John 11
Dear leaders,
May the Word of God pierce our hearts, dividing soul and spirit, and discern the thoughts and intentions of our hearts. May the Spirit open our eyes to see the living Word, our Lord Jesus, that as we grow in the knowledge of God, we may draw closer to him in love. Amen.
Learning Points:
1) God's mysterious yet powerful love for us.
2) Jesus has overcome
Background:
1) God's mysterious yet powerful love for us
Read verses: 5 to 6
v5-6 "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."
It is clear that Jesus loved this family. Yet, his actions seemed to contradict this.
God's love is not a pampering love; it is a perfecting one.
God loved his own Son, but permitted him to drink the cup of sorrow and endure his divine wrath upon the cross. We must not think love and suffering to be incompatible. They unite in Jesus.
Read verses 11 to 15
v11-13 The disciples misunderstand Jesus when he says that Lazarus has fallen asleep.
v14-15 "Then Jesus told them plainly, 'Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.'"
v21, 32 Both Martha and Mary believed that Jesus had the power to heal.
So what did Jesus want them to believe? (v15)v25, 42 Who Jesus is. He is the resurrection and the life, the Son of God sent by his Father. Jesus has brought to light what life and immortality are. 2 Timothy 1:8-11
v4, 40 The glory of God.
v4 side note: cf John 9:3
The ultimate result would not be death, but the glory of God.
For the greater purpose of revealing His glory to His people, God allowed temporary pain, the death of Lazarus. The pain, however, might not have seemed temporary or of a small magnitude. Lazarus had been dead for four days when Jesus arrived. (v39)
It is not that Jesus did not care for the people, for Lazarus or his sisters. It is precisely because he loved him that he delayed his arrival that they may see the glory of God.
Further, we see Jesus being deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled when he saw Mary weeping (v34) and wept with her (v35).
"Oh, how many people today ― even Christians ― would murmur at Jesus for callously letting Lazarus die and putting him and Mary and Martha and others through the pain and misery of those days. And if people today saw that this was motivated by Jesus' desire to magnify the glory of God, how many would call this harsh or unloving! What this shows is how far above the glory of God most people value pain-free lives. ... Love is doing whatever you need to do to help people see and savor the glory of God in Christ forever and ever. Love keeps God central. Because the soul was made for God. ... Jesus is the one being for whom self-exaltation is the most loving act. This is because the most satisfying reality we could ever know is Jesus. So to give us that reality, He must give us Himself. ... Divine love labors and suffers to enthrall us with what is infinitely and eternally satisfying: God in Christ. That we might see His glory ― for that He let Lazarus die, and for that He went to the cross.” John Piper, Pierced by the Word
What does this mean for us?
We may not always understand why God allows certain things to happen in our lives, nor can we always see his love for us in every situation. We can, however, still trust in his love for us, for
May the Word of God pierce our hearts, dividing soul and spirit, and discern the thoughts and intentions of our hearts. May the Spirit open our eyes to see the living Word, our Lord Jesus, that as we grow in the knowledge of God, we may draw closer to him in love. Amen.
Learning Points:
1) God's mysterious yet powerful love for us.
2) Jesus has overcome
Background:
1) God's mysterious yet powerful love for us
Read verses: 5 to 6
v5-6 "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."
It is clear that Jesus loved this family. Yet, his actions seemed to contradict this.
God's love is not a pampering love; it is a perfecting one.
God loved his own Son, but permitted him to drink the cup of sorrow and endure his divine wrath upon the cross. We must not think love and suffering to be incompatible. They unite in Jesus.
Read verses 11 to 15
v11-13 The disciples misunderstand Jesus when he says that Lazarus has fallen asleep.
v14-15 "Then Jesus told them plainly, 'Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.'"
v21, 32 Both Martha and Mary believed that Jesus had the power to heal.
So what did Jesus want them to believe? (v15)v25, 42 Who Jesus is. He is the resurrection and the life, the Son of God sent by his Father. Jesus has brought to light what life and immortality are. 2 Timothy 1:8-11
v4, 40 The glory of God.
v4 side note: cf John 9:3
The ultimate result would not be death, but the glory of God.
For the greater purpose of revealing His glory to His people, God allowed temporary pain, the death of Lazarus. The pain, however, might not have seemed temporary or of a small magnitude. Lazarus had been dead for four days when Jesus arrived. (v39)
It is not that Jesus did not care for the people, for Lazarus or his sisters. It is precisely because he loved him that he delayed his arrival that they may see the glory of God.
Further, we see Jesus being deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled when he saw Mary weeping (v34) and wept with her (v35).
"Oh, how many people today ― even Christians ― would murmur at Jesus for callously letting Lazarus die and putting him and Mary and Martha and others through the pain and misery of those days. And if people today saw that this was motivated by Jesus' desire to magnify the glory of God, how many would call this harsh or unloving! What this shows is how far above the glory of God most people value pain-free lives. ... Love is doing whatever you need to do to help people see and savor the glory of God in Christ forever and ever. Love keeps God central. Because the soul was made for God. ... Jesus is the one being for whom self-exaltation is the most loving act. This is because the most satisfying reality we could ever know is Jesus. So to give us that reality, He must give us Himself. ... Divine love labors and suffers to enthrall us with what is infinitely and eternally satisfying: God in Christ. That we might see His glory ― for that He let Lazarus die, and for that He went to the cross.” John Piper, Pierced by the Word
What does this mean for us?
We may not always understand why God allows certain things to happen in our lives, nor can we always see his love for us in every situation. We can, however, still trust in his love for us, for
i) he has declared by his word which is pure (Proverbs 30:5) and everlasting (Psalm 119:89, Isaiah
40:8) that he loves us (Jeremiah 31:3);
ii) he demonstrated and proved his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:6, 8)
We must live by faith and not by sight. We trust that his grace is sufficient for us in our weakness, that the Spirit intercedes for us and helps us in our weakness. When we go through trials, we cling to the Word of God, and look to Jesus. (Hebrews 12)
2) Jesus has overcome
Victory is won
If Jesus Christ can do nothing about death, then whatever else he can do amounts to nothing. "If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied." 1 Corinthians 15:19 But praise be to God! Jesus is risen. Continue reading 1 Corinthians 15:20-32
Hebrews 2:14-18
The fear of death keeps us in bondage throughout our lives, but Jesus has overcome death.
“For do you not know it was from the side of Jesus that Death sucked its death. Jesus did hang upon the cross, and Death thought to get the victory. Aye, but in its victory it destroyed itself. There are three things in Christ that Death never met with before, all of which are fatal to it. There was in Christ innocence. Now; as long as man was innocent, he could not die. Adam lived as long as he was innocent. Now Christ was about to die; but Death sucked in innocent blood; he sucked in his own poison and he died.
Again, blessedness is that which takes away the sting of death. Now Christ, even when he was dying, was "God over all, blessed for ever." All that Death had ever killed before was under the curse; but this man was never by nature under the curse, because for our sakes he was not born into this world a cursed man. He was the seed of woman it is true, but still not of carnal generation. He did come under the curse when he took upon himself our sins, but not for his own sins. He was in himself blessed. Death sucked in blessed blood: he had never done that before—all others have been under the curse—and that slew Death. It was innocence combined with blessedness that was the destruction of Death.
Yet another thing. Death had never met before with any man who had life in himself. But when Death drank Christ's blood it drank life. For his blood is the life of the soul, and is the seed of life eternal. Wheresoever it goeth, doth it not give life to the dead? And Death, finding that it had drunk into its own veins life in the form of Jesus' blood gave up the ghost; and Death itself is dead, for Christ hath destroyed it, by the sacrifice of himself; he hath put it away; he hath said, "Oh death, where is thy sting? oh grave, where is thy victory?" But now, since it was from these very wounds that Death sucked in its own death, and that hell was destroyed; since these were the only weapons of a weaponless Redeemer, he wears and bears them as his trophies in heaven.” Charles Spurgeon,
The Wounds of Jesus
If there is a certain trial or pain that you are struggling with in your life, and it seems difficult or near impossible to go through, dear Christian, look to Christ. His grace is sufficient to save us on the day of Judgment, if we believe in him, and his grace is sufficient for us for this moment. In him we have every hope, because he has the victory over sin and death. Be not tempted to live in defeat, but enter into the triumph of our Lord and Saviour.
ii) he demonstrated and proved his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:6, 8)
We must live by faith and not by sight. We trust that his grace is sufficient for us in our weakness, that the Spirit intercedes for us and helps us in our weakness. When we go through trials, we cling to the Word of God, and look to Jesus. (Hebrews 12)
2) Jesus has overcome
Victory is won
If Jesus Christ can do nothing about death, then whatever else he can do amounts to nothing. "If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied." 1 Corinthians 15:19 But praise be to God! Jesus is risen. Continue reading 1 Corinthians 15:20-32
Hebrews 2:14-18
The fear of death keeps us in bondage throughout our lives, but Jesus has overcome death.
“For do you not know it was from the side of Jesus that Death sucked its death. Jesus did hang upon the cross, and Death thought to get the victory. Aye, but in its victory it destroyed itself. There are three things in Christ that Death never met with before, all of which are fatal to it. There was in Christ innocence. Now; as long as man was innocent, he could not die. Adam lived as long as he was innocent. Now Christ was about to die; but Death sucked in innocent blood; he sucked in his own poison and he died.
Again, blessedness is that which takes away the sting of death. Now Christ, even when he was dying, was "God over all, blessed for ever." All that Death had ever killed before was under the curse; but this man was never by nature under the curse, because for our sakes he was not born into this world a cursed man. He was the seed of woman it is true, but still not of carnal generation. He did come under the curse when he took upon himself our sins, but not for his own sins. He was in himself blessed. Death sucked in blessed blood: he had never done that before—all others have been under the curse—and that slew Death. It was innocence combined with blessedness that was the destruction of Death.
Yet another thing. Death had never met before with any man who had life in himself. But when Death drank Christ's blood it drank life. For his blood is the life of the soul, and is the seed of life eternal. Wheresoever it goeth, doth it not give life to the dead? And Death, finding that it had drunk into its own veins life in the form of Jesus' blood gave up the ghost; and Death itself is dead, for Christ hath destroyed it, by the sacrifice of himself; he hath put it away; he hath said, "Oh death, where is thy sting? oh grave, where is thy victory?" But now, since it was from these very wounds that Death sucked in its own death, and that hell was destroyed; since these were the only weapons of a weaponless Redeemer, he wears and bears them as his trophies in heaven.” Charles Spurgeon,
The Wounds of Jesus
If there is a certain trial or pain that you are struggling with in your life, and it seems difficult or near impossible to go through, dear Christian, look to Christ. His grace is sufficient to save us on the day of Judgment, if we believe in him, and his grace is sufficient for us for this moment. In him we have every hope, because he has the victory over sin and death. Be not tempted to live in defeat, but enter into the triumph of our Lord and Saviour.
“When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:54-58
O death, where is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:54-58
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