7th Sign: Lazarus Come Forth, Part 1

Today on Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhart challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ. They made a specific name and figure they have good leverages or someone. Jesus loves Jesus that something is kind of moments that are that God says to you and me. Trust. This trust me, but we want to trust joining us today on this additional Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhart Fellowship in the Words the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible church located in Metairie, Louisiana Pastor Bill Gebhart now was once again he shows us how God's word meets our work in private can allude death is indiscriminate is a great equalizer.

What does a billionaire have to do with the poorest people in Third World country. What I have in common a guy about really healthy people and unhealthy people they die when a righteous and the wicked guy and humans have always been very uneasy about it will do almost anything to delay it anyway possible that we can delay it will take it we stay away from it as much as we possibly can.

Some people even say I really like to talk about that may be fine but you won't avoid it. The ancient world wasn't like that at all.

The ancient world, everybody saw people die. Most people went into adulthood. So countless people die every one died in their home. Grandparents and parents and neighbors. Everyone died and you were used to seeing it. But not for us there. People probably in this room and never seen anybody die and never want to I don't want to see people actually die when someone does die.

Somebody else gets to see them die, then they carry them off. Then we make operations for them and we invite people after the public to the funeral home. People have homes funerals don't have homes but we called the funeral home and we embalm the body and dress it up. I still remember one of the very few times, the thought I had to send it to my father in a casket was one of the few times I ever saw him in a suit and put them in a suit and enter people to go there and watch buying a savings doesn't hear. She looked nice. It's our culture. No matter how hard we try we can't ignore or sanitize death death must be dealt with. And that's where Jesus Christ comes in.

I am so thankful for John chapter 11 because it reveals to me that because of Jesus Christ. Death meets its master.

So I invite you to open your Bibles to John chapter 11.

We have been in a series for quite some time called the seven signs of the son of God. John writes his gospel by giving us seven different signs specific miracles that reveal the nature and power of God in Jesus Christ. All of them, designed by John so that you would put your faith and believe in him.

This is the book that sets forth the deity of Jesus Christ. This is the seventh one in the final one in the first 16 verses will deal with the delay. There is a delay in this chapter he uses it to build the faith of the disciples vendors to conversations that he has in the next section to build the faith of Martha and Mary, then there is this extraordinary miracle to proclaim who he really is and what easier for and then the response to that know to set up Chapter 11. Look at verse 39 chapter 10 it says therefore they were seeking again to see so many eluded the grass is all out war now in Jesus Christ in Jerusalem. The authorities in Jerusalem are doing everything they can.

They want to seize him, and they want to execute him, but he alludes the grass because it's time hasn't come yet anyone away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John the Baptist was first baptizing, and he was staying there when John started his ministry is on the east bank of the Jordan to place the John started his ministry is called Bethany, the place where Lazarus, Mary and Martha live is called Bethany there to Bethany's enemies house a poor and so that's kind of the irony of this and it says while he's there. He said many came to him and were saying. While John performed. No sign yet everything John said about this man is true in many believing in their Jesus is having a robust great ministry in the Transjordan.

Meanwhile in Jerusalem, though there seeking to kill him goes on. He says now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany the village of Mary and her sister Martha, Lazarus is the common name not unusual name at all. At that time.

He just want to tell us that he said it was the Mary he said, who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. That's kind of ironic because she doesn't do it in the Gospel of John until later. This is before she did it, but John knew that everybody was aware of the story of Mary anointing Jesus feet.

This is around 90 A.D. and so the other gospels of told a soul. John just assumes his readers know and then the sisters sent word to him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom you love sick interesting words. Lord Korea us. They recognize who he is and then he says he who you love sick.

It's not agape. This is a for God so loved the world. Agape love. This universal decision. The look this is flow.

This means my friend Lazarus is not just someone. God loves God loves the whole world.

Lazarus is a friend of Jesus Christ. So they set this up by saying Lazarus the one who you love. What are they thinking will first of all I think their thinking.

Lazarus should have some advantage of any meetings Lazarus is the friend of Jesus. When Jesus is your friend. You know, this is the guy the turn water into wine. This is a guy that took the stormy sea and made it, you know, this is the guy that took a picnic basket and turned it into a buffet for thousands of people that's this guy is my friend, because the lame to walk the blind to see, and I'm sure these girls know that he raised Gerace his daughter from the dead, and he also raised the windows of Maine son from the dead. They know all this, so they say these are strangers, but this is the man you love. Talk about an ace in the hole. I think they think they got it then that word in verse four, but it's a big word is important. Have you ever made your case to God in your own prayer life of what you want God to do when you want to do it and how we should do it but then work out that way.

You see, they they made a specific name and figure they have good leverages of someone.

Jesus loves Jesus that something else is a very important part of our spiritual life. You see, it's in these kind of moments. These dire painful moments of life that God says to you and me. Trust me. Just trust me. But we don't want to trust you don't know what I know what I want you to do here. Many give him some good reason, but when Jesus heard his.

He said, this sickness is not an end in death. But for the glory of God, so that the son of God may be glorified by it. Same thing you said about the man born blind who send this man or his father, Jesus, and no one is going reveal the glory of God. He says the exact same thing here. Now all I think the disciples heard was this sickness is not an end in death. So their thinking okay going to do something greater. Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

That's agape love them all.

Lazarus he loves is a friend, but they loves them all. So when he heard that he was sick, he stayed two days in the place where he was shocking. What weight weight you love this guy. And then you just said okay this is hang around here for a couple days we did wonder the guy right I mean that's the way this works except this is all about timing and the situation. It's a one day from the messenger to go from Mary and Martha DeJesus in Jesus day two more days, then it will take one day see one day for Jesus to get to them. That's crucial to understanding this whole thing.

You see, it's four days we know something that I find quite interesting.

The Jews believed something a little bit different. They believe that when a person dies your soul hovers around your body for three days, the soul, how, and so now got understanding of the corner. You know sometimes people look like they're dead.

They may not be dead. You know that so they come up.

The rabbis come up this idea that the soul hangs around for three days.

So when Jesus healed.

You see Gerace, his daughter, she just died and he brought her back to life. Typical Jew would sit. She was a really good then you have the widow of name son and he's actually on the processional go to be buried so the soul was right there is a soul hangs around the body for three days, but this is four days and to be no doubt. That's why Jesus is waiting for these days the pass she had such a really important part of understanding this whole story and so when he had heard it. He was sick, he stayed two days in the place where he was and then after this he said to his disciples all right up and sign guys let's go over going to Judea today and could just imagine with their but today it don't remember there having a tremendous ministry in Bethany on the Transjordan all kinds of people believe in and see. I will leave them alone back to Judea today for this I will send him, Rabbi, the Jews are just now seeking to stone you and you to go there again Bethany were Lazarus and Mary and Martha are sorry.

2 miles from Jerusalem.

So they're very close in suburbs and so the point would be what we go back for Estonia when you go back to that's what's going to happen.

Jesus said, are there not 12 hours in the day if anyone walks in the day. He does not stumble because he sees the light of this world, but if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles because the light is not in a nylon when Jesus talks like agape. I want you to. I'm irreducibly very important understand every time he talks of the disciples like this. I want to give you an idea what their facial expression was every time I got no idea what is taught a wide they never get it see in Jesus a look. The light of the world's here as long as it's daytime on them do the will of the father. There's a nighttime it's coming.

I won't be here, but as long as the father wants me to be here embedded below that point on the do the work of God. That's what I'm going to do the disciples in a sense, don't get it they said to him after he said to them that our friend Lazarus as fallen asleep, but I go so that I may awaken amount of the sleep. He said that McDermott got a little further. He's asleep, I'm going to go and I went to my the sleep now understand again in the Bible every time a believer sleeps all the way from the Old Testament men. My David it means it's a it's a euphemism for death believers don't die they live. They just sleep the body sleeps. That's all. Jesus say once again know the disciples don't get it at that was too far above that they could understand at and so the disciples then said to him, Lord, if you fall asleep and recover.

No need to go here. I mean he's asleep people wake up he's gonna wake up just let them go. Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought he was speaking of literal sleep. What I interesting verse for John to write his writing that about himself. John was right there. John's one of the ESA get with. We thought he was talking about sleeping John has to admit and 90 A.D. when he was thinking 60 years earlier and he said that's just the way it was and then I doesn't say it in verse 14, but I'll say this, Jesus rolls his eyes. I just think he does. Jesus rolls his eyes and says to them plainly, Lazarus is dead. Now they get instead I had to say. So you see, why didn't you say so well is a Lazarus is dead and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there.

Why did he delay so that you may believe now let's go to see the delay was for the disciples to strengthen their faith is.

That's a very important part of this to understand. Therefore, Thomas was a very bad reputation among people like us. Thomas, who was called didymus said to his fellow decide let us go so that we may die with him. I could be cynical were fatalist, but I'm not so sure Thomas will more impressive guy when you really look at them and what you might think he is. I think Thomas is shown courage and is going to happen. Jerusalem he said, but he's my Lord for you guys I die, I'm going with them. You know so that I think that's what Thomas said.

So that's kind of the whole reason for this whole response.

He's dead now we go. John sets it up with so I want to continue the story now now were going to see these conversations that he has with Martha and Mary. So when Jesus came he found that he had already been in the tomb four days now. Put the math together. I hope this isn't too difficult for you but put the math together.

What is it telling.

When the messenger got the Jesus Lazarus is already dead soon as the messenger left, Martha and Mary. He died so when he went and told Jesus, your friend is, he was dead.

He was dead for four days. The one day vendor to do it in a day back to get the four days so he says there that he had been in the tomb for four days understand when they buried. That's how they do it immediately. You're going to be buried. And so after that, it says, then that now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about 2 miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. No, what you really need to understand is just how different this is than what you and I think a typical funeral prayers is completely different when someone dies, they are immediately buried know what they do is that they they don't.

There's no embalming or anything like that to put some spices to try to make it smell better, and then they wrap them in wrappings, and then Elkhart a month if your affluent like Lazarus. Lazarus is your in a cave average Jerry Joseph of Arimathea put Jesus in his game.

The affluent would have a cave like that they would put a minute or so and then that would start funeral service.

Funeral services seven days.

Now that's pretty foreign to us and it I mean I watch people go to a funeral home to pay their respects got don't pay my respects so they go one of the family. Sorry to hear about it by 15 minutes or them around and I've seen people get on their cell phone is her leaving the funeral home distance are talking about the Dale Cameron appointments to launch in that's that's good what we that's nominated. Lazarus is apparently a man will off. He has a lot of connections in Jerusalem so whole bunch of the Jews of Jerusalem cannot was home when they come out. They begin to mourn with the family, and often on is not conciliar but often offer seven days.

They come in mourn now family like Lazarus would have a little more money and so they would also have professional mourners.

The prophetic and almost all ladies. These leaders are great at wailing and crying and so you bring them in and a surrogate prime the pump.

Get people stimulated and so they will and cry along with Mary and Martha. It's is just an interesting aspect of the way they do things they during this time the family served bread, hard-boiled eggs and lentils for the week. This is there's no celebration of the life and injury funeral.

This is the morning of the loss type of thing. The other factories you could still go by the family's home for 30 days and mourn with them seven days is the required amount.

But you go up to 30 days doing this with a made a very serious view of this know what I find so interesting is that the whole context of this is kind of an interesting thought.

What happens to you after four days if you thought about that. I have one writer wrote this he said that the Jews do not embalm the Jews did nothing to stop the KI. They wrap the body and sprinkle spices wanted to mitigate the smell. That's it. Here's what happens in four days he said is pretty grisly stuff the heart stopped beating the body cells are then deprived deprived of oxygen. They begin to die.

Blood dreams from throughout the circulatory system and pulls in many low places in the body. The muscles begin to stiffen and what we call by the Latin word. Rigor mortis and that sets in after three hours the person has rigor mortis by 24 hours.

The bodies lost all that seat the muscles then lose their rigor mortis in 36 hours and by 72 hours. The rigor mortis is vanished all the stiffnesses gone and the body becomes soft, just a big sack says looking a little deeper this out as the cells begin to die, bacteria go to work. Your body is filled with bacteria in that's that's a different subject exhibit the bacteria in the body of a dead person begin to attack and break down the cells completely.

The decomposing tissue takes on a horrific look and smell and emits green liquids by the 72nd hour.

The tissue releases hydrogen sulfide and methane, as well as other gases. The horrible smell is now emitted insects and animals will consume the parts of the body of a get. That's what Lazarus is like. That's important for you to understand because I don't think we think about it from that point of view. So now Martha shows up, Martha, Ned, for when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet them. Mary stayed in the house. Martha then said to Jesus, Lord, if you would be near my brother would not have died. Even now I know whatever you ask of God, God will give you. She shows him respect, which is a gentle rebuke, Lord, if you have been here it would be to what is she questioning Hughes. It was just his timing. Not really just questioning his goodness like United. I hear it over and I just can't understand how God can let this happen when you say the question is goodness. Otherwise, I would like this when questioning the goodness of God Pastor Brueggemann on the radio ministry of fellowship in the world. If you ever miss one of our broadcast or maybe you just like to listen to the message one more time.

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