JOHN 11:1-57 Lesson # 23
I. Introduction:
Q Do we live in a culture that has large sections of it is afraid of death??
Q If so what are the signs?
Q Why do you think that is?
Tonight we are going to speak of Resurrection and of course, one cannot “rise from death” unless one “has fallen in death”.? That sounds obvious, but it is often forgotten when we are young.? We celebrate the Resurrection and celebrate we should, but when we talk about resurrection, we must also talk about death.? In Christianity Resurrection does not merely follow death.? “Jesus is the Resurrection”, but Jesus also makes it possible.?? Both actions are tied to Jesus.?? Tonight, we are not going to look at the cause, but the affect.
It all begins in a very personal way for Jesus.? Our story concerns a personal friend of His, a man named Lazarus.?
II. Called Out of Safety:? John 11:1-16.
>>>> Have someone read John 11:1-2.
Q What is the narrator telling us about these three people (Mary, Martha and Lazarus)?
An = That they are friends of Jesus and one of them was in need, Lazarus was ill.
>>>> Have someone read John 11:3-6
Q? What are the sister’s really telling Jesus?
An = Our brother is sick, the one You love, so come and help him.
Q? How does Jesus see this sickness?? What does He mean that the Son of God may be glorified?
An = On one level, it refers to the fact that Lazarus’ death will be reversed by Jesus when Jesus gets there by Jesus’ power, but on another level Jesus is saying Lazarus’ sickness will lead to My death, and thus My glorification.
Q? What does verse 5 tell us about Jesus’ relationship to the family in Bethany?
An = He was warmly attached to them.? Verse 6 seems odd, in light of His deep love for Lazarus, but we will later see that Jesus’ confidence expressed in verse 4 was not amiss.
RQ? Would it be good to be a family that was loved by Jesus?
Q? Before we go on, why is Jesus outside of Judea, outside of Jerusalem?
An = See 10:39, they are seeking to kill Him after His last sermon on the “Good Shepherd”.? If Jesus goes to help His friend, He places His life in danger.
Q? Do friendships and the needs of our friends sometimes miss up our plans or careers?? Should we let our friends needs impinge on our best interests?? The disciples have an opinion….
>>>>? Have someone read John 11:7-8.
Q? How do the disciples see this situation?
An = They are trying to point out the practical aspects of having a ministerial career.? They are also showing interest, concern and care for their master.?
Watch how Jesus responds, see if you can see what He means by His metaphor….
>>>> Have someone read John 11:9-11.
Q? How does Jesus answer their concern for His life?
An = “Strike while the iron is hot”.? “Seize the day”.? In other words, Jesus says there is a time to work and now is the time.? His friend needs Him.? Jesus is not encouraging reckless behavior here, but saying we must use the time we have.
Notice, however, that Jesus has good friends, they do not give up easily.? They seize on anything He says trying to bring Him to His senses.
>>>> Have someone read John 11:12-15.
Q? What are they trying to do, in their speech in verse 12?
An = If Lazarus is sleeping then he is convalescing and that is a good sight that his health will return.? Jesus need not go to see Lazarus and risk His life in Judea if Lazarus is getting well.
Q? Why did they misunderstand Jesus’ comment?
An = Jesus is using an Old Testament metaphor for death.? Death did not terrify Jews, one of their symbols for it was sleep.? Jesus had used this metaphor before when He raised the little girl from the dead (Mark 5, Luke 8).
>>>> Have someone read John 11:16.
Q? How does Thomas see Jesus’ decision to return to Judea?? What impact will it have on the disciples?
An = Notice that Thomas is a loyal friend.
Q? Do our ministry decisions sometimes powerfully affect those we love?? Can you give me an example from your decisions?
III.? Jesus Outside the Village: ??Second Guessed Three Times. ?John 11:17-37.
>>>> Have someone read John 11:17-19.
Q? Why are these Jews here?
An = To console Mary and Martha.? Acts of kindness set us up to see the glory of God.
>>>> Have someone read John 11:20.
Note:? Mary does not come.? We are not told why, but she just sits.? The most likely guess is that she is struck with grief, and Jesus did delay in coming.
>>>> Have someone read John 11:20-27.
Q? What is Martha saying in her speech in verses 21-22?
An = She is expressing belief in 22, but could be saying, “if you were here, my brother would not have died”.
Q? How does Martha understand Jesus’ promise in verse 23?
An = She sees Him referring to the resurrection of the dead in the life to come.? It is future to her, not present.
Q? What three claims does Jesus make in verses 25-26?
An = 1)? I am the resurrection and the life. (declaration)
2)? He who believes in Me shall live even if he dies. (promise)
3)? All who believe in Me shall never die. (promise).
Note:? The speech ends with a challenge.? Doctrine is never just learned, but a dynamic choice made in the face of despair.
>>>>? Have someone read John 11:28-29.
Q? What is Martha doing?
An = She is bringing her sister back into action.? She sort of “fibs” that Jesus requested her, but it gets Mary going (gets her going to Jesus, going to God), in grief this is often very important.? Martha is above all else, a practical women.
>>>> Have someone read John 11:30-32.
Note:? The care for Mary, got the visiting Jews to follow her thinking she was going to mourn and it will set them up to see the miracle of Lazarus’ resurrection.
Q? In essence what is Mary saying?
An = “Had you have been here….”? She is second guessing Jesus’ schedule.
>>>> Have someone read John 11:33-35.
Q? What do you learn about Jesus?
An = He is moved with our griefs.? Even though He is the Lord of all life, all time, all the Universe, and knows all will be well, He is still moved by our pain.
>>>> Have someone read John 11:36-37.
Note:? These men are impressed with Jesus’ grief and love for Lazarus, but they too “second guess” Jesus’ schedule.? Like most of John’s presentation of the Jews their response is a mixed, twofold response.
Note:? Four times in this chapter Jesus is “second-guessed”:? the disciples in 8,12,16, Martha in 21, Mary in 32 and now the consoling friends of Martha and Mary in 37.? Of course, naturally speaking, Lazarus would have died anyway.? Jesus only delayed 2 days and Lazarus had been dead 4 days.? People who criticize Jesus’ servants seldom do it with all the evidence clearly in their minds.
IV.? At the Tomb:? The Miracle of Resurrection.? John 11:38-44.
>>>> Have someone read John 11:38-40.
Q? Notice, Martha did not take Jesus literally, but is Jesus angry?
An = Seemingly not.? He did not get mad and walk away.? Lazarus is really dead, Martha knows that, and as always, Martha is a practical women.? Jesus does gently rebuke her, but quickly follows up by pointing to the key issue.? It is not the miracle, but the intended affect of the miracle:? “the glory of God”.
>>>> Have someone read John 11:38-44.
Q? Is Jesus timid in the face of the powers of death?? What type of language does He use?
An = In dealing with death Jesus is authoritative and uses commands.
V.? The AfterMath:? Belief, Panic, Plotting.? John 11:45-57.
?? A.? The Immediate Response:? John 11:45-46.
>>>>? Have someone read John 11:45-46.
Q? What happened to some who had come to console Mary and Martha according to verse 45?
An = Mercy can lead to insight.? They were in a position to see the works of Jesus and believe.
Note:? Note also, that others saw the same miracle and did not believe but rather “reported to the authorities”.? Miracles do not compel believe in those that view them.
B.? The Response in the Counsel:? John 11:47-53
>>>> Have someone read John 11:47-48.
Note:? They could not deny the miracles.? However, they thought things would get out of hand because they thought Jesus would use the miracles to gather popular support and try to proclaim Himself a military Messiah with political control.? The world did not understand Jesus and Jesus promised it will not understand you either if you work for and like Him.
Q? What did the fear losing?
An = We will lose our position and our nation.? Jesus never threatened either Rome or the political positions of the Jews.? They assumed Jesus would, because they assumed He was as “power-concerned” as they.? Jesus had deeper concerns:? the good of the sheep.
>>>> Have someone read John 11:49-53.
Q Does God respect the position of High Priest?
An = Yes, He seemingly does.? The high priest does prophecy, but not in the way he meant the terms.
Note:? Some who saw the miracle believed, some saw it as a chance to “report”.? They had all the proof the others did to believe.? There is irony here.? In stead of believing, some who saw the miracle of Lazarus’ resurrection helped convene the counsel that plotted to kill Jesus.? It is the miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead, the coming back to help dear friends in their time of need, that finally sets in concrete the deadly plot.? Ironic huh?? Jesus’ glorification begins with His responding to the needs of His flock (good leaders do what is good for the flock, despite their own danger:? Have someone read John 10:11.? Jesus backs up His teaching with deeds.?
Note:??? However, Jesus knew this in 11:4, He knew what was happening and was in control of what was happening:? >>>> Have someone read John 10:18.
C.? Conclusion to Jesus’ Open ministry and Setting Up of the End.? John 11:54-57.
>>>>? Have someone read John 11:54-57.
Q? There is only one speech in this section, what is it about?
An = Will He come to the feast?? Will He show Himself?? Will He risk showing up?? He will!? However, His reason for doing so is not what they think.? He comes to give His life for them and they expect Him to be a normal politician and do what is good for His career.
>>>>? Have someone close the study by reading John 10:17.