The Gospel of John chapter 11. I want to preach to you from
this subject. Verse 35 is our text primarily. Christ the resurrection. You
say, well, that's a big subject. And you are exactly right. It's
bigger than I am. That's a great ocean, a great
ocean. And as I've said concerning messages
I've stood here to deliver to you before. That's a great ocean
and I've got a little boat. But if we can just skim around
the surface, I pray that God will bless it to our hearts.
In verses one through three, as we read a moment ago, the
message is sent by Martha and Mary concerning their brother
Lazarus who was sick. He was obviously very sick at
this time. And notice in verse 3 how their
message is stated. They send the messenger to Christ
and says, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. Not he whom
we love. Although that was true, they
loved their brother dearly. But that's not what they say. Not he whom we love, but he whom
you love. That's what makes the difference.
It's true they loved their brother, but it was Christ's love for
Lazarus that they appealed to for help. As the psalmist said,
I will lift up my eyes. I will lift up my eyes away from
myself, away from any earthly help. I'm lifting my eyes up. The help I need, the only help
that will be beneficial to me is the help that comes from God.
So he says, I will lift up my eyes into the hills from whence
cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord
which made heaven and earth. And then verse 4, our Lord tells
us something that I don't guess Mary and Martha knew. I think
he was speaking to his disciples, not the messengers. So they didn't
hear this. They weren't aware of this, rather,
I don't think. In verse 4, when Jesus heard
that, he said, this sickness is not unto death, but for the
glory of God. Lazarus did die, but that's not
the ultimate outcome. This sickness is not unto death
but for the glory of God. The glory of God that the Son
of God might be glorified thereby. The glory of God. Turn, if you
will, back a page or two in your Bible to chapter 9. We run across
that expression often. And I hope, I hope that it's
clear to us even though if you're like me, and I suspect that you
are, even those things that should be clear we need reminding of
from time to time, but clear to us that all that God does
for his people, everything that takes place in their life, whether
they understand it or not, whether they hear the words that Mary
and Martha, I feel like, didn't hear at the first concerning
the death of their brother and the real reason for it. But everything
that God does, everything that God brings to pass in our life
or permits in our life is for his glory and our good. We find that stated over and
over again in Scripture. In chapter 9 of John's Gospel,
verse 1. And as Jesus passed by, he saw
a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked
him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man or his parents,
that he was born blind? They seemed to feel that it had
to be one or the other. It was either him, that's why
he was... played with this blindness or
his parents? But look at our Lord's answer.
Jesus answered in verse 3 and said, neither. Neither. You're
wrong on both counts. Neither had this man sinned nor
his parents. Of course they'd sin. There's
none that hasn't sinned. But our Lord is saying that's
not the reason for this man being born blind. but that the works
of God should be made manifest in him. The same thing he said
concerning Lazarus. I must work the works of him
that sent me while it is day. The night cometh when no man
can work. It's for the glory of God. Lazarus was sick, yes. Very sick, yes. His sisters,
Martha and Mary, loved him dearly, and they hurt for him. They were
heavy-hearted. It was a heavy burden, yes. But
nevertheless, you have this blessed word, but. But. You notice that in our Lord's
words to his disciples again in verse 4? But. but there's
a blessed reason for it. In God's good providence and
grace, there's a blessed reason why he's permitting it. There's
a but involved when it concerns God's people always. Look, if
you will, in chapter 12. Here is a very good example of
what our Lord is speaking of. In John chapter 12, you have
another example of it, verse 23. Just soon after, The raising
of Lazarus from the dead. Our Lord spoke these words, John
12 and 23. And Jesus answered him, saying,
The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Verily,
verily, I say unto you, except the corn of wheat fall into the
ground and die, and of course he's referring to himself, the
necessity of his death, it abideth alone. But if it die, it bringeth
forth much fruit. But... But, oh, that's a blessed
intervention, isn't it, Louie? But, if it dies, it brings forth
much fruit. If he dies, the pleasure of the
Lord will prosper in his hand. If he's led like a sheep to the
slaughter, if he's bruised by the wrath of God, he shall see
the travail of his soul and be satisfied. If he falls into the
ground and dies, but, It bringeth forth much fruit. Verse 25. He that loveth his life shall
lose it. and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep
it into life eternal. If any man serve me, let him
follow me, and where I am, there also shall my servant be. If
any man serve me, him will my father honor. Now is my soul
troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour.
There's that little word again, but But for this cause, for this
reason, I've come unto this hour. This is why I've come into this
world. Father, look what he says. The
same thing he said concerning the sickness of Lazarus. The
reason for it. Father, glorify thy name. Now look at verse 40 of chapter
11. We didn't read down that far, but look what he says to
Martha. He's come to Bethany now. They've
gone to the tomb of her dead brother. Mary sits in the house. But in verse 40, Jesus saith
unto her, said I not unto thee, that if thou wouldest believe,
thou shouldest see the glory of God. the glory of God, after
Mary and Martha saw the Lord raise their brother from the
dead, and thereby, by that means, through the means of the death
of their brother, glorify himself, and glorify his father in the
process, and also reveal himself to them as indeed very God of
very God. I have no doubt that after they
saw him, heard him, Lazarus come forth, and saw their brother
come forth from the tomb that had been dead without a question
he was dead, for four days they said, my soul, we wouldn't change
a thing. We wouldn't change a thing. It's
all been worth it. Now we understand. Now we know
why he didn't come when we first sent the message. We didn't understand
it at first. Oh, but now we do. My soul, what
manner of man is this? The God-man, like that night,
that his disciples were on the sea. And he came walking on the
water through the storm. Or rather, he was asleep on this
occasion. And they awake him and said,
Master, don't you care that we perish? And they rebuked the
winds and the waves and said, Peace be still. And it laid down
on his feet. And they said, What kind of man
is this? What manner of man is this? And
so did Martha and Mary perhaps even in the greater degree when
they saw their dead brother raised again to life simply at the command
of He who spake like never a man spake. Yes, it was a real trial. A real trial. It wasn't pretend. Their tears weren't fake. They
were hurting. It was a real heartache. It was
real painful, but they appealed to a real savior, didn't they? They sent a message to a real
savior, and they were soon to find out how real he was, how
great he was, greater than they previously had realized. Oh,
my. He raised their brother from
the dead. Look in chapter 12. Look at this
picture. And as we read the first few
verses in this chapter, I ask you again, would they have changed
anything? Would they have changed anything
concerning the death of their brother? Verse 1 of chapter 12,
then Jesus, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany, where
Lazarus was, which had been dead. whom he raised from the dead. Remember what he said to Martha?
I am the resurrection. Not that I'm going to be the
resurrection, or I was the resurrection. He says, Martha, right now, as
I stand before you, as I speak to you, I am the resurrection. She didn't understand that. Not
then, not then. I think she did afterwards, but
he said, I am the resurrection. before the Passover came to Bethany,
where Lazarus was which had been dead." Now, that's past tense. That's past tense. "...whom he
raised from the dead. There they made him a supper,
and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the
table with him." Just feasting. Just feasting. He's not dressed
in them grave cloths anymore. There was two commands in chapter
11. First, Lazarus come forth. And then our Lord said to those
who stood by, now loose him. Take those grave cloths off him. They're not fit for a living
man. I heard someone, I think it was
Moose Parks, preach from that second command and applied it
to the believers' freedom from the law. Oh, free from the law! Loose him! Loose him! He's not
bound with those... fetters of the law of Moses by
whom no one could be justified, loose him and let him go. He's
free. He's free. He's been set at liberty
with that freedom which is in Christ Jesus. Loose him and let
him go. So it is with Lazarus, verse
2. There they made him a supper, and Martha served, but Lazarus
was one of them that sat at the table with him. With him. I can only imagine. But can you
visualize how Martha and Mary and Lazarus must have looked
at him? There said our Lord at the table,
Martha is serving. And here comes Mary. Here comes
Mary. This is what John spoke of in
chapter 11. Now it takes place. Verse 3,
then took Mary a pound of ointment of smitener. Very costly. Very costly. Oh, but he deserved
it. He deserved her most precious,
her most valuable gift was not enough to give to him. He deserves
it. He deserves it. very costly and
anointed at the feet of Jesus. She seems to be the only one,
as far as I can tell in the Gospels. She's the only one that understood
the necessity of His mission. Because He tells them, don't
say nothing to her, don't you bother her. She did this for
my burial. The disciples didn't understand
that. When he spoke about the necessity of his death, it says
they didn't understand it. It was hid from them. It just
didn't fit in with their idea, their conception of what the
Messiah was coming to do. How often, even on the Mount
of Transfiguration, before he went back to glory, Lord, will
you now restore the kingdom back to Israel? Will you bring us
out from under this yoke of Roman bondage and rule? I've come to
save my people from their sins. Mary seems to have some understanding
of that, and that's why she comes with this costly pound of ointment,
very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet
with her hair. Here's a picture of real devotion
and gratitude and worship. She bows at his feet. and the
house was filled with the odor of the ointment. And just as God smelled the sacrifice
that Noah offered after the flood, after he came forth from the
ark, it said God smelled it as a sweet savor. Just as that offering
that Abel offered, It said God smelled it as a sweet savor. And oh, what a sweet savior it
is to the triune God when we bring a heart of gratitude feeling
nothing's too good for Him. Nothing's too good. And with
the heart of true worship bowed down before Him, oh, what a sweet
odor fills the house when God enables us to worship Him in
that way. And they think to themselves,
oh, yes, it was all worth it. We understand now. We know why
he didn't come when we first sent the message. He had good
reason. As I said, all of our trials
are for a purpose of God's glory and for our good. That verse
we so often quote, we don't have to turn there. We know it by
heart. For we know that all things work together for good to them
who love God. It doesn't say we know how, that
we understand the hows of it. It just says we know. Why? Because it's God that's doing
the work. It's our Heavenly Father who
knows what we have need of. That's how we know because He
does no wrong. He makes no mistakes. It must
be. Is it painful? Of course it is.
Does it hurt? Of course at times it hurts.
Oh, but our heavenly Father measures them out from a loving hand. Remember what Paul said in 2
Corinthians? 2 Corinthians, he said, While
we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which
are not seen. For the things which are seen
are temporal, and they'll soon be gone. But that which is not
seen, they're eternal, and are light affliction. which is but
for a moment. Compared to eternity, it's just
for a moment. It'll soon be over and it works
for us, not against us, but for us, exceeding eternal weight
of glory. Oh yes, God works all things
together for good and his glory and the salvation of his people. God works by means. By means. A band heard a sermon. Back in the days, you perhaps
have heard this story. Back in the horse and buggy days.
He went to church and heard a sermon on predestination. He came out,
got on his buggy, started down the road that had been washed
out. His neighbor saw him and stopped
him and said, don't you know that road's washed out? We don't
go that way anymore. You know that. He said, oh, well,
now wait, wait. If God's determined, predestined that I get home by
this road, I'll get home. And if he hasn't, it doesn't
make any difference what I do. I won't get home. So down the
road the fool went. A little while later, he came
back walking. leading his horse. What happened?
Well, the road was washed out. The horse threw a shoe. I lost
a wheel off my buggy. So have you learned anything,
the neighbor asked? Oh, yes. I think God predestinated me
to be a fool. And I've made my calling in my
election, sure. No, no, no. We don't look at
it that way. Oh, no. We glory in God's predestination. But we know the God that predestined
the end predestined the means. Predestined the means also to
the end. God works by means. The truth is we seldom call upon
God. The truth is that we seldom call
upon God sincerely or at least as earnestly and as sincerely
as when we're in trouble. We're serious then. It's just
our nature. Recall reading an illustration,
I think it was by Mr. Spurgeon. A man was going down
the road. He walked this way every day. There was a field on each side.
In the field there was a horse, but this field was pretty bare.
So this man would stop every day and hold an apple out for
that horse. And man, that horse just, without
hesitation, would come over and take it. He would pet him. After
a while, someone that owned the field on the other side bought
the horse and put him in there, and there was plenty, plenty
to eat. That same man would come by,
the same horse, and hold out that apple. That horse would
just look up and ignore him. He wasn't hungry anymore, didn't
need it anymore. He was in high cottons, as they
say. Oh yes, so it is with the children
of God. And he works all things together
for good. Thank God for those blessed butts. They teach us that there's always
a purpose. And his purpose is always best. Though we may not see it at the
time of trial, like Mary and Martha didn't, we still hear
these blessed words. This sickness is not unto death,
but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified
thereby. Look at verse 5. Now, Jesus loved
Martha and her sister and Lazarus. And we would almost expect the
next verse to say, so he went immediately to the rescue. But
it doesn't. Verse 6, when he heard, therefore,
that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place
where he was. That at first seems strange,
doesn't it? Oh, but he does so for the best
reason, as we've already said. God's glory. Martha and Mary's
spiritual and eternal good. You remember when the children
of Israel were in bondage in Egypt? We're told in chapter
1, a new Pharaoh arose, came to power, that didn't know Joseph. And he looked out and told his
people, these children of Israel are multiplying too quick. If
we're not careful, they're going to outnumber us and then they're
going to take over or they'll join themselves to our enemies
and fight against us. So they made slaves out of them. When Israel went into Egypt 400
years before, God said, you're not going to stay there. You're
not going to stay there. I'm going to bring you out. But
all when they were under the other Pharaoh, when everything
was well, before they were enslaved, they just got comfortable, just
got at ease. They forgot all about God's promise. They forgot all about leaving
Egypt. They were just sitting there
comfortable. Oh, but when the whip of the
taskmaster began to be felt upon their back, you know what they
did. You know what they did. Something they hadn't done for
years. Lord God, get us out of here. They remembered the promise. And you know, you remember as
well what we read of in Exodus chapter 1. The more that Egypt
afflicted them, we're told the more they multiplied and grew. That's one outcome of trials. The more they afflicted them,
the more they multiplied and grew. I've read somewhere, y'all
correct me if this is not so, but the palm tree is such a tree
that the more weight is placed upon it, the straighter it grows. You remember in the book of Revelation?
John saw that multitude that none could number before the
throne, and it said they waved palm leaves of victory. Oh yes, who are these, John?
These are they who came out. That's what that palm leaf is
a demonstration of. Victory. The victory that God
gives us through and because of our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ. Turn, if you will, to
Psalm 119. Psalm 119, verse 67. Verse 67, before I
was afflicted, I went astray. Now, this is David speaking,
the man after God's own heart. But he confesses, before I was
afflicted, I went astray, but now have I kept thy word. when Henry's daughter, Becky,
was dying of cancer, and she was at the University of Kentucky
Hospital, and her husband then, Bob Coffey, was with her day
and night. And I called him. I said, Bob,
why don't you come home with me? or at least let me take you
out to get something to eat. Get some rest." He said, no,
Larry, no, I don't want to leave. Don't want to leave her bedside.
And they knew if God didn't intervene, it was just a matter of time.
But I talked with Bob afterwards, and he said, Larry, you know
what Becky said to me? You know what she said? No. So she looked at me from that
hospital bed and she said this, it's good for me that I've been
afflicted. That's grace, isn't it? She said,
Bob, it's good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn
thy statutes. That's verse 71 of Psalm 119. Now look, if you will, back in
John chapter 11, at verse 20. Verse 20. Then Martha, as soon
as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him, but Mary sat
still in the house. Verse 21. Then said Martha unto
Jesus, Lord, if thou had been here, my brother had not died. These was the first words that
Martha speaks when our Lord comes. And you see a mixture, a mixture
of faith and unbelief in those words. Can a believer have both?
Of course. Don't we? Of course we do. And
you see that mixture in the words of Martha. And we all suffer
from that. And perhaps it was a gentle reproof
on her part, as if to say, why didn't you come? Why didn't you
come? If you'd have came, our brother
had not died. But look at verse 22. But I know,
I know, you see this same mixture of faith and unbelief. But I
know that even now, whatsoever thou would ask of God, God will
give it thee. The same mixture. And our Lord said, Martha, or
rather verse 24, our Lord said, verse 23, thy brother shall rise
again. Thy brother shall rise again.
Martha seems to think that our Lord is sort of like a prophet
would have to derive his power from God instead of being very
God himself. All he had to do was speak the
word. This is what the centurion said. You don't have to come
to the house. You don't have to come to my
house to heal my servant. I'm not worthy that you come
under my roof. All you have to do is speak the
word right where you're at and my servant will be healed. And
that's exactly what happened. And Mary, or excuse me, Martha,
was about to learn that as well. Remember what our Lord said?
Thomas, because you see, you believe. Blessed are those who
have not seen, seen me bodily, and yet will believe. Look at
verse 24. Martha saith unto him, I know
that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. at the last day. Martha's response reveals that
what our Lord said when he told her, I am the resurrection, it
seems that Martha's words revealed that she had the notion when
he said, thy brother shall rise again, that it was just a far
off distant event. And it's a cold sort of comfort
you give me now, Master. My brother's dead and my heart's
breaking. And yes, I believe in a resurrection
out there someday, some way out in distant time. But what about
now? What about now? And our Lord
answers that in verse 25. And again, I point out how he
speaks in the present tense. I am the resurrection, Mark.
I am the resurrection. You misunderstand. You're thinking of the resurrection
as just a doctrine of the Old Testament, and it was in the
Old Testament, or just a teaching, or a far-off distant event that
has no practical bearing on you now, that does nothing to relieve
your hurting and your broken heart now. Martha, I'm about
to teach you better. I am the resurrection. It's not
how you feel. It's not how you think it is.
The resurrection stands before you right now in my person. I am the resurrection and the
life. He that believeth in me, though
he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth
in me shall never die. Believest thou this? The resurrection and the life
stands in front of you. Oh, what a blessed truth. The
consolation that you crave, the comfort that you need is as near
to you as I now stand. I am the resurrection and the
life. Oh, how near the God of comfort
is to every suffering child of God in the person of our dear
Savior. None but God could use such language
as he did. None but God could speak this
way. I'm the resurrection. Anybody that believes in me shall
never die. All that are in the graves will
hear the voice of the Son of Man, and they that hear shall
live, because He has power, just as God has power to give life
to whomsoever He will. Only God can speak thus, and
Martha would soon know the difference. in her conception of the resurrection
and what our Lord really meant. Look at it, if you will. Verse
39. Jesus said, they now came to the tomb. And in verse 39, Jesus said,
take ye away the stone. Verse 43. When he thus had spoken,
he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. Lazarus, come forth. And as I said at the beginning,
there is so many messages, lessons, things you could illustrate from
John chapter 11. Oh, but how comforting it is,
because this is a picture I know Lazarus is literally raised from
the dead, but this is a picture of that future time when our
Lord shall speak and all the believers in the graves shall
come forth. It's also a picture of our natural
lost condition, dead in trespasses and sin. And I've got sons. dead in trespasses and sins,
chips off the old block. They inherited my fallen nature,
the same one I got from my daddy, all the way back to fallen Adam.
And oh, how encouraging it is to know that the same mighty
God, the everlasting Father, He who said, I'm the resurrection
and the life, He who spoke to me, He who came to the tomb of
my cold, dead heart and said, live, live, just like He did
here, can go to the same dead hearts of my sons and with the
same power and same might and same grace, command them to live,
and you know what will happen, Lester? They'll live. They'll
live. There won't be any ifs, buts,
or maybes about it. Lazarus come forth. What happened? Lazarus came out of the tomb
because he's the resurrection and the life. Martha, do you
see the difference now? Oh, what manner of man is this? Like none other. There's none
like him. We've never heard of it like
this before or since. Oh, only he is the resurrection
and the life. Thy brother, Martha, shall rise
again. Now she understood it. Now she
understood it. Oh, my soul. And Mary afterwards
takes that costly ointment of spikenard and anoints his feet. and head. Oh my, what a savior. Christ Jesus, his glorious person,
who he is, gives virtue to everything he does because of who he is. Election, for example. I love
that blessed truth. But what makes it so sweet? Why
is it so comforting? The same as Martha found concerning
the resurrection because it's about Him. It's about a person. It's not a word. It's not a doctrine. The scripture says God chose
us in Him. Without him, there's no election. Without him, none elect. Oh, thou art my first elect,
God said, and then chose us in Christ our head. The beauty and comfort of the
second coming is that Christ himself shall descend from heaven. People talk about the what and
the why and the where and the when. of Christ's second coming
and not who. Something's wrong there. Something's
wrong there. When Christ, who is our life,
shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Look at verse 28 of John 11.
We'll wrap this up. Verse 28. When she had so said,
that is Martha, she went her way and called Mary, her sister,
secretly saying, these words were just for Mary, the master
is come, the master is come and calleth for thee. That's what
happens. That's what happens, Lonnie.
When Christ takes one of His children home, the Master has
come and calleth for thee. Nobody else hears it. They're
not intended to hear it. Oh, but the one that He comes
to call, they hear it as our sweet Lord and Savior. Our resurrection
in life bends over and whispers in our ears, it's time to come
home. It's time to come with me. Your
suffering's over. Oh, yes. The day star has arisen. Come with me where there'll be
no more sorrow and no more death, no more tears, no more crying. Behold, I make all things new. Come with me. The master has
come and calleth for thee. Turn, if you will, to 1 Corinthians
15. Let's look at a few verses there. I looked at this this
afternoon and thought, oh, what a blessed time. What a blessed
day this will be. In 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verse
49, the apostle says, as we have borne the image of the earthly,
we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Don't we know
that we bear the image of the earthly? Now this I say, brethren,
that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, neither doth
corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery.
We shall not all sleep, that is, die, but we shall all be
changed. In a moment, in the twinkling
of an eye, at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound,
and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we, those
who are alive when Christ returns, we shall be changed. We shall
be changed. we shall be changed. No more
sin. No more sinful nature. We shall
be changed. For this corruptible must put
on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when
this corruptible should have put on incorruption, and this
mortal should have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass
the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. Oh
death, where is thy sting? Oh grave, where is thy victory?
The sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the law
but but thanks be to god which gives us the victory through
our lord jesus christ therefore my beloved brethren be ye steadfast
unmovable always abounding in the work of the lord for as much
as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. As you know, we have a mutual
friend that does a good bit of traveling. Mr. Fortner. I want to share an article
with you that he wrote. It's called traveling to another
country. with this verse from Hebrews
11, verse 16. But now they desire a better
country, that is, a heavenly, wherefore God is not ashamed
to be called their God, for he hath prepared for them a city. And Don writes, almost every
year I travel to a foreign country preaching the gospel of Christ.
I've crossed the borders of our nation, north, south, east, and
west. Whenever you leave this country
and cross into another, three things are required. You must
have a birth certificate to prove your citizenship. You must have
a visa from the country receiving you, the one you're going to.
And three, you must have a clean record, no criminal record. And
he writes, soon I will leave this land of sorrow and sin.
I hope to enter into the bliss and glory of heaven. I hope to
stand forever accepted as a citizen of the new Jerusalem. And here
is the basis of my hope. One, a birth certificate. The
Lord God has given me a new nature. If any man be in Christ, he's
a new creature. There is in me a new man created
of God in righteousness and true holiness. A visa. I have a right
to enter into heaven itself by the blood of Christ because I
am robed in his righteousness. God says it must be perfect to
be accepted, and in Christ I am perfect. He has made me perfectly
righteous before God. And third, a clear record. Jesus Christ has purged away
all my sins with his own precious blood. Therefore, God will never
charge me with any sin. When I stand before God and he
searches the books for iniquity and sin under my name, he will
find none. Jeremiah said in that day, the
sin and iniquity of Israel shall be searched for, God's true Israel,
and it shall not be found. There's none there. There's none
there. What a Savior. God bless you.