Engage in sacred Scripture: John 11:1-44.

Even the unsaved have heard that Lazarus was raised from the dead. I don’t believe I’ve met a pastor who hasn’t given one sermon on this account. We could spend days looking at Jesus’ delay in answering the sisters’ request, Jesus’ conversation with them, the encounter at the cave, and Jesus weeping. But we’re not.

What’s really happening here is a matter of life and death.

Death?

When you’re a teenager, you’re fearless and death unimaginable. Go into your twenties, thirties, and forties, and unless you’re a career soldier, you’re way too busy to think about death. By the fifties and sixties, there’s a shadow or whisper of the possibility of death. Now, once you hit seventy, the shadow fades, and the whisper becomes a call. Death lingers over your head.

For the unsaved, it’s a call of heartache, sorrow, and hopelessness. But not so for those who belong to the Lord. His call is an invitation to eternal life. He speaks your intimate name and says, “Come out!”

Death is not the end of life. We are more than physical creatures; we’re spiritual beings. Death does not mean the end of existence, but the end of life as we know it. We transition to another dimension where our conscious existence continues.

Lazarus’ soul could hear the voice of Jesus.

Threefold death

Sacred Scripture speaks of death in a threefold way: physical, spiritual, and eternal.

• Physical. The first recorded death was the murder of Abel. Yet it was God Himself who mentions physical and spiritual death. We experienced both in the Fall as the result of sin (Gen 2:17 & 4:8).
• Spiritual. Because of sin, we have all fallen short of the glory of God. We are already spiritually dead – separated from God, who is the source of life. Everyone, absolutely everyone, not redeemed by Christ, is spiritually dead (See Luke 15:32, Eph 2:1-3, and Col 2:13).
• Eternal. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death (1 Cor 15:26). Jesus conquered physical, spiritual, and eternal death on the cross and in the resurrection.

… our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 2 Tim 1:10b ESV.

Eternal Death

Yet there’s a second death (eternal) that is the final sentence for the unredeemed – condemned by God at the Last Judgment (Rev 2:11; 20:14 & 21:8).

Jesus Himself said this in John 5:28-29, “The hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth—those that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and those that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment.”

If there’s any fear of death, then this is the one to fear: eternal death. We will all give an account: condemned or saved. For the condemned, eternal death is a real hell.

Let John 3:16-18 (NIV) ring in your ears with the truth.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

Jesus’ Witness to Life

The signs, works, and miracles seen when Jesus walked the earth need our attention. Nothing was done haphazardly or for show. Each sign reveals His divine nature.

Jesus’ works revealed to anyone watching closely that, along with His superhuman ability, there was compassion and power. He didn’t “perform” miracles; He moved in the will of God. His signs and wonders were valid proof, a witness, that here is the Messiah – the Son of God.

Signs & Wonders

Through the beauty of Scripture, we too can be eyewitnesses to Jesus’ works:

• Turning water into wine (John 2:1-11).
• Healing of the official’s son (John 4:43-45).
• Healing of the paralytic (John5:1-15).
• Feeding of the multitude (John 6:1-4).
• Walking on the water (John 6:16-21).
• Curing the man born blind (John 9:1-4).
• Raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1-44).

Yet, when it came to raising Lazarus from the dead, it was personal.

Life

For Martha and Mary, we see something so true for all of us. It’s a strong command to believe God in crisis – even in the crisis of death. Physical death is hard to comprehend in the light of the promise of eternal life. The sisters wanted Jesus to come now and heal their brother.

His delay proved that our hope and confidence in Him is true.

Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life, will not leave us alone even in the death of our physical body. Lazarus had been in the cave for four days already. The decomposition of the body had already begun. Who on earth could stop the process?

None other than the Son of God!

This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it… Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe… Your brother will rise again. I am the Resurrection and the Life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live, and whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe?” John 11:4, 14 & 23 NKJV.

Resurrection

As we hear these words, we’re filled with hope. Nothing less than Jesus can bring life out of death. On this side of time and space, we’ve seen many dear believers die – fallen asleep awaiting the return of Christ.

At the sound of Jesus’ voice – the powerful voice of God- we will rise from the dead just like Lazarus. The voice of God is powerful enough not only to shake the world, but to raise a man from the dead.

But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope, for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus… For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel. And the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 1 Thess 4:13-14 & 16 NKJV.

The Resurrection and Life

Our hope in Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life, is not merely a bout of optimism. It’s a confident assurance that God will keep His promise. Granted, it is a future event, but it is based on the irrefutable evidence in Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead and ultimately in the cross and Jesus’ personal resurrection from the dead.

We, as born-again believers, do not have to fear death. Our hope in God is secure in expectation, trust, and patience. The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout. Like Lazarus, we will hear His voice and come.

It’s true that Lazarus didn’t live forever. He eventually died again and was most likely placed in the same cave. But this time it was different.

This time he had seen his Lord and Savior descend to heaven and rise from the dead. This time Lazarus was filled with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. No, when Lazarus died again, the sisters stood by, the mourners mourned, but this time they knew this was not the end, only the beginning.

In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you… Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it. 1 Thess 5:18 &23-24 NKJV.

Call to Action

Jesus asked Martha, “Do you believe this?” He asks us the same question today.

Re-read John 11:1–44 and imagine the fear, grief, and doubt that overshadowed both sisters.

The same Jesus who came to them in the middle of their crisis comes to us in ours. Place your trust in Him today. He is the Resurrection and the Life, and His promises are as true today as they have always been.

Share this message with someone who needs the assurance that only Christ can give: death is not the end—it is only the beginning.

May the Lord bless and keep you,