Lesson 11

Jesus brings a dead man back to Life.

"I am the resurrection and the Life."  John 11: 25

Read John Chapter 11

So there are 3 things I would like to highlight from this chapter, the first being that Jesus brings Lazarus back from death. In earlier chapters Jesus has shown he has the power to turn water into wine, heal sicknesses & disabilities, multiply food and walk on water. Now he's about to show that he has the power over life and death. His dear friend Lazarus is sick and dying and Mary & Martha send word to Jesus "Lord, the one you love is ill." Jesus doesn't react with panic, worry or fear by rushing off to save Lazarus, no he calmly tells his disciples that he is going to wake up Lazarus. More on this after the second part.

Now we know Jesus loved Mary, Martha & Lazarus. Lazarus has been dead for 4 days and when Jesus meets Mary she falls at Jesus' feet weeping; and Jesus is moved, no deeply moved, in spirit and troubled. Then as many people know, the shortest verse in the Bible, "Jesus wept." It doesn't say his eyes glistened, or his eye's became moist, or he shed a tear, heard a little sniffle....no this was a full-board bawling, an outpouring of heartfelt emotion. So much so that people around him exclaimed "see how he loved him!" But wait a second...Men don't cry, they certainly don't weep like a baby! Men are strong, men are silent and hide their emotions, isn't that what we've been taught from childhood. Religious paintings don't depict men weeping, movies don't depict weeping and certainly manly men at church don't weep.

Jesus wept. Fully and unashamedly. The Son of God, bawling!! Why?

He was moved by one he loves, saw her weeping, and felt compassion, allowed himself to be present with her, in her grief. That's what he does. "The Lord is close to the Broken-hearted." Psalm 34:18

Back to Lazarus. He's dead. Been dead for 4 days. So imagine that today. Someone you love, a family member or close friend has died, stopped breathing, flatlined, no pulse no heartbeat and they've taken them away and now you're at the wake 4 days later. Jesus walks in and brings him back to life, not walking dead life, but life, full of life. I think some of us would be absolutely stunned, maybe fainting, bewildered, looking around for the cameras or smoke & mirrors. You can't believe your eyes, but then they start talking, and slowly the unbelievable becomes believable. You go home with them, eat a meal together, have a party, ask a million questions and the loved one you lost is back with you again. That's Jesus. He is The Resurrection and The Life!

Now we come to the 3rd part. Those dastardly Pharisees, you know, those religious rule makers. What's their response to all this. Wow, Jesus really has some power there, maybe there's something to his claim to being the Son of God. Maybe we should get to know him. Nah! They're more concerned with their temple and maybe their status and power. So what do they decide after a clandestine meeting? Yep, they decide to kill him. Go figure!

Some questions to ask:

1: Do you believe Jesus has power over death? If so, how would that change the way you live?

2: Jesus allowed himself to be compassionate and feel emotions. What stops you from being                compassionate? Being busy? Not wanting to feel uncomfortable emotions? Not allowing yourself to get close enough to feel those emotions?

3: Jesus being the Son of God threatened the religious leaders way of life. How would following Jesus change the way you live?