The Love You’ll Never Get from Hollywood
00:00:00.000 | [Music]
00:00:02.000 | In a 2011 sermon on John 11 verses 1 to 16, John Piper recounted the story of the raising of Lazarus.
00:00:13.460 | The sermon is titled "This illness is for the glory of God."
00:00:17.440 | In it, he explained the love of Christ and how Christ showed his love by letting Lazarus die.
00:00:24.000 | It's a crazy story we need to think about. Here's a clip of what John Piper said in that 2011 sermon.
00:00:30.680 | Now let's look at it again so you can see it. Verse 5 and 6.
00:00:35.160 | "Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
00:00:41.760 | Therefore, when he heard that Lazarus is ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was,
00:00:50.960 | and he did not hurry to his side because he loved them."
00:00:57.640 | Because he loved them, he did not go to them.
00:01:01.160 | John intends, and Jesus intends, for everyone seeing this to ask, "Now how is that love?"
00:01:10.560 | It's okay to ask that if you don't ask it with a snooty attitude. He expects you to ask that.
00:01:18.360 | How is it love to let him die? I would like you to come if it were my brother.
00:01:26.360 | That's a good question. And the answer is very clear in this text. Very clear.
00:01:32.160 | But not common or acceptable without the work of the Holy Spirit in your life.
00:01:38.560 | The key to this is, "Love lets him die because his death will help them see the glory of God."
00:01:54.960 | That's why verse 4 is here.
00:01:57.560 | This is not about death. This is about the glory of God and the glory of the Son through him.
00:02:05.960 | That's what this is about. And since I love them, I'm going to put that on maximal display
00:02:13.960 | at great cost to Lazarus and his sisters.
00:02:18.960 | A cost that most people do not want and are not willing to pay.
00:02:25.160 | You're going to take my brother to show your glory? Yes.
00:02:30.960 | That's where many of you are right now, shaking your heads, saying, "I don't think I want that for a Savior."
00:02:39.360 | That's where you are. This is one of the reasons why Christianity is hard to believe in for many people.
00:02:47.960 | Because it defines love in a way that is so different.
00:02:52.960 | So what is love? If love says, "I love you, Lazarus. I love you, Mary. I love you, Martha.
00:03:00.960 | I know he's mortally sick and that I could come and spare him death, but I'm not because I love you."
00:03:09.560 | How, Jesus? "Because in his dying, I am going to get great glory.
00:03:17.960 | My father is going to be seen as mighty over death in a way he would not any other way.
00:03:23.960 | So I'm going to let you pass through this horrible experience of losing your brother."
00:03:29.960 | You fill in the blank.
00:03:31.960 | Here's what love is.
00:03:34.960 | Love means giving us what we need most. Most people would probably be okay with that definition of love.
00:03:41.960 | Love means giving us what we need most, especially if it costs you something.
00:03:47.960 | What do we need most? What human beings need most is a full and endless experience of the glory of God.
00:03:58.960 | That's what human beings need most.
00:04:01.960 | Most of them don't know that. That's why we preach. That's why we share the gospel.
00:04:06.960 | Most people don't know what human beings need most is a full and endless, joyful experience of the glory of God as their supreme treasure.
00:04:19.960 | All satisfying treasure. That's what human beings need most.
00:04:24.960 | They need to be changed into the kind of people who will see that, and then they need to receive that.
00:04:31.960 | A revelation to your soul of the glory of God is what this text says love gives above life.
00:04:41.960 | We were sitting in here on Wednesday night, singing our lungs out in a beautiful time of praise and prayer.
00:04:49.960 | One of the songs we sang loud and repeated was the loving kindness of the Lord is better than life, better than life, better than life.
00:05:00.960 | And I'm sitting there thinking, does anybody here believe that? Really?
00:05:05.960 | I think they did, but many people do not. You can tell they don't by the way they react to death.
00:05:13.960 | It's good to cry. Really good. Because loss is loss to us.
00:05:21.960 | Hurts more than almost anything. But not to the dead.
00:05:28.960 | A revelation to your soul of the glory of God is what the human soul needs.
00:05:34.960 | Seeing, admiring, marveling at, savoring the glory of God in Jesus.
00:05:40.960 | When someone is willing to die or let your brother die to give you that, he loves you.
00:05:46.960 | Here's another way to say it. I'm struggling to define love biblically.
00:05:52.960 | I don't care what Hollywood thinks love is. I don't care what the television thinks love is.
00:05:57.960 | I don't care what you think love is. I care infinitely what love is in this book.
00:06:02.960 | Because that's reality. Opinions don't matter. Reality really matters.
00:06:07.960 | And here's another way to say it. Love is doing whatever you have to do to help people see and treasure the glory of God as their supreme joy.
00:06:18.960 | Wow. That is one of the most poignant sermon clips I've ever heard from Pastor John.
00:06:23.960 | And it was sent in to us by Brian Hughes. Brian, thank you for emailing this clip in to us.
00:06:28.960 | John Piper returns tomorrow to answer another one of your questions.
00:06:32.960 | You know, he often talks about risk and mission, and one podcast listener wants to know whether comfortable Christians are compromising Christians.
00:06:40.960 | We'll find out tomorrow.
00:06:42.960 | Well, for everything related to this podcast, go to DesiringGod.org/AskPastorJohn.
00:06:48.960 | I'm your host, Tony Reinke. I'll see you tomorrow.
00:06:52.960 | (end)
00:06:54.960 | (end)
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