Sermon Text / Questions for research & discussion
John 11:17-44 (NIV)
17 On His arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 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. 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.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies; 26 and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”
27 “Yes, Lord,” she told Him, “I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”
28 And 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 “Where have you laid him?” He asked.
“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.
35 Jesus wept.
36 Then 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?”
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.”
40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would 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.” / Jesus was recently in Jerusalem, NW of the Dead Sea, traveled to Perea, which is E of the Jordan River, NE of the Dead Sea.
The timing of these events is within a few months of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. Clearly, these events forecast Christ’s death and resurrection.
11:17 What is a reasonable length of time that Lazarus was dead by the time of Jesus’ arrival? How does this affect our thinking about Jesus’ deliberate delay upon hearing the news that Lazarus was sick?
11:18 Why is it important that we know how close Bethany is to Jerusalem?
11:19 What is suggested by the fact that many Jews came to Bethany to comfort Martha and Mary?
11:20 Why do you think Martha went out to meet Jesus but Mary did not?
11:21 Without considerations of verse 22, what could Martha’s statement mean?
11:22 How does Martha’s “however” statement help us determine what Martha meant in verse 21? What kinds of things do you think Martha was imagining when she asserted that God will give Jesus whatever He asks? Do you think she was even considering a resurrection?
11:23 Why does Jesus play these words games?
11:24 Where did Martha learn this about the resurrection? Was this standard Hebrew teaching she would have learned in the synagogue or from her parents? Or, did she learn this from Jesus?
11:25-26 Is this statement an affirmation of Martha or an adjustment? How does this help Martha to think about Lazarus? Was Jesus trying to get Martha to think about Lazarus?
11:27 Why was Jesus asking Martha if she believed this about Him? Was it simply to get her to verbalize her faith? But, this conversation started with Martha rebuking(?) Jesus for not being there when Lazarus was sick. What is Jesus’ line of argument?
11:28 Are we getting the whole conversation in this text? What is your clue? Is Martha thinking about the resurrection of Lazarus after talking to Jesus? . . . a resurrection that would happen that day?
11:29 What was different now for Mary that she would go immediately to see Jesus? Was Martha her servant-girl? Or little sisters?
11:30 Is this another indication that our emergencies are not the Lord’s (in that He had not moved from where He was in the conversation with Martha.)?
11:31 Why hadn’t the Jews gone out with Martha? Why only with Mary?
11:32 How is Mary’s approach to Jesus different from Martha’s? Is this important to note? How does this add to what we already know about Mary and Martha? Mary used the same words as Martha. But, was it with the same delivery and tone and attitude?
11:33 What was Martha doing at this time? Did she come along or stay at home? How could she be so excited about Jesus being there that she would not have accompanied Mary to see Jesus? Why do the mourning Jews impact Jesus’ spirit?
11:34 Why didn’t Jesus have a similar theological discussion with Mary like He had with Martha? Does this seem so much more emotional with Mary and more intellectual with Martha? What could Jesus be thinking by asking them where they had laid him?
11:35 Why did Jesus weep? For whom was He weeping? Is Jesus telling us anything about the role of our emotions in life?
11:36 Can we conclude from the observations of the Jews that it was out of His personal love for Lazarus that He cried?
11:37 How is this question a statement of faith? How is it a statement of disappointment? Was this really a criticism of Jesus?
11:38 How long did it take for Jesus to get to the tomb? Was it at the seeing of the tomb that hit Jesus emotionally? How is this scene foreshadowing the resurrection of Christ?
11:39 Who was Jesus commanding to take away the stone? Why was Martha objecting? By her obvious presence at this point, can we conclude that she had accompanied Mary to see Jesus? Was Martha’s statement an indication of the level of her faith in what God would do for Jesus if He asked? A resurrection of Lazarus was beyond her capacity to imagine. Is that correct?
11:40 What did Jesus ask Martha to believe that would result in seeing the glory of God? Was He asking her to believe that her brother could be raised from the dead? Or, was He simply asking her to believe in Him and that God the Father had sent Him?
11:41 Who are the “they” who took the stone away? How does moving the stone away impact the observers hearing of Jesus’ prayer? Is Jesus suggesting that He has already had this conversation and is now repeating it for the mourner’s benefit?
11:42 Does Jesus do everything He does with the purpose of building our faith? Is this a rationale for having public prayers in church?
11:43 Why is a loud voice necessary? What was going on in the minds of the mourners after hearing Jesus tell Lazarus to come out? How was it different from their first responses to Jesus commanding that the stone be taken away?
11:44 What kind of responses can you imagine when the people saw Lazarus come out? Why is Jesus in the role of commander and not doing the things like moving the stone or taking off the grave clothes?
So, what’s the point of this story?