Bible Study - Enough (4) - Our Need for Hope - John 11:17-27 - March 27, 2016

Bible Study – Enough (4) – Our Need for Hope – March 27, 2016

This is lesson four (4) in our series entitled “More Than Enough: How JESUS Meets Our Deepest Needs.”

Our focus scripture is John 11:17-27

JESUS is the resurrection who gives us life now and forever.

From the instant every one of us is born physically, we are predestined to die one day. Should we walk around in gloom and doom? No! We should enjoy life. When we have placed our faith in CHRIST, Christians can enjoy life in abundance because we are secure in where we will spend eternity.

Life in the flesh is wonderful but death causes all humans to consider “What is beyond physical death?” Humans seek to understand the mystery of death and life beyond the grave. This has given rise to many books and movies produced to describe the experiences of those who have had near death experiences.

Our lesson relates the death of JESUS’ good friend Lazarus and reveals to us the power that JESUS has over physical and eternal death. Let’s explore!

Mary, Martha and Lazarus were good friends of JESUS and they lived in Bethany which was about two miles from Jerusalem.

JESUS had been speaking to the Jewish religious leaders and fellow Jews but they were not impressed with HIS message and they attempted to stone HIM. So JESUS and HIS disciples went across the Jordan River as written in John 10:36-42:

36 do you say, 'You are blaspheming' to the One the Father set apart and sent into the world, because I said: I am the Son of God?

37 If I am not doing My Father's works, don't believe Me.

38 But if I am doing them and you don't believe Me, believe the works. This way you will know and understand that the Father is in Me and I in the Father."

39 Then they were trying again to seize Him, yet He eluded their grasp.

Many beyond the Jordan Believe in Jesus

40 So He departed again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing earlier, and He remained there.

41 Many came to Him and said, "John never did a sign, but everything John said about this man was true."

42 And many believed in Him there.

While JESUS was across the Jordan River, HE received a message regarding HIS good friend Lazarus.

Let’s read John 11:1-16: (Background)

Lazarus Dies at Bethany

1 Now a man was sick, Lazarus, from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.

2 Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, and it was her brother Lazarus who was sick.

3 So the sisters sent a message to Him: "Lord, the one You love is sick."

4 When Jesus heard it, He said, "This sickness will not end in death but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it."

5 (Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus.)

Even though JESUS loved them and had the power to heal Lazarus, HE waited and was obedient to HIS Father. There are times in our lives when GOD asks us to wait upon HIM.

6 So when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.

What do most of us when sickness strikes a friend? We go to find out how we can help. But JESUS waited two (2) days. Why? Let’s read on. Did JESUS fear for HIS life by going through Jerusalem? Or was there a greater reason?

7 Then after that, He said to the disciples, "Let's go to Judea again."

8 "Rabbi," the disciples told Him, "just now the Jews tried to stone You, and You're going there again?"

9 "Aren't there 12 hours in a day?" Jesus answered. "If anyone walks during the day, he doesn't stumble, because he sees the light of this world.

10 If anyone walks during the night, he does stumble, because the light is not in him."

Bottom line, JESUS walked in the day because HE was and still is the light and was and is always obedient to the leadership of GOD. Christians are to respond as led by the Holy Spirit.

11 He said this, and then He told them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I'm on My way to wake him up."

12 Then the disciples said to Him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will get well."

13 Jesus, however, was speaking about his death, but they thought He was speaking about natural sleep.

14 So Jesus then told them plainly, "Lazarus has died.

Often, JESUS has to speak plain to us. “Lazarus was physically dead.”

15 I'm glad for you that I wasn't there so that you may believe. But let's go to him."

This is a statement of assurance that they were going to visit a living person, yet Lazarus was physically dead.

16 Then Thomas (called "Twin") said to his fellow disciples, "Let's go so that we may die with Him."

Keep in mind that the Jews in Jerusalem attempted to stone JESUS that is why they crossed the Jordan River. Now they would have to go back through Jerusalem to get to Bethany.  The Apostle Thomas was ready to die with JESUS, if necessary.

Let’s read John 11:17-24:

The Resurrection and the Life

17 When Jesus arrived, He found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.

JESUS and HIS disciples arrive safely to Bethany in four days after receiving the news of Lazarus being sick. There is speculation that the messenger delivering the news of Lazarus being sick to JESUS took a day of travel. Lazarus died while the messenger was en-route to JESUS. JESUS waited two days and then it took JESUS one day to reach Bethany. Thus Lazarus had been dead for four days.

In that area, it was custom to bury a person soon after he or she expired because of the heat and rapid decay of the body and place it in a cool place such as a rock hewed out with an entrance which could be sealed. 

The Jews believed that a person’s soul hovered near the body of the deceased for three days hoping that he or she could reenter their body. Thus, Lazarus being dead for four days was significant to reveal the power of JESUS over physical death.

18 Bethany was near Jerusalem (about two miles away).

19 Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother.

Notice that “many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother.” We see, in the order of the listing, that Martha was likely the eldest followed by Mary and then Lazarus their brother.

A time of death is an opportune time to teach truth about life and death. GOD had a plan to penetrate the hard hearts of the religious leaders who had rejected JESUS as the promised Messiah. What better manifestation of GOD’S power than for life to be restored to a person who had been physically dead for four days. What does it take to penetrate the hard hearts of some people; especially religious leaders who think they have all the answers. But who better to know truth than truth Himself, the true Son of GOD, JESUS; GOD in the flesh.

20 As soon as Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet Him. But Mary remained seated in the house.

Hope and comfort is always found in JESUS. Martha goes to JESUS. Mary waited in the house which was custom. People offering their condolences to the bereaved would go to the house of the deceased person. 

21 Then Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother wouldn't have died.

There is often a greater message in death than there is in healing the sick. Death is a reality and all humans must be prepared to face death one day. GOD had a plan to manifest HIS power through JESUS.

22 Yet even now I know that whatever You ask from God, God will give You."

Martha had great faith in JESUS. Are her words a fore shadow of what was about to happen? No, but they are words of complete trust in JESUS to comfort her in this time of sorrow as we read on.

23 "Your brother will rise again," Jesus told her.

Was JESUS testing her faith? Not likely but it was to get her to focus on the power of GOD over death and the resurrection of all who place their faith in HIM.

24 Martha said, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."

Martha revealed her heart and trust in what JESUS had been teaching. She was about to witness the truth of what JESUS taught, “I Am the resurrection and the life.”

Let’s read John 11:25-26a:

25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me, even if he dies, will live.

Words are cheap but living proof confirms the spoken words and JESUS was on the threshold of proving truth.

26a Everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die-ever. ----

JESUS was about to manifest GOD’S power through HIM but we must keep 

in mind that even though JESUS resurrected Lazarus, Lazarus still faced physical death later.

Let’s read John 11:26b-27:

26b ---- Do you believe this?"

Was JESUS testing Martha? Bible scholars do not think so but that JESUS was preparing her for greater proof that HE was GOD in the flesh. Martha had already confessed that if HE had been there Lazarus would not have died. So Martha had confidence that JESUS had power over sickness but she was about to witness GOD’S power over physical death.

27 "Yes, Lord," she told Him, "I believe You are the Messiah, the Son of God, who was to come into the world."

Martha confirmed her faith in JESUS as the Messiah, the Son of GOD.

JESUS confirmed her statement of faith as we read in John 11:34-48:

34 "Where have you put him?" He asked. "Lord," they told Him, "come and see."

35 Jesus wept.

36 So the Jews said, "See how He loved him!"

37 But some of them said, "Couldn't He who opened the blind man's eyes also have kept this man from dying?"

Did JESUS weep over HIS friend Lazarus being dead or the unbelief of the Jews? JESUS Knew that Lazarus would be raised from the dead but would even HIS power over physical death be enough for the doubters to see that HE was the promised Messiah?

Which is greater to heal the sick or raise the dead? The Jews were about to witness a miracle beyond healing the sick.

The Seventh Sign: Raising Lazarus from the Dead

38 Then Jesus, angry in Himself again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it.

Unbelief always makes one angry when you know the truth.

39 "Remove the stone," Jesus said. Martha, the dead man's sister, told Him, "Lord, he already stinks. It's been four days."

40 Jesus said to her, "Didn't I tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?"

41 So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You heard Me.

JESUS spoke to GOD, HIS Father for all to hear.

42 I know that You always hear Me, but because of the crowd standing here I said this, so they may believe You sent Me."

43 After He said this, He shouted with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!"

44 The dead man came out bound hand and foot with linen strips and with his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Loose him and let him go."

Physical death always binds us. It is a mystery that most humans attempt to understand but JESUS is the door through which all must walk through to find eternal life. Do you want assurance of life after death? Then place your faith in JESUS, now!

The Plot to Kill Jesus

45 Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary and saw what He did believed in Him.

Curiosity is often the driving force for many seeking JESUS. Doubt can turn to joy once a person witnesses truth. Many believed that JESUS was the promised Messiah but some did not believe. Some may say, “Well, I became a Christian and it did not do anything for me.” When a person’s heart has not been changed and he or she is a Christian in name only, the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit is missing from his or her life. Those who know the truth have the witness of the Holy Spirit in their hearts, the core of their being or the “eyes of their hearts.”

46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.

47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, "What are we going to do since this man does many signs?

WOW! The religious community should have been rejoicing. JESUS, The Promised Messiah has come. But what was response?

48 If we let Him continue in this way, everybody will believe in Him! Then the Romans will come and remove both our place and our nation."

Oh, gee! JESUS manifested the power of GOD. HE prayed to GOD, HIS Father and shouting for a dead man to come out of the grave and he does. You would think these learned religious leaders would have put one and one together and come up with the fact that JESUS was truly the promised Messiah.

But instead of it being a confirming moment, they were more concerned about their physical welfare.

How would you have responded if you had witnessed this event?

Is JESUS the “I AM” in your life? If not, now is the time for you to ask JESUS to forgive you for your sins, believing that HE gave HS life for you and to ask HIM to come into your life. If you did, thank HIM for coming into your life and for your decision to obediently follow HIM be confirmed by the indwelling Holy Spirit. Now, tell someone about your decision to obediently follow JESUS. Find a church where you can serve and be Spiritually fed. Study the Bible, talk with JESUS and ask HIM to reveal truth to you as you obediently walk with HIM. Welcome to the family of GOD my Brother or 

Sister. Blessings!!!