Whenever we see real belief, we know that a significant
resurrection from the dead has already taken place.  Those who have
been raised from the dead spiritually express their new life by
believing in Jesus Christ.  We see that Mary and Martha truly believe
in Jesus Christ, and so we see evidence that they have been raised
from the dead spiritually.  This passage serves to picture what will
happen to them, and to all who believe in Christ, in the future.
Their spiritual resurrection will surely result in a physical
resurrection from the dead.

There is a real change that has taken place in Martha’s life.
Once, she was so anxious about making sure that she was a good hostess
that she failed to sit at her master’s feet (Luke 10:38-42).  Now, we
see that a change has taken place.  She hurries to go get her sister
Mary and bring her to Jesus.

Mary went immediately to go see Jesus, and her friends and
relatives went with her, since they thought she was going to the
graveside to mourn.  The scene that follows is characterized by
hopelessness.  Mary and many of the friends and relatives thought that
the only hope for Lazarus had passed, since Jesus, the healer, did not
arrive prior to Lazurus’ death.

Yet Jesus showed them all that he has power over death.  Even
though Lazarus had been in the grave for four days, Jesus called
Lazarus forth and he came out of the grave.  This miracle showed for
the glory of God the Father and the glory of the one he had sent.
Some of the people that saw this miracle at the graveside believed
that Jesus Christ is the one who sets men free from the bonds of
death, and would one day cause them to rise from their graves as well.

All of us who believe have this same assurance.  Our bodies, which
are sown into the ground like a seed, will someday spring forth from
the ground with new life.  When Jesus returns, our bodies will be
renewed so that they will be imperishable.

“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?'” (John
11:25-26)

Jesus did many signs so that people would believe he was the anointed
one and have life through him (John 20:30-31).  Perhaps the most
dramatic sign was when Jesus raised Lazarus, who had been dead for
four days.

When Jesus hears that his friend Lazarus is dead, we expect him to
react immediately, running as fast as possible to be with Mary and
Martha.  Yet, he just sits there for two days.  This is to show that
he is not to be moved by any external forces, but he works entirely on
God’s timetable.  He cannot be rushed.  Also, it helps us to see the
magnitude of this miracle.  He is not reviving a patient who died a
few seconds before, but he is raising a man who has been dead for
quite some time.

If Jesus travels to Judea to go to Lazarus, it seems that he will put
himself and the disciples into great danger.  The disciples remember
vividly the Jews who had picked up stones to kill Jesus, and they
start to become afraid.  They think that they and Jesus will surely be
killed.  Jesus reassures them using an analogy.  Just as there is
always twelve hours of daylight in a day, so his light will shine in
the world for an appointed time.  He will not die before his work is
completed.

Jesus then downplays Lazarus’ death, comparing it with sleep.  Of
course, Lazarus was fully, completely dead.  Jesus knew this perfectly
well (John 11:14).  However, he wants his disciples to understand that
death is not the end for Christians.  Those who believe in him will
have eternal life and hope in a future resurrection.  The miracle that
Jesus is about to perform will be a picture of that hope, just as
Lazarus emerged from the grave, so shall we all.

When Jesus talks with Martha, he tells her that he will raise Lazarus
from the dead.  It does not occur to her to think that he will raise
Lazarus at that very time, but her mind moves forward to the future,
when Jesus will raise all believers from the dead.  Her response to
Jesus is one of faith.  Though she has not seen him raise anyone from
the dead with her eyes, she nonetheless believes that he is “the
Messiah, the Son of God” (John 11:27), who has power over death.

Sermon Summary

Can we trust the Bible?  Though Christians throughout the ages have
trusted the Bible, thinking of it as being God’s perfect and inerrant
word, many people in our day have tended to think of the Bible as
having a few errors, since it is the product of human authors.
Clearly, John 10:34-36 lets us know that Jesus himself thought of the
Bible as being perfect and without any errors whatsoever.

Here he rests his argument on a single word in Psalm 82.  It is clear
that he regards this single word to be authoritative, for if it was
possible for this word to be in error, his entire argument would fall
apart.  If his approach to Scripture is valid, what is true of a
single word in a Psalm must also be true of the whole of Scripture.

If that were not enough, he also says clearly that “Scripture cannot
be broken.”  That is to say, it cannot be “broken apart”; no fault can
be found in its pages.  Every single word of it must be accepted as
coming from the mouth of God (2 Tim 3:16-17).  Throughout the gospels,
we see that Jesus himself always holds a high view of Scripture (Matt
4:1-11; 5:17-18; 26:53-54; Mark 11:15-17; Luke 4:18-19; 20: 27-40;
John 5:39).

When look at what the Bible has to say about itself, we can see that
it claims to be authoritative and inerrant.  Every word in it comes
from the mouth of God, though it was written by the hands of men.
These men were prepared for their job and superintended by the Holy
Spirit as they wrote.  Everything that the Bible states as being true
should be believed and affirmed as true.  All that God commands in its
pages should be obeyed.  It is without error in all that it teaches.

Those who reject even a part of the teaching of the Bible do so at
their own peril.  When they do so, they leave behind the solid ground
of truth and plunge themselves into a sea of uncertainties.

The Feast of Dedication celebrated the restoration of the temple by
Judas Maccabeus after it had been desecrated by Antiochus Ephiphanes.
After Ephiphanes sacked Jerusalem, it seemed like the Jewish people
would never be able to worship in the temple again, yet God graciously
allowed the temple to be restored.  Jesus fulfills the meaning of this
feast, since he delivers his people so that they can truly worship
God.

While Jesus was in Jerusalem, he was surrounded by Jews that demanded
that he tell him plainly whether or not he was the Messiah.  Knowing
that a simple “yes” or “no” answer could easily be misunderstood by
those seeking a political Messiah or could be used by those seeking
incriminating evidence against him, Jesus gives them a very wise
answer.  His answer reveals his identity to his sheep, but conceals it
from the wolves.

He tells them that they are unable to understand who he is because
they are not his sheep.  If they were his sheep, they would be able to
see the unity that he has with his Father.  For example, he gives his
sheep eternal life, and the Father also is involved in giving eternal
life, since the Father holds the sheep in his hands, keeping them from
falling away.  From this example, it should be quite plain to see that
the Son and the Father are one God.

It was plain enough that the Jews picked up stones to kill Jesus. They
thought that he was a mere man claiming to be God.  Jesus then throws
them off balance by telling them that they are too blind to judge even
the most simple manners, therefore they cannot judge him.  He
effectively tells them, “If the term ‘god’ may legitimately be applied
to mere men, then how much more should it be applied to me, who the
Father set apart and sent into the world?”  He is saying that they
don’t even know their own Scriptures well enough to see that he
fulfills Scripture.

His challenge slows them down enough that they are able to listen to
the next thing he says.  He tells them to look at the works he has
done, which bear testimony to his divine nature, and in seeing these
works, believe that he is indeed the Messiah.  These words renewed
their zeal to murder him, but the time had not yet come for him to
die, and so he escaped from their hands.