1 00:00:06,430 --> 00:00:10,780 Father, again, we we thank you for the hope that only you can 2 00:00:10,790 --> 00:00:13,750 bring. Louie, thank you for chance to 3 00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:14,880 worship. We just pray for Belize. 4 00:00:14,890 --> 00:00:16,680 He brings your message to us today. 5 00:00:16,730 --> 00:00:20,660 Just pray that we would be affected, shaken up and changed 6 00:00:20,670 --> 00:00:22,920 by it LOL. We pray for our Sunday school. 7 00:00:22,930 --> 00:00:26,570 We pray for and the team classes, the kids in the 8 00:00:26,580 --> 00:00:30,200 adolescents go out and we just pray that they would be able to 9 00:00:30,270 --> 00:00:33,120 connect with you, connect through your word in a way 10 00:00:33,130 --> 00:00:36,160 that's as it's presented to them in a way they can, they can 11 00:00:36,230 --> 00:00:38,930 grasp it. We just pray for more people to 12 00:00:38,940 --> 00:00:41,330 be all closer to you this morning. 13 00:00:41,340 --> 00:00:45,550 We pray for the teachers as they as they deliver your truth to 14 00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:48,690 the kids. Lord, we thank you again for the 15 00:00:48,700 --> 00:00:50,550 chance to present our offering to you. 16 00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:53,800 We know it all belongs to you anyway And and we give it to you 17 00:00:53,810 --> 00:00:57,110 as a as a token of our understanding of that. 18 00:00:57,620 --> 00:00:59,880 And thank you for that, Lord dumb. 19 00:01:00,260 --> 00:01:02,210 Thank you for the hope of resurrection. 20 00:01:02,220 --> 00:01:04,310 We pray these things in Jesus name, Amen. 21 00:01:05,470 --> 00:01:08,550 Good morning. If you have a Bible, would you 22 00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:10,330 open with me to the book of John? 23 00:01:10,340 --> 00:01:15,390 We're gonna be in John Chapter 11, John Chapter 11. 24 00:01:15,800 --> 00:01:20,350 Well, we are continuing our series going through the 25 00:01:20,360 --> 00:01:25,150 different I M statements that Jesus makes in the book of John. 26 00:01:25,480 --> 00:01:28,430 And as followers of Christ, Christians, literally followers 27 00:01:28,440 --> 00:01:31,670 of Christ, it's very worthwhile for us to take some time to step 28 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:34,340 back and ask the question, who is Jesus? 29 00:01:35,410 --> 00:01:39,700 Who is this man Christ that we follow that we put so much of 30 00:01:39,710 --> 00:01:44,280 our identity and as Christians and the beauty is Christ has 31 00:01:44,290 --> 00:01:46,700 made himself known and the word of God. 32 00:01:46,710 --> 00:01:49,080 And especially in the book of John, there's these seven 33 00:01:49,090 --> 00:01:52,980 incredible statements where at different times Jesus makes this 34 00:01:52,990 --> 00:01:57,650 claim about himself, about who he is, which sees I am this, 35 00:01:57,660 --> 00:02:00,530 this, this. And we've come to one of these 36 00:02:00,540 --> 00:02:04,580 incredible statements in John Chapter 11, where Jesus makes 37 00:02:04,590 --> 00:02:07,550 this claim about who he is. And before we start, I wanna 38 00:02:07,560 --> 00:02:11,770 compare two different quotes with you just to get us thinking 39 00:02:11,780 --> 00:02:13,830 as we come to it. Two different quotes, very 40 00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:17,080 different. First one's from DL Moody. 41 00:02:17,090 --> 00:02:18,900 He was an evangelist in the 1800s. 42 00:02:18,910 --> 00:02:21,130 Very well known Christian. He says this. 43 00:02:21,870 --> 00:02:25,890 Someday you will read in the papers that DL Moody of East 44 00:02:25,900 --> 00:02:29,650 Northfield is dead. Don't you believe a word of it. 45 00:02:29,960 --> 00:02:33,380 At that moment, I shall be more alive than I am now. 46 00:02:34,820 --> 00:02:38,810 That's a cool perspective. Another quote, a very different 47 00:02:38,820 --> 00:02:41,470 one, from scientist Stephen Hawking. 48 00:02:41,780 --> 00:02:44,970 I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its 49 00:02:44,980 --> 00:02:48,550 components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife 50 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:54,610 for broken down computers. Here we have two incredibly 51 00:02:54,620 --> 00:03:00,440 different perspectives on death. And I think when you look at the 52 00:03:00,450 --> 00:03:04,110 statistics, you could find that people in the world at go 53 00:03:04,120 --> 00:03:06,900 anywhere between that spectrum on the way that they view death, 54 00:03:06,910 --> 00:03:09,060 the way they view life after death. 55 00:03:10,390 --> 00:03:12,320 And I bring this up because today we're going to focus on 56 00:03:12,330 --> 00:03:17,980 this incredible statement from Jesus where he sees this I am 57 00:03:18,170 --> 00:03:23,470 the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though 58 00:03:23,480 --> 00:03:28,700 he die, yet shall he live. And everyone who lives and 59 00:03:28,710 --> 00:03:36,410 believes in me will never die in a world that we are in, 60 00:03:37,080 --> 00:03:43,090 surrounded by death, where so many of us experience the sting 61 00:03:43,100 --> 00:03:47,820 of death, we don't know how to view death or life after death. 62 00:03:48,210 --> 00:03:52,750 So many perspectives on it here. Jesus says, making an exclusive 63 00:03:52,760 --> 00:03:57,040 claim. I claim that there's only true 64 00:03:57,050 --> 00:04:02,230 for him where he sees I alone have power over death. 65 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:06,550 I am the resurrection and the life. 66 00:04:08,770 --> 00:04:12,730 Jesus alone has power over death. 67 00:04:12,740 --> 00:04:15,690 And the context in which Jesus makes this statement is the 68 00:04:15,700 --> 00:04:18,149 story we're gonna look at this morning in John Chapter 11, 69 00:04:18,290 --> 00:04:22,580 where Jesus raises a friend, a dear friend named Lazarus, from 70 00:04:22,590 --> 00:04:25,650 the dead. And really, what it shows us is 71 00:04:25,660 --> 00:04:30,130 Jesus interacting with death. How does Jesus interact with 72 00:04:30,140 --> 00:04:33,680 death? And I think we may be surprised 73 00:04:35,510 --> 00:04:39,040 as we see him sit with this family that he loves and their 74 00:04:39,050 --> 00:04:42,200 grief. But in the midst of this, he 75 00:04:42,210 --> 00:04:47,990 brings in this message of hope that Jesus alone has power over 76 00:04:48,710 --> 00:04:52,230 teeth. And I'm even aware in this room, 77 00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:55,180 as we come to this passage, there are many different people 78 00:04:55,190 --> 00:04:58,060 with many different experiences around death. 79 00:04:58,930 --> 00:05:01,000 It's a huge topic. It's a weighty topic. 80 00:05:02,350 --> 00:05:06,540 My heart this morning is to not give Billy's top 10 tips on how 81 00:05:06,550 --> 00:05:08,820 to deal with death. I just want to come to this 82 00:05:08,830 --> 00:05:11,360 passage and ask the question, how did Jesus deal with death? 83 00:05:12,780 --> 00:05:17,570 How did Jesus interact with the family, a man who he loves, who 84 00:05:17,580 --> 00:05:19,610 died? So let's come to this passage 85 00:05:19,620 --> 00:05:21,990 together. Let's read verses one through 3. 86 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:24,410 It's gonna kind of set the scene for us in John Chapter 11. 87 00:05:25,410 --> 00:05:30,610 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village 88 00:05:30,620 --> 00:05:34,570 of Mary, and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the 89 00:05:34,580 --> 00:05:37,120 Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose 90 00:05:37,130 --> 00:05:40,340 brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him 91 00:05:40,350 --> 00:05:43,850 saying, Lord, he whom you love is ill. 92 00:05:44,530 --> 00:05:48,020 So here we see we have Jesus with a family that he knows and 93 00:05:48,030 --> 00:05:51,660 and he loves Mary and Martha. They're well known for other 94 00:05:51,670 --> 00:05:54,240 accounts, especially in in Luke chapter 10 if you want to learn 95 00:05:54,250 --> 00:05:56,280 more about them. But this is a family who Jesus 96 00:05:56,290 --> 00:05:59,140 knows well who he loves. And we can even learn when they 97 00:05:59,150 --> 00:06:01,340 send word, they find out Lazarus's L. 98 00:06:01,450 --> 00:06:03,600 This gives the idea it's not just a sniffly nose. 99 00:06:03,610 --> 00:06:05,930 He is he is very ill leading to death. 100 00:06:05,940 --> 00:06:09,100 And so they send word to Jesus, hoping maybe Jesus can do 101 00:06:09,110 --> 00:06:11,940 something. And they identify Lazarus by 102 00:06:11,950 --> 00:06:14,670 simply saying the one whom you love. 103 00:06:16,030 --> 00:06:18,740 It's clear Jesus has got this intimate relationship with this 104 00:06:18,750 --> 00:06:19,930 family. How many people are there that 105 00:06:19,940 --> 00:06:23,250 you can say the one whom you love and you go, OK sweet, the 106 00:06:23,260 --> 00:06:26,120 one whom you love as El Jesus love this family. 107 00:06:28,030 --> 00:06:30,880 So this, this, the seeding of this Jesus is not with them. 108 00:06:30,890 --> 00:06:36,150 They are in Bethany and Jesus sees this and verse 4 when Jesus 109 00:06:36,160 --> 00:06:40,180 heard it, he said this illness does not lead to death. 110 00:06:41,300 --> 00:06:43,770 Now this is a strange statement because we know it does lead to 111 00:06:43,780 --> 00:06:45,150 death. I think Jesus is more saying 112 00:06:45,160 --> 00:06:47,650 this does not end in death. It may go through death, but it 113 00:06:47,660 --> 00:06:51,250 will not end in death. And then he makes this 114 00:06:51,260 --> 00:06:54,650 statement, which is gonna really give us the purpose of this 115 00:06:54,660 --> 00:06:57,310 miracle, the purpose, the purpose of this passage. 116 00:06:58,130 --> 00:07:01,390 Four times throughout John 11, Jesus is gonna make clear what 117 00:07:01,400 --> 00:07:05,450 the purpose of this miracle is. And this is the first time he 118 00:07:05,460 --> 00:07:09,830 sees this. It is for the glory of God so 119 00:07:09,840 --> 00:07:14,280 that the Son of God may be glorified through it. 120 00:07:16,840 --> 00:07:20,010 That would glorify there. It it doesn't so much mean the 121 00:07:20,020 --> 00:07:24,550 idea that we would glorify God. We would give glory to God. 122 00:07:24,560 --> 00:07:26,870 And the way that that's used and the way that's used in the book 123 00:07:26,880 --> 00:07:30,770 of John, it's more the idea of that the glory of the sun might 124 00:07:30,780 --> 00:07:34,510 be revealed. So Jesus is saying this miracle 125 00:07:34,520 --> 00:07:37,890 is happening so that people may see my glory. 126 00:07:37,940 --> 00:07:39,930 It might reveal. It's almost taking back the 127 00:07:39,940 --> 00:07:42,640 layers and show people who I really AM. 128 00:07:43,910 --> 00:07:46,850 And so the purpose of this miracle, first and foremost, is 129 00:07:46,860 --> 00:07:51,970 that we and those around Jesus might see who he is, might get 130 00:07:51,980 --> 00:07:55,170 an idea of of who this man Jesus is. 131 00:07:57,350 --> 00:07:59,500 So this happens so we can see Jesus. 132 00:07:59,510 --> 00:08:01,680 And secondly, we're gonna see throughout this passage, it 133 00:08:01,690 --> 00:08:04,710 happens not only that we can see Him, but that we can believe 134 00:08:04,720 --> 00:08:08,960 Him. Verse 15 He says this to his 135 00:08:08,970 --> 00:08:11,510 disciples after Lazarus has died. 136 00:08:11,520 --> 00:08:15,690 He says I'm glad I am not there so that you may believe. 137 00:08:16,930 --> 00:08:22,360 Verse 26 he sees to Martha, do you believe this in in verse 42 138 00:08:22,370 --> 00:08:25,220 when he's praying to the Father before he raises Lazarus in 139 00:08:25,230 --> 00:08:28,400 front of everyone around him. He says this has happened so 140 00:08:28,410 --> 00:08:33,950 that they may believe. So even as we come to this, the 141 00:08:33,960 --> 00:08:36,890 purpose of this miracle, the purpose of this passage is so 142 00:08:36,900 --> 00:08:41,730 that we can firstly see Christ for who he really is, who is 143 00:08:41,740 --> 00:08:44,030 Christ? Christ is the one who has power 144 00:08:44,039 --> 00:08:48,610 over death, and it has happened so that we can actually truly 145 00:08:48,620 --> 00:08:52,990 believe who He is. That's not just for unbelievers. 146 00:08:53,220 --> 00:08:56,470 He says that to his disciples in verse 15, the ones who are very 147 00:08:56,520 --> 00:08:58,850 close to him. He says this is happening so 148 00:08:58,860 --> 00:09:00,850 that you can actually believe who I am. 149 00:09:04,290 --> 00:09:07,530 So we may see Jesus and we may believe Him. 150 00:09:08,950 --> 00:09:13,940 And that context is important as we come to verses 5 and 6 sees 151 00:09:13,950 --> 00:09:18,970 this now. Jesus loved Martha and her 152 00:09:18,980 --> 00:09:25,400 sister and Lazarus, so when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he 153 00:09:25,410 --> 00:09:29,920 stayed two days longer in the place where he was. 154 00:09:32,310 --> 00:09:36,500 Now that's peculiar. You could imagine if there was 155 00:09:36,510 --> 00:09:40,760 someone who you loved, who was ill, who was unwell, who was 156 00:09:40,770 --> 00:09:42,930 near death and was something that you could do. 157 00:09:43,760 --> 00:09:46,950 Anything you could do, you would hightail it to get there. 158 00:09:48,750 --> 00:09:51,540 You picture, I picture this what I want to see, the slow motion 159 00:09:51,550 --> 00:09:53,820 scene of Jesus pushing through crowds of people. 160 00:09:53,890 --> 00:09:56,020 I've gotta get to Bethany. I've gotta save Lazarus. 161 00:09:56,850 --> 00:10:00,760 But now when Jesus finds out and it it's, it's strange. 162 00:10:00,770 --> 00:10:02,590 It says right after he loved them. 163 00:10:02,600 --> 00:10:05,210 So because he loved them, he stayed. 164 00:10:09,620 --> 00:10:11,720 Why? Why did he stay? 165 00:10:12,690 --> 00:10:15,190 Well, I think first and foremost we need to understand that the 166 00:10:15,200 --> 00:10:17,880 whole purpose of this miracle, as we just spoke about, was, was 167 00:10:17,890 --> 00:10:21,140 Jesus Christ being glorified, being made known. 168 00:10:21,150 --> 00:10:25,190 So everything is coming through the lens of Jesus being made 169 00:10:25,200 --> 00:10:30,140 known and Jesus being glorified. We're gonna see where Jesus is 170 00:10:30,150 --> 00:10:32,360 right now. We we see in John chapter 10, he 171 00:10:32,370 --> 00:10:33,680 is on the other side of the Jordan. 172 00:10:33,690 --> 00:10:38,580 He's about a 3 1/2 day walk away from Bethany where Lazarus and 173 00:10:38,590 --> 00:10:43,690 his family is and we find out after two days Jesus decides to 174 00:10:43,700 --> 00:10:49,050 go and see Lazarus and verse 11 he says to his disciples Lazarus 175 00:10:49,060 --> 00:10:51,830 has fallen asleep and he sees it clearer. 176 00:10:51,840 --> 00:10:54,850 In verse 14 he says to them, Lazarus has died. 177 00:10:55,640 --> 00:10:59,850 So two days after Jesus gets this message, he says, OK, let's 178 00:10:59,860 --> 00:11:01,830 go. And and he he's supernaturally 179 00:11:01,880 --> 00:11:04,310 known that Lazarus at that point had died. 180 00:11:05,720 --> 00:11:08,930 The point I'm making is this, if Jesus had, as soon as Jesus 181 00:11:08,940 --> 00:11:12,230 received the message, if he left then and then went to Bethany, 182 00:11:12,280 --> 00:11:14,880 Lazarus would have already been died 2 days. 183 00:11:17,280 --> 00:11:21,290 So why the delay? The delay is for the glory of 184 00:11:21,300 --> 00:11:22,990 God. But you ask, what's the 185 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:26,320 difference between someone being dead 2 days and four days? 186 00:11:27,710 --> 00:11:30,200 A very common Jewish tradition at the time. 187 00:11:30,290 --> 00:11:32,990 It's not biblically true, but this is a Jewish tradition at 188 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:35,660 the time. Was that when someone died, this 189 00:11:35,670 --> 00:11:40,520 spirit would hover over their body for the first for first 190 00:11:40,530 --> 00:11:46,540 three days and then when the decomposition sit in and the 191 00:11:46,550 --> 00:11:49,270 spirit no longer recognise the body, the spirit would leave and 192 00:11:49,280 --> 00:11:52,520 the person was seen as completely ultimately did. 193 00:11:54,420 --> 00:11:58,440 And so when Jesus shows up and we see from verse 17 when Jesus 194 00:11:58,450 --> 00:12:01,650 shows up, Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 195 00:12:01,660 --> 00:12:07,200 They buried on the first day. There was absolutely no doubt 196 00:12:07,810 --> 00:12:12,000 that Lazarus was dead. There was no doubt no one could. 197 00:12:12,070 --> 00:12:14,580 If Jesus went and raised him, there were no sceptics who could 198 00:12:14,590 --> 00:12:18,590 come and say ohh no no, the Spirit was just hovering over 199 00:12:18,600 --> 00:12:22,720 the body on no no no, he wasn't really did. 200 00:12:23,060 --> 00:12:25,100 A Lazarus was in the tomb four days. 201 00:12:25,110 --> 00:12:32,500 He was undoubtedly dead, and so Jesus and his love for Mary and 202 00:12:32,510 --> 00:12:36,670 Martha and for the purpose of his glory, Jesus delayed. 203 00:12:39,980 --> 00:12:42,950 That's why he says to his disciples in verse 15. 204 00:12:42,960 --> 00:12:46,300 He says Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I'm glad I wasn't 205 00:12:46,310 --> 00:12:54,170 there so that you may believe. Often the purposes of God in the 206 00:12:54,180 --> 00:13:00,310 moment make very little sense. It's very easy to look at our 207 00:13:00,320 --> 00:13:03,450 situation in the moment and go, What? 208 00:13:03,460 --> 00:13:06,110 What is going on here? God, what are you doing? 209 00:13:06,120 --> 00:13:08,810 It makes no real logical sense for Jesus to hear that his 210 00:13:08,820 --> 00:13:16,380 friend is sick and to delay. If you came into our house last 211 00:13:16,390 --> 00:13:18,810 night at dinner time, you would have found me having a standoff 212 00:13:18,820 --> 00:13:21,610 with our 18 month old who was determined he was not gonna eat 213 00:13:21,620 --> 00:13:27,560 his dinner and for him, he just wants to play. 214 00:13:27,570 --> 00:13:32,170 I just wanna go play. But for me as a dad, I know you 215 00:13:32,180 --> 00:13:34,280 need to eat. You need to get some food in 216 00:13:34,290 --> 00:13:38,760 you. Often we just we just go gold. 217 00:13:38,770 --> 00:13:41,500 What is going on here? I don't you know that I need 218 00:13:41,510 --> 00:13:43,800 this. Don't you know I need this now? 219 00:13:45,790 --> 00:13:47,380 We don't know the purposes of God. 220 00:13:49,200 --> 00:13:56,790 Out of his love, Jesus delayed. And so let's keep moving through 221 00:13:56,800 --> 00:14:01,530 the narrative. Verse 17 Jesus comes to Bethany. 222 00:14:01,580 --> 00:14:05,490 Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in 223 00:14:05,500 --> 00:14:09,980 the tomb for days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, 224 00:14:09,990 --> 00:14:13,620 about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and 225 00:14:13,630 --> 00:14:17,000 Mary to console them concerning their brother. 226 00:14:18,440 --> 00:14:21,120 This is quite a common custom, just to get an idea of what 227 00:14:21,130 --> 00:14:24,880 Jesus is walking into here. Often in the Jewish culture, 228 00:14:24,890 --> 00:14:28,390 when a family member would die, common custom would be that you 229 00:14:28,400 --> 00:14:32,000 would actually hire mourners to come to your family, and it's 230 00:14:32,010 --> 00:14:34,530 seen as a way of honouring the one who had died. 231 00:14:35,580 --> 00:14:38,000 And they're not necessarily coming together, just having a 232 00:14:38,010 --> 00:14:41,920 yarn, having some meals. They are whaling. 233 00:14:43,480 --> 00:14:47,240 They are literally paid to come and and wail and mourn with the 234 00:14:47,250 --> 00:14:48,850 family. And it's seen that the more you 235 00:14:48,860 --> 00:14:50,870 are wailing, the more you are mourning, the more it's 236 00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:54,130 honouring the one who has died. And so that's why it says people 237 00:14:54,140 --> 00:14:57,330 have come from Jerusalem to come and and mourn and wail with the 238 00:14:57,340 --> 00:15:01,290 family that be playing sad music with the flute. 239 00:15:03,380 --> 00:15:05,510 But essentially what you're looking at is just a desperately 240 00:15:05,520 --> 00:15:10,040 sad situation and put yourself in the shoes of Mary and Martha, 241 00:15:10,050 --> 00:15:12,300 who have just lost their brother. 242 00:15:12,850 --> 00:15:18,060 They are sad. They are confused and we're 243 00:15:18,070 --> 00:15:20,190 gonna read this interaction that Jesus is going to have with 244 00:15:20,200 --> 00:15:22,490 Martha when Jesus arrives in Bethany. 245 00:15:22,500 --> 00:15:24,930 And I just want you to remember, this is not Jesus interacting 246 00:15:24,940 --> 00:15:27,270 with strangers. This is Jesus interacting with a 247 00:15:27,280 --> 00:15:31,850 family that he loves over the death of a friend that he loves. 248 00:15:34,830 --> 00:15:40,140 1st 20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out 249 00:15:40,150 --> 00:15:43,280 and met him, but Meri remained seated in the house. 250 00:15:44,680 --> 00:15:49,150 Martha said to Jesus, Lord, if you had been here, my brother 251 00:15:49,160 --> 00:15:54,390 would not have died. But even now I know that 252 00:15:54,400 --> 00:15:57,980 whatever you ask from God, God will give you. 253 00:16:01,760 --> 00:16:04,130 That's a heart breaking statement. 254 00:16:05,450 --> 00:16:08,090 Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 255 00:16:09,870 --> 00:16:13,360 And it would be easier, I guess, to read that cynically, like 256 00:16:13,370 --> 00:16:15,340 that was seed with some sense of anger. 257 00:16:16,150 --> 00:16:19,250 Lord, if you'd been here, my brother would not have died. 258 00:16:21,090 --> 00:16:24,320 I think more of this is said from from a a sister who is in 259 00:16:24,370 --> 00:16:27,900 grief, and I think it's kind of confirmed in verse 22 because 260 00:16:27,910 --> 00:16:29,880 she ceased to Jesus. I know whatever you ask from 261 00:16:29,890 --> 00:16:32,800 God, God will give you. She's saying, I still believe 262 00:16:32,810 --> 00:16:34,910 that you are who you say you are. 263 00:16:34,920 --> 00:16:38,700 She may not quite understand why Jesus chose to delay, why Jesus 264 00:16:38,710 --> 00:16:42,540 didn't heal Lazarus, but she still has this faith in who 265 00:16:42,550 --> 00:16:44,200 Jesus is. She knows that Jesus could have 266 00:16:44,210 --> 00:16:48,810 saved him, but he chose not to. I don't think she's saying 267 00:16:48,820 --> 00:16:50,970 there, I know that you can raise them from the dead. 268 00:16:51,400 --> 00:16:54,750 I think we'll see as we go through this passage that that 269 00:16:54,760 --> 00:16:57,130 was not really in Martha's mind at all. 270 00:16:57,330 --> 00:17:00,280 The thought of that was pretty shocking, but she sang. 271 00:17:00,290 --> 00:17:06,020 I still trust in who you are. And so Jesus replies. 272 00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:12,720 Jesus said to her, Your brother will rise again. 273 00:17:14,589 --> 00:17:17,220 Martha said to him, I know he will rise again and the 274 00:17:17,230 --> 00:17:24,089 resurrection on the last day, Jesus is your brother will rise 275 00:17:24,099 --> 00:17:27,220 again. I mean, we read this knowing 276 00:17:27,230 --> 00:17:30,290 what's gonna happen, and we assume that Jesus Masters meant 277 00:17:30,300 --> 00:17:33,040 to understand that he's saying I'm about to raise your brother 278 00:17:33,050 --> 00:17:38,800 from the dead. Most Jews had a pretty similar 279 00:17:38,810 --> 00:17:41,820 understanding that we do. At least, it seems Martha did. 280 00:17:43,520 --> 00:17:47,300 There's this hope of this future resurrection, she says. 281 00:17:47,310 --> 00:17:49,020 I know. And this is the way we often 282 00:17:49,030 --> 00:17:50,960 comfort people. When someone dies, we said, they 283 00:17:50,970 --> 00:17:54,440 will rise again on the last day. And that's what Jesus is saying 284 00:17:54,450 --> 00:17:56,180 to Martha. And Martha sees, I know that she 285 00:17:56,190 --> 00:17:59,370 will, that he will rise on the last day. 286 00:18:02,560 --> 00:18:05,490 This is good theology from Martha. 287 00:18:06,820 --> 00:18:11,490 I think Jesus is purposely being ambiguous here because what he's 288 00:18:11,500 --> 00:18:14,800 about to do in verse 25 is he's gonna take this, this Jewish 289 00:18:14,810 --> 00:18:17,660 understanding of the resurrection, this theological 290 00:18:17,670 --> 00:18:22,690 truth, which means the truth about God, and he's gonna apply 291 00:18:22,700 --> 00:18:26,000 it to himself. He's gonna take it from being 292 00:18:26,010 --> 00:18:28,930 this abstract thing that we we believe and we have and our 293 00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:32,460 theological books and he's gonna say no, no, no, look at me, 294 00:18:36,700 --> 00:18:38,410 Mother says, I know he will rise. 295 00:18:38,460 --> 00:18:43,020 And the resurrection on the last day, Jesus said to her, I am the 296 00:18:43,030 --> 00:18:48,730 resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though 297 00:18:48,740 --> 00:18:53,220 he die, yet shall he live. And everyone who lives and 298 00:18:53,230 --> 00:19:01,870 believes in me shall never die. You know, Mary, this this, 299 00:19:01,940 --> 00:19:04,310 Martha that, that, this resurrection that you're hoping 300 00:19:04,320 --> 00:19:10,090 for, this belief that you have, I am the source of that 301 00:19:10,100 --> 00:19:13,040 resurrection. I am the source of that hope. 302 00:19:16,490 --> 00:19:18,680 He's saying two things here. He's saying firstly I am the 303 00:19:18,730 --> 00:19:21,400 resurrection and then I am the life. 304 00:19:22,050 --> 00:19:24,160 And I think he explains them one after another. 305 00:19:24,900 --> 00:19:28,050 I am the resurrection. Whoever believes in me, though 306 00:19:28,060 --> 00:19:33,170 he die, yet shall he live. So whoever believes in Christ, 307 00:19:33,180 --> 00:19:36,340 though, though our bodies will die, we will be raised and we 308 00:19:36,350 --> 00:19:38,700 will live with Christ, we will be resurrected. 309 00:19:38,770 --> 00:19:41,250 I am the resurrection. I am the life. 310 00:19:42,280 --> 00:19:46,250 Everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. 311 00:19:46,320 --> 00:19:49,830 That's Speaking of eternal life. So in Christ we are resurrected. 312 00:19:50,420 --> 00:19:54,630 Though we die, we live in that life that we live as eternal. 313 00:19:54,700 --> 00:19:58,830 We will never die. That's the hope that's found in 314 00:19:58,840 --> 00:20:02,360 Christ and Christ is saying I am the the source of that and he's 315 00:20:02,370 --> 00:20:04,210 saying this. This is an exclusive claim. 316 00:20:04,220 --> 00:20:06,250 It's not found in in anyone else. 317 00:20:07,900 --> 00:20:12,040 No one else is the resurrection and the life. 318 00:20:14,970 --> 00:20:18,420 We, we compared those quotes at the start, those two vastly 319 00:20:18,430 --> 00:20:21,950 different perspectives on death. Well, if we're taking Jesus at 320 00:20:21,960 --> 00:20:24,870 his word here, what he's saying is the only way to have any sort 321 00:20:24,880 --> 00:20:31,250 of hope and death is to believe in Jesus Christ. 322 00:20:33,380 --> 00:20:38,100 It's not to try and get ourselves there by what we do. 323 00:20:38,200 --> 00:20:40,940 It is exclusive. I am the resurrection and the 324 00:20:40,950 --> 00:20:43,270 life and and what, what, what, what do we have to do? 325 00:20:43,340 --> 00:20:47,350 Believe anyone who believes in me. 326 00:20:53,040 --> 00:20:55,520 And I had to look at some statistics this week and it's 327 00:20:55,530 --> 00:20:58,220 it's pretty scary to see the percentage of people who believe 328 00:20:58,230 --> 00:21:01,310 in some form of afterlife, they believe in some sort of hope 329 00:21:01,320 --> 00:21:03,090 after death. But then you compare that with 330 00:21:03,100 --> 00:21:05,620 the percentage of people who call themselves Christian. 331 00:21:05,630 --> 00:21:08,480 And I'm sure that those numbers are conflated as well. 332 00:21:09,960 --> 00:21:14,570 And it is heart breaking because what Jesus says here is the only 333 00:21:14,580 --> 00:21:19,970 way to have hope, power over death is through belief in Jesus 334 00:21:19,980 --> 00:21:25,040 Christ. Jesus alone has power over 335 00:21:25,050 --> 00:21:26,420 death. And then he asked the question 336 00:21:26,430 --> 00:21:30,260 to Martha, which is really a question for all of us at the 337 00:21:30,270 --> 00:21:35,750 end of verse 26. Do you believe more than just a 338 00:21:36,790 --> 00:21:41,080 as a theological concept? Do we truly believe this? 339 00:21:43,480 --> 00:21:45,470 Martha says she does. Verse 27. 340 00:21:45,480 --> 00:21:49,790 She said to him, yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, 341 00:21:49,860 --> 00:21:52,460 the Son of God who was coming into the world. 342 00:21:55,130 --> 00:21:58,040 And again, this is not to say that Martha said, yes, I believe 343 00:21:58,050 --> 00:21:59,820 that you're about to raise my brother from the dead. 344 00:21:59,830 --> 00:22:02,340 But she's saying, Lord, I believe that you are who you say 345 00:22:02,390 --> 00:22:08,450 you are. Jesus is now going to have a a 346 00:22:08,460 --> 00:22:11,160 similar interaction with Martha, sister Mary. 347 00:22:11,260 --> 00:22:14,030 We jump down to verse 32. Remember Mary was sitting 348 00:22:14,040 --> 00:22:16,110 inside. Now verse 32. 349 00:22:16,240 --> 00:22:19,410 Now when Mary came to where Jesus was, she came outside and 350 00:22:19,420 --> 00:22:21,330 saw him. She fell at his feet, saying to 351 00:22:21,340 --> 00:22:25,390 him, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 352 00:22:26,550 --> 00:22:29,860 Does that sound familiar? Word for word? 353 00:22:29,870 --> 00:22:37,170 The same words as her sister and what we come to here looking at 354 00:22:37,180 --> 00:22:40,920 versus 33 through 38. I just want to briefly highlight 355 00:22:40,930 --> 00:22:45,360 Jesus response to this grief, Jesus response to this family 356 00:22:45,370 --> 00:22:47,420 and grief as response to this death. 357 00:22:47,430 --> 00:22:53,240 And what we're going to see here is 3 signs of deep emotion from 358 00:22:53,310 --> 00:22:57,780 Christ. And I want you to remember that 359 00:22:57,790 --> 00:22:59,980 as we read this. This is coming from a man who 360 00:22:59,990 --> 00:23:04,450 knows that in about two minutes he is going to raise Lazarus 361 00:23:04,460 --> 00:23:07,730 from the dead. He he knows it's gonna happen. 362 00:23:08,580 --> 00:23:11,420 And yet let's read how Jesus responds. 363 00:23:14,410 --> 00:23:18,760 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her 364 00:23:18,770 --> 00:23:22,600 also weeping, He was deeply moved in a spirit and greatly 365 00:23:22,670 --> 00:23:25,490 troubled. And you see it. 366 00:23:25,500 --> 00:23:29,700 Where have you laid him? They said to him, Lord, come and 367 00:23:29,710 --> 00:23:36,240 see. Jesus wept so that you see it, 368 00:23:36,310 --> 00:23:39,100 see how he loved him. But some of them said, Could not 369 00:23:39,110 --> 00:23:41,860 he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this 370 00:23:41,870 --> 00:23:46,500 man from dying? Then Jesus, deeply moved again, 371 00:23:46,570 --> 00:23:50,440 came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay 372 00:23:50,750 --> 00:23:57,790 against it. Jesus sees this sweeping and 373 00:23:57,800 --> 00:24:02,370 there are three things. Firstly, he was deeply moved and 374 00:24:02,380 --> 00:24:05,470 greatly troubled. Then we see verse 35 Jesus 375 00:24:05,540 --> 00:24:07,430 whipped and back again in verse 38. 376 00:24:07,440 --> 00:24:12,760 He was deeply moved. Almost every commentator and 377 00:24:12,770 --> 00:24:16,330 scholar agrees that the English translation we have here for 378 00:24:16,340 --> 00:24:19,630 those words deeply moved is not good. 379 00:24:21,910 --> 00:24:26,000 The literal Greek word there, the best way we could describe 380 00:24:26,010 --> 00:24:34,630 it, is angry, is outraged, and it seems the translators thought 381 00:24:34,640 --> 00:24:36,550 that that was too harsh. It must be meaning something 382 00:24:36,560 --> 00:24:38,640 else. The Greek, literally Jesus was 383 00:24:38,650 --> 00:24:43,190 outraged in the Spirit. It's the same word is used in 384 00:24:43,200 --> 00:24:45,140 Greek literature for the snorting of horses. 385 00:24:47,690 --> 00:24:51,520 So Jesus saw this weeping. Jesus saw this grief of of this 386 00:24:51,530 --> 00:24:57,470 family who had lost Lazarus and he is outraged and his spirit 387 00:24:57,480 --> 00:25:00,430 and and greatly troubled. You can picture his his chest 388 00:25:00,500 --> 00:25:02,860 tightening, maybe his arms start to shake. 389 00:25:04,920 --> 00:25:10,980 Why? I think it's very simply this. 390 00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:19,200 As Jesus comes face to face with death, he is angered and 391 00:25:19,260 --> 00:25:23,630 outraged at a world where death looms. 392 00:25:24,060 --> 00:25:26,600 Death is not normal. Death is not good. 393 00:25:32,190 --> 00:25:35,130 Death is not the way that it should be. 394 00:25:38,570 --> 00:25:41,420 He is deeply angry. He's he's, he's outraged, he's 395 00:25:41,430 --> 00:25:43,540 he's moved. And then he's moved to the point 396 00:25:43,550 --> 00:25:49,470 where verse 35, Jesus whipped. These are not crocodile tears. 397 00:25:49,480 --> 00:25:51,730 He's not pretending to cry over Lazarus. 398 00:25:51,740 --> 00:25:55,630 He's about to raise Lazarus. He's crying and he's moved at 399 00:25:55,640 --> 00:25:57,980 the impact of death. And we all know that. 400 00:25:57,990 --> 00:26:00,590 We all feel that in our heart. Death is just. 401 00:26:00,600 --> 00:26:04,140 It's not right. It's not how the world was 402 00:26:04,230 --> 00:26:06,330 designed. We weren't designed to die. 403 00:26:06,340 --> 00:26:10,520 But in a world where sin is in it, death happens. 404 00:26:10,570 --> 00:26:13,660 Death is not normal. Death is not good. 405 00:26:17,990 --> 00:26:21,920 I honestly think we need to view this and understand this and 406 00:26:21,930 --> 00:26:25,780 remember that Jesus own death. The cross is looming in the 407 00:26:25,790 --> 00:26:28,300 background. We're talking a matter of weeks 408 00:26:28,390 --> 00:26:31,000 at this point. Now we know from the calendar 409 00:26:31,010 --> 00:26:36,730 the Passover is coming and we know that this was on Jesus 410 00:26:36,740 --> 00:26:38,310 mind. We know this was a weight he 411 00:26:38,320 --> 00:26:40,390 sees in Luke chapter 12 verse 50. 412 00:26:40,400 --> 00:26:44,130 I have a baptism to be baptised with, meaning I have a cross to 413 00:26:44,140 --> 00:26:47,960 carry and how great is my distress until it is 414 00:26:47,970 --> 00:26:52,200 accomplished. And this event actually the Rd. 415 00:26:52,210 --> 00:26:55,140 is and John 11, this event starts the process of his death. 416 00:26:55,150 --> 00:26:57,840 Tim Keller says he and this event, he's signing his death 417 00:26:57,850 --> 00:27:02,100 warrant because from here the Jews conspire to plan his death. 418 00:27:04,280 --> 00:27:06,620 But I do just want to step aside and make a point here. 419 00:27:06,660 --> 00:27:12,210 From what we see from Christ here, perfect theology does not, 420 00:27:13,270 --> 00:27:20,740 should not, eliminate grief in Christ. 421 00:27:20,750 --> 00:27:23,280 We need to hold these two things in balance and actually see the 422 00:27:23,290 --> 00:27:27,390 way Christ responded to death and recognise it in our hearts. 423 00:27:27,400 --> 00:27:29,970 It's actually good to go. This is, it's not right. 424 00:27:31,810 --> 00:27:36,030 It's it's not good. It's not how it's meant to be. 425 00:27:36,040 --> 00:27:42,240 It, it hurts it, it angers us. And Jesus, he had perfect 426 00:27:42,250 --> 00:27:44,700 theology, right? He, he knew Lazarus was about to 427 00:27:44,710 --> 00:27:47,420 be raised. But death hurts. 428 00:27:47,430 --> 00:27:51,020 Death is not right. Perfect theology does not 429 00:27:51,030 --> 00:28:00,880 eliminate grief and Christ. Grief and hope can coexist and, 430 00:28:00,890 --> 00:28:03,900 and, and what we're gonna see is although we can grieve and 431 00:28:03,910 --> 00:28:07,680 although we must grieve and Christ hope as their hope is 432 00:28:07,750 --> 00:28:16,460 present and hope is greater. And so Jesus has seed that he 433 00:28:16,470 --> 00:28:20,240 has power over death. He's made this claim. 434 00:28:20,250 --> 00:28:23,840 Now he's gonna show it. Let's just rate it all 435 00:28:24,370 --> 00:28:25,990 altogether. Not altogether, but we'll read 436 00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:34,330 the whole thing in one. Jesus said, Take away the stone. 437 00:28:36,020 --> 00:28:39,020 Martha, the sister of the dead man said to him, Lord, by this 438 00:28:39,030 --> 00:28:42,450 time there would have been an odour, for he has been dead 4 439 00:28:42,460 --> 00:28:47,080 days. Jesus said to her, Did I not 440 00:28:47,090 --> 00:28:49,720 tell you if you believed you would see the glory of God? 441 00:28:51,070 --> 00:28:55,470 So they took away the stone, and Jesus lifted up his eyes and 442 00:28:55,480 --> 00:28:58,340 said, Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 443 00:28:59,040 --> 00:29:01,830 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of 444 00:29:01,840 --> 00:29:05,310 the people standing around that they may believe that you sent 445 00:29:05,320 --> 00:29:09,550 me. When he had said these things, 446 00:29:09,560 --> 00:29:13,860 he cried out with a loud voice. Lazarus come out. 447 00:29:17,040 --> 00:29:22,930 The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with 448 00:29:22,980 --> 00:29:26,050 linen strips and his face wrapped with a cloth. 449 00:29:27,070 --> 00:29:31,030 Jesus said to them, unbind him and let him go. 450 00:29:33,470 --> 00:29:35,040 I want you to imagine that scene. 451 00:29:36,650 --> 00:29:40,010 By this time, a crowd had gathered around the term. 452 00:29:43,150 --> 00:29:47,280 And as Jesus, he looks up to the Father, and as he prays to to 453 00:29:47,290 --> 00:29:49,040 God the Father. This isn't a prayer of God. 454 00:29:49,050 --> 00:29:50,980 Would you please do this? This is a prayer of 455 00:29:51,030 --> 00:29:53,260 Thanksgiving. Jesus already knows what's gonna 456 00:29:53,270 --> 00:29:56,270 happen, but he actually sees. I'm praying this publicly so 457 00:29:56,280 --> 00:30:03,930 that the crowd might see and believe that you sent me and and 458 00:30:03,940 --> 00:30:06,090 as the stones being rolled away, Jesus cries out. 459 00:30:06,100 --> 00:30:12,370 Lazarus come out and is this the silence? 460 00:30:15,520 --> 00:30:18,950 And then people start to hear some movement inside the grave 461 00:30:20,730 --> 00:30:24,820 from Peter. Peter of feet and outcomes this 462 00:30:24,830 --> 00:30:27,420 man Lazarus fully wrapped up in in these grave clothes. 463 00:30:28,660 --> 00:30:36,510 You imagine if you were there just that shock and you can't 464 00:30:36,520 --> 00:30:39,890 help but think as as you see this you you look at Jesus and 465 00:30:39,900 --> 00:30:46,420 say he must be who he says he is with one sentence. 466 00:30:46,430 --> 00:30:50,210 Lazarus come out, many have said. 467 00:30:50,220 --> 00:30:53,240 If if he hadn't specified Lazarus, every tomb in Jerusalem 468 00:30:53,250 --> 00:31:02,590 would have spat out their dead. The thing is, this is just a 469 00:31:02,600 --> 00:31:06,670 it's a picture of a far greater reality because the reality is 470 00:31:06,680 --> 00:31:11,960 Lazarus died again. This wasn't an eternal 471 00:31:11,970 --> 00:31:14,000 resurrection of Lazarus. It was almost like a 472 00:31:14,010 --> 00:31:16,640 resuscitation where he was dead, Jesus raised him. 473 00:31:16,650 --> 00:31:19,600 But further down the track, Lazarus died again. 474 00:31:19,770 --> 00:31:22,430 This is a picture where Christ is saying, hey, I've seen it. 475 00:31:22,440 --> 00:31:24,320 I have this power. Now let me show you with just a 476 00:31:24,330 --> 00:31:28,540 word, but it's a picture of what was to happen in a matter of 477 00:31:28,550 --> 00:31:30,700 weeks where Christ himself went to the cross. 478 00:31:32,500 --> 00:31:35,250 And is He hung on that cross, the wall, that punishment from 479 00:31:35,260 --> 00:31:42,060 God the Father against the sin? And he suffered, He bleed, and 480 00:31:42,070 --> 00:31:46,340 He died to make a sacrifice for those who would believe in Him. 481 00:31:48,530 --> 00:31:51,410 He went to a grave very similar to Lazarus's grave. 482 00:31:52,340 --> 00:31:55,620 Three days later he rose from the dead, never to die. 483 00:31:57,850 --> 00:31:59,440 He is the resurrection and the life. 484 00:31:59,450 --> 00:32:02,520 Jesus himself has power over death, and Jesus himself 485 00:32:02,580 --> 00:32:06,980 defeated death so that if we believe in him, we can share in 486 00:32:06,990 --> 00:32:11,050 that resurrection life, that hope, that power over death. 487 00:32:15,170 --> 00:32:18,750 In him we have hope and the face of death. 488 00:32:23,870 --> 00:32:25,120 How are we gonna respond to this? 489 00:32:25,130 --> 00:32:26,710 That's what we talked about at the start. 490 00:32:27,850 --> 00:32:31,850 Just want to look at 2 responses we get versus 45 and 4046. 491 00:32:32,920 --> 00:32:36,960 Many of the Jews, therefore, who had come with Mary had seen what 492 00:32:36,970 --> 00:32:42,120 he did, believed in Him, But some of them went to the 493 00:32:42,130 --> 00:32:44,560 Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 494 00:32:45,950 --> 00:32:47,380 We've heard what Christ has said. 495 00:32:47,390 --> 00:32:50,890 We've seen his display of power. We choose to. 496 00:32:50,960 --> 00:32:54,670 We can choose to believe, believe in that hope, believe in 497 00:32:54,680 --> 00:32:57,180 His power, or we can choose to reject it. 498 00:33:00,300 --> 00:33:03,010 Those are our options. And I'd plead you, if you do not 499 00:33:03,020 --> 00:33:07,920 know Christ, to see who He is, to see how He's revealed Himself 500 00:33:07,930 --> 00:33:14,910 in this and believe in Him. Just want to close with two 501 00:33:14,920 --> 00:33:20,650 questions for us to think about as we process this, what this 502 00:33:20,660 --> 00:33:23,070 claim that Jesus has made about himself and the power that he's 503 00:33:23,080 --> 00:33:25,670 shown. How did Jesus view death? 504 00:33:27,560 --> 00:33:31,470 How did Jesus view death? And the answer that we've seen 505 00:33:31,480 --> 00:33:37,050 is Jesus viewed death as horrific, as wrong, as painful, 506 00:33:39,170 --> 00:33:44,170 but it will be made right. Jesus viewed death with this 507 00:33:44,180 --> 00:33:48,890 balance of grief and pain, but it's punctuated with this hope. 508 00:33:50,550 --> 00:33:53,660 And I think that models the way that that we need to think about 509 00:33:53,710 --> 00:33:59,080 death as as believers. It is painful and it is good. 510 00:33:59,810 --> 00:34:03,370 It is good to grieve and sit in that grief because it's not 511 00:34:03,380 --> 00:34:09,030 right. But we have hope and that hope 512 00:34:09,040 --> 00:34:11,949 is greater. That's why Paul says this in 513 00:34:11,960 --> 00:34:14,449 First Thessalonians. He says we do not want you to be 514 00:34:14,460 --> 00:34:17,020 uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, many of 515 00:34:17,030 --> 00:34:20,550 those who have died, that you may not grieve as others do who 516 00:34:20,560 --> 00:34:23,250 have no hope. So since we believe that Jesus 517 00:34:23,260 --> 00:34:26,929 died and rose again, Even so through Jesus, God will bring 518 00:34:26,940 --> 00:34:29,199 with him those who have fallen asleep. 519 00:34:31,090 --> 00:34:33,980 He's not saying don't grieve. He's saying don't grieve like 520 00:34:33,989 --> 00:34:39,239 the world grieves. We have grief and we have hope. 521 00:34:44,590 --> 00:34:46,860 If you look at Revelation chapter 21, the second to last 522 00:34:46,870 --> 00:34:49,500 chapter in the Bible, we get this picture of the new heavens 523 00:34:49,630 --> 00:34:52,170 and the new earth and what life will be like reigning with 524 00:34:52,179 --> 00:34:55,920 Christ forever and it makes it very clear death will be no 525 00:34:55,929 --> 00:35:00,550 more. How did Jesus view death? 526 00:35:01,000 --> 00:35:06,310 And secondly, if we truly believe this, do we share it? 527 00:35:08,290 --> 00:35:10,000 And I just want to make this point on the back of the 528 00:35:10,010 --> 00:35:11,680 evangelism series that we've come off. 529 00:35:11,690 --> 00:35:15,100 I'm sure for many of us that has stirred something in your heart 530 00:35:15,110 --> 00:35:17,300 of people in your life who do not know Christ. 531 00:35:17,410 --> 00:35:19,630 And I just want to lean into what we mentioned before that 532 00:35:19,640 --> 00:35:24,530 this is a, this is an exclusive claim from Christ, meaning this 533 00:35:25,340 --> 00:35:30,390 cross is saying if we do not believe in him, we we don't have 534 00:35:30,400 --> 00:35:37,590 that hope. There are people around us who 535 00:35:37,600 --> 00:35:40,370 do not know Christ, but here Christ is. 536 00:35:40,380 --> 00:35:41,910 I am the resurrection and the life. 537 00:35:42,830 --> 00:35:47,250 If we truly believe this, we need to have an urgency in 538 00:35:47,260 --> 00:35:50,610 sharing this with those around us who do not know Christ, who 539 00:35:50,620 --> 00:35:58,050 do not know this. Hope I'll close with what Paul 540 00:35:58,060 --> 00:36:01,830 says in First Corinthians 15. He says if Christ has not been 541 00:36:01,840 --> 00:36:05,280 raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins, then 542 00:36:05,290 --> 00:36:08,140 those who have also fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 543 00:36:09,790 --> 00:36:13,320 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all 544 00:36:13,330 --> 00:36:19,420 people most to be pitied. But in fact, Christ has been 545 00:36:19,430 --> 00:36:23,980 raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen 546 00:36:23,990 --> 00:36:25,820 asleep. Meaning of Christ has been 547 00:36:25,830 --> 00:36:30,820 raised to those who believe in him will be raised Christ as the 548 00:36:30,870 --> 00:36:33,380 resurrection and the life flits turns him in prayer. 549 00:36:38,890 --> 00:36:44,710 Almighty God, we come to you so thankful for the hope that your 550 00:36:44,720 --> 00:36:48,820 word gives us on this topic that is so difficult. 551 00:36:50,620 --> 00:36:53,250 We thank you for the hope that we have in Christ that Christ 552 00:36:53,260 --> 00:36:55,910 has power over death. Christ is the resurrection and 553 00:36:55,920 --> 00:36:59,450 the life. Help us to just go and ask that 554 00:36:59,460 --> 00:37:01,270 question. Do we believe this? 555 00:37:01,280 --> 00:37:04,350 Not not as a a theology, but in our heart do we believe this 556 00:37:04,360 --> 00:37:07,750 God? And probably it would touch us 557 00:37:07,760 --> 00:37:10,620 and urge us to go out and share this with those who do not. 558 00:37:11,610 --> 00:37:15,350 No, you got pray for those who do not know this truth. 559 00:37:15,360 --> 00:37:19,940 Lord there you may just use it to work in their heart and see 560 00:37:20,010 --> 00:37:23,080 with clarity the goodness of Jesus and what He has done for 561 00:37:23,090 --> 00:37:27,610 us. Jesus name I mean.