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The
Seventh Sign: I am Resurrection and Life
by CSM Aaron White,
author of CellTalks
(John
11:1-53) Kit List:
Bibles
Welcome:
Read John
11:1-16. Has anyone ever tried to stop you from doing
something incredibly risky? Were they successful? What, or
who, would you be willing to die for? Bring in a news item
about your neighbourhood, city, country or world that you can
discuss with the cell. Where do you see God in this story? Ask
other members of cell to bring in stories to discuss in
subsequent weeks.
Worship:
Where have you
seen the glory of God this week? Where have you experienced
community this week? Do you have any prayer requests to share
with the cell? Spend some time praying for the needs of your
neighbourhood. Read John 11:17-27. Do you believe that Jesus
is life? What does that mean to you? Martha believed that the
Father would give the Son anything he asked for. What do you
think the Son is asking the Father to do for you? What do you
want him to ask for? (If you are in Vancouver, remember that Knee Drill is now at
6pm at the Anchor of Hope, followed by Recreate / Celebrate
Recovery Open Group)
Word:
Read out John
11:28-44 What is the setting for this sign? Where and when
does it happen, and who is there? Does suffering and untimely
death cause you to doubt God’s goodness or power? Can good
ever come out of suffering and death? Can God be glorified
through it? How is God glorified through Lazarus’ death? Why
does Jesus delay going to him? Martha believed that Jesus
could have healed her brother, and even that he can give him
life at Judgment Day. But what did Jesus want Martha to
believe about him? Do you believe that Jesus can bring life
out of death here and now? Why is Jesus “moved” and “greatly
troubled” when Mary cries? Why does Jesus weep? What is this
sign (Lazarus’ resurrection) pointing to? How does this sign
lead to Jesus’ death? Why doesn’t Jesus just heal everyone, or
bring everyone back from the dead? Why does Martha hesitate
before opening the tomb? Can we see the glory of God if we
don’t believe?
Witness:
Read John
11:45-53, 12:9-11. People believed in Jesus because Lazarus
was dead, and now he lived. What sign has God done in your
life that could cause others to believe in Jesus? Do you pray
for signs and wonders? Are you prepared for the persecution
that can come along with witnessing for Jesus?
Read John
12:1-8. This is an act of extravagant worship. How are we
“wasting” ourselves and our resources on Jesus? Find some way
to give and use cell resources to extravagantly worship Jesus
this week. (It should be noted that it is also right to spend
our money bringing relief to the poor – see Deut 15:1-11 and
Acts 4:34-35 for background on this.)
Wealth:
Ask each person
in your cell to adopt a block that they will pray for every
time they walk down it each day. It should be a block you walk
on most days. Right down the blocks that will be covered in
prayer, and see if you can recruit friends to cover even more
blocks so that your whole neighbourhood is covered on a daily
basis. Pray that your block would know an experience of God
this week, and that people would come to know God’s life on
that block.
The main point:
Jesus is the resurrection and the life, and he proves it by
bringing his friend Lazarus back from the dead. This final
sign pointed directly towards Jesus’ own death and
resurrection, and was itself the cause of the authorities
planning to have him killed.
Notes...
This sign takes
place before the Passover, in the town of
Bethany which is on the outskirts of
Jerusalem. It was a risky move for
Jesus to return to Bethany, and
his disciples tried to prevent him from doing so, because he
had encountered serious hostility in
Judea before. But Jesus knew that the “hour” of
his death was approaching and that he needed to go to
Jerusalem. He also knew that he was
safe until the appointed time came for him to be taken and
crucified. Jesus’ death was happening based on God’s
timetable, nobody else’s.
Jesus was
apparently quite close to the family involved here, that of
Mary, Martha and Lazarus. They send for him to come, and many
other relatives and friends of the family would have come to
grieve alongside of the sisters. What Jesus had come to do
could not be kept secret.
As we saw in
the sign of the blind man receiving sight, Jesus declares that
Lazarus has died so that God’s glory could be revealed. This
may sound strange to us, as death is a painful and sad event.
Even stranger, Jesus seems to delay his coming, to ensure that
Lazarus was dead and that everyone would know he had not
simply fallen ill or asleep. It is likely that Jesus could not
have arrived in time anyways to prevent Lazarus’ death, but
the fact remains that he waited. Two or three days would not
make it more difficult for Jesus to raise Lazarus, but it
would increase the faith of all who witnessed the miracle, for
there could be no doubt about Jesus’ power over life and
death. But what of the pain caused to the family? Jesus is not
unaware of that pain, and he joins in it, but it must be
remembered that everyone does die. Lazarus himself would die a
second time after his resurrection. It is because of God’s
mercy, and for the display of his glory, that Lazarus is
resurrected this time.
Suffering and
death are part of life in this world. We are promised a
different reality in glory, but here and now there will be
sorrow and grief. But how we live, suffer and even die, as the
people of God, can give glory to God. We can pray for
miracles, and sometimes they will happen, to the glory of God.
But we can also love one another well in the midst of sickness
and death, and continue to have faith and hope in the God who
holds all things in his hands, and this too will give glory to
God. And we can declare with our living and dying breaths that
we believe fervently in a new life to come, in the hope of
resurrection. Our lives here and now are to be lived in the
light of that reality.
Martha believed
in Jesus’ power to heal, and that he was the one who would
raise all people to life at the end of time. This is a
remarkable faith and understanding. But Jesus called for even
more from her. He wanted her to believe that he had power over
life and death in the present day, and that not even the grave
held any obstacle to him.
But Jesus is
not cold or unfeeling in the display of his power here. He
comes at great risk to himself to see the family, and he is
moved and greatly troubled by Mary’s words and tears. Death
and pain do grieve Jesus; he is not dispassionate; he weeps.
But the indication is that Jesus was more than just sorrowful;
it seems that Jesus was greatly agitated, even angry. Why?
Jesus is about to stare down the last and greatest enemy,
death (1 Cor 15:26), and he is passionate about this fight.
This sign is a precursor to Jesus’ own victory over sin and
death and the devil, and he meets the enslavers of humanity
with fire in his veins. And this in the face of continued
unbelief from the crowd around him, who applaud his weeping
but question his ability to do anything about the situation.
Martha does not
wish to have the stone removed from the tomb, because Lazarus’
body would have begun to decompose, and the stench would have
been immense. She is still clearly hesitant about Jesus’
ability to bring life from death. Yes, he could heal, but
could he deal with a rotting body? Jesus tells her that she
will not see the glory of God unless she believes. She has
some belief, but he wants the kind of belief that knows that
even death cannot hold him back. She does what he says, and
she beholds the glory of God as her brother is revived. So it
is with us; is we are obedient, if we have faith to believe
that Jesus is who he says he is, we will behold the glory of
God.
Jesus calls out
Lazarus by name, just as a good shepherd does for his sheep
(John 10). And his word of command for Lazarus to come forth
is that same word of command that called all of creation into
being. Here is God, the great “I Am”, at work. And this
revealed glory is too much for the religious and political
elite. In the book of John it is this miracle, this sign, that
sets the wheels in motion for Jesus’ death. The authorities
know that they cannot put a lid on this event, and that people
will hear of it and believe in Jesus. It is one thing to
produce bread in the wilderness, but another to bring a man
back to life. And so they plot in earnest to kill him, with
Caiaphas, the high priest, even prophesying (unintentionally)
that it is better for one man to die for the people. He means
that it is better that one agitator die than the whole of Israel be laid waste by Rome. But readers of John’s gospel will know
that one innocent man did die on behalf of all the people. And
this death did not prevent people from believing in him; quite
the opposite, it displayed the glory of God in an even greater
way, and set the stage for Jesus’ own resurrection.
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