Believing Is Seeing

Tom Shrader walks through John 11:1-44, the account of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, drawing out the pastoral and theological significance of Jesus deliberately waiting before acting. He explores the grief of Mary and Martha, Jesus' own weeping, and the declaration 'I am the resurrection and the life,' applying these to believers facing suffering, doubt, and spiritual deadness. The raising of Lazarus is presented as a physical picture of spiritual truth — that Christ calls the dead to life and unbinds those He saves to live freely and purposefully.

“One day you will hear D. L. Moody of Northfield, Massachusetts is dead. Don't you believe it. In that day, I'll be more alive than I've ever been before.”

— Tom Shrader

Series: John: The Essence of Life (2005)

Recorded: 2005 at East Valley Bible Church

Duration: 50 min

Themes: grief, suffering, hope, faith, doubt, resurrection, waiting on god, death, grieving a loved one, struggling with doubt, waiting for god to act, feeling spiritually dead, questioning god's timing, new believer, facing terminal illness, walking through loss

Scripture: John 11:1-44, John 10:24, John 10:28, John 10:31, John 10:39, John 12:1-3, Luke 10:38-42, John 12:10, Psalm 119:71, Job 42:5, 2 Corinthians 1, John 9:1-4, Ephesians 5:16, Isaiah 53, Matthew 16:16

Theological Themes: resurrection, incarnation, i am statements, soteriology, spiritual rebirth, divine sovereignty, regeneration, christology

Full Transcript

Introducing the Characters

Bibles, if you would please, to John chapter 11. What we are going to look at this morning is big. Ray Stedman writes, "Apart from His own resurrection, this, without doubt, is the greatest of our Lord's miracles." John chapter 11 is the story of Mary and Martha and Lazarus. Lazarus is sick, he dies, Jesus comes to the tomb, cries "Lazarus, come forth," and out he comes. That is the story we will look at in the first 44 verses of chapter 11.

Let me remind you briefly of what we looked at over the last three weeks as we studied John chapter 10. Remember the question in John chapter 10, verse 24 — the Jews gathered around Him and were saying, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, if you are the Messiah, will you tell us plainly, tell us openly, tell us publicly?" The inference seems to be: if you are the Messiah, we have not heard it yet, and if we are not getting it, it is your fault because you have not told us. Implied in that seems to be, just tell us and we will believe.

So He tells them He has already told them. That is what He says in verse 28: "I told you this already, but you do not believe." And the reason He gives is, "You are not my sheep." They said, just tell us — that is all we want. Well, He told them, and in verse 31 they took up stones to stone Him. A little more dialogue, and then in verse 39 they are seeking again to seize Him, and He eludes their grasp. Jesus gives the scoffers and the doubters and the stubborn even more evidence of who He is, even more evidence of His Messiahship and His control over nature and the events of man.

Today we are going to look at this story, this event, and then apply it to our lives. As I was thinking through how to present it, I kept using phrases like, "Just imagine this," or "Have you ever been in these circumstances?" or "Maybe you are in these circumstances today," or "Put yourself in their place," or "Just think about this for a moment." I want to do a lot of that — I want to help the story come to life.

Many of you, though not all of you, are familiar with this story, and sometimes not being familiar with it is an advantage. We can become so familiar with it that we have almost sterilized it. We know the outcome: Jesus is going to raise him from the dead. This is a significant event with huge ramifications for you and for me here today. So let us get after it.

Meeting Mary, Martha, and Lazarus

"Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and his sister Martha. And it was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick." We have not yet, at least in John's Gospel, been introduced to these three people. They were three single people — two sisters and a brother living together. Jesus is a regular visitor to their house and a close friend of theirs.

Look at verse 3: "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick." And verse 5: "Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus." Jesus has a deep love for these three people, which only intensifies the story further. We have not yet been introduced to them, though we are about to meet them very quickly.

Look at John chapter 12. Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany where Lazarus was — whom Jesus had raised from the dead. "They made Jesus a supper and Martha was serving, but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him. Mary therefore took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair, and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume." We see all three of them here, almost exactly as they are depicted whenever Scripture shows them to us.

Earlier, in Luke chapter 10, verse 38, Jesus comes to the village of Bethany, and Luke writes: "A woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. She had a sister, Mary, who was seated at the Lord's feet listening to His words. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations and she came to Him and said, 'Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Tell her to help me.' And Jesus answered her and said, 'Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things, but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.'"

The Difference Is the Heart

In Luke chapter 10, it is just Jesus who comes to visit, and Martha is overwhelmed. I think there is one kind of host who simply loves having people around — magnificent living room, nice furniture, and of course no one is ever in it because they are all out in the kitchen picking at food that is not quite ready. But it does not bother the host because they are just glad everyone is there. That is not the condition Martha is in here in Luke 10. She is very concerned, very worried, and distracted.

Is there anything wrong with her serving? No. Look at the contrast in John chapter 12 — there she is serving again. In Luke 10, Jesus is likely there by Himself. In John 12, there are another fifteen or sixteen people present, and she is simply serving. The difference is not the action. It is her heart. Her heart was not right in Luke 10. She is concerned about herself — self-absorbed. Maybe it is her reputation. Maybe she is worried her guests will not be happy.

Believing Is Seeing

There is a tension here. Mary, in John 12, is exactly where we see her every time we meet her. She is at Jesus' feet. She is worshiping Him. She is bowing down before Him. Lazarus, interestingly enough, never speaks. We never hear a word recorded from his lips. He has gained notoriety from being raised from the dead. In a sense, he is a celebrity at this point. If you think that is remarkable, look at John 12, verse 10: the chief priests took counsel that they might put Lazarus to death also. His very presence is a testimony.

Someone has suggested that the three of them comprise a picture of the church — Lazarus, who has been moved and changed from death to life; Mary, who is a worshiper at the feet of Christ; and Martha, who is there to serve Christ. We have a tendency to pick one of those and settle there. But the point is that all of those elements are to be present in our lives.

The Extravagant Gift

I love this story in John 12, because I find myself in an interesting position. Look at what Mary does in verse 3. She takes this perfume, and we discover that it had a street value of about 300 denarii. A denarius is a day's wage, so what Mary has done is offer a gift worth about ten months' wages. Mark tells us she broke the seal, which means the perfume is no good beyond this moment. She has broken it open entirely.

I remember the first time I read this, I thought, what a waste. Couldn't she have done something better with the money? That was exactly my reaction. And there is something troubling in that, because there was someone in the story who agreed with me. Look at verse 4. I am not sure what it means that I was thinking like him, but it cannot be a good sign. He says, we could use this for the poor. And Jesus replied that the poor would always be with them, and that this was an appropriate use of the perfume. We could spend a great deal of time on that exchange alone, and perhaps we will come back to it. But for now, I want to give you a sense of these three people and who they are.

The Messenger and the Response

Lazarus of Bethany is sick. His sisters send a messenger to Jesus, and the messenger says, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick." The word used here for sickness means deathly ill — a sickness that has him sinking physically. If we take the time frames and put them together, Lazarus is, in reality, already dead at the point the message reaches Jesus. Jesus is two days away. He is going to wait two more days and then travel two more days, and by then Lazarus has been dead four days, as Martha later confirms.

This is not like today, where you can pick up a phone and reach someone on the other side of the world and say, get home right away. David McCullough, in his biography of John Adams, made the observation that news in that day and age only traveled as fast as the speed of a horse. It took time for that message to arrive.

When the word reaches Jesus that Lazarus is sick, here is what He says. Look at verse 4: "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified by it." I want to come back to that statement, because I think it ultimately produces some confusion. Then the text tells us that Jesus loved Martha and Mary and Lazarus, and when He heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.

A Strange Response from Someone Who Loves

Now that is a strange response, is it not? If we have established that Jesus loves these people, and Lazarus is deathly ill, the natural response when you love someone who is that sick is to act immediately. You dial 911. You go to the emergency room. At the very least, you say, we need to get you to a doctor right now.

We had a situation a few weeks ago where Haley was having some pretty severe pain, and of course she was pregnant, so we were especially cautious. The pain came back on Saturday while they were over for the Iowa game, and they took her straight to the birthing unit. The doctor examined her and said, you have kidney stones. My point is, I did not say, I know you are really sick, so let us wait a couple of days. That would have been an absurd response from someone who loves her. Yet that is exactly what Jesus does. He waited. So why is He waiting?

People Jesus Loves Still Get Sick

It is also significant to me that people Jesus loves get sick in the first place. There is a great deal of teaching circulating that says something like this: if you are a real believer, a true follower, really one of His own, you will not get sick. If you are really His, you will never be ill. If you are really His, there will be no adversity in your life, because God does not want you sick and He does not want you struggling.

Purpose in Suffering

He is sick, and He is sick for a purpose. There is purpose in illness. There is purpose in suffering, and hardship, and difficult times. David writes in Psalm 119, verse 71, "It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I might learn Thy statutes." Job says it this way, at the very end of all of his struggles: before I heard about You, now I have seen You. This sickness, this illness, this affliction has allowed me to see You work. I understand who You are even better now.

God works that way. He works all things together for good. He allows temptation, and difficulty, and hardship to come into our lives — not only for our own good, but so others might use it. That is what 2 Corinthians chapter 1 is about. You can now comfort others with the comfort with which He has comforted you.

I was sharing this morning, looking out at different people smiling — people whose stories I know, whose lives I know. My point to them was this: you have had really hard things come into your life, difficult things, things you would have never solicited, never said "bring it on" to. But they came, and God has used them in an extraordinary way. Now you have been on the other side, where you can sit with somebody and say, "I know what you are going through. I know how difficult it is. I know it is not easy. But I want to tell you there is hope. God is a good God, and a powerful God, and a mighty God, who does extraordinary things — and let me tell you what He did in my life."

There are all sorts of reasons suffering comes. And there is a great deal of material out there — some of it given to us during this season — that starts from the premise that God does not want anybody to be sick. That is simply not true. Consider what we see in Scripture.

The Man Born Blind

Turn to John chapter 9. In verse 1, as He passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. His disciples asked, "Rabbi, who has sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be blind?" And Jesus answered, "It was neither this man who sinned nor his parents, but it was ordered that the works of God might be displayed in him." Now turn to the passage we are in, John chapter 11. Look at verse 4: "This sickness is not unto death, but it is for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified by it." God has a purpose here. He is going to demonstrate His power.

At the end of this story there will be great encouragement for those of us who would say Jesus is Lord, and an extraordinary warning for those who say, "No, not me — I do not believe." So Jesus stays. He stays two days longer where He was. And they are probably waiting, perhaps hoping. You may have found yourself there — hurting, desperate, needy, petitioning God, wanting to hear from Him, and yet He does not respond.

One author writes this: "Loneliness, loss, pain, sorrow — these are the disciplines that are God's gifts to drive us to His very heart, to increase our capacity for Him, to sharpen our sensitivities and understanding, to temper our spiritual lives so that they might become channels of His mercy to others and so bear fruit for His kingdom. But these disciplines must be seized upon and used, not thwarted."

That is my tendency — to run away from the pain, to find a way to alleviate it. I suspect you have the same tendency. When someone comes to you hurting, the first thing you look for is some way to relieve the pain, rather than to ask: what is God's purpose in this? Perhaps the best thing for this person is to suffer through it, to learn this lesson. The same author continues: these disciplines "must not be seen as excuses for living in the shadows of half-lives, but as messengers, however painful, to bring our souls into vital contact with the living God, that our lives may be filled to overflowing with Himself in ways that may perhaps be impossible to those who know less of life's darkness." The point is plain — suffering has a purpose, and it has a reason.

The Journey Back to Judea

So after two days, Jesus says in verse 7, "Let us go to Judea again." And His disciples say, wait — the last time we were there they were seeking to stone You, and You want to go again? They had just left because the people were trying to stone Him, trying to kill Him, trying to seize Him and put Him to death. By implication, the disciples understood this was not good for them either.

Jesus then says something that at first is a little puzzling: "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble because he sees the light of the world. But if anyone walks at night, he stumbles because the light is not in him." Now, the first thing you might notice is that there are not twelve hours in a day — there are twenty-four. So what is He communicating?

Walking in the Light

Turn back again to John chapter 9, verse 4. Here is what He is saying: "We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day. Night is coming when no man can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." It is amazing to me —

The Finiteness of Time

The parallels between John chapter 9 and John chapter 11 and these two extraordinary miracles are significant. Jesus is very clear that in both cases, this is for His glory. And right here, as He said back in John chapter 9, verse 4, He is emphasizing the finiteness of time — the fact that we don't have forever, that there are things to do and we need to be about them.

God has put you here for a reason. He has left you here as a Christian for a reason. You have a span of life, and I don't think there is anything you can do to extend it or shorten it. You can improve the quality of it while you are here, but the span is set. And presumably, He is also giving you something to do — He has put a call on your life.

Some of you would say you know exactly what that call is. Others would say they are not really sure. But God has called you to do something, and this is really important: if God has called you to do something, then He has also given you enough time to do it. That is a huge point, because I run into people all the time who at least practically don't seem to believe it. They are always saying, "I don't have enough time. I know God wants me to do this, but I don't have enough time."

Let's break it down. Either God indeed did not want you to do it — that was not part of His call — or He has given you something to do and He is going to give you enough time to do it. There is no way the Creator God of the universe is going to say you are called to do something but then not provide enough hours in a day to accomplish it.

I was reading something this week from a secular writer talking about life and how busy it is. He made the point that money comes and goes, but the most precious commodity we have is our time. That is why Paul says in Ephesians 5:16, "make the most of your time" — redeem the time, don't waste it. God has given you enough time. If you feel you don't have enough time, it is because either you have expanded His call beyond what He actually assigned to you, or you have wasted time.

Time, Distance, and Stewardship

We have had conversations about time in this place — some of them not entirely comfortable. The further people move away, and the more time spent commuting, the more this becomes a real issue. It is not at all unusual now to talk with people commuting an hour or an hour and a half each way. When I came to the valley in 1975, you could get just about anywhere in ten or fifteen minutes. Now, if someone is in a car three hours a day on top of a full workday, yes, time runs short — and all of those realities need to be taken into consideration. But the heart of what Jesus is saying here is: you have the time, so don't waste it.

Lazarus Is Dead

"And He said to them, 'Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go that I may awaken him out of the sleep.' The disciples said to Him, 'Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.' Now Jesus had spoken of death, but they thought He was speaking of literal sleep. Therefore Jesus said to them plainly, 'Lazarus is dead.'"

That is a troubling statement. These disciples are walking with Jesus — they have seen Him walk on water, they have watched Him do extraordinary things. And now Jesus says Lazarus is dead. Why is that a problem? Because back in verse 4, He said, "This sickness is not unto death." He had told them at the outset that Lazarus was not going to die. Now He is telling them Lazarus is dead. You can imagine the thought forming: are you losing your touch? Or maybe you aren't who we thought you were — even though we believe you are the Messiah. Have you ever been there? Starting to wonder, starting to question, starting to doubt?

Doubt and Faith

I received an email this morning from one of the girls who graduated from high school last year. She has gone away to college on her own, not with a group, at a school far from home. She wrote: "Sorry it took me so long to write. I'm doing well here. I have a lot of friends. I like my classes, and I've already found a church and a college ministry that I like. For a while, one of my classes was aggravating me, but I'm doing okay now. It was giving me doubts — all of which I could deal with, but I was upset that I was having doubts at all."

Let me stop there. This is a very thoughtful girl, and sometimes that is a great strength, and sometimes it creates its own complications — because now she is worried that she is worried. That kind of intensity can become its own problem. But then she continues: "Now I'm doubting less, but more importantly, I'm okay when I doubt. I know the truth, and the truth will stand up to any doubt, so long as I don't put too much trust in my finite human reasoning. I've been growing a lot and learning to depend on and serve God. It's easy to get distracted though. I've also been sharing a lot more than ever before."

Believing Is Seeing — Part 5

I thought of the disciples at this point when I got this email downloaded this morning. They have got to be wondering what is going on. He is not going to die, and now he is dead. And beyond that, we have already seen a very unusual response — when they loved him and everything, Jesus did not go to him. And then, this is really bizarre: verse 15, Lazarus is dead, and Jesus says, "I am glad."

Wait a minute — I thought you loved him. Why are you glad? He said, "I am glad for your sake that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him." That is the whole object of these miracles, is it not? That is what John says. That is why he recorded these — that you would see these miracles and might believe that Jesus is the Christ, and that believing in Him, you might have eternal life.

When we study this story today and use the word "story," we do not mean some fictitious account of a make-believe tale used by ancient minds to capture magnificent truths for simple people. This is an actual occurrence.

Thomas: Loyalty in Grief

"Thomas, therefore, who was called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, 'Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.'" This is not going to work out, the glass is half empty — let us all go die and get it over with. When I hear Thomas say that, I think, as you probably do, of doubting Thomas — old Thomas who was not in the room and said he would not believe unless he put his fingers in the wounds.

But I think what you see here in verse 16 is loyalty. Remember when we looked at the account of Thomas not being in the room? He was not there. Why? My sense is that he was simply overwhelmed with the loss of the Savior, because here he is ready to die with Him. I do not think he is making this up. He is so loyal that he says, "We are going to die — let us go do it."

He Has Already Been Four Days in the Tomb

Jesus came, and in verse 17 He found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. I have written in my Bible next to that: he is really dead. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother.

Martha, therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him. But Mary stayed seated at the house.

Martha's Faith

Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died." That was great faith. I do not think she is reprimanding Him. I do not think she is saying, "Why did You not come?" I think she is saying, "If You had been here, You could have done something, because You are an incredible God." That is what she has in mind.

In fact, she goes on: "Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give to You." Now at first glance, if you were putting yourself in her sandals and thinking this through, you might say she is hoping He will raise Lazarus from the dead. I do not think that is in her mind, though. Look at Jesus' response — "Your brother will rise again." She says, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." Even when Jesus says he will rise again, she does not place it in the context of here and now.

So what is she thinking? What is going on in her mind? Ray Stedman writes this: we have concluded that she is looking for comfort, for a release that God can give to a heart that is burdened and saddened, torn with grief, anticipating the loneliness and emptiness of the days ahead.

Asking God for Relief

That may be you. "Lord, I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give to You" — and here is what I am asking for. You may be right there right now. I want relief. I have a heart that is so heavy, a burden that is so great, and a loneliness that is overpowering. Like Paul, it feels like the world is crushing in around me, and God, I know You will give me relief. I know You will never leave me or forsake me.

Do not be afraid to ask Him for that. Do not be afraid to pour out your heart and tell Him that you are hurting and that this is painful — or even that it is not fair and you are lonely. Maybe you are there. Maybe it is someone you have loved so much and now they are gone, and there will never be anyone who takes their place. There just will not. And that is not a bad thing — it is because you loved them so much.

I love at memorial services to talk to the family and say, "Listen, there will never be anyone who takes the place of your husband, your dad, your friend, your brother. It is not going to happen." But God will come along and give you relief. Every time I talk to Sue Wright I will say, "How are you doing?" And she will say, "I miss Larry so much. It has been four years now. I cannot wait to see Larry again." And then, "How are you doing otherwise?" — "I am doing pretty well." I think those two statements go together.

I Am the Resurrection and the Life

Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?"

Now that sounds like a lot to sort through, does it not? He is mixing the spiritual and the physical together, and here is what He is saying. If you believe in Him, you will never die spiritually. If you believe in Him, you will never perish spiritually. Physically, you are going to die. The wage of sin is death — physical death, spiritual death. You are in a body that is decaying day by day.

Believing Is Seeing

I came around the corner the other day while I was changing, and the doors were open — as they always are. It was a very ugly sight. Not something you want to see right after eating. It was not pretty. I thought to myself, this is just the way it is — it's decaying. I remember someone used to say he had furniture disease: his chest had fallen into his drawers. That's just the way it is. I know I'm dying, but I also know that I'm going to live forever.

Toward the end of his life, D. L. Moody wrote this: "One day you will hear D. L. Moody of Northfield, Massachusetts is dead. Don't you believe it. In that day, I'll be more alive than I've ever been before." That's what he's talking about. He's talking about heaven. Do you believe it?

Martha's Confession of Faith

Here's what Martha said, in verse 27: "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, you're the Messiah, you're the Son of God, you're the deity, and you are He who comes into the world." This is very similar to Peter's response recorded in Matthew 16:16. When Jesus asked, "Who do the people say that I am?" and they told Him, He then asked, "Who do you say that I am?" And Peter said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

After Martha said this, she went away and called her sister Mary, saying secretly, "The Teacher is here and He is calling for you." Now I know I'm a mile outside the text here, but here is what I'm guessing. I'm guessing that Jesus and Martha had a conversation — and Jesus loves Martha, He loves Lazarus, and He loves Mary — and I'm guessing Jesus said to Martha, "How is Mary doing?" I find myself saying that. When somebody is hurt, when someone has died or is sick, I find myself saying to the spouse, "How is she doing?" And I'm guessing Martha said, "Not so great." And Jesus said, "Well, tell her to come and see Me."

When Mary heard this, she arose quickly and came to Him. Jesus had not yet come into the village but was still in the place where Martha had met Him. The Jews who were with her in the house consoling her, when they saw Mary rise up quickly and go out, followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to weep there. These were the ones who had come to comfort her. In some cases, people would actually hire mourners to come and play instruments while they grieved. Apparently Mary and Martha were well loved, because these were genuine friends.

Mary at the Feet of Jesus

Therefore, when Mary came to where Jesus was, she saw Him and fell at His feet. That is where we see Mary every time she appears. And she said, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died." That sounds familiar — it is word for word what Martha said in verse 21: "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."

Here is my guess. Lazarus was lying inside, sick unto death, and they were sitting around while people brought food, and everyone knew it was a death watch. My guess is that Mary said to Martha, or Martha said to Mary, "You know, if Jesus were here, he would not die." That thought stuck in both their minds. Their response is the same: "Jesus, if You had been here, I know You could have done something. I know You loved him — if You had only been here."

Jesus Weeps

When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. The word used here is not common in the New Testament — it carries at times the sense of indignation, anger, or groaning. He asked, "Where have you laid him?" And they said to Him, "Lord, come and see."

In the English New Testament, the shortest verse is this: "Jesus wept." We see His humanity here, reminded in Scripture that He gets hungry and thirsty and tired and passionate. Speaking of the Messiah who would come, Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 53 that "He is a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief" — and He weeps.

Why is He crying? There are many commentators with many different views. One whom I really respect said He is weeping here over their unbelief that He would raise Lazarus. I just don't see that. I think Jesus simply sees sin and the effect of sin, and it breaks His heart. He weeps with those who weep. If Paul is telling us to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep, I think some of that is present here. His heart is broken. Real men really cry.

The Jews were saying, "Behold how He loved him" — moved with grief and sorrow just as they were. But some of them said, "Could not this man, who opened the eyes of him who was blind, have kept this man also from dying?"

The Stone Is Removed

Jesus, again deeply moved within, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was laid against it. Jesus said, "Remove the stone." Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days." They did not embalm these bodies. They would take them, wrap them in linen, and place aromatic spices inside, hoping to overcome the smell of decomposition. She said, in essence, he stinks — he is really dead.

Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you, if you believe, you will see the glory of God?" So they removed the stone, and Jesus raised His eyes and prayed. It is not a prayer of petition. It is a prayer of thanksgiving: "Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast heard Me. I knew that Thou hearest Me always, but because of the people standing around I said it, that they may believe that Thou hast sent Me."

What has been on Jesus' mind from the beginning of this story to this very point is that this is for your sake. This is so that you might believe. This is so that you would see and respond.

Unbind Him and Let Him Go

"And when he had said such things, he cried out with a loud voice, 'Lazarus, come forth.' And he who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. And Jesus said to them, 'Unbind him and let him go.'" Ray Stedman says this is what he hears his congregation cry every week: "Unbind us and let us go." Do you see the obvious here? It is a physical picture of a spiritual truth — that you and I are spiritually dead, and there is absolutely nothing we can do to save ourselves.

But the sheep hear His voice. There was that day, March 6, 1980, when He cried out, "Tom, come forth." And for many of you, He has called you by name. "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them." There is an intimacy there that is established by God Himself. He is the one who introduces us into this relationship, puts us in it, keeps us in it, and we follow Him.

It is a physical picture of a spiritual truth that all of us are dead in our sins and trespasses. The wage of sin is death — we are dead spiritually. It is so deceiving, because we are in this body that is so alive, and yet dead inside. He calls you, and if you come, He saves you.

Set Free from Bondage

I also think verse 44 is a physical picture of a spiritual truth. He unbinds you. You do not need to be afraid anymore — that is part of living for Him. You do not need to be worried anymore. As Paul says, you were bought at a price, so do not enslave yourself to the things of man.

You do not have to drink anymore. You do not have to do those drugs anymore. You do not have to be locked into that spend, spend, spend, enslave-yourself-to-the-Bank-of-America thought process anymore. You are not held in bondage and captive to all those things in your past anymore. He sets you free. It is a powerful thought.

Sometimes we have this idea that God saved us, and that is great, and we are just going to slug it out until someday we all fly away. That is not what He has in mind. "I am the resurrection" — there is the future. But "I am the life" — there is the present. "I have come that you might have life and have it abundantly." This life here has meaning and purpose.

No Excuse for Living Poorly

If you are living a life that is miserable, here is the good news — it is your fault. And that is genuinely good news, because if it is your fault, you can fix it. That is not the way He designed you to live. This is not some health, wealth, and prosperity message. This is simply the way He wants you to live.

I heard a story a couple of weeks ago about a couple on their way to church — a true story. I am not going to give you the details, but the fight they had was absolutely incredible. Pushing one another over with a car — that is a problem. Why are you living that way? Either you are not a follower of Christ and you are coming here to play a game, or if you are a follower of Christ, you do not need to live that way.

You do not need to carry anger and bitterness. When you watch people consumed by bitterness and anger, all they are doing is beating themselves up. You do not have to live that way. Life is not fair — no kidding, and you got a raw deal. But perspective matters. The Creator God of the universe sent His Son to die so that you might have eternal life, and now you can live a life consumed with something other than yourself.

Martha as an Example

Think about Martha when we first meet her. She is in a panic. "The Lord is coming — what am I going to do? I have to clean. The house is not ready." The next time we see her, with sixteen or seventeen people present, she is there serving with a joyful heart. What is your heart? Look in the mirror. You are not fooling anybody — we all see it.

Why are you living the way you are living? I will tell you why — because you want to. You may say, "No, I don't." But I guarantee you do. He has unbound you and let you go. You are not a victim anymore. Always a victim, never a villain. Always somebody else's fault, always somebody else's problem — that is no way to live.

Being so busy, in such a hurry, with so much going on, that you cannot enjoy God as He works in your heart — that is no way to live either. These are amazing truths.

An Invitation

Perhaps you are here today and this all feels foreign to you. You are saying, "That is not me. I am wound so tight. I am so self-absorbed. I have my pride and my sin, and there is no way God is ever going to forgive me." That is not what He says. He says to all who are weary to come to Him — that if you confess your sin, He will forgive you, and that if you acknowledge that Jesus is Lord, this can be the day He saves you.

You will have eternal life, and you will have an extraordinary life here — a magnificent life filled with meaning and purpose and joy and love and real friends who will experience His grace together with you.

Looking Ahead

When we get to verse 45 next week, I want to look at that passage carefully, because to me it is one of the most amazing sections of Scripture in the entire New Testament. It is a passage that speaks directly to the sovereignty of God and to God opening eyes. We will pick up right there next week.

Father, help us see these truths. God, our hearts are filled with joy — those of us who know You. We love You because You first loved us. Thank You that we are not just victims, but that we have been redeemed and unbound and loosened. God, as we leave this place and head home or to work or to school, wherever it is that we find struggle, I pray that this week You would allow us to overcome — to overcome that bitter, sour attitude, to overcome that hard heart, to overcome that arrogance or that pride, or whatever sin it is that is keeping us from You.

Believing Is Seeing

Experiencing the life that You really have for us — God, do a mighty work in our life. We pray it to You in Jesus' name, amen. Have a great week. We'll see you next week.