The Resurrection and the Life

Along the coasts of northern Australia and New Guinea and Indonesia, and even farther north into the Philippines and Vietnam, there is a creature that is commonly referred to as “the sea wasp.” It’s actually not a wasp at all; it’s a type of jellyfish.

The rounded top of a jellyfish is called the hood or the bell. And in the sea wasp, the bell is almost cube-shaped. From each the four corners, there’s a cluster of 15 tentacles, giving it a total of 60 tentacles, which can be up to 10 feet long.

When fully grown, the bell of a sea wasp is about the size of a basketball, and it has a pale blue color, which pretty much makes it invisible in the water. Because of the markings on the jellyfish, some have said that from certain angles, the bell resembles a skull.

Well, if that’s the case, it would be an appropriate connection. You see, the most notable characteristic of this jellyfish is not its anatomical structure, or its size, or its color. What the sea wasp is most famous for is its venom.

Back in 1955, a five-year old boy was wading in shallow water on the northeastern shore of Australia. He was unfortunately stung by a jellyfish and died within minutes. That event led to the discovery of the sea wasp by toxicologist Dr. Hugo Flecker.

The scientific name given to the sea wasp is chironex fleckeri. The second half of the name comes from Dr. Flecker’s name, but the first word has a more interesting derivative. Chironex comes from the Greek word cheiro and the Latin word nex. And when you put them together, it could be translated as “hand murderer” or “hand killer.”

That’s an appropriate term for these kind of jellyfish because each of the “hands” or tentacles is covered with specialized stinging cells. These cells release microscopic darts which deliver venom to the victim. The sea wasp, as far as scientists can tell, possess what is perhaps the world’s most potent animal venom.

The sting of a sea wasp produces an extremely powerful and excruciating burning sensation. Sometimes, it’s enough to send a person into shock before they’re able to get to help. One article referred to it as “the bane of all ocean-bathers.” If a sting is severe enough, a person left untreated will die in two to five minutes from heart failure. One source indicated that if all the venom inside one adult sea wasp were extracted, it would be enough to kill 60 adult humans.

Well, let me tell you something. As painful and as dangerous as it might be to get stung by a sea wasp, you don’t need to get stung by a sea wasp to die. Right? You might never even see a jellyfish in your life, but you will still die.

That’s because more deadly than the a sting of a sea wasp is the sting of death. That’s how the Apostle Paul describes it in 1 Corinthians 15—“the sting of death." And, he reminds us there that “the sting of death is sin.”

Romans 5 reminds us that through one man, sin came into the world. And through sin, came death, which has spread to all men because all sinned. Said another way, everybody sins and everybody dies. You cannot cheat death.

You might be familiar with the statement popularized in the 1700s: “In this world, we cannot be sure of anything, except death and taxes.” And then there was also Rocky Balboa who reminded us about the frailty of humanity when he said: “Time takes everybody out; time is undefeated.”

You can think whatever you want about death, you can approach it with whatever attitude you like, but you cannot escape it. Death rules this world because of sin. And we know that sin came to Adam and Eve through Satan.

Satan, in the Bible, is referred to as “the god of this world,” the “ruler of this world.” He is the “prince of the power of the air.” And Hebrews 2 tells us he has the power of death.

Which of us has the power to defeat him? Which of us has the power to dethrone Satan? Which of us has the power to undo the destruction he has brought?

No one. None of us. In ourselves, we stand condemned for our sin. We are helpless, in ourselves, against the powers of sin and death.

But, as the Bible says: Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 

This is cosmic history. This is the story of our universe. Satan and sin and death have plunged us into ruin, and only in Christ will that destruction be undone.

Theologically and doctrinally, I hope most of you understand that. Jesus gives us victory over death. But in our passage for today, what we find is not a boring or detached doctrinal statement. What we have is a true story, bearing witness to the power of Jesus and to His identity as the man who, alone, can conquer death.

Last week, we looked at the beginning of the story. A man named Lazarus from the town of Bethany became severely ill. And so, his family sent messengers to Jesus, to tell Him about it.

Well, Jesus decides not to rush back to Bethany. Instead, He tells those around Him that Lazarus’ sickness is for the glory of God, and the glory of the Son of God. Just a couple of days later, Lazarus dies. And Jesus tells His disciples that He’s glad it happened because it would lead them to believe.

What that tells us is that what’s about to happen is a sign specifically aimed at strengthening the faith of Jesus’ disciples.

Well, Jesus and His disciples head out to Bethany. And we’ll pick up where we left off last week in verse 17. Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother.

These first few verses set the stage for us. With regard to the timing, it’s now the fourth day since Lazarus’ death. Everybody would have been talking about that. That’s one of the first questions you ask, isn’t it? “When did he pass?” We’ll come back to this timing detail near the end of the story.

With regard to location, John tells us that they aren’t very far from Jerusalem, which, you may recall, is not just the center of Jewish faith, but it’s the center of the hostility toward Jesus. Last time Jesus was in Jerusalem, there were at least two attempts to stone him.

The most common term John uses in this book for those who oppose Jesus and refuse to believe in him is “the Jews.” That’s the term that was used earlier in verse 8 by the disciples when they said, “The Jews were just now seeking to stone You.” Well, interestingly enough, since Bethany and Jerusalem are near each other, a large group of those Jewish unbelievers had come to Bethany to be with Mary and Martha. This is probably an indication of how well-known the family was and how tragic Lazarus’ death was.

It also seems that Martha and Mary may have been part of a wealthy household, so that might have also added to the notoriety of Lazarus’ death.

Funerals, by the way, were big deals in that culture. It wasn’t just one day with a service followed by a luncheon. The mourning would have lasted for days.

One Jewish funeral custom said that a family, no matter how poor they were, had to hire at least two flute players and one wailing woman who would cry and call out That was all part of enhancing the emotion of it all.

So what we’ve got here is a very emotional scene, but there’s also an underlying tension. You’ve got a home full of people who reject Jesus, and He’s on His way there with His disciples.

Verse 20—So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house.

Martha wants to meet with Jesus before He makes it to her house. And that could be a way of trying to avoid some tension with the unbelievers in her house. But it could also be a demonstration of how eager she is to be with Him. Whatever her reasons are, she is about to have a conversation with Jesus, apart from her visitors.

And part of what John wants to draw our attention to, as he records this for us is a future resurrection. I think that’s a good heading for this first section. This brief little section serves as a pointer to a future resurrection.

Let’s look at that, starting in verse 21—Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.”

It’s not always easy to know the heart behind what someone says, particularly when it’s in writing. But obviously Martha is upset. She’s still grieving. And she’s had a few days to think about it. Apparently, this is the thought she keeps coming back to: “If Jesus would have been here, Lazarus wouldn’t have died.”

That doesn’t necessarily mean she’s blaming Jesus. She might just be voicing what she’s thinking. With the way verse 22 is translated, it sort of gives the impression that she’s got a confident and optimistic faith in her. But that’s not necessarily the case. She could just be saying: “Jesus, I know you would have healed him because God always answers your prayers.”

I think that’s a more appropriate way to take it because as the story continues, we see that Martha isn’t expecting Jesus to raise Lazarus from the dead. In fact, she tries to stop Him from opening the tomb.

Well, Jesus responds with a factual statement. Verse 23—Your brother will rise again.

There’s a bit of irony here because Jesus knows what He’s going to do. But Martha takes it as a theological statement for the final and future resurrection. Verse 24—Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”

What is she talking about? She’s talking about a component of the faith of God’s people. One day, the Christ will take His place as the rightful Ruler of this world, and God’s salvation will be complete. And the dead will rise.

In the Old Testament, the prophet Daniel said it like this in Daniel 12, verses 1-3—At that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.

A belief in some kind of bodily resurrection, isn’t simply a New Testament idea. Even in the Old Testament, the people of God awaited a victory over death.

About a hundred years before Daniel, Isaiah 26:19 says: Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead.

Two thousand years before that, Job who was suffering tremendously said: For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another.

The people of God have always been marked by faith in a life after this one. This life is not the end. And Martha knows that. What she needed to reminded of, however, is not just how that life will come, but Who will bring it about.

Verse 25—Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

This the focal point of the miracle. These are the words that connect to work we’re about to see. And what you need to keep in mind is that these are not just the words of a man to a grieving woman. These are the words of God, by His Son and by His Spirit, to each and every one of us. It is another one of, what many refer to as, the “I am” statements of Jesus, particularly in John’s gospel. Jesus said to the people, “I am the bread of life. I am the light of the world. Before Abraham was, I am.” And now, he says to Mary, “I am the resurrection and the life.”

John continues to emphasize in the gospel that Jesus came to bring life, to give eternal life. And what does that mean? John 17 tells us: eternal life is to know God through Jesus Christ. Life is the sustenance and the satisfaction that comes through a connection to and an intimacy with the true and living God.

And since that’s what life is, that’s why Jesus could say, not just that He brings resurrection and life, but that He is the resurrection and the life. Knowing Him is the most satisfying and fulfilling and joyful possibility in all creation. It’s what we were made to do—to know God in Jesus Christ. That is eternal life. It’s unity with God.

Death, on the other hand, is a separation. Physical death is the separation of your body and your soul. It’s also the separation of that that person with everybody else. Death separates.

For those who reject Christ, who will not surrender to Him, who will not walk in obedience to Him, their physical death will lead to eternal death. That will be an eternal separation from the blessings of God. That is eternal, spiritual death. That’s hell. They will be removed from all that is good and satisfying, and experience only pain and anguish and judgment for all eternity because they rejected and rebelled against an infinity holy God. And that’s what we deserve.

But for those whom God has mercifully called to Himself, those who have trusted in Jesus, they get immediate and everlasting life as they begin to enjoy union with God. And even when physical death comes, it cannot interrupt spiritual life. It will only bring us closer to our Lord.

Jesus is reminding us of that truth here. Even if you die physically, you will still live spiritually, by knowing God. You can never die spiritually. You can never be separated from God.

And in addition to that promise of spiritual life, we have what Martha has already alluded to. One day Jesus will raise our dead bodies. He’ll glorify them, and then He’ll reunite our spirit with our bodies. And we will live forever.

The question that Jesus poses to Martha is the very same question that God is asking you: Do you believe this? Do you believe in a future resurrection? And if you do, what difference is it making?

You see, Jesus knows that Martha believes. But the question serves as reminder that would strengthen her faith and then encourage her to live in way that’s consistent with it. We all need these kinds of reminders. Especially as we think about or experience death and suffering in this life. Everyone who believes in Christ shall never die.

Martha’s faith is being tested right now. And even if it feels a little weak right now, she responds with the affirmation of every true Christian. Verse 27—She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”

She says: “Yes, Lord. I believe it. The rest of the people back in my home, and the Jewish officials, they reject You. But I believe. I know who You are! You are the One we’ve been waiting for, the One who will free us from the bondage of sin and death.”

You know, believing in Jesus won’t take away the pain of death. But it can saturate it in hope. Faith looks through the present circumstances to the glorious final salvation that Jesus will bring. And by faith we know that the pain we feel now, will only serve to highlight the redemption to come.

This is where we need to direct our minds in time of suffering. Jesus is coming. He will fulfill His promises. This will be conquered. There will be a future resurrection.

Well, that brief interaction with Martha leads her to go and call her sister. Verse 28—When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him.

Again, saying these kinds of things in private would help prevent the unbelieving crowd from ruining this time with Jesus. And now, it’s Mary turn to go and meet with Jesus. This time, though, the crowd is going to tag along.

Verse 30—Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

According to the custom of that day, the crowd isn’t just walking behind her. There are probably shouts of grief and loud sobbing and wailing as they walk. I think it would be so foreign to many of us.

Well, Mary doesn’t care about the crowd following her. She cares about Jesus. And her opening statement to Jesus is the same as her sister’s. Maybe that’s what they had been talking about for the past few days.

Verse 33—When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.

This is what’s interesting. John connects the emotional response of Jesus to the emotional response of the people. But before we jump to some conclusions, we to be careful about understanding what’s actually going on here. The Greek terms here for Jesus’ response are very interesting.

The second description of Jesus says that he was “troubled” or “greatly distressed." The word there carries the idea of being shaken or stirred up or unsettled. It’s a word that describes someone who is no longer visibly composed. But if we see how it’s used in the rest of the Bible, we find that it’s connected not just to sadness, but to fear, and to anger.

When Herod heard about Jesus, He was troubled. When the disciples thought they saw a ghost, they were troubled. When Zechariah saw the angel, he was troubled. When the unbelieving Jews in Thessalonica formed a mob and made false accusations against Paul, the crowd was troubled. So, the word definitely conveys a strong emotion, but which emotion is John pointing out in Jesus.

The answer to that question come from the first phrase. Our translation says He was “deeply moved.” That translation is a little misleading. The root word has the idea of snorting, like a horse in battle. Outside of verses 33 and 38 of this chapter, the word is used three other times, and all of them are connected with being stern or angry.

One of the Greek dictionaries I use confirms that idea. It says this word carries an idea of being stern or displeased or angry. One commentator decided to translate it like this: “Jesus was outraged in spirit.”

Whenever we come to any passage of Scripture, we don’t have the right to start by saying, “Well, here’s what I’d like it to mean.” We have to be committed to what it says. We don’t want to say more than what it’s saying, and we don’t want to say less.

It’s clear there’s a lot of emotion here in Jesus. It was evident. His breathing changed. His expression changed. But rather than simply say that Jesus is sad too, the Greek used here points us to indignation or anger. And it was evident in Jesus’ person and expression. But what isn’t really included by John is an explanation of Jesus’ emotion. Why is He upset? Why is He outraged?

Some people has guessed that Jesus is upset because He feels like they are trying to emotional manipulate Him into doing a miracle. That doesn’t work, because He’s already intending to do it.

Others think that He’s upset because the mourning of the crowd is fake or hypocritical. That may be, but it’s not something that John makes explicit.

Another explanation given is that Jesus is angry with sin and death in this fallen world. He knows that the victory will be His, but that doesn’t minimize the emotion from the damage it’s presently causing. It would be like a general who knows he’ll win a war, but at the same time he’s going to lose some soldier.

And lastly, some think that the anger could be directed at the underlying unbelief of the crowd. They not only rejects Him as the Christ, they will ultimately call for His death. They are enemies of God.

You don’t have to pick one of those possibilities. Maybe there’s multiple elements. John just doesn’t tell us.

Verse 34—And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.”

And famously, we get verse 35—Jesus wept.

This is a different Greek word than what was used for the crying of Mary and the crowd. Literally, it just means to shed tears. Some take that as an expression of sadness or empathy. It’s also possible that the tears are from the anger as well. It’s not uncommon for someone to be so angry that they cry.

But even if we’re not given insight into what’s going on in Jesus’ heart, we do get an insight into what the crowd in thinking.

Verse 36—So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?”

It is true that Jesus loves Lazarus. But Jesus’ tears here are much different than the tears of the despairing crowd. Jesus is not shedding tears of helplessness and despair.

It’s also true that Jesus could have healed Lazarus. But their way of looking at life and at its priorities falls much shorter than Jesus’ perspective. This crowd’s faith is not a faith clinging to Jesus for who He is. This is a false faith, simply connected to what they could see. And as soon as things go bad, their first response is to say: “Yup. I knew it. He’s not really all that I thought He was.” They want more signs. And again, that kind of unbelief may be why Jesus is upset. The emotion hasn’t gone away.

Verse 38—Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.

This was the common Jewish practice, particularly for the rich. If there wasn’t a cave that already existed, you carved one. The dead weren’t embalmed or anything like that. They were just wrapped with giant cloths and covered with spices to mask the odor of decomposing flesh.

Well Jesus, along with the crowd, and now joined again by Martha, make it to the tomb.

Verse 39—Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.”

This is John’s way of highlighting the fact that he’s dead. Lazarus wasn’t passed out in a cave. If he had recovered from the sickness, you would have heard him shouting from inside the cave by now. But that didn’t happen. He’s dead. His body is rotting away. So Martha protests.

But again, Jesus responds to her. Verse 40—Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”

Well, how is she going to see the glory of God? In the future, she’s going to see it. But Jesus has something in mind for today. And this leads us to the second heading, which is “The Present Demonstration.” The Present Demonstration.

Yes, Jesus will bring about a final resurrection one day. There will be a future resurrection. But today, there will be a demonstration of the power of Jesus to bring it about. Jesus is about to give them a preview, a glimpse. What’s about to come is a present demonstration of a future resurrection.

Martha concedes to Jesus’ statement, and the demonstration proceeds. Verse 41—So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.”

Even before this point in time, Jesus had already been praying for this very moment. And beyond simply praying for the dead guy and for the mourning family, Jesus remembers His disciples and the watching crowd.

So His prayer is: “Lord, give new life to the people around Me. Strengthen the faith of My disciples. And grant that those who reject Me may believe that I am the Christ, the Son of God.” That’s what He’s after. He wants a growing number of those who worship the Father through the Son.

And so, to that end, He gives them a  most powerful demonstration they had ever seen. Verse 43—When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

For Lazarus, having had his movement restricted by the cloths pales infinitely to having been restricted by death, right? He was dead. You have to let that sink in. Jesus gave a command to a dead man. He couldn’t even hear the command, let alone obey it! But it happened.

How? By the power and authority of the word of Christ. Why? For the glory of God, and for the exalting of Jesus Christ.

And for some there that day, Jesus’ prayer was answered. They came to faith. Verse 45—Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him.

This was how God would be glorified, by revealing the power of His Son, and adding to the number of His people.

Unfortunately, not everyone responded so positively. Verse 46—But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.

This is the worst kind of tattle-tale. And it’s what sets us up for the final days of Jesus’ earthly ministry before He is put to death. We’ll be looking at that in the weeks to come.

But for now, here’s where our focus needs to be—on Jesus who is the resurrection and the life. Do you believe this?

If you’re here this morning, and you’re not a Christian, we’re glad you came. And our deepest desire is that we would be clear in presenting Jesus to you. And our hope is that you would join us by believing in and surrendering to Him. What are you going to do with this account recorded for us in the Bible?

You’ve only got a few options. I’ve heard it summarized like this. Jesus is either legend, liar, lunatic, or Lord. That’s what you’ve got. You can’t just walk away and say: “I don’t know about it.” What do you say?

Is this just a legend? Is this just some made up or exaggerated story? And if you think it is, you’ve got to think historically about how it is that these accounts came so soon after the events. Soon enough for the people who were actually alive at the time to verify it. And then you’ve got to explain how even Jesus’ enemies recognize that it happened.

And if Jesus isn’t simply a legend, then is He just a very convincing liar? What if this all just a hoax? But what about Martha and Mary? Jesus didn’t initiate the interactions with them, the sisters did. They, along with others who had come, expected Lazarus to be decomposing. They would have verified it. He was dead.

The Pharisees used to say that Jesus was working with the power of the devil. But if that’s the case, Jesus would have left the man dead. That’s what Satan does. He kills. But Jesus came with a greater power.

The third option is that Jesus is a lunatic. He doesn’t know what He’s talking about. He’s delusional. He only thinks He’s God. That might make some sense, except for the fact that He raised a man from the dead. No amount of delusion can make that happen.

Is this a legend? Is Jesus a liar? Is Jesus a lunatic? No. He’s the Jesus the Lord of all creation. He’s the Lord of the living and the dead.

John 5:28 has already told us: An hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

What’s the good God calls you to do? To believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. to turn from your sin and surrender your life to Him. He proved who He was, not just by the miracle with Lazarus, but by raising Himself from the dead after His crucifixion.

Hebrews 2:15 says that through death He destroyed the one who has the power of death, the devil. He alone is the One with power over sin and death. He alone can bring true forgiveness and reconciliation with God.

And He will come again one day. He will descend from heaven with a cry of command, and the dead in Christ will rise.

That’s our hope, isn’t it? That’s our faith. And as a demonstration of the Lord’s power to do so, He raised Lazarus from the dead, and He raised Himself from the dead in perfect glory.

I’d like to close with one thought. And this is along the lines of the headings we used today. We know there will be a future resurrection, but apart from the resurrection of Lazarus and the resurrection of Jesus, are there any more present-day demonstrations of the power of Jesus over sin and death?

The answer is yes. Every day God is giving us and giving to the world a demonstration of resurrection power. What is that?

It’s what we read in Romans 6:4. It says: We were buried 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.

Do you want people to be impressed by the power of Jesus Christ over sin and death? Then walk in humble, devoted, obedience to Him. Walk in newness of life, and you will bear witness to the power of Jesus Christ. And by God’s grace, people will see what He’s done, and they’ll believe in Him.