Scripture:  John 11:1-53

I. Jesus takes our pleas for help and demonstrates his love by delay.

A. In vs. 5 John writes that Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, what do you expect vs. 6 to say? We read in vs. 6, “So, when (Jesus) heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.” Why delay? By delaying, Jesus showed even greater love for Lazarus, Martha, and Mary. By delaying, Jesus showed that He had power not only over sickness. Jesus even has power over death. Jesus would strengthen the faith in His friends as well as in all who witnessed the miracle.

II. Jesus consoles our grief over our losses by directing our attention to Him.

A. Jesus says in vs. 25-26, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet he shall live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” Jesus directs Martha’s attention away from her pain and even away from her doctrine for a moment. He wants Martha to focus on Him and His power. What Jesus is really asking is, “Do you believe in me? Do you believe that I can give life? Do you believe that I can defeat death?”

III. Jesus confronts death and defeats it in tears and outrage.

A. When Jesus saw Mary, she was weeping (vs. 33). Jesus also wept (vs. 35). Jesus is the God who weeps with us in our pain. Both vs. 33 and vs. 38 say that Jesus was deeply moved in his spirit. What does that mean? Jesus was angry. He is angry because of death itself. Death is not the way it’s supposed to be. Jesus is not about death. He’s about life as the resurrection and the life. Death then is an ugly enemy for Jesus and for us. And Jesus gets angry about our enemy death. He is outraged over what sin has done to us. By raising Lazarus from the dead (vs. 44), Jesus shows that He has power over death for all with faith in Him.

IV. Jesus gives life by dying Himself.

A. The Pharisees’ thinking about Jesus is found in vs. 48, “If we let (Jesus) go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take both our place and our nation.” Caiaphas, the high priest, says something ironic in vs. 50: “It is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” What the brutal Caiaphas said was true. Jesus did die. And what happened? His death on the cross meant life and salvation for all who did believe that Jesus is the resurrection and the life.

Application:
Believe that Jesus is life. Turn away from sin and evil. Trust that not even death can defeat Jesus.
Sources:
The Bible
Commentaries by D.A. Carson, Edward Klink, and Herman Ridderbos

Sermon Discussion Questions

1) Did Jesus’ delay in coming to Mary and Martha mean that He didn’t love them? What might a delay in answering our prayers mean?
2) What does Jesus mean when He says that He is the resurrection and the life? When does eternal life start for a Christian?
3) How does Jesus feel about death? What did the resurrection of Lazarus prove about Jesus? What is the only way that Jesus could give us life?