Text: John 11:17-36 Title: When Life Stinks Jesus Cares

Transcription

1 Text: John 11:17-36 Title: When Life Stinks Jesus Cares ILLUSTRATION Some of the strangest or funniest things that have happened in my ministry happened at funerals or cemeteries. In my first church we had a funeral service and a cat got in the church building. You know how difficult it is to catch a cat. It s even more difficult when one is running under the pews. Finally the funeral directors quit chasing it and for the rest of the funeral that cat walked around the stand the casket was sitting on you know how cats like to walk and rub up against furniture. We had the funeral for Roscoe Baker. After the funeral we went to the cemetery and I had started the graveside service. Suddenly Roscoe s widow started talking to the person next to her. She was hard of hearing so she was yelling, This ain t Roscoe s grave. The person next to her motioned for her to be quiet, but she kept on, This ain t Roscoe s grave. The funeral director heard the commotion and came over, interrupting the graveside service. I heard him explain to the widow that this was, indeed, not Roscoe s grave. The plot where Roscoe was supposed to be buried sat on a giant slab of stone and they needed dynamite to dig the grave. They had run out of dynamite and rather than delay the burial they just moved his grave to another place. Strange and sometimes funny things happen at funerals and cemeteries. Open your Bibles to John 11. One of the most amazing miracles Jesus ever performed happened at a cemetery where He raised His good friend Lazarus from the dead. Now as you re turning I need to remind you of the context. John s Gospel revolves around seven miraculous signs that demonstrate that Jesus is the Messiah, and this is the seventh and climactic miraculous sign. It will display the glory of Christ so people may believe in Him and have eternal life. This is also a turning point Jesus ministry as opposition against Him is growing. From here on the crucifixion is just on the horizon. The Jewish authorities consider Jesus as Public Enemy #1. They want Him dead. This story also revolves around a family that was very close to Jesus Mary, Martha and Lazarus. They live in a little village called Bethany that s just a couple of miles from Jerusalem. So whenever Jesus was in Jerusalem He would often stay at their home. One day Lazarus, became very sick; so sick that no one could help him. There was no human solution to this problem. But the sisters knew that Jesus had the power to heal Lazarus, so they sent word to Him where He was ministering about 30 miles away. When Jesus got the message He did something that seems inconsistent with the love that He has for this family He delays two days. We saw last week how Jesus, in His all-knowing, all-seeing way was allowing the

2 situation to develop so God would receive the maximum glory. Again, remember this is a miraculous sign that will point to the authority of Jesus as the Messiah. So after two days Jesus set out. And in that span of time Lazarus had died. And the Scriptures tell us what Jesus encountered as He approached Bethany. Read John 11: Jesus walked into a situation that stinks literally. In fact later when Jesus gets ready to call Lazarus out of his tomb Martha protests. John 11:39b - But, Lord by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days. I love the way the old KJ V has this: John 11:39 (KJV) - Lord, by this time he stinketh Thus the title of this brief series from John 11 is When Life Stinks. For some of you, your situation in life these days is really rotten it stinks. It may be your marriage, or your children, or your job, or your health, or your finances. So what are we as followers of Jesus supposed to think when life stinks? You need to know that Jesus cares He loves you. And you may think, Love? Funny, this doesn t feel like love to me. One of the hardest things to accept when we are suffering is the fact that God really does care about us. He knows what you re going through. He knows why you re going through it. He knows how you feel about it. God is good and He has good in mind for us, no matter what is happening around us. Nothing can separate us from His love. Romans 8:37 - No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Romans 8:38 - For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, Romans 8:39 - neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Nothing in this life or the next can separate you, child of God, from the love of your Father. At the Cross all our sins were heaped on Jesus. Bearing the weight of our sin Jesus felt the separation from God that our sin brings. That s why He cried

3 My God, why have you forsaken me? And in that moment the Father turned His back on His Son, the Sin Bearer, so He would not have to turn His back on us. Today and next Sunday we re going to take the time to see how tenderly and yet truthfully Jesus deals with Martha and Mary, the sisters of Lazarus. Yes, the situation stinks and Jesus is about to powerfully work for Lazarus. But part of the reason that Jesus delayed was that He was also doing a powerful work in the lives of Lazarus sisters. God is working in the midst of your tragic circumstances, but it isn t just about you. God is working in the lives of the people around you to bring about His glorious purposes in their lives like He is in your life. From the minute Jesus showed up on the outskirts of Bethany His loving care is on display for us to see. It s on display for you to know that this is how Jesus loves you. As a follower of Jesus He cares for you just as passionately as He cared for Martha, Mary and Lazarus. 1. CHRIST CARES FOR US WITH PERFECT LOVE. We ve already seen how much Jesus loved this family. John goes out of his way to drive home that point. In v.3 the sisters report to Jesus, The one you love is sick. And the word they use for love is phileo, the word that means family or brotherly love. But two verses later John reports in v.5 that Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. And the word John uses in v.5 is a different word, agapao, the highest form of love. You see, Lazarus and his sisters knew Jesus loved them but OUTLINE - Jesus loves us infinitely more than we know. Now the sisters of Lazarus are struggling because the way Jesus responded to the news that Lazarus was sick didn t seem like love. In their mind, Jesus got there too late to do anything about it. It says in v.17 that Lazarus has already been in the tomb for four days. Funeral arrangements are already underway. Jesus can t do much now, or so the sisters thought. You see, there was a view among the Jews at that time that the spirit hovered around the body for about three days, but after that the person was really dead dead dead. It s all over but the crying. John 11:19 - and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother.

4 Here is the scene that Jesus comes upon as He arrives. It would have been chaotic and noisy. Normally, because of the climate, a dead person was buried as quickly as possible. Wrappings and robes would have covered the body. Spices and ointments anointed the body. Everyone who could come should come. It was a sacred duty. So there was a crowd. So Jesus would have walked into a situation where there was still much grief, inwardly and outwardly. Often Jewish families would hire professional mourners to come and cry and play sad instruments. And it would go on for days. Jews believed that the louder you wailed, the greater the honor you were paying to the dead person. John 11:20 - When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. Literally Mary remained seated. This, again, was typical in Middle Eastern funerals. It s sort of like a wake today. The grieving family would sit quietly in the house and friends would come and sit with them, grieving with them. We see this in the book of Job after Job went through the horrible loss of his family and his possessions and his health. Job had three friends who came out to him and found him sitting on the ground grieving. And they sat there with him for seven days not saying a word. That s the way they grieved with and for one another. So Mary stayed seated in the house, but when Martha heard that Jesus was on His way, she couldn t sit still. She has to be up doing something, so Martha ran out to meet Jesus. And what follows is one of the great conversations in the Bible the conversation between Jesus, Martha and, later, Mary. John 11:21 - Lord, Martha said to Jesus, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. Let me just pause here and encourage us to learn from Martha. Don t let your disappointments and your doubts keep you from running to Jesus. He is near, but we have to make the choice mentally and spiritually to go to Him. That s what prayer is it s when we get up out of our confusion and doubt and go to Jesus. Again, in Martha s mind, the way Jesus responded to their need doesn t seem like love to her. Martha must have wanted to ask Jesus, Where have you been all this time? Remember what we said last week: OUTLINE - God s delays are not necessarily denials; they may be a greater display of His love.

5 She doesn t see it yet, but the love of Jesus sometimes comes wrapped in a way that doesn t feel like love. But she s not completely devoid of faith. She knew if Jesus had been there He could have stopped this from happening. She knew He had the power to do that and so she says John 11:22 - But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask. Even in her remorse and disappointment she was still knows her only hope is Jesus. She knows the relationship that Jesus has with the Father. What He asks of the Father the Father will give to His Son. When your situation stinks and your faith is weak just go to Jesus. He cares for you with perfect love. But you also need to know that 2. JESUS CARES FOR US WITH PERFECTING LOVE. Now we re only going to stick our toes in the water here, then next week we ll dive in to the rest of this section. But for now know this: When life stinks OUTLINE God has one overwhelming agenda for us to display His glory in a way that strengthens our faith. That s how God s love is perfecting love. God has a powerful agenda in our trials. James 1:2-3 - Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. When life stinks God has one overwhelming agenda for us to strengthen our faith and confidence in Him. And because God s love for us is perfecting love He will not always make everything convenient and comfortable and calm. If Jesus love only extended that far then He would have healed Lazarus immediately and spared Martha and Mary from this pain. But Jesus s love and plans for us are greater than that. OUTLINE - The love that defines the character of God is making whatever sacrifice necessary to give to another what they need the most.

6 The Bible says that God is love. And the love that is at the root of God s entire being and character is love that does whatever is necessary to give to another what they need most. And what is it that we need most? We may think we need health and wealth and happiness, but our Creator God knows we were not created to ultimately be fulfilled by any of those things. What we need most is to experience something more complete and more lasting and more fulfilling, something that is found only in our relationship with our Creator. Our souls are not meant to be fully and eternally satisfied by anything short of God of the glory of God. So when we really see and savor the glory of God in Christ we discover a joy and satisfaction that this world can never produce for us. And God s love is displayed in the fact that He was willing to die to help us have what satisfies us most. And Jesus was willing to let Lazarus die because He loved Martha and Mary and wanted them to enjoy what would satisfy them the most knowing and trusting Christ. Jesus allows Martha and Mary (and us) to go through soul-piercing pain to bring us what they (and we) need most to see and know and trust in Christ. Jesus called His shot from the beginning. John 11:4 - Jesus said, This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God s glory so that God s Son may be glorified through it. EXAMPLE I mentioned Job earlier. Do you know the story of Job? God put Job through an unimaginable series of tests the loss of his possessions, then the loss of his children and then the loss of his health. And Job wrestles with all the emotions that we would wrestle with if we went through what he experienced. In fact Job s wife counseled him to curse God and die. Remember Job s friends who came to sit with him? They tried to console him but they didn t do a very good job of it. In fact they made matters worse. So Job comes to a place where he can t seem to find God in all of the tragedy. (And that s what we need most, isn t it to know that God is somewhere in the picture.) Job said Job 23:3 - If only I knew where to find him; if only I could go to his dwelling! Later in that chapter Job said, I went to the east and God wasn t there. I went to the west and I couldn t find Him. When He was at work in the north, I couldn t see Him. And when God turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of Him. God feels so far way. But then Job s faith emerges after all of his doubts and questions. And he comes to say.

7 Job 23:10 - But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. I don t know where He is, but He knows where I am. The gold of our faith is only purified by the fires of adversity. God knows and He cares. QUOTE: The great British preacher Charles Spurgeon said this: The worldling (the non-believer) blesses God while he gives him plenty, but the Christian blesses him when he smites him: he believes him to be too wise to err and too good to be unkind; he trusts him where he cannot trace him, looks up to him in the darkest hour, and believes that all is well. A song writer summarized Spurgeon s words in this way: God is too wise to be mistaken. God is too good to be unkind. So when you don't understand; when you don't see His plan; when you can't trace His hand; trust His heart. NEW MEMBERS PRESENTED