2017.04.23                                   John 11: 45-57

              I am the resurrection and the Life              

                            Lazarus  Part 2

Good Morning…. I am glad to be with you this morning… I have Good News for You! His name is Jesus… We are on a great adventure… We are Experiencing the Life and ministry of Jesus… Once again this morning we are studying the Gospel of John…

We just Celebrated the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus last week… We also finished a series on the Resurrection… You can catch up by listening on line at the website… It was a big picture look at the events leading up to the cross and the resurrection… Beginning this morning we will pick up where we left off in the Gospel of John… We are going to take a closer look now at the last days of Jesus earthly ministry…

Turn in your Bible to John chapter 11… You will remember that In John chapter 11… Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead… Many people had witnessed the resurrection of Lazarus… This is Jesus´ final public miracle…   

The news of the raising of Lazarus from the dead will spread like wildfire through the crowds as they go up to Jerusalem… Everybody will hear what Jesus did… this morning we will read from John 11… v45… Jesus has just raised Lazarus from the dead! Incredible miracle…

John 11: 45-57                           NKJV   slt 2000

45 Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him. 46 But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did. 47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, “What shall we do? For this Man works many signs. 48 If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation.” 49 And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, 50 nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish.” 51 Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 52 and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad. 53 Then, from that day on, they plotted to put Him to death. 54 Therefore Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there into the country near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, and there remained with His disciples. 55 And the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went from the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves. 56 Then they sought Jesus, and spoke among themselves as they stood in the temple, “What do you think—that He will not come to the feast?” 57 Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a command, that if anyone knew where He was, he should report it, that they might seize Him.

Lazarus has been raised from the dead by the Spoken word of Jesus in John 11:44… scroll down… v45-48…

Many people are witnesses of this miracle… and they believed in Jesus…  v45… But… Sadly some  did not believe… They ran to tell the Pharisees what he had done…  v46…

Look at Verses 47,48…

The “Council” is the Sanhedrin, the Supreme Court of the Jewish nation… So the Jesus issue is huge now...

The Leaders of Israel are fed up with the growing fame of Jesus… They had been trying to shut Him up for a while now… Now they are becoming afraid… The goal of this council is not to find truth... They do not want to discover the truth…. They are determined to stop this man who said… I am the Resurrection and the Life… They refuse to repent and so they refuse to believe… The goal of this council is survival… They are determined to keep their power…  More and more people are becoming excited that perhaps Jesus is the long promised Messiah… They are afraid that this will encourage the Zealots to claim sovereignty for the state of Israel… The religious rulers are afraid that a religious rebellion may cause the Roman Empire to come crashing down on them… Then the little bit of freedom and autonomy that Israel has… Will disappear…  and The Romans may even destroy the temple and the nation…

So Jesus is now not just a blasphemer who needs to be stoned… John 10:33, 36… They see Jesus as a threat to   the existence of the very nation of Israel itself…

In response to this threat Caiaphas… the high priest… has a word from God… Because of his position… He has great authority and God will use him to prophesy to the people… look with me at v 49-53…

You know nothing… In other words… he rebukes them and then says… Here’s the solution… We kill him... Better that one die so the nation can survive… We kill him so that the Romans won’t kill us… He suggests the use of Jesus as a Substitute… His life for the nation… Caiaphas is being murderous and practical in his suggestion…. He is finally saying out loud exactly what he thinks is at stake… He wants to encourage unity in Killing Jesus… look at v51,52…  

Here John explains  Caiaphas’s words... It is Prophesy put in his mouth by God… It is the clear prophesy of the scriptures… Genuine substitution… It is not only for the Jewish people… But also for the gentiles… God gathering all believers into the church… v53… So now more than ever they are determined to Kill Jesus… look at v54-57… Jesus leaves His enemies and goes to an area on the edge of the wilderness… There are now standing orders to seize Jesus…. They will kill Him as soon as they get the chance… We can learn about God in this text… It is filled with soild truth… Let´s apply these truths to our lives… scroll down for the listlist…

Truth

1 God is Sovereign… John 11: 50,51

2 God has provided a Substitute… John 11: 50,51

3 God saves us because of His Grace… John 11: 50,51

4 The proper response Is Worship… John 12…

Application

1 God is Sovereign… John 11: 50,51… In these short verses we see the Sovereign plan of God to provide a substitute for our sin and pride and rebellion… The cross was not a mistake… God´s plan did not do wrong…. The cross was God´s plan from before the creation of the world… It is the ultimate expression of His grace and mercy…

So be strong in the face of hard times… No matter how bad it looks..

Because God is not simply watching and waiting to turn it all for good… He is involved in all of the events of our lives… He is active in our lives…. He is in them from the beginning… He has promised to use everything that happens for your good...

From the outside, the words of Caiaphas simply looked like a hostile human plan that would kill Jesus… But John shows us that the very words that called for Jesus´ execution were not just the words of Caiaphas, but God’s words…

 He prophesied… And God had a Sovereign plan for these events… And so it will be in your life… I think of the many times in the Bible where this proved true… Joseph… David… and of course… Lazarus…  Jesus said that his tragic death was for the Glory of God…  John 11:4… 

Inside every disaster in our lives… God is at work… Working in us and through us for our good and His eternal Glory…

 Everything will be turned for our good… for your good…. I know that you don´t see it yet…. But The Word of God rings true… Look with me at Romans 8:18…

Romans 8: 18                   NKJV   slt 2000

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

18 Denn ich bin überzeugt, dass dieser Zeit Leiden nicht ins Gewicht fallen gegenüber der Herrlichkeit, die an uns offenbart werden soll.

Don’t get freaked out and judge by appearances… Trust the Sovereign plan of God… God has turned many apparent defeats into awesome victories through …

2 God has provided a Substitute

In the face of our own ongoing sinfulness… Yes even as believers we still battle our sin and pride… In fact…  If you are at all like me… Every day…  The Good news is that our Salvation does not depend upon us at all… We should take great comfort that the very heart of Christianity is substitution... The Substitutionary Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ is the main string in the Scarlett thread of redemption… It is woven all through the Scriptures… so to paraphrase John 11: 50-52… look at it again please…. Scroll down…

John 11: 49- 52

When Caiaphas said these words… He meant… We will kill Jesus… so the Romans won’t kill us… But God meant… In my Sovereignity… I have provided the substitute… The lamb of God who takes away the sins of the entire world.. John 1: 29… I will kill my Son so I don’t have to kill you… 1 Peter 2:24 and 1 Peter 3:18…

God in His Sovereign plan sent Jesus to substitute Himself for our sins… He paid the price of our sin and rebellion… This Sovereign plan… This Substitutionary Atonement is the content of the Grace and Mercy that He has poured out on our lives… scroll down for the list…

3 God saves us because of His Grace…

We can take comfort in this very important truth… The end result for us is unfailing love and mercy… Grace to people who did not deserve it… People like me and maybe some of you…  

Paul talks a lot about this in his letter to the Romans… Romans 8…v1 says… There is no Condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus… None… This is so important for our daily lives… We have been redeemed… We can have rock- solid confidence in the total success of the cross… The cross… And the redemption that Jesus purchased for us… Cannot fail to save us… Because It is not dependent on us at all… Of course we do need to ask ourselves this question…. Are we truly in Christ…  Have we seen Jesus with our ears… Have we repented of our sins and cried out to Him to forgive us and wash us clean…  If so… We have nothing to fear… What Grace… He who has begun a good work in us… The Father through the Lord Jesus…. He will be faithful to complete it… Philippians 1:16…

There is something else for us in this redemption… If you have trusted Christ as Savior and Lord… He has promised that He will never leave us…. He will never forsake us… It is all Jesus… He chose you… He bought you… He continues to transform us into the image of His dear son… also in Romans 8…  Memorize it for you own good…. It begins with…. No condemnation and ends with the promise of no separation… How wonderful is that… That leads us to the final point in our list…

4 The proper response Is Worship… John 12…

Remember there were no chapter breaks in the original texts… John 12..1-11…

John 12: 1-11    NKJV  slt 2000

1 Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. 2 There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. 3 Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. 4 But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said, 5 “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.

7 But Jesus said, “Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial. 8 For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always.”9 Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. 10 But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, 11 because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus..

 As we begin this chapter… we are entering the last week of Jesus´ earthly ministry… It is full of detail and we see Jesus clearly… Loving His own till the very end…

Look with me at John 12:1-3…

v2a… There they made Him a supper…  Less than a week before His crucifixion… Jesus attended a dinner with His friends… Martha, Lazarus, and Mary were also there…

v2b… Martha served… Without complaining this time… She was joyfully serving Her Lord…

v2c… Lazarus sat at table… You could say that he was communing with Jesus around a meal…. This is the picture of every Communion service…  Fellowship and communion with Jesus…

v3... Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus… Then  Mary Worshipped Him…

We have in these three siblings a great picture of Ministry… Service… Communion… Fellowship and worship from the heart…. Generous and open for the world to see… Mary's gift was very humble… When a guest entered the home… Normally a servant washed  the guest's feet  with water… And the guest's head was anointed with a dab of oil or perfume... Here, Mary served Jesus… She used this precious ointment and anointed  Jesus´  feet… Her gift was extravagant... She used a large amount very expensive oil of spikenard… Spices and ointments were often used as an investment because they were portable… and were easy to sell if needed…

Mary's worship was done without thought of her audience… She also wiped His feet with her hair… This means that she let down her hair in public… That is something a Jewish woman would not do…

Last night we had a wonderful Praise and worship evening… The worship time was awesome… Robin brought the Word… It was awesome… What you missed it… Oh mannn… next time you need to come… You will be Blessed…. One of the texts that Robin used last night is a perfect summary of the points for today…

Look with me at 1 Peter 1: 3-8…

1 Peter 1: 3-8                NLT        Neues Leben

3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, 4 and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. 5 And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see. 6 So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. 7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. 8 You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy.

3 Gelobt sei der Gott und Vater unseres Herrn Jesus Christus, denn er hat uns in seiner großen Barmherzigkeit das Vorrecht geschenkt, wiedergeboren zu werden. Jetzt haben wir eine lebendige Hoffnung, weil Jesus Christus von den Toten auferstanden ist. 4 Denn Gott hat für seine Kinder ein unvergängliches Erbe, das rein und unversehrt im Himmel für euch aufbewahrt wird. 5 Und in seiner großen Macht wird er euch durch den Glauben beschützen, bis ihr das ewige Leben empfangt. Es wird am Ende der Zeit für alle sichtbar offenbart werden. 6 Freut euch deshalb von Herzen! Vor euch liegt eine große Freude, auch wenn ihr für eine Weile viel erdulden müsst. 7 Dies dient nur dazu, euren Glauben zu prüfen, damit sich zeigt, ob er wirklich stark und rein ist. Er wird erprobt, so wie Gold im Feuer geprüft und geläutert wird - und euer Glaube ist Gott sehr viel kostbarer als bloßes Gold. Wenn euer Glaube also stark bleibt, nachdem er durch große Schwierigkeiten geprüft wurde, wird er euch viel Lob und Herrlichkeit und Ehre einbringen an dem Tag, an dem Jesus Christus der ganzen Welt offenbart werden wird. 8 Ihn liebt ihr, obwohl ihr ihn nie gesehen habt. Obwohl ihr ihn nicht seht, glaubt ihr an ihn; und schon jetzt seid ihr erfüllt von herrlicher, unaussprechlicher Freude.

Inexpressible joy… Mary´s life is a study of devotion to Jesus... Look at the next section… 4-8…

v4… Judas Iscariot … who would betray Him… He is not happy about this very generous display of love and worship… In a short time Judas would betray Jesus, and his betrayal is so much darker when contrasted with the light of Mary's devotion to Jesus. No doubt, Judas objected to Mary's gift because he was convicted by her simple and powerful display of love. David Guzik…

Learning from Judas sin and rebellion…

Judas teaches us that outward appearances can be deceptive… Many people use a religious mask to prevent others from seeing the truth…  Judas hid his secret sin from everyone except Jesus… The Lord Jesus always knows…

v5… Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred, denarii… Judas had a sharp sense of financial values, but no appreciation of what God valued. He thought this was too much love and devotion to show to Jesus.

Judas criticized generous giving… He saw it as wasteful… Because he was greedy…  Question… Are we like Mary… extravagant in our love for Jesus…  Or are we like Judas… criticizing others who are?

v7… She has done this for the day of My burial…  Mary knew that Jesus was going to die… and so she knew that this might be her last chance to give this kind of gift of devotion to Jesus… I think that  Mary had more insight than the other disciples…  Maybe because she often spent time at Jesus´feet... v9-11…

 v10… The chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also… The chief priests were mostly Sadducees… and the Sadducees didn't believe in the resurrection...

v11… because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus…  Lazarus was a living example of life after death… and having him around was an embarrassment to their theological system... And as we see…. Many People believed on Jesus because of this miracle… For them, there was only one solution… to put Lazarus to death also…

Lazarus is living proof that Jesus is who He said he is… Look with me at John 11… v25,26…

John 11: 25,26                         NKJV   slt 2000

 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?“

25 Jesus spricht zu ihr: Ich bin die Auferstehung und das Leben. Wer an mich glaubt, wird leben, auch wenn er stirbt;

26 und jeder, der lebt und an mich glaubt, wird in Ewigkeit nicht sterben. Glaubst du das?

I am the Resurrection and the Life…  and whoever believes in me will never die… We will be focused like a Laser on the last week of Jesus earthly ministry as we move to the most important event of all time the Resurrection of Jesus… let´s review the list of the Promises found in the resurrection…

The promise of the Resurrection

1 It is the death of death

2 It is for our benefit

3 It produces thanksgiving

4 it is why we never give up

5 It is for the Glory  of God

Let´s pray…