Today on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. Yes, Lazarus did die. And is there anything more final than death itself? But for Jesus, even death is not final. Death is never final for those who receive Christ's resurrection life, this new life.
This eternal life. Why? Because Jesus is going to show that He is the only one who can conquer death. Welcome to the verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. For many people, death is more than just a simple fact of life.
It's the end, something to dread above all else, causing despair and defeat and fear. But it doesn't have to be. Today, Pastor John Monroe will show us why followers of Christ have hope, not just in life, but hope even in the face of death. in a message titled Raising the Dead. How do you view death?
Have you come to terms with your own mortality? or do you prefer not to think of such things? The Bible says, it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this, the judgment. One out of one dies. Are you ready to face God?
In this series, Encountering Jesus, we come today to one of the great stories of the Bible. John chapter 11. A man who has been dead for four days is raised from the dead. Nothing. is impossible with God.
Jesus still says, I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? Listen to this message on raising the dead.
It's been said that there are only two certainties in life. Taxes And deaf. Death knocks at every door. Eventually, the long shadow of death will fall on each one of us. The Bible makes that very clear that it is appointed unto men once to die.
And after this, the judgment. I asked you this morning, are you prepared to die? There are three possible reactions to death. First Many people simply ignore the reality. They take the view, however irrational it is, that death will only come to other people.
They ignored the reality of the possibility of that they may die much sooner than they thought.
Some ignore it, others fear it. Many people live in fear of dying. Woody Allen said, I'm not afraid to die, I just don't want to be around when it happens. And many think like that. Many people are afraid to die.
The eighteenth century French philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau said, he who pretends to look on death without fear lies. All men are afraid of dying. Whether that's true or not, that all men are afraid of dying, certainly many, many people are afraid to die.
So we can ignore it, or we can fear it, or. As followers of Jesus Christ, we can face the reality not just of death as a concept, but of our own. mortality. The Christian answer to death is not found in ignoring its reality. is not found in fearing it, rather it is found in facing it.
As Christians, we face death because we have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, who still says, I am the resurrection and the life. People say, where there's life, there's hope. Followers of Jesus go much further and say, where there's death, there's hope. Because the hope of the Christian goes beyond death, because our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom we trust, has conquered death. He is the resurrection and The life.
And Jesus does not just make claims, he proves them. Jesus does not merely say, I am the bread of life. He feeds a multitude with five loaves and two fish. He does not merely say, I am the light of the world. He gives sight to a man who's been blind.
from birth. Jesus does not merely say, I am the resurrection and the life, he raises a man from the dead. A man who has been dead for four days and in so doing demonstrates that he The resurrection and the life. is greater than death itself. And of course, not only did our Lord raise Lazarus from the dead, He Himself rose from the dead.
He is victorious over death, that Jesus Christ is risen, and all who believe in Christ as their personal Saviour and Lord receive His new life. His eternal life. As we thought of last week, his resurrection life.
Now, this morning, we want to learn a bit more about this resurrection life and the difference this truth makes in our lives here and now as well as for all of eternity. First of all, this resurrection life. conquers Death. There's resurrection life. conquers death.
In our story in John chapter 11, which we've read, Lazarus was sick and then died. Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, lived in Bethany, which is just east of Jerusalem. And Jesus knew this home and he loved Martha, Mary and Lazarus. Verse 5, Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. And Mary and Martha, who know the Lord, send word to Jesus.
that their brother Lazarus is very, very sick. But Jesus, instead of immediately going to Bethany, perhaps as we would have expected, and certainly as they expected, stayed where he was, according to verse six, for another couple of days. Then he told his disciples that he would go to Judea, where Bethany was, just outside Jerusalem, even although that meant. Verses seven and eight. that he would be exposed to stoning by the Jews.
Remember, uh we have seen in the previous chapters of John That the Jewish establishment are plotting to kill Jesus. They're very angry with Jesus and they want him dead. When Jesus finally arrives in Bethany, Lazarus. has been dead. For four There is So we ask the question, why didn't Jesus Immediately go to Bethany.
When he was told that Lazarus was sick. And why did he allow Lazarus to die? Why did he allow Mary and Martha to go through such deep grief and mourning? Why? Isn't that the most common question that we hear?
Why? Which one of us has not asked? That question? in deep distress. Why?
Why? Why does God sometimes delay? Of course, strictly speaking. Theologically speaking, God never delays. God's timetable is perfect.
But from our perspective, our very human perspective, particularly when we're suffering, God sometimes seems. to delay. His timetable obviously is different from ours. and we find that very hard. when God seems to delay.
Is there anyone here waiting on God to act? I'm sure many of us are. Perhaps you're looking for employment. Perhaps you've been praying for a husband, for a wife, for a long time. Perhaps you are waiting for a miracle from God to take place in your family situation, in your personal circumstances, and God seems to delay.
Why does God delay?
Well, from this passage we can learn four important truths. about God's delays. First, God's delays bring glory to God. Look at verse four. John 11, verse 4.
When Jesus heard it, he said, The sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified by it. Verse 40, Jesus said to her, Did I not say to you, if you believe, You will see the glory of God. And so these signs, these seven signs that we're learning about in John's Gospel, this being the last and the greatest of the seven signs, these signs display the glory of God. Remember when we studied a prologue, the opening verses of John chapter 1, we read in John 1, verse 4, that John the Apostle says, We beheld his glory, we saw the glory of God. The glory.
as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. And in John chapter 2, verse 11, after the turning of the water of the wine, John records, this was the beginning of the signs that Jesus did in Cana of Galilee and manifested and displayed his glory. When Jesus is performing these miracles, there is a display, a brilliant display of the glory of God, and here, Christ's power. and the glory of God are brilliantly displayed. When a man who has been in a grave for four days, is raised from The dead.
And so we must remember that while God's purposes are very different from ours, God's delays bring glory to God, all in God's perfect timekeeping. Secondly, God's delays deepen Our faith Look at verses fourteen and fifteen. And Jesus said to the disciples, Lazarus is dead. And I'm glad for your sakes. That I wasn't there.
What a strange thing to say. If you're not God.
So that you may believe. But let us go. to him. What happens in your life and mine when God seems to delay? Don't you just pray more often?
Doesn't it drive you? To your knees. Don't these difficult times when you're waiting on God bring you closer to the Lord? Hudson Taylor wrote, Trials afford God a platform for his working in our lives. Without them, I would never know how kind, how powerful, how gracious he is.
I'm sure many of us have learned That our faith in our Lord Jesus Christ is deepened not when things go well in our lives, but through adversities. and through the difficulties and through the sufferings. that God's delays deepen Our faith. They bring glory to God, they deepen our faith. Thirdly, God's delays do not contradict.
his love. Look at verse 3. The sisters therefore said to him, Lord, behold he whom you love. is sick. Verse 5, now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
Verse 36, so the Jews were saying, Behold how he loved him. There was no question. that this man Lazarus was greatly loved. by Jesus. But when God delays we may begin to question God's love for us, isn't that right?
But let me remind you. That just as our Lord loved Lazarus deeply, He loves you deeply and he loves me. He sees your situation. He's aware of your fears. He's aware of that excruciating difficult circumstance in your life.
And so today I want you to grasp this very, very important truth. that God's purposes, including his delays, are never separated From his love for you.
Now I know sometimes you wonder about that. You say, well, if God really loved me, why doesn't He act in my life, in the life of my children, in the life of my parents, and my personal circumstances? And when God delays to act, we sometimes feel abandoned by God, and we sometimes feel very alone, and sometimes unloved. I understand that, but I'm asking you to grasp this truth. that God's delays.
Never. Never. contradict. His love for you. Therefore, Trust him with all of your heart.
His delays don't contradict his love for you. Here's the fourth one. God's delays are not final. Look at verse eleven. This he said.
And after that he said to them, Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go. that I may awaken him out of his sleep. Yes, Lazarus did die. And is there anything more final than death itself? But for Jesus, even death is not final.
Death is never final for those who receive Christ's resurrection life. This new life, This eternal life. Why? Because Jesus is going to show that He is the only one who can conquer death. And in the ultimate sense, God never delays, God is never late.
God is always right on time. His delays. or not. Final. And here Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead.
At Bethany, Mary and Martha tell Jesus that if he'd been there, Lazarus wouldn't have died. We see that in verse 21 with Martha saying, Lord, if you'd been here, my brother wouldn't have died. Verse 32, we read the same thing from Mary: Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn't have died. And Jesus now goes to them. Do you picture the scene?
the sisters, their friends, their neighbours. Are we weeping? Verse thirty-three Jesus was deeply moved in spirit. and was troubled And then we have one of the most profound verses in all of the Bible And the shortest verse in our English translation, remember that when the New Testament was written, there were no chapter and verse divisions. The chapter and verse divisions that we have in our Bible were placed there in fifteen fifty one by Robert Stephanus, and here he does something I think quite wonderful.
He gives a whole verse. to these two words. in our English translation. Jesus wept. Jesus cried.
Why was Jesus so troubled? Why was he so deeply moved? Uh why did he weep? After all, he knew that he was going to raise Lazarus from the dead. Oh, he knew that, but Jesus wept.
As he reflected on the untold tragedy and sorrow and tears and devastation caused by the effects of sin. The wages. of saying is death. Many of us have wept at the bedside of a loved one, who has passed from time into eternity. We wept at open graves.
Why? Yes, even when our loved one is a follower of Jesus Christ, why do we weep? Because death is ugly, death is horrible. It is, the Bible says, the last enemy, and Jesus weeps as he thinks of the untold horror of sin that has come and has devastated this world. He weeps also.
As he enters into the sorrow and grief of his friends. Do you understand that when you suffer The Saviour suffers. and weeps with you. It's not wrong for Christians to weep and grieve when a loved one dies. I've sometimes heard well meaning but misguided Christians say to a person whose loved one has died, Oh, just remember they're in heaven.
There's no need to weep. We understand they're in heaven. But there's a sense of loss. And here Jesus Whips. Then Jesus tells them to remove the stone from the tomb.
Practical Martha, practical ever as ever is concerned with the stench. A good point, I suppose. After four days, after all, the body is decomposing. Jesus first prays to his Father. and then cries out with a loud voice Lazarus.
Come forth. As one commentator says, if Jesus had not said Lazarus, every dead person in the hearing of his voice would have come forth. Such is the power of the Word of God to give new life. to dead people, and a man who has been dead for four days comes forth. What's happening?
Jesus is conquering death. Jesus is declaring that he is greater than death. Jesus is giving new life to a dead person. As Wesley writes in his wonderful hymn, he speaks, and listening to his voice, new life. The dead.
Receive. Here is the last of the seven signs that we've been studying. The climax of them all. Demonstrating who Jesus is. He's not just an ordinary man.
He's not just a rabbi. He's not just a prophet. He's not just a miracle worker. He is the Messiah. He is the Son of God.
And a man who has been dead for four days. is raised. from the dead. Jesus is conquering death and giving New life. Do you understand?
Why we have this passage is to Tell us who Jesus is, but also. It is so that we could understand that the death of Lazarus is a picture of our own spiritual death. Paul says that we are dead spiritually, dead in our trespasses and sins. Physically alive. But dead while we live.
Living dead. No spiritual awareness, no spiritual interest, dead to true realities, dead to true truth. Dead to that which is eternal, dead to that which is spiritual, only alive to the physical, only alive to my own needs and my own life. Spiritually dead because of her sin. And Lazarus is dead.
He could do nothing in the tomb, obviously. And we could do nothing to save ourselves. What does a dead person need? Reformation? Rehabilitation.
Education Of course not. That person is one thing. New life. Regeneration, and this is what Jesus gives: resurrection, life, and this is why our Lord Jesus came. Over and over again, John and his Gospels is telling us That if we believe in Jesus Christ, we receive eternal life.
Life. That's one of his great themes. It's why he's writing his gospel so that we may understand who Jesus is. He's the Savior of the world, he's the Son of God, and that we may personally respond and receive the Savior. And as we do so, we receive new life.
We're born again. Why do we need new life? Because we're spiritually That And so the raising of Lazarus is an enacted parable. It's a paradigm to demonstrate that the only person Who can deal with death is our Lord Jesus Christ. As Christians, we're sometimes told you're bigoted to say that Jesus is the only way to God, the only way into heaven.
My answer is: if you can tell me any other person who can conquer death. Who can give a dead person new life? I will follow that person. But there is only one. Only one.
Our Lord Jesus Christ, God Himself, the man Christ Jesus, who can give you His life, which is greater than death itself. And here is the power of the word of God. Lazarus, come forth. And it was the Word of God, not religion, not ritualism. It was the living word of God giving life.
To the dead. You say, why do we make such a fuss about this book at church? I'll tell you why. It is only the living word of God that can give us new life. Faith comes by hearing.
And hearing by the word of Christ. And just as Jesus spoke personally to Lazarus, he is personally speaking to you this morning. He loves you. He knows who you are. He knows your name.
And you can say your name. He's calling you, he's speaking to you. He sees you if you're spiritually dead. And you need new life, you need to be born again. And so Jesus says: I am the resurrection and the life.
He who believes in me will live, even if he dies. And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. He is the resurrection. Yes, he is the resurrection.
So that those who believe in Jesus Christ Although they physically die, they shall live. They shall be resurrected. For the Christian, for the follower of Jesus Christ, there is no spiritual death. I am the resurrection. He who believes shall live, even if he dies.
John on. The great, probably the most outstanding of the English Puritan lay dying. And his secretary began to write to a friend, I'm still in the land of the living. Owen says stop. Change that to say, I am yet in the land of the dying, but I hope soon to be in the land of the living.
Do you have that confidence? We're in the land of the dying. We don't know who's going to be next. But for believers in Jesus Christ, our hope is in the land of the living because our trust is in the resurrection and the life. I am.
The life. He gives us new life now, not just for the future, but now. Jesus Christ. in his resurrection life conquers Death. That's the first thing I want you to understand that this resurrection life conquers death.
Secondly, this resurrection life conquers bondage to sin. Christ in His resurrection not only conquers death, He conquers the power of sin. He conquers sin itself and our bondage to sin. This is the verdict and Pastor John Monroe, and the first half of a message titled Raising the Dead. Don't go anywhere just yet, because John'll be right back with his closing remarks.
Scripture teaches us to put our full trust in Jesus Christ. But have you ever wondered, can I really rely on God? With all of the pain and real problems of this life, does it really make a difference to trust in Jesus Christ?
Well, John has written a helpful guidebook to provide you with very practical, straightforward biblical answers. It's titled Trusting God in Tough Times. Understand why God can be trusted, and discover why having a God-centered perspective will change your life. To request your free copy of Trusting God in Tough Times, visit theverdict.org. And while you're on our website, you'll have the opportunity to play a part in what God is doing through the verdict with a simple one-time donation of any amount.
Your support will help us share God's word with new listeners in your community and across the world. You can easily give whatever amount you feel led to by visiting theverdict.org. The verdict is a ministry of Calvary Church in South Charlotte. were located on the corner of Highway 51 and Ray Road. If you've been looking for a church home or a community to help you grow in your walk with Christ, we invite you to join us this coming Sunday.
We'd love to meet you and learn more about you. For more details about Calvary and our current service times, visit theverdict.org.
Now, here's Pastor John Monroe.
Well, what's your verdict?
Sometimes people object when followers of Christ say that Jesus is the only way to God. But who else has come from God, lived a sinless life, died for our sins, and has been raised from the dead? Jesus is the only one who has defeated death and is eternally alive. And eternal life is given as a gift to those who believe in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord. Join me next time as we continue with the raising of Lazarus and discuss how this impacts us today.
Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict. I'm Michelle Davies. Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
