THE RESURRECTION, God’S POWER OVER DEATH
John 11:33-44
THE TROUBLE OF UNBELIEF
V:33 When Jesus, therefore, saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping
which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled,
A. Jesus reacted to the weak state of mind of Mary and the mourners
following her.
1. While Martha and Mary had faith that Jesus could heal, they had no
faith that Jesus could do anything after Lazarus' death.
2. Martha was given the revelation by Jesus that He was the resurrection
and the life, but paid no attention to it.
B. The word groaned is the Greek word embrimaomai which means to snort
with anger.
1. The word troubled is the Greek word etaraxen which means agitate
or loss of calmness.
2. Jesus was angry and agitated because of the lack of faith of His
disciples.
3. When believers don't trust in the power of Jesus, He becomes angry and
agitated.
4. Don’t go to Jesus in prayer if you don’t believe He will answer
your prayer.
5. Notice, Jesus knew the moment Lazarus became ill but waited until
Mary and Martha prayed to respond.
6. Jesus becomes upset at our unbelief when we are claiming Him as
Savior.
WHERE UNBELIEF ENDS, JESUS BEGINS
V:34 And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come
and see.
35 Jesus wept.
A. Mary and Martha had the Resurrection and the Life in front of them
But couldn't see Jesus in that role in their present situation.
1. Death is just temporary, but at every funeral, we act if it is permanent.
2. The body houses the spirit and the soul.
3. At death the spirit and the soul exits the body and returns to the Lord.
4. In a sense, that is the first resurrection. 2 Corinthians 5:8
B. The word weeping for the crowd is the Greek word klaio which means
wail aloud.
a. It was the Jewish tradition for mourners to wail at the death of a
love one.
b. Wailing had no real meaning, other than prolonging the grief.
1. The word wept is the Greek word dakruo which means the
silent shedding of tears.
2. We are not told why Jesus wept.
a. Maybe he wept because of respect for the grief of Mary and Martha.
b. Or maybe Jesus wept because of the unbelief of the ones He
loved.
3. His weeping showed His humanity. He feels what we feel.
4. His weeping showed His divinity in the concern for the emotional
welfare of believers.
UNBELIEF AGITATES, BELIEF COMFORTS
V:36 Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!
37 And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?
38 Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.
A. The groaning of Jesus indicated He was angry and upset with those
Who had witnessed His miracles yet limited His power and authority.
1. Maybe Jesus was upset because His disciples saw a closed door
to their prayers.
2. It is possible that Jesus was upset with those who witness His
miracles and still saw Him as an ordinary man and not God.
B. Just because Jesus does not answer your prayers in your time
frame does not mean He does not have the power.
1. Just because Jesus does not answer your prayers the way He
answered others, don’t mean your prayers have not been heard.
2. Jesus works in His time and His way so that you and non-believers will
see His power and authority.
3. Your hardships become the way Jesus glorifies and magnifies Himself.
REMOVE THE STONE OF UNBELIEF
V:39 Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.
40 Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
A. The problem with us is we see what we see and believe that is all
there is.
1. We have a tendency to limit what Jesus can do based on what we
have experienced in the past.
2. Martha’s reply indicated that she believed it was too late for Jesus
to answer her prayer.
3. As far as she knew Lazarus had been in the tomb 4 days and his
body was decaying.
4. Based on what she knew the body of Lazarus had begun to stink.
B. Jesus knew that Martha did not believe His previous revelation
to her that He was the Resurrection and the Life.
1. She focused on what she knew rather than believe in something
new.
2. Jesus loves us enough to ignore our ignorance to bless us
with His favor.
C. It is good to be reminded of the Word when we began to doubt the
Power of God.
1. It is good to be reminded of the Word when we are faced with
believing that Jesus can do what we see as impossible.
2. When witness Jesus doing the impossible, He is glorified before
our eyes.
A PRAYER OF CONFIDENCE
V:41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.
42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.
A. Notice Jesus worshipped the Father in prayer.
1. He thanked the Father for answering the prayer before He offered the
prayer.
2. Jesus expressed His confidence in the Father to do what He asked.
3. His eyes were focused on the Father during the prayer,
4. Jesus stood at the place of the dead offering a prayer for the dead.
B. We should take away the stone of unbelief from our heart before we
go to God in prayer.
1. We were born dead in our sins and spiritually blind.
2. We need Jesus to bring us out from the grave yard of sin.
3. Jesus came to us when we didn’t know to come to Him.
4. Before Jesus, we were in sin but didn’t know that it was
graveyard of life.
THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE
V:43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
44 And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.
A. Only Jesus can call us from the grave.
1. No one can come to Jesus unless He is drawn by the Father.
John 6:44
2. Jesus chose to call Lazarus from the grave showing grace and
mercy to Mary and Martha. John 15:16
3. He favored Lazarus with a resurrection so that the onlookers could
witness His works.
B. It is Jesus who loosed us from the grave clothes of sin.
1. It is Jesus who took away the napkin of blindness from
our eyes.
2. It is Jesus who sets us free from sin to embrace eternal life.
C. According to verse 42 the purpose of the death and resurrection of
Lazarus was for the unbelievers to see the power and authority
Jesus over death.
1. The resurrection of Lazarus was done publicly for many to
witness the glory of God.
2. The resurrection of Lazarus was recorded for our all believers
to have confidence in the second coming of Christ.
THANK GOD FOR THE RESURRECTION
Rev. M. Mitchell
Asst Pastor Of Greater Macedonia Baptist Church
5510 West Sam Houston Parkway North
Houston, Texas 77041.
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