As God tells us in the verses we read from Isaiah 55, His thoughts are infinitely higher than any of ours. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways (and thoughts) higher than your ways and thoughts.” Of course, the man who doesn’t know the Lord, and the man who hates the thought of God’s rule over him… neither one can even begin to grasp the thoughts and principles of Jehovah. “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” – I Corinthians 2:14.
But the truth is, even the Christian – as hard as he might try – cannot bring his mind up to think at the same level as the infinite God. That doesn’t mean we are to be stuck where we are, and we will never know more than we know today. Certainly we should continue to study the Lord, asking Him for knowledge and trusting Him to learn more. But – “as the heavens continue to be higher than earth,” so the Lord will always be infinitely greater than us.
And that brings us to the resurrection of Lazarus. I know that I preached from this scripture about six months ago, but my purpose at the time was to teach us how to grieve as Christians. Prior to that, it had been about six years since we looked at John 11. What the Lord has laid on my heart for today is quite different from anything I’ve taught before. I’d like you to consider various MISCONCEPTIONS people have – some of which are addressed here. Some of them are misconceptions about Christ and about God the Father, because “as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are God’s ways and God’s thoughts higher than ours.”
First let’s think about some of the GENERAL MISCONCEPTIONS we see in Jesus’ disciples and others.
Verse 11 – “These things said (Jesus): and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: BUT they THOUGHT that he had spoken of taking of REST in SLEEP. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.”
It is difficult to fathom, but Jesus’ first disciples – men closer to the Lord than any of us… The disciples didn’t really understand – or didn’t look at DEATH in the same way as the Saviour did. When WE attend the grave-side service of a loved one, WE know that while his body is being interred, his spirit still lives. And most Christians realize that there is coming a day, when that body will be raised from its grave under the authority of the King of life. But if Jesus’ twelve disciples knew these things, they weren’t foremost in their thoughts. On the other hand, Christ couldn’t think of Lazarus in any other way – his body was asleep awaiting the resurrection. “Our friend Lazarus sleepeth, but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.”
It doesn’t matter if the deceased is a saint of God or a child of the devil, as far as the Lord is concerned, his body is only asleep. We may argue about natural deterioration and “ashes to ashes,” but such things are not a problem for God. “Though he were dead, yet shall he live.” “The hour is coming…. when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live.” And the point is: You are going to die, but whether you are cremated or buried, your body is going to be reassembled by God, restored to life, and made to stand before Him to be judged. “Lazarus, come forth, and he that was dead came forth.”
Mary and Martha, two of Christ’s lady disciples, had their own misconceptions. When their brother’s health took a nosedive, they immediately sent word to the Lord Jesus. They were convinced, “Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.” (I wonder if the messenger whom the ladies had sent, returned before Lazarus had actually passed?) If he had, then surely the Lord Jesus could have been right on his heals with ability to heal their brother. But, no. Jesus delayed His departure two full days, guaranteeing the man’s death.
The two sisters seem to have mistook Jesus’ delay as a lack of love or concern. This is a common problem; perhaps even one that has crossed your mind some time even this week. God’s delay in answering your prayer, in solving your problem, in saving your loved one, has nothing to do with a denial on His part. It is not that God doesn’t love you, His child. Verse 5 says, “Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus,” and yet He permitted this terrible trial to enter their lives.
And this brings us to another common misconception – the idea that staying alive is the most important thing. I hope this doesn’t make anyone angry with me. More important than staying alive in this world is a person’s relationship to God through Christ. Moses understood this and so did Paul. The Apostle wrote, “Brethren, my heart’s desire and payer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.” “I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh” – Romans 9 and Romans 10. Far more important than living an extremely long life is to live for eternity along with others we have brought to the Saviour.
Going back to Jesus’s love, Brother Carter and I were talking the other day about the emotions of God. We are told in this context that Jesus wept, but do we really understand what Jesus was feeling? When He saw Mary weeping and the other visitors weeping and wailing “He groaned in the spirit, and was troubled.” Was he troubled at their unbelief, their tears or was it at their fuss? After telling us that Jesus groaned, our historian added that Jesus wept as well. You can be sure that He didn’t start wailing uncontrollably – He didn’t become overly demonstrative. As I picture Him – a few tears began rolling down the Saviour’s face. Was it simply because of His love for Lazarus as the people thought? I doubt it. Surely it had something to do with sin and unbelief of the mourners, but who can know for sure.
Generally speaking, what is entailed in God’s love? Can we fully understand it? Isn’t it among the unfathomable things of God? Even as it relates to people who have been born again how does God love those people? Yesterday at a funeral, I heard someone say, “To Joyce, love was a verb.” That may not be true of in all of us, but it is definitely true in Jehovah. When God loves someone, we can be sure there will be good showered on him. There might be such a thing as Christ’s “affection” for someone. But God’s “love” reaches to a higher level. It is infinitely active. It is eternally active. When God loves, God’s grace follows. When there is divine love, there will be divine salvation and eternal blessing. “Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. ” And I am quite sure these three saints are now – today – rejoicing Christ’s redemption because of that love. “God commendeth his love toward them, in that, while they were yet sinners, Christ died for them, and us.”
Jesus’ delay in coming to Bethany, whether it was from Jerusalem or Perea – His apparent lack of response was neither a lack of love, or a denial of the sisiter’s wishes. Delay is not denial. And ongoing sickness is NOT a sign of divine unconcern. Please don’t make assumptions about the Lord’s love when you are called to pass through life’s storms. We all need to admit from time to time, “as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are (God’s) ways (and thoughts) higher than ours.”
In verse 21 Martha said, “Lord, if thou hast been here, my brother had not died.” That could very well have been true. But it needs to be remembered that Christ is not in the problem-solving business. He is not our servant, commissioned by the Father to meet what we think are needs in our lives. By all means pray and trust the Lord for His blessing in every aspect of your life. But be ready always to apply, “Not my will, but thine be done.”
Verse 25 speaks to the Lord’s recognition of another potential misconception. Jesus said to Martha, “I am the resurrection, and the life.” Please know that Jesus doesn’t simply bless His people with salvation, with life, even with their resurrection. He doesn’t come to the sinner with a nicely wrapped gift, telling us with divine excitement; “Open it, open it.” No, HE is the gift. HE is the resurrection. HE is life. Elsewhere He says, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me.” Christ is the water of life and the bread of life. He doesn’t offer these things as external gifts. If you don’t possess – and if you are not possessed – by Christ, you don’t have eternal life, and you have no hope of a glorious resurrection. If you don’t want Christ as Lord in your earthly life, then don’t expect to enjoy eternal life. They come together as a package.
And something infinitely higher than anything else in this chapter is God’s glory. The Lord can be glorified in our sickness and even in our death. Jesus told His disciples, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.” Christ knew that Lazarus was not only sick, but that his heart would stop beating and his lungs and brain would cease to function. And yet, He also knew that Lazarus would live again in a few days, and his earthly life would be extended many more years. In the process, both God the Father and the Son of God would be glorified. When Lazarus floated out his tomb and the people released him from his grave clothes, “then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.” There is no higher glory brought to God than for people to yield their misconceptions to the Lord and trust Him.
So when terrible things come our way – and for most of us there will be those terrible trials and events… Try to remember that the sovereign God is still on His throne with one of his hands on the throttle and the other on the joy stick of life. He will be glorified whether we are submissive to Him or not, because He really is God. But for the most part, if we try to rebel against His will, not only will we be the looser, the Lord will not be magnified as He ought to be.
All of this, thus far, might be considered my introduction. And I suppose that the rest of this message might be seen as a mere summary.
Now, let’s think about the misconceptions which were DIRECTLY involved in LAZARUS’ RESURRECTION.
While the people of Bethany and Jerusalem looked at Lazarus and saw a dead man, Christ saw a living man. The eyes of deity always see the REALITY, while OUR eyes see only SUPERFICIALITY. And the eyes of deity see ETERNALLY, but without faith, we can only see TEMPORARILY. Lazarus was – in the flesh – momentarily dead – but he would soon be restored to life. As Martha said, “He shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” But Christ Jesus, IS the resurrection, and He is life – wherever He is and always right now. Spiritual resurrection might be this morning, even though physical resurrection might be years ahead.
And if I may throw this illustration upside down; when you and I may see life, Christ often sees death. The Bible declares that until someone has a vital relationship with the One who is the resurrection and life, that person is spiritually dead. So while we may look at our neighbor and see a robust, lively, funny, happy-go-lucky, godless man, the Lord knows him to be a spiritual corpse. It is not until we are quickened – made alive by the Holy Spirit – that we have spiritual life – eternal life. Ironically, the unbelieving Jews who had come up from Jerusalem to mourn Lazarus – they were the dead souls, while Lazarus, the friend of Christ, was the one with life.
Again – those people, some of whom were professional mourners, may have thought that Jesus had lost His mind when he “cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.” How can a dead man hear? By the power of God the dead can hear, just as I heard the voice of God sixty years ago, when I first sat under the preaching of the gospel. Lazarus heard the voice of Christ, “and he that was dead came forth.” But many of the people who witnessed this miracle, despite their tingling ears, didn’t really hear. So many people live under the misconception that listening to a sermon, or witnessing a religious ceremony is the same as hearing God’s voice. But the Lord is heard with the heart not with the ear.
Another misconception was that Lazarus by this time would have filled that tomb with an unbearable stench. By the time that Christ arrived Lazarus had been four days in the tomb. Particularly in that hot climate and in a society that didn’t embalm, decay should have been well under way. But it was the will of God, in this case, that the normal processes of life and death, were suspended. I won’t tell you that Lazarus emerged smelling like Versace Eros for men on sale at $50.00 a bottle. But there was NO stink of decay.
At the command of the Lord, the dead man – a man without any of his power or ability – came out of his tomb. The powerless had power to obey the command of Christ, because he was empowered by the Holy Spirit.
And here is an important point – here is one of the great misconceptions of shallow Christianity – Like the resurrection of Lazarus, our relationship to Saviour is entirely dependent on HIS power, not ours. It is not about our knowledge, our wisdom, or even our decision or choice. Should I or shouldn’t I come to Christ? When dead Lazarus heard the voice of Christ coming into that dark tomb, he didn’t take time to analyze whether or not it was his Jesus. He didn’t ponder whether it was to his advantage to leave the cozy comfort of this grave. He didn’t have a choice. The Son of God commanded him to come out. That call was irresistible. Lazarus essentially had no choice but to emerge from that tomb.
Did he do what was best for him? Absolutely. If he had a choice would he have chosen to leave that tomb? Of course he should have. But it was on God’s call that he came, and when he saw his Saviour, whatever relationship he had before, and whatever faith he had in Christ Jesus earlier, was even more solidified.
The resurrection of Lazarus dashes to pieces some of the common misconceptions that Christendom has about Christ and salvation. In the past you may have resisted Christ’s command, “Lazarus come forth.” And you may once again stubborn say, “No way, God.” But I guarantee that one day you will have to emerge from that grave of yours. One day Christ is going to call the dead, small and great, to leave their tombs and face His authority. As Revelation 20:13 tells us, “The sea will give up the dead which are in it; and earth and hell will deliver up the dead which are in them; and they shall be judged ever man according to their works,” and according to their faith, and whether or not they left their tombs in their Lazarus days.
Is the Lord standing at the door way to the tomb in which you now reside? Is He calling your name? Don’t worry about the stench of your sin. He’ll take care of that. Don’t worry about your lack of understanding at this moment or your lack of exquisite faith. Just turn and come. Repent and trust. “Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, BELIEVED on Him.” Won’t you believe on Christ as well? I beg of you, leave your deadness and your tomb and come to Christ this morning.