you listen to what Jesus did that day in Bethany, John is hoping that as you walk through the text, that bit by bit you will believe that Jesus, the one who is in this passage, that he is the Christ, the Messiah sent from God, and not only that, but he's the Son of God Himself. 00:07:15.439 --> 00:07:23.680 And that as that belief takes root in your heart, then you will begin to have life in the name of Jesus. 00:07:24.079 --> 00:07:27.120 That's the project, that's the idea. 00:07:27.759 --> 00:07:36.000 Victor Hugot said, Il n'y a plus de plus lourd fardeau que d'exister sans vivre. 00:07:36.319 --> 00:07:39.519 I'll translate that for you who don't know French that well. 00:07:40.160 --> 00:07:46.639 He said there's no heavier burden than to exist without living. 00:07:47.600 --> 00:07:50.480 No heavier burden to exist without living. 00:07:50.639 --> 00:07:57.920 And John would say that if you haven't yet come to the point in your life where you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, then that's exactly your situation. 00:07:58.000 --> 00:08:00.079 You're existing, but you're not living. 00:08:00.240 --> 00:08:05.680 You haven't yet met the one who says, I have come that you might have life and life to the full, abundant life. 00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:10.879 Jesus is there on the pages of John's gospel, and he's saying, Please come to me. 00:08:11.040 --> 00:08:12.160 Please believe in me. 00:08:12.240 --> 00:08:17.199 And as you believe in me, then you will find new life bubbling up inside you. 00:08:17.600 --> 00:08:20.959 You will find that your life will never be the same. 00:08:21.759 --> 00:08:29.279 So that's what John wants to do in all of his gospel, and that's what John wants to do in the passage that we had so nicely read for us. 00:08:29.519 --> 00:08:45.120 And we're going to walk through this passage together, and we're going to look at these questions about who Jesus is and about how belief in him brings us into eternal life and what that quality of life that we have in Jesus is actually like. 00:08:46.159 --> 00:08:54.080 And the first thing we notice in this passage that we had read for us, and these titles should appear bit by bit as I talk, is that Jesus waits. 00:08:55.759 --> 00:08:56.559 Jesus waits. 00:08:56.879 --> 00:09:00.720 So just bear that in mind as we walk through the first few verses of this text. 00:09:00.960 --> 00:09:02.639 The characters are introduced in verse one. 00:09:02.960 --> 00:09:06.639 Lazarus of Bethany, Mary, and Martha, a family that Jesus loved. 00:09:06.879 --> 00:09:13.039 Jesus will be anointed by Mary one chapter later, and this is an amazing foreshadowing of what will happen to Jesus. 00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:18.559 Because Mary, when she anoints Jesus in verse two, she anoints him in the prospect of his burial. 00:09:18.720 --> 00:09:23.919 In other words, right in 11.2, John is reminding us that Jesus will die. 00:09:24.480 --> 00:09:25.759 Jesus is going to die. 00:09:25.919 --> 00:09:26.720 Remember that. 00:09:26.960 --> 00:09:28.960 His hour is coming, he will die. 00:09:29.039 --> 00:09:31.600 And he wants us to remember that right at the beginning of this story. 00:09:31.840 --> 00:09:33.840 Because this is a story about life and death. 00:09:34.000 --> 00:09:35.759 This is a story about your life and death. 00:09:35.919 --> 00:09:37.840 It's a story about Lazarus' life and death. 00:09:38.000 --> 00:09:42.000 It's a story about Jesus' life and death. 00:09:43.200 --> 00:09:49.360 And so there in verse 2, we have this reminder that Jesus will be prepared for his burial by an anointing. 00:09:49.679 --> 00:09:55.679 But, and this is the drama, this is the tension, Lazarus is ill, so ill that he's going to die. 00:09:55.840 --> 00:09:59.360 So, verse 3, the sisters send an SOS. 00:09:59.679 --> 00:10:02.639 They dial for the ambulance. 00:10:03.519 --> 00:10:06.240 Lord, he whom you love is ill. 00:10:07.039 --> 00:10:07.919 Please come. 00:10:08.320 --> 00:10:09.519 Please come quickly. 00:10:10.080 --> 00:10:11.279 He's at death's door. 00:10:11.519 --> 00:10:12.559 It's urgent. 00:10:13.039 --> 00:10:13.919 Please come. 00:10:15.279 --> 00:10:21.360 Who among you, if you got a message like that from a friend, wouldn't drop everything and go straight away? 00:10:23.679 --> 00:10:32.480 But verse 4, when Jesus heard it, he said, This illness does not lead to death, it's for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it. 00:10:35.600 --> 00:10:42.720 You see, the people in this story are concentrating on the case in point. 00:10:42.960 --> 00:10:44.080 Lazarus is sick. 00:10:44.240 --> 00:10:51.039 And Jesus wrenches us away from that and makes us concentrate on something else, the glory of God. 00:10:51.679 --> 00:10:56.000 And so as we walk through this story, we'll be playing between these two areas. 00:10:56.399 --> 00:11:03.919 Lazarus, who is sick, and then dead, the glory of God, and how those two things work together. 00:11:05.679 --> 00:11:09.039 The one whom you love is ill. 00:11:09.360 --> 00:11:10.960 And here we get to the point. 00:11:11.200 --> 00:11:16.080 Look at verses five and six and see what John says. 00:11:20.240 --> 00:11:25.039 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 00:11:26.639 --> 00:11:35.840 So when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. 00:11:45.039 --> 00:11:48.720 Verse 5 does indeed confirm that Jesus loves the family. 00:11:49.440 --> 00:11:50.799 He does love the family. 00:11:51.919 --> 00:11:54.080 But verse 6 is a surprise. 00:11:54.320 --> 00:11:55.840 It seems so perplexing. 00:11:56.000 --> 00:11:57.120 It seems so confusing. 00:11:57.279 --> 00:11:58.559 It doesn't seem to make sense. 00:11:58.799 --> 00:12:00.799 Jesus loves them, verse 5. 00:12:01.120 --> 00:12:11.519 So, or therefore, or for that reason, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. 00:12:17.200 --> 00:12:20.000 He stays two days longer without helping them. 00:12:20.639 --> 00:12:21.919 And he waits. 00:12:22.240 --> 00:12:23.519 He's the master of time. 00:12:23.679 --> 00:12:24.559 He is the Lord. 00:12:24.720 --> 00:12:26.080 He decides what to do. 00:12:26.240 --> 00:12:28.000 He decides when he wants to do it. 00:12:28.240 --> 00:12:30.240 He is no one's genie in a bottle. 00:12:30.399 --> 00:12:31.679 He is no one's slave. 00:12:31.840 --> 00:12:37.600 He acts for his glory, and we'll find out that when he acts for his glory, he acts, in fact, for our good. 00:12:37.840 --> 00:12:39.279 Jesus waits. 00:12:42.240 --> 00:12:50.799 The conversation that happens in the verses that follow, verses 7 to 16, helps us understand why waiting was, in fact, the loving thing to do. 00:12:51.600 --> 00:12:55.120 Jesus tells the disciples that they will go to Bethany via Judea. 00:12:55.279 --> 00:13:01.600 The disciples is often the case, object on the basis of a human calculation of the apparent danger of being stoned. 00:13:01.679 --> 00:13:06.480 Who that's a real danger because Jesus has annoyed the Jews considerably. 00:13:07.440 --> 00:13:20.240 Jesus' answer in verse 9 reveals the confident assurance of one who has understood that there is an allotted time for everything, that God will see his purposes through. 00:13:20.399 --> 00:13:21.600 Look at verse 9. 00:13:21.840 --> 00:13:23.519 Are there not 12 hours in the day? 00:13:31.440 --> 00:13:38.240 Jesus knows what he has to do, he knows that he's got a time in which he's got to do it, and he is determined to see it through. 00:13:39.519 --> 00:13:47.200 Jesus can wait because he knows there are twelve hours in the day, and that there is yet light to walk in. 00:13:48.000 --> 00:13:54.879 The Jews will indeed be instrumental in Jesus' death, but not before the appointed time. 00:13:55.600 --> 00:13:56.159 Not yet. 00:13:57.679 --> 00:14:01.440 So Jesus will go through Judea unconcerned. 00:14:01.759 --> 00:14:06.559 He is going in verse 11 to wake Lazarus up. 00:14:08.320 --> 00:14:11.120 Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to wake him up. 00:14:11.679 --> 00:14:16.960 The disciples say to him, Lord, if he's fallen asleep, there's no need to wake him up, it'll get better himself. 00:14:18.240 --> 00:14:21.039 But Jesus explains, he's talking about his death. 00:14:21.919 --> 00:14:23.279 Lazarus has died. 00:14:23.840 --> 00:14:27.679 And verse 15 shows us why he has waited. 00:14:28.720 --> 00:14:29.519 Look at it with me. 00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:34.960 For your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. 00:14:35.919 --> 00:14:37.679 But let us go to him. 00:14:39.120 --> 00:14:45.039 Jesus is waiting and waiting so that the disciples will believe. 00:14:48.399 --> 00:14:52.000 And everything will be made clear as the story progresses. 00:14:55.200 --> 00:15:02.080 When Jesus gets to Bethany, we find out that Lazarus has been dead for four days. 00:15:02.240 --> 00:15:03.360 Look at verse 17. 00:15:04.399 --> 00:15:08.879 When Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 00:15:09.279 --> 00:15:11.679 The scriptures of this number should not be lost on us. 00:15:12.000 --> 00:15:21.200 The superstition at the time was that the spirit of the deceased remained around the body for three days, with the possibility of re-entering the body. 00:15:21.440 --> 00:15:27.440 After three days, it was universally acknowledged that the deceased was no longer only partly dead. 00:15:27.840 --> 00:15:29.519 Has anybody seen The Princess Bride? 00:15:30.159 --> 00:15:30.559 Yeah. 00:15:31.200 --> 00:15:36.480 Lazarus is not partly dead, or mostly dead, but he's totally dead. 00:15:37.039 --> 00:15:38.240 Four days have elapsed. 00:15:39.840 --> 00:15:48.799 You see, because Jesus waited, Lazarus is dead, and everybody must acknowledge it. 00:15:49.440 --> 00:15:55.440 And so the crowd is there from Jerusalem in Bethany to console Mary and Martha. 00:15:56.240 --> 00:15:58.480 Jesus has waited and is waiting still. 00:15:59.519 --> 00:16:04.639 And Martha, when she hears that Jesus has come, leaves the crowd and hurries to meet him. 00:16:05.600 --> 00:16:12.399 Verses 21 and 22 are a model of faith in the face of grief and disappointment. 00:16:13.600 --> 00:16:22.879 If you had been there, if you had waited, if you had not had your prayer verse 3 answered, you would be like Martha in this passage. 00:16:23.200 --> 00:16:23.759 See what she says? 00:16:23.919 --> 00:16:24.720 Verse 21. 00:16:30.879 --> 00:16:36.080 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you. 00:16:39.039 --> 00:16:41.840 Jesus' answer shows that he's still waiting. 00:16:42.080 --> 00:16:45.519 Your brother will rise again, he says, in verse 23. 00:16:45.759 --> 00:16:49.440 Martha says to him, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day. 00:16:49.600 --> 00:16:50.960 It's a kind of generic statement. 00:16:51.120 --> 00:16:52.000 Lazarus will die. 00:16:52.080 --> 00:16:52.720 We all know that. 00:16:52.879 --> 00:16:54.559 It's coming, but he's dead now. 00:16:54.720 --> 00:16:56.720 And my heart is broken, says Martha. 00:16:58.320 --> 00:17:01.120 Jesus takes this answer and builds on it. 00:17:01.360 --> 00:17:04.319 He doesn't dispute what she says, but he goes much, much further. 00:17:04.480 --> 00:17:14.880 In the verse that follows, he's going to tie all future hope of resurrection, all future hope of restoration, redemption to his person and to his work. 00:17:17.039 --> 00:17:22.480 Jesus says to her, I am the resurrection and the life. 00:17:23.119 --> 00:17:29.599 Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. 00:17:29.839 --> 00:17:31.359 Do you believe this? 00:17:32.319 --> 00:17:38.079 She said to him, Yes, Lord, I believe that you're the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world. 00:17:38.319 --> 00:17:39.680 Verse 27. 00:17:40.640 --> 00:17:42.400 Jesus says, I am. 00:17:43.279 --> 00:17:48.400 And I'm sure that if you walk through this gospel, you've noticed the many ways in which Jesus asserts his divinity. 00:17:48.480 --> 00:17:52.319 And one of his preferred ways of asserting his divinity is to say, I am. 00:17:52.720 --> 00:17:54.559 I am the bread of life. 00:17:54.960 --> 00:17:57.759 I am the resurrection and the life. 00:17:58.000 --> 00:18:07.920 In the same way that the Lord revealed himself at the burning bush as I am, the one who is uncontingent life, preexistent, eternal, creator, sufficient in himself, needing nothing and nobody. 00:18:08.160 --> 00:18:10.160 So Jesus says, I am. 00:18:11.279 --> 00:18:14.720 And in that moment, he is saying, I am God. 00:18:15.519 --> 00:18:18.400 But he follows this claim with an even more startling one. 00:18:18.640 --> 00:18:24.880 He says that he is in this order both the resurrection and the life. 00:18:26.240 --> 00:18:28.480 This is another foreshadowing of what is to come. 00:18:28.640 --> 00:18:36.480 Just as the anointing is preparation for burial, so the resurrection is only possible after a death. 00:18:37.279 --> 00:18:42.000 Jesus will not just provide resurrection for his people at the end. 00:18:43.599 --> 00:18:49.759 He is the resurrection, the one who has conquered death personally. 00:18:50.559 --> 00:18:56.559 He is the life, the one who lives and who gives abundant life. 00:18:56.799 --> 00:19:04.240 He is the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep in order to give them abundant life. 00:19:05.920 --> 00:19:09.440 Martha is no doubt amazed at these words. 00:19:09.519 --> 00:19:13.039 And she responds to exactly with the confession of faith that John says he wants all to come to you. 00:19:13.200 --> 00:19:14.559 Do you remember what we read at the beginning? 00:19:14.880 --> 00:19:17.920 I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world. 00:19:18.079 --> 00:19:26.240 John says, I've written these things that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you might have life in his name. 00:19:27.599 --> 00:19:32.400 Jesus is waiting, the fact that he hasn't yet done anything about Lazarus. 00:19:32.640 --> 00:19:36.079 Jesus is waiting, is beginning to produce the desired effect. 00:19:36.319 --> 00:19:39.359 Martha is beginning to believe. 00:19:39.599 --> 00:19:47.920 And therefore, at this moment, with her brother in the grave, Martha is beginning to experience eternal life. 00:19:49.440 --> 00:19:52.799 Because she believes, not having seen. 00:19:57.359 --> 00:20:05.039 Jesus' encounter with Mary is both a repeat of his conversation with Martha and a movement towards a scene at the tomb. 00:20:06.160 --> 00:20:09.359 Mary comes to Jesus in the following verses with exactly the same words. 00:20:09.519 --> 00:20:12.480 If you had been here, my brother would not have died. 00:20:12.720 --> 00:20:14.559 And Jesus is still waiting. 00:20:18.079 --> 00:20:21.119 John's first readers were in a similar situation. 00:20:21.279 --> 00:20:32.640 From their perspective, John was asking them to believe in a Jesus who had left this earth via the resurrection and the ascension and who was coming back at an unknown time in the future. 00:20:33.920 --> 00:20:39.279 They will read in a few chapters that they are blessed in that belief without having seen. 00:20:40.880 --> 00:20:46.480 And we too experience the waiting of Jesus. 00:20:47.680 --> 00:20:48.720 Jesus waits. 00:20:49.519 --> 00:20:57.279 How many times in your life have you said if Jesus had been there, this wouldn't have happened? 00:20:58.640 --> 00:21:14.480 Whether that's a personal trauma, a bereavement, a crisis, or a war, or a natural disaster affecting thousands upon thousands, if Jesus had been here, this would not have happened. 00:21:15.359 --> 00:21:16.559 Jesus waits. 00:21:17.200 --> 00:21:18.160 Even today. 00:21:18.720 --> 00:21:24.960 But this text will not allow us to say that Jesus waits because he does not love us or because he is unaware. 00:21:25.440 --> 00:21:31.920 One day we will understand that as verses five and six say, He loves us, therefore he waits. 00:21:43.119 --> 00:21:46.799 It's a hard truth because it decenters us from ourselves. 00:21:47.039 --> 00:21:53.200 It makes our life orbit around the glory of God and not God orbit around our lives. 00:21:53.519 --> 00:21:57.680 But friends, it is the only life that makes sense ultimately. 00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:17.359 Only as we come to terms with the fact that the glory of God is the primary driver, not just of life, the universe, and everything, but of our particular life and the intimate circumstances of our particular life, we'll be able to live well in this veil of tears. 00:22:18.000 --> 00:22:22.240 Jesus waits because he loves us. 00:22:25.599 --> 00:22:31.440 The second thing that we see in this text is that Jesus weeps. 00:22:31.759 --> 00:22:37.759 We see it in verses 33 to 35, and it takes us to the emotional heart of this passage. 00:22:38.559 --> 00:22:39.839 Jesus weeps. 00:22:40.079 --> 00:22:46.079 That Jesus' wailing was not due to indifference, is beautifully displayed for us in these verses. 00:22:47.359 --> 00:22:49.920 Jesus sees Mary weeping. 00:22:50.240 --> 00:22:53.039 Jesus sees the Jews weeping. 00:22:53.200 --> 00:22:57.680 They're experiencing the normal effects of bereavement, grief, and mourning. 00:22:57.839 --> 00:23:00.640 And Jesus' response is deeply emotional. 00:23:00.960 --> 00:23:06.160 He, being the Son of God, being the Messiah sent from God, Jesus weeps. 00:23:06.720 --> 00:23:12.880 He weeps first of all with rage, and then second of all with grief. 00:23:13.119 --> 00:23:14.880 Look at verse 33 with me. 00:23:15.920 --> 00:23:23.440 In verse 33, Jesus is deeply moved and troubled, according to translation here that we have. 00:23:24.079 --> 00:23:37.279 But all the lexical commentators agree that what is described here is a reaction of deep indignation and anger on the one hand and personal angst on the other. 00:23:38.000 --> 00:23:43.359 He is deeply moved, and he is troubled. 00:23:43.839 --> 00:23:48.640 That word troubled, we will find it in chapter 12, when Jesus is contemplating his own death. 00:23:48.799 --> 00:23:52.880 And we'll find it in chapter 13 when Judas betrays Jesus. 00:23:53.119 --> 00:23:56.079 Jesus is troubled, he is angst-ridden. 00:23:56.720 --> 00:23:58.160 But he is deeply moved. 00:23:58.240 --> 00:24:04.400 And that word deeply moved means that he was in a hot anger, rage, indignation. 00:24:06.480 --> 00:24:07.680 He is angry. 00:24:08.240 --> 00:24:11.839 And his weeping has to do with his anger. 00:24:13.599 --> 00:24:16.160 Why is Jesus anger? 00:24:16.640 --> 00:24:18.880 Why is he so indignant? 00:24:19.599 --> 00:24:22.319 It's not directed against the weeping of Mary. 00:24:22.400 --> 00:24:30.319 It's not directed against the weeping of the Jews, even if some of the Jews who are there are professional lamenters paid to come and weep at the tomb. 00:24:30.720 --> 00:24:39.200 The anger that Jesus has is provoked and displayed by Jesus as a response to death itself and to the ultimate cause of death. 00:24:40.160 --> 00:24:47.039 When we look at Jesus' visceral response at Lazarus' tomb, we see what the Son of God thinks of death. 00:24:47.200 --> 00:24:50.079 He thinks it is an outrage. 00:24:50.880 --> 00:24:56.079 He thinks it's an intruder into the world that he himself spoke into being. 00:24:56.480 --> 00:25:01.279 He sees death as an enemy that must be defeated. 00:25:01.759 --> 00:25:03.920 Death should not be. 00:25:05.519 --> 00:25:07.839 And that's how we feel, is it not? 00:25:08.160 --> 00:25:14.720 Faced with death and destruction, as we look at the war in Ukraine, we think this should not be. 00:25:15.200 --> 00:25:20.400 As we look at people damaged and destroyed by sin in the world, we say this should not be. 00:25:20.559 --> 00:25:21.680 This is wrong. 00:25:21.920 --> 00:25:24.480 Human death has no place in our world. 00:25:24.720 --> 00:25:27.599 We feel that God has placed eternity in our hearts. 00:25:27.759 --> 00:25:30.480 We feel that we're destined for abundant life. 00:25:30.640 --> 00:25:32.960 We feel that death should not be. 00:25:34.480 --> 00:25:37.119 This is why Jesus is deeply moved. 00:25:37.759 --> 00:25:39.680 He knows that death should not be. 00:25:39.920 --> 00:25:45.200 He knows that death is there because sin has entered into the world. 00:25:45.359 --> 00:25:55.599 He knows that because human beings rebelled against their creator in the Garden of Eden and brought upon themselves the promised consequences, on the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die. 00:25:56.720 --> 00:26:02.000 Jesus' rage is directed against death and directed against sin. 00:26:05.519 --> 00:26:13.680 The second reason that Jesus is weeping is because he has a deep empathy with Mary and the mourners. 00:26:13.920 --> 00:26:20.480 The conclusion of verse 36, after the shortest verse in the Bible, Jesus wept is true. 00:26:21.039 --> 00:26:25.119 So the Jews said, See how he loved him. 00:26:26.640 --> 00:26:28.000 See how he loved him. 00:26:28.160 --> 00:26:29.119 That's correct. 00:26:29.359 --> 00:26:40.319 His love for Lazarus in particular, but also the world in general, as represented by Lazarus as he lies in his tomb, moves him to tears of empathy and grief. 00:26:41.920 --> 00:26:44.720 He waited because he loved. 00:26:46.000 --> 00:26:49.759 And he wept because he loved. 00:26:50.720 --> 00:27:01.359 We need to hear and believe that still today, these two attitudes that made Jesus weep are still entirely consistent with our risen Lord. 00:27:02.319 --> 00:27:06.799 He is outraged and angry at sin and death. 00:27:07.599 --> 00:27:11.759 He is outraged and angry at the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 00:27:12.000 --> 00:27:19.039 He is outraged and angry at those who abuse and hurt fellow human beings. 00:27:19.200 --> 00:27:25.119 He is outraged and angry at all sin and at all the consequences of sin. 00:27:26.160 --> 00:27:32.480 And at the same time, he is deeply empathetic with those who suffer the consequences of sin. 00:27:32.720 --> 00:27:34.880 That is to say, all of us. 00:27:35.519 --> 00:27:37.519 He is not indifferent. 00:27:37.839 --> 00:27:39.279 He is not unmoved. 00:27:39.440 --> 00:27:41.279 He is not above the fray. 00:27:41.920 --> 00:27:46.720 John has been showing us all through his gospel that the world became flesh and dwelt among us. 00:27:46.960 --> 00:27:48.400 He enters into our world. 00:27:54.960 --> 00:27:56.559 Jesus weeps. 00:27:59.759 --> 00:28:09.519 If this was the end of the story, we'd be left with a God who cares, but who is ultimately unable to do anything to change the situation. 00:28:10.079 --> 00:28:13.440 Which is why our last heading is so important. 00:28:14.640 --> 00:28:15.920 Jesus wins. 00:28:18.480 --> 00:28:25.440 In verse 38, Jesus is still outraged, deeply moved again. 00:28:26.240 --> 00:28:32.880 And he comes to this tomb in that state of righteous indignation. 00:28:34.079 --> 00:28:37.440 I'm sure you've all experienced that at least once in your life. 00:28:37.680 --> 00:28:48.000 When you know that you're right, and when you know that you're right to be angry, and when you know that you're right to be angry against this situation, and that motivates you and carries you along. 00:28:48.640 --> 00:28:54.319 Anger and rage and hatred are called forth correctly when sin is there. 00:28:55.119 --> 00:28:58.480 And Jesus moved deeply again, comes to the tomb. 00:28:58.960 --> 00:29:01.359 It was a cave and a stone lay against it. 00:29:02.079 --> 00:29:05.680 Not the first time that we hear of a cave and a stone. 00:29:06.319 --> 00:29:14.400 And Jesus says, and I can almost hear him controlling his voice take away the stone. 00:29:16.079 --> 00:29:18.880 He's about to do battle with death. 00:29:20.400 --> 00:29:23.680 And he wants him to roll away the stone so that he can do it. 00:29:24.720 --> 00:29:32.160 Martha comes with an objection that proves once again that decomposition has set in and the order would be strong. 00:29:34.720 --> 00:29:36.640 Lazarus is really dead. 00:29:37.359 --> 00:29:40.880 And Jesus is ready to do battle. 00:29:42.319 --> 00:29:49.599 Did I not tell you, says Jesus in verse 40, that if you believed, you would see the glory of God. 00:29:52.079 --> 00:29:56.559 At that point, nobody objects anymore and they roll away the stone. 00:29:58.400 --> 00:30:00.240 Jesus lifts up his eyes to heaven. 00:30:00.480 --> 00:30:11.119 He prays a prayer that shows that what he is doing is inviting those people who see what he does to believe that God himself has sent Jesus into the world to do exactly this. 00:30:11.359 --> 00:30:16.960 This whole episode is constructed so that people will see and believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. 00:30:17.119 --> 00:30:21.680 And so he cries out in a loud voice, Lazarus, come out. 00:30:26.160 --> 00:30:27.599 And Jesus wins. 00:30:28.559 --> 00:30:33.759 Because the dead man hears his voice, and Lazarus comes out. 00:30:34.319 --> 00:30:40.000 Confronted by death and decay, by sin and its consequences, Jesus commands, and it is so. 00:30:40.480 --> 00:30:42.640 He is victorious. 00:30:43.119 --> 00:30:49.839 Lazarus comes out with all the trappings of death still around him, the bandages that wrapped his body. 00:30:50.960 --> 00:30:55.279 Jesus says, unbind him and let him go. 00:30:57.759 --> 00:31:01.279 Lazarus is both saved and set free. 00:31:01.759 --> 00:31:05.359 Jesus is the resurrection and the life. 00:31:07.039 --> 00:31:15.200 In a short while, Jesus will himself be laid in a grave, having confronted sin and death, an ultimate time on the cross. 00:31:15.440 --> 00:31:20.079 Jesus will lay down his life for us on our behalf, taking our sin and the punishment deserves. 00:31:20.319 --> 00:31:23.359 His victory here is temporary because Lazarus will die again. 00:31:23.519 --> 00:31:26.559 His victory then is permanent and eternal. 00:31:26.640 --> 00:31:31.519 Because if he lays down his life, it is because he has the power to lift it up again. 00:31:32.160 --> 00:31:34.160 He has life in himself. 00:31:34.559 --> 00:31:37.839 He is the resurrection and the life. 00:31:38.079 --> 00:31:45.759 Lazarus is the sign and the promise that although Jesus may wait, he will win in general. 00:31:46.480 --> 00:31:49.839 And he will win in particular. 00:31:50.480 --> 00:31:58.000 He will win in general because one day he will do for the whole cosmos what he did for Lazarus, what he did for himself at the resurrection. 00:31:58.319 --> 00:32:06.960 He will redeem and restore all things, saying to them, Come out, unbind, set free. 00:32:07.920 --> 00:32:09.599 He will make all things new. 00:32:09.759 --> 00:32:14.400 He will say to all of the created order, Come out, and the universe will obey. 00:32:14.720 --> 00:32:25.279 Jesus will say, Of the whole universe, unbind it and let it go, and the bondage of creation will be undone when the sons of God are revealed. 00:32:26.799 --> 00:32:32.880 But if he will do it in particular, or in general, he will also do it in particular. 00:32:34.160 --> 00:32:41.440 For those of us who believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, then we will have life in his name individually. 00:32:43.920 --> 00:33:16.480 Me, Philip Moore, with all that I've experienced, with all that I've gone through, with all my pains and all my grief, all the ravages of sin in my life, it Jesus will win on my behalf and in my particular situation, so that nothing I have experienced will ultimately be definitive of me apart from the fact that Jesus saved me. 00:33:17.759 --> 00:33:19.599 And that is true for you too. 00:33:19.839 --> 00:33:33.200 And as you think about these three titles in this passage, Jesus waits, Jesus weeps, and Jesus wins, that applies directly to you this morning. 00:33:34.559 --> 00:33:46.000 Nothing that you have experienced will ultimately be definitive or decisive, even if at the minute you experience Jesus' waiting as agony. 00:33:47.920 --> 00:33:50.000 Jesus is waiting because he loves you. 00:33:51.200 --> 00:33:53.599 He is weeping because he loves you. 00:33:54.160 --> 00:33:57.599 And he will win because he loves you. 00:34:00.880 --> 00:34:04.079 And all of this will be for our good. 00:34:05.599 --> 00:34:08.719 And all of this will be for the glory of God. 00:34:09.840 --> 00:34:10.559 All of it. 00:34:11.679 --> 00:34:13.440 Not one wasted tear. 00:34:15.599 --> 00:34:17.119 Not one wasted tear. 00:34:19.679 --> 00:34:25.840 And when we say that, when we say that this is all for our good, and this is all for the glory of God, there is no distinction. 00:34:26.000 --> 00:34:33.119 That God be glorified, though we don't understand at the moment, is what we most need and what we should most desire. 00:34:36.639 --> 00:34:39.039 And so I'd like to finish with a question. 00:34:39.679 --> 00:34:42.400 It's the question that we find right in the middle of this passage. 00:34:46.000 --> 00:34:55.360 When Jesus says to Martha, do you believe this is the question that I can't answer for anyone. 00:34:55.599 --> 00:35:02.400 I can't answer it for the Christian who is here suffering and wondering what's God doing in their life. 00:35:02.639 --> 00:35:08.159 And I can't answer it for those people who haven't yet taken that step of faith towards the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:35:08.400 --> 00:35:11.599 It's a question that only the individual can answer. 00:35:11.840 --> 00:35:13.519 Do you believe this? 00:35:14.559 --> 00:35:35.360 Believing it means resting your whole life upon it, trusting in it completely, putting all your chips on the table, embetting everything that you have on the fact that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing him, you will have life in the full right now and forever, beyond the grave, that if you believe in him, you will never die. 00:35:36.239 --> 00:35:40.480 It means investing everything that you have for that and in that. 00:35:41.280 --> 00:35:43.760 It means forgetting to trust anything else that you might have. 00:35:43.840 --> 00:35:51.760 It means saying to yourself that nothing I am, nothing I can do, not any good works that I might achieve can contribute in any way in this process. 00:35:52.000 --> 00:35:57.039 Only Jesus, only his death, only his resurrection, only his life. 00:35:57.280 --> 00:35:59.440 They're the only things that can count for me. 00:35:59.679 --> 00:36:01.199 Do you believe this? 00:36:03.679 --> 00:36:11.519 And when I asked my wife to marry me, uh I had to ask the question, and then she had to answer it. 00:36:11.760 --> 00:36:19.280 And because she said yes, uh, 25 years ago we got married, it's very similar in the Christian life. 00:36:20.480 --> 00:36:24.559 The question has been asked, do you believe this? 00:36:26.639 --> 00:36:28.719 And an answer is expected. 00:36:29.679 --> 00:36:38.880 And John is pleading with you in John chapter 11 to say, Yes, I believe. 00:36:39.280 --> 00:36:43.840 And then he wants you to experience abundant life in his name. 00:36:57.360 --> 00:37:03.760 If you found this helpful or want to know more about City Church Dublin, please visit our website found at the link below.