Introduction

As a society we disagree. With so many people, so many backgrounds, perspectives, religions, this disagreement is inevitable. Now, resolving factual disputes, in theory, should be relatively easy: find a group of experts to collect the data and ask them to lay out the conclusions. This approach works fabulously when the issue at stake is the atomic weight of helium. We hear the expert opinion and we have no reason to question it. It’s settled.

But what if those FACTS have implications? As humans we are programmed, maybe even hard-wired, to dismiss FACTS that don’t align with our worldview. We have this built in tendency to interpret, favor, selectively recall certain information that confirms our prior beliefs or values.

This tendency is strongest when we are dealing with highly emotionally charged issues or deeply entrenched beliefs.

Social scientists call this MOTIVATED REASONING. We are all motivated to look at data a certain way based on our preconceptions.

Take a hot topic issue. Are we all being objective with the data? What does the data say about climate change, or gun control or vaccination or the safety of nuclear energy or genetically modified foods? I’m sure you have an opinion on that.

We are all biased. We are all victims of our own MOTIVATED REASONING. According to studies done on this subject, this MOTIVATED REASONING has nothing to do with the level of education a person has, the family they grew up in, the type of culture in which a person lives. None of us are immune to this.

Now today we get to John chapter 11. This is the story of the raising of Lazarus from the dead. This is one of the only examples we have in the Bible of Jesus intentionally making a miracle more dramatic. What Jesus is doing is graciously creating a situation in which even those who are heavily biased by motivated reasoning will have to confess the truth. He’s trying to establish the FACTS of who he is so dramatically, so indisputably, so incontestably, so undeniably, so indubitably that his opponents will have no choice.

Some will believe. But we will also see some, astoundingly, harden themselves further in unbelief.

Now before we get too judgmental, let me assure you, all of us in the room are approaching the text this morning with MOTIVATED REASONING. Jesus will tell us things we don’t want to hear and we are hard-wired to go to great lengths to explain those things away, to find alternate explanations, to rationalize, to justify and to excuse ourselves from the implications.

So as we begin, would you just ask the Lord to remove that from you right now. “Lord, would you allow the truth to penetrate my heart regardless of the implications, and protect me from my motivated reasoning.” Overview

We are in John chapter 11 and we are at a bit of a turning point in the book so we would do well to take a moment to get our bearings. Chapter 11 and the story of the raising of Lazarus occurs sometime between September and April. We know that because of two time markers we have been given in John 10 and 12. This is a calendar of the Jewish feast and how the Jewish calendar overlays on top of our Gregorian calendar. If you remember in John chapter 8-9, it was the feast of tabernacles. That’s here in September/October.

In John 10 we are told it is the feast of dedication (Hannakah) which is here in December, and in John 12 we are told it’s Passover. And this is Jesus’ last Passover. So today we enter John chapter 11, which means we are somewhere in between those two which means we are approaching the final months of Jesus’ ministry.

Think about where we are in the book. We are just a little over half way. That tells you something about the emphasis doesn’t it? The gospels are essentially four biographies of the Life of Jesus of Nazareth but they are oddly heavily lopsided in their content. If you were to count the number of chapters in Mt-Jn you’d have 89 chapters. 85 of those chapters focus on the last 3 1/2 years of Jesus ministry. Of those 85 chapters, 27 of them deal with the last 8 days of his life. Why? Because you give space for that which you want to emphasize. The focus of Jesus’ life is his death. Because it is through his death that we achieve atonement, redemption, forgiveness of sins, resurrection and life. That becomes the entire focus of the epistles that follow.

So we are roughly halfway through the book of John and John will spend as much time on these last 8 days of Jesus’ life as he does on the previous 33 years of Jesus’ life.

Now there are events which really set the stage for these last eight days, and John 11 is one of the most significant.

Now to understand it, let’s pick it up where we left off last week.

Remember from John chapter 10, Jesus preaches the sermon on the good shepherd. The Jews say, tell us plainly who you are and Jesus says, “I and the Father are one.” The Jews pick up stones to stone him.

I want to focus for just a moment on the geography and strategy behind that move for just a moment. Let’s ask the question, why does Jesus make this move to the area across the Jordan? Answer: this is almost certainly a political move on the part of Jesus.

The emperor in Rome at this time is Tiberius. And the way Roman emperors ruled their empire is to appoint prefects over the various districts of the Roman empire. So the area we call Israel was broken up into these various regions. Here’s a map that demonstrates that. In John 10 Jesus is in the city of Jerusalem celebrating the feast of dedication at the temple. Jerusalem was part of the region of Judea and this whole area was under the governing jurisdiction of Pontius Pilate who of course features heavily in the chapters to come.

After the Jews pick up stones, Jesus flees and heads East to Perea. This area along with Judea were under the Jurisdiction of Herod Antipas. To go from Jerusalem to Perea is not very far, maybe something like 15-20 miles. Why would Jesus do this?

You have to understand Pilate’s situation. Pilate at this time, was a bit of a crippled ruler. Early on in his reign he was very powerful. He ruled with significant authority. He had a protector in Rome named Seganus who funded and protected him. But a couple things happened that changed that. First, Seganus, his protector, was executed for sedition. And then Pilate did a few things that upset the Jews and Rome sided with the Jews. So Pilate got in trouble and he no longer had a defender. Pilate was in the dog house with Rome and the Jews knew it. He couldn’t muscle his way around among the Jews. The Jews had leverage on him and could get him to do their bidding. And the overwhelming evidence of this in the NT is the crucifixion. Just a cursory reading of the text shows that Pilate doesn’t want to crucify this guy but the Jews force his hand.

So Jesus flees from the area of Judea where Pilate is ruling because the Jews have all sorts of power there. He crosses over the Jordan river and ministers in Perea where Herod Antipas is ruling. Now let’s talk about Herod Antipas. This is a different Herod by the way, than Herod you read about in the nativity story. Herod Antipas and Tiberius (who, remember, was the emperor) were childhood friends. He’s got all sorts of protection from Rome. In addition to that, Herod Antipas is ruling a largely gentile area. The Jews don’t factor into the politics of this area. The Jews have no power over Herod Antipas.

So Jesus flees to this area to escape the Jews and particularly to escape the political power the Jewish leaders enjoy in this area over Pontius Pilate. So he’s going to be in Perea for 2-3 months. Now only Luke records this part of Jesus’ ministry. And there’s one very significant interchange that Jesus has that is going to be very helpful both in illustrating this political dynamic but also in setting us up for John chapter 11 and the raising of Lazarus. Now you have Pharisees coming to Jesus and warning him that Herod wants to kill him. Now right there, just that, in and of itself, ought to be a red flag. Didn’t the Pharisees, just a chapter earlier, want him dead? Something doesn’t seem right. Something’s afoot. I’m pretty sure the Pharisee isn’t motivated by his affectionate desire for the welfare of Jesus.

And almost certainly this is a ploy. Herod doesn’t care about Jesus. Herod Antipas probably barely knows who Jesus is. He hasn’t stirred up any trouble in his domain. So when the Jews say, “Herod wants to kill you,” Jesus knows it’s a trap. The Pharisees are trying to push him out of the territory of Herod Antipas and move him into the territory of Pilate where they have control. That’s what’s going on. Now Jesus knows that and so he responds.

32 And he said to them, Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course. 33 Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.’

He’s saying, my time has not yet come. It’s really kind of dark humor. He responds, “You guys are coming from Jerusalem, the city that always kills the prophets. Remember Jeremiah? Remember Micah? Prophets have to die in Jerusalem, so until I go there I’m safe.”

If you wanted to make an analogy you might say, “Surfers don’t have to worry about being eaten by sharks unless they’re surfing in shark infested waters, and prophets don’t have to worry about dying unless they are in Jerusalem.”

Do you realize the Jews of Jesus’ day would actually build tombs for the prophets. They didn’t pretend that the bodies were there, but they wanted a place to put wreaths and garlands as if to say, “We are so embarrassed that our forefathers killed the prophets who wrote our Bible.” And of course we would never do that. In another place Jesus is going to say, “You build tombs to the prophets, but you are going to bring the blood of Abel to Zechariah upon yourselves.”

All those prophets spoke of Jesus, and they are trying to kill Jesus! And then you have this lament.

34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! Behold, your house is forsaken.

Jesus isn’t in Jerusalem. But he’s mourning their hardened hearts. And then he says this marvelous, prophetic WORD.

And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’"

What does that mean?

Jesus, right here is quoting Psalm 118. Psalm 118 is a Messianic Psalm. This is the Psalmist giving God’s people instruction on how they are to receive their Messiah. It’s almost like the Psalmist is giving them a future hymn book. When Messiah comes, you sing this Psalm.

Who hasn’t woken up and said, “This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Yeah, that’s true. But that’s not what this Psalm is talking about. It’s talking about the day that Messiah comes. And when that day comes, you should all cry out, “Hosanna” which means save us. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. That’s how you welcome Messiah.

And so what Jesus is saying to the Pharisees is this: the next time you see me will be when all of the inhabitants of Jerusalem spill out of the city and lay down their garments and palm branches and WELCOME ME AS MESSIAH, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”

The whole city is going to welcome me as KING.

Now, here’s the point, if you were to have been there when Jesus said those words, you would have said, “That’s impossible. By this time it was public knowledge, The Pharisees hate Jesus. The Pharisees and Sadducees control that entire hill. They control the temple. The disciples of Jesus are convinced that a journey to Jerusalem is the same thing as a journey to the grave.”

How in the world, Jesus, are you going to OPENLY walk into Jerusalem with the crowds welcoming you as Messiah, when you know good and well that the Pharisees and Sadducees are BENT on destroying you?

Well the answer is in part the raising of Lazarus. And you want to talk about MOTIVATED REASONING? This is a textbook example. Now let’s regain our bearings. Jesus has crossed over the Jordan and has had this entire exchange with the Pharisees in the relative safety of Herod Antipas. But now Jesus gets word that Lazarus is sick. Jesus is good friends with Lazarus. Lazarus lives in Bethany. Where is Bethany? Bethany is only about a mile from Jerusalem so Jesus would have likely stayed here when he was in the city for Feasts. But notice the region in which Bethany lies.

Bethany is right here, back in the region of Judea, right where the Pharisees want him (back in the jurisdiction of Pontius Pilate where they have control). So this is a dangerous mission. Jesus, come back to the area where you were just about stoned to death. As we continue through the text you can detect the disciples’ resistance to the suggestion that they should go back up to Judea.

As a side note, it’s very interesting that John distinguishes which Mary he’s referencing. Mary, the one who anointed Jesus’ feet with oil and washed it with her hair. Why is that interesting?

Because he hasn’t yet told the story yet about Mary anointing Jesus feet with oil. That’s coming later in chapter 12.

This is pretty good evidence that John assumes you’ve got the other gospels in your hand. Remember John wrote his gospel last. What he’s doing is assuming that you as the reader know the story as told by Matthew, Mark and Luke, and since we’ve been introduced to more than one Mary in the synoptic gospels, he’s clarifying which one he’s referencing.

At any rate, Jesus gets word that his friend Lazarus is very ill. Now notice the careful wording of Jesus. This is an illness that does not lead to death. He doesn’t say, Lazarus will not die. He says it’s an illness that doesn’t culminate, terminate in death. Instead it’s a sickness that leads to the glory of God.

Now let’s get very specific as to what is meant by that. God doesn’t receive glory from the fact that illness exists. Illness is not part of the original design. God did not look at illness in the garden and pronounce it good. Death is the consequence of sin. But, this disease and its associated suffering will be the mechanism through which God’s glory over illness is displayed. In the end, the illness DOES not win. The illness led to death. In the LONG VIEW, this illness actually leads to resurrection life. And it’s at that moment that God’s glory is revealed.

Now at this point, the disciples understand PRECISELY ZERO of what Jesus means by this. Here’s almost certainly what is going through the disciples’ minds. They get word that Lazarus is sick and Jesus, using his divine insight responds to the messenger, this is not a sickness that leads to death and he sends the messenger away.

Sweet! Instead this is an illness that leads to the glory of God. Great! He’s going to get healed like many of the others that Jesus healed. There are multiple examples in the Scripture where Jesus heals from afar with a mere word. I’m certain that’s what the disciples thought. I’m certain that’s what the messenger who returned thought. I’m sure the disciples thought it will be interesting to hear the rest of the story next time we meet up and see Lazarus. I’m sure everyone mentally checked the time and said, “Okay’s about noon on Thursday and Lazarus will say, ‘yeah, right about noon on Thursday I just instantly started feeling better.’”

And everyone forgets about it. Jesus announces no further intention. But, we as readers get special insight into his plan. But our special insight is shocking! Did you hear that? Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Let’s zoom in on that word for love. As you know, there are several words for love for love in Greek and this is the word agape. It’s the highest form of love. It’s perfect, unconditional, pure. It most often refers to DIVINE love because only God can love with that much purity. So the text says, he LOVED these three with that kind of love.

Now look at verse 6. The word so is a strong word. It means THEREFORE. Jesus LOVED these guys and on the basis of his love for them, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

Did you hear that? Because God loved them so perfectly, in a totally unconditional way, he didn’t come when they called upon him in their moment of GREATEST need. This is bottomlessly instructive for us. We think it ought to read, since Jesus loved them so much, he immediately did what they asked and went to the aid of Lazarus to make sure he wouldn’t die. We think that the Love of God means doing what we want.

“God if you loved me you would fix this financial problem in my life. God if you REALLY loved me, you’d fix this relational problem that I am experiencing either in my marriage or with my kids, or my friends or in the church. That, Lord, would be evidence of your love for me. God if you REALLY, REALLY loved me then you would get rid of this cancer or this disease or this health handicap.”

But actually the love of God is doing what is best for the person even if it involves our suffering. Did you catch that? God LOVES you; and, oftentimes he will wait those two extra days.

The very best thing in the world for you right now might be the delay of God.

Why did he wait two additional days? When Jesus arrived on the scene Lazarus had already been dead four days so if he had set out immediately, Lazarus would have still been dead two full days. But he waited. Why? Because he wanted to establish with spectacular certainty that LAZARUS was not just mostly dead, but CERTAINLY dead.

God’s delays are not denials. The fact you think it’s a delay is an evidence of your MOTIVATED REASONING. What Mary and Martha wanted was for Jesus to swoop in and overcome sickness. What Jesus wanted was to swoop in and overcome death. Which is better?

Now at this point, remember, the disciples still have no idea that this is what’s going to go down. Remember, the last thing they heard was that this was not an illness that leads to death. They assumed this was healing from afar. That was two days ago when Jesus said that.

They’ve completely forgotten about Lazarus. They’ve totally learned to trust Jesus. He’s not going to die. End of story. Move on with our life. But then Jesus, undoubtedly, surprises them and says. Now I’m not sure they are even making the connection at this point between Lazarus and Judea. I think because they have so completely abandoned the idea that the sickness of Lazarus was a problem that when they hear Jesus say, “Let us go to Judea” they understood him to be updating them on their itinerary.

And their initial reaction was this idea is not one of your better ideas, Jesus.

To our ears this would be like Jesus saying, “let us go to Kabul international airport in Afghanistan.” What’s wrong with JFK or Kona? When they hear this suggestion, they get real concerned. Jesus, you know the politics over there. Last time we were there they tried to kill you. You barely escaped with your life. Are you sure, Jesus? So out of their mouths comes this complaint and Jesus’ response: Now Jesus is basically forcing them to square their theology with their fear. He says, why do we work in the day instead of the night? Because in the day you can see. You don’t stumble during the day. There’s no fear of stumbling when there is light. The light of the world prevents you from making a wrong step. If you are with me, guess what? It’s daytime. Why? because I am the light of the world. You can’t make a mistake if you are following me.

Keep that in mind folks. You can’t make a mistake if you are obeying what Jesus tells you to do. There is no possible way to REGRET obedience. That is a perfect step made in the light. The outcome might be horrendous by any other standard, but it’s not a mistake. It’s not a misstep. Following Jesus means you will never stumble.

And the converse is true as well. “If anyone walks in the night he stumbles, because the light of the world is not in him.” If you do anything apart from Jesus, if you make decisions in life and don’t include Jesus, if you ignore your conscience and push Jesus to the side, then whatever decision you make, no matter how successful it is in the eyes of the world, will result in stumbling.

You can’t be on the right path if the path doesn’t include Jesus as Lord and savior of your life. You will CERTAINLY stumble.

Listen, we are going to Judea. Yes, it is dangerous. But you won’t stumble because I am the light of the world. Now he tells them what their Judean mission will be.

The disciples are, at times, dense; however, this is not one of those times. Jesus had plainly told them this was not a sickness that leads to death. How else is a person supposed to interpret those words? The disciples hear Jesus say, “I’m going to go wake up Lazarus.”

Again, how else are they supposed to interpret those words. Jesus is surely tired. After all, he’s had a brush with death. But you told us it wasn’t a sickness leading to death. Right? I’m sure he’s sleepy. Do we really need to go to Judea and risk our lives to get him out of bed? He’ll wake up when he’s kicked the virus and feels better.

Now comes plain language.

Now here’s where things get chilling. I am glad for your sake that I was not there so that you might believe that I really do have power to raise people from the dead. Which means what? Which means that they currently DO NOT believe.

This is basically our stopping point. The miracle itself we are going to talk about next time. But I want you to just hear what Jesus is saying. You guys have been following me around for a few years now. And you still don’t really believe. And this is applicable for all of us as well. We believe in Jesus, but we don’t really believe he has power over the things we are suffering RIGHT NOW.

You believe. But you don’t believe. Jesus says to his disciples, you believe I can heal people. You’ve seen that. But do you realize who I am? Who I really am? I can raise people from the dead. I can overcome the grave. You don’t yet believe that. Now as evidence that they don’t believe that, look at what Thomas says.

So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

This gives you some idea of the level of danger represented in Jesus’ suggestion. In the minds of the disciples, this was a suicide mission. This was Normandy. These guys know the hornets’ nest of Judea.

Now what does Thomas mean here? This is one place in the Bible where you’d love to have some tone, inflection and intonation.

Either Thomas is saying:

“Jesus, I’m so committed to you, I’ll gladly go to Jerusalem and die with you.” In that case it’s a very commendable statement of loyalty… “Fine, if you want to go to Jerusalem to try and raise Lazarus from the dead, you’ll likely be having to raise more than just Lazarus. We are all dead if we go there.” In this case it’s heavy sarcasm.

But in either case, in both cases, what is Thomas lacking? He does not believe that Jesus has power OVER death. Either we will die, Jesus will die or both. But someone is going to die.

And Jesus says, “I’m glad Lazarus died, so you can believe.” He’s painting them into a corner. Let’s apply this. Gospel Message

Let me assure you. All of us today walked into the room with motivated reasoning. None are unbiased. None are objective. None are willing to just receive truth without question. There are FACTS presented here that our conception of reality won’t readily support.

What is the FACT established in this passage? The FACT above every other FACT is that Jesus has power over suffering and death. The FACT is that Jesus has purposes in SUFFERING and DEATH. Jesus is LORD over it. The whole Bible is written to establish that FACT.

Now that conflicts with a deeply emotional conviction that if God loves me, I will not suffer.

And so when we suffer, our MOTIVATED REASONING kicks in. How can God still love me? And rather than interpreting our circumstances through the love of God, we interpret the LOVE of God through our circumstances. That’s motivated reasoning.

If you are suffering right now, what is true of Lazarus is true of you, “your suffering is for the glory of God.” But I guarantee you that if you are suffering right now you are motivated to reason differently. It doesn’t feel that way.

The FACT that Jesus is LORD over suffering is in conflict with your sense that if Jesus loved you, he would rescue you from suffering.

This passage is teaching us to look beyond our feelings to what is true. Of course it feels that way. Of course suffering is not fun.

Suffering always hurts. For Lazarus the coughing and the vomiting and the sweating and the fever were all real. He had to endure all that. The evil of suffering had its way. If God was to exercise supremacy OVER death, then logically speaking, death and the accompanying suffering must have its way first.

Perhaps the silence of God in our life is the silence of those two days. Perhaps God is waiting so that he can establish with such spectacular certainty that he is sovereign over the suffering you experience. We don’t know his good purposes. But we know that they are for his glory and our good.

I’m glad, for your sake, that you are suffering. Why? How can you say that? Because through the suffering you will believe. You will know who I am. There’s no alternate explanation. And would you not agree, that there is no more loving thing in the world that God could possibly do for you than to help you see him more clearly? Baptism

This evening, we have a baptism service. And so come out to that. Come out and watch a FUNERAL and a BIRTH. That’s what baptism is. We bury the old man. This man who is MOTIVATED to reason that this world is all about me.

We put that old man in the grave. And what rises is new life. New life is born. Unless a man is BORN AGAIN, he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.

If you are not a Christian and are wondering how to become one, the answer of the Scriptures is repent and be baptized. The Bible sees these events as simultaneous. It’s a physical expression of what has taken place in the heart.

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. (Rom. 6:4 ESV)

Baptism is our funeral and birthday. We get a death certificate and a birth certificate on the same day. So bring a dinner to enjoy on the lawn afterwards. Bring a chair or a blanket and let’s listen to the stories of life and celebrate Jesus’ victory over death.