You would please remain standing for the reading of God's Word
from John Chapter 11, Helen Hickman and Henry Hours, two of
our seniors, Henry Hours, are going to share from this
passage. It's the middle of where we've
been in our study in the Gospel of John.
It's the continuation of the story of Lazarus being raised
from the dead. Thank you both for reading the
Word of God. So they took away the stone, and
Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, Father, I thank you that
you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me,
but I said this on account of the people standing around, that
they made believe that you sent me.
When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice.
Lazarus, come out. The man who had died came out,
his hands and his feet bound with linen strips, and his face
wrapped in the cloth. Jesus said to them, Unbind him,
and let him go. Many of the Jews, therefore, who
had come with Mary, and had seen what he had did, and what he
did, believed in him. But some of them went to the
Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.
So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council
and said, What are we to do? For this man performs many
signs. If we let him go on like this,
everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and
take away both our place and our nation.
But one of them, Caiaphas, who was the high priest that year,
said to them, You know nothing at all, nor do you people
understand that it is better for you that one man should die for
the people, not that the whole nation should perish.
He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest
that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation,
and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the
children of God who are scattered abroad.
So from that day on they made plans to put him to death.
Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went
from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called
Ephraim. And there he said with the
disciples, This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God, please be seated.
Helen Henry, thank you both so much, so grateful.
Father in Heaven, as we open your word, I pray that you would
illuminate Holy Spirit, our hearts and minds that we would
believe the truth of the gospel. We would receive it and not
reject it. Overwhelm us with this good
news. For the sake of your glory and
our good, we pray in the name of Jesus, Amen.
It is a sweet day for us as a church to remember the
generations. I couldn't help but notice when
we were recognizing the seniors that there was a child in the
back, maybe one of my own grandchildren, making noise.
And I want you to know that's sweet noise.
Some of you might get, you know, frustrated about that at times.
But it's it's the generations. It's the generations.
And it's sweet the same time. We have a dear sister, Carolyn
Hunt, who celebrated her 96th birthday last Sunday here.
Praise the Lord. And tomorrow, Bill Nichol turns
100, and he is right here with us this morning as well.
That's a remarkable thing, to be a part of a church that really
does expand the generations. And that's one of the most
incredible gifts that we have with such wisdom and such hope,
with such encouragement and such incredible devotion.
It really is quite beautiful this morning as we come to this
passage. This is where the Gospel of John
really begins to swing on a hinge.
Everything is now moving towards Jesus going to the cross.
And one of the things that John is doing is he's going to show
that there really are two responses to Jesus.
You either receive him and rest in him alone for salvation, or
you reject Him. It's simple.
You either receive him or you reject him.
And in our passage, you see that and you're going to see it
continue as the Gospel unfolds. Next week, we'll be looking at
Mary, who was anointing Jesus with the expensive perfume.
She was overwhelmed by his love and His Holiness.
That's all she knew to do. And at that same place, you're
going to see Judas, who is now beginning to reject the reality
of who Jesus is and will soon turn him in for money.
Today we see that Lazarus truly walked from the grave.
There are those who received him as Lord and those who rejected
him. That's what we're going to
unpack. First, we need to admit this.
If you're new to our church, we don't believe that this is a
nice story or a metaphor. We really believe in the Holy
Word of God. We believe that it's God
breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting,
and training in righteousness. So what that means is we believe
that there was a man put in a grave who was truly dead.
He wasn't mostly dead. He wasn't sick, gravely ill.
He was dead. There was no heartbeat.
His life, physical life, had ceased to exist.
Lazarus was in the grave. The tomb had been closed.
Then Jesus, as our two friends read to us, cries out with a
loud voice after praying to the Father.
And he says in verse 43, Lazarus come out.
And he did. Because we know the end of the
story and most of us are familiar with it, I think we'd
lose the profound reality of what happened.
They were mourning a brother. They were mourning a friend.
They were mourning for friends who had lost a brother.
Lazarus was dead. But when Jesus said Lazarus come
out, the stone had been taken away, it had been moved.
Lazarus rose, he was resurrected.
This man who was dead is now walking out of the tomb with the
grave clothes wrapped around him, the linen wrapped around
him. And Jesus says, remove the
linen, the strips from his face, unbind him and let him go.
And it really happened. Now, there were people who were
there just like us. We've been to memorial services.
We've been to graveside service. It would have been just as
shocking as if we were to graveside service.
And me or another minister said, with power, come out and the
deceased truly rose. That's what happened.
You might think if I was there, I would never need anything else
to believe, but that wasn't the case.
In the Gospel, verse 45, John tells us many of the Jews,
therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what He did,
believed in Him. Many of them did.
And here's what happens. There's more than one
resurrection that took place for the Jews that were present, who
had simply come to mourn with Mary and Martha, those who had
not believed in Jesus before. Suddenly they see Lazarus
walking out, this man who's resurrected.
Those who believed had their own resurrection.
This was a resurrection, the same kind of resurrection that
takes the place in any person who places faith in Jesus, Any
one of us who would say, I'm a Christian, I've rested in Jesus
alone for salvation. It is because there was a
resurrection in your life. At whatever age the Lord called
you to Himself, it was because He caused your heart that was
dead. Not just sick, not a little bit
of moral, but dead to begin to beat for Him.
Here's what that means. If you're a person here today
worshipping the Lord, and you know you have been saved, you
must remember constantly with great humility, I didn't deserve
it. I did nothing to earn it.
It was simply His grace and His favor.
How do I know? In the book of Ephesians chapter
2, here's what Paul says. And you were dead.
This is to all people, and you were dead in your trespasses and
sins in which you once walked, following the course of the of
the air. The power that is now at work
among the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once lived,
carrying out the passions of our flesh and the desires of the
body and mind. And we were by nature children
of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
Now here's the hinge. But God, but God.
Bill Lambert's favorite 2 words in the Bible.
But God, being rich in mercy because of the great love with
which He loved us, made us alive in Christ.
By grace you have been saved, and raised us up with Him, and
seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ.
Jesus raised us who are in Christ up with Him and set us
with Him in the heavenly places. If you have received Jesus just
as the Jews that day dead, it's because there was a resurrection
that happened in your life. You and me dead in our hearts,
spiritually unable to believe Jesus.
Suddenly the work happened just as Jesus said to Lazarus,
Lazarus, come out. The Holy Spirit spoke to us.
We didn't hear those words, but through irresistible grace we
say, I need a Savior. I've got a problem, I've got a
disease that is terminal called sin.
We all do. The only way, the only hope is
to receive Jesus. That's a resurrection and all
who are in Christ had that resurrection today.
If you're here and that has not been your story, it might be
because today is the day you will hear His voice through his
word and Spirit say come, come out, come alive.
I alone can save you. But there were those who were
there who saw the same thing, who saw the stone that covered
the tomb where the body had been for four days rolled away.
They heard Jesus pray the prayer that he prayed to the Father.
And then they heard Jesus in a loud voice say Lazarus come out,
every eye fixed on that tomb, and suddenly that man that they
knew was dead came walking out. It really happened.
Some, verse 45 tells us, believed they had their own
resurrection, but some did not. They saw the same thing.
They heard the same thing, but they didn't receive Him.
They didn't believe verse 46, but some of them went to the
Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.
You either receive Christ for who He is as Lord and Savior, or
you reject Him. Many rejected Him.
Many continue to reject Him. Those who saw a dead man walk at
the command of a man named Jesus still rejected who He was.
So they go to the Pharisees. The Pharisees were a very
religious group. The Pharisees were the ones that
actually added to the word of God many rules and believed that
they could obey it. Sometimes when we talk about
legalism, we call it Phariseeism because there's this, there's
this belief that I can be good enough if I obey all these rules
to enter the Kingdom. There was another group called
the Sadducees. The Sadducees were far more
political than the Pharisees. In fact, these two groups
actually hated each other, but they're about to come together
because of a common hate that's born out of a common threat.
And together they will form the Sanhedrin.
And as they come together, they are going to make the decision
to kill this man who was the very one who was innocent.
Never send who said Lazarus come out.
Why? There is always a why underneath
the reason why people reject who Christ is.
So let's see there. Just look with me at verse 47.
The Jews that didn't believe and receive Jesus move to the
Pharisees. They tell them what has
happened. And verse 47 continues.
So the chief priest and the Pharisees gathered the counsel
and said what are we to do now? That basically means they're
saying we've been trying to stop this man.
His miracles are becoming more and more known, raising a dead
man to life. If this continues to happen,
everyone is going to begin to follow him.
What are we to do? What are we to do?
For this man performs many signs.
Verse 48. If we let him go on like this,
everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and
take away both our place and our nation.
There's the why do you see it? If Jesus, the man who's done all
these miracles, this is really important.
They didn't deny that he did the miracles.
They didn't deny that Lazarus was alive.
In fact, they knew what had happened.
What's underneath all of it? What's underneath two groups
that really despise one another coming together against this
common threat? It's that there is something
they're afraid of losing, and that which they are afraid of
losing is their primary identity and their primary security.
And John tells us what it is. If this man continues, there is
going to be an uprest. There is going to be so many
people following him that the Romans are going to respond.
And if the Romans respond, they are going to take away, by the
way, the exact same word use it use when John tells us Jesus
said take away the stone, they're going to take away.
What does it say? Our place and our nation, their
place, the temple, but also their position in that place
with power. The Romans are going to come and
they're going to take away our place and they're going to take
away our nation. The man that they want to kill
just raised someone from the dead with just his words.
What should have been going on in that conversation with
religious people present, people who knew the Old Testament
should have been We don't need to fear anyone if we would trust
who He told us He is. And now, because we've seen what
he's done, we don't need to fear the Romans.
We don't need to fear any nation.
We don't need to fear anything or anyone because He is the one
we've been waiting for. He has the power.
He's who he said he is. He is the Son of God.
But that's not what they said, because that man who did that
was a threat to what was more important to them, their place
and their nation. It can happen to us.
It does happen to us. What happens is that anytime we
take a secondary or lower identity and say in order to
keep this place, this position, this nation, we must do this.
And suddenly the willingness to compromise, to turn away from
what's truth, to embrace something that's not true is
evil. And it's exactly what was
happening there. They couldn't imagine a life
without the place that they were used to, the positions that they
had. They couldn't have imagined
losing their nation when what Jesus is saying to the Jews that
had believed and to any Gentile who had believed is that I am
your place, I am your nation. There is no nation on earth that
is more powerful or eternal like my nation.
There is no identity in any citizenship in any nation that's
greater than the fact that you belong to me, your King.
But through the people of God, it's always been we want a king,
we want someone like them. The temptation is to put our
security and insecure things. And that's what they had done.
Their security was in a place that brought them peace and
prosperity. This man was threatening to undo
all that. And in doing that, they saw that
there was only one way. And that came through the voice
of their leader, Caiaphas. Look with me at verse 49.
But one of them, Caiaphas, who was the high priest that year,
by the way, Caiaphas who was the high priest for a long time,
this was a, a term that was not just one year, John simply
saying it was this year that Caiaphas was the high priest.
Caiaphas who was high priest that year said to them, you know
nothing at all, essentially saying everything I've heard so
far, you're foolish. You know nothing at all, he
says. Nor do you understand that it is
better for you that one man should die for the people, not
that the whole nation should perish.
He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest
that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation.
He prophesied this unwittingly. He has no idea ultimately what
he's saying, because what he's saying is true.
This man, Jesus, is going to die.
This one man is going to die for his nation, for his people, for
his church, and for all who receive that.
They now have their permanent identity this side of heaven and
their permanent identity in heaven.
It's primary and it's permanent. There's no other identity like
that but this side of heaven. You and I are constantly tempted
to put our security in places and nations in citizenship and
belonging. I told the high school students
who are here at 9:30, seniors, you're about to enter into a new
place, whether you're in the work field or you're going to
college, and they're going to be people that you meet who have
received Jesus, and they're going to be people you meet who
have rejected Jesus. Deep down.
The ultimate reason why is that they are seeking to put their
identity in a place and a nation.
It might be a fraternity or a sorority that says you must do
this in order to belong. And if you're willing to do that
in order to belong, what you were saying is there is a
greater identity in my life right now belonging to this
place, belonging to this group, belonging to this nation is
greater than being in Christ. And that continues.
Think about this. Throughout history there have
been churches, we're from the pulpit.
The word of God has been proclaimed in many places all
over the world where that once was happening.
They would never have said what I said at the beginning about
this book. Lazarus would be a metaphor,
Jonah being swallowed by the well, that didn't really happen.
It's just a story. We don't believe that.
But if history continues and we're not careful, one day when
this place is threatened because someone like me says what I just
said, somebody's going to say you can't say that we'll lose
our place, we'll lose our nation.
It could also come in the reverse way where it's a little
bit sneakier when suddenly we have put a nation, a
citizenship, A belonging somewhere this side of heaven
above Christ, and all of a sudden His word is not ultimate.
His word is not foundational. His word is not giving us peace
and hope because we're so afraid of what's happening.
Jesus is the head of his church. He rose Lazarus from the dead.
He himself rose from the dead. We absolutely have nothing to
fear. But if we live in fear, we are
going to look to protect a place and to protect the nation.
When we don't belong eternally to this, we belong to Him who is
our place, who is our nation, now and forever.
How do I know? Paul says.
Don't you yourselves know people who are in Christ?
Don't you yourselves know that you are God's temple and that
his Spirit lives in you? The same God, the same Spirit
who showed the resurrection power when Lazarus came out,
lives in us. We have our place.
We have our nation. It will last forever for those
who are in Christ. If you're in Christ, and this is
good news to you, and it should be, it's because of His grace.
He brought you in, you received Him.
Give Him praise. If today that's not your story,
that means you have rejected Him.
And some people, I especially said this to, the students, have
this idea that one day I'll get it together, one day I'll deal
with Jesus and that stuff. But right now I wanted to find
my life the way I want to. What they're saying is I want my
place and I want my nation to be what I want it to be.
And the thought is one day I'll deal with that.
But here's the truth. You don't know, as they were
unwrapping the linen off of the dead man Lazarus, who's now
alive. It's as if those who didn't
receive him but went to the Pharisees who met with the
Sadducees and formed the Sanhedrin, were having linen
wrapped thicker and thicker around their eyes.
It's as if they were becoming more blind, more death, harder.
So much so that the high priest, Caiaphas would say, you fools,
there's only one way this man must die.
And that's what they set their intentions for.
Unwittingly. Caiaphas didn't know that the
prophecy he was giving would come true.
Jesus would die. He would die for his people, for
Jews who would trust him, for Gentiles who would trust him.
This passage, it's teaching atonement from the lips of the
man who said there's only one way, kill him.
The temple would be lost. It would be destroyed about 20
years before John writes this, so the people hearing this
gospel would have known what he was talking about.
But Christ rose, and for all who have trusted in Jesus, He is
your place now and forever. He is your nation now and
forever. Your identity in Him is secure,
It's permanent and it's primary. But this side of heaven, our
enemy is going to constantly put secondary and lower identities
in our life to say this is really your place, this is
really your nation. It doesn't just happen when
we're in college. It follows us through life.
If I make this decision, my child's not going to make a
team. So we've got to rearrange what
we do on Sundays so that he can be on the team.
That's his place, that's his nation.
And suddenly the priority of worship is gone.
It happens slowly. We don't even think about it
anymore. It continues.
I'd like to join your church, but because the stance you have
on the Bible, I can't be known as a member.
I'll worship from a distance, but I can't belong because you
guys actually believe what this says.
If that's known, I won't be promoted or I might lose my job.
If you're in Christ, you already have your place.
You already have your nation. Stand in him.
Stand in him, your job and your title.
This site of heaven will not be eternal.
It's not primary now and it isn't permanent.
I am not going to be a pastor in heaven.
I'm not going to be referred to as one of the pastors of PCPC in
heaven. My identity with that title is
not primary and it's not permanent.
I'm a beloved son of the living God, saved when he said come
out, when he opened my eyes and took off the deathcloth that I
might see. Maybe today is the day He's
brought you to this place that you could see yourself and you
could say I have rejected him. I'm glad you've heard what I say
and I hope you heard in love. Do not continue to reject Him,
friend. Deal with what you have heard.
We would love to walk with you in that.
Maybe today you're already ready.
You've heard that voice through His Spirit and Word, and you say
I want to receive Christ. Then right now, pray, simply
pray Jesus. I was dead, I'm a Sinner,
forgive me my sins. I receive you and you alone for
salvation and you will have Him forever.
Maybe today you're so encouraged because you know you've received
Him. Well then my friend, never
forget its grace. Never forget you didn't deserve
it. Never forget that you didn't
cause your heart to beat for Him.
Be overwhelmed by His grace, that you were one of the ones
who said upon hearing His word in spirit, I believe.
Praise Him for that. Father Jesus lifted his voice to
you that others might hear and believe.
He then said, Lazarus come out. And Lazarus did that same voice
not long from that moment would say from the cross, it is
finished. He would commit himself to you
and then He himself would die. Man of Sorrows taking on what we
all deserved. Father, if there any today here
ready to come out of the tomb to be a follower of Christ, hear
them as they pray now for salvation In your name, Lord,
for those who are just still wondering and struggling, have
mercy. Speak to them and show them who
you are. A friend, come and ask
questions. We would love that.
For those Lord today who know they're in Christ, would you
protect us from taking any, any place, position, citizenship,
nation, anything, and putting it ahead of what is already ours,
secure in Christ, You are our place, You are our nation.
I ask this, we ask this in Jesus name, Amen.
Please stand.