Sermon - John 11 - It all counts - Littleby Baptist Church - June 9, 2019

Open your Bibles to John chapter 11 as we continue to look at Jesus’ life and ministry.

John 11:1-4

“11 Now a man was sick, Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. ² Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair, and it was her brother Lazarus who was sick. ³ So the sisters sent a message to him: “Lord, the one you love is sick.” ⁴ When Jesus heard it, he said, “This sickness will not end in death but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.””

Jesus, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were obviously friends.

Verse 4 states that this is for the glory of God and so that the Son of God may be glorified… everything we are looking at this morning was done for the glory of God and so that the Son may be glorified, these words are also telling us to pay close attention as we are going to read about something that is truly amazing. We are going to read about God at work.

John 11:5-6

“⁵ Now Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus. ⁶ So when he heard that he was sick, he stayed two more days in the place where he was.”

Jesus loved Mary, Martha, and Lazarus so much that when He heard that Lazarus was ill, He stayed put for two more days. Knowing how this adventure ends makes it easier to swallow, but I wonder how Mary and Martha felt. The messenger would have surely returned to them and let them know that the message was delivered but that Jesus did not seem to be in a hurry. As they watched their brother get sicker and sicker as he got closer to death, they must have questioned why Jesus was not there.

Ever have a time in your life when you wonder where God is? A time where you felt afraid, overwhelmed, lost, weak, or hopeless. Times when we know we cannot handle this stuff on our own and we may wonder where is God in all of this? It can be very discouraging, and I bet that is how Mary, Martha, and Lazarus felt.

John 11:7-10

“⁷ Then after that, he said to the disciples, “Let’s go to Judea again.” ⁸ “Rabbi,” the disciples told him, “just now the Jews tried to stone you, and you’re going there again?” ⁹ “Aren’t there twelve hours in a day?” Jesus answered. “If anyone walks during the day, he doesn’t stumble, because he sees the light of this world. ¹⁰ But if anyone walks during the night, he does stumble, because the light is not in him.””

The disciples were concerned for Jesus safety and did not understand what Jesus was telling them. His point was that if they were going about the Father’s business nothing would happen to them outside of the Father’s will. God has a Plan for us and if we are following His will, we don’t need to worry. Our end will come, but not before we complete what God has called us to do. We will not always understand what God is doing, but we need to trust in His will and have faith that His will, will be done in our lives.

John 11:11-15

“¹¹ He said this, and then he told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I’m on my way to wake him up.” ¹² Then the disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will get well.” ¹³ Jesus, however, was speaking about his death, but they thought he was speaking about natural sleep. ¹⁴ So Jesus then told them plainly, “Lazarus has died. ¹⁵ I’m glad for you that I wasn’t there so that you may believe. But let’s go to him.”¹⁶ Then Thomas (called “Twin”) said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s go too so that we may die with him.””

Jesus seems to contradict His earlier statement in that this will not result in Lazarus’ death, but those who travel with Him will truly understand after these events unfold. Isn’t that how it always is, something we do not understand happens and we wonder what God is up to, and then when we see the end result we see that God was at work every step of the way.

John 11:17-27

“¹⁷ When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. ¹⁸ Bethany was near Jerusalem (less than two miles away). ¹⁹ Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother. ²⁰ As soon as Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him, but Mary remained seated in the house. ²¹ Then Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died. ²² Yet even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” ²³ “Your brother will rise again,” Jesus told her. ²⁴ Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” ²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live. ²⁶ Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” ²⁷ “Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who comes into the world.””

Talk about faith… there is no wishy-washy-ness to what Martha says. She knew that her brother would have lived. She had complete faith in Jesus and His ability to do awesome things. Even when Jesus stated that her brother would rise again, even though Marth missed the real meaning behind Jesus’ words she confirmed her belief in everything she heard Jesus teach. Then in verse 27 she states that she believes that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. There was no doubt in this woman. She demonstrated for us complete faith in what Jesus taught, what He is capable of, and who He is. Even though she would have wondered why Jesus wasn’t there to heal her brother, may question what He was doing, she had complete faith. We to need to have faith like these, even when we do not understand what is happening.  

Look at verses 25 and 26 again.

“²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live. ²⁶ Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

Jesus is saying that He is the source for all of the power to resurrect all who believe. While this earthly shell we live in will die and rot, Jesus has the power to give us eternal life. With faith in the Great I Am, we will never die. It may be hard for some to comprehend, but our faith in Jesus means when this life is over the best is yet to come. We need to trust in Him.

John 11:28-37

“²⁸ Having said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” ²⁹ As soon as Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. ³⁰ Jesus had not yet come into the village but was still in the place where Martha had met him. ³¹ The Jews who were with her in the house consoling her saw that Mary got up quickly and went out. They followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to cry there. ³² As soon as Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and told him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died!” ³³ When Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews who had come with her crying, he was deeply moved in his spirit and troubled. ³⁴ “Where have you put him?” he asked. “Lord,” they told him, “come and see.” ³⁵ Jesus wept. ³⁶ So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” ³⁷ But some of them said, “Couldn’t he who opened the blind man’s eyes also have kept this man from dying?”

Martha went and got May, who also demonstrated her faith by stating that if Jesus had been there their brother would not have died.

John 11:38-45

“³⁸ Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. ³⁹ “Remove the stone,” Jesus said. Martha, the dead man’s sister, told him, “Lord, there is already a stench because he has been dead four days.” ⁴⁰ Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” ⁴¹ So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you heard me. ⁴² I know that you always hear me, but because of the crowd standing here I said this, so that they may believe you sent me.” ⁴³ After he said this, he shouted with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” ⁴⁴ The dead man came out bound hand and foot with linen strips and with his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unwrap him and let him go.” ⁴⁵ Therefore, many of the Jews who came to Mary and saw what he did believed in him.”

Faith was stated by the words of Martha and Mary several times in this chapter, but it was demonstrated when they rolled away the stone.

Jesus being a man, called out to Father God thanking Him so that all could hear that Jesus was ‘sent’ by the Father and ‘doing’ the Father’s will.

Jesus called out to Lazarus and he rose from the dead and walked out of the tomb.

Those who had heard Marth and Mary confess their faith, heard them state that they trusted in Him, heard Jesus declare that He is the Resurrection and the Life, they witnessed the act of rolling away the stone, and heard Jesus declare that He was sent by God, then witnessed a miracle and believed.

All these things stacked together to show God’s Love and Jesus’ Mission.

We may wonder if what we do has any impact on the people around us, and this chapter shows it does.

If you take away Marth or Mary confessing their faith – people may not have known that they believed that Jesus was the Messiah.

If they did not hear Jesus declare that He has the power and authority – they may not have stayed around to see what He was going to do.

If they did not put their faith in action by rolling away the stone – the miracle may never have happened.

If they did not hear Jesus declare that He was sent by God to do the Father’s will – they may have thought it was just some parlor trick.

If you take any of these away, people may not have believed. So those little things we do like stating proudly that we are a Christian, making prayer a priority even in public, sharing about church events, inviting people to church, or telling them about the miracle that Jesus has done in our own lives. Any of those things that people see and hear as you live your life as a Christ follower can have an impact on them believing. You never know which one is that final straw that will break down the wall and result in the miracle of their eyes being opened to the truth.

In Matthew chapter 5 we are told that we are the ‘light of the world’, we need to shine that light in every day and in every way.

Let’ Jesus light shine through you so that the world can see Him in you. 

May the Lord Bless You,

Robert