WEBVTT 00:00:00.239 --> 00:00:05.120 This brings us to the end of our current sermon series on the miracles of Jesus. 00:00:05.200 --> 00:00:13.279 We've been walking through the Gospel of John, looking at Jesus and his particular miracles along the way. 00:00:13.439 --> 00:00:18.879 Today we look at uh the ri the rising of Lazarus from the death. 00:00:19.519 --> 00:00:21.760 Next week uh begins Advent. 00:00:22.079 --> 00:00:25.839 Uh and so we're excited for the Christmas season. 00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:28.640 Uh we've already started playing Christmas music in our house. 00:00:28.800 --> 00:00:31.920 I'm outing us uh pre-Thanksgiving. 00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:33.759 I don't know what y'all's traditions are. 00:00:34.000 --> 00:00:39.600 But today is the last uh Sunday of the Christian calendar. 00:00:39.759 --> 00:00:43.600 The Christian calendar actually begins next week, the beginning of Advent. 00:00:43.679 --> 00:00:55.679 And the last day of the Christian calendar is Christ the King Sunday, where we celebrate both the victory of Jesus and the death of Jesus and how he brought victory through death. 00:00:55.840 --> 00:01:03.759 And we're gonna see that this morning in this story of Lazarus, Jesus' victory over death that comes through death. 00:01:04.159 --> 00:01:07.439 Now the story tells us so much about Jesus. 00:01:07.599 --> 00:01:09.840 And it also tells us a lot about ourselves. 00:01:09.920 --> 00:01:12.640 It's long for the Gospels. 00:01:12.799 --> 00:01:17.200 Um we didn't read the whole passage, it's verses 1 through 44. 00:01:17.359 --> 00:01:24.480 And we don't have nearly enough time to cover everything that's in this incredibly written and crafted story. 00:01:24.640 --> 00:01:30.159 I commend it to you as something to go and meditate on, perhaps this week. 00:01:30.719 --> 00:01:31.840 Excuse me. 00:01:33.120 --> 00:01:40.000 It's a story that wrestles with some of the deepest human questions that face all of us. 00:01:40.159 --> 00:01:51.200 Those of suffering and loss, those of doubt, those of uh seeing loved ones suffer and die, and questioning even the goodness of God. 00:01:51.359 --> 00:01:54.959 If you've experienced any of those things, then you're in good company. 00:01:55.200 --> 00:01:58.319 And this passage has much to say to us. 00:01:58.879 --> 00:02:02.640 Um again, this this passage has more than we can cover today. 00:02:02.719 --> 00:02:11.360 So I've I've picked out four points that I think uh speak particularly to us today, and let's jump in and see what those are. 00:02:12.000 --> 00:02:18.960 First point all that Jesus does and allows is for the glory of the Father and the Son. 00:02:19.120 --> 00:02:22.240 Let's look at verses one through four again. 00:02:22.960 --> 00:02:30.159 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 00:02:30.319 --> 00:02:37.599 It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. 00:02:37.840 --> 00:02:42.400 So the sisters sent to him saying, Lord, he whom you love is ill. 00:02:42.639 --> 00:02:46.800 But when Jesus heard it, he said, This illness does not lead to death. 00:02:46.960 --> 00:02:53.599 It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it. 00:02:54.719 --> 00:02:58.639 Jesus' friend, Lazarus, is deathly sick. 00:02:58.800 --> 00:03:00.960 He knows this family, he knows them well. 00:03:01.039 --> 00:03:05.120 And Lazarus' sisters, Mary and Martha, are famous in the Gospels. 00:03:05.199 --> 00:03:12.560 They appear multiple times in some pretty uh influential and uh well-known stories in the Gospels. 00:03:12.639 --> 00:03:14.960 And so they have the inside track. 00:03:15.039 --> 00:03:16.000 Jesus is their friend. 00:03:16.159 --> 00:03:19.919 He has stayed with them in their home, he knows them well, he loves them. 00:03:20.080 --> 00:03:23.120 They send this note saying they don't even name their brother. 00:03:23.199 --> 00:03:28.879 They say the one whom you love is sick and ill. 00:03:29.039 --> 00:03:33.919 What's interesting is they don't actually, at least what's recorded for us, they don't ask for anything. 00:03:34.800 --> 00:03:40.000 They simply believe that letting Jesus know the situation is enough. 00:03:40.479 --> 00:03:44.319 They know him well enough to trust him to know what to do. 00:03:44.479 --> 00:03:52.639 This story begins with beautiful faith in this family, both Mary and Martha and Lazarus himself. 00:03:53.199 --> 00:03:55.840 And his response is incredibly encouraging, right? 00:03:56.080 --> 00:04:06.000 He says in front of his disciples, but probably in front of the messenger who brought the letter, he says, This sickness will not lead to or end in death. 00:04:06.400 --> 00:04:07.919 But it has a purpose. 00:04:08.240 --> 00:04:10.879 This illness hasn't come out of nowhere, it has a purpose. 00:04:11.039 --> 00:04:17.279 It is for the glory of God and that his son may be glorified through it. 00:04:17.439 --> 00:04:18.639 This is great news. 00:04:18.800 --> 00:04:22.399 Can you imagine being Mary and Martha or Lazarus? 00:04:23.839 --> 00:04:32.160 They got word from their Lord, the Messiah, that this illness is not going to lead to death. 00:04:32.560 --> 00:04:35.120 We're starting off in a good place. 00:04:35.360 --> 00:04:44.160 Now, briefly, I wanted to talk about the word glory because it's one of those Christian words that we say all the time but often don't know what it means, right? 00:04:44.399 --> 00:04:45.439 This is for God's glory. 00:04:45.600 --> 00:04:46.319 Well, what does that mean? 00:04:46.480 --> 00:04:49.839 Well, it means something very tangible, concrete, and distinct. 00:04:49.920 --> 00:05:00.639 It means that through this illness, something is going to happen that will cause God's people, when they see it, to rejoice, to give thanks. 00:05:01.279 --> 00:05:04.639 So the glory of God is his greatness on display. 00:05:04.720 --> 00:05:10.560 And when we see it, it causes us to respond with thanksgiving and joy. 00:05:11.600 --> 00:05:14.560 That's what is about to come. 00:05:15.120 --> 00:05:17.839 That they would respond, how great is our God. 00:05:18.000 --> 00:05:23.519 And so, again, for Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, this is very encouraging. 00:05:24.000 --> 00:05:26.480 That leads us to our second point. 00:05:26.800 --> 00:05:35.360 Hardship and suffering in no way reflect or contradict God's declaration of love over us. 00:05:35.600 --> 00:05:37.199 Look at verse 5. 00:05:38.240 --> 00:05:40.160 Uh, this continues the passage. 00:05:40.319 --> 00:05:45.120 John writes, Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 00:05:46.000 --> 00:05:49.360 Now, why would John insert this here? 00:05:49.680 --> 00:05:51.759 It's almost like an aside, right? 00:05:52.319 --> 00:05:57.360 He starts the story, the one whom you love is sick, and he says this is not going to end in death. 00:05:57.439 --> 00:06:00.079 And then John just inserts this line. 00:06:00.240 --> 00:06:04.240 Now, I want you to know, Jesus loves this family. 00:06:05.519 --> 00:06:07.279 Why would John insert that? 00:06:07.759 --> 00:06:16.160 Well, I think if you know what is coming in the rest of the story, you know that you might question Jesus' love for this story. 00:06:16.480 --> 00:06:18.399 Jesus is going to delay. 00:06:18.639 --> 00:06:21.199 We're told he intentionally waits. 00:06:21.519 --> 00:06:31.439 He doesn't immediately go to Bethany, a multi-day walk, travel from Galilee, where he is, back down near Jerusalem. 00:06:31.839 --> 00:06:45.360 And so John wants us to know, it's like he's putting this at the very beginning to say, hey, everything that you read, following here, know that it comes in the context of God's love. 00:06:48.800 --> 00:06:52.639 It's a simple point, but one that I think that we forget. 00:06:52.800 --> 00:06:59.120 If you're like me, when suffering enters my life, I tend to question God's love for me. 00:06:59.279 --> 00:07:00.319 Is he paying attention? 00:07:00.480 --> 00:07:01.040 Is he good? 00:07:01.279 --> 00:07:02.639 Have I done something wrong? 00:07:02.959 --> 00:07:14.959 John anticipates and knows those questions because he's asked them himself, and he wants to set us at ease and wants to set everything that will happen in that context. 00:07:16.000 --> 00:07:25.279 Now, this aside gives us another important point of application, and that is this don't interpret the story until it's over. 00:07:26.240 --> 00:07:33.920 How many of us, when suffering enters into our own lives, we draw the conclusion that God must be done with us. 00:07:34.079 --> 00:07:36.480 He must be asleep, he must not care. 00:07:36.720 --> 00:07:38.319 Maybe he's not even there. 00:07:38.720 --> 00:07:39.199 Why? 00:07:39.360 --> 00:07:46.319 Because what's happening to me doesn't jive with this truth I've been told all my life, that Jesus loves me. 00:07:47.040 --> 00:07:54.000 But this story is an incredible weaving together of something we've all experienced. 00:07:54.399 --> 00:08:00.000 Jesus has declared, he has made a promise, this sickness will not end in death. 00:08:00.720 --> 00:08:10.560 And yet, as it unfolds, both Mary and Martha and Lazarus himself will come to question that promise and question the goodness of God. 00:08:11.439 --> 00:08:22.399 But sometimes for us to follow Jesus and to believe his promises requires for us to walk by faith because what we experience and what we see doesn't line up with the promises of God. 00:08:23.519 --> 00:08:29.839 And the irony of that is that the scriptures tell us that over and over and over again. 00:08:30.079 --> 00:08:34.080 That's why we need to be literate in the scriptures. 00:08:34.240 --> 00:08:37.919 The Old as well as the New Testament, the Psalms are filled. 00:08:39.039 --> 00:08:40.559 Do you know Psalm 88? 00:08:41.200 --> 00:08:44.960 It's the only psalm that doesn't end with praise. 00:08:45.759 --> 00:08:48.399 It actually ends with questioning God. 00:08:49.759 --> 00:08:51.279 Will I exist in darkness? 00:08:51.440 --> 00:08:52.399 Will I live in darkness? 00:08:52.559 --> 00:08:56.240 Will I live in depression and despair all of my days? 00:08:56.799 --> 00:09:05.279 Why would a psalm exist in the Bible that doesn't come around at the end and say, oh, but God, you're still good. 00:09:05.519 --> 00:09:06.879 And I trust you. 00:09:07.279 --> 00:09:10.799 Because God knows God is not threatened by our emotions. 00:09:11.039 --> 00:09:12.639 He's not threatened by our doubt. 00:09:12.879 --> 00:09:19.679 And he wants us to know that he sees us and he knows us and we can be honest with him. 00:09:20.720 --> 00:09:21.360 All right. 00:09:21.759 --> 00:09:25.519 Third, Jesus is with us in our suffering. 00:09:25.600 --> 00:09:27.200 This is the meat of this passage. 00:09:27.600 --> 00:09:30.320 It's probably what you've seen if you're familiar with this passage. 00:09:30.720 --> 00:09:35.759 It's what stirs our hearts and connects us most deeply with this passage. 00:09:36.080 --> 00:09:40.080 Jesus comes finally to Bethany. 00:09:40.159 --> 00:09:44.639 We're told in verse 6 that he intentionally delays. 00:09:44.799 --> 00:09:51.759 Now in verse 17, he says, When Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had been dead four days. 00:09:55.919 --> 00:09:58.720 What do you think was happening during those four days? 00:10:00.399 --> 00:10:11.840 Four days of grief, four days of confusion, four days of questions, four days of silence from Jesus. 00:10:12.799 --> 00:10:35.519 Not to mention the days between when they got the message back from Jesus saying, this will not end in death, the initial elation, followed by some anxiety in the waiting, finally with some desperation at the end as Jesus fine, Lazarus finally died. 00:10:36.480 --> 00:10:38.320 Jesus didn't show up. 00:10:39.519 --> 00:10:42.000 What do you think this family was thinking? 00:10:43.360 --> 00:10:49.840 A couple weeks ago I got to lead my son's uh Cub Scout Den meeting. 00:10:49.919 --> 00:10:51.039 There was a lesson. 00:10:51.519 --> 00:10:52.480 Duty to God. 00:10:52.559 --> 00:10:54.879 And guess who they asked to lead that? 00:10:56.159 --> 00:10:57.360 Your dad's a pastor? 00:10:57.519 --> 00:10:58.159 Hey. 00:10:58.799 --> 00:10:59.679 It was awesome. 00:10:59.840 --> 00:11:00.639 It was great. 00:11:01.039 --> 00:11:07.840 We talked about faith and these kids' individual faith and the faith of their families and their backgrounds. 00:11:08.480 --> 00:11:14.720 And beforehand, I gave them a list of five questions to go through with their parents and to answer for themselves. 00:11:14.799 --> 00:11:17.200 And one was, what's your favorite thing about your faith? 00:11:17.360 --> 00:11:20.879 And one question was, what's your least favorite thing about your faith? 00:11:21.039 --> 00:11:25.919 And I was amazed, these kids, these fifth graders, and their responses. 00:11:26.159 --> 00:11:33.519 And one in particular, he said, the his least favorite thing about his faith is when God doesn't answer my prayers. 00:11:34.320 --> 00:11:37.600 Man, what a great answer. 00:11:38.159 --> 00:11:40.080 What an honest answer. 00:11:40.559 --> 00:11:46.879 Even as children, we know that experience of heartache, of disappointment, of confusion. 00:11:47.840 --> 00:11:58.879 When we open our heart to God, when we ask him for things that we need as well as what we want, and he doesn't answer the way we want. 00:11:59.120 --> 00:11:59.919 We think he will. 00:12:00.080 --> 00:12:02.320 We think he should. 00:12:03.120 --> 00:12:04.080 We ask questions. 00:12:04.240 --> 00:12:06.159 Did I do something wrong? 00:12:07.759 --> 00:12:08.960 Does God care? 00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:11.279 Is he even there? 00:12:14.399 --> 00:12:16.639 Does he listen to my prayers? 00:12:17.279 --> 00:12:21.519 I'm gonna ask you this morning, where is Jesus not showing up for you? 00:12:23.919 --> 00:12:28.480 Where are you asking these same questions in your own life? 00:12:29.759 --> 00:12:34.480 Some of us grew up in churches where it wasn't okay to voice these doubts. 00:12:35.440 --> 00:12:38.480 We've all had them and they became our secret shame. 00:12:38.720 --> 00:12:40.480 Everyone else seems to have it together. 00:12:40.639 --> 00:12:43.120 Jesus seems to answer everyone else's questions. 00:12:43.360 --> 00:12:48.879 I just need to hold on to this, hide it, and bury it deep. 00:12:49.519 --> 00:12:55.519 I think this passage here, this story, is here to tell us that that's not what we're supposed to do. 00:12:56.480 --> 00:12:58.559 That God knows the human experience. 00:12:58.799 --> 00:13:00.639 He knows us better than we know ourselves. 00:13:00.720 --> 00:13:09.440 And just like Mary and Martha, he wants us to bring those emotions, those questions, those doubts to him. 00:13:11.679 --> 00:13:16.000 And that's exactly what we see Mary and Martha do in our in our very story. 00:13:16.720 --> 00:13:19.279 Though they do it in very different ways, don't they? 00:13:19.759 --> 00:13:21.440 Have you noticed that in this story? 00:13:21.519 --> 00:13:27.039 When Martha hears that Jesus is on his way and when he's nearing the village, he's not even there. 00:13:27.200 --> 00:13:30.799 I think John tells us specifically, he's still a couple miles away. 00:13:30.960 --> 00:13:35.519 Martha hears, she immediately gets up and she runs to Jesus. 00:13:36.000 --> 00:13:40.799 She meets him on the path, and she immediately engages him. 00:13:41.600 --> 00:13:47.200 Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 00:13:47.519 --> 00:13:50.480 This fits with the Martha we know from the scriptures, right? 00:13:50.960 --> 00:14:02.960 She's having a dinner party at her house and she's doing all she can to host this group of disciples and people there, and she's frantic and she says to Jesus, Hey, tell my sister to get up and help me. 00:14:03.840 --> 00:14:05.279 She's type A. 00:14:05.919 --> 00:14:10.399 She takes matters into her own hands. 00:14:10.879 --> 00:14:19.519 And so while she's grieving and while she's asking questions, as soon as Jesus draws near, she she runs to him and she engages him face to face. 00:14:20.559 --> 00:14:22.559 And she exhibits great faith. 00:14:22.799 --> 00:14:24.399 She's not condemned for this. 00:14:24.639 --> 00:14:30.879 She says, her very next words are, if you had been here, my brother wouldn't have died. 00:14:31.039 --> 00:14:37.279 But even now I know that if you ask the Father, he will give you what you ask for. 00:14:38.480 --> 00:14:41.039 And Jesus engages her in conversation. 00:14:41.120 --> 00:14:48.399 And because of the way she engages him, we're given some beautiful truth that maybe we didn't know before. 00:14:48.559 --> 00:14:52.000 Jesus says, I am the resurrection and the life. 00:14:52.159 --> 00:14:55.519 And your brother will rise again. 00:14:58.000 --> 00:15:02.799 Now, Mary, interestingly, she doesn't get up when she hears that Jesus is coming. 00:15:02.879 --> 00:15:04.399 She stays in the house. 00:15:05.679 --> 00:15:06.320 Why? 00:15:06.799 --> 00:15:13.120 Well, we're not told, and so uh we use our redeemed imaginations a little bit. 00:15:13.600 --> 00:15:19.679 And we think maybe she's asking questions about, well, he's here, but my brother is dead. 00:15:19.919 --> 00:15:21.679 What good can he do now? 00:15:22.240 --> 00:15:29.279 Maybe she wonders, he didn't come in time, maybe he doesn't really love us the way we thought he did. 00:15:29.600 --> 00:15:31.440 He took his own sweet time. 00:15:33.039 --> 00:15:37.840 But when she hears, when Martha comes back, she brings a message from Jesus. 00:15:38.000 --> 00:15:40.480 He he waits for her outside the village. 00:15:42.159 --> 00:15:44.559 She says, The master is asking for you. 00:15:45.039 --> 00:15:48.320 And immediately Mary gets up and she runs to Jesus. 00:15:48.399 --> 00:15:58.639 I I think to me that shows uh this desire to want to believe that Jesus loves her, and yet that doubt that held her back. 00:15:59.360 --> 00:16:02.960 And as soon as she heard the invitation, she responds. 00:16:03.360 --> 00:16:04.320 She runs. 00:16:04.639 --> 00:16:06.159 And what does she do? 00:16:07.919 --> 00:16:11.759 She doesn't engage Jesus with words, really. 00:16:14.960 --> 00:16:28.879 Consumed by grief and sadness, she falls at Jesus' feet, weeping, and she says and she says the exact same thing that Martha said, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 00:16:30.159 --> 00:16:37.120 Is John trying to communicate something in the exactness of those two questions, those two statements? 00:16:37.279 --> 00:16:40.159 Or is this what Mary and Martha have been talking about for four days? 00:16:40.240 --> 00:16:42.799 And so it's the first thing on their lips. 00:16:45.840 --> 00:16:50.559 And what's fascinating is how Jesus' response perfectly adapts to each sister. 00:16:51.759 --> 00:17:01.759 With Martha, he engages her with words, he engages her statement, her questions, and reveals more of himself to her in that moment. 00:17:02.639 --> 00:17:09.200 But with Mary, who is overcome with emotion and grief and has no words, Jesus gives no words. 00:17:10.480 --> 00:17:18.559 But we're told, John says, that he was deeply moved in his spirit and he was greatly troubled. 00:17:19.519 --> 00:17:29.279 And if you're a Greek nerd or a Bible nerd, you go and you want to look at what those words mean, it means that Jesus was deeply grieved. 00:17:29.359 --> 00:17:33.039 He felt authentically, deeply grilled. 00:17:33.279 --> 00:17:42.720 As he saw, John tells us as he saw Mary weeping, and the Jews who had come from Jerusalem, who were mourning with them as he saw them, he was moved. 00:17:44.400 --> 00:17:49.839 He dwelt with them in their sadness, their grief, and their agony, and he wept. 00:17:50.799 --> 00:17:55.119 The famous shortest verse in the Bible. 00:17:55.759 --> 00:18:00.480 You see, Jesus, though fully God, was not aloof. 00:18:00.640 --> 00:18:03.519 He was not separated, knowing what would happen. 00:18:03.599 --> 00:18:06.160 He knew clearly at the beginning of the story how it would end. 00:18:06.319 --> 00:18:12.400 And yet, as he was here with Mary and Martha, he was completely present with them in their grief. 00:18:12.559 --> 00:18:18.079 And he grieved with them in the way that was appropriate for them. 00:18:20.319 --> 00:18:29.519 He knew he was coming to face the great enemy of God, death, and defeat it with his own death. 00:18:29.680 --> 00:18:36.720 And yet he was there, fully present with Mary and Martha. 00:18:37.519 --> 00:18:49.839 And as I read this, uh as I was thinking about this passage, my wife reminded me of this Andrew Peterson song that I love, and he the uh name of the song is Always Good. 00:18:50.559 --> 00:18:55.279 And he has this line in there, he says, Do you remember how Mary was grieving? 00:18:55.680 --> 00:18:59.039 How you wept and she fell at your feet? 00:18:59.279 --> 00:19:05.119 If it's true that you know what I'm feeling, could it be that you're weeping with me? 00:19:06.240 --> 00:19:14.880 I think it so beautifully captures the truth that the scripture conveys that when we go through suffering and when we're tempted to ask, does God care? 00:19:15.039 --> 00:19:16.079 Has he forgotten me? 00:19:16.240 --> 00:19:17.279 Does he even exist? 00:19:17.519 --> 00:19:21.680 The reality is that he is right there with us through the Spirit. 00:19:22.240 --> 00:19:24.720 And he weeps with us. 00:19:24.960 --> 00:19:25.920 But can't he control? 00:19:26.160 --> 00:19:27.680 Couldn't he have made it so that didn't happen? 00:19:27.839 --> 00:19:35.599 Couldn't, yes, all of those questions are present here in the story, even as they are present with us, and yet the scriptures don't answer those questions. 00:19:35.680 --> 00:19:41.759 What they say is that Jesus is with us, he is fully present. 00:19:42.960 --> 00:19:47.279 He weeps with us, and he will engage our questions. 00:19:49.759 --> 00:19:53.759 Jesus being God is not so removed from our human experience. 00:19:54.079 --> 00:19:55.279 It is cold and aloof. 00:19:55.359 --> 00:20:05.440 No, he fully embodies and fulfills Isaiah 53 that tells us surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. 00:20:06.559 --> 00:20:11.920 In this story, in this encounter with Mary and Martha, Jesus fulfills Isaiah 53. 00:20:12.720 --> 00:20:23.440 He grieves with them, he mourns with them, he rages with them against death that has intruded on God's good creation. 00:20:25.200 --> 00:20:31.119 Sometimes we are full of questions and need to engage God in words. 00:20:31.839 --> 00:20:36.319 And sometimes we're so overcome with sadness and confusion and grief that we can't. 00:20:36.799 --> 00:20:38.079 And that's okay. 00:20:39.039 --> 00:20:45.839 Paul tells us that the Spirit groans within us with prayers that you can't put words to. 00:20:51.920 --> 00:20:54.319 Jesus meets us just where we are. 00:20:55.359 --> 00:20:57.279 He weeps with those who weep. 00:20:57.680 --> 00:21:01.519 And he reveals some of those himself to those who ask. 00:21:02.160 --> 00:21:09.839 Now, some of you, including, and maybe especially the men, maybe you need to put away some questions. 00:21:10.960 --> 00:21:15.839 Put them to the side for a moment, some roadblocks, some barriers between you and Jesus. 00:21:16.160 --> 00:21:18.319 And you just need to bring your hurt to him. 00:21:19.200 --> 00:21:20.640 And you need to weep. 00:21:21.680 --> 00:21:26.880 You need to feel his tears on the back of your neck and his embrace. 00:21:28.400 --> 00:21:34.240 Put away your anger and receive his compassion, brothers and sisters. 00:21:34.480 --> 00:21:36.319 That leads us to our fourth point. 00:21:37.359 --> 00:21:44.799 Jesus came to free us, yes, from the powers of sin and death, but also from everything that binds us. 00:21:46.000 --> 00:21:50.000 Fear, slavery to sin, everything. 00:21:50.400 --> 00:21:53.039 Now, first, I want I don't want you to miss this. 00:21:53.200 --> 00:21:56.000 We get a glimpse into why Jesus did what he did. 00:21:56.160 --> 00:21:58.240 Why did he wait a few days? 00:21:58.400 --> 00:21:59.759 Well, we're told throughout the story that. 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:20.160 Because there was this four days since Jesus' death and Lazarus' death and Jesus' arrival, it gave time for a group, a great number actually, of those from Jerusalem who knew this family that all came to Bethany to help this family to grieve and to prepare Lazarus for burial. 00:22:20.319 --> 00:22:30.079 And so a great crowd had gathered around this family so that when Jesus did what he knew he was going to do, they were there to see it. 00:22:30.240 --> 00:22:32.559 You see, Jesus had a plan. 00:22:33.759 --> 00:22:41.039 And he knew that this death and this miracle would have greater impact because of his delay. 00:22:41.359 --> 00:22:43.920 Everything he does has a purpose. 00:22:46.160 --> 00:22:47.440 And so he comes. 00:22:47.680 --> 00:22:54.400 Now he's spoken with Martha, he has wept with Mary, and now he comes to Lazarus in the tomb. 00:22:54.480 --> 00:22:58.319 And he he commands, he orders, let the stone be removed. 00:22:59.039 --> 00:23:01.920 And Martha is still confused, you know. 00:23:02.559 --> 00:23:07.359 She has no idea what Jesus is going to do, or that he has power over death. 00:23:07.440 --> 00:23:14.640 And so she gives that kind of funny response, Lord, uh, four days, you know, this guy stinks. 00:23:14.880 --> 00:23:17.920 It's gonna stink when we open this tomb. 00:23:18.640 --> 00:23:31.279 And Jesus turns to her, and in my my mind, I think he has a twinkle in his eye, and he he smiles at her and he says, Didn't I tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God? 00:23:32.480 --> 00:23:38.960 And now, as the stone is removed, he he orders Lazarus to come forth. 00:23:39.839 --> 00:23:49.920 And even Lazarus, the dead man, as John calls him, responds, obeys the very words of God to come alive. 00:23:50.079 --> 00:24:03.519 And he's shuffling out of this little tomb, still wrapped in the ceremonial garments, the burial garments of cloth, and Jesus gives the final command unbind him and let him go. 00:24:05.680 --> 00:24:13.359 John, this master, storyteller, these this line, this sentence communicates what this story is all about. 00:24:13.519 --> 00:24:15.519 This is why Jesus came. 00:24:16.079 --> 00:24:30.799 To unbind us and to let us go, to unbind us from the powers of death, the fear of death, to unbind us from slavery to sin and hatred, and to free us to love and to know Him. 00:24:32.000 --> 00:24:49.039 And yes, to free us from fear of future death and future judgment because we've been forgiven of our sins, but Jesus' deep desire as he meets with Mary and Martha is to free us from the fears that control us in our day-to-day lives. 00:24:49.599 --> 00:24:51.920 Fear of man, idolatry. 00:24:52.720 --> 00:24:58.240 Jesus wants us to know that he has power over all of those things. 00:24:58.400 --> 00:25:10.880 And so it's not just the future that we look forward to, but it's the very present, the very now that Jesus is at work, freeing us, unbinding us, and letting us go. 00:25:11.039 --> 00:25:17.279 This is what Jesus is doing in our own lives to reveal the love of God to his people. 00:25:18.079 --> 00:25:31.759 You see, Mary and Martha and Lazarus himself would never have seen or understood the extent, the full extent of Jesus' love and power and reason for coming if he had not allowed Lazarus to die. 00:25:32.480 --> 00:25:34.640 And he does the same thing in our own lives. 00:25:34.880 --> 00:25:48.559 He allows suffering and hardship to come into our own lives that cause us and invite us to ask these desperate questions because it's in asking those questions and bringing them to the Lord that we receive the answers. 00:25:49.519 --> 00:25:54.880 That we have put our faith in other people other than the Lord. 00:25:55.039 --> 00:25:59.920 We've put our faith in our titles and in our money and in our things. 00:26:00.400 --> 00:26:08.400 They continue to let us down, and it's only when those idols crumble that we cry out to the true and living God. 00:26:09.200 --> 00:26:10.799 And he meets us. 00:26:11.359 --> 00:26:22.319 He says, I love you, and I died for you, and I will resurrect you on the last day, and you will never need to experience this again. 00:26:23.359 --> 00:26:28.000 Beloved, this story is about what Jesus is doing in your life. 00:26:28.559 --> 00:26:35.279 He wants you to trust his promises in the valley when things are going wrong, when you don't understand. 00:26:35.680 --> 00:26:37.359 Yes, it means waiting. 00:26:37.519 --> 00:26:39.599 Yes, it means wrestling. 00:26:39.839 --> 00:26:43.039 It doesn't mean putting away your questions and walking in blind faith. 00:26:43.200 --> 00:26:55.519 It means engaging with Jesus right where it hurts, right where the confusion is, and listening to his response, feeling his embrace, experiencing his tears. 00:27:02.319 --> 00:27:10.160 He wrote this: If we knew what God knows, we would always ask for what God gives. 00:27:10.720 --> 00:27:12.400 There's a lot of wisdom in that line. 00:27:12.559 --> 00:27:16.079 If we knew what God knows, we would always ask for what he gives. 00:27:16.160 --> 00:27:16.400 Why? 00:27:16.559 --> 00:27:18.079 Because we know God is good. 00:27:18.720 --> 00:27:23.039 And we know that he has our best intentions at heart, right? 00:27:23.119 --> 00:27:24.880 That's what Romans chapter 8 tells us. 00:27:25.039 --> 00:27:27.519 That all things must work together for our good. 00:27:28.000 --> 00:27:34.160 But our human minds struggle to understand and to wrap themselves around what is happening. 00:27:34.240 --> 00:27:46.400 And so we walk by faith, trusting in the promises of God, bringing our hearts and our questions and our tears to Jesus and allowing him to minister to us in that way. 00:27:48.319 --> 00:27:50.559 Jesus loves you, Redeemer Church. 00:27:50.799 --> 00:27:51.599 Run to Him. 00:27:51.759 --> 00:27:52.960 Let's pray. 00:27:53.279 --> 00:27:55.039 Our Father and our God. 00:27:56.160 --> 00:27:57.920 Lord, this is hard. 00:27:58.240 --> 00:27:59.759 This is hard to do. 00:28:00.240 --> 00:28:01.759 But we thank you for the story. 00:28:01.920 --> 00:28:05.440 We thank you that this is a struggle that is common to man. 00:28:06.720 --> 00:28:07.759 And so you address it. 00:28:07.839 --> 00:28:09.680 You tell us not to be afraid. 00:28:10.079 --> 00:28:12.720 You tell us that you weep with those who weep. 00:28:13.359 --> 00:28:14.720 You know us, Lord. 00:28:15.039 --> 00:28:24.640 Free us by your Spirit to run more freely to you and experience the joy of knowing more fully your radical love for us. 00:28:24.720 --> 00:28:25.920 We pray in Jesus' name. 00:28:26.160 --> 00:28:26.640 Amen.