## Jesus: The Resurrection And The Life

## John 11:18-27

While on vacation this year we visited a number of mansions in Newport, Rhode Island. Most of these were built around the beginning of the 20th century as summer homes for the extremely rich. They were only used 6 - 8 weeks of each year and were lavishly decorated and furnished. In every one of them you would find the walls decorated with portraits. This was prior to the modern advances in photography, and these portraits were done to preserve the images of family members and historical figures. Often there would be portraits of the same individuals at different times in their lives. In God's Word, He has preserved for us images of individuals…portraits if you will…only rather than using oils and canvas, God has used words to describe and preserve these images. Over the last few weeks we have been looking into John's Gospel and finding a number of these wonderful portraits of Jesus. Each chapter reveals to us a particular facet of the life and character of God's Son, Jesus Christ. In this chapter we can see the power of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here we find one of the greatest of all His miracles. If all His other miracles were stricken from the Gospel record and all we were left with was this great miracle, we would have enough in our possession to conclude that Jesus is the Son of God. This morning, I would like for us to look together at these magnificent verses and get a glimpse of Jesus as The Resurrection and The Life.

Read: John 11:18-27

I. The Problem That Had Them Defeated: Death v21

A. Death is an ugly event.

1. Lazarus was dead and grief had invaded a once happy home.

2. Those of you who have experienced this problem know of the devastation and heartache that it brings.

3. When someone dies, we are literally ripped apart.

B. Death Is A Universal Event.

(Gen 3:19) In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

(Heb 9:27) And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

1. Often we don't like to talk about it or even think about it…

2. But we need to face up to the fact that we all will die.

3. A sobering thought is this…we are closer now than ever before in our life. (Happy Birthday chant)

4. I did some mathematical calculations that illustrate this truth.

5. I took an average life span of 70 years and compared it to a 24-hour day.

6. It's later than you think!

a. If your age is 25, the time is 9:00 a.m.

b. If your age is 35, the time is 12 noon.

c. If your age is 45, the time is 3:45 p.m.

d. If your age is 55, the time is 6:45 p.m.

e. If your age is 65, the time is 11:30 p.m.

f. If you are over 70, you are living on borrowed time!

C. Death Is An Unexpected Event

1. Martha and Mary probably thought that Lazarus would recover from his sickness and that everything would return to normal.

2. They were no different than most of us today.

3. Even though we know death is coming, it still seems to take them us by surprise.

4. Illus: Old man and Death

5. There is a great need for being ready, and there is no excuse for not being ready.

(James 4:14) Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

6. The rich fool (Luke 12:16-20) thought that he would continue to live and enjoy his life and his riches, but death came and found him totally unprepared.

(Luke 12:19-20) And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. {20} But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

7. You can put off paying taxes, changing your oil, or million other things, but don't put off your salvation!

(2 Cor 6:2b) …behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

8. A little girl had questions about her grandpa's death.

a. In an attempt to answer them her mom explained that God had called grandpa to come home with Him and that one day he would call her as well.

b. The little girl ran to her room, with her mother following to seek to console her.

c. When the mother got to the little girl's room she found her opening her dresser.

d. Mom asked what she was doing, and the little girl told her she was packing!

e. She wanted to be ready when God called…good advice for all of us!

II. The Power Jesus Described: Life v25a

A. Jesus is Life.

1. That means that those who know Him also know life eternal.

2. But those who do not know Him do not know life…because He is life!

3. There is no life in any other…

(1 John 5:12) He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

B. Jesus is the Resurrection.

1. He Raised Others From The Dead.

a. Only recorded instances of Jesus raising someone from the dead.

b. Jairus's daughter (Mark 5:41-42), the Widow of Nain's son (Luke 7:11), and Lazarus (John 11:43-44)

c. I find it is interesting that we have a little girl, a young man, and an older adult.

d. That tells me that no matter how old we may be, we need the power of Jesus in our lives.

2. Jesus Promised To Raise His Followers From The Dead - 1 Cor. 15:20-23; 1 Thes. 4:13-17.

a. All who have trusted Jesus as their personal Savior can have the confidence that Jesus will one day resurrect their bodies from the grave.

b. He promised us that He would resurrect us, and He keeps His promises!

(1 Cor 15:52) In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

3. Jesus Raised Himself From The Dead.

a. If the story of Christ ended on the cross, then it would have been another tragic death.

b. But, thank God, three days after His death on the cross, Jesus came out of His tomb, victorious over death, Hell and the grave!

c. The angels told the women at the tomb, "He is not here, He is risen!"

III. The Promise Jesus Declared: Eternal life is available to all who will believe. v25b-26

A. Jesus is the answer to our problems!

1. He has the power to take a life destroyed by sin and give it a brand new start.

2. He specializes in giving dead men new life

(2 Cor 5:17) Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

3. He can take away the stains of sin and give anyone a fresh start.

(Isa 1:18) Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

4. Lazarus was dead - everything was over for him.

a. There was to be no more family, no more friends, no more joy, no more anything.

b. His life was over, until Jesus passed by and that made the difference between the end and a new beginning.

c. In John 12, we find Lazarus sitting at the table and dining with the Lord Jesus.

d. Jesus gave him a new life, and He can do the same for you.

B. We can have life if we will believe.

1. Those who place their faith in Jesus Christ will never die!

2. According to God's Word, we have passed from death unto life and we will live forever.

(John 5:24) Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

(John 8:51) Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.

C. It is only available by faith.

1. To receive the promise of Christ and be rescued from spiritual death and from the power of the grave, we must believe on Jesus.

2. That means we must trust Jesus and Him alone for our soul's salvation.

(Acts 16:31) And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

3. The Bible doesn't teach us to trust our works, our goodness, or our religion…we are to trust Jesus.

4. We can't place our confidence in the church, our baptism, or in a changed life.

5. Salvation comes only through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

(Eph 2:8-9) For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: {9} Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Let me close by drawing your attention to our text and an important question that the Lord asks. Jesus said, "…Whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?" What is our answer today? Do we believe?

(Rom 10:9-10) That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. {10} For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Christian, you have believed in Him for salvation, will you believe in Him for the solution to all your problems? Christianity isn't just for Sunday morning; it is for every day…24 hours a day. What do you need to trust Him for today?