Unit 2: The Word: The Agent of Creation
Key Verse:
John 11:25-26 NLT
25 Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life.[b] Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. 26 Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?”
Everything we need to know about Jesus can be summed up in this brief statement.
What you need to know
John 11:39-40 NLT
39 Once again, they tried to arrest him, but he got away and left them. 40 He went beyond the Jordan River near the place where John was first baptizing and stayed there awhile.
Prior to this week’s lesson, Jesus was chased away from the area of Judea by the religious leaders. The contention between He and them and grown to the point of danger. They had repeatedly threatened to stone Him and had ordered the Temple guards to arrest Him on sight. After their most recent confrontation, Jesus and His disciples crossed over to the east side of Jordan, near the place where His Judean ministry began in the wilderness of Perea.
John 11:3-7 NLT
3 So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, “Lord, your dear friend is very sick.”
4 But when Jesus heard about it he said, “Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.” 5 So although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, 6 he stayed where he was for the next two days. 7 Finally, he said to his disciples, “Let’s go back to Judea.”
It was while they were in the wilderness that Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus that their brother Lazarus was gravely ill. Jesus' response seems awkward or aimless. He makes no immediate move toward Bethany, as though He has misread the gravity of the situation. Be reminded, that at all times, Jesus knows just what He is doing. Also, remember, that He works in concert with His Father’s will and does not act unless directed by His Father.
John 11:14-16 NLT
14 So he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. 15 And for your sakes, I’m glad I wasn’t there, for now, you will really believe. Come, let’s go see him.”
16 Thomas, nicknamed the Twin,[c] said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s go, too—and die with Jesus.”
So it is with this backdrop that the narrative is set. Jesus and His disciples return to Judea to see to the affairs of Lazarus. They may have literally traveled in or near the Kidron Valley as they ventured toward Bethany. The Kidron Valley was the literal “Valley of the shadow of death” that David wrote of in Psalm 23. Thus, the pall of death and dread hung over their return to Judea.
Psalm 23:4 NLT
4
Even when I walk
through the darkest valley,[a]
I will not be afraid,
for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff
protect and comfort me.
The Lesson
John 11:17 NLT
17 When Jesus arrived at Bethany, he was told that Lazarus had already been in his grave for four days.
By the time Jesus and His entourage arrived in Bethany, Lazarus had been dead for four days. This is significant, in that the Jews believed that the spirit or soul of a person remained near the body of the deceased for three days. By the fourth day, a person was certifiably … dead. Thus, Lazarus was dead. Certifiably so.
John 11:18-19 NLT
18 Bethany was only a few miles[a] down the road from Jerusalem, 19 and many of the people had come to console Martha and Mary in their loss.
Jesus and His troupe aren’t the only people traveling to Bethany in this time of mourning. Lazarus, Mary, and Martha are noteworthy within the community. Some theologians believe them to be successful in business and among the well thought of in or near the city of Jerusalem. Add to that the fact that they were friends of Jesus, the young, dynamic Rabbi whose preaching had set all of Israel afire. Many were gathering in Bethany to mourn the passing of Lazarus.
John 11:20 NLT
20 When Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. But Mary stayed in the house.
Pay attention. There are two items of note contained in this verse. When Martha receives word that Jesus is near, she goes to Him. She doesn’t wait for Him to come to their house, where He and the disciples have been guests many times. Additionally, she goes to Jesus without any expectation of a miracle, as we will discover. She just comes to receive … her friend. In a time of grief and loss, she seeks the company and comfort of a close friend.
Just as noteworthy is what does not happen. Mary, Martha’s sister does not go out to meet Jesus. In fact, though he will call for her later, she does not have a speaking part in this narrative. I don’t have a finger to point here. I only make note of this unexpected occurrence, based on what we know about Jesus’ previously recorded interaction with them in Luke 10: Losing a loved one is difficult in any circumstance, especially a member of your immediate family. Mary is grieving the loss of her brother. That’s enough for me.
Luke 10:41-42 NLT
41 But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! 42 There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”
If anything, let me commend Martha for having taken Jesus’ words to her in their previous meeting to heart. As noted before, when she received word of Jesus’ arrival in Bethany, she stopped everything else she was or was not doing and came to where He was.. Before all else, Martha sought Jesus’ Presence. Beloved, let us take the lesson of Martha to heart. In our greatest trials, let us seek His face. Selah.
John 11:21-22 NLT
21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now, I know that God will give you whatever you ask.”
Martha makes two distinct statements here that I want to keep together. The first statement is one of confidence in Jesus’ ability to heal, “Lord, if only you had been here…” Her second statement reflects the esteem that she holds for Jesus, “God hears you…” Taken together, her statements demonstrate what she believes about who Jesus is, the Messiah. In her time of grief, she seems resigned to the thought of her brother’s demise. Nevertheless, she savors the Master’s presence. She’s just glad he’s there.
John 11:23 NLT
23 Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.”
However, Jesus is on a higher mission. He hadn’t responded to the sister's call when they sent for Jesus. Rather, in God’s time, He was sent to Bethany by His Father. The old folks say, “He may not come when you want Him…” Jesus came with a word. ‘Lazarus will live…again.’ With this statement, Jesus informs Martha that the impossible is possible. That the unthinkable can be contemplated. The Bible records two previous instances where Jesus raised the dead: the widow’s son in Nain (Luke 11), and Jairus’ daughter (Mark 5 & Luke 8). However, in this circumstance, with the pall of death hanging over Bethany, as it were, Lazarus’ resurrection seemed unthinkable. It was the first thing on Jesus’ mind, literally the reason He had come to Bethany. However, it was the last thing on Marth’s mind at this particular moment.
John 11:24 NLT
24 “Yes,” Martha said, “he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day.”
Good teaching. There were two predominant thoughts concerning among the Jews of Jesus’ day concerning the resurrection of the dead. The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the dead, however, the Pharisees, the religious leaders who followed the teachings of the Torah, did believe in the resurrection. Most certainly, Jesus taught the resurrection as well. That would have aligned with His teaching concerning the Kingdom of Heaven. Martha's expectation was in line with what we are taught as Christians. In fact, the Apostle Paul wrote that if there is no resurrection, then we are all to be pitied. The resurrection from the dead is part and parcel of the greatest promise offered to us by Christ; the promise of eternal life with God, in Christ.
John 11:25-26 NLT
25 Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life.[b] Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. 26 Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?”
In the Gospel of John, Jesus makes seven “I AM” statements. The “I AM” identifies Him as God, God personified. Not less than God, Not another God. “I AM” identifies Him as God. Additionally, each of the nominative nouns or noun phrases describes Jesus as the singular source of a necessary ingredient for eternal life itself. He is the Bread of Life and the Light of the world. He is both the Door (the Sheep Gate), and the Good Shephard. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is the True Vine. And in the verse above, He identifies Himself as the Resurrection and the Life. In doing so, He proclaims that the very power of life and death resides within Him. This is the .greatest of the “I AM” statements because it attributes to Him all (ALL) of the Majesty, Glory, and Power due to Him. Behold the Logos! All that we can understand or perceive about God is summed up in the person of Jesus Christ, our Lord. at the precipice of this great wonder that He is about to perform, He asks Martha if this is the foundation of her belief about Him.
John 11:27 NLT
27 “Yes, Lord,” she told him. “I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God.”
Let me back up a bit. Be reminded that Martha and her sister, Mary, are mourning the loss of their brother, Lazarus. And yet, Jesus has chosen this course or direction of ministry in His discourse with Martha. Why? Beloved, our hope is in Christ. No matter our predicament, our hope is in Christ. The reason we assemble ourselves together for the sake of worship is that we serve Almighty God, personified in Jesus, who loves us more than we can express in words or thought. We are greatly loved. No matter what we are going through, in any given moment, the good news is still the good news. Jesus saves. He saves to the uttermost. Nothing is impossible with Him. That is our hope. In her response, Martha hangs her hat on the greatest, most encouraging news in all of creation. Jesus is Lord! He is enough.
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John 11:32-33 NLT (Not included in the printed text)
32 When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33 When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him,[f] and he was deeply troubled.
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John 11:38 NLT
38 Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance.
So, as soon as Mary laid eyes on Jesus, her reaction was similar to Martha’s However, her tone was less hopeful and more accusatory (that’s why I combined the first two verses, to show Martha’s hopeful turn in the face of dire circumstances). Her words and the presence of the mourners with her, wailing in hopelessness, angered Jesus. He is nearing the close of His earthly ministry and still, He encounters this level of hopelessness and unbelief. Especially, from Mary, one of His closest friends. And so He arrives at the tomb of Lazarus.
John 11:39a NLT
39a “Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them.
But rather than lashing out in anger, Jesus turned His attention to the task at hand; the resurrection of Lazarus. There is still ministry to be done between here and the cross.
John 11:39b NLT
39b But Martha, the dead man’s sister, protested, “Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible.”
However, Martha protests Jesus’ actions. She cannot imagine that after four days in the grave, the exhuming of Lazarus’ body from the tomb will be, in any way, a civil, decent affair. In fact, even though it is Jesus who made the request, in Martha’s mind, the request must seem sacrilegious at some level.
John 11:40 NLT
40 Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?”
Interestingly, Jesus does not respond to Martha with a sharp rebuke. Rather, He continues to lead her to a path of greater enlightenment and belief through His question. It’s as though He is asking her a partner in what is about to transpire. In fact, this very passage implores all of us to “wait and see.” Hush child, and behold the glory of the Lord.
John 11:41a NLT
41a So they rolled the stone aside.
And so, all who are present become participants, rather than opponents. In this brief moment, Jesus has caused all to come into agreement with Him. If not in full agreement, they have at least come into a place of obeisance; deferential respect to the young Rabbi that many deemed to be the Messiah sent from God. They rolled away the stone.
John 11:41b-42 NLT
41b-42 Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. 42 You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here so that they will believe you sent me.”
Now, in the hearing of all of the people present, Jesus prays. Very publicly, In so doing so, He draws them (and us) into an awareness of the Presence of God. Is He yelling? Certainly not. He need not yell, for surely the Father hears Him, no matter the situation. In fact, His prayer confirms to us that He is in constant fellowship with His Father. His brief prayer instructs us that, through Christ, we too have access to the Throne of Grace…without yelling.
John 11:43 NLT
43 Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!”
After His brief prayer, Jesus shouts for Lazarus to come out of the tomb. He could have whispered and achieved the same result. After all, He is the living Word. No, Jesus shouted for our benefit, so that we might clearly witness the Glory of God and believe on Him who God has sent; Jesus. Everything He did was for our benefit.
John 11:44 NLT
44 And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!”
And the Bible says that, “the dead man came out…” Lazarus vacated the grave at Jesus' command. Beloved, that same hope stands before us. With a shout! With the voice of the archangel, the Lord Himself will shout from heaven and the dead in Christ will rise from the dead. The grave will not be able to hold us. Martha and Mary received their brother alive. So too, will we who die in Christ be received into the Presence of God, there to abide eternally in His splendor forevermore. Amen!
Epilogue
John 20:30-31 NLT
30 The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may continue to believe[d] that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.
John’s narrative concerning the resurrection of Lazarus has but one purpose, to bolster the faith of those who have believed. I pray that this humble offering of a well-worn, often-preached chronicling of Jesus raising Lazarus from the grave from John’s Gospel would serve that purpose before God. Selah.
Your humble servant,
wb
1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 NLT
15 We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died.[g] 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died[h] will rise from their graves. 17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 18 So encourage each other with these words.
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