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Mar 23, 2025

The Resurrection and Life | Power and Promise

The Resurrection and Life | Power and Promise

Passage: John 11:1-44

Speaker: Matt Petty

Series: Power and Promise

Category: Sunday Sermons

Keywords: suffering, death, disappointment, eternal life, spiritual transformation, sunday message, waiting on god, john 11, death to life, jesus wept, trust in god, spiritual resurrection, martha and mary, resurrection power, divine presence, faith journey, stone rolled away, bible teaching, biblical exposition, divine purpose, jesus teachings, christian hope, grave clothes, overcoming death, compassionate jesus, resurrection and life, jesus i am statements, divine timing, come and see series, lazarus raised, god's perfect plan, lazarus come out, bethany miracle, god's purpose in delay, miracle stories, grief and faith, jesus delays, four days in tomb, god's glory revealed, faith in waiting, ekklesia community

Why does God delay? Where is He in our suffering? What happens when death seems to have the final word? Through the story of Lazarus in John 11, Pastor Matt reveals why Jesus intentionally waited two days before going to Bethany—not because He didn't care, but because He had a greater purpose. As Jesus told His disciples, "For your sake, I am glad that I was not there so that you may believe." The message unpacks four powerful truths about Jesus: He gives us His presence in our darkest moments He doesn't just offer resurrection—He IS the resurrection and life He genuinely hurts when we hurt (Jesus wept) His timing and plans serve a greater purpose than we can see Pastor Matt shares his personal experience of losing his younger brother in a car accident, admitting he once said the same words as Martha: "Lord, if you would have been here, this would not have happened." When Jesus commanded "Lazarus, come out!" from a tomb where decay had already begun ("Lord, he stinketh"), He foreshadowed His own resurrection and demonstrated His power over death itself. This sermon is for anyone who has questioned God's timing, felt abandoned in suffering, or faced the reality of death. You'll walk away understanding that "delays from God are not denials"—they're opportunities to truly believe and experience Jesus as the resurrection and life in your circumstances today.

Well, good morning church. Thank you for being here today. I know that we got a lot more sleep last night than we did last week. I want you to do me a favor this morning. Grab your Bibles, grab your devices, and turn with me to John We're going to do a deep examination and celebrate yet one more of the “I am” claims of Jesus. These claims are where Jesus actually takes hold of the highest and the holiest, the loftiest name of God in the Old Testament, Yahweh, “I am” in the New Testament. Jesus claims this name for himself as if to say, I am God. I'm more than a prophet. I'm more than a healer. I'm more than your best friend. I am God. Today is actually the fifth of the “I am” statements so far, and we've looked at the fact that he is the bread of life. We've looked at the fact that he's the light of the world. We've looked at the fact that he is the door. And then last week we looked at him proclaiming that he is the good shepherd.

Well, as we said every week in these “I am” statements, every one of these promises of Jesus comes with it a claim that Jesus fulfills one of our greatest needs and one of our greatest broken points of life. So far, we've said that only he can heal them, only he can fill them. And as we've walked through them and seen the names, we've seen how he can do that.

Week one, we said that when we feel empty, that he's the bread of life. Week two, we said that when we feel like we're in the dark or we're hopeless, that he is the one that lights the way or illuminates the path in front of us. Week three, we said when we were scared or when we don't know the way to God, that Jesus is the door. And then last week we said that when we're lost, when we're hopeless, we don't know where to go, he is our good shepherd. Jesus promises that he is the only one that can fill these deepest needs.

Well, today is the same. Jesus steps into another one of these felt needs and he hits three at the same time of the largest needs or broken areas in our life. And that is the needs of disappointment, suffering, and death. To which I can just feel the room all of a sudden was like, wow Matt, this is going to be an uplifting message. No, it really is. Because what Jesus is about to do is look at you and at me and he's about to say, in the middle of all of these things, I am going to show you who I am.

So today you might just actually walk away with some answers that you have been asking questions to for a long time. Or you might actually walk away with some answers to some questions that a family member's been asking around disappointment, suffering, and death. Now, here's what I want to do. I've done it every week and I think I'm going to continue it to the end.

I want to give you the claim from Jesus, the I am statement. And then we're going to backtrack our way through it to see the context to see exactly what he said. John 11, verse 25, Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. Circle that, underline it, put it in your Bible. For those of you that are enemies of every pastor alive, put the date beside it. So next time I preach it, you'll say, you preached that on April of 2025. There you go. I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live even though they die.

Now, there's the claim, and this is what I want to say about the claim. If you have managed to elude the rest of the struggles throughout this whole series, emptiness and darkness and not knowing the way - I can promise you will not be able to evade today’s claim and promise unless Jesus returns like right now. Why? Because all of us at some point in our life, we are going to walk through the hurt of death, the disappointment of death, the suffering of death, and the overwhelmingness of death. You might be able to ignore it for a minute, but its pain will come upon someone you love and eventually you. Now, there's the bad news.

Good news is going to blow you away. 100% of people die. You can freeze yourself, you can eat healthy, you can swear off fried chicken. But eventually we will all physically, unless the Lord comes back in time, we will die. And this message addresses that. It actually addresses why some of you that are even walking in that season right now with a loved one or a friend. It just doesn't feel right. Death never does. So it addresses death. But also this claim addresses something else that most of us walk through. And it's the idea that at some point in our lives as a believer in Jesus, that we are actually going to feel disappointed with God. We're going to feel like that sometime. At some point in your life, you're going to look at God and you're going to say, God, why didn't you do something? God, why did you let this happen? God, if you loved me, fill in the blank. God, you didn't do what you said you were going to do. At some point in your life, you're going to say something like this: God, I did my part. Why did you not do your part? They died. She left. He cheated. I didn't get this. The promotion didn’t happen. The kid did whatever. In fact, for some of you, this is the sole reason that there has been a large season of your life where you're just now coming back to church. You feel like in some way God turned his back on you. Or for some of you, you feel this is what's caused you to go through the religious motions.

Because at some point you looked at God when something happened in your life and you said, God, why did you not fill in the blank? And then you said, God, if I can't trust you in that, can I really trust you in this? So this section of John chapter 11 is going to address those needs. And here's the short story of all of it. Jesus is about to look at you and he's about to look at me in my disappointment, in my suffering, and even in the valley of the shadow of death. And he's about to look at all of us and say, I can be trusted. Amen. And I love you. Amen.

We have a lot of verses, but they're really, really good. John, chapter 11, verse one. All we're going to do is walk through this text today. So if you don't like that, it's probably not the church for you. Here's what he says. Now, a man name Lazarus was sick and he was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister, Martha. Verse two, this Mary whose brother Lazarus now lays sick, was the same one who poured the perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. So the sisters sent word to Jesus. Here's the quote, "Lord, the one you love is sick." Now let me pause there and kind of bring you to speed while it's happening. Scholars agree that Jesus was actually really close to this family.

Really close. There's a couple of other events that Jesus is with this family. You see them tracking together, probably grew up as kids together, they say, and we just read that actually on the last of that little paragraph, that Lazarus is the one that says that Jesus loved. All right? You're going to see that over and over again. This family believed in Jesus. They supported Jesus. They spent some time following after Jesus. Now Lazarus actually gets sick. We don't know what the sickness is, but it appears that it came on pretty rapidly and pretty strong. And the sisters, Martha and Mary, what do they do? They do what anybody who trusts in God does. When we have a need, they call out to Jesus. They call out for Jesus to do something about it. Now, in our time and our day, we would call that praying to Jesus.

In their time, they sent a messenger to Jesus to go get him to do something about it. We have the Holy Spirit. So we can call upon the name of Jesus. And he hears us. Now at this time in John's gospel, we are really late in Jesus's ministry. We're only weeks before the cross, weeks before he's crucified. He's already known as a healer. He's already known as a guy that has given sight to the blind. He's healed the sick, and he's already raised two other people from the dead. Not to give away the story. So they know that this is the thing to do. They call out to Jesus, to which all of us would agree that is the thing to do.

In the healing ministry of Jesus, he didn't go around and heal everybody. Jesus didn't walk the streets of Jerusalem and everybody that came in eyesight of Jesus, he was like, heal you, heal you, heal you, heal you. No, that's not how it worked. Jesus and his miracles had a purpose. He didn't indiscriminately end all illness or all disease or heal swaths of people at one time. That's not what Jesus did. The healings of Jesus, yes, it was for the people that he was healing, but even more so, it was to prove who Jesus is, to show his power and to point people to a relationship with him. Alright? That's what they were for. Well, in this case though, you would think that since Jesus was close to this family and his family had a need and his family called out to Jesus, you would think that if you're reading this for the first time, surely at the moment that Jesus heard this, that Jesus would've just thrown everything down in this moment and came running to deal with these sisters, right?

You would think that's what Jesus would do because it just said that he loved them. But if you've read ahead, you know that's not what he does. Even after the “help me Jesus” call, not to ruin it for you, but he doesn't make it to Lazarus on time, and Lazarus dies. And to make it even more confusing, stay with me. Watch this in verse four, keep reading. It says this, when Jesus 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. Verse five. Now, Jesus loved Martha and her sister Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days. Now that sounds crazy, doesn't it? If Jesus is loving, if Jesus can heal, if Jesus can do something about this, then why in the world did Jesus just hang out when he heard a need from someone he loved?

I mean, if I was writing this or if you were writing this, you know what we would write, right? We would be like, man, Jesus swooped in. He threw down everything he was doing. He tucked his cloak. He ran like Elijah - because we'd throw in some Bible references - and he got to Bethany and he healed him. That's what we would write. But that's not what happens. The Bible just said that Jesus loved them. Don't forget that. I mean, it's said it like three times already. He stayed where he was two more days. You know, I've tried to process this this week, because this is a tough one. Here's a principle that's kind of helped me. It might not help you, but you can put it in your notes. It's helped me this week. Look at this, delays from God are not denials.

And I just want you to grab hold of that and process through that this week because they're not denials. You're smart enough to figure it out. But here's really what this has meant to me this week. First of all, there are no delays from God. Have you ever thought about that? His timing is perfect. His timing is all good, and his timing is all loving. He's never late, and he's never early. And I know that is really hard for our finite minds that are here for what, maybe a hundred years at best, than grasp that an eternal God knows better than us, right? But God is never late. But it's hard for us to hold onto, and it's hard for the disciples to hold onto. If you see that Jesus paused here and you're a little bit confused, just know you're in good company.

Because it confused the disciples as well. Aren't you glad the disciples were pretty slow and Jesus always had to explain something twice? Aren't you glad that he always had to circle back around them so that we actually might get it? In fact, to help the disciples understand this after them finding out that their friend Lazarus was dead? Jesus actually says this, not to get too far ahead, but I want to show you this in verse 15, Jesus says this to the disciples, he says, it was for your sake, I am glad that I was not there so that you may believe. Do you see why Jesus delays? Now, Jesus doesn't delay because he is a jerk. He doesn't delay because he doesn't hear. He doesn't delay because he doesn't love them. He looks at his disciples, he's like, Hey, there's a grander plan.

There's a larger plan. And for your sake, you better be glad that I wasn't there because you would not learn what I'm about to teach you. He was about to teach them how to believe. Now, if you've been tracking with us in this whole series of John, you know that John's whole book here is all about us finding out how we can truly believe. Not just believe, but to believe with our life that walks it out with our feet. So Jesus is looking at them right here, and he's saying, what's so important that I would actually let my friend die? What's so important that I would let these sisters temporarily be devastated? What the process of this whole event is going to show you is that you can know and you can truly believe that “I am”.

What's the claim? I am the resurrection and the life. You see, if this wouldn't have happened, they would've still been doubting. And then two weeks later when Jesus went to the cross, they would still been like, ah, I'm really not sure. You see, so even in tragedy, even in suffering, even in disappointment, our God has a plan to show us who he is. Verse six, it says this. So when they heard that Lazarus was sick, he, that's Jesus, stayed where he was two more days. And then he said to his disciples, let us go back to Judea.

Now, this was an incredibly dangerous thing. Last time he was in Judea, they tried to stone him. Last time he was there, they ran him out of town. He actually has this little back and forth with Thomas, where Thomas is like, well, we'll just go and die right there with Lazarus. I love it. You gotta read that later on. We don't have time for it. But by the time Jesus actually gets to Bethany, Lazarus has been dead for four days. Now, Jesus already knew this. He was God. So he is already in his mind watching how he's about to do what he's gonna do if you do the math right?

It took a day for the messenger to get to him and give him the message. The Bible says that Jesus waited for two days before he went back, and it took him a day to walk. And what we're about to see in the text is that Jesus finds Lazarus in the grave after he had been there four days. Now the Jews, they weren't like us. They buried people the day they died. So he'd been in the grave four days, and the next thing that we get to see is that Martha hears Jesus is coming into town and she runs out to meet him. And Martha gives us a famous line. See if it sounds familiar to you in this next set of verses.

On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now, Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. Sounds like the last time we met Martha and Mary, right? But look at this verse 21. See if this sounds familiar. Lord, Martha said to Jesus, if you would have been here, my brother would not have died.

Now listen, if you know my story, I’ll let you into a little bit of my life. I've literally said these words to God before. When I was a sophomore in college, my younger brother died in a car accident. And literally to the word I quoted this, not even probably even knowing this is in the Bible. Lord, if you would have been here, this would not have happened.

That's exactly what Mary's saying. Jesus, where were you? Why didn't you show up? We were supposed to be able to call on you. That's what we're supposed to do. We did it. We've been loyal. Even though other people left you, I was with you and you did not show. Am I stepping on anybody's toes here? Yes, sir. We've all said this. Have we not? We've all said this to Jesus. And listen, I want you to see something about Jesus here. Jesus doesn't like come down on them and rebuke them for saying this. No, no, no, no, no. That's what we would've done. Jesus teaches Mary and teaches us a lesson of what it looks like to walk with Jesus in times of death, in times of suffering, in times of hurting. He gives us what I'll just call four attributes of Jesus or offers from Jesus, even in the moment of death.

Number one, Jesus in these moments gives us the gift of his presence. Now, look, according to these people that we saw in their perspective on timing, Jesus was late, right? That's what Martha’s saying here. If you would've just gotten here, you would have done something. That's what they're saying. But we've already established the fact that Jesus is never late on this side. We're going to see that in a minute.

Not only did Jesus get there on time, on eternal time, but what about just the fact that the savior of the world, the savior of the universe, the one that hung the earth and the sky, responded to their prayer, you see, cut through the noise and the critics. And just watch what Jesus does when his followers, when his people call upon him, he graces us with his presence.

Believer remember this. He doesn't just respond to Mary and Martha. He responds to you. In fact, Psalm 102, verse 17 says, he will respond to the prayer of the destitute. He will not despise their plea. Psalm 34:17 says, the righteous cry out and the Lord hears them and he delivers them from their troubles. Listen to me. Jesus might not show up on your timing, but his timing when he does show up is always right. His moment is always true, and Jesus is fully present, fully aware, and fully with you in every single thing, believer, that you will ever walk through. And we as followers of Jesus are the only people on this planet that can claim this. No other religion, no other psychology, no other philosophy, nothing else on this planet can say that they have a God through the incarnation, which is what we're seeing here, that Jesus is walking on the earth.

Through the crucifixion, what we'll see in two weeks through the resurrection and through the giving of the Holy Spirit, no other religion can say that they have a savior that walks with them. They have a savior that hears every one of them the same moment in time and meets them right where they need him to meet them. He gives us the gift of his presence.

So believer, listen to me, call on the name of the Lord in times of trouble and shame and pain and hurt and distress and anger and death. And believer, when you do, rest assured that he hears you. He's with you, and he will give you his full presence. Even if you don't understand the moment. He gives it to you.

But he doesn't stop there. Next, Martha and Jesus begin to have a pretty heavy conversation, and this is where we actually get to see he offers us his presence, but number two, Jesus, in these moments offers and is the resurrection and life. Now, I know that's clunky. I know it doesn't fit you grammar people. It's not right, but I wrote it that way on purpose. He offers and is the resurrection and the life. That means that we're going to see in about a month that Jesus is the resurrection. We're going to see that in the Easter season. But also on top of that, what does Jesus offer from the claim that we read? The claim is that he gives us the resurrection and the life. He offers us the new life now and for eternity. In fact, look at the text. Even though we were dead in our sins, even though we did not deserve it.

Verse 21, Lord Martha said to Jesus, if you had been here, my brother would not have died, but I know that even now, God will give you whatever you ask, Jesus said to her, your brother will rise again. To which you're like, yeah! Martha doesn't get it. Martha answered I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day. I can just see Jesus in my mind, he's shaking his head going, Ugh. You know? Martha was a Jew. They talked a lot about the final resurrection and yes, that's what Jesus is talking about. But also, yes, Jesus is about to raise a boy, right? He's about to raise Lazarus from the grave so that she'll believe, but keep reading because Martha is just looking at the heavenly Father.

Verse 25. Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live even though they die, and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this? Amen. Yes, Lord. She replied, I believe that you are the Messiah, the son of God who has come into the world. Did you see what Jesus just did here? Jesus just looked at her and says, Hey, listen. Not many people probably told Martha things if you get her attitude right? He said, Hey, I know you're looking for that day and I'm responsible for that day. I know you're looking to that day and I am the one that will rise up the believers on the final day. But Jesus is also looking at her and going, Hey, but that's not what's going to happen with your brother today because I've got a plan and I am going to raise him from the dead.

Now, obviously here, Jesus is not teaching the principle that every believer that dies, he's going to raise. That is not physically rise. That's not what he's teaching. I mean, when you think about poor Lazarus here, I mean you can see his life proves it. He has already died in the story. We just saw that. But not to ruin the power of the text, but Lazarus at some point, we don't know when it is, Lazarus has to die again. Have you ever thought about this poor guy that had to die twice? Have you ever thought about his mindset? I mean, he's not out there hanging out in a secret cave somewhere waiting on the God to return like the knight in Indiana Jones, right? That is not how it's happening here.

Poor Lazarus actually dies twice, and on top of that, have you ever thought about how this whole event really stunk for Lazarus? Do you know that nobody that walks in the presence of Jesus ever wants to return. The poor guy dies. He loves Jesus. He dies, he goes to heaven, or maybe he gets his keys to the mansion. He's checking in, he's getting to know things. He's seeing Abraham and Isaac. He's hanging out with all the prophets. He's in the presence of God. For four days he gets to enjoy eternity and all of a sudden there's a knock at his door and an angel's like, Hey, the big guy needs to see you, right? The big guy needs to see you. You're going back down. He has to because it's just showing us in the story who God is.

In verse 25 and 26, there's an incredible moment here showing us that, yeah, physically we're going to die. Nobody's ever going to want to be back from dying. In Christ, we will be more alive at the moment that we physically die than we've ever been on this planet. Yes sir. In fact, one of the most famous Billy Graham quotes of all time says, one final day you'll hear that Billy Graham is dead. Don't you believe it. I'll be more alive than ever. I will just have changed addresses.

Man, I love that. Because of what Jesus is and what Jesus offers. He not only in the moments of sorrow and death offers us his presence, but he offers us himself as the resurrection and the life. But the question is, do you believe? Number one, the gift of his presence. Number two, he offers the resurrection and the life. And that should be enough for the morning, but we're going to give you some extra. Number three, I'm going to show you this. Jesus, in these moments of suffering and pain and death and sorrow, Jesus hurts when we hurt. We don't talk about this side of Jesus a lot. We kind of glaze over it, right? But we're going to check back into Bethany. There's lots of scripture here.

Here it goes. Verse 28, after she said this, this is Martha. She went back and she called her sister Mary aside, the teacher is here. She said, and he's asking for you. When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and she went to him. Now, Jesus had not yet entered into the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews that 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, verse 32. But when Mary reached the same place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, now this is going to sound real familiar. Watch what she said. Maybe they practiced it earlier. Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

There it is again. Remember, Martha's already got her message of hope in the resurrection and life. Let's watch the one that Jesus gives Mary and gives us. When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come alongside her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. Watch what he says. Where have you laid them? He asked, come and see Lord. They replied in verse 35, and Jesus wept.

He just went from not only being the great I am. Now he also became the weeping suffering servant. And thank God he did. Why? Because I need to know that he feels what I feel. I need to know that he's with me in those moments and I need to know that I have a savior that is not so detached from the universe that when I hurt, he knows what I'm walking through.

That's what he's saying here. He wept with these two ladies. I know it seems weird to look at Jesus and go, you could have done something. You could have stopped this. You could've do this– just do it, Jesus. And he could have. I know it even seems weird that Jesus is crying and he already knows he's about to raise Lazarus. I know that. But he does it for a reason, to show us that he feels what we feel and he's walked where we walk, and even more so in his death. I mean, let's be honest, Jesus sees the end of your story and know that you have a servant that is deeply moved and weeps when you weep.

But I want to talk about this phrase deeply moved for a second. I think we miss this sometimes. Look back at verse 33. It says, when Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come alongside her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit. And troubled. The phrase deeply moved is not a great English translation. Because when we think deeply moved, we think, Aw, I'm so sad for them. That's not actually what this Greek word is describing here. The Greek word is actually describing that Jesus was super indignant, super angry. It is this word that actually describes a bull snorting and growling before it charges a matador. Or here's how John Calvin described it, a wrestler that is entering in the ring to fight right before the bell being angered at his opponent.

I’m not saying Jesus is angry at Mary and Martha and at all these people. What I'm trying to say and show you is that Jesus steps up and cries these tears of concern on one side, but on the other side, he steps in front of the tomb, deeply moved, and he is angered at the fact that he is facing his number one enemy on this planet and it's death. He's angry at death. He's angry at the fact that death has stolen his plan for eternal life, for humanity when sin entered the earth, and now he's looking at Lazarus, knowing the pain that it has brought on him, the pain that has brought on his sisters, the pain that is brought on us, and can I add this, the pain that it's going to bring on himself in a couple of weeks when he faces death. He's looking at death, he's looking at it in the eyes and he's saying, listen, you need to know that I am the resurrection and this is why I'm so angry at death.

Believer, it is okay to be angry at death because it wasn't God's plan for humanity. It's okay to not feel natural about death. Don't think that you're not spiritual. Don't think that you're just not there in your walk with Jesus. Even Jesus was deeply moved at death. Because he knows there's a better plan. He is the plan. He hurts when we hurt. He gives us the gift of his presence.

Number four, he shows us that his grace and his plan are always perfect. Only Jesus can heal. Only Jesus can raise the dead, and only Jesus can give true life. Verse 38. Jesus, once more, is deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. Verse 39, watch what he says. Take away the stone. Is this ringing any bells for the Easter story right here? I hope it is. But Lord Martha said, the sister of the dead man, by this time, there is a bad odor for he has been there for four days. You gotta love Martha, right? I love the KJV here. It says, Lord, he's stinketh. Lord, there's decay already setting in. There's stink already setting in. In other words, he's not just dead. He is dead–dead. Now, to us, that doesn't make any sense.

But if you were a Jew, this made total sense because they had this kind of weird philosophy. It's not biblical. It's just a philosophy of the Jews that the spirit somehow hovered around the body for three days and after three days, it left the body. That's what the Jews believed for some reason. All the other miracles that Jesus did when he rose somebody, he rose them right after they died. But now are you seeing what Jesus did? He waits the extra fourth day just to prove that he is the resurrection and the life. Verse 40. Then Jesus said, did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God? So they took away the stone, and Jesus looked up and said, father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this, for the benefit of the people standing around here. That they may believe that you sent me. Amen. Oh, here it is. Verse 43. Then when he had said this, Jesus called out. I love this. This is proof for every pastor that gets a little bit excited, right? Jesus called out in a loud voice, Lazarus come out. Now, I love that one old pastor said, thank goodness he used Lazarus’s first name, or every grave in that whole cemetery would've busted open.

Verse 44, the dead man came out. Come on. His hands and his feet were wrapped with strips of linen and a cloth around his face. I don't know how he came out. Maybe he rolled, maybe he hopped. Maybe he had a little slit. He could see. I don't know. Got questions later on. But Jesus said to them, take off the grave clothes and let him out.

Was there a moment of hurt? Oh yeah. Was there a season of pain? Oh yeah, you know, this family was in it. Was there a season this family thought that Jesus was letting them down? Yes, but listen, Jesus, in full power, in full grace, in full love, in full mercy, rose Lazarus to new life, and actually Jesus broke this funeral up and started his own funeral. Later on this chapter, you'll see this is when they decided to arrest Jesus. But beyond that, this last sentence, take off the grave clothes and let him go.

That's Jesus's prayer for your life. Whether you're a follower of Jesus for years and something has bound you, something has wrapped you up, something has put you in despair. Something has covered your joy. Jesus says, I am the resurrection and the life.

In verse 25, Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live even though they die. I don't know where you're at believer. Listen, I got two groups to talk to, and then we're done. I don't know where you're at. I don't know what's got you. I don't know what's grabbed you. I don't know the season of death you're walking through, or suffering or disappointment, but I know the one that wants to take the grave clothes off of you and give you full life in his name and his name is Jesus. But the question is, will you let him? Will you surrender and hear his call and walk in his promise? For those of you that don't know Jesus today, the same thing that Jesus just did to Lazarus, he wants to do to you. You are dead in your transgressions and sins. I don't say that to judge you. I just say that to tell you that's the condition that you're in. But I also say it with a message of hope to say that we serve the God that is the resurrection and the life that comes with a promise. It comes with a hope, and it comes with the fact that even though your whole life in front of you may be in despair right now, we have a God that in a moment of time that can set you free and give you his life. But the question is, do you believe? You say, man, I think I'm there. Listen, thinking you're there is not there. It's surrendering to be there is when Jesus says yes. He'll give you life. He'll give you hope, and he will walk with you for eternity in everything that you walk through.

 

Follow Along with the Message

The Resurrection and Life

 

March 23, 2025

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.”

John 11:1–3
1 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.”

 

John 11:4–6
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 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.

PRINCIPLE: Delays from God are not .

John 11:15

"And for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe”

John 11:6–7
6 So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, 7 and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”
John 11:17–21
17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Now 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.”
jesus:

1. Gives the gift of His .

Psalm 102:17
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Psalm 34:17
The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.

 

2. Offers and is the new life.

John 11:21–24
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.”
John 11:25–27
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26  and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

 

“One final day you will hear that Billy Graham is dead. Don’t you believe it.
I’ll be more alive than ever; I will just have changed addresses.”
— Billy Graham

3. Hurts when we .

John 11:28–35
28 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 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, “Where have you laid him?” he asked. Come and see, Lord,” they replied. 35 Jesus wept.
John 11:33
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.

4. Shows us His grace and His plans are always [perfect].

John 11:38–39
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.”

 

John 11:40–44
40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will 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.”

 

John 11:25
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die."
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