Week 4 Week of April 27th

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1 E N G AGI N G Community T H E G R E AT E N D S O F T H E C H U R C H S P R I N G Growth Groups Week 4 Week of April 27th Week 4 April 27th John 11:17-37 Getting to Know One Another 1. Share three things that you look for in communities or groups (church, social, work related, sport, etc.) to which you give your time? Setting the Context Though John only introduces us to the family of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus at the end of Jesus ministry, Jesus and the disciples often visited their home. Jesus enjoyed their close friendship and hospitality on His visits to Jerusalem, for Bethany was a village just outside of the city. Jesus had been preaching in the villages beyond the Jordan, probably in Perea, when He received the news of Lazarus sickness. Jesus did not leave immediately to join this family, but waited two days before returning to Judea even though He knew that the illness would lead to death for Lazarus.i Apparently Lazarus died soon after the sisters messengers left Jesus. He was then still a day s journey away. Since Palestine was warm and decomposition set in quickly, a person was usually buried the same day he died.ii Though burial usually followed soon after death, some later Jewish sources indicate a belief that the soul hovered over the body for three days, hoping to reenter it, but then gave up and departed.iii The fact of Lazarus being in the grave for four days was added as proof that he was dead. Notice how the Holy Spirit takes every precaution to show that the resurrection of Lazarus was really a miracle.iv In great contrast with the Greek gods apathy or lack of emotion, Jesus emotional life attests to the reality of His union with people.v The Greek word underlying deeply moved (John 11:33), embrimaomai, means to feel something deeply and strongly. Jesus was moved with profound sorrow at the death of His friend and at the grief that His other friends had suffered. In addition, this sorrow was intermixed with anger at the evileofndeath, and GA G I Nalso G with a deep sense of awe at the power of God that was about to flow through Him to triumph over death.vi To see His friends Mary and Martha in sorrow caused Jesus to groan and to be troubled. Doubtless He thought of all the sadness, suffering and death, which had come into the world as a result of man s sin, and it caused Him inward grief.vii Jesus joins His friends sadness with heartfelt sorrow, yet underlying it is the knowledge that resurrection and joy will Community esbyteria Pr n urch Ch La Joll a T H E G R E AT E N D S O F T H E C H U R C H S P R I N G La Jolla Presbyterian Church

2 soon follow. Jesus example shows that heartfelt mourning in the face of death does not indicate lack of faith but genuine and deep sorrow at the reality of suffering and death. viii However, Christians do not sorrow as others who have no hope. ix Verse 35 is the shortest in the English Bible. It is one of three instances in the New Testament where the Lord is said to have wept. (He wept in sorry over the city of Jerusalem and also in the garden of Gethsemane.) The fact that Jesus wept was an evidence of His true humanity. x When a person died, the Jews mourned for a prolonged period of time. During this period it was considered a pious duty to comfort the bereaved. However, Jesus weeping (11:35) differed from that of the people. His quiet shedding of tears (edakrysen) differed from their loud wailing in verse 33 (klaiontas). xi Among the commotion and the loud wailing of the mourners, Jesus shed tears. What made Jesus cry? Was it His love for Lazarus? Was it the presence of sadness and death? Or was it the faithless grief that surrounded Him? For whatever the reason, the situation caused Jesus to shed real tears. The picture of Jesus as being impassive in the face of genuine human suffering is not consistent with the picture in Isaiah, which describes Him as man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering (Isaiah 53:3). xii Although we get many glimpses of Jesus compassion throughout the Gospels, His tender conversations with Mary and Martha are among the most moving. His words reveal patient pastoral concerns. Elsewhere we see Him confront people with the truth; here we see Him console as the gentle Master. John s Gospel stresses that we have a God who cares. This portrait contrasts with a Greek concept of God that was popular in John s day a God with no emotions and no empathy for humans. Here we see many of Jesus emotions compassion, indignation, sorrow, even frustration. He often expressed deep emotion, and we must never be afraid to reveal our true feelings to Him. He understands them, because He experienced them. xiii 2. What are the implications for us of the very personal presence of Jesus and the depth of His care for His people? Exploring the Text Read John 11:17-37 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Now 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. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this? 27 Yes, Lord, she replied, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world. 28 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

3 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? 3. Mary and Martha personally know Jesus and they believe that he can heal, but their brother is dead and Jesus wasn t there. How might it have felt to be Mary and Martha at this point? 4. Why do you think John emphasizes that Jesus is deeply moved by Mary s grief and the anguish of those with her (vs )? xiv It seems clear that the community surrounding Lazarus and his family have shown up to support and comfort them. Read 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5. What is the power in simply showing up in times of need? How do we show up as a church in our community and in the lives of our members? Read Acts 4:32-35 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God s grace was so powerfully at work in them all 34 that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the apostles feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need. Ephesians 4:4-6 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4:15-16 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. 6. What kind of unity do these verses describe? 7. How does the modern day church develop such community? What are the essentials of real community? 8. How does church community (a community of believers) differ from that enjoyed in social clubs and sports team memberships, etc.? 9. In what ways do you experience community with other believers? Do you feel a part of the whole body?

4 For Further Study For study of the raising of Lazarus: Read John 11:5-7 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) 3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, Lord, the one you love is sick. 4 When he heard this, 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. 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, 7 and then he said to his disciples, Let us go back to Judea. John 11:15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him. John 11:38-44 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 believe, you will 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. How can we resolve the seeming conflict between Jesus love for Lazarus and his family, and his deliberate delay in helping them? (See John 11:4-5; 15.)

5 i. Barton, B.B., et al., Life Application Bible Commentary - John. Life Application Bible Commentary, ed. P.W. Comfort. 1993, Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House ii. Walvoord, J.F., R.B. Zuck, and D.T.S. Faculty, The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the iii. The ESV Study Bible. 2008, Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles. iv. MacDonald, W., Believer s Bible Commentary, ed. A. Farstad. 1995, Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson v. Walvoord, J.F., R.B. Zuck, and D.T.S. Faculty, The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the vi. The ESV Study Bible. 2008, Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles. vii. MacDonald, W., Believer s Bible Commentary, ed. A. Farstad. 1995, Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson viii. The ESV Study Bible. 2008, Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles. ix. MacDonald, W., Believer s Bible Commentary, ed. A. Farstad. 1995, Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson x. ibid. xi. Walvoord, J.F., R.B. Zuck, and D.T.S. Faculty, The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the xii. Barton, B.B., et al., Life Application Bible Commentary - John. Life Application Bible Commentary, ed. P.W. Comfort. 1993, Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House xiii. ibid. xiv. Connelly, D., John, the Way to True Life. Life Guide Bible Studies. 2002: Intervarsity Press.