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John 11:17-27
April 24, 2011 – Easter
Rev. William A. Huegel
The First Baptist Church of Norwich
Let me tell you the context in which this wonderful passage is found. It’s not found at the end of
John, nor at the end of the other Gospels along with the other stories of the resurrection. It is
found in John 11 where we read of the death of Jesus’ friend, Lazarus. John 11:1 Now a man
named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.
Luke’s Gospel tells us more about this home:
Luke 10:38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman
named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet
listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be
made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work
by myself? Tell her to help me!”
41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but
few things are needed—or indeed only one.[f] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be
taken away from her.” Martha was the sister that was always cooking and doing things for
everyone else.
Bethany was about two miles outside of Jerusalem . Jesus was coming into Jerusalem, from having
been ministering up in the region of Galilee, about a hundred miles north. It was usual for him to
stay with his three friends in Bethany.
Jesus seems to have deeply loved this family. He enjoyed their hospitality. He seems to have loved
their personalities, their friendliness, and their appreciation of him. Some Biblical scholars suggest
that Jesus did not stay a single night in the city of Jerusalem. Instead, he stayed with his friends,
outside the city.
word to Jesus by way of a messenger – probably the fastest running kid they could find. The hope was that Jesus would clearly
understand how urgent this matter was. Perhaps if he dropped everything he was doing (which was teaching along the way!), and
if he came very quickly, perhaps he could speak a word of healing to Lazarus and his life could be spared. So, the young
messenger brought him this word, “Lord, the one that you love is sick. Come quickly!”
He got the message. Furthermore, he clearly understood how urgent the matter was. But still, Jesus did not come quickly. In fact,
he stayed right where he was for a couple more days, before beginning what would turn out to be a two-day trek into the ancient
city of Jerusalem.
Too late! It was sad. But it was too late. As it turns out, it seems that he couldn’t have made it on time anyway. When he arrived,
he learned that Lazarus had been dead for four days, which means that he died shortly after the messenger had taken off to get
Jesus. By the time Jesus got the word, Lazarus was already dead.
If Lazarus died on Monday, it was Thursday or Friday before Jesus arrived. If he died Monday night, Tuesday he would have been
buried. Friends gathered around these two dear sisters. The neighbors began to weep with them. In those days there were
professional mourners who were really good at wailing. It helped to get out the deep emotions, the terrible feeling of loss. I
wonder if they did a better job of grieving than we do. We have very neat funerals here in America. People remain very controlled.
Very few people yell, holler, moan or get so carried away that they scream and let out a burst of tears. But they did in Jesus’ day.
And in some cultures, they still do.
If he died Monday night, then on Tuesday there would have been a long slow procession through the streets of Bethany. The
whole village would have come out to watch. They would have all known this family in that small town. They would have all been
shocked at the suddenness of it all. Weeks earlier, maybe days earlier he seemed fine. And when he got sick, no one took it
seriously. Nobody thought he would die. But now – all of a sudden – he was gone.
He was so young. If he was close in age to Jesus, he would have been in his 30s. He was still in the prime of life. This was not
just sad – this was a tragedy! It’s a tragedy when someone dies so young. I’m 68. If I died, it would be sad for my wife, and
others, but it shouldn’t be considered a trajedy. I’ve lived out my life. My children age grown. I’m retired. My house in 3/4 paid off.
And the Bible reminds us that we tend to live a mere 70 or 80 years. But when a person is young, it seems tragic, when death
comes.
Furthermore, the one person who could have prevented him from dying was no where near. Jesus wasn’t there. Maybe he had a
good reason, but Jesus wasn’t there! God, in the flesh, in the person of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, was not around! The great
Healer wasn’t on hand to heal his best friend, Lazarus.
If! If only!
- If only things had been different.
- If only the messenger had gone faster.
- If only he had impressed it on Jesus how urgent the matter was.
- If only we had sent for Jesus when Lazarus first got sick. If only Jesus had been here.
- If only the doctor had come.
- If only we had taken him for help earlier.
- If only! If only! But now it was too late. Lazarus was dead.
When Jesus arrived in town, Martha, who was always running around doing stuff, had to be doing something. So, when she got
word that Jesus had arrived, Martha went out to meet Him. But not Mary! It was too late. Jesus would come to her. But she wasn’
t going to go out there, running around with Martha! Martha made her dizzy.
Martha said, Jesus, “If only you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
- I’m not blaming you, Jesus.
- Maybe you had something more important to do.
- Maybe you had some Pharisee to yell at.
- Maybe you had to turn somebody’s water into wine so they could have a good time at their wedding.
I’m just saying that if you had been here – your friend, my brother, would not (I repeat) would not have died! But you’re too late!
(Did you ever feel like God showed up too late? )
Jesus said, Martha! Listen to me! Your brother will rise again!
What else can you say at a funeral? What else can you say when you go to the home of a grieving widow? What else can you
say to a mother who has just lost her little boy? What else can you say to a grieving set of parents whose child just died in an
automobile accident? What else can you say to anybody?
Your brother will rise again! There’s hope beyond the grave. When it’s all over, it isn’t really all over. You son, your daughter,
your husband, your wife, your aged parent will rise again.
Martha believed it. She said, “I know! I know he will rise again at the resurrection at the last day.” She knew. It’s a great hope. It’
s what keeps a person sane, sometimes. A grieving mother whose son committed suicide said to me, “If I didn’t believe we would
see him again in heaven some day, I wouldn’t be able to stand it”.
Somebody said to me once, what do you say at a funeral when you are not sure that the one who died is a believer? I said, “I talk
about his life to the best of my ability. I try to talk about the person’s strengths, about their good points.” And then I address those
who are still alive and tell them how they can know that when they die, they can go to heaven.
I don’t dwell on what I think eternity has to hold for this lost person. For one thing I don’t know all facts. And I’m not called to rub
salt into someone’s open wounds. All I can do is give as much hope as I can and then tell people how they can be sure of their
salvation. I don’t know how a person gets through this if they have no hope.
“Your brother will rise again!”
Martha whispered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” I know! I know! But it still hurts!” I know the
problem. Martha had to go on living without Lazarus today! I know the struggle: how are you going to make it through the daily
routines this week, this month, this year. How do you get through Easter? How do you get through birthdays? How do you get
through the summer and up-coming holidays, without him or without her?
The hope of the resurrection will not take away all the pain. It was never intended to. But there will be a resurrection. We will see
him again. Martha said: “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day”. It doesn’t answer all the questions. It doesn’t
take away all the pain. But it does give us hope, without the resurrection, there is only grief, there is only loss, there is only
sadness. The hope is in heaven, in eternity, in God. . “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Martha had
hope.
And then Jesus said,“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives
and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
And that’s the question for us today. Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Jesus is it! Jesus is the resurrection. Jesus is the
means, the source, the hope, of eternal life. Do you believe that?
Belief is the issue.
Jesus is the resurrection.
Jesus is your hope of eternal life.
Do you believe that?
If you have lived very long on this earth, you have faced the loss of a loved one by death. Some people die young – too young.
And some live to be old, but you would have had to face that.
It has made you aware that you will die some day. It made you think about it. And you don’t want to miss the resurrection. You don’
t want to miss eternal life. The options are very scary.
- To die and miss heaven is not something you want to do.
- To die and go into eternal darkness is pretty bad, and if it’s worse than that, you don’t even want to think about it.
- To die and miss the possibility of spending eternity with those you loved is not something you want.
But how can you be sure? Can you be certain? My friends, it is my joy to tell you that you can be certain. Just a few years ago, I
had the privilege of conducting a funeral service of a friend. Ernie knew he was going to die. He was a very sick man. And he
wanted the doctor to tell him the truth about his condition. The doctor predicted he would only have a few more months. And the
doctor was right.
He was a loved man in the church. The day before he died, the choir went to his home and sang to him. It was wonderful. We all
had tears in our eyes. Ernie was weak, but he sat up straight in his chair, looked us in the eye and said, “I hoped that God would
heal me here, but I now believe God is going to heal me - in heaven!” He said, “I know I am going to be with God.” Ernie believed
in the Jesus. Jesus who said, “I am the resurrection and the life”. Ernie knew where he was going.
I want that for you – for everyone here. I want you to know that you’re not going to miss it. I want you to believe in Jesus. To know
Jesus is to know that you will have eternal life.
And so, I want to share the essence of the Gospel with you.
The Gospel (Good News) of Jesus Christ is profound. Many, many books have been written about it. The richness of the Gospel
is like a deep well that can never be fully plumbed. But here are just a few things that can be said of the Gospel, if we were to put
it in a “nutshell” so to speak.
1. God loves you. You were created to enjoy His love forever. You were created to know Him and to walk with him all the
days of your life. (John 3:16)
2. But there’s a problem: Sin! The truth is that none of us are perfect. But sin is not just doing bad things. Sin speaks of the
nature that we have to do our own thing, to seek our own pleasures, and even to shake our fist in the face of God. And that leads
to another problem. (I John 1:8,9)
3. Separation: Our sin tendency makes us want to do that which is wrong. It even overpowers us. We can hardly help ourselves.
That leads to separation from God, from each other, and even from being honest with ourselves. There is little or nothing we can
do for ourselves. Left to our own devices, we’re doomed! Well – almost! The fact is that God did something. He provided
something. (I John 4:9,10)
4. Salvation! God continues to love us. In fact, he loves us so much that He sent Jesus to die on a cross for our sins. It is
through His death and resurrection that we are saved. As we turn from our sin and receive forgiveness through the shed blood of
Jesus Christ our lives are changed. The Holy Spirit comes into our hearts and we become new people. Our thoughts and
attitudes become shaped by our new love for God. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
To way to become a Christian is to sincerely pray, to confess your sins & turn away from the to the best of your ability, and then
receive that forgiveness by faith. There are no magic words but the following prayer can be used as a guide to help you: Our
Father please forgive me of my sin. Come into my life and change me. Help me to live for you for the rest of my life. I pray this in
the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
Bow with me: If you are ready, pray that with me very sincerely.
Our Father please forgive me of my sin. Come into my life and change me. Help me to live for you for the rest of my
life. I pray this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
If you have done that, you have some things to do.
1. Trust Him. Believe he has heard your prayer. God wants you to know His Son Jesus. He wants you to have eternal life.
2. Thank Him. Say thank you Jesus, a dozen times. You’ll be saying it for the rest of your life and way beyond!
3. Tell somebody. This is too good to keep to yourself. Tell somebody that you prayed that prayer (Your husband, wife, mother,
father, children, friend). Tell them that God has forgiven your sins, and has made you to think and feel differently.
Jesus, who said I am the resurrection, then went to the tomb of Lazarus and proved it. He said, “Lazarus come forth. He did.
Grave clothes and all. People had to unwrap him and give him something to eat. This was no ghost. It was the body, the person,
the very alive person of Lazarus.
Shortly thereafter, Jesus himself died. He was crucified on the cross where he bore your sins and mine. And guess what
happened to him who declared that he was the resurrection and the life. Of course! He returned to life. That one event changed
the world forever. And from moment on, everyone who has believed in Jesus knew he/she can have everlasting life. Do you
believe? It will change everything when you really trust in Jesus.
Let’s pray.