Lesson 9 The Gospel of John, Chapter 11

Jesus: The Resurrection and the Life

In our study of the Gospel of John, we have been looking at “Portraits of Our Savior.” Thus far we have seen Jesus portrayed as PAGE 1

The Word of God
The Lamb of God
The Son of God
The Living Water
The Bread of Life
The Light of the World
The Good Shepherd

Tonight, the portrait is of Jesus as “The Resurrection and the Life.”

During the three or so years of His public ministry, Jesus did at least 35 miracles. The record is probably incomplete, because “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written” (John 21:25).

If you think of all the miracles that Jesus did (healing people, multiplying food, walking on water, exorcizing demons, and raising people from the dead) is there any particular miracle that stands out in your mind as being especially convincing, especially impressive? Many people feel that the miracle recorded in John 11 is the most astounding miracle that Jesus ever performed (aside from His own resurrection, of course).

Read John 11:1-16 (The death of Lazarus)

Lazarus was the brother of Mary and Martha, and is only mentioned here in John 11-12. He is not mentioned in the familiar story of Mary and Martha recorded in Luke 10:38-42. Lazarus had become very ill with some disease that was threatening his life.

When Jesus heard about Lazarus’ sickness, he said this had happened “for God’s glory, so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” What did he mean by that?
What did Jesus say to his disciples with his response in verses 9 and 10?

In verse 11 Jesus calls death a “sleep.” Jesus had done this before with Jairus’ daughter (Luke 8:52). Jesus does not do this because dead people look like they are asleep. Nor was this just a euphemism that everyone uses, and it sounds better than saying “dead”. Jesus says this in order to comfort us by reminding us that God can awake someone from death just as easily as someone can wake us from sleep. Because of Christ, death is like a blessed sleep from which we will awaken into a new day and more beautiful existence.

Jesus told the disciples plainly that Lazarus was dead. (verse 14) What did he mean when he said, “For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe?”

In verse 16 we read that the disciple Thomas suggested that they all go back to Judea, even if that would mean that they would all die with Jesus if they did. As you know, Thomas has a reputation for being the “doubter.” So isn’t it beautiful to hear that Thomas was so loyal to Jesus that he was even willing to die with Jesus?

Read John 11:17-44 (Jesus brings Lazarus back to life)

We often think of Martha as the woman who once urged Jesus to tell her sister Mary to help her serve the guests rather than listen to Jesus teach. (Luke 10:38-42) But what do we learn about Martha’s faith in verses 21-27?
What does Jesus mean when he says in verse 25, “I am the resurrection and the life?”
Verse 35 is the shortest verse in the Bible. What is comforting about the fact that as he observed the mourning of Mary and Martha and saw their grief, he was deeply moved in spirit and wept himself at the tomb of Lazarus?
Throughout this event, all the people expressed a feeling of hopelessness in the face of death. Martha objected because there would be a strong odor from the decaying body of Lazarus. Earlier Martha had earlier expressed a strong faith in Jesus, even saying, “Lord, I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask” (v. 22). But now her human reason led her to question Jesus when he commanded that the stone be taken away from the entrance to the tomb (verse 38). How did Jesus strengthen her faith?
Martha had previously told Jesus, “I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask” (verse 22). So now, when the tomb stone had been taken away, Jesus prays to the Father. What were the main reasons for Jesus’ prayer?
Suppose someone said to you “Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Why won’t he do the same for my loved one who just died?” How would you answer them?

Read John 11:45-57 (The plot to kill Jesus)

After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, his popularity among the people grew by leaps and bounds. Many put their faith in him.

But the opposition against him also intensified. The chief priests and Pharisees were increasingly concerned about Jesus because he represented a threat to their own teachings. They were losing their grip of influence on the common folk.

So they called for a meeting of the Sanhedrin, the ruling body of the Jewish nation, at which they cried out, “What are we accomplishing?” The implied answer was, “We are getting nowhere!” All of their efforts were useless because they could not do what Jesus could do.

Jesus could still storms and heal the sick. They could not. Jesus could raise people from the dead. They could not. Jesus could take away sins. They could not.

The religious leaders of the people could only offer a wearisome religion where everyone had to work hard to gain their own little piece of paradise. In contrast, Jesus offered the people a religion where God comes with almighty power to save them. There was no question which was the better way.

Today, let’s each ask ourselves the same question that the chief priests and Pharisees asked themselves: “What are we accomplishing?” Can we keep God’s law perfectly – like Jesus can? Can we fulfill the demands of God for a righteous and holy life – like Jesus can? Can we remove the filthy record of our past – like Jesus can? Can we gain for ourselves or others the certainty of life with God in heaven – like Jesus can? We can accomplish none of these things, but we don’t need to, because our Savior has already done them.

The chief priests and Pharisees thought they were so powerful, so important, and it was hard for them to accept that they could not even save themselves. So they rejected Jesus, who offered them the saving grace of God.

In Luke 16:19-31 Jesus told the story of the rich man and Lazarus. It is interesting that in Jesus’ story, one of the characters had the name Lazarus, the same name as the man that Jesus had just raised from the dead. At the end of the story in Luke 16, we read that the rich man told Abraham, “If someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent” (Luke 16:30). But Abraham said, “If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead” (Luke 16:31).

Now compare the reaction of the Pharisees to the raising of Lazarus with what Jesus said in Luke 16:30-31. Instead of coming to believe in Jesus, as many others did, the Pharisees only became hardened against Jesus, and more determined to kill him.

Why did the Pharisees feel so threatened by Jesus, according to verse 48?
What did Caiaphas the high priest mean when he said, “It is better for you that one man die for the people than the whole nation perish?” (verse 50)

Caiaphas was feeling rather smug. In his pride he thought himself smarter than everyone else. His idea was “inspired”, he thought. And actually, it was – but not because of his brilliance.

His words were inspired because God was controlling his tongue. And God chose to have this high priest, as evil and scheming as he was, give a prophecy or prediction of a wonderful truth. Though Caiaphas sought only to express his murderous intent, God was using his words to express divine grace.

The concept of one man dying to save many others was not Caiaphas’ clever idea. It was God’s plan. His words were exactly what God wanted said. Though Caiaphas wanted Jesus to die for his own selfish purposes, God wanted Jesus to die for his own saving purposes.

Caiaphas didn’t realize that he was giving expression to the truth that sinners have found so comforting over the years. Jesus died for others. Jesus died for many. Jesus died for me. In God’s wonderful way, he had the high priest that year summarize the gist of God’s glorious plan of salvation.

This would be the final prophecy given of the Messiah. For thousands of years, ever since Adam and Eve’s fall into sin, God had been revealing his plan of salvation. Through the words of the prophets, and through portrayal in solemn ceremonies, God had revealed his intent to give the world a Savior and establish a kingdom of grace for sinners. Now Caiaphas summarized it all: Jesus would die for the nations.

Jesus fulfilled all those prophesies. He was the Seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15). He was the prophet greater than Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15). He was the star out of Jacob (Numbers 24:17). He was the virgin’s Son (Isaiah 7:14). He was the suffering servant (Isaiah 53). He was the risen Redeemer (Job 19:25).

They couldn’t stop Jesus from fulfilling these prophecies. Nor can Satan. Whatever the Lord has promised us, he will keep. He promises to answer prayer. He will. He promises to return and take us to heaven. He will. He promises to raise us from the dead. He will. Nothing can stop it. In the case of the Sanhedrin, God used their evil plans and schemes to achieve his saving purposes.

Our next lesson will take place as pilgrims were arriving to celebrate the Passover. Mary, Martha and Lazarus invited Jesus to their home in Bethany in order to demonstrate their gratitude for bringing Lazarus back to life. Please enjoy your preparation of chapter 12.

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