I Am the Resurrection and the Life

[Read John 11:1-44]

One of the most common statements throughout the book of Psalms is, "How long?" It's kinda funny because it's one of those statements that we joke about all the time. This past weekend at Winter Retreat someone made a comment about how you're not a real parent until you've heard your kids complain from the back of the seat, "How much longer?" I remember our very first trip to Texas to visit Rachel's parents. We knew it was going to be a twenty-four hour drive. I was a little overwhelmed by that. Then, we got caught in a blizzard one hour into the drive. We were going thirty miles an hour down I35, white-knuckle driving the entire time, just trying not to get into an accident. The entire time I was thinking to myself, "This was going to be a twenty-four hour drive in perfect conditions. It's going to be thirty hours at this rate." Then I hear a kid from the back, "How much longer?" Let's just say that I didn't handle that question well at the time.

Yet, even though we make fun of it coming from our children, we continue to ask that question on a regular basis in our own lives. How much longer before it's going to snow? How much longer before this snow is gone? How much longer do I have to work at this job? How much longer do I have to deal with living paycheck to paycheck? How much longer do I have to suffer with this pain in my body? How much longer do I have to deal with this relationship problem? How much longer do I have to wait for God to answer my prayer? Not only have we all prayed those prayers, but we pray those on a regular basis.

The longer we have to wait the more frustrated we get, don't we? The longer we have to wait for the snow to go away, the more frustrated we get with the snow. The longer we have to work in a job we don't want to work in, the more frustrated we get with that job. The longer we have to wait for God to answer our prayers, the more frustrated we get with God, don't we? I realize we don't want to say that out loud, but that doesn't mean it's not true. We don't like waiting for God to answer our prayers. We want him to act and we want him to act now. Another way of saying that is: We want God to act on our timeline. And if He doesn't act on our timeline, we get frustrated with him and we even begin to question Him: Does he even care? Or, if we've been waiting long enough: Does He even exist? I've known plenty of people who have turned their backs on God because he hasn't answered their prayers in the way they wanted them answered and in the timeline in which they wanted them answered.

This raises a very pointed question that each person needs to ask: If you walk away from God when he doesn't answer your prayers in your timeline, where were you putting your faith? That's one of the questions we're going to be looking at in this morning's passage.

Now, it's been a while since we were in the book of John, so I want to make sure we remember what was happening leading into this passage because it's really important. Jesus had continued teaching and continued angering the Jewish leaders. He got them so wound up by his teaching that, once again, they tried to arrest him and kill him (kind of a pattern, isn't it?). Yet, Jesus leaves them, heads across the Jordan, and preaches to those whom John the Baptist had witnessed to and many people believed in him. It was a great time and moment for Jesus and his disciples. They were safe from the plots to attack them and they were experiencing fruitful ministry. Then they get word that Lazarus is very sick. We're told that Jesus loves Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. They sent word to Jesus, hoping that he would hurry his way back into the area and heal Lazarus right away. It makes sense. Yet, we read this: “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.” (John 11:5–6, ESV). That doesn't quite compute for us, does it? Jesus hears that his beloved friend is very sick, then we're told that Jesus loves them, and because he loves them he waits two days longer before heading to Bethany. I mean, imagine the scene. Martha and Mary send a messenger to Jesus, days later he returns to them. They ask, “Where’s Jesus?” The messenger replies, “I don’t know. He didn’t come back with me. He stayed there.” Can you imagine what went through their mind? What!?! I thought he loved us. I thought he loved Lazarus. Why didn’t he come right away? For many people, they would immediately think: He must not actually love us.

Yet, this passage corrects that assumption in us. We can't say that. Because we're told that Jesus DID love them and because he loved them, he waited. He didn't come on their timeline. He didn't do things the way they wanted him to do them. And he did those things because he loved them. The same is true for us. Just because God and Jesus don't act according to our plans or desires, doesn't mean he doesn't love us. Jesus' love is not dependent upon our plans and desires. It's not about us. That's why Calvin says, "Let believers then implore the assistance of God, but let them also learn to suspend their desires, if he does not stretch out his hand for their assistance as soon as they may think that necessity requires; for, whatever may be his delay, he never sleeps, and never forgets his people. Yet let us also be fully assured that he wishes all whom he loves to be saved." (Calvin, 427).

In this instance, we're told why Jesus waited to come. We read, “But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”” (John 11:4, ESV). Jesus' delay was for the glory of God. Somehow, by waiting and not running to their aid immediately, God would receive more glory as a result. Don't miss this point either. It was loving to Mary, Martha, and Lazarus for God to receive more glory through this event. That's why Jesus waited. He waited because he loved them AND because he wanted God to receive glory through this. It was LOVING for them to see God's glory in a more powerful way and to experience God's glory in a more powerful way. It would NOT have been loving for Jesus to rush in right away and solve all of their problems. They needed to learn a few more things about who God is and what He can do. That would not only bring God more glory, but it would also draw them into a deeper understanding and relationship with their God, which is one of the most loving things we can do for someone. So, because Jesus loved them, he wanted God's glory to be manifested in a powerful way, so he waited for two more days.

Meanwhile, the disciples are trying to talk him out of going back to Bethany. As is typical, they misunderstand Jesus. Their thought process goes something like this: If Lazarus isn't going to die from this, then it makes way more sense for us to continue here. We're having a fruitful ministry here. People were trying to kill us back there. So, if this isn't an emergency, we should just stay out of trouble.

That's when Jesus says, “Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”” (John 11:9–10, ESV). I have to admit, this passage confused me at first. I didn't understand why Jesus was saying this at this point in the conversation. Yet, the commentators helped me greatly. Jesus is reminding his disciples that God has given us certain portions of time to do the work He has called us to do. He's done that on a daily basis, but he's also done that throughout our lives. For Jesus, God has given him a portion of time on this earth to do his work. Now, that time may be coming to a close--the daylight is coming close to the dawn--but while it is still light, Jesus must do the work that God has given him to do. And on top of all that, while he's working in the light--following God's plan and will--he should not fear stumbling or being hurt or killed. As long as he's following God, he will continue to accomplish God's plan and nobody will stand in the way of that--not even the Jewish leaders.

Thomas isn't convinced. He responds, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” (John 11:16, ESV). This is an example of what I'm going to call an imperfect faith. It's a statement that shows some level of faith and trust in Jesus Christ, but not fully there. Thomas has enough faith and trust to follow Jesus into a very dangerous situation. That's a lot of faith. However, he doesn't have enough faith and trust to believe Jesus when he says that they will be fine for now. It's an imperfect faith.

We're actually going to see that same thing when Jesus gets close to Bethany and talks with Martha. She says to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” (John 11:21–22, ESV). This is an imperfect faith as well. On the one hand, she has enough faith and trust in Jesus Christ that she knows he has the power to heal her very sick brother and she knows that God will give Jesus whatever he asks. Yet, she didn't have enough faith to realize that Jesus could have healed Lazarus from a distance (as he had already done). She also makes some assumptions that Jesus would have healed Lazarus if he had been there. It's an imperfect faith.

This is why Jesus responds the way he does in this passage. He responds to Martha by saying, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25–26, ESV). It's not about what he does, it's about who he is. That's what Jesus is telling Mary and Thomas and everyone else with an imperfect faith (which includes all of us). Our tendency is to put our trust in the things he does, in his miracles, but that is a weak faith that flutters all over the place. Jesus is looking at Mary saying, "I'm not asking if you believe whether or not I could have healed him. Do you believe that I AM the resurrection and the life? Do you believe that's who I AM?" A faith that rests in the things Jesus does, will never be solid, it is built on sandy ground and it completely crumbles the moment Jesus doesn't do what we want him to do. However, a faith that rests in Jesus Christ as the resurrection and the life, continues to look to him no matter the circumstances because it's not about what he can do for us, but about who he is. The whole point of this entire story--and the upcoming miracle--is for Jesus Christ to reveal something to us about who He is. He is the resurrection and the life.

So, Jesus heads to the tomb to show them who he is--not just what he can do. On his way to the tomb we read this: “When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.” (John 11:33, ESV). Most of you will probably have a small little number in your bibles next to the words "deeply moved" and that footnote will tell you that it's possible to translate those words differently, and I think that helps us understand this passage a little better. The ESV says it could be translated that Jesus "was indignant," and some commentators say it could be translated that Jesus was ticked off. He looked around at all of the people weeping and wailing over the death of Lazarus and he was troubled and angry. Then again, when Jesus get's the tomb we read that he get's angry again. So, what's that all about? Was he angry that people were grieving? No, because Jesus, himself weeps at the death of Lazarus.

He's angry because he hates death. This is not the way it was supposed to be. Death was not part of God's created order. Death is an enemy of God. Death is the enemy Christ was sent to defeat. “For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” (1 Corinthians 15:25–26, ESV). So, Christ, in the presence of his enemy, is outraged. Calvin says, “Christ does not come to the tomb as an idle spectator, but like a wrestler preparing for the contest. Therefore no wonder that he groans again, for the violent tyranny of death that He had to overcome stands before His eyes” (Calvin, 442). So we read, “He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”” (John 11:43–44, ESV). Jesus shows everyone present in that moment that he IS the resurrection and the life. Because of that, he hates death and also has power over death. All he needs to do is speak the word, and the dead come to life.

That is true physically AND it is true spiritually. We're told that “Even when we were dead in our trespasses, [God] made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,” (Ephesians 2:5–6, ESV). All he needs to do is say a word and your soul will come from death to life. Do you believe? Do you believe not just that he is able to do this BUT that he IS the resurrection and the life? Because that changes everything.

You see, one of the powerful things that we learn in this passage is that Christ's waiting leads to greater glory. Christ's waiting for Lazarus to die, led to a greater glory--a glory so bright that it brought many people to believe AND blinded others so badly that it leads to Jesus' death. If Jesus would have rushed over and taken care of everything right away, the glory wouldn't have been as great and they wouldn't have seen Jesus as clearly. They would have only seen Jesus as a healer (as they've already seen) but they wouldn't have seen Jesus as THE resurrection and THE life. There's greater glory in that, a glory that shines into our hearts and draws us closer to the one we love and trust with all of our lives.

This is why Jesus says to Mary, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”” (John 11:40, ESV). Do you believe? Do you believe that Jesus is the resurrection and the life? Do you believe that Jesus Christ loves you? Do you believe that the very reason he is waiting is because he loves you? Do you believe these things even when you can't see his resurrection and life at this moment? Do you believe these things even when he is waiting to act, waiting much longer than you'd like? Is he still the resurrection and the life? Does he still love you? Do you believe that Christ's waiting leads to greater glory? Not just in the lives of other people, but in your life as well? Do you believe? Jesus said to his disciples, “Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe.” (John 11:14–15, ESV).