I want to look at a story together today that might seem kinda strange to study in order to talk about prayer. Turn to John 11.
Read 11:1-2
Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.)
• V. 2 – it seems John assumes his readers are aware enough of the story and making this connection is important…pouring perfume doesn’t happen till next chapter…
So there is a man, and by the title of this story, you would assume He is the main character, Lazarus.
And Lazarus was very sick…not just common cold…
Now, Lazarus has two sisters, Mary, and her older sister Martha. These three were very close. Sure they had their sibling rivalries, but they loved each other deeply.
Mary, the youngest, was really well liked by most people. Martha, as the oldest, played somewhat of a motherly role for her younger siblings. While Lazarus, a noble, quiet, compassionate man, looked after and protected his sisters daily.
Read 11:3
So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”
V. 3 – Why do they word it this way? Like, how did they know Jesus would know exactly who they were talking about? Shouldn’t they have narrowed it down a bit?
Have you ever told someone before that either you or someone you were close to was sick? Whether it was the flu, pneumonia, strep throat, or cancer?
What would you expect their reaction to be?...probably based on seriousness of the illness…probably anxious though…
But I want you to look closely at what Jesus does here.
Read 11:4-8
4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, 7 and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”
8 “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?”
The weirdest part of this whole story is that after Jesus receives the news of his good friend dying, he decides to stay two more days where he was (v.6).
• Jesus is on the other side of the Jordan, meaning he’s around 20 miles away from Bethany, so at least a two-day hike from there…
and maybe even weirder, he apparently never told his disciples either! (v. 8)
Here’s the point:
• Jesus isn’t anxious about anything…
• Jesus is in control of everything…
o This is why he can seem to have peace at a time like this.
Talk about becoming a person of a non-anxious presence…
• Anxiety is obvious, but how it really impacts us is not often defined…
o One of anxieties most dangerous qualities is that most people make decisions based from their anxiousness (i.e. what I’ll post, what I’ll consume, how I’ll talk or treat someone, etc.)…
Listen, emotions are powerful and can be so good…
• But they also can easily betray you…
o Believers in Christ are called to hold fast to the truth of Scripture, regardless of what our emotions may be telling us…humble/pride…others/self…peace/anxiety…
o Could you imagine having a peace like Jesus has here, but in all situations?...job on the line…receive terrible news…berated/lied to/taken advantage of…lose a loved on…plans change…
What if I told you that this is how it is actually supposed to be for followers of Jesus? This is spiritual formation.
• “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Phil.4:6-7
It would seem that one of the reasons we’re so anxious is because we’re lacking these things…stop turning to other things in anxious moments…
So in complete peace, Jesus says, “This sickness will not end in death”…peace…
And then he adds something we heard last week with the man born blind…He said, “No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”
Listen to what Jesus doesn’t say. He doesn’t say He caused this sickness. He doesn’t say He ordered Lazarus to experience this illness.
But either way, He has at least allowed it to take place…and for which He has a very specific reason…do you know what that reason is?
This disease will allow God’s Son, [himself], to receive glory!...
Read 11:11-14.
After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”
12 His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” 13 Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.
14 So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”
I’m sorry…WHAT?!
In an instant, each of his disciples are suddenly confused. They begin to whisper to one another, “Didn’t Jesus just say that Lazarus wouldn’t die? Why would He lie to us? Why didn’t He stop it?”
Others begin to weep because their beloved friend has just passed away. Some are angry and begin to doubt that Jesus knows what He’s doing.
But don’t miss the power of what Jesus says here, because He’s about to teach them, and the world, and you the most important thing you need to know about Him = “it will not end in death” doesn’t mean death doesn’t still happen, but that death won’t have the last word.
Jesus didn’t say, “he won’t die”. He said, “death won’t be the end of the story”.
Now look at what happens next.
Read 11:17-37
On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Now Bethany was less than two miles[b] from Jerusalem, 19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
28 After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied. 35 Jesus wept.
36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
I love how perfectly this plays out. Look at the different reactions people give based out of their anxiety…
The sisters actually both jumped on Him for “being late/absent” at different times…
Martha comes out to meet Jesus. It’s been nearly a week since her brother had died.
She’s grieving, mourning, broken. There is this giant hole in her world. Nobody can replace the emptiness she’s experiencing of losing her only brother!
She’s gotta be confused and hurt by Jesus. Placing all of her faith in Him to know that He could heal her brother.
But not only did he allow Him to die, Jesus wasn’t even there for His funeral!
“How can you love someone and not rush to their bedside as soon as they’re in pain?! Jesus, where were you?!”
And Jesus tries to give a promise of hope here by saying, “Your brother will rise again.”
But Martha responds to death in the same way that most Christians respond today. In her mind, she knows she’ll get to be with Him again someday in Heaven.
So she kind of hangs her head, wiping her runny nose, looking at the ground just says, “yea I know, Jesus. I know I’ll see him again one day in the end.”
But Jesus grabs her chin, looks her in the eye, and says, “No, no, no, Martha. Don’t you see? I am the resurrection and the life. Even if you die in this world, as long as you believe in me, you’re gonna live.”
And then His next question puts Martha in one of the most difficult positions we all eventually face. He asks, “Do you believe this?”
When it feels like your world is falling to pieces. Do you believe this?
When your anxious thoughts are consuming you, do you believe this?
When you feel like you are so saturated with the things of this life that you don’t have any room for anyone or anything else, do you believe this?
When you are dying on the inside because nobody else knows the real you, DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?
DO YOU BELIEVE THAT JESUS IS THE RESURRECTION & THE LIFE?!
Do you believe in Jesus enough to make room for Him even in your anxiousness!
HE is THEE resurrection! This will not end in death. Do you believe this? Your story, your circumstance, your situation, your failure, will not end in death.
Do you believe this?
And with tears streaming down her face; with shaky hands and a coarse throat; with a trembling voice, and through clenched teeth, it takes every little bit of strength she has left to look up at Jesus and confess, “Yes, Lord. I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”
And from that moment on, everything about her changes.
Martha leaves and runs back to her home where her younger sister Mary is still grieving.
Martha rushes to the home and proclaims, “The teacher is here!”
And Mary jumps up from her sorrow and goes as fast as she can to the place where Jesus is because she knows, that when Jesus enters the scene, EVERYTHING CHANGES!
“Jesus is here!”
(pause)
Here’s what I believe is important to know here: Jesus is never late…this doesn’t make seemingly unanswered prayers any easier, but it’s the truth: Jesus is never late…he’s ever “too busy”…for w/e the reason may be, his timing is always intentional…
This has been a hard truth to learn during this church planting season of life…
But here’s what I’ve found to be true time and time again:
God’s delay is always for God’s display.
I can’t tell you why sometimes it seems like God shows up, and sometimes He doesn’t, or why sometimes it just seems like it takes awhile.
But when Jesus does decide to move, in His timing, you better believe He’s going to do something miraculous, not for your sake, but for His. It’s his glory, not yours.
It’s been 4 days since Lazarus has died.
While everyone else was in despair, some had run off to find a doctor, others were rushing to make their home remedy for healing, and still others were at his bedside crying hysterically.
Mary and Martha had lost their only brother, the one who was supposed to care for them and provide for them when their father passes away!
When Lazarus was sick, they did everything they could to heal him and bring him relief from the pain he was fighting. And they were still holding onto hope.
But once he’s dead, that’s it! It’s over!
Many believe that death is the champion…”Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
Let me ask you:
How do you limit Jesus? For you, what’s the point where not even Jesus could be victorious? (Changing someone’s heart? Depression? Anxiety? Divorce? Death?)
There’s usually a moment or a point for each of us where we have no room to make for God because we don’t really believe He can do it…
Even after all of this, still, it seemed like nobody believed Jesus could do anything.
Read 11:38-44.
Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” 40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone.
Still, nobody believes. Not even Martha.
Nobody is holding their breadth or sitting on the edge of their seats.
They’re broken. They’re anxious. And they’re hurting. And they’re a little frustrated that Jesus didn’t stop it.
And they don’t really see the point in coming back to the tomb, and they definitely don’t see the point in moving the stone away.
But Jesus commands the stone to be rolled away. (foreshadow) this would not be the last time that God would command the stone to move…
And do you know what He does next?
Its not the miracle…yet. He doesn’t raise a man from the grave…yet.
There’s one thing he does here first and it’s very short and often overlooked in this story.
John 11:41-42
Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”
Did you see that?? he prayed!!
Before anything else! Before the miracle! Before the healing! Before the answer! Before the ministry! Jesus prayed!
When nobody else thought to stop and turn this over to the Father because they had no room for Him here at the tomb, Jesus prayed.
I get it though. I’ve been guilty of it time and time again.
I mean, I’ve been guilty of doing the same thing even when it came to church planting!
When God called us into church planting, I did all the things…
Then after all of it failed over and over and over again, I realized something = I made all these plans, but never made room for God’s plans.
God gave me the calling, but I acted like He wouldn’t also give me the plans to make it happen.
Prayer was almost always an afterthought. It rarely seems to be the first step.
But not for Jesus. He doesn’t rush on ahead here and get to the resurrection.
Even in this moment of other’s anxiousness and distrust and sorrow and grief, Jesus stops and makes room for God and goes to Him in prayer.
And Jesus even tells us why he prays here. He prays so that “they may believe” that the Father sent Him. That they may believe that He is the Messiah, the one they’ve been waiting for. He says it right there in his prayer.
You can almost hear Jesus asking you again, “do you believe this?”
If so, then how can we NOT make room for Him to move?
John 11:43-44
When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
Notice, All throughout the New Testament, Jesus is asked to come and heal people, but that isn’t the case here for Lazarus. Nobody asks Jesus to come heal Him, let alone bring him back to life!
It’s just what He does!
Jesus calls out, “Lazarus, come out!” He shouts it! In only 3 words, Jesus commands death itself to die.
Listen, when you believe in Jesus, death is never the end…
• “Just before the sun came up this morning, the love of my life transitioned from earth and watched her first sunrise from heaven,” Tony Evans = death is never the end…
So what do you have to be anxious for??
V. 44 – Here, Jesus is not only commanding the people to take off the grave clothes, but He’s commanding death to let go of him.
With a Savior with that kind of authority, why are we so anxious??
What do you have to be anxious about?
Look at the birds of the air, they don’t work, or grow their own food, or stock up supplies in a barn, and yet the Father takes care of them. Aren’t you much more valuable than they?
What do we have to be anxious for?
Jesus has you. He’s got this.
When it feels like your world is crumbling, completely out of control, and it feels like things just aren’t how they’re supposed to be, that’s the best time to make room for God.
He’s got you.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Phil.4:6-7