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Turn with me in your Bibles to 
John's Gospel. We're in John chapter 11. John chapter 11. Our focus this 
morning is going to be on verses 1 to 16, but I do want to read 
the larger context all the way to verse 45. The theme remains 
the same. It is Christ as resurrection 
and the life. So I'll begin reading in chapter 
11 at verse 1. 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 sister sent 
to him saying, Lord, behold, he whom you love is sick. 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 had heard, or when he heard that he was sick, he stayed two 
more days in the place where he was. Then after 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. These things he said. And after 
that he said to them, Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that 
I may wake him up. 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. 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 twin, said to his fellow disciples, 
let us also go that we may die with him. So when Jesus came, 
he found that he had already been in the tomb four days. Now, 
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. Now, Martha, as soon as she heard 
that Jesus was coming, went and met him. But Mary was sitting 
in the house. Now, 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. 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 dies and believes in me shall never die. Do you 
believe this? She said to him, Yes, Lord, I 
believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come 
into the world. And when she had said these things, 
she went her way and secretly called Mary, her sister, saying, 
the teacher has come and is calling for you. As soon as she heard 
that, she rose quickly and came to him. Now Jesus had not yet 
come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met him. 
Then the Jews who were with her in the house and comforting her, 
when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed 
her saying, she's going to the tomb to weep there. Then when 
Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she fell down at his 
feet saying to him, Lord, if you had been here, my brother 
would not have died. Therefore, when Jesus saw her 
weeping and the Jews who came with her weeping, he groaned 
in the spirit and was troubled. And he said, where have you laid 
him? They said to him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, see how he 
loved him. And some of them said, could 
not this man who opened the eyes of the blind also have kept this 
man from dying? Then Jesus, again groaning in 
himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay 
against it. Jesus said, Take away the stone. 
Martha, the sister of him who is dead, said to him, Lord, by 
this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days. 
Jesus said to her, Did I not say to you that if you would 
believe, you would see the glory of God? Then they took away the 
stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus 
lifted up his eyes and said, Father, I thank you that you 
have heard me, and I know that you always hear me. But because 
of the people who are standing by, I said this, that they may 
believe that you sent me. Now, when he had said these things, 
he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he who had died 
came out bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face 
was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, lose him 
and let him go. Then many of the Jews who had 
come to Mary and had seen the things Jesus did believed in 
him. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our 
gracious God and Father, we thank you for this day. We thank you 
for the house of the Lord, for the day of the Lord, and we praise 
you for this opportunity to gather with the people of God. And we 
pray that you would bless this time now as we consider our Lord 
Jesus and the glory of the Son of God who is able to raise dead 
men to life. And we know, Father, this is 
foreshadowing. It points forward to that age 
to come when he will raise all of his people from the dead, 
and we will live in the presence with our great God, body and 
soul forever. Until such time, we pray that 
you would encourage and strengthen our hearts, build us up in our 
most holy faith, and to that end, guide us now by your Holy 
Spirit. Forgive us of all sin and unrighteousness 
and everything that darkens our mind and cause us to see the 
glory of Jesus Christ as clearly revealed in Holy Scripture. And 
we pray this in His most blessed name. Amen. Well, when we look 
at John's Gospel, we see it breaks down into a couple of parts. 
And in the first place, we see the Book of Signs, and that begins 
in chapter 1 at verse 29 and continues to chapter 12 and verse 
50. And then we see the Book of the 
Passion, and that begins in chapter 13 at verse 1 and then continues 
to the end of chapter 20, and then 21 functions as a bit of 
an epilogue or an afterword. Now, with reference to chapters 
11 and 12, it's somewhat transition. He's still engaged in public 
ministry. He doesn't do this in Bethany all on his own. There 
are witnesses, there are persons that see this, but there is this 
transition moving from the Book of Signs to the Book of the Passion. 
and that records his sufferings and his death on behalf of sinners. 
Now, in terms of his signs, we know that he did many in his 
earthly ministry. We know that Matthew, Mark, and 
Luke write as synoptic gospels certain things that John does 
not cover. John covers some seven of them 
for a specific reason. These are written so that you 
may believe that Jesus is the Christ and that believing you 
may have life in his name. So the seven signs that we've 
seen thus far in our study in the book of John, we see the 
changing of water into wine in chapter 2, the healing of the 
noble man's son in chapter 4, the healing of the man at the 
pool of Bethesda in chapter 5, the feeding of the 5,000 in chapter 
6, the walking on the water in chapter 6, and the healing of 
the man born blind in chapter 9. Now, the resurrection of Lazarus 
from the dead is perhaps the most dramatic of those signs. And as we see, this is, as I 
said, typical of what occurs for all of God's people in the 
age to come. It is a display of the glory 
of Jesus, but it also foreshadows what's going to happen for all 
of those who die in Christ. We see that sort of theological 
lesson specifically in verses 25 and 26. The Geneva Bible says 
this, in terms of a comment on the sachet, that says, Christ, 
in restoring the stinking carcass of his friend to life, showeth 
an example both of his mighty power and also of his singular 
goodwill toward men, which is also an image of the resurrection 
to come. So there's a lot of good lessons 
that we learn from this particular section of Holy Scripture. And 
it breaks down into three sections. We'll just take up the first 
this morning. That is the death of Lazarus in verses 1 to 16. 
Secondly, you have the dialogue with Martha in verses 17 to 37. And then finally, the resurrection 
of Lazarus in verses 38 to 45. Essentially, we have the problem. 
and then we have the doctrine that Jesus wants to teach, and 
then we have the resolution in terms of the resurrection of 
this man Lazarus. So let's look at the death of 
Lazarus under three considerations. First, his sickness in verses 
1 to 13. Secondly, the response of the Lord Jesus in verses 4 to 15, and then this 
desire of Thomas expressed in verse 16. Now, Thomas will loom 
large in the narrative later in chapter 14, and then again 
in chapter 20, so he's introduced here in a particular manner. 
But first, with reference to the sickness of Lazarus, look 
at the identification of the family. Verse 1 says, a certain 
man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany. Now this Bethany is distinguished 
from the Bethany in the English versions in chapter 1, verse 
28. The King James Tradition translates 
that as Bethabara, but outside the King James Tradition, you'll 
see it translated there as Bethany. So there's two Bethany's in English 
Bibles that are not in line with the traditional text or with 
the received text. But with reference to this Bethany, 
it was very close to Jerusalem. If you drop down at verse 18, 
you'll see now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away. Some identify chapter 10 verses 
40 to 42 as Bethany. But again, I think in chapter 
1 verse 28, it tells us in that tradition that it's Bethabara. 
So we're dealing with two different places. It's not that he's in 
1040 to 42, only two miles outside of Jerusalem. No, he's quite 
a distance. He's about a day's journey, such 
that when he hears the news concerning Lazarus, he delays two days according 
to verse six. And then by the time he gets 
there, Lazarus has been dead for four days. That wouldn't 
have been the case if he was only two miles away from Bethany. Now, notice this particular family 
tells us that he is Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and 
her sister Martha. Now, with reference to Martha, 
she may have been the oldest in this particular family. Don't 
hold me to that, but in chapter 10 of Luke's gospel, we read 
that a certain woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. Now, the fact that Lazarus, an 
adult man, lives with his two sisters have caused at least 
one to reflect that perhaps he had some sort of a handicap, 
mental or physical. We don't know for sure, but it 
was not the traditional way to live for an adult man to live 
with his adult sisters in a particular city. But it's a city and a people 
that Jesus is familiar with. Jesus loves them, and they know 
that with reference to him. Now, in terms of Mary, notice 
in verse 2, it was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant 
oil and wiped his feet with her hair. That will be recorded in 
chapter 12 of John's Gospel in verses 1 to 8. Remember, his 
purpose is not chronological, it is rather theological. John's 
writing after the fact. So he's able, in chapter 11, 
to identify the person in chapter 12 without any sort of contradiction 
whatsoever. So we've got this family living 
in Bethany. Jesus is familiar with them. 
In fact, Jesus loves them. That is rehearsed throughout 
this particular passage. The author wants us to get that. 
He wants us to understand that. He wants us to know that. And 
so notice what the report is that the sisters send when they 
find their brother said. So verse 3 tells us, "...therefore 
the sisters sent to him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom you love 
is sick." So Jesus gets this particular report. He knows that 
his good friend Lazarus is sick. And now we see the response of 
Jesus. And this is where we'll focus 
the most of our time. And there are three things here 
that we want to spend some time on. First, the reason for the 
sickness in verse 4. Secondly, his plan to go to Judea 
in verses 5 to 10. And then finally, the intention 
of our Lord in verses 11 to 15. But notice with reference to 
his response to this report. It's somewhat similar to chapter 
9 and the man who was born blind. Look at verse 4. It says, Now, 
that presents a bit of an apparent contradiction. If you just read 
the section, you know that Lazarus does die. Lazarus does cross over into 
the land of death. This sickness was in fact unto 
death, but I think our Lord's words indicate he's not being 
removed from the earth. This isn't the final chapter 
relative to this man Lazarus. Later on, he's going to use that 
sort of ambiguous language of sleep. It causes a bit of confusion 
on the part of the disciples. So in verse 4, when he says, 
this sickness is not unto death, he's not negating what he recognizes 
later. He says very clearly, Lazarus 
is dead, and I'm going to go raise him from the dead. But 
this isn't all there is concerning Lazarus. This sickness is not 
unto death in the sense that Lazarus is going to cease to 
be. Now, go back to chapter 9 and verse 3. Chapter 9, verse 3. Well, verses 1 and 2. Now, as 
Jesus passed by, he saw a man who was blind from birth, and 
his disciples asked him, saying, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or 
his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, neither 
this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should 
be revealed in him. In other words, it's not directly 
connected to this man's sin, it's not directly connected to 
his parents' sin, but he is an occasion, he is an event in the 
life and ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ where God may be 
glorified. Lazarus functions in that same 
capacity. He's not just an event, he's 
not just an irrelevance, but the purpose for this physical 
death in Lazarus is to manifest the glory of God. So as much 
as Jesus loves this family, as much as Jesus is committed to 
this family, as much as Jesus is devoted to this family, there 
is something bigger in terms of the life and ministry of Jesus. 
And that is namely the glory of God most high. And I think 
as we move through this passage, we will see dark providence in 
the lives of God's people does not argue for the absence of 
God from his people. In other words, because God loves 
us, it doesn't mean there's no death. Because God loves us, 
it doesn't mean there's no hardship. Because God loves us, it doesn't 
mean there isn't any difficulty. There is certainly and there 
is always those things in the lives of God's people. It doesn't 
mitigate against His love, but rather it is His love that governs 
in that situation to provide the ballast for His suffering 
saints as they move through this lower world. So there is a great 
lesson here for all of us, especially when we drop down to say verses 
5 and 6. But here he makes this declaration, 
the apparent contradiction, Jesus knows that he's going to die, 
the theological resolution or doctrine is in verses 25 and 
26. When he says to Martha, I am the resurrection and the life, 
he who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live. Though 
he may die physically, he shall live. We know for the believer, 
when he dies physically, his spirit departs and is present 
with the Lord. And then in verse 26, and whoever 
lives and believes in me shall never die. Right? You believe 
in Jesus Christ, and again, there's that physical portal, there's 
the grave by which we pass, but we enter into the presence of 
God Most High. So there is a never-dying component 
relative to living in Jesus Christ our Lord. And then notice, with 
reference to verse 4, he says, this sickness is not unto death, 
but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified 
through it. So I'm going to take this horrible 
event, Jesus says, this sickness, the actual physical act of death, 
the cessation of a heartbeat, and I'm going to manifest the 
Father's glory, and I'm going to be glorified in it. Again, 
there's a larger purpose and concern for God's providence 
than just our benefit, and just our blessing, and just our beatitude. Brethren, when you come to the 
Bible, you need to recognize that it's God-centered. It's 
a God-centered document. It's not a man-centered document. 
Ever since Adam sinned, we've tried to read it that way. Ever 
since the entrance of sin into this world, we try to read the 
Bible as focused primarily on us and on our happiness. Now, 
that's a corollary. Jesus came down for us men and 
for our salvation is a reality that the Bible depicts. But when 
you look at Scripture, Paul encapsulates it well in Romans 11. For of 
him, and through him, and to him are all things. To whom be 
glory forever. Amen. The Bible is God-centered, 
and the events that affect us in this world are God-centered. The providence of God is not 
to irritate us, it is not to frustrate us, it is not to cause 
us to throw our hands up and say, well, why does God let these 
horrible things happen to me? But rather, we're supposed to 
respond, whatever my God ordains is right. God moves in a mysterious 
way, his wonders to perform. We know that blind unbelief is 
sure to error, but God is His best interpreter. God reveals 
to us the purposes for the calamities we suffer. And in this particular 
instance, it's all too clear. This sickness is not unto death. This sickness is to manifest 
the glory of my Father and to manifest the glory of the Son. 
And when we ask the question, how does that obtain? One man 
says it well. To glorify the Father's Son is 
to glorify the Son's Father. In this divine and infinite being, 
there are three persons, or three subsistences. The Father, the 
Word, or Son, and the Holy Spirit. To give glory to God Most High 
means to give glory to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Matthew 
Poole says specifically, God is glorified when His Son is 
glorified, and Christ is glorified when His divine power is manifested. 
In other words, the debate and the dispute with the religious 
leaders up to this particular point was the identity of Jesus. It was the authority of Jesus. 
Who does this man think he is? Him being a man making himself 
equal with God. Well, he engages in a God-befitting 
task by calling a man who stunk out of the tomb into his presence. He is displaying, as it were, 
his glory and his power that he has as a result of his connection, 
his intimate relation to his Father. So God is glorified when 
His Son is glorified, and Christ is glorified when His divine 
power is manifested, so as men acknowledge Him to be what indeed 
He is. And the answer, rather the response 
in verse 45, many would come, what do they do? They believe. 
And then they go back and rat him out to the Pharisees, and 
we see that antipathy and that enmity grow and continue in terms 
of the opposition of the religious leadership to our blessed Savior. Now notice the plan to go to 
Judea in verses 5 to 10. So look at verse 5. Now, Jesus 
loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. The sisters knew of 
Jesus' love, and here John reminds us of Jesus' love. And I was 
thinking of Ephesians 3, verses 18 and 19. It's a wonderful thing 
to contemplate that love of Jesus Christ, or to try to comprehend 
what the love of Jesus Christ is that passes knowledge. The 
fact that these sisters knew that Jesus loved their brother, 
And the fact that these sisters knew that Jesus loved them, the 
fact that Mary comes and falls down at her feet argues for a 
previous relationship built on love, esteem, and even worship. 
They recognize something about him. In fact, both sisters said, 
Lord, if you were here, he wouldn't have died. Lord, if you had been 
present, he wouldn't have died. They understood something about 
Jesus. So in the midst of this context, where the religious 
leaders can't and won't see it, the people around do see it. The people around do believe 
on him. The people around do embrace him. The people around 
do confess him as Lord and Savior and as the Messiah of God Most 
High. So the author, the evangelist 
here, tells us, verse 5, and I think he's doing that for us. He's telling us something here 
that we need to understand. So Jesus' love for the family 
is stressed in verse five, but then notice Jesus' providence 
concerning the family in verses six and seven. Verse six tells 
us he delays in going there. Well, what kind of love is that? 
I mean, he has the power, he can throw down the whammy, he 
has the ability to keep this man from death, and yet he tarries, 
he delays, he stays back for two days. It might cause persons 
to say, wait a minute, that doesn't look like love. Isn't love just 
God dripping benevolence upon us all the time? Isn't love when 
we find bags of money? Isn't love when we get job promotions? Isn't love when our kids are 
well-behaved? Isn't it love when all these 
things are going our way? Isn't it love when our team happens 
to win the game? That's the way people think. 
And so John reminds us in verse 5, he loves this family. It sort 
of sets the stage for verse 6, but he waited for two days before 
he would go to see that. Again, contrarily, we would think, 
oh, no, love would mean he'd go right now. He would get on 
the quickest path that he could do. He'd borrow a donkey, get 
a horse, and he would ride into town in Bethany, and he'd have 
the healing in his wings, and he would just lay that out, and 
he would just come and deal with Lazarus in that kindness and 
in that love. So John reminds us in verse five 
that he loves the family, but we see that the Lord delays going 
to see that. Now he's likely dead by the time 
Jesus gets notified, because as I said in verse 17, he's been 
dead for four days. Allow a day for travel, allow 
a bit of distance. So when Jesus gets there, he's 
been dead for four days. Well, the sisters again recognize 
if he hadn't been here, he wouldn't have died. So what can we sort 
of conclude? It was the case that kind of 
let him die. There was this sickness and Jesus 
didn't go heal him. Take that into our own personal 
lives. Take that into our own experience. Take that into the way that we 
live our lives. We think that God's love for 
us means only benefit ever. But that's not what John is telling 
us. So while there's a plan and purpose for Lazarus, while there's 
a plan and purpose for the sisters, while there's a plan and purpose 
for the Jews, there's a plan and purpose for the glory of 
God, there's a plan and purpose for the church of the Lord Jesus 
Christ on the heels of John 11, 5 and 6. The love of Jesus for 
his people does not mean the absence of any death or sickness. 
The love of Jesus for his people governs their sickness and their 
death. We interpret things just the 
opposite. We end up in a hospital bed and 
we conclude, God's upset with us. I better reform my life. Now, he might be and you may 
have to, but that's not necessarily the implication. It may be that 
he wants glory in this particular event. It may be that he's teaching 
you a specific lesson. It may be that he's just displaying 
the government of the world by which he operates. His governing 
of all his creatures and all their actions doesn't always 
play favorably to all his creatures and all their actions. It just 
doesn't. And that's what John is telling 
us in this brief situation. So the providence concerning 
the family, the Lord delays going to see them. Verse 6, if he went 
prior to his death, later he's going to say he was glad that 
he was not there. Well, how do we interpret that? Well, had 
he been there, he might have healed him and prevented the 
sickness from turning into death. But as well, if he had been there 
and he wasn't stinking dead for four days, persons might conclude 
that he wasn't really dead. He was just mostly dead. He wasn't 
fully dead. He was just partially dead. It's 
the way Muslims treat the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. They 
call it the swoon theory. He went into the grave. He went 
into the tomb, not dead. He was mostly dead, but he was 
revived. And then he came back out. And 
then the disciples said, oh, he was raised again from the 
dead. So the gladness of Jesus is probably operative at that 
level. I'm glad that I was not there. I'm glad that he was stinking. I'm glad that he was full of 
stench. I'm glad that I wasn't there. 
Why? We'll see that later. That you 
may believe. What makes Jesus glad? It's when 
people believe on him. It's a beautiful passage of scripture 
in terms of the salvation emphasis as well. So the Lord provides 
a lesson for all his people. The delay and the death of Lazarus 
does not mitigate his love for them. Verse 6 doesn't undo verse 
5. Verse 5, however, governs verse 
6. It's because Jesus loves Lazarus, 
because he loves Martha, and because he loves Mary, that he 
lets it play out in this particular fashion. there are bigger things 
here going on than just Lazarus's physical well-being. Their spiritual 
well-being, their growth in grace, their growth in knowledge, and 
the lesson to the church that the frowning providences of God 
do not mean the absence of the love of God, but the frowning 
providences of God come to us in the context of the love of 
God that is used to bless and strengthen and encourage us in 
the midst of our trials. Poole says again, we must not 
judge of Christ's love to us by his mere external dispensations 
of providence, nor judge that he doth not love us because he 
doth not presently come into our help at our times and in 
such ways and methods as we would think reasonable. Seriously, 
have you ever read this passage and stumbled a little bit at 
verse 6 and said, that's curious, why didn't he go right away? 
I mean, his friend's sick, this man that he loves, he gets word, 
the sisters know, they want to fetch the friend that is able 
to heal him, both sisters having confessed that, and yet he delays 
for two days? That's not the way we want him 
to work, is it? I've got this issue, God. I've 
got this problem, God. I've got this challenge, God. 
And I expect an answer by the end of the day. And if I don't 
get that answer by the end of the day, then I'm gonna kind 
of whine and moan and grumble and complain and say things like, 
he doesn't treat me like one of his sons. He doesn't treat 
me like I'm a child of the king. What king would let his son flourish? 
the flounder rather, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who 
causes all things to work together for good to those who love him, 
to those who are the called according to his purpose. In the context, 
as I've reminded you many times in Romans 8, of course Paul doesn't 
mean all good things work for good. That would be tautological. That means saying the same thing 
over and over again. God causes me finding bags of 
money to work for good. Oh yeah, of course he does. God 
causes job promotions to work. Of course he does. God causes 
death and destruction and oppression and persecution and imprisonment 
and all those sorts of things to work for good to those who 
love him and to those who are the called according to his purpose. 
So if ever you've struggled with Romans chapter 8, look at John 
chapter 11 and see how even horrific things turn out for good in the 
end for those who love God and those who are the called according 
to his purpose. And then notice his announcement 
to go to Judea in verse 7. So verse 6, when he heard that 
he was sick, he stayed two more days in the place where he was. 
Then after this, he said to the disciples, let us go to Judea 
again. And then notice, this is his 
commitment to this particular family. This evokes from the 
disciples an objection. Look at the disciples in verse 
eight. The disciples said to him, Rabbi, lately the Jews sought 
to stone you. And are you going there again? 
That doesn't sound wise, does it? I mean, they may not have 
had the same sort of emphasis on verses 5 and 6 that I presented, 
but certainly verse 7 has challenged them. Let's go to Bethany, and 
let's go two miles away from Jerusalem, and let's go there 
and help our friend Lazarus. But Lord, you realize that they've 
tried to kill you when you've been in Jerusalem. In fact, turn 
back to John chapter 8, specifically at verse 59. Then they took up 
stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the 
temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by. That 
temple was in in Jerusalem. And then over in John chapter 
10, at verse 31, he's in Jerusalem, and according to verse 22 and 
23, it was the feast of dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter, 
and Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. And there, 
of course, he has that exchange, that verbal exchange with the 
religious leaders. It's the good shepherd sort of 
discourse. And then in verse 31, it says, 
then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. And then 
in verse 39, therefore they sought again to seize him, but he escaped 
out of their hand. So listen to the disciples now 
in verse 8. Lord, you want us to go with 
you over to Jerusalem? You want us to go back into Judea? 
Remember, Israel is divided into two sections. You've got Galilee 
in the north. You've got Judea in the south. Judea is where 
Jerusalem is. He is presently in the north. 
He's presently in Bethabara. He's presently on the east side 
of the river Jordan. And so now he says, we're going 
to cross the Jordan. We're going to go back to Judea. But Lord, they're 
going to stone you when you go to Judea. They're going to take 
you out when you go to Judea. You're not a favorite there. 
You're not well received there. They don't have the Jesus welcoming 
committee that's going to meet you outside in Jerusalem and 
give you the key to the city. That's not going to happen. So 
they've got a bit of consternation in their own hearts about this 
particular scheme. So verse 8, the disciples said to him, Rabbi, 
lately the Jews sought to stone you, and are you going there 
again? Now this is where Jesus expresses 
his commitment to the family, expresses his commitment to Mary, 
Martha, and Lazarus. And that commitment to Mary, 
Martha, and Lazarus is ultimately his commitment to God. In other 
words, when Jesus commits or covenants Himself to serve God 
Most High, when Jesus commits Himself or covenants to God the 
Father, guess who benefits as a result of that? We do. They did. And that's the nature 
of His explanation here in verses 9 and 10. It sounds a bit odd. It seems a bit curious to us. 
But look at what He says to them. And this is in response to the 
objection, Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone you. and 
are you going there again? So Jesus answered in verse 9, 
are there not 12 hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, 
he does not stumble because he sees the light of this world. 
I think that Jesus is speaking this way referring to his earthly 
ministry. He knows what waits for him. He knows that he's going 
to die. He knows that that time is coming, but it's not yet. As long as the light is shining, 
as long as the sun is shining, it is the day of ministry. He 
is using this sort of language to sort of tamp down their fear 
about going into Judea. He says, no, it's not time yet. 
It's not the hour yet. This is perfectly acceptable 
that we go and we have dealings with our friends, Lazarus and 
Martha and Mary. He used a similar language later 
in John chapter 12. You can turn there, verse 35. 
A little while longer, the light is with you. Walk while you have 
the light, lest darkness overtake you. He who walks in darkness 
does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe 
in the light that you may become sons of light. As well, you see 
this convention back in chapter 9, a passage that is in some 
sense similar to what we're looking at here. Look at chapter 9, verse 
4. So he's responding to the particular objection of his disciples 
at the announcement that he's going to go into Judea. where in Judea there are those 
who are opposed to him and opposed to such a degree that they want 
to stone him to death. So he's again tamping down their 
fear and assuring them that everything's okay for us to go on this endeavor 
to visit our friend Lazarus. Now this reference to stumbling 
in the night. The one who stumbles at night 
does so because the light is not in him. And I think, again, 
the allusion is to the end of his earthly ministry, when the 
Jews who have no light in them, I think this is a sort of a nod 
to chapter 1, verses 4 and 5, when they take up their particular 
task and put him to death. So basically 9 and 10 is the 
answer to their objection that he goes into Judea. He's saying, 
this is still time for ministry. This is still time for safety. 
The night is coming. I will ultimately be cut off 
by these wretches, but right now that's not gonna happen. 
And then that brings us to his intention in verses 11 to 15. So verse 11, these things he 
said, and after that he said to them, our friend Lazarus sleeps. So it wasn't just Jesus that 
loved this family, but the disciples knew this family as well. So 
he says, our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him. Now we'll see in just a moment 
their confusion. But when John explains as he 
does, he's not explaining their confusion, he's explaining Jesus' 
words for us. Brethren, if you had never heard 
this story, I sort of assume you all have. Most of you, many 
of you have been raised in the church. I'm sure this isn't your 
first rodeo with reference to John chapter 11. I mean, I just 
read the story. We know how it turns out, don't 
we? But none of us, along with those 
disciples, expected Jesus to raise Lazarus from the dead. 
Do we? Again, you do because you've 
had 20, 30, 40 years in a church, you've had Sunday school, you 
had flannel grafts, where you had Lazarus coming out stinking 
like a corpse into the light of day, wrapped with his grave 
clothes, his face covered. You know that. But brethren, 
as John explains here, I don't think he's explaining the disciples' 
confusion. He's explaining Jesus' words. Because none of us, to a man, 
if we had never read this chapter, we had never heard this chapter 
preached, we knew very little about the Lord Jesus Christ, 
none of us would expect that the intention of the Savior was 
to go to Bethany to stand outside of a tomb and then to speak to 
the man inside the tomb, and then lo and behold, the man in 
the tomb come out. It's a mind-blowing thing. It's 
a sign. It's a miracle. It is out of 
the ordinary. Typically and usually, people 
that have been in the grave for four days, they stay there. That's just the law of averages. That's, you know, the statisticians 
would tell us, that's the way it usually proceeds. So John 
is educating the reader, the hearer, with reference to what's 
happening in terms of the dialogue between Jesus and his disciples. But there are things to learn 
from his statement. Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but 
I go that I may wake him up. He manifests his perfections 
here. What does that mean? It means 
that God's Son has perfections or attributes that are the same 
as God the Father. In this divine and infinite being, 
there are three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy 
Spirit. They have the same perfections. They have the same attributes. 
They have the same mind, the same will, the same power. Not 
three gods, one God in three persons. So what perfections 
are manifest? John Gill says, these words respecting 
Lazarus's sleeping and awaking express both the omniscience 
and omnipotence of Christ. His omniscience that he should 
know that Lazarus was dead. What was the report he received 
in verse 3? Therefore the sister sent to 
him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom you love is sick. So Jesus 
in verse 11 says, Our friend Lazarus sleeps, and that he means 
is dead, but I go that I may awake him. How did he know? Was 
there an email? Was there a text? Did the runner 
come? Did somebody on a donkey ride 
up and say, oh, by the way, he's dead? No, it was his omniscience. He says that he should know that 
Lazarus was dead when such a distance from him. And then he says, and 
his omnipotence, that he could raise him from the dead. Again, 
imagine yourself in this situation. Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but 
I go that I may wake him up. Sleep is used in the New Testament 
in two ways. It's used with reference to putting 
your head down at night and getting sleep. It's used that way, but 
it's also used in terms of death. Remember Stephen, when he stoned 
to death, he fell asleep in Jesus. Well, he had just been brutalized 
and battered by big stones from godless men. He died. So sleep 
can be used either way. It can be metaphorical for death, 
or it can be literal for the sleep that you and I have at 
night. Then notice as well, he sleeps, but I go that I may wake 
him up. Augustine, the father, says it 
was in reference to his own power that he spoke of him as sleeping. What does that mean? It means 
the power of Jesus to raise Lazarus from the dead, physical death, 
is akin with us raising up that sleepy-headed kid at, you know, 
o' dark thirty. Get up, it's time for work. Or 
you're a sleepy-headed kid at, you know, nine-thirty, and it's 
time to go to church. Wake up! Not a great exertion 
of power, is it? I mean, you may threaten him 
a little bit. If you're especially, you know, unkind, you might pour 
some cold water on him. There's a whole host of ways 
to wake people up. The point is, is that Jesus uses the metaphor 
to illustrate his power. It's like somebody is sleeping 
physically and I come and I nudge them awake. That's the power 
of the Son of God. How does a dead man obey the 
instruction to leave the grave? Because the one giving the command 
has the power to enable him to comply with that command. So 
Christ understands and knows all too well what He's going 
to do. Now that promotes confusion on 
the part of the disciples. Look at verse 12. Then His disciples 
said, Lord, if He sleeps, He will get well. We've seen that 
over the last couple years. Lots of sickness going around. 
What does sleeping usually indicate? It usually indicates that your 
body's fighting that infection. It's fighting that sickness. 
It's good. You need to get rest. You need 
to take plenty of fluids, and you need to get a lot of rest. 
So as far as the disciples are concerned, if he's just sleeping, 
that's a good sign, Lord. If he's just sleeping physically, 
sleeping off this sickness or illness, if the body is fighting 
the infection, it's a good sign that he sleeps. Now here's where 
John clarifies, again, not for us, because if we were there 
and we didn't know the story, we'd say the same thing. We would 
conclude that, Lord, it's okay that he sleeps, because if he 
sleeps, he's gonna wake up again. That's usually what happens to 
persons when they fall asleep. So verse 13 is clarification 
for us. However, Jesus spoke of his death, 
but they thought that he was speaking about taking rest and 
sleep. We get their confusion, don't 
we? Yes, we understand their confusion. I'm asking you to 
read the text as if you don't know the text, but if you didn't 
know the text, you'd be right there with the disciples. He's 
explaining what Jesus is talking about. He's interpreting Jesus 
for his hearers. He's interpreting Jesus for us 
so that we may feel the full import of what's happening in 
this passage. He is the Son of God. He does 
engage in God-befitting tasks. He has the power to raise men 
from the dead. If we have not appreciated this 
fact yet, this is where the evangelist is pushing us. This is why Martha 
confesses, I believe, that you are the Son of God. What's John's 
purpose in John 20, 30, and 31? To confess that Jesus, or believe 
that Jesus is the Son of God. See, John the evangelist is evangelizing 
in this very passage of scripture. And then notice what we have 
in terms of explanation by our Lord in verses 14 and 15. He 
explains it very clearly according to verse 14. Lazarus is dead. All right, fellas, you haven't 
been tracking, you haven't caught it yet. I'm just gonna tell you 
what's up. Lazarus is dead. He's no longer 
with us. He's no mas. There's no more 
Lazarus. And then notice verse 15. And I am glad? Huh, that's an 
interesting twist on the story, isn't it? I am glad? It could 
sound ghoulish, almost, if we didn't know Jesus and his purpose 
and his intention. If we hadn't heard him express 
what he does in verse 4, we didn't understand that verse 5, love 
governs his dealings with this particular family. So when Jesus 
says, and I am glad, notice what he says, for your sakes that 
I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless, let us 
go to him. Again, if he was present, he 
may have healed him. If he was present, closer to 
his actual death, there would have been that potential for 
confusion that maybe he was just mostly dead, and Jesus is a witch 
doctor. Jesus is simply a magician, which, 
by the way, is how the Talmud treats Jesus Christ. They don't 
confess Jesus as the Messiah of God. They don't confess Jesus 
as the Son of God. They don't rehearse God from 
God, light from light, true God from true God. As far as the 
Talmud is concerned, Jesus was a fake and a sham and a deluder. And if anything, he had magical 
powers. And so they didn't, Jesus doesn't 
want that to be the case. I am glad for your sakes, he 
said, and then notice the target. I am glad for your sakes that 
you may believe. Isn't that interesting? Jesus 
is glad for your sakes that you may believe. There's a type of 
preaching out there, we call it in terms of theological identification, 
hyper-Calvinism. Hyper-Calvinism turns the gladness 
of Jesus right up on its head. Look at what the text says. What 
makes Jesus glad? Ask yourself today, if you're 
an unbeliever, what would make Jesus glad? I know we don't usually 
think like this, and we don't usually ask these sorts of questions, 
but when you have a ball lobbed over the plate like that, you 
take a swing at it. And when Jesus expresses what 
makes Him glad, and the gladness that Jesus expresses is at the 
level of your faith in Him, Does that seem like he's telling you 
to stay far away? Don't ever come to me. Don't 
ever approach me. Don't ever believe on me. Never 
listen to these offers of mercy and grace that come repetitively 
in the scripture. I mean, go from Genesis to Revelation, 
what do you find? A God running from His creation? No, a God running to His creation. When Adam and Eve sin, they run 
into the garden, into the midst of the trees to hide themselves. 
Who comes to fetch them? God. When the men of Babel build 
that temple or build that tower to raise up into the heavens 
and God confounds their lips, how does God respond to that? 
He calls Abram out of the Chaldeans and says, I'm going to make a 
great name out of you. In your seat, all the nations 
of the earth will be blessed. In the fullness of the time, 
God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law. 
Everything in the Bible converges upon you today to believe in 
Him. What makes Jesus glad? He's not 
glad that Lazarus is dead. He's not glad that Martha and 
Mary are sad. His gladness is not in the circumstances 
revolving around the tragedy in this family. His gladness 
is in the blessed effect. It's in the fruit. He knows what 
he's going to do. He knows that he's going to call 
this stinking man out of the grave. And he knows that many 
are going to believe in him. And Jesus says, that makes me 
glad. If in your head God is this distant 
being upon whom no man can approach, that's not the God of the Bible. 
The God of the Bible is the God of Luke 15, who when the prodigal 
was a long way off, the father runs to him, the father falls 
on him, the father kisses him, the father brings him back to 
the house, puts a ring on his finger, and then orders the slaying 
of the fatted calf. The Father says, my son that 
was dead is now alive, my son who was lost is now found. If you've got this concept in 
your head that God sent Jesus into this world to save just 
a tiny handful of people, and they all happen to be connected 
to the same church, that's not Scripture. from every tribe, 
every tongue, every people, and every nation. When you ask the 
question, why is Jesus glad in John chapter 11, that you may 
believe? I'm glad that I was not there 
for your sakes, that you may believe. And then notice he confirms 
his power at the end of verse 15. Nevertheless, let us go, 
look at the last two words there, to him, not to his sisters, not 
to his funeral, but let's go to him. Him that is going to 
come out of that grave stinking. He'll need a shower. He'll need 
a bath. He may need some soup or something, 
but it's going to be Him. Jesus is confident of His power 
every step of the way, and He expresses to His disciples, I'm 
glad that I wasn't there so that you may believe, so that you 
may understand, so that you may come to the living Christ, believing 
on Him and having life in His name. And then notice the desire 
of Thomas in verse 16. He wants to accompany him, and 
that's good. We've got to read this verse 
connected to the other verses, and really connected with chapter 
20. You know, we call him Doubting 
Thomas. We call him doubting Thomas. 
No, he was obstinate Thomas. In John 20, he puts down conditions. The disciples come and they said, 
we have seen the Lord. We have seen the Lord. What does 
Thomas say? No. No, unless my eyes see, unless 
my hands touch, I will not believe. Certainly not will I believe. 
It's a double negative. In English, a double negative 
is a positive. In Greek, a double negative is a double negative. 
It's really not going to happen. Unless I see, I will not. So Thomas here in chapter 11 
seems a bit of a different guy. Thomas is ready to go with Jesus. 
He's ready to die with Jesus. But I think he's tipping his 
hand here in verse 16. While it's commendatory that 
he wants to accompany Jesus, and while it's commendatory that 
he's willing to die with Jesus, there is some unbelief there. 
There is some lack of faith there because Jesus has already assured 
the disciples who were opposed to him going into Judea that 
it's still the light. It's still the day. It's still 
the time for ministry. This should have inculcated in 
them a confidence. But see, Thomas is already resigned 
to the fact they're going to go into Judea this particular 
time, and Jesus is going to die, and they're going to die with 
him. Now, Jesus is going to die when he goes into Jerusalem, 
but that's not what Thomas has in mind at this particular juncture. 
So, Thomas is both commendatory and a bit unbelieving because 
Jesus has already sought to tamp down their lack of faith. Now, 
in conclusion, we see what is one of the primary emphases in 
the passage, the glory of God in the miracle. The glory of 
God in the miracle. That's the purpose according 
to verse 4. That's the nature of this sign or miracle. Again, 
it was to benefit Martha, it was to benefit Mary, it was to 
benefit Lazarus, but there is a bigger thing going on than 
just the benefit of one particular family in the city of Bethany 
in the first century. It is to bring glory to God Most 
High. Remember the Moses and Pharaoh 
narrative? Why does God raise up Pharaoh? God raises up Pharaoh so that 
God could demonstrate His power in the earth. Or what about David 
in the Valley of Elah in 1 Samuel chapter 17? Do you know why that 
passage is not in your Bible? It is not in your Bible to teach 
you how to deal with the giants in your life. It's not in your 
Bible to teach you how to deal with that guy at work that's 
really kind of irritating, or how to deal with the challenges 
faced in this world. Do you know why David beats Goliath 
in the Valley of Elah? so that all the earth and that 
Israel herself will know that there is a God in heaven. You 
see, God's glory is primary. The nature of this healing of 
Lazarus from the dead was to manifest and demonstrate both 
the glory of the father's son and the glory of the son's father. 
as well the priority of God's glory. The love for Christ is 
real, or the love of Christ for the family is real. The gladness 
of Christ for the sake of the disciples is real. There's something 
larger looming over the head of the Messiah, and that is this 
covenant betwixt him and the Father, wherein he does all that 
the Father gives him to do. That's his marching orders. And 
if we understand that properly, his commitment to the Father 
spells benefit for us. Always the case, we benefit. 
And then the demonstration of his glory, his omniscience, according 
to verse 11, and his omnipotence in verses 43 to 44, when he calls 
this stinking man to live. And it demonstrates what Jesus 
says in John 5. After the healing of the man 
in Bethesda, he says, for as the father raises the dead and 
gives life to them, even so the son gives life to whom he will. 
The son engages in God-befitting tasks. He has the self-same power 
as the father. Why? Because in this infinite 
and divine being, there are three persons. They each have the whole 
essence. It's not divided, 33 and a third 
percent between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each has the 
whole essence. The same in power, the same in 
will, the same in excellencies, the same in perfections. As well, 
we see the good of the disciples in the miracle. The good of the 
disciples at two levels. First, physically, temporally. 
Physically and temporally, it's the love of Jesus for that family 
in verse five that governs his delay, that governs the subsequent 
death. He demonstrates in this world 
of hardship and pain, it does not mean that God has abandoned 
you. But in this world of hardship 
and pain, it is that love of God that stabilizes and sees 
you through it. See, we need to read Providence 
correctly and not conclude that when bad things happen to us, 
it must mean that God's abandoned us. That's not the way these 
people express their faith. Now, there's a languishing or 
a despair in terms of the sisters. Lord, if you'd have been here, 
we wouldn't have died. They're believers. They're ones 
that bow to the Lord. So the physical, temporal benefit, 
but the spiritual benefit as well. Verse 45 says, many believed. What are you going to do today 
if you're not a Christian and you've heard what makes Jesus 
glad? What makes Jesus glad is looking unto Jesus. What makes 
Jesus glad is believing on Jesus. What makes Jesus glad is the 
spiritual benefit of sinners who are guilty, vile, and helpless. 
That's a blessed promise that we have in this particular passage. Again, the Geneva Bible points 
forward to the blessing, the good of the disciples in the 
age to come. Christ in restoring the stinking carcass of his friend 
to life, showeth an example both of his mighty power and also 
of his singular good will toward men, which is also an image of 
the resurrection to come. If Jesus is able to do this with 
Lazarus in John chapter 11, he's able to do what he says he's 
going to do in John chapter 5. When he calls to all those who 
are in the graves, when he calls to all men to come out of the 
graves, they're going to come. And some will pass into blessedness 
and to life eternal, and others will pass into condemnation away 
from the presence of God. Those are the two options that 
we have in scripture. There's no third place. There's 
no tertian quid. There's no purgatory. There's 
no limbo. It's either heaven by God's grace 
or it's hell according to God's justice. And if the gladness 
of Jesus is seen in belief, then listen to what Jesus says to 
Martha in John 11 at verse 25. Notice, and we'll end here, I 
am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though 
he may die, shall live. And whoever lives and believes 
in me shall never die. Look at then the next statement. 
Do you believe this? See, brethren, it's not wrong 
to preach that sinners believe the gospel. It's not wrong to 
press sinners to believe the gospel. It's wrong to not do 
that. It's wrong to not extol the grace 
and the mercy and the goodness of God and the salvation of a 
great multitude that no man can number. It's wrong not to press 
the consciences of our young people, to press the consciences 
of our old people, to press the consciences of all people and 
ask them, Do you believe this? See, Jesus gets really personal 
here, doesn't he? He invades upon her space. He 
asks her about her religion. He does what is off-limits in 
Western civilization. You don't talk about politics, 
and you certainly don't talk about religion. Well, unless 
you're Jesus, because he presses this woman concerning her faith. Do you have it, or do you not? 
Now notice how she responds, and this is the way you need 
to respond. She said to him, yes, Lord, I 
believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come 
into the world. That is the confession. That 
is the profession. That is what John designed for 
us in this gospel as a whole. So if you look unto Jesus in 
faith, It's not tyranny and anger and badness and meanness that 
you're going to get from Jesus. It's gladness. It's the Father 
running from the porch to fall on that sinner. And again, the 
Father falling on that sinner is what brings the sinner to 
grace. It's not the sinner who says, 
yeah, you know what, I'm going to go back to my father because 
I've just had this change of heart and I'm going to repent 
and I'm going to believe in him. That's not the way to read the parable 
of the prodigal son. It's the father who seeks him. 
It's the father who finds him. It's the father who saves him. 
It's the father who clothes him with that righteousness of Jesus 
Christ and brings him into the house of feasting. That Jesus 
is the Jesus of John 11 who says, that I am glad for your sakes 
that you may believe. Well, let us pray. Our Father 
in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you for this account 
of the resurrection of Lazarus. We see ultimately it's the doctrine 
of Christ as being the resurrection and the life. We rejoice in your 
goodness to us. We pray that you would bless 
this gospel as it goes forth throughout the earth. We pray 
that many would come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, and 
they would see in him that power to save to the uttermost everyone 
who draws nigh unto God through him. And we pray in Jesus' name, 
amen. We'll close by singing number 
568, the doxology of praise to our triune God. You can stand 
as we sing together. ♪ Face down from whom all blessings 
flow ♪ ♪ Face with all creatures here below ♪ ♪ Face with all 
creatures here below ♪ ♪ His promise loud and holy was 
♪ ♪ Amen ♪ Hope in the Lord for with the 
Lord there is mercy and with him is abundant redemption and 
he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities God we thank you 
for this wonderful day. We thank you for the gospel of 
our salvation Go with us now and cause us to glorify honor 
and praise you and we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Well, 
you may be seated for a brief time of meditation