2000 years ago, Jesus exercised his Divine authority to raise Himself from the dead!

Sometime between Hanukkah and His final Passover (four-month span), Jesus intentionally allows one of His best friends to die.

So many questions swirl around our minds when it comes to an all-powerful God and sickness, suffering, abuse, and death—this event and Christ’s teaching unties the knots in our stomachs about such things...

WHY? (then and now)

Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. (11:5)

To His Disciples...

“This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory, so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” (11:4)

The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only who came from the Father, full of grace and truth...From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another. (1:14,16)

Witnessing the glory of Christ through great suffering is more beneficial than rescue from suffering because it is in seeing His glory that we experience more of the fullness of His presence and more of His grace to us.

So then He told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe.” (11:14)

...That you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name. (20:31)

To Martha... (11:17-27)

“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.” (11:21-22)

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die. DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?” (11:25-26)

To Mary... (11:28-33)

“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (11:32)

When Jesus saw her loudly wailing and the Jews who had come along with her also loudly wailing, He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled (11:33)

To the Mourners... (11:34-38)

“Could not He who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” (11:37)

Jesus, once more deeply moved came to the tomb. (11:38)

To Martha and then Lazarus... (11:39-44)

“But Lord,...” (11:39)

“Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” (11:40)

“Lazarus, come out!” (11:43)

Lazarus was the preview of us all, but Jesus is God’s final solution to the killer of people—sin, and not until Jesus is crucified, buried, and raised again is God’s promise of salvation ratified. This is the greatest and final of all God’s signs to humanity.

God does not promise to spare us all of the mess of living in this fallen world. What He does promise is that those who see the glory of God in the mess will experience the fullness of His presence and grace piled upon grace as evidence of His great love and will certainly never die.

To those already dead (in the grave)...

He/She who believes in Me (like Lazarus) will live even though she/he dies.

To those still living...

Whoever lives and believes in Me will never die.

Jesus declares that He is the resurrection and the life.

In order to have resurrection life after you die, you must have resurrection life now before you die.

DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?