2017.04.02                                     Luke 18: 31- 34

                 Jesus Predicts The Cross

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… You will remember that as we studied ch11 last week we looked at the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead… Many people saw the miracle and they believed in Him there… These same people will form the huge crowd that will soon proclaim him as King Messiah… Jesus gave another of His I am statements… He said… I am the resurrection and the life…. Let´s read it again… 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?

We are approaching Resurrection Sunday… And so we will focus on the Promise of the Resurrection for the next few weeks…

The Promise of the Resurrection is so important to our Christian walk… Last week I showed you a few of the very important points contained in the Promise… Look at it with me again…

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

I want to take this opportunity to look at the last week of Jesus earthly ministry… From the very beginning… The shadow of the cross was over the manger…  He was Jesus…. Immanuel… God incarnate… He came to save us from our sins… by offering the full and final and perfect sacrifice for sin… Jesus´ ministry has always been about the cross… Look with me at Luke 9: 22-25

Luke 9 : 22-25                        NKJV  slt 2000

22 saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.” 23 Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. 24 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. 25 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?

22 indem er sprach: Der Sohn des Menschen muss viel leiden und verworfen werden von den Ältesten und den obersten Priestern und Schriftgelehrten und getötet werden und am dritten Tag auferweckt werden. 23 Er sprach aber zu allen: Wenn jemand mir nachkommen will, so verleugne er sich selbst und nehme sein Kreuz auf sich täglich und folge mir nach. 24 Denn wer sein Leben retten will, der wird es verlieren; wer aber sein Leben verliert um meinetwillen, der wird es retten. 25 Denn was hilft es einem Menschen, wenn er die ganze Welt gewinnt, aber sich selbst verliert oder schädigt?

v23… If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me…  In this text Jesus predicts The cross and His resurrection from the dead…. He is preparing the Disciples for the very difficult events that will happen in the next 10 days… As we look at this final week in Jesus´ earthly ministry…  I want to ask us all a question… What does it really mean to deny ourselves… and take up our cross daily and follow Jesus…  What does that mean for us today… here In Wiesbaden? We will begin our study of the last week of Jesus´earthly ministry… by looking at Luke ch 18 as Jesus predicts his death and resurrection…

It is a parallel text to John 11 from last week… Jesus has been ministering in Galilee and Perea… And now as we saw last week… Jesus set His face toward Jerusalem… The  cross moved Him in that direction…  The cross is the purpose for which He came… He looks ahead now… to Calvary and to the resurrection…  It is the Passover season… Jesus has raised Lazarus from the dead…. And many have believed in Him… It is only about 10 days to the cross…

We have finally come to the great climax of the earthy ministry of the Lord Jesus…  Soon we will witness the agony of His death on the cross….. and the Glory that awaits Him in His Resurrection from the dead… And we will see His great and final victory over sin and death… The  disciples are the main focus of His ministry as He approaches the final events… He wants them to know that… This death on the cross… Is the plan… He speaks clearly of His suffering… Several times Jesus warned them about the future… He wants them to know the facts… So that they will not be surprised… look with me at Luke 18: 31-34…

Luke 18: 31-34                       NKJV  slt 2000

31 Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished. 32 For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. 33 They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.”34 But they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken.

31 Er nahm aber die Zwölf zu sich und sprach zu ihnen: Siehe, wir ziehen hinauf nach Jerusalem, und es wird alles erfüllt werden, was durch die Propheten über den Sohn des Menschen geschrieben ist; 32 denn er wird den Heiden ausgeliefert und verspottet und mißhandelt und angespuckt werden; 33 und sie werden ihn geißeln und töten, und am dritten Tag wird er wieder auferstehen. 34 Und sie verstanden nichts davon, und dieses Wort war ihnen zu geheimnisvoll, und sie begriffen das Gesagte nicht.

First let´s look at the plan of suffering, verse 31…

v31a… He took the Twelve aside… pulling them apart from the large crowd following Him… He is accompanied not only by the Twelve but by a very large crowd… The crowd following Jesus is even larger than normal… because this is Passover… and they are all headed to Jerusalem for the Passover… The disciples are amazed and afraid because the timing seems so bad…  Because all they can see everywhere is hostility…

They still think He's going to go to Jerusalem to establish His Kingdom… and it looks impossible… The leaders of Judaism are trying to kill Him…  And so the 12 Follow Jesus reluctantly… They are fearful… But Please notice that there's no hesitation in Jesus words……  He tells them…

v31b… all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished…  Jesus points to the cross and says It is all in God´s plan… It is God who is the primary cause of the sufferings of Christ… The Jewish leaders and the Romans did the work… but they were following God´s plan… He says it to them privately… They need to understand this… They need to know that this is all part of God´s plan…  He warned them to prepare them… Because all things need to be fulfilled… 

Jesus was not a victim…   Things did not go wrong… It was all planned by God… Everything was prophesied and pictured clearly in the Old Testament…

All of the  examples found in the Festivals and the Old Testament sacrifices provide details… Passover and the Day of Atonement… Point to the final complete Sacrifice…

They need to understand this… Because they will be His first apostles and evangelists…  and they need to know that these things were planned and fulfilled exactly…  One of the reasons they need to know it… Is because it will be so hard for them to grasp the truth that Jesus the  Messiah must die…

Jesus understands that they are afraid…  They were confused… Because they knew that Jesus was walking right in to the arms of His enemies…   So, Jesus pulls them aside and says… Listen don´t freak out… I know it's a shock… but we're going up to Jerusalem… This is God's plan and Jesus knew it…  He knew exactly that it meant His death on the cross… In fact that is why He went… 

He says we're going so that the Son of Man can claim  His Kingdom… This event, the cross…  is the high point of Scripture…  It is the main focus of biblical history…

As we think about the Cross in the Scriptures… We are talking about the Doctrine of Substitutionary Atonement…  One of them happened on the Day of Atonement… Leviticus 16…  We can go to the Word of God… and think about the many daily sacrifices for sin that are pictured… In the Passover celebration… we learn that the sacrificial lamb must to be without spot or blemish… and that The blood of the lamb protects all that are sheltered in the house… The blood of the lamb saves them from death and produces life…  And all this prepares us for the one sacrifice which ends all sacrifices… All these things were temporary…

And they all pointed to the cross… They pointed to the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the World... The final permanent sacrifice…. Offered by God's chosen substitute…  The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the World… The perfect lamb without blemish and without spot… He provides for us the only way to God… and the only covering for the guilt of sin……

It is Jesus the Messiah… The perfect sacrifice… He redeems us from our sin and rebellion…  He gives us eternal life… Jesus is the Suffering Servant of the Lord God… Isaiah 52-53… slide…

Jesus sufferings as the Lamb of God

1 Jesus is Fulfilling every Prophesy…. Both of Suffering and Glory

2 Jesus is accomplishing God´s plan from eternity past

3 Jesus will willingly lay down his life

There were many Old Testament prophecies about the Suffering Servant….. The Messiah……  I'm not going to go through all of them…. There are at least 365 of them…. One for every day of the year…

Let´s look for a moment at a few of the passages about the Suffering Servant of the Lord… The Lamb of God…    

In Isaiah 52 and 53… We have an awesome Messianic passage… We read about the Atonement… We see a perfect substitute… The Lord Jesus… He would die in our place…..for sin… The perfect and final sacrifice… Look with me at Isaiah 53… Starting at verse 4…

Isaiah 53: 4- 11               NKJV   slt 2000

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. 7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. 9 And they made His grave with the wicked— But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth 10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. 11 He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities.

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. 7 Er wurde mißhandelt, aber er beugte sich und tat seinen Mund nicht auf, wie ein Lamm, das zur Schlachtbank geführt wird, und wie ein Schaf, das verstummt vor seinem Scherer und seinen Mund nicht auftut. 8 Infolge von Drangsal und Gericht wurde er weggenommen; wer will aber sein Geschlecht beschreiben? Denn er wurde aus dem Land der Lebendigen weggerissen; wegen der Übertretung meines Volkes hat ihn Strafe4 getroffen. 9 Und man bestimmte sein Grab bei Gottlosen, aber bei einem Reichen [war er] in seinem Tod, weil er kein Unrecht getan hatte und kein Betrug in seinem Mund gewesen war. 10 Aber dem Herrn gefiel es, ihn zu zerschlagen; er ließ ihn leiden. Wenn er sein Leben zum Schuldopfer gegeben hat, so wird er Nachkommen sehen und seine Tage verlängern; und das Vorhaben des Herrn wird in seiner Hand gelingen. 11 Nachdem seine Seele Mühsal erlitten hat, wird er seine Lust sehen und die Fülle haben; durch seine Erkenntnis wird mein Knecht, der Gerechte, viele gerecht machen, und ihre Sünden wird er tragen.

verse 10 says He would be a guilt offering…Then it says that God  was pleased to crush Him… He will prolong His days… This points to the resurrection…   And as a result, verse 11, "Of the anguish of His soul will see it and be satisfied.  And by His knowledge, the Righteous One, My servant, will justify the many." 

He will provide the sacrifice that produces the  justification of everyone who repents of their sins and cries out to Him… and after suffering a terrible death on the Cross… He will rise from the dead and see the redemption of sinners… and be satisfied…  He will receive a portion with the great because He poured out Himself to death and bore the sin of many…

Zechariah tells us about the cross too……

Zechariah 12: 10               NKJV

10 “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.

10 Aber über das Haus David und über die Einwohner von Jerusalem will ich den Geist der Gnade und des Gebets ausgießen, und sie werden auf mich sehen, den sie durchstochen haben, ja, sie werden um ihn klagen, wie man klagt um den eingeborenen [Sohn], und sie werden bitterlich über ihn Leid tragen, wie man bitterlich Leid trägt über den Erstgeborenen.

Remember… The Jews didn't crucify people… They stoned them to death… That is what the scribes and Pharisees wanted to do… They were prevented from killing Jesus in this way…  The death of Christ on the cross was not an  accident……    It is the fulfillment of the very plan and purpose of God……   

He knew the kind of death He would die… Because it was all part of God´s divine plan…..

Peter wrote about the fact that the prophets themselves wanted to understand what they were writing about… Especially when they wrote about the Suffering´s of the Messiah… turn to… 1 Peter 1: 10….

1 Peter 1: 10,11       NKJV   Schlachter 2000

10 Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, 11 searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.

10 Wegen dieser Errettung haben die Propheten gesucht und nachgeforscht, die von der euch zuteil gewordenen Gnade geweissagt haben. 11 Sie haben nachgeforscht, auf welche und was für eine Zeit der Geist des Christus in ihnen hindeutete, der die für Christus bestimmten Leiden und die darauf folgenden Herrlichkeiten zuvor bezeugte.

v11… the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow… When we study Messianic Prophesy… There are these 2  categories that the prophets wrote about....... #1suffering and #2 glory……  You can go through the Old Testament and find lots about the Messiah´s Glory… The Messiah King and His Kingdom…  It's in here…  Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Isaiah and many other places speak of the Glory of the Messiah…  The Sufferings are here too…  nevertheless… Generally speaking the Jews had a hard time with the suffering parts… They could not understand them… Even though the entire OT system of sacrifice pointed to the final atonement of Christ…

It was not the kingdom or the Cross…  It was the   Kingdom through… or by way of…  the cross… His entry into Jerusalem is described in Zechariah 9… even down to the colt that He would ride on… The rage and hatred of His enemies is described in Psalm 2…  His desertion by His friends is in Zechariah 13:7…  "When the Shepherd is smitten, the sheep are scattered… Zechariah is  talking about how the disciples will all flee… Judas betrayal of Jesus for 30 pieces of silver is oprophesied in Zechariah 11:12…   Exodus 12:46 and Psalm 34:20 says, "Not a bone of His body would be broken," and we know that was fulfilled…  They didn't break His legs… which they usually did to speed up death, because He was already dead…  Psalm 22:18 said they would cast lots for His garments…  Psalm 69:21 says they would give Him vinegar to drink…  Psalm 22:1

"My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me," Were words that Jesus said from the cross… They indicate His cry of pain and suffering…

All these things are laid out in the scriptures…  Of course, the OT also prophesies that He would rise from the dead… Psalm 16:10, "Thou would not allow Thy Holy One to see corruption, but will show Him the path of life…   

And it was clear to Jesus that He was the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world…   

So that's the plan… The Son of man will suffer and die… Back to Luke 18… We will look again at Jesus prophesy of his suffering and death… And resurrection… look at verses 32 and 33…

Luke 18: 32, 33          NKJV  Schlachter 2000

32 For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. 33 They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.”

32 denn er wird den Heiden ausgeliefert und verspottet und mißhandelt und angespuckt werden; 33 und sie werden ihn geißeln und töten, und am dritten Tag wird er wieder auferstehen.

look at the details here…  "He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon.  After they have scourged Him, they will kill Him and the third day He will rise again." 

So when He says it's time for the Son of Man to go to Jerusalem so everything can be fulfilled… He is right on schedule… The religious leaders couldn't kill Him so they had to  deliver Him to the Gentiles… The Romans had the power to execute Him…  And once the Gentiles followed through… He was mocked… spit on… beaten and finally killed…  And third day He arose again…  Jesus prophesies perfectly… Just exactly the way it happened…

Well… The disciples followed Jesus to Jerusalem… And in time… They also picked up their crosses and followed Him… Many of them suffered and died for the sake of the Gospel… Heaven is full of great men and women of God who gave everything for Him… turn with me to Hebrews in closing today…

CLOSE

Hebrews 12: 1- 3         NKJV slt 2000

1Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.

1 Da wir nun eine solche Wolke von Zeugen um uns haben, so laßt uns jede Last ablegen und die Sünde, die uns so leicht umstrickt, und laßt uns mit Ausdauer laufen in dem Kampf, der vor uns liegt, 2 indem wir hinschauen auf Jesus, den Anfänger und Vollender des Glaubens, der um der vor ihm liegenden Freude willen das Kreuz erduldete und dabei die Schande für nichts achtete, und der sich zur Rechten des Thrones Gottes gesetzt hat. 3 Achtet doch auf ihn, der solchen Widerspruch von den Sündern gegen sich erduldet hat, damit ihr nicht müde werdet und den Mut verliert!

As I began this sermon today… I asked the question… What does it mean to deny yourself and take up your cross daily?  I think that this sermon and this text from Hebrews gives us a start in the right direction…

Let us lay aside the weight of this world… Let us deny ourselves… The lust of the eyes and the lust of the Flesh and the pride of Life… Lay sin in all of it´s forms aside too… Let´s run with endurance with our eyes on Jesus… He is our great example… Let´s pray…

2

2017.03.26                                       John 11: 1-45

        I am the Resurrection and the Life    part 1

                            Lazarus

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… You will remember that as we finished ch10 Last week… The religious leaders tried again to kill Jesus…. They were determined to Shut Him up…. But It was not yet time… And so Jesus walked safely through their midst…  Jesus left Jerusalem and spent time beyond the Jordan ministering to the people in Galilee… Many people believed in Him there… Turn in your Bible to John chapter 11… We are going to witness a powerful miracle…

This is Jesus´ final public miracle… This miracle occurs near the end of Jesus earthly ministry… In a few weeks now… Jesus will go to the cross… He will lay down His life for our sins… He will be killed at Passover…  He will travel to the house of Mary and Martha and Lazarus… They live in Bethany…. It is two miles east of Jerusalem on the road to Jericho…  It will be filled with pilgrims heading to the Passover celebrations… 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… Jesus will raise Lazarus from the dead shortly before He goes to the cross… This raising of Lazarus will have several very important effects… 1 It will strengthen the faith of the disciples…  It was not enough to fill them completely with faith in Lord's resurrection…  But it must have helped them to increase their faith in Jesus…

2 The resurrection of Lazarus was a preview of the resurrection of Christ…

Jesus had told them many times that he would lay down his life and that He would take it up again… John 10:18... Now they had seen His resurrection power in the raising of Lazarus...

3 The resurrection of Lazarus  was powerful widespread evidence of His deity…  The entire city heard of it…

4 The public well known resurrection of Lazarus was the last straw…The resurrection of Lazarus was so important…  And so well-known that it forced the   leaders of Judaism to press the issue of the execution of Jesus… They must shut Jesus up…. No matter what it took…    The whole chapter is about this miracle… The most important theme in the universe is the glory of God… It is the foundation of all of God’s works… Beginning with the creation of the world…  Including the redemption of fallen sinners…  And the judgment of unbelievers… It all results in the manifestation of His greatness… His Glory for all eternity…  

God’s glory is a basic part of who He is…  The Bible refers to Him as the God of glory… Ps. 29:3; Acts 7:2… The Glory of Israel…1 Sam. 15:29…  The King of glory… Ps. 24:7–10…  

God’s glory is uniquely His… and He will not share it with anyone else… Isa. 42:8; 48:11… God the Father is called the Father of glory… Eph. 1:17;   Jesus Christ is called the Lord of glory…1 Cor. 2:8...  The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of glory… 1 Peter 4:14…

God’s glory is also seen in redemption… He Saves us… And we give Him the Glory…

2 Corinthians 4: 4,15        NLT  Neues Leben

Paul called the message of salvation “the gospel of the glory of Christ… Paul also said that   saving “grace which is spreading to more and more people will]cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God… 2 Cor 4:15…

Chapter 11 records the last and most powerful of the seven miraculous signs in the gospel of John (cf. 2:1–11; 4:46–54; 5:1–17; 6:1–14; 6:15–21; 9:1–41), the resurrection of Lazarus four days after he died… The miracle’s primary purpose… Was not to restore him to life…   Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead so that He and the Father would be glorified… The glory of Jesus Christ blazes in this passage against a dark backdrop of rejection and hatred on the part of the Jewish leaders...  

Look with me at ch11… beginning with v1…

John 11: 1,2                        NKJV   slt 2000

1 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.

3 Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”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. 7 Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” 8 The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?” 9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” 11 These things He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.”12 Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.” 13 However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep. 14 Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. 15 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.” 16 Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.” 17 So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away. 19 And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. 20 Now Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house. 21 Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 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. 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.” 28 And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, “The Teacher has come and is calling for you.” 29 As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him. 31 Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, “She is going to the tomb to weep there.” 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.

Scroll down for the first section… v1,2…

This was already a very well-known miracle in the early church…During His earthly ministry…  Jesus had raised others from the dead… But this was a very public miracle… It is connected to the huge crowds that were present when Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to be openly proclaimed the Messiah… It occurred just a few days before Jesus triumphal entry into Jerusalem… Many believed in Him because they witnessed this miracle… The early Christians had heard of this powerful miracle… But… Lazarus is not the main focus of the story... The main point is that Jesus and the Father would be glorified through his resurrection...  

Through the resurrection of Lazarus… Jesus and the Father receive glory… The sisters were deeply worried about their brother…   Lazarus was going to die without a miracle…    Since Jesus was across the Jordan in Perea… a messenger from Bethany would have needed at least a day to reach Him...   Lazarus may have even died the very day after the messenger started to go to Jesus… He had already been dead for four days when Jesus arrived in Bethany…

The messenger’s journey to Jesus would have accounted for one day, the Lord then delayed two days (v. 6) before taking one more day to travel to Lazarus’ home. That brings the total number of days to four…  They did not   specifically ask the Lord to do anything…  They realized that it would be extremely dangerous for Him to travel to Jerusalem at this time… scroll down…

v4… This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it… The Lord did not mean that Lazarus was not going to die… but rather that death would not be the ultimate outcome... Like the blind man from ch9…  Lazarus illness and death…   were all for the glory of God…

v5… Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus…  John reminds us that the Lord’s delay did not reflect a lack of love and compassion… The delay made it clear that Lazarus was dead beyond all hope…  The Rabbis  taught that after 4 days the soul departed the body and could never be reunited… It made the miracle even more powerful to them… Look with me at the next section…

John 11:  7-16                  

After the two-day delay was over, Jesus said to the disciples

v7… Let us go to Judea again… Astonished and afraid…  the disciples said…

v8… Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?... Why… You said that Lazarus was not going to die (v. 4)…  And if Jesus did need to heal Lazarus… why not do it from a distance like He had done before… John 4:46–53?

The Lord replied with this proverb… v9,10…  Then He said…  

v11… Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep… Sleep is often used in the Bible as a way to talk about death…   Jesus was saying that He would raise Lazarus from the dead…. But they did not get it…  

Jesus ended their confusion… He said to them plainly…

v14… Lazarus is dead… Here is an unmistakable indication of the Lord’s omniscience… Remember that the messenger had only said that Lazarus was sick… Then we see why…   

v15… I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe…

Lazarus’ resurrection from the dead would do far more to strengthen the disciples’ faith than a healing alone would have done… Jesus’ earthly ministry earth was rapidly nearing its end… In about 2 weeks Jesus will be betrayed and Crucified…  

v16… Let us also go, that we may die with Him… Seeing that Jesus was determined to return to Judea… Thomas…   said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him… This is the same Thomas who  is known as “Doubting Thomas”…  But there is much more to him than that…   His words here reflect love and courage… in spite of his pessimism… He believed he would die if they went to Jerusalem… On the other hand, his love for Jesus was so strong that he was willing to die with Him… Thomas was sincere… Yet at the crucial moment in Gethsemane...  his faith failed and Jesus was left alone…   Matt. 26:56… next section please…

John 11: 17-19                       NKJV  

17 So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away. 19 And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.

Many of the Jews who had come to Martha and Mary came from Jerusalem… The fact that so many Jews from the capital came to console them…  Shows us that the family was prominent… and probably wealthy… From the human perspective… the many mourners were there to comfort the sisters in their loss…  But God made  certain that there would be many witnesses to Jesus’ stunning miracle… The raising of Lazarus would be done in public before numerous onlookers… Some of whom were even hostile to the Lord… As a result, not even Jesus’ enemies would be able to deny what He had done… John 11:47…

The first seven days of mourning were the most intense… and many of the mourners would remain with the family for that entire week… next section please… John 11: 20-27                                   

v21… Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. …  When Martha saw Him…  the disturbing thought that had filled her sorrow came pouring out… She was  obviously heartbroken… But she was not rebuking the Lord for failing to prevent Lazarus’s death... Humanly speaking … The sisters’ message had arrived too late... Martha’s words were simply an expression of grief mingled with faith...

v22… Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You…   She was  confident in her Savoir even though she did not totally understand what Jesus says next…

v23… Your brother will rise again… Jesus  meant that Lazarus was going to be resurrected immediately… but Martha missed the point… She assumed that Jesus… was comforting her by pointing out that Lazarus would rise again at the end of the age…  Jesus then makes this very important I am Statement… v 25…

v25… I am the resurrection and the life…

Since the fall in the Garden…  Death has ruled over humanity… What Good news… This means that as genuine Believers… We do not need to be afraid of death anymore…This is not the land of the living, but the land of the dying.

v26… whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?

When Jesus said  Martha… “Do you believe this?”

The Lord was calling her to understand the magnitude of His Sovereign power… He wants her to know and believe that He alone was the source of resurrection power and eternal life… Jesus pointed her to the only source of spiritual life and well-being—Himself."

Look with me at Hebrews 2… v.14,15…

Hebrews 2: 14,15               NLT  Neues Leben

14 Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. 15 Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.

14 Da Gottes Kinder Menschen aus Fleisch und Blut sind, wurde auch Jesus als Mensch geboren. Denn nur so konnte er durch seinen Tod die Macht des Teufels brechen, der Macht über den Tod hatte. 15 Nur so konnte er die befreien, die ihr Leben lang Sklaven ihrer Angst vor dem Tod waren.

 Death is dead… The great Puritan theologian John Owen wrote a book in 1647… It has an awesome  title… The Death of Death in the Death of Christ… It is free online… This is very practical theology for Angst Hase…

We have nothing to fear because Jesus is the Resurrection and we will never die… Next section please… John 11: 28-36                                

Having affirmed her faith in Jesus, Martha went away and called Mary her sister, saying secretly, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you…

When Mary heard that Jesus was coming… she got up quickly and went out to meet Jesus…

v31… She is going to the tomb to weep…

Assuming she was going to weep at the tomb… They felt it was their duty as her comforters to go with her… Once again… God sovereignly orchestrated the circumstances to fit His purposes… He made sure that Jesus’ miracle would be witnessed by the whole group…

When she came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet. She said to Him what they had surely discussed, since Martha had said it earlier:

v32… Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died…   Mary was not scolding Jesus… She was just expressing her sorrow and grief…  This was a time of intense sorrow and pain… next section please…v33-36…

v33… He groaned in the spirit and was troubled… This is a powerful verb embrimaomai… deeply upset and moved to almost an angry frustration…

 v34… Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, Lord, come and see…

v35… Jesus wept…

Jesus wept… But not like the others,... Here the Greek verb is not “klaio” which translates as loud wailing… 33… but “dakruo”… a rare word used only here in the New Testament… The verb dakruo has the idea of bursting into tears…   This verse  is full of with meaning… It emphasizes Jesus’ humanity… He was a “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isa. 53:3)… He is truly our compassionate Savior… He knows what you are going through today… And Jesus shares our sorrows too…

v36… See how He loved him!...

The Jews were correct in seeing Jesus sorrow as evidence that He loved Lazarus…    The stage was now set for the Lord to demonstrate The Great Truth…  that He is the Resurrection and the Life… In the next section He will demonstrate His total power over death by restoring Lazarus to life… v37-45…

John 11:37–45                           NKJV   

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 grave clothes, 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.

v45… Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him.

Dead 4 days… Laid in his grave…. Jesus raises Him from the dead…. Impossible… Yet there is the living proof… of course many believed… During His earthly ministry… the Lord Jesus Christ made many astonishing claims about Himself…

He gave powerful and convincing evidence… through the miraculous signs He performed…

When His enemies demanded to know whether or not He was the Messiah… Jesus pointed to those very signs as proof of His authority…  Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would do specific miracles as proof that he was the Messiah… Isaiah 35… Isaiah 61… The suffering and resurrection of Jesus for our Salvation is clearly portrayed in Isaiah 52,53… These were miraculous signs… Messianic Miracles… Jesus did every one of them and many many more… So many That John said in John 20: 30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

The reason for John´s Gospel is that we would believe the signs and be converted… Jesus Himself… Not Lazarus…  Jesus is the primary focus of this passage… Raising Lazarus from the dead puts an exclamation point on Jesus´ I am statements… In Every one of them Jesus was saying… I am God come in the flesh… Immanuel… I am the resurrection and the life… Lazarus come forth…  And as we see in verse 45….. Many Believed…. The healing of the man born blind in Jerusalem just a few months before was powerful…. No one had ever heard of the healing of a man born blind…. He is the messiah…. And with this miracle the stage is set for Jesus triumphal entry in just a few days…. He will at long last allow Himself to be proclaimed the King Messiah… We are going to take communion together this morning…. But to finish the sermon… I want to read a few verses from Paul… He connects this great promise of our resurrection from the dead with the Good news and the Glory of God… This whole chapter is dynamite… but for sake of time.. 2 Cor 4… v14-17

2 Corinthians 4: 14-17        NLT  Neues Leben

14 We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. 15 All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory. 16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. 17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!

14 Wir wissen, dass derselbe Gott, der Jesus, unseren Herrn, auferweckt hat, auch uns mit Jesus auferwecken wird und uns zusammen mit euch vor sich hintreten lassen wird. 15 Das alles ist zu eurem Besten. Und wenn Gottes Gnade immer mehr Menschen zu Christus führt, wird auch der Chor derer, die ihm danken, immer lauter, und Gott wird immer mehr Ehre erwiesen. 16 Deshalb geben wir nie auf. Unser Körper mag sterben, doch unser Geist wird jeden Tag erneuert. 17 Denn unsere jetzigen Sorgen und Schwierigkeiten sind nur gering und von kurzer Dauer, doch sie bewirken in uns eine unermesslich große Herrlichkeit, die ewig andauern wird!

Everyone in the crowd would see the miracle that day…  but only genuine believers would perceive its real significance…  

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

We see the Glory of God perfectly in the face of Jesus Christ… Do you see Him Today? You need to see Him with your ears…  let´s pray…