1 00:00:03,400 --> 00:00:08,320 Good morning, good morning. Welcome to church, welcome to 2 00:00:08,320 --> 00:00:11,560 family, and welcome to tenderness. 3 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:17,360 Possibly the hardest question that we have to face as 4 00:00:17,360 --> 00:00:22,440 believers is God, Why? Why did you let that happen? 5 00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:28,680 God, why did you let that happen? 6 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:32,439 God, why did you let that happen? 7 00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:37,640 Why? Because it's a hard question. 8 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:46,000 Because if we're asking it, then it means that you or me or 9 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:51,240 someone that we love is going through something really, really 10 00:00:51,480 --> 00:00:55,360 difficult. Just some of the examples from 11 00:00:55,360 --> 00:00:57,320 this community that I heard this week. 12 00:00:58,960 --> 00:01:04,840 My cancer has come back and the prognosis is really bad. 13 00:01:05,800 --> 00:01:09,200 The doctors say I only have a few weeks to live. 14 00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:17,720 We brought our son up in the best possible way, but he 15 00:01:17,720 --> 00:01:22,440 married someone who hates us and now he won't speak to us. 16 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:28,920 He's disowned us. My business, the business that I 17 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:33,720 built, that you called me to God on the principles that you 18 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:38,800 showed me in your word and the tithing that I did from this 19 00:01:38,800 --> 00:01:42,600 business, that business. God has been hit with so much 20 00:01:42,600 --> 00:01:47,440 fraud that this week I need to go and liquidate it. 21 00:01:47,520 --> 00:01:55,200 It won't survive. It's in these moments that 22 00:01:55,200 --> 00:02:01,960 everything we know about God comes colliding with what we're 23 00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:08,039 experiencing. God, if you're good, if, if 24 00:02:08,039 --> 00:02:12,040 you're in control of all these things, if you really cared 25 00:02:12,040 --> 00:02:19,080 about me, then why? Why God would you let this 26 00:02:19,080 --> 00:02:21,640 happen? And over the past few weeks, God 27 00:02:21,640 --> 00:02:28,080 has been carefully, lovingly, tenderly bringing us back to 28 00:02:28,080 --> 00:02:31,720 exactly this point, through Wendy, through Rory, through 29 00:02:31,720 --> 00:02:37,320 Steve last week, the theme of encountering Jesus in times of 30 00:02:37,320 --> 00:02:42,760 hardship and suffering has been surfacing again and again and 31 00:02:42,760 --> 00:02:48,280 again. And now we come to John Chapter 32 00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:55,680 11, the death of Lazarus, which deals with this exact question. 33 00:02:56,640 --> 00:03:02,000 We see Jesus on earth let something really terrible happen 34 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:05,560 which we would expect them not to let happen. 35 00:03:08,880 --> 00:03:14,360 He hears that someone he loves, one of his friends, is sick. 36 00:03:16,880 --> 00:03:19,920 And in that moment we would expect him to go rushing to his 37 00:03:19,920 --> 00:03:25,680 aid and go and heal him. Instead, he lets the man die, 38 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:30,480 which begs the question, why? Why Jesus? 39 00:03:31,320 --> 00:03:34,680 Why? So today we're not going to 40 00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:39,040 avoid that question. We're going to step, not with 41 00:03:39,040 --> 00:03:44,200 one foot, but with both feet, big steps into it. 42 00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:46,960 And we're going to look at three things. 43 00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:50,880 We're going to see how the Bible and we're going to have a look 44 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:57,160 at how John 11 actually invites us, leads us, teases us to ask 45 00:03:57,160 --> 00:03:59,920 that question. Secondly, we're going to look at 46 00:03:59,920 --> 00:04:03,320 what the answer isn't. And lastly, we're going to look 47 00:04:03,480 --> 00:04:05,000 at what the answer is. So we're going to look at the 48 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:07,040 question. We're going to look at the wrong 49 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:10,120 answer, and then we're going to look at the right answer. 50 00:04:10,120 --> 00:04:14,440 But first, let's read from John Chapter 11. 51 00:04:14,440 --> 00:04:15,960 Good morning. Are you with me? 52 00:04:16,680 --> 00:04:20,720 Good. OK, let's go now. 53 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:24,400 A man named Lazarus was sick. And I do apologise for my lisp. 54 00:04:24,440 --> 00:04:28,360 So if I do say Laz or a friend, you know that I'm just trying to 55 00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:31,920 get through it. So a man named now a man named 56 00:04:31,920 --> 00:04:35,280 Laz was sick. He was from Bethany, the village 57 00:04:35,280 --> 00:04:39,640 of Mary and her sister Martha. This Mary, which Mary, this Mary 58 00:04:39,640 --> 00:04:43,280 whose brother Lazarus now lays sick, was the same one who 59 00:04:43,280 --> 00:04:46,480 poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. 60 00:04:47,240 --> 00:04:52,720 So the sister sent word to Jesus, Lord, the one you love is 61 00:04:52,720 --> 00:04:55,440 sick. When he heard this, Jesus said, 62 00:04:55,560 --> 00:04:57,440 this sickness will not end in death. 63 00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:01,840 No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified 64 00:05:01,840 --> 00:05:05,400 through this. Now Jesus loved Martha and her 65 00:05:05,400 --> 00:05:10,120 sister and Lazarus. So when he heard, so when he 66 00:05:10,120 --> 00:05:20,640 heard that his friend was sick, he, he, he stayed where he was 67 00:05:20,880 --> 00:05:24,600 for two more days. And then he said to his 68 00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:30,040 disciples, OK, after two days, now let's go to Judea. 69 00:05:30,520 --> 00:05:33,080 But Rabbi, they said a short while ago, the Jews there tried 70 00:05:33,080 --> 00:05:35,160 to stern you and yet you're going back. 71 00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:38,160 Verse 11. After he said this, he went on 72 00:05:38,160 --> 00:05:41,720 to tell them, our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I'm going 73 00:05:41,720 --> 00:05:44,320 there to wake him up. His disciples being a little bit 74 00:05:44,320 --> 00:05:47,080 off, said, Lord, if he sleeps, he'll get better. 75 00:05:47,280 --> 00:05:50,440 Sounds like a good idea why you want to go wake him up. 76 00:05:50,520 --> 00:05:52,280 But Jesus was Speaking of his death. 77 00:05:52,760 --> 00:05:56,640 So then he told them plainly, listen up guys, Lazarus is dead 78 00:05:57,280 --> 00:06:00,640 and for your sake I'm glad I was not there so that you may 79 00:06:00,640 --> 00:06:02,600 believe. But let us go to him. 80 00:06:02,760 --> 00:06:05,960 Then Thomas has a bit of a hissy fit and he says to the rest of 81 00:06:05,960 --> 00:06:10,160 the disciples, fine here, let's just go so that we can all die 82 00:06:10,160 --> 00:06:16,320 with him. On his arrival, Jesus found 83 00:06:16,320 --> 00:06:20,440 Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days, so it took 84 00:06:20,440 --> 00:06:24,000 him a while to get there. Now Bethany was less than two 85 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:28,160 miles from Jerusalem and many Jews had come to Martha and and 86 00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:30,160 to Mary to comfort them and the loss of their brother. 87 00:06:31,040 --> 00:06:33,800 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet 88 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:37,520 him, and she said, Lord, Martha said to Jesus, if you had been 89 00:06:37,520 --> 00:06:43,120 there, Lord, if you'd been in my situation, my brother would not 90 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:48,040 have died. But even now, even now, even in 91 00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:53,240 this distress, I know that whatever you ask God to do, he 92 00:06:53,240 --> 00:06:57,160 will do. And Jesus said to your brother, 93 00:06:57,160 --> 00:07:00,960 we'll rise again. And Martha, with the theology 94 00:07:00,960 --> 00:07:04,240 that's in her heart, says, I know that he will rise again in 95 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:05,880 the resurrection at the last day. 96 00:07:06,080 --> 00:07:10,200 And then Jesus looked at her deep in the eyes and said, I am 97 00:07:10,640 --> 00:07:14,360 the resurrection and the life, the one who believes in me, even 98 00:07:14,360 --> 00:07:17,000 though they die. And whoever lives by believing 99 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:19,560 in me will never die. Do you believe this? 100 00:07:19,920 --> 00:07:24,120 And Martha said, yes, I believe that you are the Messiah, the 101 00:07:24,120 --> 00:07:26,440 Son of God who has come into the world. 102 00:07:26,760 --> 00:07:29,600 And after she had said that, she went back and called her sister 103 00:07:29,600 --> 00:07:32,480 Mary. Verse 32 When Mary reached the 104 00:07:32,480 --> 00:07:39,000 place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and 105 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:45,160 said, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have 106 00:07:45,160 --> 00:07:49,080 died. And when Jesus saw her weeping 107 00:07:50,880 --> 00:07:54,400 and the Jews who had come along with her were also weeping, he 108 00:07:54,400 --> 00:07:57,240 was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 109 00:07:57,240 --> 00:07:59,280 And he asked, Where have you laid them? 110 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:06,320 And they said, Come, Come, Lord, Come and see our distress. 111 00:08:07,280 --> 00:08:10,400 Come, Lord, come, can I show you my pain? 112 00:08:14,440 --> 00:08:20,000 And Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, see how he 113 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:25,560 loved him. But others said could not he who 114 00:08:25,560 --> 00:08:29,920 opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying? 115 00:08:32,280 --> 00:08:36,200 And Jesus was once more deeply moved and he came to the tomb. 116 00:08:36,200 --> 00:08:38,520 It was a cave with a stone across the entrance. 117 00:08:38,520 --> 00:08:40,600 And he said, take away the stone. 118 00:08:40,760 --> 00:08:43,320 But Lord said Martha, the every practical one. 119 00:08:43,520 --> 00:08:45,640 By this time there's a bad odor for there. 120 00:08:46,040 --> 00:08:47,720 He has been in there for four days. 121 00:08:48,400 --> 00:08:52,200 And then Jesus said, did I not tell you that if you believe, 122 00:08:52,360 --> 00:08:55,680 you will see the glory of God? So that took the stone away. 123 00:08:56,040 --> 00:08:59,600 Then Jesus looked up and said, Father, I thank you that you 124 00:08:59,600 --> 00:09:02,400 have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, 125 00:09:02,480 --> 00:09:04,760 me. But I say this for the benefit 126 00:09:04,960 --> 00:09:08,160 of the people standing here, that they may believe that you 127 00:09:08,160 --> 00:09:10,800 sent me. And when he said that this, he 128 00:09:10,800 --> 00:09:14,160 called in a loud voice, Lazarus, come out. 129 00:09:16,640 --> 00:09:24,920 The dead man still wrapped with strips of linen and cloth around 130 00:09:24,920 --> 00:09:26,120 his face. I mean, it must have been 131 00:09:26,120 --> 00:09:32,840 something to see came out. And Jesus said to them, take off 132 00:09:33,600 --> 00:09:36,880 the grave clothes and let him go. 133 00:09:38,320 --> 00:09:41,920 So having read the story, the question that burns in our 134 00:09:41,920 --> 00:09:45,400 hearts is why? Why go through all this? 135 00:09:45,400 --> 00:09:49,040 Why did you let him die? Why go through the pain of 136 00:09:49,040 --> 00:09:54,920 sickness, the false hope, the trauma, the death, the funeral, 137 00:09:55,440 --> 00:09:59,520 the smelly tomb? Why not just heal your friend 138 00:10:00,280 --> 00:10:04,120 and a few people in the passage ask him that exact question. 139 00:10:04,680 --> 00:10:07,600 Martha and Mary. Ask him, Lord, if you had been 140 00:10:07,600 --> 00:10:09,360 here, my brother would not have died. 141 00:10:09,360 --> 00:10:11,560 And then the crowd asked the later. 142 00:10:11,560 --> 00:10:15,760 They say, could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man 143 00:10:15,760 --> 00:10:20,280 have kept this man from dying? This makes no sense that he 144 00:10:20,280 --> 00:10:25,760 would allow this person to die. More than that, the way that 145 00:10:25,760 --> 00:10:30,400 John is actually writing the story leads us to ask the 146 00:10:30,400 --> 00:10:35,040 question as well. He is purposefully leading us 147 00:10:35,040 --> 00:10:39,000 down this path to show us something very important. 148 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:42,800 It starts with a man named Lazarus was sick. 149 00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:46,960 Now, immediately after hearing that statement and having read 150 00:10:46,960 --> 00:10:50,920 the gospel up until this stage, we should all be going, OK, I 151 00:10:50,920 --> 00:10:52,080 know what's going to happen next. 152 00:10:53,200 --> 00:10:56,080 What's going to happen next? There must be a healing. 153 00:10:56,520 --> 00:10:58,880 I mean, remember, Steve spoke about it last week. 154 00:10:58,960 --> 00:11:00,880 He said there was a man born blind. 155 00:11:01,600 --> 00:11:05,080 Jesus went and he healed that guy and remember there was the 156 00:11:05,080 --> 00:11:08,920 lame man and and Jesus healed that guy over there. 157 00:11:09,560 --> 00:11:13,560 And if you go chronologically through the all of the Gospels 158 00:11:13,760 --> 00:11:17,760 up until this point, now chronologically means for all 159 00:11:17,760 --> 00:11:26,240 the afiz boys, I like it. It means in the sequence that 160 00:11:26,240 --> 00:11:32,040 they occurred, OK, in the timeline that they occurred, we 161 00:11:32,040 --> 00:11:37,720 see that Jesus healed, Take a guess, 15 people. 162 00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:40,800 OK, those are just the individuals. 163 00:11:41,560 --> 00:11:45,280 Then there were another non group healings and miracles. 164 00:11:45,760 --> 00:11:51,560 OK, so 24 miracles where people, where Jesus intervened in 165 00:11:51,560 --> 00:11:53,920 people's lives up until this point. 166 00:11:54,920 --> 00:12:00,480 OK, and now we get to Lazarus, who's actually named all of 167 00:12:00,480 --> 00:12:04,480 those other ones were strangers. We don't even know their names. 168 00:12:04,960 --> 00:12:07,360 And Lazarus isn't even just named. 169 00:12:07,360 --> 00:12:12,360 He's known and he's loved because when the sisters come up 170 00:12:12,360 --> 00:12:16,480 to to to Jesus, they say what they say Jesus, they don't even 171 00:12:16,480 --> 00:12:20,640 give his name. They said the one you love is 172 00:12:20,640 --> 00:12:23,760 sick. And we see that he is the 173 00:12:23,760 --> 00:12:29,080 brother of Mary and Martha. And John adds the detail. 174 00:12:29,080 --> 00:12:31,320 He goes witch Mary because we ask witch Mary. 175 00:12:31,320 --> 00:12:34,000 There's a few Marys, let me tell you which one. 176 00:12:34,560 --> 00:12:39,440 It's the one who poured perfume on Jesus feet and wiped it with 177 00:12:39,440 --> 00:12:42,600 her hair. Probably the most extravagant 178 00:12:42,720 --> 00:12:46,480 and genuine act of worship that we find in the New Testament, 179 00:12:47,040 --> 00:12:49,040 which Martha, Oh, let me tell you which. 180 00:12:49,040 --> 00:12:52,080 Martha, the one who opened a home to Jesus, who made 181 00:12:52,080 --> 00:12:56,000 preparations for Jesus, who served Jesus, who fed Jesus, who 182 00:12:56,000 --> 00:12:58,480 provided a home for him to rest in. 183 00:12:58,600 --> 00:13:01,880 So we look at Mary and we look at Martha and we go, if there's 184 00:13:01,880 --> 00:13:05,760 anybody worthy out there of Jesus intervening in their 185 00:13:05,760 --> 00:13:08,480 distress, it has to be Mary and Martha, right? 186 00:13:09,560 --> 00:13:12,920 Jesus, Sir, why did you not do something about it? 187 00:13:15,640 --> 00:13:16,720 My name's Car. Eugene. 188 00:13:18,560 --> 00:13:24,880 It's OK. And I was just in the flow, you 189 00:13:24,880 --> 00:13:28,520 know, but let's get. I'm going to keep going. 190 00:13:29,480 --> 00:13:33,160 And how often do we do that? How often do we do that? 191 00:13:33,160 --> 00:13:34,600 Where? Where we go? 192 00:13:34,840 --> 00:13:39,080 God, I serve you. I worship you. 193 00:13:40,080 --> 00:13:43,960 I come to three CR every Sunday. I go to Home group. 194 00:13:44,160 --> 00:13:49,440 Why are you not intervening in my distress? 195 00:13:51,560 --> 00:13:55,040 And I mean, here's one of those moments. 196 00:13:56,000 --> 00:14:02,320 As if John doesn't hasn't made it plain enough, and as if Jesus 197 00:14:02,400 --> 00:14:06,200 hasn't chosen this moment just so specifically. 198 00:14:07,360 --> 00:14:12,480 His name, the man's name that the story centres around is 199 00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:14,600 what? It's Lazarus. 200 00:14:16,320 --> 00:14:18,880 Does anybody know what Lazarus means? 201 00:14:20,360 --> 00:14:28,080 Biblical scholars out there? God is my help. 202 00:14:34,840 --> 00:14:39,400 The way John is writing all the little bits of detail that is 203 00:14:39,440 --> 00:14:47,080 he's adding the way God chose this very moment, everything is 204 00:14:47,080 --> 00:14:52,520 leading us to believe OK, here's a guy, his name is God is my 205 00:14:52,520 --> 00:14:56,360 help. He's known, he's loved, he's 206 00:14:56,360 --> 00:14:59,200 part of family that I love everything. 207 00:14:59,360 --> 00:15:04,440 Everything leads up to go. He is a shoe in to get a 208 00:15:04,440 --> 00:15:08,600 healing. So in a complete plot twist, 209 00:15:10,320 --> 00:15:17,400 instead of Jesus rushing to his aid, Jesus does nothing. 210 00:15:19,200 --> 00:15:26,760 Stay exactly where you are. He does nothing. 211 00:15:28,200 --> 00:15:34,040 And just think about that. And in the nothing Lazarus does, 212 00:15:37,080 --> 00:15:43,200 the sisters that he loves have to go and take this body of the 213 00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:49,760 brother, deal with the pain, deal with the funeral, and go 214 00:15:49,760 --> 00:15:54,520 and bury it. Why, Jesus? 215 00:15:55,520 --> 00:16:00,800 Why? And this kind of question, this 216 00:16:00,800 --> 00:16:04,400 kind of concern, this kind of doubting is found throughout 217 00:16:04,400 --> 00:16:06,880 Scripture. David, for instance, when he's 218 00:16:06,880 --> 00:16:12,040 being attacked on all sides in a very, I love the Psalms. 219 00:16:12,040 --> 00:16:15,360 I, I read the Psalms continuing just over and over and over 220 00:16:15,360 --> 00:16:17,680 again. And there was just such gems. 221 00:16:17,680 --> 00:16:19,520 There's such real life in in them. 222 00:16:19,680 --> 00:16:22,760 And in this moment in Psalm 10, he cries out and says, why, 223 00:16:22,760 --> 00:16:28,960 Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in 224 00:16:28,960 --> 00:16:31,360 times of trouble? Why, why are you hiding 225 00:16:31,360 --> 00:16:33,480 yourself? Can't you see the distress that 226 00:16:33,480 --> 00:16:36,080 I'm in? And then in Psalm 74, he gets 227 00:16:36,080 --> 00:16:39,360 even more extreme. He says, why have you rejected 228 00:16:39,360 --> 00:16:45,360 us forever? Why does your anger burn against 229 00:16:45,360 --> 00:16:48,880 the sheep of your posture? He's having these incredible 230 00:16:48,880 --> 00:16:51,000 honest moments. We've got where he says, God, I 231 00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:53,800 can't, I'm in this trouble and you are nowhere. 232 00:16:54,240 --> 00:16:59,160 Yes, narrants, I can't find you. Where are you, God? 233 00:16:59,640 --> 00:17:01,080 It feels like you've rejected me. 234 00:17:01,080 --> 00:17:02,600 It feels like you're angry with me. 235 00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:06,400 And throughout the Bible, we see men and women of God giving, 236 00:17:06,640 --> 00:17:10,480 giving God this question. And if we're honest with 237 00:17:10,480 --> 00:17:17,800 ourselves, and if we're really, really honest, not fake, false, 238 00:17:17,960 --> 00:17:24,400 faffing Pharisees like Steve spoke about last week, but if 239 00:17:24,400 --> 00:17:29,920 we're really, really honest, we all ask that question deep 240 00:17:29,920 --> 00:17:33,000 within our hearts. And you know what? 241 00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:37,200 God knows we're asking it and He doesn't shy away from it. 242 00:17:37,800 --> 00:17:40,400 He doesn't rebuke us. He doesn't go ye of little 243 00:17:40,400 --> 00:17:42,000 faith. What are you doing? 244 00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:47,160 Why do you question me instead? If you look at the biblical 245 00:17:47,160 --> 00:17:53,320 example and you look deep into the story, we understand that 246 00:17:53,320 --> 00:17:58,720 God actually invites us, just like Mary, just like Martha, 247 00:17:59,360 --> 00:18:03,800 just like David, to bring the question to him. 248 00:18:04,680 --> 00:18:11,000 Bring me the doubt. Now before we move on, I just 249 00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:15,600 want to show you very quickly how Mary and Martha asked the 250 00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:19,400 question as 2 positive examples that we can learn from. 251 00:18:19,600 --> 00:18:23,120 You see, Martha comes to the Lord and says, if if you'd been 252 00:18:23,120 --> 00:18:25,160 here, my brother wouldn't have died. 253 00:18:25,360 --> 00:18:25,920 What? What? 254 00:18:25,920 --> 00:18:29,560 Why did you let this happen? But she doesn't just come with 255 00:18:29,560 --> 00:18:33,400 the question, she brings it. But she also articulates her 256 00:18:33,400 --> 00:18:37,040 faith. She says even now, even in this 257 00:18:37,040 --> 00:18:40,400 moment of distress, even in this moment of not understanding 258 00:18:40,400 --> 00:18:45,000 what's going on, I know that you will do whatever God. 259 00:18:45,200 --> 00:18:47,880 I know that God will do whatever he you ask. 260 00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:51,240 And when he asks her later, do you believe that I'm the 261 00:18:51,240 --> 00:18:52,840 resurrection and the life? She says, what? 262 00:18:53,000 --> 00:18:55,960 Yes, I believe that you are the Christ. 263 00:18:56,560 --> 00:18:59,920 So she brings, Martha brings the question, she brings her doubt, 264 00:18:59,920 --> 00:19:04,320 she brings her hurt, but she also brings her faith into that 265 00:19:04,320 --> 00:19:07,040 situation. And in Mary Mary we see 266 00:19:07,040 --> 00:19:10,200 something very similar because she comes with this exactly the 267 00:19:10,200 --> 00:19:14,200 same question written in exactly same way, but then she falls at 268 00:19:14,280 --> 00:19:19,480 Jesus feet and she worships him. So we always bring God the 269 00:19:19,480 --> 00:19:22,400 question, but we also bring our faith and our worship. 270 00:19:22,800 --> 00:19:24,480 And that is the example we can use. 271 00:19:24,480 --> 00:19:27,000 And that's the example that we see with David and the Psalms as 272 00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:28,720 well. Questions like where are you 273 00:19:28,720 --> 00:19:30,920 God? Why are you hiding yourself from 274 00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:32,600 me? Why does it feel like you're 275 00:19:32,600 --> 00:19:35,640 angry with me? Those are always fathered with 276 00:19:35,640 --> 00:19:39,080 you know what, Lord? I know that you're good and I 277 00:19:39,080 --> 00:19:42,520 know that you will vindicate me and I know that you will keep a 278 00:19:42,520 --> 00:19:47,800 record of the situation and in the end you will make it all OK. 279 00:19:48,200 --> 00:19:51,840 So the invitation in the Scripture and in this passage is 280 00:19:51,840 --> 00:19:56,000 for us to bring God the the doubt and the concern, saying I 281 00:19:56,000 --> 00:19:59,160 don't know what's going on. I'm honestly hurting. 282 00:19:59,760 --> 00:20:03,520 But I also know that you love me and that you're good. 283 00:20:04,040 --> 00:20:09,360 And that you care for me. So why did Lazarus? 284 00:20:09,440 --> 00:20:13,000 Why no? Why did Jesus not heal Lazarus? 285 00:20:16,920 --> 00:20:20,960 Why did he do that? So first, before we get to the 286 00:20:20,960 --> 00:20:25,360 right answer, let's look at what is not the answer, the wrong 287 00:20:25,360 --> 00:20:29,280 answer. Because in these situations like 288 00:20:29,280 --> 00:20:33,520 this, we're all tempted to believe that if God could have 289 00:20:33,520 --> 00:20:39,920 done something, but he chose not to do something, it must be 290 00:20:40,480 --> 00:20:49,320 because he doesn't care. So John goes to great lengths in 291 00:20:49,320 --> 00:20:52,400 this passage in the next few verses to show us that that is 292 00:20:52,400 --> 00:20:57,800 not the case. We already know how much Jesus 293 00:20:57,800 --> 00:21:00,600 loved Lazarus and Mary and Martha. 294 00:21:01,240 --> 00:21:06,080 Then in verse 8, Jesus decides he's going to go OK, and the 295 00:21:06,080 --> 00:21:07,600 disciples go, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. 296 00:21:08,280 --> 00:21:13,280 This ain't a good idea. Just a few days ago, they were 297 00:21:13,280 --> 00:21:16,640 trying to stone you. So I know if any of you have 298 00:21:16,920 --> 00:21:24,280 experienced the stoning of late, anyone, any of the Pretoria 299 00:21:24,280 --> 00:21:32,640 boys, it's not fun. People are hurling rocks at you, 300 00:21:33,200 --> 00:21:38,400 not small one big ones with the purpose of trying to kill you. 301 00:21:39,800 --> 00:21:42,840 And the passage before that, that's exactly what they were 302 00:21:42,840 --> 00:21:47,560 doing to Jesus in that area. So that so the disciples are 303 00:21:47,560 --> 00:21:52,160 right to say, listen, it's not a good idea for us to go back 304 00:21:52,160 --> 00:21:54,880 there and they have this debate amongst themselves. 305 00:21:55,240 --> 00:21:57,800 You know, this is crazy. I mean, we want to go back 306 00:21:57,800 --> 00:21:58,880 there. Will we be safe? 307 00:21:58,880 --> 00:22:02,520 Won't be be safe. And Thomas being who he is, just 308 00:22:02,520 --> 00:22:05,400 decides, OK, I'm actually going to lay it out there and just 309 00:22:05,400 --> 00:22:08,400 just have a bit of a hissy fit and say, fine, OK, if we're all 310 00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:10,440 going to go, we can all go there and we can all just die. 311 00:22:11,680 --> 00:22:17,240 But Jesus says, now listen, we're going why? 312 00:22:18,560 --> 00:22:22,320 Because he cared. And then we see in verse 33 to 313 00:22:22,320 --> 00:22:26,680 35 the most powerful picture. Mary comes to Jesus and she 314 00:22:26,680 --> 00:22:30,280 says, if you had been there, my brother would not have died. 315 00:22:30,560 --> 00:22:33,880 And she's weeping. And the crowd is weeping. 316 00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:37,960 And it says that Jesus is deeply moved and troubled in spirit. 317 00:22:38,440 --> 00:22:41,000 And then he asks, where? Where did you put him? 318 00:22:41,080 --> 00:22:47,880 Where did you put the body? And they say to him, Come, come 319 00:22:47,880 --> 00:22:54,080 and see Lord, come and see my pain, come and see my sorrow. 320 00:22:55,760 --> 00:23:02,280 And in that moment when he sees the tomb, when he sees the pain, 321 00:23:04,200 --> 00:23:13,280 when he's invited into the pain, at that moment Jesus breaks down 322 00:23:15,160 --> 00:23:20,440 and he weeps. And can you see that Jesus is 323 00:23:20,440 --> 00:23:29,800 not weeping for them, but Jesus is weeping with them because he 324 00:23:29,800 --> 00:23:35,360 loved his friend, because he's not only concerned, he's 325 00:23:35,360 --> 00:23:38,040 emotionally invested in their suffering. 326 00:23:38,040 --> 00:23:44,960 And this is the key point that times of trouble, trouble God. 327 00:23:45,040 --> 00:23:48,160 He is concerned for us. He doesn't want to see us 328 00:23:48,160 --> 00:23:50,480 suffer. God is deeply moved when we 329 00:23:50,480 --> 00:23:52,880 suffer. Like when your child is going 330 00:23:53,040 --> 00:23:57,040 through a hard time, you're not standoffish, you don't go, oh, 331 00:23:57,040 --> 00:23:59,640 that's your problem. You deal with it. 332 00:24:00,280 --> 00:24:04,880 It hurts you, it's painful, you don't like it. 333 00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:07,520 You want to intervene, you want to get involved, you want to 334 00:24:07,520 --> 00:24:12,080 sort it out, and that's what God is like with us. 335 00:24:12,240 --> 00:24:15,320 Psalm 56, such a beautiful Psalm. 336 00:24:16,200 --> 00:24:20,760 In the ESV it says that you have kept count of my tossing. 337 00:24:21,920 --> 00:24:27,200 Put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book? 338 00:24:27,400 --> 00:24:31,000 When we can't sleep at night, He counts. 339 00:24:31,800 --> 00:24:35,000 God counts of us 'cause not sleeping well again. 340 00:24:36,240 --> 00:24:42,520 There he is. He's just moved over again. 1-2 341 00:24:43,160 --> 00:24:51,360 All that anxiety, all that fear. He captures our tears in a 342 00:24:51,360 --> 00:24:56,800 bottle. He keeps a record of all the 343 00:24:56,800 --> 00:24:59,480 things that go wrong. Why? 344 00:25:01,160 --> 00:25:04,680 Why? Because He cares, He cares so 345 00:25:04,680 --> 00:25:06,720 deeply for us. And guess what? 346 00:25:06,840 --> 00:25:08,840 He's also keeping a record of them. 347 00:25:08,840 --> 00:25:14,240 He's storing them because one day he's going to make good on 348 00:25:14,280 --> 00:25:18,160 every single one of them. He's showing us, I'm keeping a 349 00:25:18,160 --> 00:25:20,560 record of the pain and the hurt that you went through. 350 00:25:20,560 --> 00:25:25,480 Because one day, one day, let me promise you, I will sort it all 351 00:25:25,480 --> 00:25:28,680 out. The Lord is near to the broken 352 00:25:28,680 --> 00:25:32,040 hearted Psalm 34. He's not standoffish. 353 00:25:32,240 --> 00:25:37,720 He's not far away. Isaiah 49 Can a mother forget? 354 00:25:40,680 --> 00:25:43,000 Can a mother forget? Sam, can you forget? 355 00:25:44,920 --> 00:25:50,080 Hey, Jess, can you forget? Ellen, can a mother forget? 356 00:25:51,680 --> 00:25:56,200 A mother can't forget, even if they may forget. 357 00:25:57,960 --> 00:26:05,240 Yet I will not forget. Behold, I have engraved you on 358 00:26:05,240 --> 00:26:10,080 the palms of my hands. Not I have a tattoo of your name 359 00:26:10,360 --> 00:26:16,440 somewhere. I have engraved you, not your 360 00:26:16,440 --> 00:26:21,280 name, you. I've engraved you on the palm of 361 00:26:21,280 --> 00:26:25,640 my hands. That is how much I care for you. 362 00:26:27,600 --> 00:26:34,560 It may be tempting, may be really tempting, to think that 363 00:26:34,560 --> 00:26:40,120 it is because he doesn't care. But the example that Jesus sets 364 00:26:40,120 --> 00:26:45,320 for us in this passage is not one of emotional detachment, but 365 00:26:45,320 --> 00:26:50,720 one to be deeply troubled by the bad things that happen for us. 366 00:26:50,720 --> 00:26:59,760 God cares deeply. So since we know that it's not 367 00:26:59,840 --> 00:27:06,440 because he doesn't care, what then is the reason that He 368 00:27:06,440 --> 00:27:14,120 allows Lazarus to die? So here's the answer, and we're 369 00:27:14,120 --> 00:27:17,960 going to build up to it, so listen carefully now. 370 00:27:20,520 --> 00:27:25,240 He allows Lazarus to die so that we might see something deeper 371 00:27:26,040 --> 00:27:30,880 and more lasting than a miracle. You see, Jesus had shown his 372 00:27:30,880 --> 00:27:37,360 power time and time again 24 times up until that point. 373 00:27:37,840 --> 00:27:41,920 He can heal, He can intervene, He can fix. 374 00:27:42,520 --> 00:27:45,360 But in this moment, Jesus is saying, I don't want to solve 375 00:27:45,520 --> 00:27:50,600 just another problem because he knows that the greatest need in 376 00:27:50,600 --> 00:27:54,320 that moment is not so that Lazarus would breathe again for 377 00:27:54,320 --> 00:27:57,400 a few more years. Because he knows that the 378 00:27:57,400 --> 00:28:03,160 greatest need in that moment is that people would come face to 379 00:28:03,160 --> 00:28:08,640 face with the one who is the resurrection and the life. 380 00:28:09,120 --> 00:28:12,000 And we see the answer throughout the passage everywhere. 381 00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:14,880 He says I'm doing this for God's glory. 382 00:28:15,160 --> 00:28:17,800 I'm doing this so that you can see me. 383 00:28:18,040 --> 00:28:20,320 I'm doing this so that you can believe. 384 00:28:20,520 --> 00:28:23,960 I'm doing this so that you might see my glory. 385 00:28:23,960 --> 00:28:27,680 And Chad reminded us about 3 weeks ago said the whole of the 386 00:28:27,680 --> 00:28:31,120 Gospel of John is written for one purpose, that we might 387 00:28:31,120 --> 00:28:35,960 encounter Jesus and believe. Believe in what? 388 00:28:36,200 --> 00:28:41,440 Then Jesus puts it plainly and verse 25 he says that I am the 389 00:28:41,440 --> 00:28:46,920 resurrection and the life and whoever believes in me will have 390 00:28:47,160 --> 00:28:50,640 eternal life. Not I will give resurrection, 391 00:28:51,080 --> 00:28:54,840 not I can come and perform a resurrection. 392 00:28:55,200 --> 00:28:59,080 I am the resurrection and the life. 393 00:28:59,200 --> 00:29:03,800 He is showing us that resurrection is a person we can 394 00:29:03,800 --> 00:29:08,960 encounter today. And that is why he waited. 395 00:29:09,080 --> 00:29:13,400 Because if Jesus had healed his friend, we would have seen his 396 00:29:13,400 --> 00:29:17,600 power. But by Jesus allowing him to 397 00:29:17,600 --> 00:29:23,960 die, we see his glory. And to see his glory is to sue, 398 00:29:23,960 --> 00:29:29,080 see who he truly is, the resurrection and the life. 399 00:29:29,600 --> 00:29:33,840 And we could end it right there at verse 25. 400 00:29:35,120 --> 00:29:38,680 And that would be good enough. Because if you think about it, 401 00:29:39,080 --> 00:29:45,760 all of our questions, all of our doubts, all of our pain, all of 402 00:29:45,760 --> 00:29:49,720 our fears, everything that we go through in this messy life of 403 00:29:49,720 --> 00:29:56,520 ours can be answered in the knowledge that Jesus will make 404 00:29:56,520 --> 00:30:01,520 it good because he is the resurrection and the life. 405 00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:07,040 But the amazing thing is that the story doesn't end with a 406 00:30:07,040 --> 00:30:15,960 statement. It ends with a display of what 407 00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:19,760 Jesus came to do in all of our lives. 408 00:30:20,600 --> 00:30:27,560 So to anchor the message, Jesus says, all right, let me show you 409 00:30:27,920 --> 00:30:33,640 exactly what I came to do in each and every one of your 410 00:30:33,640 --> 00:30:37,040 lives. So Jesus stands in front of the 411 00:30:37,040 --> 00:30:40,120 tomb, and maybe the band can come up. 412 00:30:42,680 --> 00:30:48,240 So Jesus stands in front of the tomb, stands in front of our 413 00:30:48,240 --> 00:30:54,480 tomb, and he calls in a loud voice. 414 00:30:57,000 --> 00:31:03,520 Come out of your tomb, come out of your death, come out of your 415 00:31:03,520 --> 00:31:10,680 darkness, come out of your despair, come out of your pain. 416 00:31:14,080 --> 00:31:22,480 And Lazarus walks out and he's alive, but he's still wrapped in 417 00:31:22,480 --> 00:31:28,000 his grave clothes. He's still got this veil and 418 00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:30,760 this cloth that's covering his eyes and his face. 419 00:31:31,120 --> 00:31:33,640 So keep that picture in your mind. 420 00:31:34,840 --> 00:31:38,920 Now in contrast, let's go to Jesus tomb. 421 00:31:40,800 --> 00:31:44,640 When the women arrived at Jesus tomb, they found it empty. 422 00:31:47,080 --> 00:31:50,320 And when Peter and John go into the tomb, what do they find? 423 00:31:51,040 --> 00:31:59,880 His grave clothes neatly folded. You see, Jesus didn't need 424 00:31:59,880 --> 00:32:02,520 someone to issue a command for him. 425 00:32:04,680 --> 00:32:11,720 He didn't come out wrapped. He left the grave close behind. 426 00:32:14,480 --> 00:32:16,480 He didn't just come back to life. 427 00:32:18,160 --> 00:32:25,120 He defeats Death completely. He has so much time on his hands 428 00:32:25,160 --> 00:32:30,640 after defeating Death that he folds the clothes, puts it there 429 00:32:30,640 --> 00:32:33,640 neatly for us. That's how powerful I am. 430 00:32:35,880 --> 00:32:40,880 He is showing us that he is the resurrection and the laugh come 431 00:32:40,880 --> 00:32:47,640 back to Lazarus. Lazarus comes out rapt because 432 00:32:47,640 --> 00:32:53,800 he's brought back into this world, not yet into the fullness 433 00:32:54,640 --> 00:32:59,720 of what is to come. He's alive but not yet fully 434 00:32:59,720 --> 00:33:04,160 transformed. But the first thing that he sees 435 00:33:04,160 --> 00:33:08,800 before him, the first thing that he sees before him as he walks 436 00:33:08,800 --> 00:33:16,160 out from death into life is what through the cloth he sees Jesus, 437 00:33:17,480 --> 00:33:20,920 the resurrection and the life. And that is us. 438 00:33:21,560 --> 00:33:26,080 We called out of death into life, but still living in this 439 00:33:26,080 --> 00:33:32,120 world where we don't always see clearly, where things don't 440 00:33:32,440 --> 00:33:37,320 always make sense. And now I want to be like one of 441 00:33:37,320 --> 00:33:41,280 those, I don't know, evangelical preachers and start running up 442 00:33:41,280 --> 00:33:46,360 and down because this is the most exciting thing that I've 443 00:33:46,360 --> 00:33:51,360 read. There's a second command that 444 00:33:51,360 --> 00:33:55,560 comes. He doesn't leave it there. 445 00:33:57,320 --> 00:34:02,480 And the second command is take off your grave clothes. 446 00:34:04,160 --> 00:34:07,160 Are you ready, Church, Are you ready? 447 00:34:09,280 --> 00:34:16,360 Take off your grave clothes and let him go. 448 00:34:18,159 --> 00:34:24,400 Let him go, let him go. Be free. 449 00:34:26,199 --> 00:34:31,880 Because that is the hope that we have as believers, that there is 450 00:34:31,880 --> 00:34:37,880 a day coming when our grave clothes will be removed, all of 451 00:34:37,880 --> 00:34:44,159 our pain will be removed, the veil will be removed, and we 452 00:34:44,159 --> 00:34:51,480 will see clearly and it'll all make sense. 453 00:34:53,520 --> 00:34:57,760 So when life hits you with those questions, when you're standing 454 00:34:57,760 --> 00:35:02,080 in the pain and you're trying to answer the hardest question, why 455 00:35:02,080 --> 00:35:03,040 God? Why? 456 00:35:03,920 --> 00:35:06,000 Jesus says, bring me the question. 457 00:35:06,960 --> 00:35:08,880 I'm not afraid of it, Bring it to me. 458 00:35:10,360 --> 00:35:14,920 It's not because I don't care. But you can be sure of this one 459 00:35:14,920 --> 00:35:20,960 thing, the pain, the distress, the death will not have the 460 00:35:20,960 --> 00:35:26,600 final say because standing right in front of you is the one who 461 00:35:26,600 --> 00:35:33,200 does the resurrection and the life in Jesus mighty name, Amen.