April 22, 2025 • 26 mins
Standing at the tomb of his friend Lazarus, Jesus did something unthinkable—he commanded a man dead for four days to walk out of his grave. But why did Jesus deliberately wait until Lazarus died before coming to Bethany? The answer reveals a profound truth about God's work in our darkest moments.
We often wonder why God allows suffering or seems absent when we need him most. Like Martha and Mary who confronted Jesus with their grief—"Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died"—we question divine timing. Yet what appears to be divine delay often positions us to witness God's most spectacular work. Before commanding Lazarus to emerge from darkness, Jesus wept alongside the mourners, showing that even when he's about to perform an extraordinary miracle, he first enters our grief.
The resurrection of Lazarus wasn't just about restoring one man's life. It was Jesus demonstrating that nothing—not even death itself—could stand against his authority. This story offers hope to anyone feeling abandoned in their darkest hour. Mary and Martha's confusion turned to astonishment as their brother walked out of the tomb, still wrapped in grave clothes. Their story reminds us that whatever burden, sickness, brokenness, or addiction we face, we serve the one who raises the dead.
Have you experienced this life-changing encounter with Jesus? If you're still keeping him at arm's length, consider diving deeper. As the sermon concludes, "I would rather drown in an ocean of Jesus than die on land by myself." Share your questions, doubts, and struggles with us as you explore what it means to follow the one who promises resurrection not just after death, but in this life too.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
You know, easter is one of the biggest holidays for
the church and not just thechurch, I mean.
The world celebrates EasterMost places.
You know you get an early breakfrom work on Good Friday.
If you're lucky, most placesare going to be closed today, on
Easter Sunday, so if you didn'tget what you needed for dinner,
(00:23):
good luck.
There's this kind of thisrecognition, right, and so we
live in a world that celebratesit differently.
Some people choose to do Easteregg hunts and you know they
have an Easter bunny.
We were driving up and down theroad the other day we were doing
the Christ walk on Friday, andthere was this truck just
(00:45):
driving back and forth up SunsetBoulevard with a bunny in the
back and all I could think aboutis that person has to be hot,
because it was like 85 degrees.
But collectively, the churchgathers together this time of
year and prioritizes it.
We put on our best clothes, weget new shoes that aren't Chuck
(01:08):
Taylors.
My wife told me I look like anadult this morning.
I don't know how I feel aboutthat, right, I don't know.
I was like I don't know what tosay to that.
But we put on our best clothes,we go and buy our Easter
dresses, we get together withfamily yeah, fine, I'm getting
(01:33):
to my point.
I promise, I promise.
But we do all of this, we putall of this energy and time and
really, at the end of the day,none of that matters.
There's nothing wrong with it,there's nothing wrong with
getting dressed up, there'snothing wrong with prioritizing
time with family, but at the endof the day, really what it
(01:55):
comes down to is what Jesus didon the cross.
A friend of mine has a churchup in Michigan and him and I
talk every now and then and hetexts me early in the week and
we have this group of preachers.
We pray for each other, prayingfor each other on Sunday
morning and he says, listen,he's like, just give them Jesus.
(02:19):
He's like that's what theworld's in need of, that's what
the world needs to see.
And so we're actually going totalk about a resurrection this
morning, but we're not going totalk about Jesus.
I know how do you have aresurrection Sunday and not talk
about the resurrection of Jesus?
But I think it's important thatwe look in John chapter 11.
(02:44):
That we look in John chapter 11.
We are going to talk about aman who came out of a grave.
We're going to talk about a mannamed Lazarus.
So now, starting in verse 1, itsays Now a man named Lazarus was
sick.
He was from Bethany, thevillage of Mary, and her sister,
(03:05):
martha.
This Mary, whose brother,lazarus, now lay sick, was the
same one who poured perfume onthe Lord and wiped his feet with
her hair.
By the way, I love the factthat John includes that little
parenthesis, because I feel likemaybe people were confused
about what happened and, whenthat moment happened, who it was
.
So he writes down in greatdetail that it's at Lazarus'
(03:27):
sister who actually wipes andanoints Jesus.
We continue in verse 3.
He says so the sisters sentword to Jesus.
Lord, the one you love is sick.
When he heard this, jesus saidthe sickness will not end in
death, no, it's for God's glory,so that God's Son may be
glorified through it.
(03:48):
Now, jesus loved Martha and hersister and Lazarus.
So when he heard that Lazaruswas sick, he stayed where he was
for two more days and he saidto his disciples Let us go back
to Judea.
But, rabbi, they said A shortwhile ago, the Jews there tried
to stone you and yet you weregoing back.
Jesus answered are there not 12hours of daylight.
(04:11):
Anyone who walks in the daytimewill not stumble, for they see
by this world's light.
It is when a person walks atnight that they stumble, for
they have no light.
After he said this, he went onto tell them Our friend Lazarus
has fallen asleep, but I'm goingthere to wake him up.
His disciples replied Lord, ifhe sleeps he will get better.
(04:34):
Jesus had been speaking of hisdeath, but his disciples thought
he meant natural sleep.
So then he told them plainlyLazarus is dead and for your
sake, I am glad I was not there.
That you may believe, but letus go to him.
Then Thomas, also known asDidymus, said to the rest of the
disciples let us also go, thatwe may die with him.
(04:59):
You know, when we read thebeginning of this story, it kind
of blows my mind, knowing whatJesus is capable of.
Why would he wait?
Why would he not immediatelyrush to Lazarus' side?
There's a moment.
(05:23):
I have a visual element, by theway, if you haven't seen the
Chosen series from a pastoralstandpoint and preaching sermons
, their visuals are phenomenaland I love just some of the
things that you can see.
And so there's actually a scenehere.
Let's watch this Ministry,ministry.
(05:44):
When we read the text, whenJesus is trying to explain to
his disciples about Lazarus andit's interesting to me.
But he says that he's asleep,and they're confused, because if
you're sick, the best thing foryou is sleep.
And so he clarifies with them.
You don't understand.
He's dead, he's died.
(06:07):
So Jesus says to them listen,it's for your sake, and I'm glad
that he did.
And, like I said once again,when I read this story, when I
read the context of this, whywould Jesus be glad that Lazarus
died?
That doesn't make any sense tome.
When I read the context of this, why would Jesus be glad that
Lazarus died?
That doesn't make any sense tome.
(06:32):
Why would you want death?
And so Jesus kind of ralliesthem together and says listen,
let's go to Judea and let's govisit Mary and Martha and
Lazarus.
So, starting in verse 17, itsays On his arrival, jesus found
out that Lazarus had alreadybeen in the tomb for four days
(06:54):
Now.
Bethany was less than two milesfrom Jerusalem and many of the
Jews had come to Martha and Maryto comfort them in the loss of
their brother.
When Martha heard that Jesuswas coming, she went out to meet
him, but Mary stayed at home.
Lord, martha said to Jesus ifyou had been here, my brother
(07:15):
would not have died, but I knowthat even now, god will give you
whatever you ask.
Jesus said to her your brotherwill rise again.
And Martha answered I know hewill rise again in the
resurrection on the last day.
And then Jesus says to her I amthe resurrection and the life.
The one who believes in me willlive even though they die.
(07:37):
And whoever lives, whoeverlives by believing in me, will
never die.
Do you believe this?
Yes, lord, she replied.
I believe that you are theMessiah, the Son of God who has
come into the world.
And after she said this, shewent back and she called her
sister, mary aside.
The teacher is here, she said,and is asking for you.
(08:00):
When Mary heard this, she gotup quickly and went to him.
Now, jesus had not yet enteredthe village, but was still at
the place where Martha had methim.
When the Jews who had been withMary in the house comforting
her noticed how quickly she gotup and went out, they followed
her, supposing she was going totomb so mourn there.
When Mary reached the placewhere Jesus was and she saw him,
(08:23):
she fell at his feet and saidLord, if you had been here, my
brother would not have died.
When Jesus saw her weeping andthe Jews who had come along with
her were also weeping, he wasdeeply moved in his spirit and
troubled in his spirit andtroubled when have you laid him?
He asked.
(08:44):
Come and see Lord.
They replied and Jesus wept.
Then the Jews said See how heloved him.
But some of them said You'renot he who opened the eyes of
the blind man and have kept thisman from dying Again?
(09:04):
We're left in this moment.
We come to the text with ahindsight because we know what's
coming.
But Mary and Martha, all theyknow at this moment is that my
brother is dead.
And their response is genuineJesus, if you had just been here
(09:25):
, you could have done something.
So Mary meets Jesus, marthameets Jesus Reminds me a lot of
people that I meet who don'tknow Jesus.
(09:50):
When bad things happen, they'reconfused, they're angry, they're
upset.
They don't understand how a God, such a loving God, could allow
bad things to happen.
They don't understand how a God, such a loving God, could allow
(10:14):
bad things to happen.
So I think that's somethingthat I wrestle with.
I mean, I'm human after all.
What if Jesus had shown up,what would have been different?
What could he have done so manythings for Lazarus, so many
things?
And he shows up and Marthaconfronts him, and then Mary
(10:40):
says the same thing, and there'sa moment where, in his
humanness, he feels sorrow, hefeels brokenness, he feels hurt,
he feels pain and he's grievingthe loss of one of his best
friends.
And still there's thatlingering question in the back
of everyone's mind why didn't hecome sooner?
(11:03):
All of this could have beenavoided.
I think about that a lot oftimes.
When people ask the question whydoes God let bad things happen?
I can give you an answer, butit's not going to be one you
like.
The answer is sin.
(11:25):
Sin has distorted everything.
You and I were meant to live inthis kind of brokenness.
You go back all the way to thegarden and Adam and Eve.
They had it perfect.
They walked around naked withno shame.
That doesn't seem like a bigdeal to us, but they were so in
(11:47):
tune with God and the presenceof God that they had everything
they need.
Every need was met, and themoment sin crept in, it
destroyed that for them.
Sin has corrupted the worldthat you and I live in.
It causes division, it causeshatred, it causes judgment.
(12:08):
It has ruined everything.
It's the reason cancer exists.
I believe that cancer was notthe plan.
None of this illness, none ofthis was supposed to be part of
it.
But we've messed it up.
Adam and Eve couldn't they justcouldn't get over themselves.
(12:29):
They had to have it all.
They just couldn't get overthemselves.
They had to have it all.
And when they got it all, theygot it all.
You ever had your kids, andyour kids are trying to do
something really dumb.
And you're like listen, I knowwhat's going to happen if you do
this.
And they do it anyways.
And you're like I told you, andI feel like in this moment,
(12:56):
jesus comes in this humanity, inthis brokenness, and he grieves
that they don't understand justyet.
But the beauty of this story isit doesn't end there.
Lazarus had laid in the gravefor four days.
In Jewish custom, the belief isthat the spirit doesn't leave
(13:23):
the body until three days after.
So Lazarus had been dead forfour days.
Four days of mourning, fourdays of brokenness, four days of
asking the question Jesus, whydidn't you just show up?
And then he arrives and hegrieves, he says take me to the
(13:45):
tomb and what happens next isthe single greatest thing in
this moment.
You have to understand that,prior to what's about to happen,
those who were following himhadn't quite seen anything like
this yet.
They had seen healing, they hadseen miracles.
(14:07):
There was a dead girl that heactually did raise from the dead
, but they thought that she wasasleep because she had just
passed away.
But here you have Lazarus, deadand gone in darkness, and his
sisters and the mourners lost,with no hope, and Jesus goes to
(14:30):
the tomb.
And this is what happens.
Can you imagine the intensity ofthat moment?
To be standing in front of agrave that you've been mourning
at for four days, watch yourbrother rise out of it, to watch
(14:54):
him come out in grave clothes.
You know?
The answer to the question whydid Jesus take so long is simple
Because he needed them tounderstand that not even death
could stop him.
Listen, he's the only one inall of creation who has ever
(15:16):
done that.
He's the only one who can standin front of a grave and bring
people out from it.
Listen, he needed them tounderstand.
He needs us to understand thatthere is nothing that can stop
him to understand.
He needs us to understand thatthere is nothing that can stop
(15:37):
him.
Satan has nothing.
Hell will not prevail.
It cannot prevail as much badas in the world.
There's always hope in the onewho can raise the dead, because
that's what this is.
That's why Easter is soimportant, because the world has
nothing else to offer, but weoffer them this.
(16:05):
I can't imagine what it was liketo be Lazarus.
If I was Lazarus, I would haveworked that into every story for
the rest of my life.
Seriously, all you stubbed yourtoe.
That hurt.
You know what really hurtsbeing in a grave.
I would have found a way totalk about it.
I would have told that story toanyone who would listen.
(16:28):
You could not have shut me upbecause he was literally in
brokenness.
To anyone who would listen, youcould not have shut me up
Because he was literally inbrokenness.
He was dead, buried in a graveand he came back to life covered
in darkness, covered in graveclothes, set free from the
(16:49):
Messiah.
Set free from the Messiah.
Yeah, I remember my life beforeJesus.
I was caught up in my owndarkness, my own sin, my own
(17:09):
grave.
I remember the hopelessnessthat I had.
I remember being broken.
I remember trying to find ways,to find anything that would
bring me joy.
And then I met the Savior.
(17:36):
Savior, I met the one who savedme from myself.
I met the one who makes theblind see.
I met the one who feeds thehungry.
I met the one who comforts thehurting.
I met the one who weeps forbrokenness.
I met the one who comforts thehurting.
I met the one who weeps forbrokenness.
I met the one who raised a manfrom the dead.
(17:58):
I met the one who went to thecross and raised from the dead
himself.
(18:18):
So when we say that the worldneeds jesus, that's what they
need.
They need hope.
Jesus is the only thing thatgives me hope, no matter how bad
it gets, no matter how tough itis, no matter how much I
struggle in this world.
Because I know christ, becauseI've given my life to him, I
have hope for my future, and notjust when I die.
We get stuck on that.
(18:39):
But I have hope now in thisworld that he's going to change
me, that he's going to transformme, that my story is going to
make a difference.
Everywhere that I go, my hopeand my prayer is that I get to
tell someone about Jesus, church, that that's what we are
supposed to do.
You and I have been saved fromthe grave.
(19:01):
We should not be quiet about it.
We know someone who raisesliterally raises people from the
dead.
We know someone who sacrificeshis life for you and I.
We know someone who provideshope, life, eternal hope.
(19:30):
The world doesn't need anotherchurch.
I know that sounds bad.
There's a lot of churches,churches all over this country.
What people need is they needJesus.
They need to find Jesus inthose churches.
They need to find Jesus in yourhome.
They need to find Jesus at work, that you work with them.
They need to find Jesuseverywhere they go, because you
(19:53):
should be taking Jesus to them.
This is wonderful.
I love getting together onSunday morning, but if this is
the only time we talk aboutJesus, we've missed it.
If Easter is the only time weuse this to really talk to
people about Jesus, then we'vemissed it.
We've missed the whole point ofthis, because every day is
Easter for us.
Every Sunday is ResurrectionSunday for us.
(20:16):
Every moment of my life is therealization that the God who
loved me, died for me, wasburied and rose again.
Lazarus had to die so thatJesus could show who he really
was.
Jesus waited and in theirmoment of confusion, in their
(20:43):
moment of darkness, in theirmoment of grieving, jesus raised
a man from a dead.
So to me, whatever you're goingthrough in life that tells me
that God can handle it.
He can.
Whatever burden, whatever worry, whatever concern, whatever
(21:06):
doubt you have, the one who canraise men from the dead is the
same one who died for you.
You know, churches, especiallyaround this time of year, is
(21:32):
always hard.
What do you say, what do you do?
The resurrection story has beentold so many times, but I like
to think my friend said it wastrue Just give them Jesus.
That's what they need.
(21:53):
So let me introduce you to theone who can raise people from
the dead.
Let me introduce you to the onewho can raise people from the
dead.
Let me introduce you to the onethat can overcome whatever
burden you might have in yourlife.
Let me introduce you to the onethat can heal sickness, that
can heal brokenness, that canheal marriages, that can
overcome addiction.
Let me introduce you to the onewho died on a cross, took upon
your sins in order that you andI could be restored back into a
(22:16):
relationship with God.
Let me introduce you to theJesus who changed my life,
because I promise you, if youembrace Him, you'll never be the
same.
Thank God for that.
(22:39):
All right, let's pray.
God, we thank you so much forwho you are, for everything that
you've done.
My words don't even begin toreally, god, I've got nothing.
I've got nothing that can say,but thank you.
(23:05):
Thank you for everything.
Thank you for dying for me,thank you for everything.
Thank you for dying for me.
I would love you to thank you,son.
Let me pray Amen, amen.
(23:26):
You know, as we close out theservice today, I just want to
extend that invite to you.
Maybe you haven't made thatdecision, maybe you're not sure
yet.
Maybe you're still trying yourway in your options and you're
wondering if this Jesus thing isreal.
(23:47):
There's a lot of questions thatcome with it.
I get it.
When I first started followingJesus, I was hesitant.
I didn't jump into the deep endyet.
I had the kiddie pool.
I had some questions I had toask.
I had some things that I neededanswered for me.
But the more I grew in myrelationship with him, the more
(24:08):
I realized that I would ratherdrown in an ocean of Jesus than
die on land by myself.
And so I have lived my life totry to help other people do it
with me, because I think it's soimportant that we let Him
change us and we give our livesto Him, because there is no one
in this world who has ever donefor me what he did, who has ever
(24:39):
done for me what he did.
It'll change your life.
I promise you.
It'll change your life.
You know, easter is one of the biggest holidays for
the church and not just thechurch, I mean.
The world celebrates EasterMost places.
You know you get an early breakfrom work on Good Friday.
If you're lucky, most placesare going to be closed today, on
Easter Sunday, so if you didn'tget what you needed for dinner,
(00:23):
good luck.
There's this kind of thisrecognition, right, and so we
live in a world that celebratesit differently.
Some people choose to do Easteregg hunts and you know they
have an Easter bunny.
We were driving up and down theroad the other day we were doing
the Christ walk on Friday, andthere was this truck just
(00:45):
driving back and forth up SunsetBoulevard with a bunny in the
back and all I could think aboutis that person has to be hot,
because it was like 85 degrees.
But collectively, the churchgathers together this time of
year and prioritizes it.
We put on our best clothes, weget new shoes that aren't Chuck
(01:08):
Taylors.
My wife told me I look like anadult this morning.
I don't know how I feel aboutthat, right, I don't know.
I was like I don't know what tosay to that.
But we put on our best clothes,we go and buy our Easter
dresses, we get together withfamily yeah, fine, I'm getting
(01:33):
to my point.
I promise, I promise.
But we do all of this, we putall of this energy and time and
really, at the end of the day,none of that matters.
There's nothing wrong with it,there's nothing wrong with
getting dressed up, there'snothing wrong with prioritizing
time with family, but at the endof the day, really what it
(01:55):
comes down to is what Jesus didon the cross.
A friend of mine has a churchup in Michigan and him and I
talk every now and then and hetexts me early in the week and
we have this group of preachers.
We pray for each other, prayingfor each other on Sunday
morning and he says, listen,he's like, just give them Jesus.
(02:19):
He's like that's what theworld's in need of, that's what
the world needs to see.
And so we're actually going totalk about a resurrection this
morning, but we're not going totalk about Jesus.
I know how do you have aresurrection Sunday and not talk
about the resurrection of Jesus?
But I think it's important thatwe look in John chapter 11.
(02:44):
That we look in John chapter 11.
We are going to talk about aman who came out of a grave.
We're going to talk about a mannamed Lazarus.
So now, starting in verse 1, itsays Now a man named Lazarus was
sick.
He was from Bethany, thevillage of Mary, and her sister,
(03:05):
martha.
This Mary, whose brother,lazarus, now lay sick, was the
same one who poured perfume onthe Lord and wiped his feet with
her hair.
By the way, I love the factthat John includes that little
parenthesis, because I feel likemaybe people were confused
about what happened and, whenthat moment happened, who it was
.
So he writes down in greatdetail that it's at Lazarus'
(03:27):
sister who actually wipes andanoints Jesus.
We continue in verse 3.
He says so the sisters sentword to Jesus.
Lord, the one you love is sick.
When he heard this, jesus saidthe sickness will not end in
death, no, it's for God's glory,so that God's Son may be
glorified through it.
(03:48):
Now, jesus loved Martha and hersister and Lazarus.
So when he heard that Lazaruswas sick, he stayed where he was
for two more days and he saidto his disciples Let us go back
to Judea.
But, rabbi, they said A shortwhile ago, the Jews there tried
to stone you and yet you weregoing back.
Jesus answered are there not 12hours of daylight.
(04:11):
Anyone who walks in the daytimewill not stumble, for they see
by this world's light.
It is when a person walks atnight that they stumble, for
they have no light.
After he said this, he went onto tell them Our friend Lazarus
has fallen asleep, but I'm goingthere to wake him up.
His disciples replied Lord, ifhe sleeps he will get better.
(04:34):
Jesus had been speaking of hisdeath, but his disciples thought
he meant natural sleep.
So then he told them plainlyLazarus is dead and for your
sake, I am glad I was not there.
That you may believe, but letus go to him.
Then Thomas, also known asDidymus, said to the rest of the
disciples let us also go, thatwe may die with him.
(04:59):
You know, when we read thebeginning of this story, it kind
of blows my mind, knowing whatJesus is capable of.
Why would he wait?
Why would he not immediatelyrush to Lazarus' side?
There's a moment.
(05:23):
I have a visual element, by theway, if you haven't seen the
Chosen series from a pastoralstandpoint and preaching sermons
, their visuals are phenomenaland I love just some of the
things that you can see.
And so there's actually a scenehere.
Let's watch this Ministry,ministry.
(05:44):
When we read the text, whenJesus is trying to explain to
his disciples about Lazarus andit's interesting to me.
But he says that he's asleep,and they're confused, because if
you're sick, the best thing foryou is sleep.
And so he clarifies with them.
You don't understand.
He's dead, he's died.
(06:07):
So Jesus says to them listen,it's for your sake, and I'm glad
that he did.
And, like I said once again,when I read this story, when I
read the context of this, whywould Jesus be glad that Lazarus
died?
That doesn't make any sense tome.
When I read the context of this, why would Jesus be glad that
Lazarus died?
That doesn't make any sense tome.
(06:32):
Why would you want death?
And so Jesus kind of ralliesthem together and says listen,
let's go to Judea and let's govisit Mary and Martha and
Lazarus.
So, starting in verse 17, itsays On his arrival, jesus found
out that Lazarus had alreadybeen in the tomb for four days
(06:54):
Now.
Bethany was less than two milesfrom Jerusalem and many of the
Jews had come to Martha and Maryto comfort them in the loss of
their brother.
When Martha heard that Jesuswas coming, she went out to meet
him, but Mary stayed at home.
Lord, martha said to Jesus ifyou had been here, my brother
(07:15):
would not have died, but I knowthat even now, god will give you
whatever you ask.
Jesus said to her your brotherwill rise again.
And Martha answered I know hewill rise again in the
resurrection on the last day.
And then Jesus says to her I amthe resurrection and the life.
The one who believes in me willlive even though they die.
(07:37):
And whoever lives, whoeverlives by believing in me, will
never die.
Do you believe this?
Yes, lord, she replied.
I believe that you are theMessiah, the Son of God who has
come into the world.
And after she said this, shewent back and she called her
sister, mary aside.
The teacher is here, she said,and is asking for you.
(08:00):
When Mary heard this, she gotup quickly and went to him.
Now, jesus had not yet enteredthe village, but was still at
the place where Martha had methim.
When the Jews who had been withMary in the house comforting
her noticed how quickly she gotup and went out, they followed
her, supposing she was going totomb so mourn there.
When Mary reached the placewhere Jesus was and she saw him,
(08:23):
she fell at his feet and saidLord, if you had been here, my
brother would not have died.
When Jesus saw her weeping andthe Jews who had come along with
her were also weeping, he wasdeeply moved in his spirit and
troubled in his spirit andtroubled when have you laid him?
He asked.
(08:44):
Come and see Lord.
They replied and Jesus wept.
Then the Jews said See how heloved him.
But some of them said You'renot he who opened the eyes of
the blind man and have kept thisman from dying Again?
(09:04):
We're left in this moment.
We come to the text with ahindsight because we know what's
coming.
But Mary and Martha, all theyknow at this moment is that my
brother is dead.
And their response is genuineJesus, if you had just been here
(09:25):
, you could have done something.
So Mary meets Jesus, marthameets Jesus Reminds me a lot of
people that I meet who don'tknow Jesus.
(09:50):
When bad things happen, they'reconfused, they're angry, they're
upset.
They don't understand how a God, such a loving God, could allow
bad things to happen.
They don't understand how a God, such a loving God, could allow
(10:14):
bad things to happen.
So I think that's somethingthat I wrestle with.
I mean, I'm human after all.
What if Jesus had shown up,what would have been different?
What could he have done so manythings for Lazarus, so many
things?
And he shows up and Marthaconfronts him, and then Mary
(10:40):
says the same thing, and there'sa moment where, in his
humanness, he feels sorrow, hefeels brokenness, he feels hurt,
he feels pain and he's grievingthe loss of one of his best
friends.
And still there's thatlingering question in the back
of everyone's mind why didn't hecome sooner?
(11:03):
All of this could have beenavoided.
I think about that a lot oftimes.
When people ask the question whydoes God let bad things happen?
I can give you an answer, butit's not going to be one you
like.
The answer is sin.
(11:25):
Sin has distorted everything.
You and I were meant to live inthis kind of brokenness.
You go back all the way to thegarden and Adam and Eve.
They had it perfect.
They walked around naked withno shame.
That doesn't seem like a bigdeal to us, but they were so in
(11:47):
tune with God and the presenceof God that they had everything
they need.
Every need was met, and themoment sin crept in, it
destroyed that for them.
Sin has corrupted the worldthat you and I live in.
It causes division, it causeshatred, it causes judgment.
(12:08):
It has ruined everything.
It's the reason cancer exists.
I believe that cancer was notthe plan.
None of this illness, none ofthis was supposed to be part of
it.
But we've messed it up.
Adam and Eve couldn't they justcouldn't get over themselves.
(12:29):
They had to have it all.
They just couldn't get overthemselves.
They had to have it all.
And when they got it all, theygot it all.
You ever had your kids, andyour kids are trying to do
something really dumb.
And you're like listen, I knowwhat's going to happen if you do
this.
And they do it anyways.
And you're like I told you, andI feel like in this moment,
(12:56):
jesus comes in this humanity, inthis brokenness, and he grieves
that they don't understand justyet.
But the beauty of this story isit doesn't end there.
Lazarus had laid in the gravefor four days.
In Jewish custom, the belief isthat the spirit doesn't leave
(13:23):
the body until three days after.
So Lazarus had been dead forfour days.
Four days of mourning, fourdays of brokenness, four days of
asking the question Jesus, whydidn't you just show up?
And then he arrives and hegrieves, he says take me to the
(13:45):
tomb and what happens next isthe single greatest thing in
this moment.
You have to understand that,prior to what's about to happen,
those who were following himhadn't quite seen anything like
this yet.
They had seen healing, they hadseen miracles.
(14:07):
There was a dead girl that heactually did raise from the dead
, but they thought that she wasasleep because she had just
passed away.
But here you have Lazarus, deadand gone in darkness, and his
sisters and the mourners lost,with no hope, and Jesus goes to
(14:30):
the tomb.
And this is what happens.
Can you imagine the intensity ofthat moment?
To be standing in front of agrave that you've been mourning
at for four days, watch yourbrother rise out of it, to watch
(14:54):
him come out in grave clothes.
You know?
The answer to the question whydid Jesus take so long is simple
Because he needed them tounderstand that not even death
could stop him.
Listen, he's the only one inall of creation who has ever
(15:16):
done that.
He's the only one who can standin front of a grave and bring
people out from it.
Listen, he needed them tounderstand.
He needs us to understand thatthere is nothing that can stop
him to understand.
He needs us to understand thatthere is nothing that can stop
(15:37):
him.
Satan has nothing.
Hell will not prevail.
It cannot prevail as much badas in the world.
There's always hope in the onewho can raise the dead, because
that's what this is.
That's why Easter is soimportant, because the world has
nothing else to offer, but weoffer them this.
(16:05):
I can't imagine what it was liketo be Lazarus.
If I was Lazarus, I would haveworked that into every story for
the rest of my life.
Seriously, all you stubbed yourtoe.
That hurt.
You know what really hurtsbeing in a grave.
I would have found a way totalk about it.
I would have told that story toanyone who would listen.
(16:28):
You could not have shut me upbecause he was literally in
brokenness.
To anyone who would listen, youcould not have shut me up
Because he was literally inbrokenness.
He was dead, buried in a graveand he came back to life covered
in darkness, covered in graveclothes, set free from the
(16:49):
Messiah.
Set free from the Messiah.
Yeah, I remember my life beforeJesus.
I was caught up in my owndarkness, my own sin, my own
(17:09):
grave.
I remember the hopelessnessthat I had.
I remember being broken.
I remember trying to find ways,to find anything that would
bring me joy.
And then I met the Savior.
(17:36):
Savior, I met the one who savedme from myself.
I met the one who makes theblind see.
I met the one who feeds thehungry.
I met the one who comforts thehurting.
I met the one who weeps forbrokenness.
I met the one who comforts thehurting.
I met the one who weeps forbrokenness.
I met the one who raised a manfrom the dead.
(17:58):
I met the one who went to thecross and raised from the dead
himself.
(18:18):
So when we say that the worldneeds jesus, that's what they
need.
They need hope.
Jesus is the only thing thatgives me hope, no matter how bad
it gets, no matter how tough itis, no matter how much I
struggle in this world.
Because I know christ, becauseI've given my life to him, I
have hope for my future, and notjust when I die.
We get stuck on that.
(18:39):
But I have hope now in thisworld that he's going to change
me, that he's going to transformme, that my story is going to
make a difference.
Everywhere that I go, my hopeand my prayer is that I get to
tell someone about Jesus, church, that that's what we are
supposed to do.
You and I have been saved fromthe grave.
(19:01):
We should not be quiet about it.
We know someone who raisesliterally raises people from the
dead.
We know someone who sacrificeshis life for you and I.
We know someone who provideshope, life, eternal hope.
(19:30):
The world doesn't need anotherchurch.
I know that sounds bad.
There's a lot of churches,churches all over this country.
What people need is they needJesus.
They need to find Jesus inthose churches.
They need to find Jesus in yourhome.
They need to find Jesus at work, that you work with them.
They need to find Jesuseverywhere they go, because you
(19:53):
should be taking Jesus to them.
This is wonderful.
I love getting together onSunday morning, but if this is
the only time we talk aboutJesus, we've missed it.
If Easter is the only time weuse this to really talk to
people about Jesus, then we'vemissed it.
We've missed the whole point ofthis, because every day is
Easter for us.
Every Sunday is ResurrectionSunday for us.
(20:16):
Every moment of my life is therealization that the God who
loved me, died for me, wasburied and rose again.
Lazarus had to die so thatJesus could show who he really
was.
Jesus waited and in theirmoment of confusion, in their
(20:43):
moment of darkness, in theirmoment of grieving, jesus raised
a man from a dead.
So to me, whatever you're goingthrough in life that tells me
that God can handle it.
He can.
Whatever burden, whatever worry, whatever concern, whatever
(21:06):
doubt you have, the one who canraise men from the dead is the
same one who died for you.
You know, churches, especiallyaround this time of year, is
(21:32):
always hard.
What do you say, what do you do?
The resurrection story has beentold so many times, but I like
to think my friend said it wastrue Just give them Jesus.
That's what they need.
(21:53):
So let me introduce you to theone who can raise people from
the dead.
Let me introduce you to the onewho can raise people from the
dead.
Let me introduce you to the onethat can overcome whatever
burden you might have in yourlife.
Let me introduce you to the onethat can heal sickness, that
can heal brokenness, that canheal marriages, that can
overcome addiction.
Let me introduce you to the onewho died on a cross, took upon
your sins in order that you andI could be restored back into a
(22:16):
relationship with God.
Let me introduce you to theJesus who changed my life,
because I promise you, if youembrace Him, you'll never be the
same.
Thank God for that.
(22:39):
All right, let's pray.
God, we thank you so much forwho you are, for everything that
you've done.
My words don't even begin toreally, god, I've got nothing.
I've got nothing that can say,but thank you.
(23:05):
Thank you for everything.
Thank you for dying for me,thank you for everything.
Thank you for dying for me.
I would love you to thank you,son.
Let me pray Amen, amen.
(23:26):
You know, as we close out theservice today, I just want to
extend that invite to you.
Maybe you haven't made thatdecision, maybe you're not sure
yet.
Maybe you're still trying yourway in your options and you're
wondering if this Jesus thing isreal.
(23:47):
There's a lot of questions thatcome with it.
I get it.
When I first started followingJesus, I was hesitant.
I didn't jump into the deep endyet.
I had the kiddie pool.
I had some questions I had toask.
I had some things that I neededanswered for me.
But the more I grew in myrelationship with him, the more
(24:08):
I realized that I would ratherdrown in an ocean of Jesus than
die on land by myself.
And so I have lived my life totry to help other people do it
with me, because I think it's soimportant that we let Him
change us and we give our livesto Him, because there is no one
in this world who has ever donefor me what he did, who has ever
(24:39):
done for me what he did.
It'll change your life.
I promise you.
It'll change your life.
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