The Death of Lazarus (John 11:1–27) — A Sermon by R.C. Sproul

0:00 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. Therefore the sisters sent to him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom you love is sick.

0:32 Now when Jesus heard that, he said, this sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it. Now, Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when He heard that He was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. And then after this, He said to the disciples, let us go to Judea again. The disciples said to Him, Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone you, and are you going there again? 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 one walks in the night, he stumbles because the light is not in him.

1:33 These things he said, and after that he said to them, Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go, that I might wake him. Then his disciples said, Lord, if he sleeps, he will get well. However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that he was speaking about taking rest in sleep. So then Jesus said to them plainly, Lazarus is dead, and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there that you may believe. Nevertheless, let us go to him. Then Thomas, who is called the twins, said to his fellow disciples, let us also go that we may die with him.

2:32 And so when Jesus came, he found that he had already been in the tomb for four days. And Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away, and many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary to comfort them concerning their brother.

2:52 Now Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him, but Mary was sitting in the house. And Martha said to Jesus, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you. Jesus said to her, your brother will rise again. Martha said to him, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.

3:28 Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?

3:50 And she said to him, yes, Lord. I believe you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world. He who has ears to hear the Word of God, let them hear it. Please be seated. Father, as we give our attention now to this dramatic moment in the life of Jesus, I pray for the power of the Holy Spirit to accompany this Word, that we may not be unmoved by it, that Your Spirit would penetrate between bone and marrow, that the truth of this testimony may come to life in us.

4:45 For we ask it in Jesus' name, amen. Chapter 10 of John's Gospel ended with these words in verse 40, and he went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there he stayed. Now, this is the only hint that we get where Jesus had gone after He departed from Jerusalem in the midst of the hostility and the threats that He had heard as the authorities were planning to have Jesus stoned to death as a blasphemer. And there's a question in terms of biblical scholarship as to exactly where the location was to where Jesus retreated. Some think that he went a day's journey across the Jordan. Others believe that he went further north, about 150 kilometers north of Jerusalem, which would take a minimum of two days to make the trip because the normal day's journey was about 50 kilometers. And so under normal pace, it would take three days.

6:04 But in any case, the location of Jesus is significant to understand the dynamics of what's going on in this crisis, because in Jesus' absence, suddenly his close friend Lazarus becomes dreadfully ill. And so Jesus' friends, the sisters of Lazarus, Martha and Mary,

6:31 dispatched a messenger to pursue Jesus to communicate to him of the severity of the crisis of their brother's illness. And they said to him, Lord, behold, he whom you love is sick. And when Jesus got that message, he said, this sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God that the Son of God may be glorified through it. Now, what Jesus is saying here is the purpose of this illness that has befallen Lazarus is not to terminate his life in this world, but he has been visited with this affliction for the glory of God, and that the glory of the Son of God may be made manifest through it.

7:34 Now, it's important for us to understand the relationship of Jesus' words there because in the early days of the Christian church and the debate raged over the deity of Christ, those who resisted the concept of the deity of Christ were those who insisted that to glorify Jesus would be to detract from the glory of God the Father. But the point of the New Testament here and in the epistles is that the Father is glorified through the glory of His Son. Now, again, two ways in which we talk about the glory of God. We glorify God by praising Him, honoring him and all of that. But that's not what John is talking about here. He's talking about the revelation of the majesty of God the Father. The weightiness of his glory is made manifest to the world when the world sees the glory of his Son. So in the glorification of Christ comes the glorification of the Father. And so Jesus explains to His disciples, let's not be worried about this. Lazarus is not sick unto death, but this is for my glory and for the glory of God. Then we read these words. Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus so that when He heard that He was sick, He immediately departed from Jerusalem.

9:12 That's not what it says. It says, so when he heard he was sick, he stayed two more days in the place where he was. Why? I mean, you have to ask, why does he do this? Well, we can figure it out pretty easily. Then after the two days, he said to the disciples, let's go to Judea again. Now, again, the first question is, why didn't Jesus go immediately? As soon as he heard that Lazarus was sick, he waits two more days before he goes. Now, when he gets there, we learn later on that Lazarus had died and he had been dead for four days. Now, that's very significant to this story because this story in the New Testament of all of the miracles of Jesus, though it's difficult to assign a level of drama to the miracles of Christ because they're all dramatic, but surely this one has to rate as one of the most dramatic acts of miracle ever performed by Jesus during his earthly ministry. And Jesus knows very well before he goes that he's going to raise Lazarus from the dead.

10:39 Now remember, when Mary and Martha sent the messenger, Lazarus was still alive. Jesus stays two days, and if Lazarus dies immediately, then it's going to take two more days for Jesus to make the trip back to Jerusalem to account for the four-day interval between the time of Lazarus' death and the time of his resurrection. Again, the significance of this is rooted in some beliefs that were common in antiquity among the rabbis. Among the rabbinic teachings was the idea that when a person died, the person's spirit hovered over the body for three days, and that it was possible at any time during that three-day period that the body could somehow be resuscitated if the spirit returned to it.

11:44 But according to the rabbinic tradition, four days made it absolutely certain that the person had moved beyond all hope of resuscitation. And Jesus is aware that his enemies will do anything to negate the impact of the testimony of his miracles, and so he doesn't rush down to Bethany and raise Lazarus shortly after he expires so that people can say all he did was resuscitate him. He lets enough time pass to make it absolutely certain that what Jesus is about to do is completely contra naturum, completely against nature by raising him from the dead. And so after He had remained, He said to His disciples, let's go to Judea again.

12:46 Now again, there's irony here. The reason why Jesus is coming back to the vicinity of Jerusalem is to raise His friend from the dead. But to do that, Jesus has to put His life on the line. He has to come back from this strategic retreat where He had departed from Jerusalem from the clear and present danger of being executed. Now, risking His execution, He comes straightforwardly back to this area to rescue His friends. And the rest of the disciples pick up on this right away, you know, what are you going to do? We're going to get killed down there. And Thomas, the doubter, is the one who said, let's go. We're ready to die with you. But when the disciples said, look, the Jews were seeking to stone you, you're going to go there again?

13:46 And Jesus said, 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 one walks in the night, he stumbles because the light is not in him. These things he said, and after that he said to them, our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up. The idea being that there are 12 hours in the day, 12 hours in which your tasks can be accomplished before sunset comes and makes it difficult to work in the agrarian culture of that day. Jesus is saying, the night of my soul has not yet come. I still have work to do. The day is not finished, and my ministry to Lazarus is part of that work, and Lazarus now is asleep. And this is unusual because that euphemism for death is almost never found in biblical language, and yet Jesus says, Lazarus is asleep, meaning he's died. But the disciples don't get it. They say, oh, that's good. He's sleeping. That means he's resting well. He's convalescing. He's on the way to recovery. And when Jesus sees that they don't get what he's saying, he speaks plainly. No. Our friend Lazarus is dead.

15:18 and I'm glad. What? My friend Lazarus is dead, and am I glad about that? That's not the normal response to the announcement of the passing of a close friend. Lazarus is dead, and Jesus said, I'm glad, but He qualifies it. I'm glad for your sakes that I was not there. that you may believe. Nevertheless, let us go to Him."

15:54 And so they came and found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now, the text tells us Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away. It's about 1.76 miles away to be exact. And if you've ever been to Bethany, you see that the road from Bethany down the Mount of Olives and over to the old city of Jerusalem is an extremely circuitous path. But as the crow flies, it seems like it's about 75 yards. It seems that far. But the city of Jerusalem is manifest right in front of you when you stand on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, which is just by Bethany. So they're that close to the holy city. And we read that many of the Jews had joined the women around Mary and Martha coming there to join in their mourning for the loss of their brother. And Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went out and met Him as Mary remained in the house. And Martha said to Jesus, Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. Now, how do we interpret this?

17:03 Thank you. is she complaining? Is she rebuking him? Or is it a confession of faith? This is one of those times when you don't have the tones, the inflection of the voices. It may have been a triumphant statement of confidence in Christ the Lord. We know that had you been here, this wouldn't have happened. Or it could have been an accusation. Some friend, you are. Why do you think we sent a message to you? Because I know if you would have been here, this wouldn't have happened.

17:43 I hope that Martha had a greater confidence in Jesus and in the sovereignty of God than to play the game if this wouldn't have happened, this wouldn't have happened. We could do that with every event that transpires in our life. I like to think that she's making a statement of faith, Lord, if You'd have been here, my brother would not have died. But even now, even now, I know that whatever You ask of God, God will do it. So even though He died, Jesus, my confidence in You remains complete, And I know that you are in so much harmony with God that this has to be of God. And Jesus said, your brother will rise again.

18:46 Martha doesn't get it. She said, I know that he'll rise again in the resurrection in the last day. Now remember that the Pharisees believed in resurrection at the end of history, though the Sadducees did not, and that internal debate raged among the people of the day, but Martha had been persuaded of the future resurrection of the people of God. And so when Jesus said, your brother will rise, she takes comfort in that, and she said, yes, I know that my brother will rise again in the last day. That wasn't what Jesus was speaking about. Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. in me is power over death.

19:45 I hold the keys of life and of death. I am the foundation, the power of life itself. And I have the power to raise dead people from the grave. I am the resurrection. I don't just teach the resurrection. I don't just speculate about life after death. I am it. I am the very power of it. Thank you. So, if the one who is the resurrection and who is the life shows up at a funeral, nobody has to wait for the last day because the one who is resurrection and life has arrived.

20:37 And then he says things that are somewhat curious. First, he says, he who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live. That's the first thing. If A, then B. If you believe in me and you die, you'll live again. But then he says something even stronger. He said, whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this, he says? Let me interrupt the discussion between Jesus and Martha and ask you the same question. Do you believe this? I thought it was strange yesterday when the announcement came of the destruction of the space shuttle, and I was watching television, and for hours after hours after hours on the TV station I was watching, there was ongoing commentary, but the same picture kept being showed over and over and over again.

21:48 It was the image of the spacecraft disintegrating and leaving the trail of smoke in the air. And they were talking about how fast the spaceship was moving when it entered into the atmosphere at 200 and some thousand feet above 16 minutes short of touchdown here in central Florida. And I thought, you know, what a catastrophe this is for the families. These people are just instantly. destroyed. And I'm thinking, but are there believers on that plane as quickly as they died? they were in heaven that fast. Because if they were believers, they can't die.

22:45 they can die biologically, but the biological death doesn't disturb in the slightest the continuity of living personal existence. This is what Jesus is saying. If anything, for His glorification and for the Father's glorification, Jesus has to disturb the felicity that Lazarus is enjoying from the moment of his death he has to bring him back to this veil of tears because once a person believes in Christ, as he is saying all along through this gospel, the life of Christ is poured into the soul of that person's zoe life that's far beyond biological life, and that life is eternal. Everyone who is in Christ has already begun their eternal life.

23:52 we're never going to die. We may go through the transition of Thanatos, but not the death that can destroy the life that Christ has given to us. She said to Him, "'Yes, Lord, I believe that.'" Yes, Lord, I do believe that, and I believe that You are the Christ, that You are the Son of God, who is to come into the world. There's no greater confession of faith found anywhere in Scripture than this confession that Martha makes saying, Lord, I believe what You just said, because I believe you're the Christ. I believe you're the Son of God and that you have life and resurrection in yourself.