When The Dead Was Raised 3-16-25 AM
I. The account.
a. The discussion (John 11:1-16).
i. Verse 2 in interesting because this event is recorded in the next chapter.
1. Remember that John wrote forty years after the other gospel writers.
2. Mary is mentioned here because the readers would have been familiar with that account.
ii. Notice in verse three how Lazarus is described.
1. They didn’t say who loves you.
2. They worded it in a way to tug on the emotion of Jesus: he whom you love is sick.
iii. The sickness did lead to death, but Jesus is referencing spiritual death.
1. God would be glorified in this moment.
2. God would glorify the Son in this moment.
iv. Verse 5 shows the love Jesus had for these siblings.
1. The word for love in verse 3 is from phileo.
2. The word for love here is from agape.
3. There is not a lot of difference in these two words.
v. After those two days Jesus was ready to go back to Judea, the area in which the Jewish leadership was the strongest.
vi. Verse 8 references the event that took place at the close of chapter 10 (John 10:25-31).
vii. Sleep is often used as a metaphor for the ones who die in a right relationship with God.
1. The apostles believed all would be well.
2. Jesus finally and plainly tells them that Lazarus had died.
viii. Verse 15 is powerful.
1. Jesus tells them that it was good that He had not been there.
2. Jesus would have healed Lazarus.
3. They had all seen Jesus heal people.
4. What Jesus was going to do was going to help cement in their minds that He truly was the Christ.
ix. Thomas doesn’t show much doubt in verse 16 does he?
b. The declarations (John 11:17-32).
i. I called this section declarations because there are three amazing statements that we will notice in these verses.
ii. We find out that Lazarus has been in the grave four days.
1. In that time, people were buried the day of their death.
2. They didn’t have means of keeping the body from decaying is the reason.
iii. The town of Bethany was about 2 miles from Jerusalem and many people from Jerusalem had come to console the sisters.
iv. Somehow Martha was informed that Jesus was on His way and she went to meet Jesus.
v. I’m sure her statement in verse 21 hurt Jesus some.
1. I don’t believe she meant to hurt Jesus with it.
2. She was just stating a fact.
vi. The first declaration is now made by Martha (vs. 22).
1. It can’t mean that she believed that Jesus would raise Lazarus from the dead because of what she says in verse 39.
2. It seems to have meant that she knew the closeness of Jesus with the Father.
3. She is letting Jesus know that her faith in Him had not waivered.
vii. Jesus says something that is a masterful statement.
1. DA Carson said that it is a masterpiece of planned ambiguity.
2. Martha took it to mean that at the last day Lazarus would be resurrected as is seen in verse 24.
3. Jesus meant it another way also: that Lazarus would rise that day.
viii. The second grand declaration is found in verses 25 and 26.
1. This is one of the I am statements made by Jesus recorded in John.
2. Jesus is the source of our resurrection and our spiritual life.
3. If we believe in Jesus, though we die physically, we shall be resurrected.
4. If we live and believe in Jesus we shall never die spiritually.
ix. Notice then how Martha answered Jesus (verse 27).
1. This is the third declaration of note in this section.
2. She made the great confession.
3. Jesus was the Messiah.
4. Jesus was the Son of God.
5. The last phrase is rendered “He who comes into the world” in the NAS, and the footnote mentions “the Coming One” was a messianic title to the Jews.
x. Mention verses 28-31.
xi. Mary says the same thing to Jesus that Martha did (vs. 32).
c. The demonstrations (John 11:33-46).
i. Jesus was deeply moved by the tears of Mary and those that came with her.
1. The word translated “groaned” is found five times in the NT and two of those times is in this chapter.
2. It literally means to express violent displeasure.
3. Jesus was not violent at all.
4. It says He was troubled which carries the idea of shaking.
ii. If you noticed, I entitled this section in the plural as well.
1. I don’t believe there is another account in the NT that demonstrates the humanity of Jesus as much as this one.
2. After Jesus asked where Lazarus is buried we read simply, Jesus wept.
3. Here we read that Jesus was so overcome with emotion that He trembled and wept.
4. The why of Jesus trembling and weeping is debated.
5. Some say it was because of the weeping of His beloved friends.
6. It seems more so that Jesus was emotional because of anger towards death and sin for the pain it caused His friends.
iii. Some believed that Jesus wept because of love but some were saying hurtful things about Jesus (vs. 36-37).
iv. Jesus was brought to the tomb and told them to roll away the stone.
v. Here we see the lack of belief in Martha that Jesus would raise up Lazarus.
1. She knew what happened to bodies after that time.
2. Something else interesting about the four days is that Jews had a superstition that the soul of the deceased lingered over the body for 2-3 days after death.
3. By Jesus waiting until the fourth day, there would not be any way to deny this miracle.
vi. Jesus reminds her that He told her she would see the glory of God.
1. They really echo what He earlier said to the apostles in verse 4.
2. But they were the sentiment of His words to her as well.
vii. When the stone was rolled away, Jesus began to pray to the Father (vs. 41-42).
1. Martha had stated she knew the Father heard Jesus.
2. The tense in the Greek of the end of vs 41 indicates that this request had already been made and that it was time for thanksgiving for granting it.
3. Jesus mentions that the Father always heard Him, which indicates their unique closeness and relationship.
4. Jesus wanted the people around Him to see the power of God.
5. He wanted them to see it so that it would create belief in them.
viii. Jesus then demonstrated His deity by crying out Lazarus come forth and Lazarus doing so.
1. This is the second demonstration of this text.
2. Earlier, Jesus demonstrated His humanity, now His deity.
3. John MacArthur said, “In no other account of His miraculous work do we see more magnificently the coming together of His humanity and deity. We see Him in His full majesty, in His full person.”
ix. This action truly proved that Jesus is the resurrection and the life.
x. Jesus shouted this out for all to know that this was nothing but the divine act of God.
xi. Lazarus came forth whole in the wrapping that had been placed around him in preparation for burial.
xii. This caused belief in many of those that were present (vs. 45).
1. This was the purpose of miracles.
2. This is why John wrote what he did (John 20:30-31).
xiii. Sadly, it caused others to run to the Pharisees (vs. 46).
1. This miracle seems to be the straw that broke the camel’s back.
2. It caused the leadership of the Jews to commit to having Jesus killed as the rest of the chapter will bear out.
II. The application.
a. While this event took place 2,000 years ago, there is much for us to take from it today.
b. We have to wait on God’s timing.
i. The sisters wanted Jesus to do something immediately to help their brother.
ii. Jesus knew that immediately would not provide the proper glory to God being given.
iii. There are times we want things right now.
iv. We have to learn to wait (Ps. 27:14; Lam. 3:25; Jam. 5:7-8).
c. What we believe is more important than what we feel.
i. Mary and Martha felt grief.
ii. Jesus felt it as well.
iii. But, Jesus knew people needed to believe the right thing.
iv. Because of that, Jesus waited and showed the power of God.
v. Our faith has to be grounded in truth, not our own feelings.
d. Jesus hurts with us.
i. Mary and Martha were hurting terribly and that hurt Jesus.
ii. Jesus sees us and hurts with us.
iii. Hebrews 4:15-16.
iv. He is touched by our feelings of weakness and hurting.
e. Jesus is the resurrection and the life.
i. If you have any hope, it has to be in Christ.
ii. We aren’t hoping for some relief, but for eternal life.
iii. Only in Christ is that found.