2013.02.03 I am the resurrection and the
Life!
John 11: 37- 44 The raising of Lazarus
Here at
Calvary Chapel Wiesbaden we go through the Scriptures one verse at a
time….. and we are currently going
through this amazing history of the Lord Jesus Christ called the gospel of
Luke……. Jesus came preaching the kingdom……. The people were waiting for the
long promised kingdom….. Jesus´ message
is always a call to repentance……. It's a call to come to Him….. to come into
the kingdom of God……. to receive the forgiveness and redemption that He
brings…..
His message
is a call to the crowd…… Repent the Kingdom of heaven is at hand…… Jesus
invited the people to embrace Him as Messiah….. and receive forgiveness of sins and eternal
life…..
He is
calling people to follow Him…… to become His disciples….. We're nearing the end
of the ministry of Jesus…… He's headed
toward the cross…… Jesus has told his disciples that he is going to be betrayed
and crucified…… and That he will rise again…….
Jesus has
warned His disciples that their faith will be deeply shaken….. because they are
expecting Jesus to bring in His eternal kingdom now….. As we have been walking
with Jesus we have seen Jesus incredible power….. Jesus healed everyone that
came to him……. Jesus saved everyone that came to him….. Remember God is by
nature a savior….
We´re going
to pick up the events of the last days and weeks of Jesus ministry by looking
at the Gospel of John….. We're going to see resurrection power in our text today…..
This kind
of power is something that belongs only to God……. God alone gives life…… And
Jesus by giving life to Lazarus….. proves beyond doubt that He is God……
That´s the point
of this chapter……. A great place for your
own personal quiet times……..
Because the chapter is written to verify Jesus´claim……
He is God and that He does have the
power of life……
Jesus is
showing this resurrection power to two groups who are present here at the
funeral of Lazarus…… The first group is
the Disciples…….. He wants them to see His power so that their faith might
be strengthened……. Hard times are coming for them….. Soon they will all be
scattered….. and Peter will deny that he ever knew him….
And then
the second group is the people who are
there……. They are a mixture of believers and curious and Fans of Jesus…. Bethany is very near
Jerusalem…….. He wants them to see His power in order that they might repent
and believe………. And so, as He is performing this miracle of unbelievable power
to call the dead back to life….
He is doing it for the benefit of the
Disciples to help them when they become discouraged and afraid……
He is also
doing it for the Jews who have come to the funeral…. So that they might see and
understand that He is the Messiah and believe……….
Jesus makes
one of His great I am statements here……
I am the resurrection and the Life….. and then he Proves it by raising
Lazarus from the dead…..
Let´s look
at these key verses……
John 11: 25-27 NKJV
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?”27 She
said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who
is to come into the world.”
John 11 : 25-27 Schlachter 2000
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?
27 Sie spricht zu
ihm: Ja, Herr! Ich glaube, daß du der Christus bist, der Sohn Gottes, der in
die Welt kommen soll.
That is the key to the chapter……. Then Jesus
demonstrates His resurrection power…. by raising Lazarus from the dead
Once again
Jesus confirms His words with a miracle…….
I want us
to look together at this most powerful miracle that Jesus has done so far…..
John 11: 32- 46 NKJV
32 Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and
saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here,
my brother would not have died.”
33 Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and
the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.
34 And He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and
see.”35 Jesus wept. 36 Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”
37 And some of them said, “Could not this Man,
who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying ? 38 Then
Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone
lay against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”Martha, the sister of him
who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has
been dead four days.”
40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you
that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” 41 Then they took
away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up
His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 42 And I know
that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said
this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” 43 Now when He had said these
things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” 44 And he who had
died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped
with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”
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.
John 11: 32- 46 Schlachter 2000
32 Als aber Maria
dorthin kam, wo Jesus war, und ihn sah, fiel sie zu seinen Füßen nieder und
sprach zu ihm: Herr, wenn du hier gewesen wärst, mein Bruder wäre nicht
gestorben!
33 Als nun Jesus sah,
wie sie weinte, und wie die Juden, die mit ihr gekommen waren, weinten, seufzte
er im Geist und wurde bewegt
34 und sprach: Wo
habt ihr ihn hingelegt? Sie sprechen zu ihm: Herr, komm und sieh!
35 Jesus weinte.
36 Da sagten die
Juden: Seht, wie hatte er ihn so lieb!
37 Etliche von ihnen
aber sprachen: Konnte der, welcher dem Blinden die Augen geöffnet hat, nicht
dafür sorgen, daß auch dieser nicht gestorben wäre?
38 Jesus nun, indem
er wieder bei sich selbst seufzte, kam zum Grab. Es war aber eine Höhle, und
ein Stein lag darauf.
39 Jesus spricht:
Hebt den Stein weg! Martha, die Schwester des Verstorbenen, spricht zu ihm:
Herr, er riecht schon, denn er ist schon vier Tage hier!
40 Jesus spricht zu
ihr: Habe ich dir nicht gesagt: Wenn du glaubst, wirst du die Herrlichkeit
Gottes sehen?
41 Da hoben sie den
Stein weg, wo der Verstorbene lag. Jesus aber hob die Augen empor und sprach:
Vater, ich danke dir, daß du mich erhört hast.
42 Ich aber weiß, daß
du mich allezeit erhörst; doch um der umstehenden Menge willen habe ich es
gesagt, damit sie glauben, daß du mich gesandt hast.
43 Und als er dies
gesagt hatte, rief er mit lauter Stimme: Lazarus, komm heraus!
44 Und der
Verstorbene kam heraus, an Händen und Füßen mit Grabtüchern umwickelt und sein
Angesicht mit einem Schweißtuch umhüllt. Jesus spricht zu ihnen: Bindet ihn los
und laßt ihn gehen!
45 Viele nun von den
Juden, die zu Maria gekommen waren und sahen, was Jesus getan hatte, glaubten
an ihn.
46 Etliche aber von
ihnen gingen zu den Pharisäern und sagten ihnen, was Jesus getan hatte.
As we pick
up the text remember Jesus is standing with Mary and Martha…… and with a whole
lot of people who have come to mourn at the funeral……. They've been mourning
now for four days…… They have been
sharing their sorrow and their tears……. As Jesus stands there He is sharing
their sorrow with them……. Tears fall from His all-seeing eyes…… He weeps because He is genuinely sympathetic
for those in sorrow…….. In verse 33…..we see from the Greek….that Jesus allowed
himself to be very upset…..
Jesus felt
what men feel…… He was a man of sorrows
and acquainted with grief…… Isaiah 53……
Isaiah 53: 3-6 NKJV
3 He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
4 Surely He has borne our griefs And carried
our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God,
and afflicted.
5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He
was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And
by His stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have
turned, every one, to his own way;And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of
us all.
Isaiah 53: 3- 6 Schlachter 2000
3 Verachtet war er
und verlassen von den Menschen, ein Mann der Schmerzen und mit Leiden vertraut;
wie einer, vor dem man das Angesicht verbirgt, so verachtet war er, und wir
achteten ihn nicht.
4 Fürwahr, er hat
unsere Krankheit getragen und unsere Schmerzen auf sich geladen; wir aber
hielten ihn für bestraft, von Gott geschlagen und niedergebeugt.
5 Doch er wurde um
unserer Übertretungen willen durchbohrt, wegen unserer Missetaten zerschlagen;
die Strafe lag auf ihm, damit wir Frieden hätten, und durch seine Wunden sind
wir geheilt worden.
6 Wir alle gingen in
die Irre wie Schafe, jeder wandte sich auf seinen Weg; aber der Herr warf unser
aller Schuld auf ihn.
Here is our
LORD Jesus Fully human and fully God….. Isaiah gives us a wonderful picture of
the Lord Jesus…… the Suffering Servant…..
Jesus knew
Lazarus was going to be risen from the dead in a few minutes……
Jesus the
man weeps in a warm outpouring (ausdruck)
of love and tenderness…… and then Jesus who is God…… raises the dead man in an unbelievable
example of His power……..
Jesus is
standing there……. All the mourners and the family is there….. everybody
wailing……. Lazarus has been dead four days…….. Where has Jesus been? Look at verse 32….
John 11 : 32
NKJV Schlachter 2000
32 Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and
saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here,
my brother would not have died.”
32 Als aber Maria
dorthin kam, wo Jesus war, und ihn sah, fiel sie zu seinen Füßen nieder und
sprach zu ihm: Herr, wenn du hier gewesen wärst, mein Bruder wäre nicht
gestorben!
Martha said If He had been there before he died it
wouldn't have happened…… Many others in the crowd agreed…. Look at verse 37…..
John 11: 37 NKJV
Schlachter 2000
37 And some of them said, “Could not this Man,
who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying ?
37 Etliche von ihnen
aber sprachen: Konnte der, welcher dem Blinden die Augen geöffnet hat, nicht
dafür sorgen, daß auch dieser nicht gestorben wäre?
They're
confused……. How is it that if Jesus loved this man so much that He delayed His coming until he was already
dead? Couldn't He have come when he was sick? And if He could give sight to
a blind man, why couldn't He have healed this man? You see, they could not understand
Jesus´delay….. It didn´t fit with the love and power that Jesus displayed… They could see His love……
verse 36….. Why didn't He come when the
man was sick?
I´m sure the
messenger had returned from Jesus…… and said, "Jesus
says don't worry, your brother won't die."
John 11: 4-6 NKJV
Schlachter 2000
4 When Jesus heard that, He said, “This
sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may
be glorified through it.”5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6
So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where
He was.
4 Als Jesus es hörte,
sprach er: Diese Krankheit ist nicht zum Tode, sondern zur Verherrlichung
Gottes, damit der Sohn Gottes dadurch verherrlicht wird!
5 Jesus aber liebte
Martha und ihre Schwester und Lazarus.
6 Als er nun hörte,
daß jener krank sei, blieb er noch zwei Tage an dem Ort, wo er war.
They had
been expecting Jesus at any minute…… He hadn't come and Lazarus died…. the mourners had already been there four days……
If He loved him so much, why didn´t he get here
in time? Where was He when we needed Him? The crowd said basically exactly what Martha
and Mary said….Look again at verse 32……
John 11 : 32
NKJV Schlachter 2000
32 Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and
saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here,
my brother would not have died.”
32 Als aber Maria
dorthin kam, wo Jesus war, und ihn sah, fiel sie zu seinen Füßen nieder und
sprach zu ihm: Herr, wenn du hier gewesen wärst, mein Bruder wäre nicht
gestorben!
We are just
like they are ……. We do the same thing constantly…… We say, "LORD how did You........ why did You let it get this
far?" Lord if You had only stepped in when I asked You to….. we wouldn't
have gotten into this mess……..
We get kind of inpatient and say, "Lord
I've been praying about this thing for 30 minutes and nothing's happened……… God, where are You?
We act just
like them…… We think we trust God…… We
say we trust Him……. But we just don't always like His timing…… It´s very easy for us to do that……….. I want
…I need….. Lord ! If we would only learn to really trust Him…….. His plan….. His
purpose and His timing……..
We really can trust Jesus!
Let me give
you three things to trust……..
1 Trust God's will……… He knows and wants what´s best
2 Trust God's power to help….. He is more than able
3 Trust God's timing......... He knows exactly when to
act
Trust His
will, His power and His timing; God knows what He's doing. …… And He knows when
to do it……..
We always
want to run ahead of the LORD…… I want what I want….. and I want it right now!
The Lord
God knows what He's doing…… Trust His will, His power to do His will……. and His
timing to do it when on time….. That's real faith…….
Here in our
text…… They all seem to think the situation is hopeless…… It´s too late……..
Jesus was late….. It is hopeless…… I mean, after all, Lazarus is dead……. Turn to John 11: 38…..
John 11: 38
NKJV Schlachter 2000
38 Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came
to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.
38 Jesus nun, indem
er wieder bei sich selbst seufzte, kam zum Grab. Es war aber eine Höhle, und
ein Stein lag darauf.
Jesus groans
in himself……. He is deeply moved….
He stands
in front of this grave….. the grave represents the consequence of our sin and
rebellion....
And His
spirit is torn in the inside with the pain and sorrow of death….. He hurts
deeply for these grieving people and because of His unfailing love….. His
Chesed of love He groans again…..
Isn't that
a beautiful picture of His humanity? He
knows that soon Lazarus will rise from the dead….. He knows that soon he will
conquer death and hell forever…… But now he is here with them…. He shares
their sorrows……..
Are you hurting today….. He shares your
sorrows…. He has made a way out for you too. Today…… Cry out to Him….. He will rescue
you…..Verse 39…
John 11: 39 NKJV Schlachter 2000
39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”Martha,
the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a
stench, for he has been dead four days.”
39 Jesus spricht:
Hebt den Stein weg! Martha, die Schwester des Verstorbenen, spricht zu ihm:
Herr, er riecht schon, denn er ist schon vier Tage hier!
Jesus says
take the stone away….. Notice that He uses men to do this…… Jesus didn´t need any help….. Alex and Anja
hammering Ikea stuff….. Jesus was not in the business of just doing the
spectacular…… I mean, if He wanted to, He could have made that stone fly out of
the way…….. He could have ran up to the stone and blown on it….or waved His
coat at it….. Jesus does not do things like that…… He's not
in the business of clowning around with His power…… Only God can raise the dead
but men can move the stone……. So He says, "You guys move the stone…… You
do what you can do and I'll do the rest…… And so He says move the stone…….
Martha was not
a shy girl….. and she says Lord he stinks by now…….. She didn´t
get it…….She must have thought that He wanted to see Lazarus one last
time…… The whole thing was too much….. The whole scene is sorrow and mourning…… It's a mess…..
So, she
says this, verse 39, "Lord, by this
time he stinketh for he hath been dead four days."
Because she
knew that in the process of decomposition there is an odor and so she
thought….. what a horrible way to see her brother….. She wanted to remember her
brother as he was….. Martha had her eyes on her circumstances…….
She had taken her eyes off of the Lord Jesus and everything she knew about
him….. He had never failed her before…… He had transformed her life….. She was
a believer….. but now in the face of this terrible tragedy…… Her vision is
clouded……. She only sees Her brother in the grave…..the moment is all she
sees……..
And so, she
just reacts….. "Here's the problem, Lord, it's too late….. It´s no use….
Forget it…..You can't do anything now…..
Like she said earlier….. if only You had been here……
Let´s talk
about the fact that it had been 4 days…... The ancient Jewish tradition used to say that when a person died, for
four days his spirit floated around the body hoping to reenter the body…… But
on the fourth day, the face was no longer recognizable and so the spirit would
depart……. So perhaps reflecting upon the traditions….. she realizes that the
decay would be so serious now that it's hopeless…… And so that sets the stage
for the greatest miracle so far…..
In the
midst of all this grief and sorrow…. we come up with the promise….. And that's
in verse 40……
John 11: 40
NKJV Schlachter 2000
40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you
that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?”
40 Jesus spricht zu
ihr: Habe ich dir nicht gesagt: Wenn du glaubst, wirst du die Herrlichkeit
Gottes sehen?
Trust in
me…. No matter what you circumstances are…… Keep your eyes on me……. And you
will see the Glory of God!
This is
very important for our Christian lives…… Our Faith must be grounded in God´s
faithfulness…… We must be rooted in His promises and His unfailing love…. It is
the Word of God that the Holy Spirit uses to teach us…. And comfort us…… We see
what the Father has done in the Past and we are reminded that He is the same
yesterday…. Today and forever…….. He said…. I will never leave you ….I will
never forsake you!
Martha has
been fighting a battle between her faith
in the Lord Jesus….. and doubt caused by her circumstances….
Right now
she's focused Her dead brother….. Not on Jesus….. He says, "In this miracle, Martha, I don't want you to just see your
brother made alive……. I want you to see the Son of God glorified…….. I want you
to KNOW that you can trust me….. No matter what…….. Even in the dying times……
Do you see
the difference?
This is a
tremendous principle…… Jesus says I want you to see the glory of God…… Now the
glory of God is everything……
Everything
in the universe is to give glory to God……..
This
miracle was for the glory of God, not primarily for the life of Lazarus…… Lazarus was an instrument in the Plan of
God to strengthen the Disciples and to bring others to saving Faith…..
What is the
glory of God? The glory of God is the revelation of all of His excellencies ...
all of His attributes, all the fullness of His person……. For example, His glory
can be seen in who he is and in what He does….. Moses said in Exodus 33:18 "Show me Your
glory." And what did God show him? Exodus 34: 6-7…… His goodness, His grace and His mercy…..
His unfailing love….. His chesed…. Those
are just three of God's many qualities………
We see the
Glory of God every time we look at Jesus……. Turn with me to Hebrews 1….
Hebrews 1: 1- 3
NKJV
1 God, who at various times and in various ways
spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days
spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom
also He made the worlds; 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the
express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power,
when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the
Majesty on high,
Hebrews 1: 1- 3 Schlachter 2000
1 Nachdem Gott in
vergangenen Zeiten vielfältig und auf vielerlei Weise zu den Vätern geredet hat
durch die Propheten,
2 hat er in diesen
letzten Tagen zu uns geredet durch den Sohn. Ihn hat er eingesetzt zum Erben
von allem, durch ihn hat er auch die Welten geschaffen;
3 dieser ist die
Ausstrahlung seiner Herrlichkeit und der Ausdruck seines Wesens und trägt alle
Dinge durch das Wort seiner Kraft; er hat sich, nachdem er die Reinigung von
unseren Sünden durch sich selbst vollbracht hat, zur Rechten der Majestät in
der Höhe gesetzt.
The
expressed image of His person……. He is the glory of God…… Jesus….
Another quality
that gives Him glory is His ability to
give life……. In a powerful preview of His own resurrection……. Jesus raised
Lazarus from the dead……. Jesus tells Martha to get her eyes off of her tragedy
and look to the Lord Jesus….. Trust me and you will see the Glory of God……
Jesus came to her and wept with her then He says……. Take your eyes off of your
problems….Trust me hang on to me…….. don´t lose heart……. Look to me…… Look to
Jesus….
As we gaze
in His face…… everything that happens in our lives….. even the disasters…. Even the bad things becomes a Glory to
Him…… As Jesus sees us through our bad times…… he comforts us and restores
us….. He redeems the years that the locusts have eaten….
Now let me
show you the verse…… If you haven't memorized this verse, memorize it…… Second
Corinthians 3:18, it's a key verse…… Listen to this….. 2 Corinthians 3:18……
2 Corinthians 3: 18 NKJV
Schlachter 2000
18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as
in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image
from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
18 Wir alle aber,
indem wir mit unverhülltem Angesicht die Herrlichkeit des Herrn anschauen wie
in einem Spiegel, werden verwandelt in dasselbe Bild von Herrlichkeit zu
Herrlichkeit, nämlich vom Geist des Herrn.
Are we
supposed to be looking at our problems? No, we're looking at the glory of the
Lord……. When we keep our eyes on Jesus….. We are changed….. We are by His Holy
Spirit….. using the Word of God….. transformed into the image of Jesus….
We're going to be like Jesus one day….. We will show and reflect his wonderful qualities
to a lost and dying world….….. We will demonstrate His Unfailing Love….. We
will show His mercy and grace to the people that he puts in our lives….. His
attributes……
Application
Don't worry
about your problems……. Don´t focus on you…… We know we are
full of problems….. I spend too much time worrying about me…….. We need to look to Him…. Trust Him….. I
want to talk about my wonderful savior not my problems…… We need to Keep our
eyes on Jesus……
Back to
John 11…. Look at verse 41….
John 11: 41, 42 NKJV Schlachter 2000
41 Then they took away the stone from the place
where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I
thank You that You have heard Me. 42 And I know that You always hear Me, but because
of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You
sent Me.”
41 Da hoben sie den
Stein weg, wo der Verstorbene lag. Jesus aber hob die Augen empor und sprach:
Vater, ich danke dir, daß du mich erhört hast. 42 Ich aber weiß, daß du mich
allezeit erhörst; doch um der umstehenden Menge willen habe ich es gesagt,
damit sie glauben, daß du mich gesandt hast.
Then Jesus
prays to the Father a simple prayer of thanks…… Father,
I thank Thee that you have heard Me," now watch this, "and I know that you always hear Me."
Now Why is
He praying this prayer out loud ….. Jesus tells us….. Look at verse 42 in the
middle…… "But because of the people
who stand by I said it that they may believe that you have sent Me."
This prayer
is a declaration of the unity between the Father and the Son..... Jesus is declaring
an absolute unity between He and the Father…... He and God the Father are one……
Jesus doesn´t ask for God´s permission….. He is just letting His hearers know that
He is everything that He says he is……. No one can doubt His claim….. Because He
proves it with a unbelievable miracle…….. verse 43…
John 11: 43,44 NKJV
Schlachter 2000
43 Now when He had said these things, He cried
with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” 44 And he who had died came out bound
hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus
said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”
43 Und als er dies
gesagt hatte, rief er mit lauter Stimme: Lazarus, komm heraus!
44 Und der
Verstorbene kam heraus, an Händen und Füßen mit Grabtüchern umwickelt und sein
Angesicht mit einem Schweißtuch umhüllt. Jesus spricht zu ihnen: Bindet ihn los
und laßt ihn gehen!
He cried
with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth."
Can you imagine the scene? "Lazarus, come
forth."
Notice that
He says it with a loud voice…… The greek word is kraugazō….
it's a word sometimes used to describe the
shouting of a multitude, see……. Just the loudest of the loud……
And then…….
Pandamonium…… At the sound of the voice of Jesus Christ…… The grave gave up its captive….. and Lazarus walked out of that tomb…..
Captivity was led captive and Christ stood as the conqueror of sin, Satan and
death……. And you know something? The writer of Revelation says He still has the
keys to Hades and death.........
Now there,
friends, is absolute proof that Christ had power and authority….. . That is
some kind of power……. And Lazarus walked out…… "He was bound hand and foot with grave
clothes……. The jews wrapped the legs and arms separately…. …. so it wouldn't be
any problem to walk, he didn't hop like a mummy….. each one was bound
separately and he walked out of that tomb…… I´m sure some fainted at the
sight….
And then
Jesus says….. Untie him and let him go…… Can you imagine those guys moving
toward him? I´m not the one to volunteer for such a job……
But when
they took off the linens….They discovered that Lazarus was alive and just like
before…. And in an instant Lazarus was alive……. Free of the bondage of death…..
free to walk with the LORD…..
There's so
many lessons in this……. Look at the statement, "Untie him and let him go?" Men rolled the stone away…… and men
unwrapped the grave clothes…… You see, men can do that…… Only God can raise the dead……..
You know
something? That's how the Lord works….. He uses us!
He's the only one that can give life…. But he
has saved us for a purpose…. Turn with me to 2 Corinthians 5….
2 Corinthians 5: 20,21 NKJV Schlachter 2000
20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as
though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be
reconciled to God. 21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we
might become the righteousness of God in Him
20 So sind wir nun
Botschafter für Christus, und zwar so, daß Gott selbst durch uns ermahnt; so
bitten wir nun stellvertretend für Christus: Laßt euch versöhnen mit Gott!
21 Denn er hat den,
der von keiner Sünde wußte, für uns zur Sünde gemacht, damit wir in ihm [zur]
Gerechtigkeit Gottes würden.
He has
reconciled us to himself and he has
given us the ministry of reconciling others to Him…..
There's no
greater joy in the world than going around helping others….. removing gravestones
and taking off grave clothes…… That's what the ministry's all about, isn't it?
He has chosen to use us…….
Listen,
when Jesus stood up and said, "I am the resurrection and the life,"
He wasn't just talking; He proved it by His power over death …… And someday
He's going to verify it in our lives….. We will all receive a new perfect….
Immortal body….. verse 45
John11 : 45,46
NKJV
Schlachter 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.
45 Viele nun von den
Juden, die zu Maria gekommen waren und sahen, was Jesus getan hatte, glaubten
an ihn.
46 Etliche aber von
ihnen gingen zu den Pharisäern und sagten ihnen, was Jesus getan hatte.
Many believed…. but some…. Some went away
unmoved….unwilling to repent….. Do you remember what Jesus said…..Luke 16…… V 31
Luke 16: 31
NKJV Schlachter 2000
31 "But he said to him, 'If they do not
hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise
from the dead.'
31 Er aber sprach zu
ihm: Wenn sie auf Mose und die Propheten nicht hören, so würden sie sich auch
nicht überzeugen lassen, wenn einer aus den Toten auferstände!
This
wonderful event was used mightily in the lives of the disciples and in the
lives of the new believers……We can see three ways God used the raising of
Lazarus…….
1 to Bring Glory to the Father through the LORD
Jesus……
2 To encourage and strengthen the disciples……
3 To bring the undecided face to face with the
truth……
Jesus
confirmed His Words of Life by Giving life to a dead man…….. Some of the
walking dead in that crowd….. heard and believed and repented and followed
Jesus….
Close
Knowing that Jesus is the resurrection and the
Life should help us put all of the difficult and hard times into proper
perspective…….
We don´t
have to be afraid…… We don´t have to worry…… Jesus tells us clearly what we
need to do……. He told
his disciples a parable about it in Luke
18……
Luke 18:1
NKJV Schlachter 2000
1 Then He spoke a parable to them, that men
always ought to pray and not lose heart,
1 Er sagte ihnen aber
auch ein Gleichnis, um ihnen zu zeigen, daß es nötig ist, allezeit zu beten und
nicht nachlässig zu werden;
Always pray
and not lose heart……
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