I have said repeatedly from this pulpit, that every miracle presented in the gospel is a parable meant to teach us spiritual principles. I will say it again to make sure you get that; every miracle presented in the gospel is a parable meant to teach spiritual principles. Now this is the seventh and final sign or miracle that Jesus did in the book of John. So we may presume that this miracle in particular is of great significance. We might deduce that simply due to the length of the passage which details it, as well as the fact that it is the last one recorded by John, of which he said such signs were given that you might know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.
In fact, this passage is so long, and it’s message is so multi-faceted, that we will not attempt to look at all of it today. I think it will take us 2 Sundays to get all that the Lord would have us learn from this text. That being said, however, we need to work within the narrative of the story. So my purpose is not so much retelling the story as much as it is to bring out the principles and their applications as taught in this seventh miracle of Jesus recorded in John. To that end, I believe that there are seven principles that are illustrated by this seventh sign. That is the title of my message this morning; Seven Principles of the Seventh Sign. Seven principles found in this text; the first is the love of God, 2, the timing of God, 3, the Light of God, 4, the comfort of God, 5, the life of God, 6, the power of God, and 7, the death of God. I tell you all of that for your benefit and to encourage you to come back for part two next week, but we will only deal with the first four of those principles today.
The first principle then that we can learn from this miracle is the love of God, vs1 says that the one whom Jesus loved was sick. It’s interesting to note that it does not say, the one who loved Christ was sick, but it says the one whom Christ loved was sick. The emphasis is on Christ’s love for us. When we come to beseech the Lord, our grounds for a hearing are found in His love for us, not in the faithfulness of our love for Him. Christ’s love is a faithful love, it is a keeping love. It is a continuous love. It is a sacrificial love. 1John 4:10 says, “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
We know that God loved the world, according to John 3:16, but this love of Lazarus is obviously different. It is indicated as being a special love that Jesus had for Lazarus and his sisters, Mary and Martha. It is obviously a love predicated by the fact that Mary and Martha and Lazarus were believers. God loves the world, but God has a special love for His children that is so much more devoted. In vs.4, when the sisters sent word to Jesus, they use the word phileo as their word for love. Phileo is the Greek word indicating love of family. There is a love that a father or mother may have for their friends, but they have a special love for their children. And we know that Jesus spent a lot of time with these people, so that they had a special relationship with Christ. They lived in a village called Bethany, which was about 2 miles outside of Jerusalem. Jesus at that point was about a 2 day journey away from Bethany, in another town that was called Bethany beyond the Jordan. That is, I think, beyond coincidental, but I am unsure exactly what it signifies, except to show the similitude that they had to Christ, even though they were separated from Him geographically.
But to extrapolate the principle that I think is illustrated by this opening part of the story, it is that for those whom Christ loves, they are not immune from sickness or hardship. There are many in the evangelical community today that teach otherwise. Especially those television fake healers that prey on weak minded, but well meaning people. They teach that God’s will is that you will always be well. That sickness is caused by your lack of faith. But that is simply not taught in the Bible. Paul in particular said he was given a thorn in his flesh which was a messenger of Satan, to buffet him, to afflict him, to keep him from being prideful. He asked three times for the Lord to take it from him, but God said My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. So he was given this infirmity to make certain that God received the glory for what he did in his ministry. Many theologians believe that he had sores on his eyes, probably as a result and reminder of his conversion from blindness on the road to Damascus.
No, the principle is that God sometimes ordains sickness, even the death of His loved ones, so that Christ may be glorified. Jesus said the same thing in John 9 in response to the question of HIs disciples; His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.”
As the hymn, “How Firm a Foundation” says; "When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply. The flames shall not hurt thee; I only design Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.”
And so in this case, when they tell Jesus that Lazarus was sick, His response shows that principle at work. Vs.5, “This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.” Jesus let’s them know the purpose of the sickness. It is to glorify God. That is how believers, those who are intimately loved by God, must view their sickness. We need to remember first of all that we are loved by God. Satan loves to cast doubt on God’s love for us when God doesn’t act as quickly as we would like, or in the manner that we expected Him to act. But the fact is that God loves us, and nothing can change that, nothing can separate us from His love. Rom. 8:38-39 says, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
And then secondly, the purpose of this sickness was to glorify God. That is our purpose as believers, to glorify God whether by life or death, or in sickness or in health. That is the first point of the Westminster Shorter Catechism, “Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” And God choses to do that in manifold and mysterious ways, sometimes even through sickness and death.
The second principle that we see exhibited here in this story, is the timing of God, illustrated in vs.6, “So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was.” The principle is simply this; that God’s timing is not always according to our timing. Though the petition was sent to Christ, one whom you love is sick, yet Christ delayed coming. This has been a frequent principle taught by John in his gospel, that being the timing of God. Twice in the last chapter, attempts were made to kill Jesus, but He escaped from their midst, because His time was not yet come. Our prayers must be subject to the timing of God.
We need to come to accept the timing of God. God often delays His answers to our prayers. But when He does so, we need to have faith that His ways are good. His timing is good. That is the second way the devil attacks us in difficult situations. First, as I said while ago, he tries to get us to doubt God’s love for us when we go through fiery trials. And secondly, he tries to get us to doubt the goodness of God. That was implicit in the seduction of Eve, wasn’t it? Satan implied that God was withholding something good from her. But we need to remind ourselves, regardless of whatever circumstances, however dire they may seem at the moment, of Romans 8:28, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
The third principle that we see here is the Light of God. After 2 days had passed since they got the news about Lazarus, Jesus said, “Let us go to Judea again.” Now it’s been about 4 months that have passed since He was in Jerusalem when they tried to kill Him twice. So the disciples say, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone You, and are You going there again?” 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. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”
There are several possible interpretations of this verse offered by various commentators. But I would like to point out the similarity between this statement, and the one Jesus made in chapter 9 directly after saying, “neither this man sinned nor his parents, but so that the works of God might be displayed in him,” referring to the man born blind. In 9:4 directly after that, Jesus said, “We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.”
Now in that statement, Jesus is saying that He was the Light of the world, and while He was in the world, they needed to do the works of God. They needed to fulfill the purpose of God. But He also indicates that night is coming. And that night He spoke of was the night of His trial and His crucifixion, during which Jesus said in Luke 22:53 "While I was with you daily in the temple, you did not lay hands on Me; but this hour and the power of darkness are yours.” So the night referred to the time of His death.
But in this very similar statement in John 11, we notice a different emphasis. The difference is that the emphasis is on HIs followers having the light in them. And He changes the metaphor from working to walking. They are to walk during the day, metaphorically during the 12 hours of daylight, that means to walk in the light of Christ, reflecting the light of Christ. But those who are in darkness, who do not have the light of Christ in them, will stumble. That is, they will perish.
The principle being taught here is that for those who believe in Christ, those that follow Him, there will be no darkness. If darkness is the power of death as Jesus indicated in Luke 22, then His disciples need not fear it, because they have the light of Christ abiding continually in their hearts. Jesus said in chapter 8, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” This light of life cannot be extinguished. It is the light of life that continues even though we may physically enter into the darkness of death. Psalm 23 speaks of that light that remains in us; “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with Me.” Jesus is foretelling in this statement that as believers we need not fear the darkness that comes through death because we have the eternal light of life dwelling in us.
As Hebrews 2 tells us, Jesus has freed us from the fear of death. Heb. 2:14-15 “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”
The fourth and final principle we will look at this morning is the comfort of God. It is found in vs.11-15 And after that He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep." The disciples then said to Him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover." Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of literal sleep. So Jesus then said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead, and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him.”
I want to point out the phrase that Jesus routinely uses to indicate physical death. That phrase is fallen asleep. Now this phrase caused some confusion for the disciples. They said, “Lord if he is fallen asleep, then he will recover.” They thought he was talking of literal sleep. But Jesus tells them plainly, “Lazarus is dead.” Now the question is, why does Jesus refer to death as having fallen asleep?
I would like to spend a little time on this, because I think that this principle is vastly misunderstood in the 21st century church, to it’s own detriment. I think poor scholarship on the doctrine of eschatology has led to all sorts of errant teachings in the church. And I recognize that some of you will not agree with me on my interpretation. But I would suggest you hear me out, and keep an open mind. On this doctrine we don’t have to agree 100%. But I feel that it’s important that you hear what I believe the Bible teaches concerning the death of the saints. Because this doctrine is our hope, our confidence. And I’m afraid most people have a very fuzzy idea of even where to begin to discern the truth about eschatology, and have learned what they think they know from some pretty spurious sources. What I would like to do is point out what Jesus and the scriptures have to say about it, and then you can begin to do your own research and study in the scriptures to determine what it says, and not base your eternal hope on some movie you saw or fictional book you might have read.
I would point out first of all, that when the Bible uses this phrase “fallen asleep” to indicate death, it is speaking of the death of a believer. The death of a Christian, or as the scriptures say, the death of saints. It is not the normal usage when speaking of the death of an unbeliever. When an unbeliever dies, he is consigned to eternal death. But for the believer, who has eternal life,he is spoken of as having fallen asleep. For example; in Matt. 27:52 it says, “The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised.” Another example is Stephens martyrdom in Acts 7:60 Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them!" Having said this, he fell asleep.” And Peter preaching in Acts 13:36 says, "For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers and underwent decay.” In 1Cor. 15:6, Paul says, “After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep... and in vs.20 “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.” And one more, 1Thess. 4:14 “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.” So it is clearly an expression of those who are dead in Christ, that is who are believers.
But the question remains, what is meant by this expression? What is Jesus saying, that the person is asleep in the tomb? I’m sure some of you are saying that I thought Christians went to heaven when they died. Well, I Cor.15:20 which we just quoted says that “Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.” Where then did Christ go when He died? Did He just remain in the tomb for 3 days? No, the answer is given by Jesus Himself on the cross. He said to the believing thief; “Today you will be with Me in Paradise.” So Jesus and the thief went to the same place, immediately upon death. Their bodies were put in a grave, but their spirits went somewhere else. Jesus tells him this is Paradise. Peter speaks of this in 1Peter 3:18-19 “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison.” So Peter is saying though Jesus body was in the grave, yet His Spirit went to the place of departed spirits where He proclaimed victory over death. Jesus calls this place Paradise when He is on the cross.
Now Paradise was a Jewish term for the abode of the righteous in Hades. Hades being the abode of the dead. In the Old Testament, Hades was called Sheol. That’s the Hebrew word. But the understanding was that the soul of man went to Hades upon death, and it was divided into an upper and lower chamber. Hades being in the center of the earth as far as we know. And Jesus confirmed this understanding in Luke chapter 16. Now coincidently, or not, Jesus told the story in Luke 16 of a poor man who is also named Lazarus who laid by a rich man’s gate, covered in sores, and eating the crumbs from his table. This wasn’t the same Lazarus as in this story in John 11. But I find it intriguing that this man’s name was Lazarus as well. I wonder if in the design of God these names are the same that we might be drawn to look at both stories conjointly to help us to fill in some of the blanks concerning the afterlife.
I don’t know, but I do believe that this story in Luke is not a parable, but an actual event. No other parables that Jesus gave ever use the actual names of real people. Abraham was a real person. So I believe that Lazarus was a real person as well. And I don’t believe Jesus made up some fictional place in order to illustrate something. Jesus never told a lie to illustrate a truth.
So notice that when Lazarus dies He is taken by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. Again, this is another Jewish euphemism indicating Paradise, the abode of the saints where they await the resurrection. Jesus tells of it this way in Luke 16:22, “Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom.”
Jesus went on to describe it through the voice of Abraham as a place of comfort. “But Abraham said,[to the rich man] ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.’” So that is the description of where the soul of the believer dwells upon falling asleep. The body is metaphorically spoken of as fallen asleep, but they are alive in their spirit. They are not asleep in Paradise. They are having conversations, they are being comforted, they are aware of their surroundings, they recognize friends and family. And furthermore, they are in the presence of the Lord and HIs angels. Paul said in 2 Cor.5:8, “we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.”
The Christian who has fallen asleep then is comforted in Paradise, awaiting the resurrection when they will be given a new and glorified body and be with the Lord, being made like Him, ruling with Him, for eternity. 1Thess. 4:14-15 says “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. (Notice that phrase; the dead in Christ will rise first. That is those who have fallen asleep in Christ) Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”
So that is the comfort which we have in God. That we who are His will never taste death. This body will die, but our spirit is alive in Christ, because He is the Light of life and He dwells in us. We have the Light of Christ in us, and so we have eternal life that begins at the moment of conversion. This fact speaks of the next principle that we will look at next week, #5, the Life of God. But let me close today’s message by just reading the statement that Jesus says regarding this principle in vs.25-26 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?"
I would just conclude todays message by asking you this question? Do you believe this? Have you come to believe in Jesus Christ as your personal Savior? Have you trusted Him to forgive you of your sins, to make you righteous in God’s sight, to give you new life, abundant life, even eternal life? If you have, then you have the life of Christ in you that can never perish. You will live even if you die, and spiritually speaking, you will never die, your spirit will be resurrected with a new glorified body to live forever in a new heaven and a new earth.
Listen, that is the hope of Christianity. In this life we receive the deposit of that abundant, eternal life through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Through belief in Christ, through faith in Him, we are made righteous, and because we are righteous and holy through Jesus’ substitionary atonement on the cross we are given the Holy Spirit to live in us, so that our spirit is reborn. That means we need not fear death because we have eternal life given to us through Christ. I trust that you have come to believe even as Martha did. She said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world.” Today the light of God has shown forth in your hearts. Believe on Him and be saved from death and receive the life of God. Don’t leave this world without knowing Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord.
No comments:
Post a Comment