This Week's Sermon
“Why Does God Let Friends Die?"
Sunday, March 29, 2020
Submitted to the church website due to Coronavirus outbreak
Scripture: Read John 11:1-44
Introduction:
John 11 contains the well-known story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, and (for trivia fans) the shortest verse in the Bible is in this chapter (John 11:35, “Jesus wept.”) The raising of Lazarus is also the last of the seven miracles (or “signs” as John calls them repeatedly) recorded in John’s gospel. Miracles are exciting, and I can’t begin to imagine what went through the minds of the people who had come to comfort Mary and Martha after Lazarus’ death after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. But we must understand that Jesus is not just a really talented magician who came to do miraculous things. In the person of Jesus Christ, God had come to die for the sins of His people and to rise for our justification. This miracle (sign) reveals a wonderful truth about God’s love and how He works in our lives.
One of the negative effects of an evil heart is that people naturally assume the universe should revolve around them. This perspective often reveals itself by how much the affairs of life control our feelings. When things go well, we believe God is good and His love is safe and solid. But when things don’t go the way we want, we wonder why God’s love seems so weak, or we may even wonder if God loves us at all. That attitude betrays a basic form of idolatry – that our own needs are somehow more important that everything else. We look at life’s problems and assume they reveal the nature and character of God (Is God good or not?) The Bible condemns that approach.
The book of Romans tells us that creation reveals that God exists and He deserves our worship. The Apostle Paul learned this from Psalm 19:
Psalms 19:1 NKJV The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.
“General revelation” refers to the general truths that can be known about God through nature. In Romans 1:18-32, Paul tells us that sin both bends creation’s story to hide the truth about God and corrupts our ability to interpret general revelation properly. As a result, circumstances actually deflect us from the true nature of God. We must have the Word (both in flesh and in Scripture) reveal God to us.
When we talk about general revelation, we also have to discuss the concept of “divine providence.” Divine providence is the governance of God by which He, with wisdom and love, cares for and directs all things in the universe. The doctrine of divine providence asserts that God is in complete control of all things.
English poet and hymn writer William Cowper (pronounced “Cooper”) struggled with depression much of his life. This led him to meditate frequently on God’s love and goodness in the midst of pain and suffering (what he called “God’s frowning providence” – see the 4th stanza of the poem below). Sometimes we say, “God moves in mysterious ways.” That saying has its origins in William Cowper’s hymn “God Moves in a Mysterious Way.”
“God Moves in a Mysterious Way” by William Cowper
God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea, and rides upon the storm.
Deep in unfathomable mines, of never-failing skill;
He fashions up His bright designs and works His sovereign will.
Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take, the clouds that you much dread,
are big with mercy and will break in blessings on your head.
Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust Him for His grace;
behind a frowning providence, He hides a smiling face.
His purposes will ripen fast, unfolding every hour;
the bud may have a bitter taste, but sweet will be the flower.
Blind unbelief is sure to err and scan his work in vain;
God is His own interpreter, and He will make it plain.
Again, from the 4th stanza: Today, a frowning providence; tomorrow a smiling face. Psalm 30:4-5 tell us:
Psalms 30:4-5 NKJV Sing praise to the LORD, you saints of His, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name. (5) For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.
“Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes in the morning.” God’s unfolding flower of providence will one day reveal blessings unimaginably sweet for His people.
1 Peter 1:6-8 remind us:
1 Peter 1:6-8 NKJV In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, (7) that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, (8) whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
Hard circumstances and difficult trials can bring “joy inexpressible and full of glory.”
As I grow older, I’m more and more convinced that our attitude towards our troubles drastically affects the outcome. We find it easy to nurse poor attitudes until they infiltrate every part of our lives. Rather than trust God and count trials as opportunities to grow in grace and faith, our attitudes drive us to self-pity, self-absorption, self-trust, fear and defensiveness.
These attitudes seem to lead to one (maybe even both) of two errors. The first error places our own personal happiness above God’s glory. Then, when bad things happen, when we’re displeased with God’s providence, we either reject God completely or fall into a pattern of destructive emotions. We may say, “I’m not interested in a God who let’s my friends die (or suffer).” Or we may feel sorry for ourselves and take out our pain on whoever happens to be nearby.
The other error has its roots in the “impassibility of God.” This doctrine basically tells us that God doesn’t experience knee-jerk mood swings. He is not moved irrationally to action by people and events like we are. But some people take that doctrine too far. They imagine that God’s concern for His own glory makes Him unfeeling and indifferent to our suffering. In that case, religion helps me grit my teeth and endure to the end. But this is the false faith of stoicism. We all know people whose faith is joyless. And they aren’t content with their own bad attitudes, so they try to steal joy from other people.
The Biblical balance is found in James 1:2-4:
James 1:2-4 NKJV My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, (3) knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. (4) But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
The Bible clearly teaches that God delights to glorify Himself. That truth is the only rock that holds firm when storms of suffering slam against us. But (and don’t miss the other half) God’s glory is the only thing which will make me infinitely and eternally happy.
Both of these truths come to light in John 11, in the person of Jesus Christ. Pain, suffering, death of dear friends – these miseries of a fallen world combine to cast doubt on God’s love. But Jesus came into our world to show us both the power and purposes of God, and to deliver us from errors and attitudes which threaten hope and joy. To get there, first…
1. We Must Remain Certain of God’s Love (John 11:3,5,36)
John 11:3 NKJV Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick."
John 11:5 NKJV Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
John 11:36 NKJV Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!"
After singing, “Oh, How I Love Jesus,” Philip Bliss commented, “Those words are true. Yet I feel guilty for having sung so much about my poor love for Christ and so little about His endless love for me.” So, he wrote the hymn “Jesus Loves Even Me.” The first verse goes:
“I am so glad that our Father in heav'n
Tells of His love in the Book He has giv'n;
Wonderful things in the Bible I see -
This is the dearest, that Jesus loves me.
John wants us to remember the certainty of God’s love; he tells us three times. But why do we have to be reminded?
We must be reminded of God’s love because of sin. When people sin against us, we feel anger and coldness and (sometimes) contempt. Since we know that we sin against God, we assume that God’s love for us fades like a cut flower left out in the bright sun when we fall into sin.
We must be reminded of God’s love because of Satan. When Satan destroys our confidence in God’s love, our usefulness in God’s kingdom is shattered.
We must be reminded of God’s love because of circumstances which seem to say God doesn’t love us after all. Notice how Mary and Martha describe their need to Jesus: “Lord, he whom you love is sick.” They don’t make demands; they’re humble and confident. Their plan seems to be “tell God about your problems and the problems will go away.” They picture in their mind’s eye Jesus racing furiously to arrive in time.
But time ticks away. Minutes are marked by glances through the window – “Do you see Him?” “Is that Him?” “Is He coming?” After a day or two the message changes: “It’s too late; Lazarus is dead.”
When God lets friends die, we may doubt His love. So, John reminds us: Jesus loved Martha; he loved Mary; he loved Lazarus. And if we are His, if we have been born-again of His Spirit, then He loves us. We might say, “Yes, I love Jesus, but my soul needs a bigger anchor, a better truth: Jesus loves me.” This is especially critical when we realize that…
2. We Must Not Deny the Difficulty of God’s Love (John 11:5-10)
John 11:5-10 NKJV Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. (6) So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. (7) Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again." (8) The disciples said to Him, "Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?" (9) Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. (10) But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."
I see two ways the love of God is shown to be difficult.
First, Jesus stays two more days. John 11:6 tells us that Jesus “stayed two days longer in the place where He was.” Jesus didn’t rush to the rescue; He didn’t hurry to comfort them. Jesus didn’t seem to care about Lazarus’ sickness or about Mary and Martha’s anguish. He intentionally waited until Lazarus died before leaving to help! That’s difficult! And we know when God seems not to care about our problems how difficult it is for us to be confident about God’s love.
Second, the difficulty of God’s love is shown by taking His people into great danger. In John 11:7, Jesus said, “Let us go to Judea again.” To which His disciples answer in verse 8: “Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?” We know about the danger of what Jesus was asking by hearing Thomas’ response: In John 11.16, Thomas said, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.” Thomas had an expectation that he and the other disciples would be stoned if they went with Jesus to where Lazarus was buried. Sometimes Jesus takes His people where they might die. Remember, with the exception of John, Jesus’ disciples would be martyred for their faith.
So, God’s love cannot and must not be defined by our health or comfort or safety. Jesus loved Lazarus; Lazarus got sick and died. Jesus loved Martha and Mary; Martha and Mary wept and mourned. Jesus loved His disciples but led them to the place where they would be in danger of being stoned (John 11:8). Throughout church history Christians have mistakenly assumed that God’s love is always best experienced in health, wealth and prosperity.
John Newton, best-known for writing “Amazing Grace” also wrote the poem “I Asked the Lord that I Might Grow” (which can also be sung as a hymn) to capture the difficulty of God’s love. It’s a beautiful poem about how the Lord afflicts us so that He might comfort us.
I asked the Lord that I might grow
In faith, and love, and every grace;
Might more of His salvation know,
And seek, more earnestly, His face.
‘Twas He who taught me thus to pray,
And He, I trust, has answered prayer!
But it has been in such a way,
As almost drove me to despair.
I hoped that in some favored hour,
At once He’d answer my request;
And by His love’s constraining pow’r,
Subdue my sins, and give me rest.
Instead of this, He made me feel
The hidden evils of my heart;
And let the angry pow’rs of hell
Assault my soul in every part.
Yea more, with His own hand He seemed
Intent to aggravate my woe;
Crossed all the fair designs I schemed,
Blasted my gourds, and laid me low.
Lord, why is this, I trembling cried,
Wilt thou pursue thy worm to death?
“‘Tis in this way, the Lord replied,
I answer prayer for grace and faith.
These inward trials I employ,
From self, and pride, to set thee free;
And break thy schemes of earthly joy,
That thou may’st find thy all in Me.”
Martha and Mary discovered this truth; so did Lazarus and the disciples. Sometimes we must travel through the difficulty of God’s love before we will know its joy. To connect the certainty and difficulty of God’s love…
3. We Must Consider the Purpose of God’s Love (John 11:21,32)
John 11:21 NKJV Now Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.
John 11:32 NKJV Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."
I believe that these were not so much words of condemnation, but expressions of faith. Mary and Martha had talked together about what God could do. They trusted the Lord’s power and they were certain that the purpose of His love must be to keep Lazarus from dying. And that purpose would have been accomplished if Jesus had been there to heal him. There were others who also questioned Jesus’ timing and purpose:
John 11:35-37 NKJV Jesus wept. (36) Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!" (37) And some of them said, "Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?"
It wasn’t only Jesus’ friends who thought they knew best what God’s love should do; the Jews were sure that if Jesus really loved Lazarus, He would have kept him alive. I’ve often felt the same – if Jesus loved me, so-and-so would happen. And I doubt God’s love when His plans conflict with my own. That’s precisely why John reminded us of Jesus’ love three times.
So, what were these friends of Lazarus missing? And what are we missing when circumstances cause us to doubt God’s love?
John 11:4 NKJV When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."
John 11:14-15 NKJV Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead. (15) And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him."
In other words, God’s love must be channeled toward a greater purpose than my pleasure – toward glorifying Jesus Christ. Additionally, God’s love must seek a greater result than my comfort – the result of faith in the surpassing goodness and joy of God’s being glorified. My temporary pleasure and comfort can’t be the end for which the world exists. Even if it were, I wouldn’t be happy. God’s glory is so infinitely beautiful that if I were to remove one drop of honor from His goals and His purposes, I would be miserable forever.
Suppose I take a can of black spray paint and repaint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Would this display of my art delight anyone? No, least of all, myself. My life would be filled with remorse over defiling such beauty. The glory of Jesus and our faith in Him and His purposes are the Sistine Chapel across which my comfort would be hideous black graffiti. God’s love is certain, even though it seems difficult because it’s constrained by God’s purposes, not our own.
4. We Must Not Doubt the Compassion of God’s Love (John 11:35)
As I was thinking about what to write in this sermon, it somehow occurred to me: There’s no place in the Bible which says that Jesus laughed. The exact opposite is true; He was a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Jesus’ tears prove three things (at least):
1) Jesus was truly human. In a few moments, He would raise a dead man (Lazarus) back to life. This would be His greatest miracle before His own resurrection and undeniable proof of His deity. But first, He wept over losing a dear friend. God had become man.
2) God truly cares. God is not “out there,” disinterested in our hurts. He came near, wept with those who weep, and loved His own.
3) There is terrible wrong in this world. Lazarus was dead, and that’s not the way it was supposed to be. God made us to enjoy His presence forever. Jesus’ tears remind us that we live in a fallen world with great and terrible trouble.
Why does John record this shortest verse in the Bible (John 11:35)? I think it’s so that when we face the powers of hell and the “frowning providence of God,” we won’t doubt God’s compassion. Jesus wept.
5. We Must Place Our Hope in the Provision of God’s Love (John 11:38-44)
Here’s something important to remember: the hope of this passage isn’t the restoration of our friends who have died. We don’t weep and wail during funerals in the empty wish that they would climb back out of their casket. Jesus raised Lazarus, but he lived to die again. Lazarus ultimately died a physical death.
Here is the most important truth of this sermon: Jesus told Mary and Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life.”
Where will you place your confidence when suffering comes? What will control you when your friends and family die? It happens, you know. I’ve noticed that a lot of people end up dying.
What should we remember in times of trial? In closing, I’d like to share a story with you titled, “The Long Trek Home:
Made of the dust of the earth, we are prone to wallow in mud; infused with the breath of God, we sometimes soar. We are capable of acts of horror or feats of heroism. Case in point: the Uruguayan rugby players who survived a jetliner crash and the avalanche that followed. Twenty-seven passengers were left to face an uncertain future in an untenable place under unbearable conditions. They were trapped some twelve thousand feet high in the Andes Mountains on an ice plateau surrounded by drop-offs and jagged mountains. Their only shelter was a battered and perforated fuselage that gave little protection from icy winds and thin blankets that gave no warmth in temperatures below zero. They had no suitable clothing, no fuel for fire, no survival training, and no food.
When their dying radio brought news that the search for their missing jetliner had been called off, they could have given themselves up for dead. Yet these rugby players somehow endured seventy-two harrowing days on that windswept glacier. But the way they survived horrified the world. They dug up the frozen bodies of crash victims and ate their flesh. What those young men did has been the focus of ethical debates, articles, books, and films since 1972. Yet by focusing on the horror of their survival, we overlook the heroism of their escape.
Some two months into their ordeal, Nando Parrado and Roberto Canessa set out on an epic journey to find help. First, they had to walk up a long ice slope at a forty-degree angle in street clothes and dress shoes through oxygen-poor air for three brutal days. When they arrived at the 14,774-foot vantage point, all they could see were jagged mountains in all directions. They wanted to cry. Instead, they whispered a prayer and headed for what looked like a distant valley. For the next seven days, they walked along sheer cliffs, across glaciers with crevices, down icy slopes, and over rugged peaks. They had no boots, ropes, crampons, ice axes, maps, or compasses. They slept out in the open, in winds twenty degrees below freezing, huddling in sleeping bags that had been stitched together from the insulation of the fuselage. They suffered hypothermia and frostbite. As the neared the base of the mountains, they had to cross flooded streams and fight through thick underbrush. Ten days after they set out, three horsemen spotted them. The next day helicopters flew to those who remained at the wreckage, their rescue made possible by the two who refused to remain.
Three decades later, National Geographic sponsored a team of elite mountain climbers, supplied with the best equipment available, to retrace the journey of Parrado and Canessa. Afterward, they concluded that the trek of those two was one of the greatest mountaineering and survival achievements of all time. The story of these rugby players proves that we are capable of anything, from the horrific to the heroic. Yet when we manage those infrequent moments of heroism we point to the only true and enduring Hero. John Piper put it well: All heroes are shadows of Christ.
Christianity doesn’t propose a sentimental faith – butterfly kisses to wash away all our pain. And on the other hand, it’s not a stoical religion where God is busy doing what is important, so we should go away and leave Him alone.
Instead, Jesus was deeply troubled. He suffered “with them” so He could suffer “for them.” Love and glory come together so that our best and greatest joy is guaranteed in His greatest glory. That’s a truth which will change our bad attitude and leave us with a faith worth seeing and a hope which sustains us, even during hard times.
Sunday, March 29, 2020
Submitted to the church website due to Coronavirus outbreak
Scripture: Read John 11:1-44
Introduction:
John 11 contains the well-known story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, and (for trivia fans) the shortest verse in the Bible is in this chapter (John 11:35, “Jesus wept.”) The raising of Lazarus is also the last of the seven miracles (or “signs” as John calls them repeatedly) recorded in John’s gospel. Miracles are exciting, and I can’t begin to imagine what went through the minds of the people who had come to comfort Mary and Martha after Lazarus’ death after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. But we must understand that Jesus is not just a really talented magician who came to do miraculous things. In the person of Jesus Christ, God had come to die for the sins of His people and to rise for our justification. This miracle (sign) reveals a wonderful truth about God’s love and how He works in our lives.
One of the negative effects of an evil heart is that people naturally assume the universe should revolve around them. This perspective often reveals itself by how much the affairs of life control our feelings. When things go well, we believe God is good and His love is safe and solid. But when things don’t go the way we want, we wonder why God’s love seems so weak, or we may even wonder if God loves us at all. That attitude betrays a basic form of idolatry – that our own needs are somehow more important that everything else. We look at life’s problems and assume they reveal the nature and character of God (Is God good or not?) The Bible condemns that approach.
The book of Romans tells us that creation reveals that God exists and He deserves our worship. The Apostle Paul learned this from Psalm 19:
Psalms 19:1 NKJV The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.
“General revelation” refers to the general truths that can be known about God through nature. In Romans 1:18-32, Paul tells us that sin both bends creation’s story to hide the truth about God and corrupts our ability to interpret general revelation properly. As a result, circumstances actually deflect us from the true nature of God. We must have the Word (both in flesh and in Scripture) reveal God to us.
When we talk about general revelation, we also have to discuss the concept of “divine providence.” Divine providence is the governance of God by which He, with wisdom and love, cares for and directs all things in the universe. The doctrine of divine providence asserts that God is in complete control of all things.
English poet and hymn writer William Cowper (pronounced “Cooper”) struggled with depression much of his life. This led him to meditate frequently on God’s love and goodness in the midst of pain and suffering (what he called “God’s frowning providence” – see the 4th stanza of the poem below). Sometimes we say, “God moves in mysterious ways.” That saying has its origins in William Cowper’s hymn “God Moves in a Mysterious Way.”
“God Moves in a Mysterious Way” by William Cowper
God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea, and rides upon the storm.
Deep in unfathomable mines, of never-failing skill;
He fashions up His bright designs and works His sovereign will.
Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take, the clouds that you much dread,
are big with mercy and will break in blessings on your head.
Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust Him for His grace;
behind a frowning providence, He hides a smiling face.
His purposes will ripen fast, unfolding every hour;
the bud may have a bitter taste, but sweet will be the flower.
Blind unbelief is sure to err and scan his work in vain;
God is His own interpreter, and He will make it plain.
Again, from the 4th stanza: Today, a frowning providence; tomorrow a smiling face. Psalm 30:4-5 tell us:
Psalms 30:4-5 NKJV Sing praise to the LORD, you saints of His, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name. (5) For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.
“Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes in the morning.” God’s unfolding flower of providence will one day reveal blessings unimaginably sweet for His people.
1 Peter 1:6-8 remind us:
1 Peter 1:6-8 NKJV In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, (7) that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, (8) whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
Hard circumstances and difficult trials can bring “joy inexpressible and full of glory.”
As I grow older, I’m more and more convinced that our attitude towards our troubles drastically affects the outcome. We find it easy to nurse poor attitudes until they infiltrate every part of our lives. Rather than trust God and count trials as opportunities to grow in grace and faith, our attitudes drive us to self-pity, self-absorption, self-trust, fear and defensiveness.
These attitudes seem to lead to one (maybe even both) of two errors. The first error places our own personal happiness above God’s glory. Then, when bad things happen, when we’re displeased with God’s providence, we either reject God completely or fall into a pattern of destructive emotions. We may say, “I’m not interested in a God who let’s my friends die (or suffer).” Or we may feel sorry for ourselves and take out our pain on whoever happens to be nearby.
The other error has its roots in the “impassibility of God.” This doctrine basically tells us that God doesn’t experience knee-jerk mood swings. He is not moved irrationally to action by people and events like we are. But some people take that doctrine too far. They imagine that God’s concern for His own glory makes Him unfeeling and indifferent to our suffering. In that case, religion helps me grit my teeth and endure to the end. But this is the false faith of stoicism. We all know people whose faith is joyless. And they aren’t content with their own bad attitudes, so they try to steal joy from other people.
The Biblical balance is found in James 1:2-4:
James 1:2-4 NKJV My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, (3) knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. (4) But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
The Bible clearly teaches that God delights to glorify Himself. That truth is the only rock that holds firm when storms of suffering slam against us. But (and don’t miss the other half) God’s glory is the only thing which will make me infinitely and eternally happy.
Both of these truths come to light in John 11, in the person of Jesus Christ. Pain, suffering, death of dear friends – these miseries of a fallen world combine to cast doubt on God’s love. But Jesus came into our world to show us both the power and purposes of God, and to deliver us from errors and attitudes which threaten hope and joy. To get there, first…
1. We Must Remain Certain of God’s Love (John 11:3,5,36)
John 11:3 NKJV Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick."
John 11:5 NKJV Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
John 11:36 NKJV Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!"
After singing, “Oh, How I Love Jesus,” Philip Bliss commented, “Those words are true. Yet I feel guilty for having sung so much about my poor love for Christ and so little about His endless love for me.” So, he wrote the hymn “Jesus Loves Even Me.” The first verse goes:
“I am so glad that our Father in heav'n
Tells of His love in the Book He has giv'n;
Wonderful things in the Bible I see -
This is the dearest, that Jesus loves me.
John wants us to remember the certainty of God’s love; he tells us three times. But why do we have to be reminded?
We must be reminded of God’s love because of sin. When people sin against us, we feel anger and coldness and (sometimes) contempt. Since we know that we sin against God, we assume that God’s love for us fades like a cut flower left out in the bright sun when we fall into sin.
We must be reminded of God’s love because of Satan. When Satan destroys our confidence in God’s love, our usefulness in God’s kingdom is shattered.
We must be reminded of God’s love because of circumstances which seem to say God doesn’t love us after all. Notice how Mary and Martha describe their need to Jesus: “Lord, he whom you love is sick.” They don’t make demands; they’re humble and confident. Their plan seems to be “tell God about your problems and the problems will go away.” They picture in their mind’s eye Jesus racing furiously to arrive in time.
But time ticks away. Minutes are marked by glances through the window – “Do you see Him?” “Is that Him?” “Is He coming?” After a day or two the message changes: “It’s too late; Lazarus is dead.”
When God lets friends die, we may doubt His love. So, John reminds us: Jesus loved Martha; he loved Mary; he loved Lazarus. And if we are His, if we have been born-again of His Spirit, then He loves us. We might say, “Yes, I love Jesus, but my soul needs a bigger anchor, a better truth: Jesus loves me.” This is especially critical when we realize that…
2. We Must Not Deny the Difficulty of God’s Love (John 11:5-10)
John 11:5-10 NKJV Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. (6) So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. (7) Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again." (8) The disciples said to Him, "Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?" (9) Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. (10) But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."
I see two ways the love of God is shown to be difficult.
First, Jesus stays two more days. John 11:6 tells us that Jesus “stayed two days longer in the place where He was.” Jesus didn’t rush to the rescue; He didn’t hurry to comfort them. Jesus didn’t seem to care about Lazarus’ sickness or about Mary and Martha’s anguish. He intentionally waited until Lazarus died before leaving to help! That’s difficult! And we know when God seems not to care about our problems how difficult it is for us to be confident about God’s love.
Second, the difficulty of God’s love is shown by taking His people into great danger. In John 11:7, Jesus said, “Let us go to Judea again.” To which His disciples answer in verse 8: “Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?” We know about the danger of what Jesus was asking by hearing Thomas’ response: In John 11.16, Thomas said, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.” Thomas had an expectation that he and the other disciples would be stoned if they went with Jesus to where Lazarus was buried. Sometimes Jesus takes His people where they might die. Remember, with the exception of John, Jesus’ disciples would be martyred for their faith.
So, God’s love cannot and must not be defined by our health or comfort or safety. Jesus loved Lazarus; Lazarus got sick and died. Jesus loved Martha and Mary; Martha and Mary wept and mourned. Jesus loved His disciples but led them to the place where they would be in danger of being stoned (John 11:8). Throughout church history Christians have mistakenly assumed that God’s love is always best experienced in health, wealth and prosperity.
John Newton, best-known for writing “Amazing Grace” also wrote the poem “I Asked the Lord that I Might Grow” (which can also be sung as a hymn) to capture the difficulty of God’s love. It’s a beautiful poem about how the Lord afflicts us so that He might comfort us.
I asked the Lord that I might grow
In faith, and love, and every grace;
Might more of His salvation know,
And seek, more earnestly, His face.
‘Twas He who taught me thus to pray,
And He, I trust, has answered prayer!
But it has been in such a way,
As almost drove me to despair.
I hoped that in some favored hour,
At once He’d answer my request;
And by His love’s constraining pow’r,
Subdue my sins, and give me rest.
Instead of this, He made me feel
The hidden evils of my heart;
And let the angry pow’rs of hell
Assault my soul in every part.
Yea more, with His own hand He seemed
Intent to aggravate my woe;
Crossed all the fair designs I schemed,
Blasted my gourds, and laid me low.
Lord, why is this, I trembling cried,
Wilt thou pursue thy worm to death?
“‘Tis in this way, the Lord replied,
I answer prayer for grace and faith.
These inward trials I employ,
From self, and pride, to set thee free;
And break thy schemes of earthly joy,
That thou may’st find thy all in Me.”
Martha and Mary discovered this truth; so did Lazarus and the disciples. Sometimes we must travel through the difficulty of God’s love before we will know its joy. To connect the certainty and difficulty of God’s love…
3. We Must Consider the Purpose of God’s Love (John 11:21,32)
John 11:21 NKJV Now Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.
John 11:32 NKJV Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."
I believe that these were not so much words of condemnation, but expressions of faith. Mary and Martha had talked together about what God could do. They trusted the Lord’s power and they were certain that the purpose of His love must be to keep Lazarus from dying. And that purpose would have been accomplished if Jesus had been there to heal him. There were others who also questioned Jesus’ timing and purpose:
John 11:35-37 NKJV Jesus wept. (36) Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!" (37) And some of them said, "Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?"
It wasn’t only Jesus’ friends who thought they knew best what God’s love should do; the Jews were sure that if Jesus really loved Lazarus, He would have kept him alive. I’ve often felt the same – if Jesus loved me, so-and-so would happen. And I doubt God’s love when His plans conflict with my own. That’s precisely why John reminded us of Jesus’ love three times.
So, what were these friends of Lazarus missing? And what are we missing when circumstances cause us to doubt God’s love?
John 11:4 NKJV When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."
John 11:14-15 NKJV Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead. (15) And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him."
In other words, God’s love must be channeled toward a greater purpose than my pleasure – toward glorifying Jesus Christ. Additionally, God’s love must seek a greater result than my comfort – the result of faith in the surpassing goodness and joy of God’s being glorified. My temporary pleasure and comfort can’t be the end for which the world exists. Even if it were, I wouldn’t be happy. God’s glory is so infinitely beautiful that if I were to remove one drop of honor from His goals and His purposes, I would be miserable forever.
Suppose I take a can of black spray paint and repaint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Would this display of my art delight anyone? No, least of all, myself. My life would be filled with remorse over defiling such beauty. The glory of Jesus and our faith in Him and His purposes are the Sistine Chapel across which my comfort would be hideous black graffiti. God’s love is certain, even though it seems difficult because it’s constrained by God’s purposes, not our own.
4. We Must Not Doubt the Compassion of God’s Love (John 11:35)
As I was thinking about what to write in this sermon, it somehow occurred to me: There’s no place in the Bible which says that Jesus laughed. The exact opposite is true; He was a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Jesus’ tears prove three things (at least):
1) Jesus was truly human. In a few moments, He would raise a dead man (Lazarus) back to life. This would be His greatest miracle before His own resurrection and undeniable proof of His deity. But first, He wept over losing a dear friend. God had become man.
2) God truly cares. God is not “out there,” disinterested in our hurts. He came near, wept with those who weep, and loved His own.
3) There is terrible wrong in this world. Lazarus was dead, and that’s not the way it was supposed to be. God made us to enjoy His presence forever. Jesus’ tears remind us that we live in a fallen world with great and terrible trouble.
Why does John record this shortest verse in the Bible (John 11:35)? I think it’s so that when we face the powers of hell and the “frowning providence of God,” we won’t doubt God’s compassion. Jesus wept.
5. We Must Place Our Hope in the Provision of God’s Love (John 11:38-44)
Here’s something important to remember: the hope of this passage isn’t the restoration of our friends who have died. We don’t weep and wail during funerals in the empty wish that they would climb back out of their casket. Jesus raised Lazarus, but he lived to die again. Lazarus ultimately died a physical death.
Here is the most important truth of this sermon: Jesus told Mary and Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life.”
Where will you place your confidence when suffering comes? What will control you when your friends and family die? It happens, you know. I’ve noticed that a lot of people end up dying.
What should we remember in times of trial? In closing, I’d like to share a story with you titled, “The Long Trek Home:
Made of the dust of the earth, we are prone to wallow in mud; infused with the breath of God, we sometimes soar. We are capable of acts of horror or feats of heroism. Case in point: the Uruguayan rugby players who survived a jetliner crash and the avalanche that followed. Twenty-seven passengers were left to face an uncertain future in an untenable place under unbearable conditions. They were trapped some twelve thousand feet high in the Andes Mountains on an ice plateau surrounded by drop-offs and jagged mountains. Their only shelter was a battered and perforated fuselage that gave little protection from icy winds and thin blankets that gave no warmth in temperatures below zero. They had no suitable clothing, no fuel for fire, no survival training, and no food.
When their dying radio brought news that the search for their missing jetliner had been called off, they could have given themselves up for dead. Yet these rugby players somehow endured seventy-two harrowing days on that windswept glacier. But the way they survived horrified the world. They dug up the frozen bodies of crash victims and ate their flesh. What those young men did has been the focus of ethical debates, articles, books, and films since 1972. Yet by focusing on the horror of their survival, we overlook the heroism of their escape.
Some two months into their ordeal, Nando Parrado and Roberto Canessa set out on an epic journey to find help. First, they had to walk up a long ice slope at a forty-degree angle in street clothes and dress shoes through oxygen-poor air for three brutal days. When they arrived at the 14,774-foot vantage point, all they could see were jagged mountains in all directions. They wanted to cry. Instead, they whispered a prayer and headed for what looked like a distant valley. For the next seven days, they walked along sheer cliffs, across glaciers with crevices, down icy slopes, and over rugged peaks. They had no boots, ropes, crampons, ice axes, maps, or compasses. They slept out in the open, in winds twenty degrees below freezing, huddling in sleeping bags that had been stitched together from the insulation of the fuselage. They suffered hypothermia and frostbite. As the neared the base of the mountains, they had to cross flooded streams and fight through thick underbrush. Ten days after they set out, three horsemen spotted them. The next day helicopters flew to those who remained at the wreckage, their rescue made possible by the two who refused to remain.
Three decades later, National Geographic sponsored a team of elite mountain climbers, supplied with the best equipment available, to retrace the journey of Parrado and Canessa. Afterward, they concluded that the trek of those two was one of the greatest mountaineering and survival achievements of all time. The story of these rugby players proves that we are capable of anything, from the horrific to the heroic. Yet when we manage those infrequent moments of heroism we point to the only true and enduring Hero. John Piper put it well: All heroes are shadows of Christ.
Christianity doesn’t propose a sentimental faith – butterfly kisses to wash away all our pain. And on the other hand, it’s not a stoical religion where God is busy doing what is important, so we should go away and leave Him alone.
Instead, Jesus was deeply troubled. He suffered “with them” so He could suffer “for them.” Love and glory come together so that our best and greatest joy is guaranteed in His greatest glory. That’s a truth which will change our bad attitude and leave us with a faith worth seeing and a hope which sustains us, even during hard times.