HE DIED TWICE!

John 11:38-44

It isn’t easy to die. At least a person only has to face it once, right?

Not Lazarus!

Jesus will call him back from the tomb. Incredibly, he will live again.

But this also means he will die again.

Lazarus died twice!

When we first read of Jesus bringing Lazarus back, the natural thought is, “What a blessing!”

Then we realize what seems like a second chance at life also means he was removed from a state where all his troubles were over. Brought back to a world where suffering is again possible for him.

Apparently Jesus knows he won’t mind.

Maybe Jesus knew his sisters Martha and Mary would need him in the future. In which case, Lazarus would gladly return.

We don’t know. What we do know is Jesus demonstrated His power over death by calling him from the grave to live again. What better assignment could any student of Jesus desire?

Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"

In this story we see the result for every student who follows Jesus. Who trusts Him!

There is a resurrection when life is over! The glory of God!

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."

TEARS OF JESUS

John 11:28-37

Jesus wept.

Jesus is surrounded with grieving people. All friends of Lazarus who has died! The deceased is His friend too!

The Teacher is not aloof from the mourners. He does not stand above them. Instead, He weeps with them - He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.

He did not hide His emotions. Everyone saw His grief.

Then the Jews said, "See how he loved him!"

Here is a poignant picture of the compassion of Jesus.

His is a love expressed in real emotion. A love moved when sorrow comes to those who are the object of it.

Our Teacher is not a dispassionate observer of the lives of His students. He cares. Deeply!

Jesus wept.

How comforting to know His heart is moved by our sorrows. For every life has its share of them.

What a support this is to all who struggle to follow Him. For it isn’t easy to become like Jesus. What an encouragement to know of His genuine and heartfelt concern for us when we fail!

The tears of Jesus at the grave of Lazarus speak to us of a personal relationship the Teacher has with His students.

This is a Teacher students can trust with their hearts!

And as He raises Lazarus from the dead, we understand He is a Teacher we can trust with our lives!

THE DIFFERENCE

John 11:17-27

On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.

There is finality about death. Life is over!

Or is it?

Here the Teacher asks His students to believe what is beyond the possibility of human achievement. To trust He is able to offer continued life after death. He even claims to be the source of life.

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.

Lazarus is very dead, at least four days dead. Jesus plans to bring him out of the tomb. Give his life back to him.

But before He does this He asks the students standing there a question:

Do you believe this?

This is a question all who seek to follow Him must answer. And here He probes their faith in Him knowing full well He will prove His ability to keep the promise.

By the very nature of the case, this is what He must do with each of His students. For it is a question we must answer while we are alive, before we die, and have opportunity to personally experience the truth of His claim.

Martha, Lazarus’s grieving sister, answers for herself - "Yes, Lord," she told him, "I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world."

There are many teachers in the world. But only one Teacher who is able to give resurrection and life after death? This is The Difference!

NO MISTAKE

John 11:7-16

“But Teacher," they said, "a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?"

Here Jesus’ students question His decision to return to Judea. Why would He go back to a place where only a few days ago His enemies attempted to kill Him?
Surely this is a mistake!

No Mistake!

Jesus answered, “A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world's light. It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light."

The Teacher knows what He is doing. Unlike His enemies, Jesus is purposeful because He is walking in the light of His Father’s Will for His life.

His students don’t understand it yet, but Jesus is going back into the teeth of the opposition to fulfill His destiny.

Soon, Jesus will give Himself over to His enemies. That’s why He isn’t afraid of their stumbling efforts to destroy Him. In fact, at the right time their very hatred of Him will play into the plan of God.

And the Teacher has another purpose for returning to the Jerusalem area. He shares the news of the death of His friend Lazarus - Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.

Then he told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe.”

Contrary to His student’s assessment, Jesus makes no mistake in returning. Nor are His actions – as they appear on the surface – either random or reactionary. He always clearly sees where the Father is leading Him because He is living in the light.

No mistake. It is the sure-footed walk possible for every one who comes to the Light. Those who walk in darkness stumble and fall.

NO MIRACLES?

John 10:40-11:6

Though John never performed a miraculous sign, all that John said about this man was true.

Isn’t it strange? John didn’t perform any miracles. This is the man who prepared the people to receive Jesus. He preached to thousands, baptized thousands!

Yet…no miracles! Not even one.

But Jesus does many wonderful things and the people understand John’s testimony about Him was absolutely true - And in that place many believed in Jesus.

John’s life was the work of a student of Jesus. The crowning achievement of John’s life was when those who knew him and listened to him came to believe in Jesus too. Without miracles, John’s life was a complete success.

And which is greater? To perform a supernatural feat, the effects of which are locked in a moment of time? Or to point people to Jesus who can change their lives for time and eternity?

After all there is something greater than a miracle and that is the purpose for which a miracle is given. Jesus performed miracles so people would believe in Him. John did what was in his power to further the same end.

Here is the result that leads to a triumph superseding all miracles.

For trusting and following Jesus leads to a changed life and a changed destiny!

This is what John had in mind for himself and for others when He devoted his life to testifying about what Jesus could do.

No miracles for John, but without them he did very well what every student of Jesus desires to do.

NO STONES, BUT…

John 10:31-39

We are not stoning you for any of these…but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.

Here Jesus asks His enemies why they want to kill Him. He points to His great miracles. After all, what was wrong with helping people?

But the good things Jesus did for people weren’t the problem. It was His claim to be God they couldn’t accept.

Jesus doesn’t recoil from the charge. He embraces it. Affirms it!

I am God's Son!

He will escape this assassination attempt. His time had not yet come. But eventually this will be the very indictment that leads to His death.

His enemies were wrong, but at some level we understand their inability to believe what must have seemed impossible. That God would come to earth as a man!

Jesus says He’s - the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world.

It is incredible when you think about it. It is inexplicable apart from one equally incredible thought. The extent of God’s love for humanity!

A love that would come on a daring rescue mission and seem to fail, dying in the attempt! But a love that provides a resurrection for the Rescuer and all who follow Him.

We believe Jesus did many miracles. And unlike His enemies that day, we have come to realize He’s God. We’re not picking up stones, but…

We still struggle to believe His promises that, as God, He is willing and able to use His power in our lives. Our inability to trust His promises to do so mirrors His enemy’s rejection of His claim to be God.

What is a faith that believes Jesus is the Son of God that does not also trust His power to do everything He promised to do for us in this life when we follow Him?

FOLLOWING JESUS

John 10:22-30

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

Here the Teacher gives a practical daily discipline for His students.

What is necessary and natural for helpless sheep – following their shepherd’s voice – must become a more conscious choice for those who follow the Good Shepherd!

Any shepherd knows his sheep. It is the sheep who must come to know and trust his voice. Learn to discern the one voice that can lead them out of harm’s way into green pastures and contentment.

And our Shepherd says He already knows us. It is we who must come to know and trust Him if we are to avoid the pitfalls of life and live the abundant life into which He seeks to lead us.

But listening to the voice of the Teacher is not a one-time choice but a practiced daily discipline. This is because of all the competing voices that call out to distract us. Voices from the outside and even our own often misguided thoughts and impulses!

Serious discipline is necessary if we are to be trained to recognize His voice in the daily noise of our lives.

Part of this training is reading His words. Communication – prayer – is also a vital regimen.

And one thing more – practicing the presence of the Shepherd!

The Teacher has promised to be with us always. Recognition of His constant presence is the key difference between one who merely believes in Jesus and one who is being led by Him moment by moment.

Anyone who has attempted to have such a personal relationship with this Teacher knows the ability to pay attention to Him and listen to His constant leading requires dedicated focus and training.

But growing in this discipline is the only way one actually follows Jesus every day.