John 11:1-6 (NIV) Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from
Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 This Mary, whose brother
Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped
his feet with her hair. 3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, "Lord, the
one you love is sick."
4 When he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not
end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified
through it." 5 Jesus loved Martha
and her sister and Lazarus. 6 Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he
stayed where he was two more days.
- We are after the feast of dedication, in the winter time.
- Why does Jesus not go to Lazarus?
- Jesus was letting him die. God was going to do something even greater through the event
- It was an intentional act
- Why does Jesus wait two days?
- So that three days would pass. Require all or part of three days in order for it not to be a resuscitation
- What could Jesus have done?
- He didn't need to go, he could have spoken a word of healing
- How would Mary and Martha feel, humanly speaking?
- God forgot us
- Doesn't Jesus care about us or Lazarus
John 11:7-16 (NIV) Then he said to his disciples, "Let us
go back to Judea."
8 "But Rabbi," they said, "a short while ago the
Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?"
9 Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight?
A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world's light. 10
It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light."
11 After he had said this, he went on to tell them, "Our
friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up."
12 His disciples replied, "Lord, if he sleeps, he will get
better." 13 Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples
thought he meant natural sleep.
14 So then he told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead, 15 and
for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go
to him."
16 Then Thomas (called Didymus) said to the rest of the
disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him."
- The disciple's response to Jesus' decision to go back tells us what?
- That they did not know why they had waited or had made the assumption that the reason they did not go to Lazarus was the dangers poised by their presence
- They did not know that Lazarus had died
- They were not so sure of their own safety
- They were a little cynical
- Verse 9,10 reminds one of a very popular saying, what is it?
- Nothing good every happens late at night
- I know your parents have probably said that to you and you disagreed, but it is good proverb, and often true
- Jesus' knowledge versus the disciple's knowledge reaffirms what?
- His deity since no information regarding Lazarus' status comes to them
John 11:17-27 (NIV) On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had
already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Bethany was less than two miles from
Jerusalem, 19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the
loss of their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out
to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
21 "Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been
here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give
you whatever you ask."
23 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."
24 Martha answered, "I know 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 will live, even though he dies; 26 and whoever lives and
believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
27 "Yes, Lord," she told him, "I believe that you
are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world."
- Martha comes to see him but Mary does not, why?
- Maybe angry because Jesus had failed her
- Maybe she felt like she was treating Jesus as she had been treated
- What is Martha's response to Jesus?
- She blames him for Lazarus' death
- It is not clear what she is requesting in verse 22 since verse 24 makes it clear she was not thinking of rising from the dead
- Might Mary and Martha been disappointed in Jesus?
- Yes, because he did not respond quickly enough to their plea
- How did Mary and Martha possibly view Jesus' answer to their request? It was a no, and it was now final
- APPLICATION: Sometimes this is our approach to prayer. If God does answer the prayer in our manner and timeframe we consider it unanswered. Sometimes we see the prayer unanswered because we don't see what God can really do
John 11:28-44 (NIV) And after she had said this, she went back and called her
sister Mary aside. "The Teacher is here," she said, "and is
asking for you." 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to
him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place
where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house,
comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her,
supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she
fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would
not have died."
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along
with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34
"Where have you laid him?" he asked.
"Come and see, Lord," they replied.
35 Jesus wept.
36 Then the Jews said, "See how he loved him!"
37 But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes
of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"
38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a
cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 "Take away the stone,"
he said.
"But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man,
"by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days."
40 Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you
believed, you would see the glory of God?"
41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said,
"Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always
hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they
may believe that you sent me."
43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice,
"Lazarus, come out!" 44 The
dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth
around his face.
Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him
go."
- How does Mary's response compare to Martha's?
- It is the same as Martha's
- How does Jesus respond to Mary's accusation? What does he not do?
- He doesn't give an explanation
- He doesn't justify
- He doesn't explain
- He weeps
- Why does Jesus weep?
- Weep with those who weep is a scriptural principle
- He truly could feel their pain
- He is not afraid to admit emotions
- The even more amazing aspect of this miracle is expressed in verses 43-44, what is it?
- This man was dead and decaying
- Jesus would have had to recreate all his cells, organs, blood, everything, and restore his consciousness and memory -- Jesus has the power!
- APPLICATON: Since Jesus has so much power, what is there that we cannot give to him and trust him concerning?
John 11:45-57 (NIV) Therefore many of the Jews who had come to
visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him. 46 But some of
them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 Then the chief
priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.
"What are we accomplishing?" they asked. "Here is
this man performing many miraculous signs. 48 If we let him go on like this,
everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both
our place and our nation."
49 Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that
year, spoke up, "You know nothing at all! 50 You do not realize that it is
better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation
perish."
51 He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year
he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, 52 and not only for
that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together
and make them one. 53 So from that day on they plotted to take his life.
54 Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the
Jews. Instead he withdrew to a region near the desert, to a village called
Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples.
55 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up
from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the
Passover. 56 They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple area
they asked one another, "What do you think? Isn't he coming to the Feast
at all?" 57 But the chief priests and Pharisees had given orders that if
anyone found out where Jesus was, he should report it so that they might arrest
him.
- So, why has the situation changed so drastically, from the point of view of the Pharisees?
- It was too amazing
- And rather than seeing it as proof of his claims, the leaders see it as a threat to the order of things
- What is unusual about the timing of the miracle, the last three months of Jesus' life?
- The amazing fact of the miracle meant that the leaders could not ignore Jesus any longer
- APPLICATION: What is more important in our life? Order out of the chaos, or telling others about Jesus Christ?
No comments:
Post a Comment