Death Is Defeated
Download MP3I invite you to open your bibles to John chapter 11. John chapter 11. Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair. His brother Lazarus was ill.
Joel Brooks:So the sisters sent to him saying, Lord, he whom you love is ill. But But when Jesus heard it, he said, this illness does not lead to death. And it's for the glory of God, so that the son of God may be glorified through it. Now, Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed 2 days longer in the place where he was.
Joel Brooks:Then, 2 days longer in the place where he was. Then after this, he said to his disciples, let us go to Judea again. The disciples said to him, rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again? Jesus answered, are there not 12 hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble because he sees the light of the world.
Joel Brooks:But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles because the light is not in him. After saying these things, he said to them, our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him. The disciples said to him, Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover. Now, Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest and sleep. Then Jesus told him plainly, Lazarus has died.
Joel Brooks:And for your sake, I'm glad that I was not there so that you may believe. But let us go to him. So Thomas called the twins, said to his fellow disciples, let us also go that we may die with him. Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb 4 days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, about 2 miles off, And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother.
Joel Brooks:So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him. But Mary remained seated in the house. Martha said to Jesus, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now, I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you. Jesus said to her, your brother will rise again.
Joel Brooks:Martha said to him, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day. Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?
Joel Brooks:When Jesus had said this, she went and called her sister Mary saying in private, the teacher is here and is calling for you. And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. And And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. Now, Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who were with him in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there.
Joel Brooks:Supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 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. And he said, where have you laid him? They said to him, Lord, come and see. Jesus swept.
Joel Brooks:So the Jews said, see how he loved him. But some of them said, could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying? Then Jesus deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave and a stone lay against it. And Jesus said, take away the stone.
Joel Brooks:Martha, the sister of the dead man said to him, Lord, by this time there will be an odor for he has been dead 4 days. Jesus said to her, And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around that they may believe that you sent me. When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, Lazarus, come out. The man who had died came out.
Joel Brooks:His hands and feet bound with linen strips and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, unbind him and let him go. This is the word of the Lord. It speaks to God. Pray with me.
Joel Brooks:Our father, we ask that through your spirit, you would open up our hearts and minds to receive this word. Spirit of God that you would lift up high the name of Jesus and you would draw us irresistibly to him in this place. I pray that my words would fall to the ground, blow away, and not be remembered anymore. But Lord, may your words remain, and may they change us. We pray this in the strong name of Jesus.
Joel Brooks:Amen. Outside of the 3 years in which he did ministry. But in the gospel of John, as always, it's more than just a miracle. It's a sign. This is a this is a gigantic sign pointing to who Jesus is and what our future hope is.
Joel Brooks:The story begins with Jesus getting used concerning an illness of Lazarus. Lazarus was the brother of Martha and the brother of Mary. And apparently, he was very close to Jesus. He is known simply as the one whom you loved. There was, there was no other introduction needed.
Joel Brooks:Lazarus is loved by J. Anything of Jesus. They didn't make any demands. They didn't ask Jesus to come and heal him. They didn't ask for a miracle.
Joel Brooks:They simply let Jesus know It's a great picture of prayer. If we don't know what to pray, we at least know who to go to. And we just say, Jesus, here it is. Here it is. Jesus responds to their news in verse 4.
Joel Brooks:His response here in verse 4 really is gonna define this entire chapter. Read with me. But when Jesus heard it, he said, These are the words that are going to be conveyed back to Martha and to Mary. And these are the words that Jesus is later going to bring back up, back up. He's gonna refer to them when there is a resistance to him opening up the tomb.
Joel Brooks:The rest of this story, we really need to see through the lens of these words that Jesus speaks to them. Jesus says that this illness does not lead to death or it does not end in death. And then he says that it's going to result in the glory of God. So just as Jesus when the disciples were looking at that man who was born blind and they said, why is this man born blind? Was it his sin or his father's?
Joel Brooks:And he said, it was neither. It was so that the glory of God might be displayed here. Jesus, once again, he points out suffering. He says, all suffering has a purpose. All pain has meaning.
Joel Brooks:And it's for the glory of God. This is all part of a divine plan to glorify Jr. That this illness will not lead to death. These were the words that they were supposed to hold on to. And so as Lazarus is getting sicker and sicker, they're holding on to these words.
Joel Brooks:Jesus said, this is not a sickness that will lead to death. And then as the doctors come in and say, there's really nothing more we could do, they're they have to hold on to Jesus's words. Jesus said, this is not a sickness that will lead to death. And then when Lazarus breathes his last, they're to hold on to these words. And to say, Jesus said though, This is the hope they were supposed to have.
Joel Brooks:To lead to death or end in death. It was going to go through death to something greater. And that's what Jesus is saying here. Jesus does not say that Lazarus will not die. He is saying that death will not be the end.
Joel Brooks:This illness not will not lead to death. It's going to lead through death to something far greater. And this is the hope of Mary. It's the hope of Martha. It's the hope of Lazarus.
Joel Brooks:And it's the hope of us here in this room. Our hope is that when we are at death's door, we see it just as that. A door. We don't see it as a wall in which we hit and that's the end of the road. We see it as a door that we go through into something greater.
Joel Brooks:We read that Jesus really does love these people. And you would expect to read after that. So Jesus immediately he heads off to Bethany, but that's not what we read. It's really odd when he's just been given news that the one he loved is sick, that he actually just stays. He does nothing.
Joel Brooks:I mean, he could have just spoken a word. He has done that in the past, just speak a word and a person miles away is healed. He doesn't do that. He doesn't pack his bags and head off rushing and go and heal him in person. Instead, he just sits.
Joel Brooks:He delays coming to Lazarus and he doesn't give any excuse. Doesn't go. We have no record of him doing anything. It seems like he's just killing time. And then finally, he says, let's go.
Joel Brooks:And then finally, he says, let's go. Now, anybody who has spent time in prayer and has in his timing, not yours. He always answers our prayers according to his time.
Speaker 2:Aura,
Joel Brooks:that came at the perfect time. It came at just the right time to produce in me a thankful heart to him. And we end up on the back end, we see that God's timing is perfect. But as we're going through it, we wish you would just hurry up. But we need to trust God when he delays.
Joel Brooks:Look at verse 14. Then Jesus told him plainly, Lazarus has died. And for your sake, I am glad that I was not there so that you may believe, but let us go to him. There is so much in this little verse. There's a lot of theology packed in here.
Joel Brooks:If I had been there, Lazarus wouldn't have died. That's that's the implication. If I had been there, Lazarus would not have died. And it's because death cannot be in the presence of Jesus. Death can't be there.
Joel Brooks:If he had been there, Lazarus would not have got sick anymore. Lazarus would have been healed. And so he says, it was best that I wasn't there because if I was there, he wouldn't have died. And I want him to die in order that you might see the glory of God. But if I go there, death must flee from my presence.
Joel Brooks:And so you never have in scripture recorded ever anybody dying in the presence of Jesus. Life comes from his presence. Healing comes from his presence. And so he says it was for the good that I was not there. There's more, but we we gotta move on.
Joel Brooks:1st 17. 1st 17. Now, when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for 4 days. Bethany was near Jerusalem about 2 miles off. So Lazarus now has been dead for 4 days.
Joel Brooks:It's a long time. What the author is hinting at here is that even if Jesus left from where he was after 2 days, he didn't hurry. Jesus took a leisure leisurely stroll Taking a score of that from Martha's point of view. And when she's probably out there on the road every day just kind of looking out to see, is Jesus gonna come? Today's gonna be the day he comes.
Joel Brooks:There's still time. Lazarus is he's still alright. And then Lazarus dies and she is still waiting. She's still waiting. Messengers have already returned.
Joel Brooks:And she's like, you told him, right?
Speaker 2:She immediately, she launches out and just says, why weren't you here?
Joel Brooks:And so when he does, to meet J. And she says, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. First words out of her mouth, they just kind of burst out of her mouth and they're full of anger. They're full of hurt here. Lord, if you have been here, my brother would not have died.
Joel Brooks:And then she she kind of controls herself a little bit and she does express a little bit of hope and she says, but I know that even now, even now, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day. Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?
Joel Brooks:Jesus tells Martha here, It all rest on me. It all rest on me. I'm the one who's gonna bring it out. And you know what? In my presence, I make that future hope a present reality.
Joel Brooks:I'm the resurrection. I'm the life. Death has to flee from the presence of Jesus, has to. And he's asking Martha if she believes this. And I love how he presses it into her.
Joel Brooks:He doesn't just throw like a theological grenade there, you know. I am I am the resurrection into life. Hold on to this? In the midst of such terrible loss, are you going to trust me in the words that I have promised? Jesus never just gives us theology and walks away.
Joel Brooks:He gives us theology, presses it into us and asks, do you believe this? He demands a response. After Martha responds, she goes and she gets her sister, Mary. Mary's not doing well. Apparently, she she was so upset at Jesus fuming.
Joel Brooks:But then Martha goes back and privately tells Mary, hey, Jesus really wants you to come and see him right now. And so she does. She gets up and she goes to him. And there, she has the exact same reaction as Martha, but she literally she collapses at his feet and says, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. Most of you know that I lost my father when, I was a college student.
Joel Brooks:My dad, he died of a heart attack. He was in relatively good health. And I've shared that before, but but not many of you know how he died, the circumstances involved in that. It was a Sunday afternoon. My dad, he was he was outside.
Joel Brooks:We had some neighbors over. Some friends were over. He had his heart attack. My mom immediately called 911. And there was no response.
Joel Brooks:So she called again. And there was no response. She keeps calling, and she keeps calling. The, the emergency response unit is less than 1 mile from our house. 30 minutes go by, and my dad is dying.
Joel Brooks:And she keeps calling. Neighbors are calling. Where were you? Where were you? Where were you?
Joel Brooks:I've never been able to read this story the same to see Mary's reaction or Martha's reaction. I've never seen it the same. I can I can hear that hurt? Like, why did you not come? And the devastation that happened because they did not come.
Joel Brooks:My mom lost her husband of 25 years sees Martha collapsing at his feet, balling, Why did you not come? Why did you not come? Jesus gets very emotional. See and how it all unfolded. It is a pain.
Joel Brooks:You cannot believe. So Jesus sees this, and he gets really emotional. Look at verse 33. When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in his spirit and he was greatly troubled. Now, these sisters really balling before him.
Joel Brooks:But what kind of emotion is he having? We read that he was, he was deeply moved in the spirit. And he was greatly troubled. But what what do these words mean? The words here deeply moved.
Joel Brooks:They they come from a Greek word that's actually used to describe the snorting of horses. It's Jesus is like It's angry. It's angry. It's a it's a sudden deep anger. Some translations, you might have them in front of you.
Joel Brooks:You use the words groaned or side heavily or deeply touched. But probably the best translation you could have is he was outraged. Outraged. And then we read that he was greatly troubled. And this this word for greatly troubled is the word that was actually used earlier in John to describe the pool of Bethesda.
Joel Brooks:When it says the pool of Bethesda, when it was stirred, people tried to get in it or when it was bubbling. And so it's Jesus is bubbling over an emotion. He's being stirred deeply bubbling over an emotion. So he's outraged and he's bubbling over.
Speaker 2:But why? Jesus has
Joel Brooks:never had a reaction like this before. But why? And I don't think you could just give a simple answer as to, well, he was just feeling this. I think Jesus was feeling all sorts of things. Just like my mom was feeling all of these things in which she was angry, she was hurt.
Joel Brooks:She was suffering as she wanted to lash out. There's all of these emotions. And I think Jesus is feeling all of these things right here. I think he is angry at the lack of faith that has been shown. Didn't he tell them this is not a sickness that will lead to death?
Joel Brooks:He he said that. Why don't they believe this? And then he also tell them that this was all gonna happen in order that God might be glorified, yet where's their faith? I think Jesus is angry at their grief because they are grieving as a people who have no hope. Then I think Jesus is outraged at sin and death how long is sin and death gonna be masters over these people?
Joel Brooks:How long does this have to continue? He's bubbling over with an anger as he sees the brokenness and the fallenness of this world all in display with the lack of faith and the suffering and the hurting and the death and the sin. It's all there bombarding him and he is literally overwhelmed with emotion and he sighs heavily. He's outraged at death. And he's going to do something about it.
Joel Brooks:Of course, he's going to raise Lazarus now. We know that. But you know what he is also going to do? He's going to go straight to Jerusalem after this, where he's going to take on sin and death head on at the cross. He sees that problem before him now, and yes, he's going to raise Lazarus, but now he's going to go to the source.
Joel Brooks:This galvanizes him to go to the cross. He will deal with sin and death once and for all. Jesus, I think probably out of deep emotion and anger here is like, where have you laid him? Where have you laid him? And as they are taking Jesus to the tomb, we read these words that Jesus wept.
Joel Brooks:Shortest verse in the Bible, Jesus wept. Because he's just about to raise Lazarus from the dead dead. All of that pain that he is seeing from Mary and from Martha. All the the grievers all around. All the brokenness.
Joel Brooks:The same reasons that he is outraged. There's the same reasons he now is overcome and he begins to weep. He's weeping because he knows it's not supposed to be this way. Jesus actually remembers a time when Adam and Eve used to walk in the cool of the evening with God himself, forevermore. And then Adam and Eve just bask in that.
Joel Brooks:That's what humans were made for. And now he looks, we're the Jews, they see Jesus weeping, they say, oh, look, look how he loved Lazarus. That is wrong. It should read, look how he loves Lazarus, not loved Lazarus. Because Jesus's love is always in the present tense.
Joel Brooks:He will not refer to us in the past tense. Nothing can ever separate us from the love of Jesus. We saw that last week. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Jesus loves us with a forever love that even death cannot break. Look how he loves that's what it should read, how he loves Lazarus.
Joel Brooks:First 37, we read that people once again express anger and disappointment and jesus. This guy who just healed the blind man, couldn't he have healed Lazarus if he was just here? Jesus hears this and you know what his reaction is again? Says that he was deeply moved. That same word, he was outraged.
Joel Brooks:He's he says, move the stone. Move the stone. It will start to smell 4 days in there. And so, it will start to smell 4 days in there. And so they're like, no.
Joel Brooks:We're not gonna do this. And so Jesus reminds the people of his words. Did I not say did I not say that if you believe you're gonna see the glory of God in this, he's reminding them, I said earlier, this sickness will not end in death. It's for the glory of God. Believe this.
Joel Brooks:Now listen, this is where every one of us here, every person here lives at this moment, right here. This is where we live in which there is pain and there is suffering in front of us. There is a an open tomb in front of us and all we have is we are staring at death.
Speaker 2:All we have is
Joel Brooks:the word of Jesus. All we have is the word of Jesus. There is nothing else. As we look around, all we see is grief, pain, destruction, that it will not end here. Do you believe?
Joel Brooks:Do you believe his words? That your sickness will not lead to death, but through death, love this. Jesus immediately he prays out loud. I love this. Jesus immediately, he prays out loud for everyone to hear.
Joel Brooks:He's he's apparently been praying quietly, But he prays out loud and his first prayer is, father, thank you that you heard me. Father, thank you. You have heard me. You have heard me. And then he looks into that abyss and he says, Lazarus, come forth.
Joel Brooks:Jeezus calls his sheep by name. And his sheep hear his voice and follow him.
Speaker 2:Even through death, they follow him.
Joel Brooks:Even through death, they follow him. Forth every single tomb would have popped open and every person would have risen. Because Jesus has the authority not only to lay down his life and take it back again, he has authority over everyone's life. Truly, truly, or listen up, this is true. You can anchor your whole life.
Joel Brooks:An hour is coming and is now here when the day We'll hear For as the father has life in himself, so he has granted the son also to have life in himself.
Speaker 2:This
Joel Brooks:is the promise that Jesus sets before us. This is the promise that Jesus sets before us that a day is coming when all the dead will hear his voice and will stand before. We get just a foretaste of this here with Lazarus. But listen, as great as this miracle was, Lazarus was raised with a body. He was put in the ground with a body that was perishable and then he was raised with a body that was also perishable.
Joel Brooks:The people are actually going to try to kill Lazarus later. In some way beginning the process of decay and moving towards death, he says that this is a sickness that does not lead to death, but it goes through death to eternal life and me. And I ask you the same question that Jesus asked. Do you believe this? Because if you do, everything changes.
Connor Coskery:Pray with me.
Joel Brooks:Father, through your spirit, press this into us. I don't want just a casual belief. Lord, I want a deep belief, one that we can build our entire lives upon. I want everybody in here to feel the truly, truly I say to you, Lord, that you raised the dead. Laura, as we live our lives in that moment, that moment before the resurrection, when everything around us seems like and sin and death and all we have is your word.
Joel Brooks:May we hold to it. Jesus, anchor that word in our hearts and souls. Jesus, anchor that word in our hearts and souls. We pray this in the strong name of our risen Jesus.
