A Prayer of a Difference Maker
We are continuing in the sermon series on the Gospel of John/I AM series. Today we will be
looking at the story of Lazarus. I entitled this message “God really cares!” When is a time you
asked God for something? What were you asking for and how were you expecting him to answer
and show up? What happened? Did the outcome impact your perception of God’s presence and
care for you? May we be encouraged this morning as we read the story of Lazarus, hear of
Jesus’ love for him and how God responds to our cries, sometimes in surprising ways!
Introduction: (My story)
God doesn’t always provide these words, signs, etc. God doesn’t always show up when we want
him to, he may not rescue us nor solve the problem we have but yet God still does care more
than we will ever know. Today we are going to look at a very tender story about Jesus and his
friend Lazarus. It is a beautiful picture of Jesus’ love for us in spite of circumstances. Even when
Jesus doesn’t show up the way we hoped he would, God is with us and he cares. We are going to
learn from this story in the Gospel of John 11 about the death of Lazarus, and how and when
Jesus intervenes. Does he care that his friend is suffering? How is he present with him? Does he
rescue him? What can we learn from this tender story of God’s care for us? This is a long text
but it is important that we read and hear the entire story.
John 11:1-44 (New Revised Standard Version)
The Death of Lazarus 11 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary
and her sister Martha. 2 Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his
feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. 3 So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, he
whom you love is ill.” 4 But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This illness does not lead to death;
rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” 5 Accordingly,
though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, 6 after having heard that Lazarus was ill,
he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. 7 Then after this he said to the disciples,
“Let us go to Judea again.” 8 The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to
stone you, and are you going there again?” 9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of
daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this
world. 10 But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them.” 11 After saying
this, he told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.”
12 The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.” 13 Jesus,
however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to
sleep. 14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. 15 For your sake I am glad I was not
there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16 Thomas, who was called the Twin, said
to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.
Jesus the Resurrection and the Life 17 When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Marthasaid to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.
Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son
of God, the one coming into the world.”
Jesus Weeps 28 When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” 29 And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 32 When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. 34 He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus began to weep. 36 So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
Jesus Raises Lazarus to Life 38 Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
This is a powerful story. Jesus was friends with Lazarus and his two sisters, Mary and Martha.
Lazarus fell ill and his sisters asked Jesus to come because Lazarus was sick. Upon hearing the
news, Jesus did not hurry and he even waited a few more days before coming. Jesus arrived after
Lazarus had been dead and in the tomb for four days. Martha approached Jesus as he arrived and
proclaimed that her brother would not have died if Jesus came earlier. But Jesus promised that
Lazarus would rise again. She thought he was referring to the final resurrection of the dead. In
this passage, Jesus proclaims that he is the resurrection and the life. As Jesus approached the
town, Mary was grieving and had lots of emotion over Lazarus’ death. Jesus’ response was to
weep, too. Jesus goes to the tomb with the sisters and mourners. Jesus proclaims, ‘Lazarus, come
out’. He did and Jesus instructed the people to take off Lazarus’ grave clothes.
It is important to know what was happening before and after this story of Lazarus so we
can understand the context:
• Before: John 10 - Jesus is the good shepherd and he calls sheep by name. He looks after all of
the sheep. We have been promised that Jesus is our Good Shepherd. We are safe with him. He
looks after us. He has our backs. There is an assurance for us all. This needs to be our lens as
we look at John 11. We know that God is good and he cares for us. So no matter the things we
face - God’s goodness and love for us is unchanging. We have this assurance of his care for us.
• After: John 11, Jesus is at the temple and the high priests try to arrest him. They have
heard about the miracle of Lazarus being raised from the dead and they are determined to arrest
him. So he is facing persecution for a demonstration of his power and love, and foretelling of
life found in Jesus alone.
Back to John 11 - In this story Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Is being raised from the
dead a new thing? Not really....
• In 1 Kings 17:22 Elijah raised a boy from the dead.
• In 2 Kings 4:34-35 Elisha raised a boy from the dead.
• In 2 Kings 13:20-21 Elisha's bones raised a man from the dead.
• In Matthew 9:18-26, Mark 5:41-42, Luke 8:52-56 Jesus raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead.
• In Luke 7:11-15 Jesus raised a widow’s son from the dead.
• In Acts 9:40-41 Peter raised a woman from the dead.
• In Acts 20:9-20 Paul raised a man from the dead.
This act of resurrection of Lazarus is a little different because Jesus allows Lazarus to die and
remain dead for FOUR days before he resurrects him. There is a purpose in this. Jesus uses this
situation to speak the truth - He is the Resurrection and Life! He sets us free physically and
spiritually. This freedom and life is offered to all of us. In this story we learn - God really cares!
There are 3 truths/realities this text teaches us:
1. God’s time and our time don’t always match up.
6 after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.
Lazarus was in the tomb FOUR days before Jesus arrives. Jewish burial rites did not include
embalming like we do today. They used spices and oil that would keep the odor of death away
but after four days nothing can stop that smell. Death has a smell. Death is ugly, it smells ugly.
Lazarus was dead four days by the time Jesus got there, meaning that he was beyond coming
back to life. Traditional rabbinical teaching believes that the soul of a person will stay over a
body for 3 days but after that, it is over. They are really dead! Not partially dead but really dead.
In the movie Princess Bride, Wesley (main character) appeared to be dead. His friends brought
him to Miracle Max who proclaimed he was only mostly dead. Mostly dead isn’t the same as all
dead. He gives him a pill and brings him back to life. Wesley was mostly dead. Lazarus - he was
reallyreally dead! Jesus waited till he was really dead!
Jesus loved Lazarus. But why was not in a hurry to get to his friend when he hears about his
illness? He loved Lazarus and yet he delayed his coming. In fact it almost seems as if Jesus is
avoiding going to him. Why would he not rush to be with his friend if he in fact did care for him?
Jesus knew already that Lazarus would be dead. God is the God of miracles - doing things we
can’t do ourselves! Both Mary and Martha said to Jesus, ‘If you would have been here, our
brother would not have died’. Maybe they were trying to guilt Jesus. They were expressing their
pain/loss and confusion. Why didn’t Jesus get there sooner?
A few things to reflect on from this text:
• God operates on a different continuum of time. God knows the right time.
• It’s about the journey not just the destination. God is working out things that we may not be
able to carry or see at this point. His timeline is broader than our concept of time.
• Life may look different than we hope, expect or look for and it may be on a different
timeline. (We all can think of examples)... waiting for homes, spouses, children, jobs, hope,
purpose, healing, etc.
• We may still not know the why in this story and in our stories but we have to trust that
God’s time is different than ours. He does not work on our demands nor expectations nor
even limitations of time. We can’t expect God to be limited to our understanding of time.
Questions to ask ourselves:
• How do we respond when things don’t turn out the we think? Do we blame God, ignore
God, we him out, bargain with him?
• Is God still good even in the delay?
• What would you say to Jesus as he delayed in coming? What have you said?
2. We only see in part.
21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
• God knows more than we do. He knows and sees things we can’t. He has a plan for us/our
lives but we don’t always know it nor see it and it doesn’t always look like we want it to.
• Sometimes God uses adversity, for the Holy Spirit to work in us. But please hear me - God
does not seek to bring us harm and suffering. He redeems and uses places of brokenness to
speak his love but he doesn’t not intend for us to be harmed. Life is hard and we live in a
world filled with brokenness. We have to trust in God’s character, his goodness and love
especially when we are suffering and in pain.
• We may say - God has the power to stop, intervene..or maybe we accuse God of forgetting
us. Jesus could have come to Lazarus before he died. But God had a plan that we can’t/
couldn’t see. We just see through our lens, through our perspective. God sees it all.
• Life doesn’t always make sense nor it is fair but God is with us in it all. This is what keeps
us grounded. Life won’t make sense to us all the time. We only see in part.
Mary and Martha only saw in part. Jesus proclaims that Lazarus will rise again but they were
probably thinking not now but in the last days. The concept of the resurrection of the body had
been introduced a few hundred years before in the book of Daniel. During Jesus’ time people
believed this. They thought he was just trying to bring words of comfort to them not
understanding that their brother would literally be raised to life now!
In this story - Jesus speaks the most important messages: whoever believes in me - receives life
that can’t be taken way! This is a story about commitment: God’s commitment to us, and his
invitation to commit to him. Jesus tells Martha - I am the resurrection and the life. Do you
believe this? She responds and says yes! We are being asked the same question - do you believe
this? Do you believe that in Jesus we have life even if things don’t seem to work out for us the
way we want it to this side of Heaven? Jesus asks Martha if she believe he is the resurrection
and the life before he performs the miracle! Lazarus is still dead and Jesus is asking
Martha if she trusts him (Jesus). Still Martha and Mary didn’t see the WHOLE of the story
and plan.
The stone is taken away and Jesus prays in a way that shows his deep unity with the Father. He
cried out for “Lazarus to come out”. The verb kraugazein occurs only eight times in the whole
Greek Bible, six of which are in John. In chapter 18-19 it is used four times for the shouts of the
crowd to crucify Jesus. The crowd's shout brings death to Jesus. Jesus' shout brings life to
Lazarus and to us Lazarus still has grave clothes on. This demonstrated God’s passion and love
for us. The restoration of physical life in this story is a metaphor for breaking free from the
chains of spiritual death we face. In John 11:25 - Jesus proclaims he is the resurrection and the
life, everyone who lives and believes in him will never die! We are set free. What things bind us/
are we bound by? How has Jesus set us free?
How is God calling us out of death? In what ways are we covered in the smell of death like
Lazarus was i.e. spiritual, emotional death? What grave clothes do we need to shed? How is God
speaking his freedom and life over us. Right now - right here - Jesus is speaking to us -
FREEDOM! IN him we have LIFE He is our life! He proclaims freedom and life - the last
verse says “unbind him and let him go”. Jesus proclaims that over each one of us! Life not
death, life not death, life not death!
Through the raising of Lazarus - Jesus proves that he has power over death! Death, pain,