back to index2020-04-12 Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life
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we're going to spend some time in John chapter 11, 00:00:24.880 |
and then we'll jump right into the sermon this morning. 00:00:30.360 |
Heavenly Father, we pray for your blessing over this time. 00:00:34.680 |
Help us to understand the significance of this day 00:00:40.680 |
that our confession as you being our Lord and Savior 00:00:48.440 |
I pray for radical changes in our hearts, Lord God, 00:00:51.800 |
that we may reevaluate every part of who we are, 00:01:01.160 |
May all be satisfied in Christ and Christ alone. 00:01:25.680 |
On some lists, they say that the greatest fear 00:01:28.240 |
that most people will say is public speaking, 00:01:39.360 |
Some people fear -- their greatest fear is rejection, 00:01:50.600 |
but for whatever the reason, it was never number one. 00:01:54.760 |
And I think the reason why it's not number one 00:01:57.080 |
in most people's list is because for most people 00:02:05.800 |
or we experience the death in some way, in an intimate way. 00:02:12.960 |
that death is the greatest fear of all mankind. 00:02:16.320 |
I mean, part of the reason why we're having service online 00:02:24.920 |
The world didn't shut down because of fear of rejection. 00:02:28.240 |
The world shut down because of this pandemic, 00:02:33.400 |
If there was a cure to this pandemic, people -- 00:02:36.920 |
We didn't shut down. The world did not shut down 00:02:41.440 |
The world shut down because there is a possibility 00:02:48.360 |
But according to statistics, at least in the United States, 00:02:51.680 |
the fatality rate is somewhere between 1% to 1.2%. 00:03:01.880 |
It may even go down further as they do more testing. 00:03:15.840 |
But it's enough that this fear of death is strong enough 00:03:31.680 |
Now, this Resurrection Sunday is all about death. 00:03:50.920 |
"Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, 00:03:57.560 |
"that through death he might render powerless 00:04:00.240 |
"him who had the power of death," that is the devil, 00:04:03.440 |
"and might free those who through fear of death 00:04:09.960 |
And I think this verse is relevant in any generation 00:04:13.360 |
at any time, even when we're living in peace. 00:04:17.160 |
as the whole world is in lockdown temporarily, 00:04:24.840 |
This Resurrection Sunday is really about that, 00:04:31.720 |
this possibility of death, ultimately to glory. 00:04:35.520 |
Well, I'm going to be working backwards today 00:04:37.640 |
because we looked at his crucifixion, his trial on Friday. 00:04:46.680 |
where Jesus foreshadows what he was going to do 00:04:58.520 |
I want you to pay attention to the various responses 00:05:08.080 |
And so what I want to do is starting from chapter one, 00:05:11.760 |
So if you were making a movie or doing a play, 00:05:16.800 |
that highlight certain events that are taking place. 00:05:23.040 |
is the different responses that people are giving 00:05:30.920 |
that outline is basically the sermon outline. 00:05:33.200 |
So if you parents want to follow that as well, 00:05:37.440 |
Scene one, starting from verse one through six. 00:05:59.080 |
And this is the setup behind what is going to take place. 00:06:06.760 |
Now, a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, 00:06:14.160 |
It was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment 00:06:22.880 |
So first thing I want us to remember or to highlight 00:06:30.480 |
Lazarus was a man who was the younger brother, 00:06:36.340 |
Mary Martha, as you know, is a very prominent figure 00:06:44.060 |
And it highlights Mary was the one who anointed Jesus. 00:06:46.680 |
When everybody else was paying attention to other things, 00:06:53.800 |
or Mary's love for Christ was so overwhelming 00:06:59.800 |
of an average pay to prepare Jesus for his burial. 00:07:22.920 |
Now, Jesus healed complete strangers in crowds. 00:07:49.260 |
And all of this is a setup for what's about to happen. 00:07:59.060 |
"so that the Son of Man may be glorified by it." 00:08:14.880 |
"You guys are worried and you call the right person. 00:08:18.240 |
"I am gonna go, but it's not gonna end in sadness. 00:08:23.380 |
So you would expect that Lazarus, whom he loved, 00:08:28.380 |
whose sister Mary was the one who anointed his feet, 00:08:33.080 |
Martha is constantly busy serving the disciples. 00:08:36.740 |
And he says, "Don't worry, he's not gonna die. 00:08:42.400 |
That he would pack up his bag, whatever he was doing, 00:08:44.640 |
he would pack up his bag and get his disciples to go. 00:08:51.020 |
"he stayed then two days longer in the place where he was." 00:08:59.120 |
Because every part of what he says in this scene, 00:09:20.880 |
is going to be him allowing them to experience the death. 00:09:24.580 |
He wasn't going to preserve him from this death. 00:09:27.880 |
He was going to allow them to experience his death 00:09:30.080 |
and the grief that comes along with this death, 00:09:33.320 |
with the weeping and sadness that comes along with that. 00:09:45.380 |
Now, this is foreshadowing of what was going to happen 00:09:52.120 |
When Jesus was crucified, he didn't just die in obscurity. 00:10:09.840 |
is he allowed the room to get as dark as possible 00:10:17.520 |
you want to make sure that display is seen clearly. 00:10:19.880 |
And in order to do that, you have to turn down the light. 00:10:37.320 |
He was the one who took our sorrows and bore it on himself. 00:10:41.640 |
And it was he, the author of life, that we crucify. 00:11:00.500 |
the only one that could save us from our sins. 00:11:06.300 |
And so finally, after two days, we get to scene two. 00:11:09.060 |
And scene two, you know, if this wasn't a sermon, 00:11:13.660 |
there's so much comical material in this section. 00:11:17.020 |
The cluelessness of the disciples, verses seven through 16. 00:11:27.940 |
Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, 00:11:47.360 |
Which, you know, the reason why this is so comical 00:11:50.740 |
is because Jesus has been steadily moving down 00:11:56.660 |
He made it very clear that his final destination 00:12:02.260 |
Bethany was just a place that he's passing through. 00:12:08.700 |
he's going to the heart of danger, into Jerusalem. 00:12:17.060 |
with Bethany about two miles away from Jerusalem, 00:12:22.020 |
It's almost like Jesus said all of these things 00:12:25.780 |
And Jesus said, are there not 12 hours in the day? 00:12:34.620 |
if anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble 00:12:50.380 |
So you had the day and then you had the 12-hour nights. 00:12:55.900 |
What Jesus meant was, if you walk in the light, 00:13:03.180 |
in other words, Jesus is saying you are safe. 00:13:08.880 |
'cause Jesus told him, if you're gonna come after me, 00:13:12.700 |
He already told them that he was going to be crucified. 00:13:18.220 |
So what he means by that is that you will not stumble, 00:13:22.100 |
means that safety means that you're gonna be in God's hand. 00:13:41.780 |
but I go so that I may awaken him out of sleep. 00:13:46.100 |
Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover. 00:13:56.740 |
And he says, now Jesus had spoken of his death, 00:13:59.540 |
but they thought that he was speaking of literal sleep. 00:14:04.980 |
was that, well, he's just gonna wake up then. 00:14:08.700 |
You could just see the frustration in verse 14 00:14:17.940 |
I don't know about you, but I don't know why. 00:14:36.340 |
and they're constantly hearing something else. 00:14:57.320 |
Mark makes it a point that Jesus made this very clear 00:15:08.580 |
that the Son of Man, Son of Man meaning Jesus, 00:15:11.500 |
must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders 00:15:14.300 |
and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed. 00:15:51.460 |
Peter loved Jesus and there's no question about that. 00:15:54.100 |
But it was also filled with his own arrogance and pride. 00:15:59.260 |
And you see that as they get closer to the cross, 00:16:03.620 |
All of these guys, all of these guys may fail you, 00:16:13.380 |
He's the one who denies Jesus to his face three times. 00:16:27.780 |
He calms a storm that would have easily wiped out 00:16:41.900 |
But if this is gonna happen, don't worry, you got me. 00:16:53.980 |
Again, he says, "For he was teaching his disciples 00:16:56.340 |
"and telling them, the Son of Man is to be delivered 00:16:58.540 |
"into the hands of men and they will kill him. 00:17:01.980 |
"And when he has been killed, he will rise three days later." 00:17:18.060 |
Next time you read the Gospels, highlight that statement. 00:17:23.020 |
'Cause this happens repeatedly in Jesus's ministry. 00:17:25.900 |
They just didn't get it because their paradigm 00:17:41.020 |
he's going to give bread, he's going to bring in an era 00:17:47.460 |
the lame are going to walk, the blind are going to see. 00:17:49.780 |
So he fulfills every part of the identification 00:18:01.940 |
Because sleeping means living, maybe living means dying. 00:18:05.700 |
I don't know what he means, but they didn't understand. 00:18:10.940 |
"and when he was in the house, he began to question them, 00:18:34.020 |
and on the side, they're having a conversation 00:18:51.580 |
There's a lot of knocking on the head, you knuckleheads. 00:19:05.940 |
Yeah, okay, who's the greatest, who's the greatest? 00:19:15.540 |
It wasn't because Jesus didn't make it clear. 00:19:18.260 |
It just didn't fit their paradigm of what they wanted. 00:19:28.700 |
He did say this, he did say he was gonna get beaten. 00:19:31.100 |
He did say he was gonna resurrect on the third day, 00:19:33.420 |
but all of that didn't click until it actually happened 00:19:37.740 |
So they did hear him, they just didn't understand him 00:19:41.780 |
Finally, in Mark chapter 10, 33 to 37, saying, 00:20:06.980 |
that he's gonna be mocked, spit on, scourged, and then killed. 00:20:19.500 |
"Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you." 00:20:23.780 |
And he said to them, "What do you want me to do for you?" 00:20:27.740 |
They said to him, "Grant that we may sit one on your right 00:20:39.320 |
Jesus just said he's gonna be spit on, scourged, 00:20:46.160 |
And then said, "Okay, yeah, but who's gonna sit 00:21:03.720 |
Jesus already knew that at the time of his suffering 00:21:14.100 |
and the disciples were, when push came to shove, 00:22:02.960 |
If you seek your life, he says, you will lose it. 00:22:09.400 |
But he who loses life for my sake, he will find it plain. 00:22:24.960 |
and all these other things shall be added unto you. 00:22:29.920 |
but how much of this is actually being applied? 00:22:32.380 |
If somebody was to read this 2000 years later 00:22:36.960 |
of what our life looks like and what the Bible teaches, 00:23:05.540 |
he was going through one year and out the other. 00:23:20.540 |
Ah, there's a whole lot more than preaching to the choir, 00:23:26.920 |
We've been treating God like he's happiness for hire. 00:23:33.280 |
Isn't it a shame how his name gets thrown around? 00:23:36.120 |
We pat God on the back like a buddy from out of town. 00:23:47.600 |
Ah, there's a whole lot more than raising lots of money, 00:23:50.440 |
building our churches and spreading our fame. 00:23:52.860 |
Faith is just the dice that you roll to get lucky. 00:24:08.040 |
Do we ourselves recognize what this day means for us? 00:24:12.960 |
Jesus Christ was crucified and resurrected for our sins. 00:24:21.860 |
But to their credit, even though they didn't understand, 00:24:28.640 |
even though their own ambitions blinded them, 00:24:34.600 |
Even if they failed, Thomas says at the end of that scene, 00:24:43.160 |
And if he's going to die, let us die with him. 00:24:47.620 |
Many of us are probably in that same situation. 00:24:55.520 |
And I don't know what God has planned at the end of this, 00:25:08.480 |
he found that he had already been in the tomb for four days. 00:25:20.140 |
Now, Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, 00:25:22.560 |
and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary 00:25:27.540 |
which already tells us that this was a very public miracle. 00:25:35.300 |
And this was because they were a very prominent family. 00:25:39.800 |
already tells us that he came from a rich family. 00:25:47.220 |
So he was a very well-known, well-respected family. 00:26:05.380 |
In that statement, you can tell that there is disappointment. 00:26:20.920 |
If you had been here, he would not have died. 00:26:33.860 |
Because you can start over with the business, 00:26:36.480 |
you can get another job, relationship goes sour, 00:26:39.460 |
maybe have another relationship, there's always hope. 00:26:42.760 |
But the reason why the whole world is shut down right now 00:26:48.340 |
And even if we lose money, even if the economy tanks, 00:26:59.800 |
we're gonna do, even if we sacrifice everything, 00:27:09.860 |
And when he says to Jesus, "If you had been here, 00:27:23.040 |
she's the one who's always running around busy, 00:27:32.720 |
Mary was just sitting there eating up Jesus's words. 00:27:42.600 |
after she says that in an accusatory tone to Jesus, 00:27:49.160 |
But even now, I know that whatever you ask God, 00:28:26.200 |
but even now, see, Lazarus was not the first person 00:28:31.840 |
If you read the Gospels, in Luke chapter seven, 00:28:37.080 |
In Matthew chapter nine, he raises Jairus's daughter. 00:28:55.620 |
but as long as you're here, I have some hope. 00:29:04.960 |
And what the theologians call here and not yet. 00:29:11.880 |
As Christians, we confessed him as Lord and Savior. 00:29:20.740 |
Where our hope goes up and down based upon what we see, 00:29:27.040 |
whether the stimulus check gets put into our bank account, 00:29:30.360 |
and that day, it's probably going to feel good for a day. 00:29:42.360 |
And we see Martha, she's disappointed with Christ, 00:29:51.040 |
"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, 00:29:53.520 |
"so that the surpassing greatness of the power 00:30:10.200 |
Jesus, in response to that, says in John 11, 25, 00:30:12.920 |
Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life. 00:30:16.920 |
"He who believes in me will live, even if he dies." 00:30:24.440 |
"I know he's dead, but even in death, he will live." 00:30:29.440 |
See, for human beings, there is no hope after death. 00:30:37.040 |
At least during this lifetime, you can start over. 00:30:39.760 |
You can repeat, or you can do something else. 00:30:45.960 |
But Jesus says, at the core of mankind's darkness, 00:30:49.440 |
it's that even in that, even if he dies, he shall live. 00:30:54.440 |
And everyone who lives and believes me will never die. 00:31:00.580 |
Jesus didn't say, trust me, I'm gonna make him live. 00:31:05.840 |
Jesus didn't say, if you continue to come after me, 00:31:11.720 |
He says, I am the resurrection and the life, I am. 00:31:28.920 |
That's why the greatest evidence of a man or a woman 00:31:32.680 |
or a child who's been born again is his union with Christ. 00:31:38.520 |
Does he have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? 00:31:44.080 |
do you read your Bible, do you do great things, 00:31:47.140 |
are you generous, are you involved in helping the poor? 00:31:50.200 |
That's not a question, that's not the distinguishing mark 00:31:54.200 |
because Jesus says, I am the resurrection and the life. 00:32:14.880 |
He who does not have the son of God does not have the life. 00:32:18.580 |
The life he is talking about is not simply not dying. 00:32:22.720 |
The Bible uses two different words, bios and zoe. 00:32:27.560 |
Bios is the biological life, zoe means to be alive. 00:32:31.720 |
He's not simply saying that God is going to preserve us 00:32:50.300 |
He says, if you come to me, he says, I am the life. 00:32:53.800 |
You know how you can recognize somebody who is near Christ? 00:33:05.800 |
It doesn't matter if they're sitting in prison. 00:33:10.600 |
It doesn't matter if they're in their deathbed. 00:33:13.180 |
It doesn't matter if they have a large bank account 00:33:16.880 |
You can always tell when somebody is near Christ, 00:33:34.560 |
He doesn't just say, I am the resurrection and the life 00:33:40.400 |
But the whole reason why he came was the next question. 00:33:49.200 |
He wasn't simply declaring to the world, I am life. 00:33:52.520 |
He wasn't simply trying to display his glory. 00:33:56.120 |
His whole point was from that, do you believe this? 00:34:00.280 |
Because the Bible says, if you confess with your mouth 00:34:07.940 |
The whole point of the resurrection Sunday is that question. 00:34:14.520 |
Is the penalty of sin still dominating your life? 00:34:20.600 |
Is the fear of death, has it gripped our lives 00:34:24.840 |
and we're doing everything possible to avoid it 00:34:28.680 |
Jesus says, I am the resurrection and the life. 00:34:43.600 |
She saw him and fell at his feet saying to him, 00:34:46.680 |
Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 00:34:52.520 |
I mean, think about Mary just a few days earlier, 00:35:02.500 |
Now again, that would be humiliating for anybody, 00:35:27.760 |
but she loved Jesus so much that she was willing to do that. 00:35:31.760 |
So you can see the disappointment in Mary's tone 00:35:36.460 |
when she asked Jesus, Lord, if you had been here, 00:35:43.140 |
You know, I think in the English, in the written word, 00:35:47.620 |
that Martha's tone and Mary's tone was very different. 00:35:53.380 |
and she was the one who was telling Jesus, rebuke Mary! 00:35:56.740 |
And Mary just sitting there quietly just studying. 00:35:59.540 |
So I have a feeling they said the exact same thing, 00:36:08.640 |
If you had been here, my brother would not have died. 00:36:11.520 |
Mary, for whatever reason, I see her as an introvert. 00:36:21.440 |
If you have been here, my brother would not have died. 00:36:47.300 |
Verse 33, "When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, 00:36:51.780 |
"and the Jews who came with her also weeping, 00:36:54.640 |
"he was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled." 00:37:05.340 |
This is the shortest verse in all of the English Bible. 00:37:19.500 |
there were no verses, there were no chapters. 00:37:30.440 |
So whoever put the verses in wanted to highlight, 00:37:41.400 |
So we shouldn't just pass this by and say, "Jesus wept." 00:37:54.480 |
There's only two places, one other place outside of here, 00:37:58.800 |
where the same word for weeping is used of Christ, 00:38:02.240 |
and that was used last week at the Palm Sunday. 00:38:05.440 |
When Jesus looked at the multitude crying out to him, 00:38:11.980 |
Now, we can understand Jesus is in front of the burial site 00:38:26.580 |
And we can just superficially say, "Oh, he was sad," 00:38:30.320 |
But what is perplexing was Jesus himself said, 00:38:38.240 |
You know, if he was crying because of their sadness, 00:38:43.020 |
you would think that Jesus would kind of have a smirk 00:39:13.980 |
The Bible says that because of man's rebellion, 00:39:31.500 |
100% of us at some point, whether we die early, 00:39:36.840 |
There's not a single human being that lived among us 00:39:39.560 |
who didn't experience the termination of his life 00:39:51.540 |
So I believe that Jesus was weeping for the same reason 00:40:05.160 |
He wasn't simply weeping because he was temporarily asleep, 00:40:10.880 |
like he said, 'cause he was just about to raise him. 00:40:18.000 |
I don't know about you, but it gives me tremendous, 00:40:21.480 |
that Jesus did not simply satisfy the legal code 00:40:34.520 |
"I'm a public defender, so I'm gonna do my best 00:40:45.380 |
that we needed to save us from eternal judgment. 00:40:49.120 |
The Bible says he saw our sins and he had compassion on us. 00:41:00.540 |
I don't know about you, but it gives me tremendous comfort 00:41:04.640 |
to know that my Savior loves me to this degree. 00:41:21.580 |
turns into the greatest celebration on Sunday 00:41:40.660 |
so when we come to church, we put on the best dress, 00:41:46.420 |
that we speak a certain way, we look a certain way, 00:42:01.060 |
that once they see, they might not want to be with us. 00:42:13.340 |
every thought that I have, everything that I do 00:42:15.580 |
that people don't know of, they don't wanna be my friend. 00:42:23.720 |
And to be honest, to many degrees, it's true. 00:42:27.700 |
And that's why marriage oftentimes is so hard 00:42:30.180 |
because you can't hide from your husband and your wife 00:42:38.100 |
to keep enough distance and you've done a great job, 00:42:44.700 |
And when it comes out, there's that temptation. 00:42:50.140 |
Christ saw every ugliness in a sinner like me and you. 00:42:58.020 |
And instead of being disgusted, he wept over us. 00:43:10.020 |
He drew near and he took our sorrows upon himself. 00:43:20.180 |
that this is the degree to which he loves us. 00:43:38.080 |
Now it was a cave and a stone was lying against it. 00:43:43.700 |
Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to him, 00:43:47.900 |
"Lord, by this time, there will be a stench." 00:43:52.540 |
Because in the old English, in the KJV, it says, 00:44:55.600 |
"I said it so that they may believe that you sent me." 00:45:15.420 |
he didn't have a fasting, he didn't put mud on, 00:45:39.700 |
but the Bible says, by the proclamation of his word, 00:46:03.580 |
I mean, that almost sounds blasphemous to say, 00:46:06.920 |
but to God, all he needed to do to raise a dead man 00:46:14.820 |
with complete lost hope for every single person 00:46:34.320 |
and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. 00:46:37.380 |
Jesus said to them, "Unbind him and let him go." 00:46:44.860 |
It'd be interesting if we were to do a play with this scene. 00:46:56.520 |
Did you see a bright light at the end of the tunnel 00:47:20.980 |
and there was a revival that broke out, nothing. 00:47:28.380 |
And then some of them went to the Pharisees and told them. 00:48:05.720 |
All of that was God ordained for the purpose of his glory. 00:48:13.520 |
Much of our suffering is ordained for his glory. 00:48:23.540 |
Even Lazarus's death was ordained for his glory. 00:48:37.100 |
that Lazarus comes back from the dead, the end. 00:48:39.660 |
It's like, how can it get any higher than this? 00:48:43.540 |
But all of this was a precursor about the real story. 00:49:10.960 |
"at the last trumpet, for the trumpet will sound 00:49:18.380 |
"For this perishable must put on the imperishable 00:49:24.340 |
"But when the perishable will have put on the imperishable 00:49:27.980 |
"and this mortal will have put on immortality, 00:49:30.660 |
"then will come about the saying that is written, 00:49:46.260 |
"who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 00:50:06.800 |
We wanna spend as much time as we can with our children, 00:50:22.520 |
Colossians 3, 4 says, "When Christ, who is your life, 00:50:26.420 |
"appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." 00:50:36.760 |
like we do like July 4th or our anniversaries, 00:50:45.480 |
The resurrection of Jesus Christ changes everything. 00:50:55.880 |
not to a better life, but to a complete new life. 00:50:58.820 |
My prayer is that all of you out there listening, 00:51:13.720 |
If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord 00:51:17.360 |
that Christ was raised from the dead, you will be saved. 00:51:29.400 |
I pray that you would meet this resurrected Christ. 00:51:42.640 |
Take some time to pray with me as we seek the Lord together. 00:51:51.960 |
Millions of us all around the world thank you in unison. 00:52:13.820 |
for taking upon yourselves our sorrows, our griefs, 00:52:27.660 |
to come to the throne of grace with confidence, 00:52:31.260 |
that that is exactly what we will commit to do, 00:52:36.620 |
that we may have this life and have it abundantly.