back to index2018-04-01 New Life In Christ
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Read your Bibles with me to John chapter 11 and I will be reading from verse 38 to verse 00:00:14.800 |
We're going to be dealing with the whole chapter but I just want to read this passage before 00:00:25.760 |
Then Jesus deeply moved again, came to the tomb. 00:00:32.760 |
Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, by this time there will be an 00:00:40.760 |
Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of 00:00:45.400 |
So they took away the stone and Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, "Father, I thank you 00:00:51.240 |
I knew that you always hear me but I said this on account of the people standing around, 00:00:57.760 |
When he had said these things, he cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" 00:01:04.240 |
His hands and feet were bound with linen strips and his face wrapped with cloth. 00:01:09.040 |
Jesus said to them, "Unbind him and let him go." 00:01:18.040 |
Heavenly Father, help us to know the impact of this resurrection. 00:01:24.480 |
What it means to us, what it means to the world, what it means to mankind. 00:01:31.560 |
Open our eyes, Lord God, as Jesus prayed that they may hear Christ in his prayer and believe. 00:01:40.360 |
Open our eyes, Lord, that we may also hear him and believe. 00:01:44.880 |
We pray, Father God, that this time you would anoint it, you would bless it, that you would 00:01:51.960 |
surround us, Lord God, with your holy presence. 00:01:56.640 |
Help us know that you are here with us, that you hear our prayers, that whatever burdens, 00:02:02.680 |
Lord God, that we have brought before you, may the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Lord 00:02:09.880 |
May your face shine, may your voice be declared, that your children may hear it and follow 00:02:19.320 |
As I've already mentioned, all over the world, millions and millions of people are gathered 00:02:26.240 |
They've already gathered in some place, obviously, because of time zone, and they have celebrated 00:02:32.720 |
Our church, you know, every year it seems like our celebration is getting bigger and 00:02:40.560 |
We had, you know, some people came early in the morning and did devotions, but, you know, 00:02:44.360 |
Thursday night we had the Passover meal we did for the first time. 00:02:47.680 |
And so I was very blessed by just the preparation and the time we were able to spend together, 00:02:53.280 |
and it really highlighted the communion table that we had on Friday night. 00:02:58.240 |
And obviously this morning we got together and we had the early rise service, and I know 00:03:01.640 |
some of you guys are already fatigued and tired, as I am, you know. 00:03:05.640 |
And then we had morning service, this service, and then we're going to have lunch, and maybe 00:03:14.800 |
But I can honestly tell you each year that goes by, the celebration seems to be more 00:03:22.720 |
You know, after more than 35 years of celebrating Lord's resurrection, each year I learn more 00:03:29.120 |
about the significance and the meaning and the impact of this. 00:03:32.840 |
And every year that we celebrate it, I really, like, the impact of it is striking me more 00:03:39.080 |
You know, I felt like I understood very little when I first became a Christian, but the more 00:03:43.600 |
I dig into it, that everything Christ did, he prepared for this moment, for his resurrection. 00:03:52.200 |
Everything he did, every law that was given, every punishment for sin, every grace that 00:03:56.720 |
he showed, every disciple that he called to himself, every prophet that he sent to proclaim 00:04:03.080 |
who he was, everything was to point to this moment for the resurrection. 00:04:07.820 |
Because the resurrection wasn't simply just him coming back to life and saying, "Hey, 00:04:17.160 |
And the reason why, even after 2,000 years, 2,000 years of human chaos, of wars and famines 00:04:24.960 |
and even wrong doctrines and heresy, even people of God that was being sent, people 00:04:32.640 |
who were being burned at the stake for simply wanting to translate the Bible for them to 00:04:36.840 |
read, in the midst of 2,000 years of chaos, we're still here, all over the world, celebrating 00:04:45.720 |
Because God will not allow this to die, because this is the hope of mankind. 00:04:50.680 |
We cannot overstate the significance of this day and why it is appropriate for us to celebrate 00:04:58.120 |
it as we are doing, and maybe in a greater way. 00:05:01.680 |
I'm not sure what we have in store for next year, but maybe we'll make it even bigger. 00:05:05.920 |
Jesus, you know, obviously everything that he did was preparing for his coming, but we 00:05:12.320 |
see in this story that takes place in John chapter 11, the resurrection of Lazarus, that 00:05:19.920 |
as Jesus is going to the cross, he's been telling his disciples that he's going to be 00:05:23.800 |
crucified, he's going to be raised on the third day. 00:05:28.800 |
And it's made it very clear, over and over again through the Gospels. 00:05:32.600 |
In fact, in the Gospel of Mark, in particular, it says he made this very clear, he made this 00:05:39.520 |
But every time he said it, their response was, well, who's going to be the greatest 00:05:45.160 |
It was clear that they didn't understand, because when Jesus was going to the cross, 00:05:49.000 |
they all fell away, because they didn't understand, what is Jesus doing? 00:05:54.640 |
Jesus was preparing for his crucifixion and ultimately for his resurrection. 00:05:58.920 |
And what happens in John chapter 11 sets up for that spectacular event that's going to 00:06:07.980 |
In this story of Lazarus' being raised from the dead, there are four people, three people 00:06:14.880 |
and one group of people that I want to introduce to you, because every single one of them became 00:06:23.640 |
And the way that Jesus prepared them for that is Lazarus' resurrection. 00:06:28.320 |
So today's outline basically is going to, we're going to be following along in chapter 00:06:32.200 |
11 and look at the four different people that are introduced to us and their faith and how 00:06:39.080 |
So in order for you to just kind of follow along, so the first person I want to introduce 00:06:44.480 |
Lazarus, it says in John 11, 1, he came from a certain, now a certain man was ill. 00:06:51.040 |
Lazarus was of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 00:06:55.800 |
Lazarus was the brother of this prominent family, Mary and Martha. 00:06:59.840 |
Now you know about Mary and Martha because they're introduced to us before this. 00:07:04.340 |
In Luke chapter 10, you don't need to turn your Bible there, but if you remember in Luke 00:07:07.720 |
chapter 10, Mary and Martha are introduced to us in the context of Jesus sending out 00:07:14.080 |
his disciples two by two and talking about the kingdom. 00:07:16.980 |
And all of a sudden there's this blip in the middle in Luke chapter 10 about how Martha 00:07:24.680 |
You know Martha's personality was the go-getter, she was going out and cooking and cleaning 00:07:29.120 |
and doing all this stuff and she was angry that Mary was not helping. 00:07:33.080 |
So she incites Jesus to say, "Can you just rebuke her and tell her to come help me?" 00:07:38.800 |
thinking that she was going to get Jesus' ear and get him on her side. 00:07:46.080 |
Instead Jesus rebukes her and turns the table around. 00:07:49.480 |
Well the question is, we study a lot about the meaning behind that and who are Martha's 00:07:55.920 |
and we are all Martha's and we need to be Mary's and all of these things are significant. 00:08:00.200 |
But before we even study the meaning behind it and why Jesus said it, we have to ask ourselves, 00:08:04.800 |
why are they in the Bible in the first place? 00:08:11.480 |
He's talking about the kingdom, he's talking about sending disciples two by two and all 00:08:14.800 |
of a sudden he has these two sisters who has a spat and then they show up in the biblical 00:08:22.160 |
narrative and then they just disappear until this happens. 00:08:30.280 |
And obviously nothing in the scripture is random. 00:08:33.920 |
Most likely the reason why they are mentioned there is because Mary, Martha and Lazarus 00:08:39.480 |
were very prominent people in the early church. 00:08:43.620 |
Not simply before the resurrection but after the resurrection. 00:08:47.600 |
They were the first and the most prominent witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 00:08:53.200 |
And I'm going to be explaining that as we go. 00:08:55.680 |
So Lazarus comes from this family which clearly that Jesus had a special connection with them. 00:09:02.360 |
And as a result of that, they said well Lazarus is ill, Jesus healed so many other people 00:09:06.660 |
but Lazarus had a special relationship with Jesus. 00:09:10.800 |
So they sent people to go get him and this is the encounter that they have with Jesus, 00:09:17.080 |
But when Jesus heard it he said, "This illness does not lead to death. 00:09:22.360 |
It is for the glory of God so that the Son of God may be glorified through it." 00:09:27.620 |
Jesus says that he's ill and obviously his illness wasn't just any illness. 00:09:34.500 |
They were concerned that it may lead to death. 00:09:36.320 |
So we don't know exactly what he had but it was serious enough that they sent somebody 00:09:40.320 |
way over to where Jesus was to tell him to hurry up and come. 00:09:43.880 |
Assuming that if Jesus is compassionate to complete strangers that he would surely come 00:09:51.720 |
And he promises them, "Don't worry, he's not going to die. 00:10:01.640 |
That Jesus already knew about it even before the people came to get him. 00:10:07.000 |
And then in verse 5 right after he says that it says, "Jesus deliberately stayed two more 00:10:12.480 |
And they said, "Okay, he stays two more days, maybe his illness wasn't that serious." 00:10:17.960 |
And so think about all the people who are waiting, Lazarus was sick, anxious that Jesus 00:10:23.720 |
And when Jesus finally responds in verse 17, it says, "By the time he comes he is four 00:10:30.600 |
He waited until he was dead and he was buried in the tomb already for four days. 00:10:37.720 |
You have to remember in the Bible, number three is the number of confirmation. 00:10:43.500 |
So you need three witnesses to confirm something. 00:10:46.480 |
That the Trinity, they have a, they confess or complete one another in the Trinity. 00:10:53.400 |
So the number three is the number of completion. 00:10:55.520 |
Jesus dies and on the third day he is raised to confirm that he was actually dead. 00:11:01.680 |
He didn't just swoon, he didn't just faint, he actually died and came back to life. 00:11:06.520 |
The fact that Lazarus was dead for four days is to confirm not only was he dead, but there 00:11:15.440 |
And that's exactly what Jesus was waiting for. 00:11:18.640 |
Jesus deliberately waits until he is dead, until he is in the tomb, and they have completely 00:11:29.040 |
Jesus shows up, people are concerned, "Why didn't you show up in time?" 00:11:33.080 |
Jesus gets to the tomb in chapter 11, verse 43. 00:11:36.680 |
He says, "He cried out with a loud voice, 'Lazarus, come out!' 00:11:40.560 |
The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips and his face 00:11:45.640 |
Jesus said to them, 'Unbind him and let him go.'" 00:11:51.080 |
Lazarus, it is the darkest thing that ever happened to him. 00:11:59.880 |
The worst thing that can happen as a human being is obviously get ill and then die. 00:12:03.920 |
And that happened, and he was in the grave for four days. 00:12:08.680 |
But his most darkest, excruciating experience as a human being turns into his greatest testimony. 00:12:14.720 |
You can imagine that Lazarus was a fantastic witness about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 00:12:22.560 |
If there was anybody that had any credibility about what he saw, it probably would have 00:12:28.120 |
Because Lazarus himself experienced death, and then he came back to life. 00:12:32.800 |
And again, the reason why this family was so prominent was because they actually experienced 00:12:37.600 |
what they were going to see in Jesus in a few days. 00:12:43.000 |
You can imagine Lazarus, maybe Apostle Peter, and some of the other people who experienced 00:12:50.360 |
the miracles of God sitting around talking, maybe at a campfire, sharing their testimonies 00:12:57.000 |
And Peter talking about how he walked on water, and Bartimaeus talking about how he was blind 00:13:01.920 |
And the lame man who was risen, and he was lame all his life, and then all of a sudden 00:13:07.000 |
he rises and they share all of this and comparing their notes. 00:13:10.280 |
And Lazarus just steps in and says, "I died, and I came back to life." 00:13:19.600 |
Anywhere he went, he has the most interesting story. 00:13:23.640 |
And I would imagine everywhere he went, people would sit around him, and say, "Lazarus, what 00:13:35.600 |
I could imagine, you know, we talk about like, "Where is paradise?" 00:13:38.240 |
Jesus told the robbers, "Today you shall be with me in paradise." 00:13:41.360 |
And so there's a lot of different opinions about paradise. 00:13:43.400 |
They probably ask Lazarus, "Lazarus, what is that? 00:13:52.240 |
So I could imagine that Lazarus was probably the center of attention wherever he went. 00:13:58.620 |
That even his death turned into a preparation for the greatest testimony to prepare for 00:14:10.280 |
We don't know what God is doing in our lives. 00:14:14.160 |
But when you encounter the resurrected Christ, whatever hardship, whatever bitterness, whatever 00:14:20.720 |
hatred, whatever you've experienced in the past, the resurrection changes everything. 00:14:27.100 |
Because we are so afraid that if we make the wrong decisions, that we're not going to live 00:14:32.160 |
And if we make the worst decisions, that we might possibly die. 00:14:35.400 |
But when Lazarus came to the greatest fear of mankind, he met Christ. 00:14:47.640 |
And so he became the greatest witness for the resurrection of Jesus Christ because he 00:14:55.920 |
The second group of people that I want to mention to you are mentioned in verse 31 and 33. 00:15:02.880 |
Verse 31, he says, "When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw 00:15:07.720 |
Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb 00:15:13.680 |
And then verse 33, "When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, 00:15:19.120 |
he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled." 00:15:22.840 |
The people who came that are talking about this group of people, these were probably 00:15:32.080 |
There's possibly a large number, considering that it's near the Passover and the Feast 00:15:37.760 |
of Unleavened Bread, that they needed to come to Jerusalem anyway. 00:15:41.400 |
And we know that later on, that as a result of this resurrection of Lazarus, that the 00:15:48.600 |
So these people probably either they went home and stayed in Jerusalem. 00:15:52.360 |
They were the first ones who were to testify, "He has to be the Messiah." 00:16:03.240 |
But if you see what they say when it says in verse 34, "Where have you laid him? 00:16:15.040 |
But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this 00:16:22.720 |
So some of these Jews were looking at Jesus weeping, and instead of having compassion, 00:16:32.680 |
We asked you to come when he was alive, when there was hope. 00:16:41.880 |
Why did you arrive four days later when we made it clear to you that he was about to 00:16:47.100 |
So instead of having compassion, it's that clearly he loved them. 00:16:49.360 |
But if you loved him, why did you not do anything? 00:16:58.200 |
They heard that he had the power to open eyes of the people who are blind, walking on water. 00:17:05.760 |
The Pharisees, the powerful leaders of Israel, he would just walk right among them and they 00:17:12.020 |
And yet, when their close companion that he loved, when he was ill, he seemed to just 00:17:18.600 |
nonchalantly stroll into town after he dies four days. 00:17:23.580 |
And so they're asking, probably with some bitterness and anger, "Could not he who opened 00:17:29.500 |
the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?" 00:17:35.140 |
They asked this question because they did not know what Jesus was about to do. 00:17:40.380 |
Their understanding of Jesus was limited to what they saw and what they heard. 00:17:47.520 |
They didn't understand that Jesus came to save those who are sick and under bondage. 00:17:56.460 |
They were Jesus who knew Jesus with his miracles, but they did not really know who he was. 00:18:02.900 |
Small Phillips writes a book entitled "Your God is Too Small" and he says this in his 00:18:08.260 |
book, "The inadequate conceptions of God would still linger unconsciously in many minds and 00:18:17.040 |
which prevent our catching a glimpse of the true God." 00:18:21.500 |
In other words, he's saying, it's because our God in our mind is too small, unconsciously, 00:18:26.740 |
and that's the reason that we never really truly see God. 00:18:31.180 |
Oftentimes our prayers are limited by our faith. 00:18:34.680 |
We only pray for things that we think are possible because we don't want to be disappointed. 00:18:39.900 |
We don't want to come before God and pray for things that are too big in our mind. 00:18:44.200 |
These are people who believe Jesus to a certain extent, but once he was dead, that's where 00:18:49.920 |
his power ends because they did not understand who he was. 00:19:01.680 |
He does this right before he goes to the cross because these people were going to be the 00:19:06.160 |
first groups of people who were going to be the witness of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 00:19:12.240 |
Basically the mourning of a lost one would take at least seven days, maybe longer than 00:19:17.640 |
And considering that they're near the Passover and they're considering that they're near 00:19:21.400 |
the festival of the unleavened bread, they might have just come in to Bethany and maybe 00:19:28.160 |
Most likely, these were among the first 500 people that are mentioned in 1 Corinthians 00:19:33.440 |
15.6 that saw, was the eyewitness of Jesus Christ. 00:19:38.800 |
They were probably the first groups of people who saw the resurrection and they probably 00:19:43.680 |
understood Jesus' resurrection better than anybody else because they saw Lazarus come 00:19:50.160 |
So if anybody would have been easy to convince, if Jesus can raise Lazarus, surely he can 00:19:56.180 |
And they were probably the first witnesses, the first evangelists that 1 Corinthians 15.6 00:20:03.160 |
And though they may have had defective faith, though their faith was weak and did not understand 00:20:11.400 |
the bigger picture, that at the resurrection they are changed, completely changed. 00:20:18.680 |
And my guess is that many of them were also crucified, just like the disciples. 00:20:25.640 |
Many of them were also fed to the lions, many of them were also burned at the stake, along 00:20:39.040 |
You see, you can come to church all your life and participate in worship, participate in 00:20:44.480 |
communion, to teach, maybe even go to missions at times, become a great Bible teacher, but 00:20:51.680 |
until you encounter the resurrected Christ, you can talk about God, you can talk about 00:20:58.080 |
how he helps us in our weakness and how he binds the brokenhearted, but until you encounter 00:21:07.520 |
Because the Christ that they knew before his resurrection, the Christ that they knew after 00:21:10.880 |
the resurrection, was the same Christ, but their faith was completely changed. 00:21:19.560 |
And this is why this day is so important to every single one of us. 00:21:24.000 |
Until you come face to face with this resurrected Christ, our testimony is nothing more than 00:21:29.040 |
regurgitation of things that you have heard before. 00:21:32.120 |
Bible teaching is nothing more than studying materials in a book and then sharing it with 00:21:38.380 |
So if you happen to be a good teacher, you become a good pastor. 00:21:47.680 |
Until we encounter the resurrected Christ, our testimony is just information. 00:21:53.800 |
These people encountered Christ and they were the first groups of people who probably risked 00:21:59.640 |
their lives and many of them gave their lives to share about Jesus' resurrection. 00:22:04.440 |
The third person I want to introduce to you is Mary. 00:22:08.760 |
Mary is the one that was commended over Martha in Luke chapter 10. 00:22:15.900 |
In John 11, 32, it says, "Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at 00:22:20.360 |
his feet, saying to him, 'Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.'" 00:22:29.640 |
In Luke chapter 10, when Martha comes running and asks the Lord, "Tell Mary to help me," 00:22:37.080 |
"Martha, you are worried about so many things, but Mary has chosen," what? 00:22:44.080 |
She was just there soaking up everything that Jesus had to say. 00:22:48.400 |
Martha was so busy serving the Lord, but she wasn't paying attention. 00:22:53.960 |
And that's sometimes when people talk about being getting burnt out at church, it's because 00:22:58.480 |
we're so busy when we come to church, like, "What does God want? 00:23:04.040 |
And then when we live our lives like that, after a while, we get bitter just like Martha, 00:23:09.880 |
Not realizing that we come to him because we are in need. 00:23:17.840 |
And the moment we put on that hat of, "Somehow, I'm going to help the kingdom of God," eventually 00:23:25.000 |
See, Mary knew early on the commandment that Jesus said. 00:23:32.400 |
The greatest commandment is, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, 00:23:36.000 |
And so she was sitting there in love with Christ, just soaking up his word. 00:23:41.400 |
And Jesus said, "That's what I'm looking for, worshippers who will worship me in spirit 00:23:47.400 |
And when her brother dies, just like any other human being, "Lord, if you had been here, 00:23:54.280 |
my brother would not have died in her grief." 00:24:10.320 |
It wasn't because Jesus didn't love Lazarus that he allowed this to happen. 00:24:19.600 |
It was because Jesus did love Lazarus and Martha, why Lazarus died. 00:24:23.800 |
In fact, in John 11, verse 5, it says, "Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus." 00:24:28.800 |
And it was clearly declared that he loved her, he loved them. 00:24:35.080 |
But they were chosen for this because he loved them. 00:24:39.780 |
They were chosen for this because they were going to be the first witnesses outside of 00:24:43.800 |
the disciples to go proclaim what was going to happen. 00:24:52.500 |
But she's introduced to us in John 11, 2-3 this way, "It was Mary who anointed the Lord 00:24:57.700 |
with the ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill." 00:25:02.360 |
Now this encounter where Mary wipes the feet of Jesus with her hair, this anointing of 00:25:08.600 |
Jesus happens another time in Luke chapter 7 of a sinful woman. 00:25:14.760 |
And when she does that, the Pharisees look at that and say, "Man, if Jesus really was 00:25:19.080 |
a prophet, they should know she was a sinner and wouldn't have allowed her to touch his 00:25:29.720 |
In fact, she doesn't anoint him until after the resurrection of Lazarus. 00:25:34.320 |
And it's recorded for us in John chapter 12, 1-3. 00:25:37.440 |
It says, "Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was," 00:25:42.920 |
and this is after the resurrection, "whom Jesus," resurrection of Lazarus, "whom Jesus 00:25:58.040 |
And Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at the table. 00:26:01.320 |
I think he was a younger brother, so he's not serving. 00:26:06.360 |
And then, "Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard and 00:26:10.320 |
anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her." 00:26:18.800 |
Just a week ago, they were just grieving and weeping. 00:26:23.320 |
And all of a sudden, they're having a banquet. 00:26:27.880 |
And my bet is she was serving with joy, not like the other one. 00:26:32.600 |
This time, she was like, "Oh my gosh, thank you." 00:26:35.640 |
That's her way of expressing her love to Jesus. 00:26:39.680 |
She's not serving and they say, "Look at Mary. 00:26:46.440 |
You could imagine Lazarus is sitting there reclining and I'll bet he was not alone. 00:26:51.620 |
My guess is everybody that came to this party was sitting around Lazarus asking, "So what 00:26:59.680 |
Did you hear his voice when the linens came off? 00:27:14.800 |
They're sitting there in this party and it is at that scene, Mary therefore took a pound 00:27:19.600 |
of expensive ointment made from pure nard, which would have been the cost of a whole 00:27:27.920 |
It's unlike what we saw with the sinful woman. 00:27:36.920 |
This is a prominent woman who probably had a great reputation. 00:27:46.200 |
And she humbles herself and she says she wiped Jesus' feet with her hair. 00:27:50.280 |
Now you have to understand the culture that they're in, that the feet was considered the 00:27:56.440 |
Now you and I live in a culture where that is not the case. 00:27:59.320 |
We have all kinds of things to clean our feet. 00:28:08.040 |
So if you've ever been to India, you know that in that culture, that's the way they 00:28:12.840 |
In fact, those of you who've been to India with us or you've been there by yourself, 00:28:17.500 |
you know that part of the things that is a no-no in India is when you sit, you never 00:28:25.860 |
You never do this because to show the bottom of your feet to somebody in India is basically 00:28:34.840 |
Because they consider that the dirtiest part of the body. 00:28:36.720 |
And then those of you who've been with us there to the villages, you know what their 00:28:39.800 |
feet look like because they don't normally wear shoes, a lot of them. 00:28:43.060 |
And so when wintertime comes around and it gets really dry, their feet crack. 00:28:46.680 |
And when we say crack, we're not talking about a slight little line and just kind of put 00:28:51.840 |
We're talking about like cracked in half, you know? 00:28:57.680 |
And so the feet is considered the dirtiest part of the body. 00:29:00.040 |
So the culture that Jesus was living in is very similar because they either wore sandals 00:29:05.400 |
or they didn't have good shoes, so their feet were pretty gnarly. 00:29:09.560 |
And so remember when Jesus is teaching his disciples to get on his feet, to show them, 00:29:14.560 |
to humble themselves, he washes the dirtiest part, right? 00:29:20.040 |
Even the lowliest of the slave in the house would only touch, and Jesus does that. 00:29:24.280 |
And so she is getting on her knees, and not only is she touching his feet, it's with her 00:29:32.640 |
And again, this is not a sinner who's already humbled. 00:29:38.080 |
In fact, in 1 Corinthians 11, 15, Paul says the glory of a woman is what? 00:29:45.800 |
So even in our culture, you know, people don't like it when people touch their hair because 00:29:51.600 |
In this particular time for a woman to humble herself and let her hair down and to use that 00:29:56.480 |
hair which was considered her glory and to wipe Jesus' dirty feet, and that was her expression 00:30:05.320 |
If she loved Jesus before Lazarus died, can you imagine the depth of affection she must 00:30:17.200 |
That's the intimate scene that we see here in chapter 12. 00:30:21.720 |
But the real significance of this is not simply that she loved Jesus. 00:30:45.880 |
The disciples heard and all they were talking about who's the greatest, you know, and Pastor 00:30:50.800 |
James gave the great sermon on Friday talking about how Jesus going to crawl to the cross 00:30:54.800 |
and Peter is saying, you know, they may all fall down but not me, and he didn't understand. 00:31:05.680 |
How much she understood, we do not know, but she must have clearly understood. 00:31:09.440 |
She was anointing him for his death, for his burial, and his resurrection. 00:31:18.120 |
This encounter of this woman who loved Jesus, but she had no idea to what depth Jesus loved 00:31:26.480 |
Martha, the last person I want to introduce you to. 00:31:30.960 |
Martha, again, was a sister in the story in Luke chapter 10. 00:31:35.200 |
If you study Martha carefully in the few passages that she comes out, Martha is the female version 00:31:43.840 |
She gets rebuked by Jesus for rebuking him about not rebuking Mary. 00:32:00.360 |
Them two are the only two that actually, like, you're the son of God, but let me tell you 00:32:09.120 |
In Luke chapter 10, 41 to 42, Jesus says, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled 00:32:17.440 |
Again, whenever you see somebody's name being mentioned twice, watch out. 00:32:26.080 |
When he says, "Martha, Martha," something's coming. 00:32:30.120 |
"Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. 00:32:35.920 |
Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her." 00:32:45.200 |
But looking at the response that she gives to Jesus when Jesus shows up, you can see 00:32:52.720 |
There was something about her faith that stood out among others. 00:32:57.480 |
In John 11, 20 to 27, it says, "So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and 00:33:05.800 |
Martha said to Jesus, 'Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.'" 00:33:18.080 |
But here's a distinction between her faith and the others in verse 22. 00:33:23.120 |
"But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you." 00:33:30.920 |
When everybody else lost hope, Martha did not. 00:33:36.960 |
Martha was grieving, was hurt, was saddened, just like everybody else. 00:33:42.360 |
But she understood something about Jesus that the other people did not. 00:33:47.120 |
Even now, even in his death, if you will, you can raise him. 00:33:53.920 |
Jesus said to her, again, Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection 00:33:59.480 |
She didn't know exactly what he was going to do, but she still had hope. 00:34:02.520 |
Jesus says in verse 25 to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. 00:34:07.000 |
Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. 00:34:11.280 |
And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. 00:34:17.200 |
And that's the question that he proposes to her, to every Christian, and even now, all 00:34:26.320 |
As we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we're not just celebrating something 00:34:29.760 |
that happened 2,000 years ago and saying, "Do you think he came back from the dead?" 00:34:33.800 |
He said, "Do you believe that because he rose from the dead, that even if you die, you shall 00:34:46.320 |
That even if you are in sickness, even if the worst possible thing that you can possibly 00:34:50.280 |
imagine happened to you, that even if you die, you shall surely live? 00:34:56.840 |
Because based upon whether you believe this or not, it changes your life. 00:35:02.080 |
You can come to church all your life and superficially confess you believe without really believing 00:35:07.200 |
and never have anything be changed in your life. 00:35:10.560 |
Just take advantage of the benefits of being around other Christians, because who wouldn't? 00:35:19.040 |
Typically Christians are more generous, more supportive. 00:35:22.240 |
Who wouldn't want to be part of this community? 00:35:31.840 |
And that's the greatest tragedy sometimes of being raised in a church, where you love 00:35:37.480 |
the benefits of Christianity without knowing Jesus. 00:35:42.840 |
That question that he proposes, "Do you believe this?" is the question that everybody needs 00:35:53.280 |
Not do you confess this, not do you sign on the doctrinal statement, but do you believe 00:36:03.520 |
She said to him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is 00:36:09.120 |
That sounded a lot like Peter's confession in Matthew 16, 16. 00:36:15.040 |
Jesus, Peter says, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 00:36:19.000 |
And this is why I said, Martha is the female version of Apostle Peter. 00:36:25.600 |
She says all the wrong things, but she says the right thing. 00:36:30.480 |
They both come out of the same person's mouth. 00:36:35.480 |
Martha seems to have paid attention when she was rebuked in Luke chapter 10. 00:36:39.320 |
"You're so busy, but you're missing the point." 00:36:46.800 |
And eventually, as a result, she encounters him. 00:36:51.200 |
What Jesus means when he says, "I am the resurrection," isn't that Jesus is going 00:36:59.840 |
He didn't say, "If you come to me, I will show you the truth." 00:37:05.280 |
He didn't say, "If you hunger and thirst, come to me and I will give you bread." 00:37:13.920 |
The whole point of Christianity is to come to Christ. 00:37:18.000 |
Coming to church doesn't mean you're coming to Christ. 00:37:21.000 |
Reading the Bible doesn't make your relationship with Christ intimate. 00:37:26.400 |
You can know all your theology, you can do all the right things and completely miss if 00:37:34.280 |
If you do not believe that what Christ has done was not necessary for this life. 00:37:41.100 |
Does our faith go up and down based upon our personal circumstances? 00:37:45.420 |
When things we want doesn't happen the way we want? 00:37:48.100 |
Or people in church or our families disappoint us and all of a sudden our faith tanks as 00:37:56.360 |
Because God didn't provide or give what we wanted? 00:38:01.260 |
Does our faith go up and down based upon how good or bad we think God is to us? 00:38:08.700 |
He says even if you die, even the worst possible scenario you can imagine, even in death there's 00:38:18.400 |
And if you believe this, it changes your life. 00:38:26.980 |
I don't have to tell you to read the Word of God. 00:38:33.980 |
If you want to live, you don't travel, you don't watch movies, you don't eat good things. 00:38:38.080 |
If you believe life is in this book, you will come to this book. 00:38:43.100 |
If you believe that Jesus Christ is a resurrected life, why would you not go to Him? 00:38:50.300 |
Why would you not want to have fellowship with Him? 00:38:52.740 |
Why wouldn't be the greatest desire of our heart, soul, mind, and strength be Jesus, 00:39:13.840 |
There's been many resurrections before Lazarus. 00:39:16.380 |
The widow of Nain's son in Luke chapter 7, Jairus' daughter, Luke 8. 00:39:20.500 |
Many who died when Jesus was resurrected, they said the saints also raised from the 00:39:25.520 |
Old Testament prophets, widow of Zarephath's son, Shunai woman's son, the man raised in 00:39:34.920 |
Even after Jesus' resurrection in Acts chapter 9, Tabitha is raised. 00:39:43.000 |
Jesus was not the only one raised from the dead. 00:39:48.360 |
But the difference between all of that was Jesus was raised for our sins. 00:39:56.040 |
He didn't just come to prolong Lazarus' life. 00:40:02.720 |
Even if he was raised from the dead and they celebrated for a while, eventually Lazarus 00:40:16.140 |
The blind man who saw for the first time was celebrating. 00:40:21.800 |
All these people who were brought back to death, they were prolonged. 00:40:26.000 |
Maybe their life was a little bit more comfortable. 00:40:31.880 |
Jesus did not come to bring a band-aid for cancer. 00:40:37.360 |
So many people around the world are flocking to Jesus because they want a band-aid. 00:40:52.400 |
It's that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 00:41:05.360 |
And that's why Jesus says, "It's not what you put into a man that defiles him. 00:41:12.920 |
Every single one of you have lived long enough to know the damage that sin does in our lives. 00:41:20.800 |
Damage of pride, damage of coveting, of lying, of adultery, of pornography. 00:41:29.800 |
You've had first-hand look in yourselves, in your family, in your friends, your coworkers, 00:41:37.560 |
There is no remedy for that outside of Jesus Christ. 00:41:49.280 |
Aligning yourself with the right people isn't going to fix that. 00:41:53.000 |
It is only when we encounter the resurrected Jesus Christ. 00:42:00.760 |
It's not just a man died and then he came back to life. 00:42:05.920 |
The answer for me, you, mankind, past, present, and future is represented in the resurrection 00:42:17.480 |
And until we believe that with all our heart, nothing changes. 00:42:24.400 |
First Corinthians 15, 53-57, "For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this 00:42:35.680 |
When the perishable puts on the imperishable and the mortal puts on the immortality, then 00:42:40.800 |
shall come to pass the saying that is written, 'Death is followed up in victory.' 00:42:50.160 |
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law." 00:42:54.680 |
When he says here, the perishable will be raised imperishable, the perishable is not 00:43:06.200 |
It's physical body definitely is something to look forward to. 00:43:09.200 |
The older we get, especially those of you who are athletic at one point in your life. 00:43:14.280 |
It's a fond memory you had, but it's no longer. 00:43:22.680 |
We look at some of you guys in your 20s with envy. 00:43:26.680 |
In my mind, I was thinking, "Can I take this guy? 00:43:36.880 |
So something to look forward to, that the perishable will be put away, the imperishable. 00:43:42.200 |
So we're going to have even playing ground when we get to heaven. 00:43:48.000 |
But what we really long for is not the physical. 00:43:52.120 |
It's a damage that you've experienced because of sin. 00:43:56.040 |
Sins that you've committed, and sins that was committed against you. 00:44:02.040 |
There's a lot of you in this room, staggering from relation to relationship, looking for 00:44:11.420 |
To find a church, or a group of people, or a mentor, or something, because of the damage 00:44:22.760 |
The only answer to that isn't the resurrected Jesus Christ. 00:44:29.120 |
That's why Jesus says, "All who are weary and heavy laden, come to me." 00:44:37.640 |
He said, "Come to me, and I will give you rest. 00:44:43.740 |
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you 00:44:52.500 |
The only rest for the damage that sin has done in our lives is Jesus. 00:44:59.100 |
I want to encourage you in Romans 10, 9 through 12, as we wrap up. 00:45:04.420 |
It says, "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that 00:45:08.580 |
God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 00:45:13.020 |
For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 00:45:17.540 |
For the scripture says, 'Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.'" 00:45:23.820 |
I pray with all my heart that you will believe this with all your heart. 00:45:37.940 |
You live in this earth, and you'll experience pain. 00:45:44.140 |
The heaviness of paying your bills, raising your children. 00:45:48.060 |
Just like everybody else, you're going to experience the suffering of living in a fallen 00:45:53.500 |
But the darker that the world becomes, the more precious the light of Jesus Christ becomes. 00:46:15.620 |
So I invite you this morning, if you heard the word of Christ, and the question that 00:46:24.500 |
That's the question I want to ask you this morning. 00:46:27.300 |
So as our worship team comes up, I'm going to invite you to take some time to pray. 00:46:32.860 |
If you're here, and you've never confessed your sins to Christ, and you feel like you've 00:46:38.740 |
never met him in that way, again, we ask you to come before the Lord in honest prayer. 00:46:46.740 |
Because Christ is our mediator, we don't need another mediator to come to Christ. 00:46:50.740 |
You can go directly to him and ask for forgiveness. 00:47:01.660 |
And afterwards, if you need further guidance, and you have some questions, and you just 00:47:05.980 |
want to sit and ask, or you want somebody to pray for you, just come to the table outside, 00:47:11.780 |
Or just come up to the front afterwards, and we'll sit down and try to pray with you. 00:47:15.860 |
But we want to invite you to take advantage of that today. 00:47:18.820 |
So as our worship team leads us, let's take some time to pray.