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Home , Jesus wept, John 11

SUBJECT--....,12---~ ._._+-'i___,h______E.F.,-~z~g_ _ _ CLASSIFICATION: TEXT-~J~o=n_.._.~------EXPOSITORY --BIOGRAPHICAL TITLE "LAZARUS IS DEAD" - - TEXTUAL --TOPICAL SCRIPTURE READING'------DEVOTIONAL

DELIVERIES: Date Hour Place Results and Comments: F.B.C. 8-31-38 Wed. p.m. San Angelo, TX (XXX+++);

BIBLIOGRAPHY ______~ - >'' 00 - ..r.....:..!:~ ~ {"1,.'1 '1-1--+f}

.A. Mini st ry of Dr . Br ian L. ·Ha r bour 11 Oa k Tree Circle, No rth Little Rock , AR 72116

Vol. 4, No. 8 5 August , 1 988 LAZARUS IS DEAD (Eigh t h i n a seri es o f s e rmons o n the Gospe l of John, January St udy book f or 1989. Se venteen s e rmo ns in all will be printed.) Pf the thirty-five specific the raising of Lazarus. It was miracles of in the the event that led finally to the none perhaps is as startling, death of Jesus and too much as suggestive, or as special as mention of it would possibly the one in our text. There were endanger Lazarus and his family. i:l.lio other raisings of the dead i n Later, when John wrote his the Gospels: the son of the W..-..w.:"'-1?. , the heat was off and he at Nin recounted in :11-17 could tell the full story. and the daughter of Jairus told in Mark 5:21-43. But neither of We don't know why the those is as spectacular as this left out this raising of a man who had been story. We only know that John dead for four days. included it. And what a story this is! Lazarus was dead. He I t is somewhat of a mystery, was in the grave four days. His then, when we realize that only body had alr eady begun t o decay. John tells the story of the His life seemed to be over. But raising of Lazarus. Huch debate after Jesus came he was alive has ensued as to why the again! It is no wonder that in Synoptics would omit this event John's Gospel this is the which was surely one of the most greatest of Jesus' miracles, the signif icant in Jesus' minist ry. watershed of his ministry, the There are two answers commonly event which more than any other given. led to his crucifixion. --!irst; some point to the Let's study the story and fact ~Ha t the Synoptic Gospels see what we can learn from it. are most interested in relating the words and works of Jesus that THE INEVITABILITY OF DEATH occurred in and they show little interest in the events First, I want us to see the that happened in . John in inevitability of de ath. his Gospel is exactly the opposite. Thus, the raising of Death is one of what ictor Lazarus which happened in Judea Fr 1 calls .. the trqgic triad" is mentioned by John and t he which are a part of every life. raising of Jairus' daughter and The other two are co..-..-..,, and pain. the son of the widow of Nain that Every person must die unless happened in Galilee are mentione d Jesus comes again first. The in the Synoptics just as this Bible says .. It is appointed unto pattern would suggest. men once to die and after that the judgment .. ( : 27-}. The econd explanation is that writer of Ecclesiastes reminds us when ynoptics were written that there is "a time to be born there was still much tumult over and a time to die" (Ee. 3:2). 7.7AL~/, ._._--·- -

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The Psalmist rhetorically asked, in a dream world and are hiding "What man can live and never see naively behind an illusion. deathf.''iPs. 89:48 RSV). In the story in our text one of the most moving statements is 3 S- in verse 35 where says, - _.;;;~ ...,,...-==- I "." The scholars have long debated the meaning of that verse. In a seminar at Baylor several years ago Dr . Ray §JDUPftT.!i. said that the reason Jesus wept as he stood before the tomb of verse lL "Lazarus has I/ Lazarus was because it brought asleep," He said. Jesus was not him face to face with the denying the reality of death. He challenge of His own experience was simply using a term common t o of death and served as a reminder that day to speak of death. It to Him that He too must die. was used by the pagans, by the Even Jesus had to die. Jews, and even appears in other places in the (Acts 7:60 and 1 Thess. 4:13). to man in the garden "If you of the fruit of the tree you ~u.:u.xJe ~ he JU.QID.e.IL: - S U S shall surely die," death has been saw that the disciples mis­ an inevitable part of the understood what He said, He experience of mankind. immediately did away with the I '{ euphemism and said plainly in verse 14, "Lazarus is dead." con s __..._ _ did ...MJ..w.....a- .-- o ide the to stark reality eath behind any Gorer, an in euphemism. his essay e of Death" concludes that in ~ :,g__ often we do that very contemporary culture the personal thing: cloak the reality of death event of death has replaced sex with a euphemism. All of our as the taboo subject. Death talk silence and all our ephemisms, has replaced sex talk as the however, cannot den the fact unmentionable. that about every person it must be said what was said of Lazarus: this silence is arus is dead. " ~ Cl·?U-11/· · · --::r,

he was dead. It reminds us that C. S. Lewis, death ·__ an inevitable experience of his beloved in every life. the pain wa~s~ ::-:"'.:I'.""'""'=,·~ certain places or certain times or on certain as he THE IMPACT OF DEATH thought it would be, that it makes every part of every day I want you to notice different. "Her absence," he secondly the impact of death. said, "was like the---...... spread only is it true that death is over everything." inev table but it is also true that the experience of death causes an im act that is caused by no other experience of life.

-".""""~ - ,~ ~c~t :....;:i~s~ clearly seen i our te)(,.t The entire passage experience is punctuated with the pulsations is a lonely, of passion. In verse after verse perplexing time that a we see the ._J;;!...... LMJM,,1!.cMA...w.1-.lia:W.!il~~u great hurt to our /~ the eiao+,ip p § g f tbe dj sch.1le~ in verse 16, the erngtiops of the, Jesus /q f.rh;od li,, in verse 19, the said. the experience of ~{ emotions of Ma r:tJ;aa in verse 21, death m t on ~;2.. ffie -,otions of Ha ii, in verse 32, everyone concerned. 33-+-55t.he cernat.j 9D5 oJ, J e5µs_:in verses 33, 35, and 38. \iha:.x..:l'M!-- ·im:Ract the death of someone that we love THE IMPLICATIONS OF DEATH makes on our lives! I want you to notice thirdly But just as there is a the implications of death. If conspiracy of silence which seeks death is ,...~..,.MM....,,...,_ if death is to deny the inevitability of an experience that makes a death, I see in our day a con­ tremendous ~~~~~n. our lives, spiracy of propriety which seeks what does it mean? What are the to deny the impact of death. -~~~~i~o~ns for us? One of the clearest we mu expressions of this conspiracy is the removal of the family to an isolated part of the funeral must encourage chapel so that the people cannot fl see them in their mourning. The implication is that their mourni ng is something that needs a When we do--- = to be hidden. ticipate in a healthy expression of grief we only internalize our feelings and emotions. And they strong. " But there is nothing will come out in u ways more natural at a funera -£Jian later on. the healthy grief of the family who lost a loved one. And it is cJ.l,,li-,_,...... _~- llOt- ~h,

We must never lose sight of and mourning is a natural, that glorious truth. healthy expression of that hurt. We must encourage it. is I want yo e Second <:M~ ~~1""""t~h=e;;:;- inevitability and mourners. death, the fourth thing do is to prepare W"'- When the proper time had elapsed for God's purpose to be carried out, Jesus went to be Death is sometime, in with and . e did not some way for all of us, and I leave them to face their rief want you to remember something alone. ____ y them. "You will die as you live." One man has pointed out the C. S. Lewis says that the five symptoms of acute grief in .las t hing his wife sai d t o him the life of a mourner: 1) somatic as she was dying was, " at distress such as sighing, peace with God." There is an shortness of breath, and fatigue; individual who was ready to die 2) a preoccupation with the image because she had been made ready of the deceased; 3) guilt; 4) to live through Jesus . hostile reactions and irrita­ bility; and 5) loss of common The guesti t hat yo must patterns of conduct~ answer for yourself is "Are you ready?" As followers of Jesus who v he.en.. c.ommande to "~ r one ********************************* another• s burdens" ( Gal. 6 : 2) , ********************************* one of the implications of death is that we be sensitive to the Nine sermons on John have mourners and watch for these been printed in Brian's Lines so signs of acute grief and then set far in 1988. Eight more will be our lives next to theirs so that printed before the end of the we can provide _ _ ""'o:c;t. , and year, two each in the September relief, and atr.flng:th... through December issues. For some who have recently ..-1a.11!¥.-=-~- ·is not subscribed to Brian's Lines, let in the story. Verse me remind you that four triumphant note of additional sermons on John are dramatic chapter is not the available. These four sermons that "Lazarus is dead" but were printed in early issues of the fact that through the power Brian's Lines. They are "The of Jesus Christ "death is dead. " Living Word" from , "Bow to be Born Again" from , "The death Meaning of the Resurrection" from It is , and "When We Follow It is Christ" from . These four not a sermons, and the issues in which they appeared, are all available for $3 each or $12 for the four. Life is short, Let me know .if you are interested Death is sure, in receiving them. Sin the curse, but ********************************* Christ the cure. *********************************