1 00:00:01,133 --> 00:00:04,533 Have your Bibles open to the 2 00:00:04,533 --> 00:00:08,300 Gospel of John, Chapter 11. 3 00:00:10,433 --> 00:00:13,599 You know, it's interesting as we sang that poem. 4 00:00:15,566 --> 00:00:19,033 I'm trying to focus on those words. 5 00:00:21,333 --> 00:00:24,633 In the, quote unquote, evangelical church in America, 6 00:00:24,633 --> 00:00:27,766 there are many different styles of worship. 7 00:00:30,233 --> 00:00:33,299 And this is not the cast 8 00:00:33,299 --> 00:00:36,333 of disparaging note on different styles. 9 00:00:36,433 --> 00:00:37,399 There's different styles. 10 00:00:37,466 --> 00:00:39,133 There's different ways, but I tell you what. 11 00:00:40,233 --> 00:00:42,600 There's something about singing a psalm like that. 12 00:00:42,633 --> 00:00:45,333 Do you realize the theological depth that was in that song? 13 00:00:46,666 --> 00:00:50,299 He realized that the content of that psalm alone, 14 00:00:50,299 --> 00:00:54,266 a very solid, sound doctrine message could be preached. 15 00:00:55,433 --> 00:00:59,033 If you focused on the depth of those words while you were singing them. 16 00:00:59,066 --> 00:01:02,133 That's just a little bit different than singing, I love you, 17 00:01:02,133 --> 00:01:03,799 Lord, 72 times in a row. 18 00:01:04,266 --> 00:01:04,466 Right? 19 00:01:05,333 --> 00:01:06,233 A little bit different. 20 00:01:06,766 --> 00:01:10,233 And I'm glad to be in a church that likes 21 00:01:10,233 --> 00:01:13,400 to worship with theological content rather than 22 00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:15,133 repetitious words over and over. 23 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:18,366 All right, so we come to a new chapter 24 00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:21,633 here in our study of John for the second time. 25 00:01:22,933 --> 00:01:24,733 And also a new narrative. 26 00:01:25,733 --> 00:01:29,200 And this narrative account is 27 00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:32,500 of a miracle, and it takes up 28 00:01:32,500 --> 00:01:34,466 the entire 11th chapter. 29 00:01:35,633 --> 00:01:36,633 So you know what that means. 30 00:01:37,366 --> 00:01:40,466 We're going to have to break it down into four different sections. 31 00:01:40,533 --> 00:01:44,066 So today will just be section one. 32 00:01:44,133 --> 00:01:46,066 Theologian J.C. 33 00:01:46,066 --> 00:01:49,266 Ryle said in this 11th chapter, 34 00:01:49,299 --> 00:01:53,066 for grandeur and simplicity, for 35 00:01:53,066 --> 00:01:57,933 pathos and solemnity, nothing was ever written, like it. 36 00:02:00,633 --> 00:02:03,799 That's a pretty amazing statement coming from a theologian like J.C. 37 00:02:03,799 --> 00:02:04,233 Ryle. 38 00:02:05,566 --> 00:02:09,433 And that's because this is an amazing chapter. 39 00:02:10,433 --> 00:02:11,199 It really is. 40 00:02:11,233 --> 00:02:15,599 It's the account of the miracle of Jesus, 41 00:02:15,633 --> 00:02:19,066 rising his friend Lazarus from the dead. 42 00:02:20,866 --> 00:02:22,466 The story itself is short. 43 00:02:23,066 --> 00:02:27,199 Of course, it's very familiar, I'm sure, to all of us here today, but in its detail. 44 00:02:28,166 --> 00:02:30,400 If you get down in it, 45 00:02:30,433 --> 00:02:32,000 It's very rich. 46 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:37,166 This is the climactic, I would say, 47 00:02:37,166 --> 00:02:40,466 very bidding sign to 48 00:02:40,466 --> 00:02:43,466 end John's list of signs in his gospel 49 00:02:43,466 --> 00:02:46,599 that we've gone through so far that 50 00:02:46,599 --> 00:02:48,400 point to the deity of Jesus. 51 00:02:48,433 --> 00:02:51,800 We've been laboring that point throughout our study, right? 52 00:02:52,633 --> 00:02:55,733 Here in this chapter, we come to the last, as 53 00:02:55,733 --> 00:02:58,833 I said, most monumental miracle, public 54 00:02:58,833 --> 00:03:00,866 miracle that Jesus ever did. 55 00:03:00,933 --> 00:03:05,366 There is one later miracle, but it's in the dark, and it's very private. 56 00:03:05,500 --> 00:03:08,666 It was in the garden of Gethsemane, when Jesus had 57 00:03:08,666 --> 00:03:12,333 to give Malchus a new ear, after Peter chopped it off. 58 00:03:13,666 --> 00:03:17,500 But nowhere in any other account of his miraculous 59 00:03:17,500 --> 00:03:21,933 work, did we more magnificently 60 00:03:21,933 --> 00:03:26,066 see the coming together of 61 00:03:26,066 --> 00:03:29,533 the humanity and the deity, 62 00:03:29,533 --> 00:03:32,599 the godhood of Jesus, than in this 63 00:03:32,599 --> 00:03:35,366 particular scene? 64 00:03:35,433 --> 00:03:39,333 We see his humanity, and 65 00:03:39,333 --> 00:03:43,066 his affections, and his relationships that 66 00:03:43,066 --> 00:03:47,000 he has with an earthly family, but 67 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:50,066 at the same exact time, in the same exact scene, 68 00:03:50,066 --> 00:03:53,300 we see his sovereignty, in 69 00:03:53,300 --> 00:03:56,766 his power and his display of glory, in 70 00:03:56,800 --> 00:04:00,866 absolutely in this scene, overwhelming 71 00:04:00,866 --> 00:04:04,000 the king of terrors for all of us, that 72 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:05,433 exist on the earth. 73 00:04:06,133 --> 00:04:07,199 of course, death. 74 00:04:08,833 --> 00:04:12,333 This miracle, important as it was, do you 75 00:04:12,333 --> 00:04:13,766 realize it only occurs in John? 76 00:04:14,733 --> 00:04:17,500 And the other gospel writers don't give in us. 77 00:04:17,533 --> 00:04:19,866 an account of this tremendous scene. 78 00:04:21,133 --> 00:04:24,266 But John writes this, under 79 00:04:24,266 --> 00:04:27,333 the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, with careful 80 00:04:28,933 --> 00:04:30,633 detail, and he gives it to us for a number of reasons. 81 00:04:31,566 --> 00:04:34,600 First of all, I said, to declare this 82 00:04:34,600 --> 00:04:37,899 final, supreme, undeniable 83 00:04:37,899 --> 00:04:42,566 proof of the claims of Jesus, it 84 00:04:42,566 --> 00:04:46,000 was affirmed by a whole lot of eyewitnesses, 85 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:49,899 that he is who he claimed to be, this 86 00:04:49,899 --> 00:04:50,933 is the resurrection. 87 00:04:51,033 --> 00:04:53,266 I want you to understand, and I'm the labor of this point. 88 00:04:53,933 --> 00:04:54,933 I want you to think about it. 89 00:04:55,833 --> 00:04:59,833 This is a resurrection of a man who had been dead for 90 00:04:59,833 --> 00:05:00,899 four days. 91 00:05:03,966 --> 00:05:07,000 Four 24 hour periods. 92 00:05:08,033 --> 00:05:11,633 If he died right now, it would be Sunday, 93 00:05:11,633 --> 00:05:16,033 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday before Jesus gets there. 94 00:05:17,333 --> 00:05:18,466 Decay would have set in. 95 00:05:19,666 --> 00:05:21,199 Because Jews don't embalm. 96 00:05:22,566 --> 00:05:25,699 Very unlike Egyptians who did everything they could to preserve the 97 00:05:25,699 --> 00:05:28,766 corpse, with the Jews, when 98 00:05:28,766 --> 00:05:32,000 somebody died, they were put in the grave as fast as 99 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:35,433 possible, because decay, 100 00:05:35,433 --> 00:05:37,233 as you know, it starts to set in immediately. 101 00:05:39,433 --> 00:05:42,633 Now, the purpose of this miracle was not only to put on display 102 00:05:42,633 --> 00:05:46,100 the power and the sovereign divine nature of Jesus, 103 00:05:46,100 --> 00:05:50,100 but also for the sake of increasing 104 00:05:50,133 --> 00:05:54,600 the faith of those who believe, strengthening it. 105 00:05:55,233 --> 00:05:58,500 If you look down, look down in verse 15 real quick of this 11th chapter. 106 00:06:00,033 --> 00:06:03,600 Jesus says about not being there when Lazarus died. 107 00:06:03,633 --> 00:06:06,866 And I am glad, for your sakes, 108 00:06:06,866 --> 00:06:07,899 that I was not there. 109 00:06:09,433 --> 00:06:11,933 So that you may believe. 110 00:06:12,966 --> 00:06:16,333 So this miracle is not only about giving this 111 00:06:16,333 --> 00:06:19,333 overwhelming, undeniable evidence of the deity 112 00:06:19,333 --> 00:06:22,399 of Christ, it was also for the purpose of producing 113 00:06:22,399 --> 00:06:26,666 greater faith in the believers, particularly the disciples. 114 00:06:27,733 --> 00:06:28,800 And then there's a third purpose. 115 00:06:31,133 --> 00:06:35,366 It gave the final burst of energy to 116 00:06:35,366 --> 00:06:38,433 those who wanted Jesus dead to 117 00:06:38,433 --> 00:06:42,800 now really press for his murder, 118 00:06:42,800 --> 00:06:44,466 because there was a lot of them there. 119 00:06:45,166 --> 00:06:46,000 And they saw it. 120 00:06:46,933 --> 00:06:47,866 with their own eyes. 121 00:06:47,899 --> 00:06:51,266 And, of course, what I mean by this is this set 122 00:06:51,266 --> 00:06:55,100 up, God's timing was now very near. 123 00:06:55,933 --> 00:06:58,233 Stubbornly ordained before the foundation of the world. 124 00:06:58,300 --> 00:06:59,633 It was going to be the passion week. 125 00:07:00,766 --> 00:07:02,500 It was going to be the week of Passover. 126 00:07:03,466 --> 00:07:05,833 But we're not there just yet. 127 00:07:07,333 --> 00:07:10,533 Because of the providential restraint of God's 128 00:07:10,533 --> 00:07:13,533 hand, though they had tried, as we've seen in our study, 129 00:07:13,533 --> 00:07:17,000 multiple times, to kill Jesus, they 130 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:20,600 were never able to succeed, because 131 00:07:20,600 --> 00:07:23,133 again, it was not yet his time. 132 00:07:23,199 --> 00:07:24,566 There was a definite time. 133 00:07:25,433 --> 00:07:27,300 that God had ordained. 134 00:07:27,333 --> 00:07:30,500 But now, the time is getting very, very close. 135 00:07:32,333 --> 00:07:35,666 And we have this, this undeniable miracle, 136 00:07:35,666 --> 00:07:38,733 again, in front of so many witnesses, and the Jews reach 137 00:07:38,733 --> 00:07:41,866 now when they see this, especially this 138 00:07:41,866 --> 00:07:45,066 level of hostility, which is incredible to think about. 139 00:07:45,133 --> 00:07:47,666 You're watching a man rise a man from the dead. 140 00:07:47,800 --> 00:07:50,500 That's how dead they were in their trespasses and sin. 141 00:07:50,600 --> 00:07:54,666 And that finally leads to the actual execution 142 00:07:54,699 --> 00:07:56,566 of their murderous plot. 143 00:07:57,766 --> 00:08:00,933 But at the same time, perfectly in line with God's 144 00:08:00,933 --> 00:08:04,699 perfect timing, as we saw in Acts predestined. 145 00:08:04,766 --> 00:08:08,000 He predestined all the players, 146 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:11,133 the Jews, punches, pilot, the Romans, everybody 147 00:08:11,133 --> 00:08:14,600 to do what his hand and his purpose, predestined 148 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:17,466 to occur, it tells us, in the book of Acts. 149 00:08:17,600 --> 00:08:21,333 And as a side, just as a little side note. 150 00:08:21,966 --> 00:08:25,000 Have you ever noticed that we live in a culture that is absolutely 151 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:28,300 right now overwhelmed with pseudo supernaturalism? 152 00:08:28,333 --> 00:08:30,366 Have you started to see the rise of that? 153 00:08:31,333 --> 00:08:32,133 Let me give you an example. 154 00:08:32,200 --> 00:08:35,966 How many have you ever watched one of those fake, 155 00:08:35,966 --> 00:08:39,333 phony ghost programs, where the on TV? 156 00:08:39,399 --> 00:08:40,466 You ever see one of those shows? 157 00:08:40,533 --> 00:08:43,533 And they go in this haunted house and, 158 00:08:43,533 --> 00:08:45,100 oh, did you hear that? 159 00:08:45,200 --> 00:08:48,500 And then you just hear, like, you know, oh, 160 00:08:48,500 --> 00:08:50,600 that's got to be the ghost, and they go in there, you know? 161 00:08:50,666 --> 00:08:54,100 And every once in a while, you get some shadowy image. 162 00:08:54,133 --> 00:08:56,166 Every time you turn it on TV, you see those. 163 00:08:56,799 --> 00:08:59,500 Also the movies. 164 00:09:00,633 --> 00:09:02,399 Have you noticed in the movies now? 165 00:09:03,533 --> 00:09:07,633 There are so many films of outright, 166 00:09:07,633 --> 00:09:09,600 direct demonic possession. 167 00:09:10,366 --> 00:09:11,133 Have you noticed that? 168 00:09:11,200 --> 00:09:12,566 There's like a genre now. 169 00:09:13,266 --> 00:09:17,133 where we've seen that on the increase for the last number of 170 00:09:17,133 --> 00:09:20,133 years, and there's some of the most popular movies that 171 00:09:20,133 --> 00:09:22,000 they are, are these events. 172 00:09:22,033 --> 00:09:25,033 Sometimes they claim to be based on true things, sometimes 173 00:09:25,033 --> 00:09:29,466 they're not, but it's absolute demonic possession, is what comes in. 174 00:09:29,600 --> 00:09:32,600 And then, of course, in the charismatic 175 00:09:32,600 --> 00:09:36,799 wing of the church, not all, but some fake healings. 176 00:09:36,866 --> 00:09:40,100 You see them on television, fake miracles. 177 00:09:40,166 --> 00:09:44,433 You ever hear these stories of these supposed resurrection from the dead stories? 178 00:09:44,500 --> 00:09:47,833 They always seem to take place in some 179 00:09:47,833 --> 00:09:51,000 far away land that nobody's ever able 180 00:09:51,033 --> 00:09:54,133 to actually document with proof, but 181 00:09:54,133 --> 00:09:55,566 you just hear about it. 182 00:09:56,566 --> 00:10:00,399 All of that nonsense tends to really diminish 183 00:10:00,399 --> 00:10:04,333 the reality of this kind, 184 00:10:04,333 --> 00:10:07,433 a very real miracle, that we're fixing 185 00:10:07,433 --> 00:10:10,766 to witness here through the Word of God. 186 00:10:11,633 --> 00:10:14,733 And then, if you add to all that, our culture really 187 00:10:14,733 --> 00:10:18,866 is barrage with relentless 188 00:10:18,866 --> 00:10:22,700 entertainment that elevates, think about it, and saturates 189 00:10:22,700 --> 00:10:23,966 us with fantasy. 190 00:10:25,033 --> 00:10:25,899 You notice that too? 191 00:10:27,166 --> 00:10:31,933 Movies, books, that are of unreal things. 192 00:10:32,933 --> 00:10:36,933 Unreal things are, like, almost even normalized, 193 00:10:36,933 --> 00:10:38,433 to an extent we're so saturated. 194 00:10:38,533 --> 00:10:41,833 movies and television are jam packed with 195 00:10:41,833 --> 00:10:44,100 unreal stories and things. 196 00:10:44,200 --> 00:10:47,333 And in a culture that's really, really, 197 00:10:47,333 --> 00:10:50,833 in an entertainment world, especially just engulfed in a pseudo 198 00:10:50,833 --> 00:10:53,899 supernatural realities, it's really, it's 199 00:10:53,899 --> 00:10:56,466 kind of hard for us in this day. 200 00:10:56,500 --> 00:11:00,833 And this culture, for people to see the 201 00:11:00,833 --> 00:11:05,500 resurrection of a man who had been dead for four days, 202 00:11:05,533 --> 00:11:10,133 who actually walked out of a grave, he's stinking 203 00:11:11,166 --> 00:11:14,600 in a small village in Judea 2,000 204 00:11:14,600 --> 00:11:17,066 years ago, as if it really matters. 205 00:11:17,133 --> 00:11:20,066 There's no special effects with this event. 206 00:11:21,066 --> 00:11:24,566 There's no AI, video, you can go watch. 207 00:11:24,633 --> 00:11:28,100 I mean, how do you compare that with the Avengers? 208 00:11:28,866 --> 00:11:29,233 You know? 209 00:11:29,233 --> 00:11:32,533 Flying witches, transformers, aliens, defying 210 00:11:32,533 --> 00:11:35,833 natural law, trying travelers, people that morph 211 00:11:35,833 --> 00:11:38,966 into other entities, that's constantly barraged throughout 212 00:11:38,966 --> 00:11:42,100 television screens, and our movie screens, and 213 00:11:42,100 --> 00:11:43,433 they have supernatural powers. 214 00:11:43,466 --> 00:11:46,600 I mean, with all of that, what's the big deal about a resurrection and a 215 00:11:46,600 --> 00:11:48,166 village in Israel 2,000 years ago? 216 00:11:48,200 --> 00:11:48,933 You get my point? 217 00:11:50,933 --> 00:11:52,366 And make no mistake about it. 218 00:11:53,933 --> 00:11:57,533 You could call me a wild eyed fundamentalist, 219 00:11:57,533 --> 00:12:01,100 if you want to, some have, label me that, of course. 220 00:12:01,166 --> 00:12:04,533 I wear that badge proudly, but what's 221 00:12:04,533 --> 00:12:07,833 behind all of this pseudo supernatural stuff, saturating 222 00:12:07,833 --> 00:12:10,833 our culture, of course, in the big picture is 223 00:12:10,833 --> 00:12:12,100 our adversary, the devil. 224 00:12:13,466 --> 00:12:14,833 Let's see who's behind it, ultimately. 225 00:12:14,899 --> 00:12:17,733 I'm not saying you can't go watch the Avengers, but you understand my point. 226 00:12:17,799 --> 00:12:18,866 He's very successful. 227 00:12:20,233 --> 00:12:23,633 At confusing people, about the miraculous. 228 00:12:24,966 --> 00:12:30,266 and confusing them about reality, is very good at this. 229 00:12:32,433 --> 00:12:35,633 And add just another footnote along this line, Jesus 230 00:12:35,633 --> 00:12:40,266 told stories called parables, right? 231 00:12:40,399 --> 00:12:41,299 He invented them. 232 00:12:42,566 --> 00:12:44,799 But not one parable. 233 00:12:44,833 --> 00:12:48,000 I want you to notice that Jesus ever told ever 234 00:12:48,033 --> 00:12:51,399 created is a fantasy in 235 00:12:51,399 --> 00:12:53,866 the story, in any dimension, in any component. 236 00:12:53,966 --> 00:12:57,033 All of his stories exist in the 237 00:12:57,033 --> 00:13:00,033 real world with real people, real 238 00:13:00,033 --> 00:13:03,933 things, real issues, real relationships. 239 00:13:05,066 --> 00:13:06,633 He never used fantasy. 240 00:13:08,133 --> 00:13:11,433 to articulate spiritual truth. 241 00:13:11,500 --> 00:13:15,100 You never find things like that 242 00:13:15,100 --> 00:13:18,333 came from great writers, great as they are, as J.R. 243 00:13:18,333 --> 00:13:21,399 Tolkien or C.S. Lewis, in any of Jesus' 244 00:13:21,399 --> 00:13:23,266 stories and teachings and parables. 245 00:13:23,299 --> 00:13:26,433 The closest he came was in the story of the rich man, in 246 00:13:26,433 --> 00:13:29,500 torment, in Lazarus, another Lazarus, in Abraham's bosom, 247 00:13:29,500 --> 00:13:32,266 but even that was describing actual reality. 248 00:13:33,666 --> 00:13:36,799 So in this culture, what my 249 00:13:36,799 --> 00:13:41,500 point I'm trying to make is it's really an uphill struggle 250 00:13:41,533 --> 00:13:44,600 to make this amazing event in chapter 11 251 00:13:44,600 --> 00:13:47,433 here to be as meaningful as it really is. 252 00:13:48,966 --> 00:13:51,866 So try and block all the stuff out that I'm talking about. 253 00:13:53,333 --> 00:13:56,399 and grab hold of 254 00:13:56,399 --> 00:14:01,299 how amazing, incredible, 255 00:14:01,299 --> 00:14:04,366 astounding it is for Jesus to stand in front of 256 00:14:04,366 --> 00:14:08,399 a tomb and say, Lazarus, come forth, and 257 00:14:08,433 --> 00:14:12,399 a man that had been dead for days comes walking out of that tomb. 258 00:14:13,466 --> 00:14:14,133 Just think about it. 259 00:14:15,633 --> 00:14:18,633 Speaking of the story, the rich man in Lazarus, you'll remember that the rich man said 260 00:14:18,633 --> 00:14:21,700 to Abraham, Send Lazarus 261 00:14:21,700 --> 00:14:23,366 back from the dead to warn my brothers. 262 00:14:24,633 --> 00:14:25,966 I'm tormented, right? 263 00:14:25,966 --> 00:14:29,066 And this flame, and Jesus said, hey, they 264 00:14:29,066 --> 00:14:32,066 don't believe Moses and the prophets, they won't believe though 265 00:14:32,066 --> 00:14:35,066 one rose from the dead. 266 00:14:35,899 --> 00:14:36,333 And guess what? 267 00:14:36,399 --> 00:14:38,066 This is evidence of that. 268 00:14:38,733 --> 00:14:41,833 Because one right there in front of their face, the Jewish leaders 269 00:14:41,833 --> 00:14:42,966 rose from the dead. 270 00:14:43,033 --> 00:14:46,166 And then the one who rose from the dead, 271 00:14:46,166 --> 00:14:49,933 rose from the dead, and they still didn't believe. 272 00:14:51,233 --> 00:14:52,200 They still rejected him. 273 00:14:53,166 --> 00:14:56,500 This massive miracle in front of all these eyewitnesses, 274 00:14:56,500 --> 00:15:00,233 who all knew, again, the man had been dead for four days, had no, 275 00:15:00,233 --> 00:15:05,600 that was just no other possible explanation, okay? 276 00:15:06,766 --> 00:15:08,733 It was exactly what it was. 277 00:15:08,799 --> 00:15:11,799 This is not Benny the Hen, 278 00:15:11,799 --> 00:15:14,433 curing some kind of thing you can't see. 279 00:15:14,500 --> 00:15:18,166 And, oh, look, it's cured, flopping around on the stage. 280 00:15:18,200 --> 00:15:21,200 This was undeniably a dead man 281 00:15:21,200 --> 00:15:23,833 coming to life, is what this was. 282 00:15:23,966 --> 00:15:27,799 And that fat just exposed 283 00:15:27,799 --> 00:15:30,799 the unbelief that 284 00:15:30,799 --> 00:15:33,433 they had for what it really was. 285 00:15:34,633 --> 00:15:38,000 At this point, the light, think about it, has been shining 286 00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:41,166 in the darkness every day for three 287 00:15:41,200 --> 00:15:43,133 years, approximately, at this point. 288 00:15:44,133 --> 00:15:45,633 The darkness hated it. 289 00:15:47,133 --> 00:15:50,200 And up to this point, that darkness could not put it 290 00:15:50,200 --> 00:15:53,666 out, no matter how much and how deeply and how bad they wanted to. 291 00:15:54,633 --> 00:15:57,833 With all the evidence over the three year ministry of Jesus, 292 00:15:57,833 --> 00:16:01,266 I also want you to think about the fact that the nation, as a whole, not 293 00:16:01,299 --> 00:16:04,433 every single single Jew in existence 294 00:16:04,433 --> 00:16:07,566 at that time, of course, I'm not saying that, but every the nation, 295 00:16:07,600 --> 00:16:10,600 as a whole, had rejected Jesus, and 296 00:16:10,600 --> 00:16:13,666 the leadership has rejected him as a whole, 297 00:16:13,666 --> 00:16:17,533 and now as Jesus comes down the final stretch. 298 00:16:19,033 --> 00:16:20,933 that's leading to the cross. 299 00:16:20,966 --> 00:16:21,866 We're just weeks away. 300 00:16:22,966 --> 00:16:27,200 He gives one last great, 301 00:16:27,200 --> 00:16:30,433 overwhelming, monumental, very public 302 00:16:30,433 --> 00:16:33,600 testimony to 303 00:16:33,633 --> 00:16:36,333 the reality of who he is. 304 00:16:36,399 --> 00:16:39,399 When Lazarus walked out of that tomb, there should have been 305 00:16:39,399 --> 00:16:43,466 no one standing there who had any doubt about 306 00:16:43,466 --> 00:16:45,566 the fact that Jesus is the Messiah. 307 00:16:46,466 --> 00:16:50,233 I mean, the scene that we're going to look at just can't possibly be more dramatic. 308 00:16:52,033 --> 00:16:56,000 And, of course, the overarching purpose of the miracle is 309 00:16:56,000 --> 00:16:58,700 the overarching purpose for why we live our Christian lives. 310 00:16:58,766 --> 00:16:59,533 Look at verse 4. 311 00:17:00,766 --> 00:17:02,066 For the glory of God. 312 00:17:03,966 --> 00:17:07,233 So the Son of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified 313 00:17:07,233 --> 00:17:09,866 by it, not just a little deity alert right there. 314 00:17:10,866 --> 00:17:13,333 Do you notice for the glory of God? 315 00:17:14,366 --> 00:17:18,033 So that the Son of God title for Jesus, may 316 00:17:18,033 --> 00:17:21,266 be glorified, what did God say? 317 00:17:21,333 --> 00:17:23,733 My glory I will not share with who? 318 00:17:23,833 --> 00:17:26,833 Another, but this says, for the glory of God, so that the Son 319 00:17:26,833 --> 00:17:27,866 of God may be glorified. 320 00:17:27,933 --> 00:17:28,900 Jesus is God. 321 00:17:28,933 --> 00:17:30,066 Just want to throw that in there. 322 00:17:30,133 --> 00:17:32,766 This is to put his glory on display. 323 00:17:34,166 --> 00:17:35,299 So that people might believe. 324 00:17:35,366 --> 00:17:36,566 And some did. 325 00:17:37,966 --> 00:17:40,000 And some who already believe. 326 00:17:40,633 --> 00:17:44,433 including the disciples, so that they might have their faith strengthened. 327 00:17:45,066 --> 00:17:48,099 Now, this is the seventh miracle recorded in 328 00:17:48,099 --> 00:17:52,733 the Gospel of John, but this is not the first time that Jesus raised somebody from the dead. 329 00:17:52,766 --> 00:17:55,400 In Mark, he raised Jarius's daughter, if you remember. 330 00:17:55,466 --> 00:17:56,000 that story. 331 00:17:56,066 --> 00:17:59,066 Then in Luke's gospel, there is the account of 332 00:17:59,066 --> 00:18:02,433 the funeral procession of the son of the widow of name where Jesus 333 00:18:02,433 --> 00:18:05,266 raised her son from the dead, if you remember that story. 334 00:18:05,366 --> 00:18:08,900 In both cases, though, the deaths had 335 00:18:08,900 --> 00:18:12,266 actually happened very close in proximity 336 00:18:12,266 --> 00:18:16,333 in time to Jesus raising them. 337 00:18:16,400 --> 00:18:20,000 So there was very little time for decay to set in. 338 00:18:20,066 --> 00:18:23,066 That's what was different about those two rising from 339 00:18:23,066 --> 00:18:24,933 the dead, and Lazarus. 340 00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:29,033 Lazarus, again, four days, dead four days. 341 00:18:30,833 --> 00:18:34,866 After four days, a lifeless corpse, 342 00:18:34,866 --> 00:18:37,933 not embalmed in a tomb 343 00:18:37,933 --> 00:18:41,099 with absolutely no climate control, 344 00:18:41,633 --> 00:18:43,299 would be pretty gruesome to look at. 345 00:18:46,566 --> 00:18:49,700 And that is what sets apart Lazarus 346 00:18:49,700 --> 00:18:53,833 miracle from all the other resurrection, the other two resurrections that I just mentioned. 347 00:18:55,366 --> 00:18:58,400 And then there was this tradition among the Jews that the 348 00:18:58,400 --> 00:19:01,466 spirit of a person hovered over the body 349 00:19:01,466 --> 00:19:03,700 for a couple of days, and then vacated. 350 00:19:03,700 --> 00:19:05,133 That was a longstanding tradition. 351 00:19:05,233 --> 00:19:08,466 So even in their tradition, 352 00:19:08,500 --> 00:19:10,733 there would have been the sense for everybody. 353 00:19:10,766 --> 00:19:14,433 And, of course, I'm sure that's why God made sure of this, that 354 00:19:14,433 --> 00:19:17,433 this was a real death, that whatever the 355 00:19:17,433 --> 00:19:20,299 spirit that hovered, and the way they looked at it, 356 00:19:21,066 --> 00:19:21,933 It was four days. 357 00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:25,299 So that even that possibility was outside of 358 00:19:25,299 --> 00:19:28,133 the realm of reality, long gone. 359 00:19:28,166 --> 00:19:32,066 So let's dig into the account now with that, by way of introduction. 360 00:19:32,133 --> 00:19:35,733 And I want to read the first 15 verses for you. 361 00:19:37,833 --> 00:19:39,599 Now a certain man was sick. 362 00:19:40,233 --> 00:19:43,299 Lazarus, Bethany, the village 363 00:19:43,299 --> 00:19:47,000 of Mary and her sister, Marta, it 364 00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:50,000 was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet 365 00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:52,233 with her hair, whose brother, Lazarus, was sick. 366 00:19:53,466 --> 00:19:56,900 So the sisters sent word to him, saying, Lord, behold, 367 00:19:56,900 --> 00:19:58,766 he whom you love is sick. 368 00:20:00,066 --> 00:20:03,266 But when Jesus heard this, he said, this sickness 369 00:20:03,266 --> 00:20:04,833 is not to end in death. 370 00:20:05,766 --> 00:20:08,833 But for the glory of God, so that the Son of 371 00:20:08,833 --> 00:20:10,566 God may be glorified by it. 372 00:20:11,933 --> 00:20:15,900 Now, Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 373 00:20:17,266 --> 00:20:17,966 Excuse me. 374 00:20:18,033 --> 00:20:21,133 So when he heard that he was sick, excuse me, he 375 00:20:21,133 --> 00:20:24,133 then stayed two days longer in the place where he was. 376 00:20:24,200 --> 00:20:27,200 Then after this, he said to the disciples, 377 00:20:27,200 --> 00:20:29,233 Let us go to Judea again. 378 00:20:30,533 --> 00:20:32,200 The disciples said to him, Rabbi. 379 00:20:32,933 --> 00:20:36,266 The Jews were just now seeking to stone 380 00:20:36,266 --> 00:20:38,366 you, and are you going there again? 381 00:20:39,633 --> 00:20:41,866 Jesus answered, Are there not 12 hours in the day? 382 00:20:43,033 --> 00:20:47,033 If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble because he sees the light of the world. 383 00:20:47,066 --> 00:20:51,333 But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles because the light is not in him. 384 00:20:52,266 --> 00:20:55,700 This, he said, and after that, he said to them, Our friend Lazarus 385 00:20:55,700 --> 00:20:58,700 has fallen asleep, but I go so that I may awaken 386 00:20:58,700 --> 00:20:59,900 him out of sleep. 387 00:21:00,966 --> 00:21:04,333 The disciples then said to him, Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he'll recover. 388 00:21:05,433 --> 00:21:08,500 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought he was speaking 389 00:21:08,500 --> 00:21:09,766 of literal sleep. 390 00:21:11,366 --> 00:21:16,599 So Jesus then said to them plainly, Lazarus is dead. 391 00:21:17,366 --> 00:21:20,366 And I am glad, for your sakes, that I was not 392 00:21:20,366 --> 00:21:24,333 there, so that you may believe, but 393 00:21:24,333 --> 00:21:26,799 let us go to him. 394 00:21:27,966 --> 00:21:32,000 Now, first, I want to look at the characters in this account. 395 00:21:32,733 --> 00:21:35,866 You have Lazarus, the sisters, the 396 00:21:35,866 --> 00:21:40,400 disciples, and, of course, the Dominic character, is Jesus himself. 397 00:21:40,466 --> 00:21:41,733 Look at verse one. 398 00:21:43,266 --> 00:21:48,433 Starts out with, Now, a certain man was thick, Lazarus. 399 00:21:49,433 --> 00:21:53,933 Certain man in his name, all we really know about him. 400 00:21:54,833 --> 00:21:57,933 It's safe to assume he was a believer by what we read in this account as 401 00:21:57,933 --> 00:22:01,033 we go, you'll see that, and we'll learn about how his sisters 402 00:22:01,033 --> 00:22:04,033 are later in this chapter, but verse one says, Now, 403 00:22:04,033 --> 00:22:07,266 a certain man was sick, Lazarus, of Bethany, 404 00:22:07,299 --> 00:22:11,066 the village of Mary and her sister, Martha. 405 00:22:11,200 --> 00:22:14,333 So this is a family that had come to believe 406 00:22:14,333 --> 00:22:17,900 in Christ, as Messiah, and Savior, 407 00:22:17,900 --> 00:22:21,633 and Lord, and that's really all that we know about, including 408 00:22:21,633 --> 00:22:24,166 the fact that they lived in the village of Bethany. 409 00:22:24,166 --> 00:22:27,133 Now, at the time that Jesus gets this message 410 00:22:27,133 --> 00:22:31,099 about Lazarus being sick, 411 00:22:31,133 --> 00:22:35,133 it's in another village that he's in called Bethany. 412 00:22:35,133 --> 00:22:38,533 At the end of chapter 10, we were told, it was beyond the Jordan, 413 00:22:38,533 --> 00:22:40,633 where Jesus was baptizing. 414 00:22:40,700 --> 00:22:43,833 So that means there were two Bethanies, two 415 00:22:43,833 --> 00:22:47,000 towns named Bethany, that one, and then the one right 416 00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:52,166 next to Jerusalem, which was just about two miles away from Jerusalem, where this family lived. 417 00:22:53,333 --> 00:22:57,166 Now, back over in the other village where Jesus was ministering, look in chapter 10. 418 00:22:58,333 --> 00:23:01,766 In verse 42, it tells us, many believed 419 00:23:01,766 --> 00:23:02,900 in him there. 420 00:23:03,833 --> 00:23:07,333 So, what was happening there is he was starting to reap the harvest that 421 00:23:07,333 --> 00:23:10,466 had first been planted by John the Baptist. 422 00:23:10,533 --> 00:23:13,066 That's out near where John the Baptist had been preaching. 423 00:23:13,166 --> 00:23:16,700 Remember, they said, everything that John said about Jesus is true. 424 00:23:18,233 --> 00:23:22,000 Lazarus, Martha, and Mary were very 425 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:25,533 common names at this time, especially Mary. 426 00:23:26,633 --> 00:23:27,299 And guess what? 427 00:23:27,299 --> 00:23:29,066 When we get to the cross, there's going to be Marys everywhere. 428 00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:32,299 You're going to see, we're going to have to make sure we get our 429 00:23:32,299 --> 00:23:33,566 Marys straight when we get there. 430 00:23:33,633 --> 00:23:37,299 But this Mary is further identified for us in verse two. 431 00:23:37,333 --> 00:23:40,700 Look, it was the Mary, who anointed 432 00:23:40,700 --> 00:23:43,833 the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet 433 00:23:43,833 --> 00:23:47,200 with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. 434 00:23:47,233 --> 00:23:48,799 And, of course, you remember that story. 435 00:23:50,066 --> 00:23:52,033 But then you have to kind of say, wait a minute. 436 00:23:52,166 --> 00:23:55,933 That story doesn't come about till chapter 12 here in the Gospel of John. 437 00:23:56,000 --> 00:23:58,566 Well, how is he mentioning that here? 438 00:23:58,700 --> 00:24:02,233 Well, it's because that story had already been told in detail in Matthew and Mark. 439 00:24:02,299 --> 00:24:05,533 And both of those gospels had been circulating within 440 00:24:05,533 --> 00:24:08,966 the church for a very long time, by the year 90, 441 00:24:08,966 --> 00:24:11,900 when John writes this gospel. 442 00:24:11,966 --> 00:24:15,266 And so even though it hasn't yet been given in the account here 443 00:24:15,266 --> 00:24:18,400 in John, John knows that all the readers 444 00:24:18,400 --> 00:24:21,633 know that this is the Mary that he's talking about. 445 00:24:21,700 --> 00:24:22,299 interesting. 446 00:24:22,333 --> 00:24:26,533 So we have Lazarus, two sisters, Mary and Martha. 447 00:24:27,466 --> 00:24:29,066 All we really know about Lazarus. 448 00:24:29,533 --> 00:24:30,000 He's sick. 449 00:24:30,633 --> 00:24:32,266 We don't know what his illness was. 450 00:24:32,366 --> 00:24:35,233 We don't know what he was stick with. 451 00:24:35,966 --> 00:24:39,200 But we do know, the big pitcher reason 452 00:24:39,200 --> 00:24:41,599 for why he was sick. 453 00:24:41,666 --> 00:24:44,000 Look in verse four, it tells us. 454 00:24:44,133 --> 00:24:47,533 This sickness is not to end in death, but for the 455 00:24:47,533 --> 00:24:50,000 glory of God. 456 00:24:51,933 --> 00:24:52,366 Think about that. 457 00:24:53,033 --> 00:24:56,799 He's sick for the purpose of 458 00:24:56,799 --> 00:24:58,166 the glory of God. 459 00:24:59,433 --> 00:25:02,133 Who else had an infirmity for the glory of God? 460 00:25:02,200 --> 00:25:04,000 Well, remember back in chapter 9? 461 00:25:04,833 --> 00:25:06,766 We met the man born blind. 462 00:25:07,566 --> 00:25:10,466 Would the leader say, Who sinned, this man or his parents? 463 00:25:10,533 --> 00:25:11,866 And Jesus said, neither of them. 464 00:25:13,033 --> 00:25:14,500 Be blind for the glory of God. 465 00:25:15,833 --> 00:25:19,233 There is sickness that is just 466 00:25:19,233 --> 00:25:20,966 natural sickness. 467 00:25:21,033 --> 00:25:24,933 It comes because we are fallen people, living in a fallen world. 468 00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:28,099 You get some pollen up in your nose, and 469 00:25:28,099 --> 00:25:29,366 you get sinus. 470 00:25:29,500 --> 00:25:30,833 Some of us get it really bad. 471 00:25:31,933 --> 00:25:35,299 There is sickness that is a discipline from 472 00:25:35,299 --> 00:25:37,099 God, for his own people. 473 00:25:37,166 --> 00:25:38,233 We read it every time. 474 00:25:39,233 --> 00:25:41,500 We'd read the Lord's Supper, right? 475 00:25:41,533 --> 00:25:45,066 Paul says some of you are weak and sick, and 476 00:25:45,099 --> 00:25:48,333 some of you sleep, because of how you handle the Lord's table. 477 00:25:48,400 --> 00:25:51,433 You're in sin, and God brought sickness and even 478 00:25:51,433 --> 00:25:54,000 death to some of them in that church in Corinth. 479 00:25:54,633 --> 00:25:57,400 There's even sickness that is divine judgment. 480 00:25:57,433 --> 00:26:00,366 Do you remember Acts 12, Herod? 481 00:26:01,166 --> 00:26:03,933 He proclaimed how mighty he was and what happened. 482 00:26:04,933 --> 00:26:06,166 He was eaten with worms. 483 00:26:06,966 --> 00:26:08,133 That was quite a sight. 484 00:26:09,533 --> 00:26:12,533 But there's also sickness that is far the glory of God. 485 00:26:13,866 --> 00:26:16,900 We don't always know what God's purpose is in 486 00:26:16,900 --> 00:26:19,900 anybody's sickness, but Jesus tells us what the 487 00:26:19,900 --> 00:26:21,166 purpose was in this one. 488 00:26:21,200 --> 00:26:24,266 And this man's sickness, to 489 00:26:24,266 --> 00:26:25,533 put his glory on display. 490 00:26:26,666 --> 00:26:28,700 So Lazarus is sick. 491 00:26:28,766 --> 00:26:30,099 And look at verse three. 492 00:26:31,033 --> 00:26:34,666 So the sisters sent word to him saying, Lord, 493 00:26:34,666 --> 00:26:37,900 behold, he whom 494 00:26:37,900 --> 00:26:39,700 you love is sick. 495 00:26:39,733 --> 00:26:42,866 Now, you got to understand, it would took about a day to get 496 00:26:42,866 --> 00:26:46,633 this message from Bethany 1 to Bethany 2. 497 00:26:47,666 --> 00:26:48,700 about a day's journey. 498 00:26:50,066 --> 00:26:51,133 And the message is very short. 499 00:26:52,733 --> 00:26:55,900 They acknowledge Jesus as Lord, you 500 00:26:55,900 --> 00:26:59,799 see that, and behold, which means, this is urgent. 501 00:26:59,900 --> 00:27:01,033 This is sudden. 502 00:27:01,099 --> 00:27:04,833 This demands immediate response, behold, 503 00:27:04,833 --> 00:27:07,099 he whom you love is sick. 504 00:27:08,766 --> 00:27:09,133 That's it. 505 00:27:09,833 --> 00:27:10,500 That's the whole message. 506 00:27:11,666 --> 00:27:14,666 And so obviously, this sickness 507 00:27:14,666 --> 00:27:18,500 had reached a critical point, and they really don't need to say anything more. 508 00:27:19,633 --> 00:27:21,766 They don't give Jesus any instructions. 509 00:27:22,466 --> 00:27:26,000 They don't demand a healing from Jesus either, notice. 510 00:27:27,266 --> 00:27:32,133 They don't say, they have the faith to believe, they just give him the information. 511 00:27:33,733 --> 00:27:34,799 He whom you love. 512 00:27:35,466 --> 00:27:36,033 is sick. 513 00:27:37,233 --> 00:27:38,700 And notice their appeal. 514 00:27:39,933 --> 00:27:42,400 It's not based on Lazarus' love for Jesus. 515 00:27:42,433 --> 00:27:45,500 They don't use Lazarus' love for Jesus, 516 00:27:45,500 --> 00:27:49,566 as if it's some kind of mechanism that's going to activate Jesus to act. 517 00:27:49,633 --> 00:27:52,166 They only talk here about what? 518 00:27:52,166 --> 00:27:54,733 Jesus' love for Lazarus. 519 00:27:56,033 --> 00:27:59,099 They think that's what'll catch Jesus' heart. 520 00:27:59,133 --> 00:28:01,766 And the word for love here is important. 521 00:28:02,733 --> 00:28:03,466 In the Greek. 522 00:28:04,033 --> 00:28:05,099 It's not agape. 523 00:28:05,633 --> 00:28:06,900 It's phileo. 524 00:28:07,666 --> 00:28:10,166 The love of a friend. 525 00:28:11,266 --> 00:28:11,833 Human love. 526 00:28:13,033 --> 00:28:13,733 Think about this. 527 00:28:14,933 --> 00:28:18,000 Jesus loved this man as a friend. 528 00:28:19,566 --> 00:28:22,833 He had personal affection for this man as 529 00:28:22,833 --> 00:28:25,766 a friend, just like we have for our friends. 530 00:28:25,833 --> 00:28:28,466 We know that he's God, right? 531 00:28:28,533 --> 00:28:31,533 And we know as God, he loves the world, and 532 00:28:31,533 --> 00:28:34,900 he loves his own common grace, love, and then his own, 533 00:28:34,900 --> 00:28:37,900 who are in the world, with salvific 534 00:28:37,900 --> 00:28:41,066 love, and absolute perfection, 535 00:28:42,566 --> 00:28:43,933 but that's not the usage here. 536 00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:45,366 That's not the word here. 537 00:28:46,833 --> 00:28:51,066 The thought here is, this is a man, 538 00:28:51,066 --> 00:28:54,200 in Jesus' incarnation, in his earthly ministry in life, 539 00:28:54,966 --> 00:28:57,933 that he had deep affection for. 540 00:28:58,033 --> 00:29:01,099 Now, can you imagine 541 00:29:01,099 --> 00:29:05,433 being a man who 542 00:29:05,433 --> 00:29:08,500 was a real, personal, actual friend of Jesus 543 00:29:08,500 --> 00:29:11,433 during his time on the earth? 544 00:29:11,500 --> 00:29:12,566 Can you imagine being that guy? 545 00:29:12,633 --> 00:29:14,066 Even in heaven right now? 546 00:29:15,966 --> 00:29:19,033 When we talk about the humanity of 547 00:29:19,033 --> 00:29:20,766 Jesus, and that is important to talk about. 548 00:29:22,333 --> 00:29:24,933 You usually hear about how he was hungry. 549 00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:28,000 Jesus was thirsty and how he got tired 550 00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:32,033 in his humanity, and for sure, all those things are human things. 551 00:29:33,766 --> 00:29:36,733 But what makes human beings unique? 552 00:29:38,933 --> 00:29:42,933 Far different from all the other creatures of the earth are 553 00:29:42,933 --> 00:29:46,000 relationships, the relationships that 554 00:29:46,000 --> 00:29:48,033 we have, with other human beings. 555 00:29:48,133 --> 00:29:51,966 And this explains why, when 556 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:54,533 Jesus gets to the grave, what does he do? 557 00:29:55,433 --> 00:29:56,033 He cries. 558 00:29:57,166 --> 00:29:58,599 Shortest version of the Bible, right? 559 00:29:58,633 --> 00:29:59,833 Jesus wept. 560 00:30:00,633 --> 00:30:04,666 He cries at the thought of 561 00:30:04,666 --> 00:30:09,133 this very personal close friend being dead. 562 00:30:11,733 --> 00:30:15,333 It's really an amazing insight into 563 00:30:15,333 --> 00:30:19,166 the true humanity of Jesus when he was here. 564 00:30:20,333 --> 00:30:23,833 He's a man, and like all people, he 565 00:30:23,833 --> 00:30:26,099 requires a friend, somebody who cares about him. 566 00:30:26,200 --> 00:30:26,866 It's incredible. 567 00:30:26,900 --> 00:30:30,799 God in human flesh, a perfect man, 568 00:30:31,433 --> 00:30:34,366 would all the true realities of being a man. 569 00:30:36,633 --> 00:30:40,133 This is part of what makes him such a faithful high priest, right? 570 00:30:41,266 --> 00:30:44,500 Able to be touched with all the feelings and infirmities, 571 00:30:44,500 --> 00:30:47,500 because some of our infirmities have nothing to 572 00:30:47,500 --> 00:30:50,533 do with physical well being, they 573 00:30:50,533 --> 00:30:53,466 have to do with relationships. 574 00:30:55,866 --> 00:30:58,333 Isn't that where most of the pain comes from in your life? 575 00:31:00,133 --> 00:31:01,599 The pain you experience in life? 576 00:31:02,366 --> 00:31:05,366 I mean, you could probably take the cancer if all the 577 00:31:05,366 --> 00:31:07,599 relationships were where they needed to be, right? 578 00:31:07,633 --> 00:31:08,966 I can handle the cancer. 579 00:31:09,033 --> 00:31:12,700 It's these relationship problems that really get to me. 580 00:31:14,066 --> 00:31:17,666 And the sympathy of Jesus, it 581 00:31:17,666 --> 00:31:20,966 extends to understanding relationships. 582 00:31:22,266 --> 00:31:22,833 He's been there. 583 00:31:24,966 --> 00:31:28,233 His friend, that he had great affection for, 584 00:31:28,866 --> 00:31:30,799 was seriously stick. 585 00:31:32,366 --> 00:31:34,700 So, the sisters, who he was also friends with. 586 00:31:34,766 --> 00:31:36,500 Send a message. 587 00:31:37,366 --> 00:31:41,133 And I know, that's all that has to be said. 588 00:31:41,933 --> 00:31:43,599 That's all they have to say. 589 00:31:43,700 --> 00:31:46,933 The messenger arrives after 590 00:31:46,933 --> 00:31:50,233 a whole day's journey, and look at Jesus' response in verse 4. 591 00:31:50,433 --> 00:31:53,599 But when Jesus heard this, He said, 592 00:31:53,599 --> 00:31:57,466 this sickness is not to end in death, 593 00:31:57,466 --> 00:32:00,500 but for the glory of God so that the Son of God may 594 00:32:00,500 --> 00:32:02,166 be glorified by it. 595 00:32:02,233 --> 00:32:04,166 It's not going to end in death. 596 00:32:05,366 --> 00:32:06,566 There will be death. 597 00:32:07,733 --> 00:32:11,133 In fact, there already is death by the time the messenger 598 00:32:11,133 --> 00:32:12,466 gets to Jesus. 599 00:32:12,500 --> 00:32:13,466 Lazarus is dead. 600 00:32:15,233 --> 00:32:16,500 But it's not going to end that way. 601 00:32:17,733 --> 00:32:18,900 That's not the end of the story. 602 00:32:20,033 --> 00:32:23,366 Jesus says, This sickness is not to end in 603 00:32:23,366 --> 00:32:26,366 death, but for the glory of God, and 604 00:32:26,366 --> 00:32:28,333 that the Son of God may be glorified by it. 605 00:32:28,400 --> 00:32:29,966 And then verse 5 adds another component. 606 00:32:31,566 --> 00:32:34,933 It says, now, Jesus loved Martha 607 00:32:34,933 --> 00:32:37,033 and her sister and Lazarus. 608 00:32:37,966 --> 00:32:39,633 And this time, guess what? 609 00:32:39,700 --> 00:32:41,566 The Greek word for love changes. 610 00:32:42,133 --> 00:32:43,366 It's not Fileo here. 611 00:32:43,833 --> 00:32:44,799 It's agape. 612 00:32:45,866 --> 00:32:46,700 It's divine love. 613 00:32:47,733 --> 00:32:50,799 Jesus loved Lazarus in a 614 00:32:50,799 --> 00:32:54,099 human way as a friend, and it goes without saying, 615 00:32:54,099 --> 00:32:58,233 he did for Mary and Martha, too, but the point is, for Lazarus, 616 00:32:58,233 --> 00:33:01,833 but he also, this is why we changed to agape here. 617 00:33:01,900 --> 00:33:04,599 He loved the whole family with divine love. 618 00:33:05,266 --> 00:33:05,900 Why? 619 00:33:05,966 --> 00:33:08,299 They belong to him, spiritually speaking. 620 00:33:08,366 --> 00:33:09,733 He is their Lord. 621 00:33:10,366 --> 00:33:13,766 They have trusted with saving faith in the Lord Jesus 622 00:33:13,766 --> 00:33:17,299 Christ, so he loved them with agape love as well. 623 00:33:17,366 --> 00:33:22,700 Now, when Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick, you could expect to read next. 624 00:33:22,766 --> 00:33:25,766 Well, Jesus ran as fast as he could to go 625 00:33:25,766 --> 00:33:28,900 see about his friend Lazarus, but look at what verse 6 says. 626 00:33:29,833 --> 00:33:33,033 When he heard that he was sick, he then stayed two days longer 627 00:33:33,033 --> 00:33:35,366 in the place where he was. 628 00:33:36,566 --> 00:33:39,133 Two whole days, two 24 hour periods. 629 00:33:40,466 --> 00:33:43,599 Lazarus, again, had been dead 630 00:33:43,599 --> 00:33:46,900 for a day when the messenger got there, probably, and then Jesus 631 00:33:46,900 --> 00:33:48,266 waits two more days. 632 00:33:50,166 --> 00:33:52,299 And that had to have the disciples going. 633 00:33:53,933 --> 00:33:54,933 What is Jesus doing? 634 00:33:56,633 --> 00:33:57,166 But guess what? 635 00:33:58,733 --> 00:34:00,033 They're not scratching their heads. 636 00:34:00,099 --> 00:34:00,633 They're grateful. 637 00:34:00,700 --> 00:34:02,266 They think, this is good. 638 00:34:03,633 --> 00:34:04,799 He's not going back. 639 00:34:06,133 --> 00:34:09,900 He just escaped a stoning in Judea. 640 00:34:11,233 --> 00:34:15,300 Where Lazarus is, is right up next to Jerusalem. 641 00:34:16,566 --> 00:34:19,599 And so for two days, Jesus keeps preaching 642 00:34:19,599 --> 00:34:22,900 and ministering, and people are believing, and then verse 7. 643 00:34:22,933 --> 00:34:26,900 Then after this, he said to the disciples, let us go to Judea again. 644 00:34:26,966 --> 00:34:27,933 And they're like, no. 645 00:34:28,000 --> 00:34:31,599 Verse 8, the disciples said to him, Rabbi, the 646 00:34:31,599 --> 00:34:34,366 Jews were just now seeking to stone you. 647 00:34:35,433 --> 00:34:36,900 And are you going there again? 648 00:34:38,266 --> 00:34:39,033 Hey, what are you thinking? 649 00:34:40,466 --> 00:34:43,933 You just escaped from being stoned to death. 650 00:34:44,066 --> 00:34:45,099 How horrible is that? 651 00:34:46,433 --> 00:34:47,400 And you want to go back? 652 00:34:49,633 --> 00:34:52,633 And Jesus answers them, One of 653 00:34:52,633 --> 00:34:54,300 the very interesting proverb. 654 00:34:54,433 --> 00:34:56,066 Look at verses 9 and 10. 655 00:34:57,066 --> 00:34:59,966 Jesus answered, Are there not 12 hours in the day? 656 00:35:01,266 --> 00:35:04,400 If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble because he sees 657 00:35:04,400 --> 00:35:07,333 the light of the world, but if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles. 658 00:35:07,933 --> 00:35:09,300 Because the light is not in him. 659 00:35:09,333 --> 00:35:12,933 Now, what in the world, what are you saying here, Jesus? 660 00:35:14,266 --> 00:35:17,900 Now, at this point, for just a minute, we're moving away from 661 00:35:17,900 --> 00:35:21,800 Lazarus and the sisters to the disciples here at this point in the text. 662 00:35:21,866 --> 00:35:23,633 They were wondering, why? 663 00:35:24,366 --> 00:35:26,199 Dude, why would you go back to Judea? 664 00:35:26,233 --> 00:35:30,366 I mean, you just barely got out of there alive, and here's the answer. 665 00:35:30,500 --> 00:35:32,300 In the form of a proverb. 666 00:35:32,433 --> 00:35:34,099 He was saying, as long as it's day. 667 00:35:36,166 --> 00:35:37,166 When I can work. 668 00:35:37,233 --> 00:35:39,699 Remember, we work as long as it's day. 669 00:35:39,800 --> 00:35:42,033 The nights come in when no man can work. 670 00:35:42,099 --> 00:35:43,166 Remember when he said that? 671 00:35:44,733 --> 00:35:45,833 It's the day right now. 672 00:35:45,866 --> 00:35:46,333 I'm safe. 673 00:35:47,766 --> 00:35:48,733 I'm safe right now today. 674 00:35:48,800 --> 00:35:50,466 This isn't passion wheat. 675 00:35:51,933 --> 00:35:55,066 But night is coming when his work would be done. 676 00:35:56,066 --> 00:35:59,199 And that's where the temporary stumbling would happen, and 677 00:35:59,199 --> 00:36:00,333 his death on the cross. 678 00:36:00,400 --> 00:36:03,033 He's saying, Look, you can't lengthen the daylight. 679 00:36:03,133 --> 00:36:04,266 12 hours in a day. 680 00:36:04,333 --> 00:36:06,566 You can't even shorten the daylight, either. 681 00:36:06,633 --> 00:36:10,000 Nothing any friend can do can lengthen the daylight. 682 00:36:10,033 --> 00:36:12,366 Nothing any enemy can do can shorten the daylight. 683 00:36:12,433 --> 00:36:13,766 It is what it is. 684 00:36:13,833 --> 00:36:14,300 Guess what? 685 00:36:14,366 --> 00:36:15,633 It's fixed, by God. 686 00:36:17,466 --> 00:36:19,400 And Jesus is saying, So is my life. 687 00:36:21,266 --> 00:36:22,400 So this is not yet the time. 688 00:36:24,033 --> 00:36:25,900 No enemy can shorten my life right now. 689 00:36:25,933 --> 00:36:27,666 No friend can link them. 690 00:36:27,733 --> 00:36:30,900 And in this light of life, which is 691 00:36:30,933 --> 00:36:34,066 my ministry here on the earth, which God has ordained 692 00:36:34,066 --> 00:36:37,199 for me, I will not be stumbling until it's 693 00:36:37,233 --> 00:36:38,566 time, in death. 694 00:36:40,333 --> 00:36:43,433 That is to say, nothing is going to happen to me outside 695 00:36:43,433 --> 00:36:46,566 the sovereign will and plan of Almighty God. 696 00:36:48,266 --> 00:36:52,466 I'm not going in the dark at this moment, is what he's saying. 697 00:36:52,533 --> 00:36:55,533 I'm going in the light of God's 698 00:36:55,533 --> 00:36:57,033 sovereign ordained end. 699 00:36:58,433 --> 00:37:01,833 Jesus is saying, The time allotted to me, accomplished 700 00:37:01,833 --> 00:37:03,866 my earthly ministry is fixed. 701 00:37:04,466 --> 00:37:06,433 It's fixed by God. 702 00:37:07,266 --> 00:37:11,366 Can't be lengthened by any precautionary measures. 703 00:37:11,433 --> 00:37:14,900 You don't have to go hide in a cave somewhere. 704 00:37:15,633 --> 00:37:18,033 It's okay to go back to Judea. 705 00:37:19,566 --> 00:37:19,933 For now. 706 00:37:22,033 --> 00:37:23,566 Jesus knew his hour was coming. 707 00:37:25,166 --> 00:37:27,266 But it hadn't come yet. 708 00:37:27,333 --> 00:37:29,733 How many times have we seen it just in John? 709 00:37:29,800 --> 00:37:31,066 My hour has not yet come. 710 00:37:32,733 --> 00:37:36,199 And he escaped all those plots, of all those murderous 711 00:37:36,199 --> 00:37:37,333 plots that they hatched. 712 00:37:38,366 --> 00:37:41,599 Now, even though we can't apply, and 713 00:37:41,599 --> 00:37:45,966 compare Jesus' situation to ours, right? 714 00:37:46,033 --> 00:37:46,400 Of course. 715 00:37:47,766 --> 00:37:49,900 This does have application for us. 716 00:37:51,333 --> 00:37:52,900 We have our time on the Earth. 717 00:37:52,933 --> 00:37:53,699 You realize that? 718 00:37:55,066 --> 00:37:55,833 To serve God. 719 00:37:56,666 --> 00:37:57,866 To grow spiritually. 720 00:37:58,000 --> 00:37:58,733 And guess what? 721 00:37:58,766 --> 00:37:59,900 Our time is fixed. 722 00:38:01,333 --> 00:38:02,199 It's ordained. 723 00:38:03,766 --> 00:38:06,800 There's a definite day already set in place for 724 00:38:06,800 --> 00:38:10,633 you, and for me, and today, we're 725 00:38:10,633 --> 00:38:12,199 one day closer than we were yesterday. 726 00:38:12,266 --> 00:38:16,166 to that fixed day, and 727 00:38:16,166 --> 00:38:19,166 all the serving, and all the living for God, comes 728 00:38:19,166 --> 00:38:21,933 to an end on that day. 729 00:38:23,666 --> 00:38:26,433 That's why I work my guts out to do what I do. 730 00:38:27,466 --> 00:38:27,866 You know? 731 00:38:28,566 --> 00:38:32,000 That's why I work vocationally, when I'm working and 732 00:38:32,000 --> 00:38:35,000 sweating during the week, I'm doing it because I get 733 00:38:35,000 --> 00:38:38,766 this great privilege of coming here to do this service for my king every Sunday. 734 00:38:39,566 --> 00:38:41,000 That's what all that working is about. 735 00:38:41,066 --> 00:38:44,533 It's vastly, vastly secondary to me, is my secular work. 736 00:38:44,599 --> 00:38:46,866 This is my primary work, right here. 737 00:38:46,933 --> 00:38:50,000 And I'm committed to working my guts 738 00:38:50,000 --> 00:38:53,066 out to make sure the goal of every Sunday is to 739 00:38:53,066 --> 00:38:55,633 have a well prepared message to you. 740 00:38:55,699 --> 00:38:58,833 And that's not to say that God grew this church for 741 00:38:58,833 --> 00:39:01,233 400 people, and I started making six figures doing this. 742 00:39:01,300 --> 00:39:02,066 I'm not gonna say, 743 00:39:02,199 --> 00:39:03,033 No, we don't want to do that. 744 00:39:03,099 --> 00:39:04,833 I want to suffer out here in the heat. 745 00:39:04,900 --> 00:39:06,633 I'm not saying that, if that's what he wants to do. 746 00:39:06,699 --> 00:39:07,666 Hey, let's go. 747 00:39:07,699 --> 00:39:08,233 I'm down for it. 748 00:39:09,233 --> 00:39:10,500 But I'm down for this too. 749 00:39:10,533 --> 00:39:11,433 You understand? 750 00:39:12,466 --> 00:39:13,400 I'm down for this, too. 751 00:39:13,466 --> 00:39:16,633 Whatever he wills, I 752 00:39:16,633 --> 00:39:18,500 want to serve because I know my day is coming. 753 00:39:19,933 --> 00:39:22,933 I know there's going to be a time, a day, a fixed day 754 00:39:22,933 --> 00:39:25,933 by him that I'm not going to be able to serve him anymore. 755 00:39:26,066 --> 00:39:27,400 And then I go to glory. 756 00:39:28,933 --> 00:39:31,300 That's the best retirement in the world, huh? 757 00:39:32,333 --> 00:39:33,699 So, exactly. 758 00:39:34,766 --> 00:39:38,533 So nobody can shorten our time, either. 759 00:39:39,533 --> 00:39:42,400 Nobody can lengthen our time, either. 760 00:39:43,833 --> 00:39:47,199 So shouldn't that give us great confidence as we serve God with 761 00:39:47,199 --> 00:39:48,866 our Christian lives? 762 00:39:48,933 --> 00:39:51,933 I'm telling you, there's some comfort that you can find in a 763 00:39:51,933 --> 00:39:55,966 right understanding of the sovereignty of God, a biblical understanding. 764 00:39:56,966 --> 00:39:57,866 Now, let's go to verse 11. 765 00:39:58,033 --> 00:40:02,000 This, he said, and after that, he said to them, Our 766 00:40:02,000 --> 00:40:04,333 friend Lazarus has fallen asleep. 767 00:40:05,666 --> 00:40:07,400 And they all knew Lazarus. 768 00:40:08,133 --> 00:40:09,833 All the disciples knew him. 769 00:40:10,533 --> 00:40:13,533 They probably, really, I mean, text doesn't say it, but you can 770 00:40:13,533 --> 00:40:17,300 kind of get a pretty good idea when we get into this text. 771 00:40:17,433 --> 00:40:20,500 They probably stayed in the house there 772 00:40:20,500 --> 00:40:23,566 with Lazarus and Mary and Martha many times, 773 00:40:23,566 --> 00:40:26,599 because it was right on the road from Jericho going 774 00:40:26,599 --> 00:40:28,933 into Jerusalem only about two miles from Jerusalem. 775 00:40:29,000 --> 00:40:30,066 He probably stayed there a bunch of times. 776 00:40:30,133 --> 00:40:33,733 If Jesus was such a great friend to him, he had to be in proximity 777 00:40:33,733 --> 00:40:35,900 to him and visited his home and all the rest. 778 00:40:37,166 --> 00:40:40,233 And Jesus says, our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but 779 00:40:40,233 --> 00:40:43,233 I go, that I may awaken 780 00:40:43,233 --> 00:40:44,900 him out of sleep. 781 00:40:44,966 --> 00:40:47,966 Now, we've seen sleep referred to as death 782 00:40:47,966 --> 00:40:49,466 in scripture before, right? 783 00:40:49,599 --> 00:40:52,633 And Jesus says, I go to that 784 00:40:52,633 --> 00:40:54,800 I may awaken him out of sleep. 785 00:40:54,866 --> 00:40:55,333 Verse 12. 786 00:40:57,066 --> 00:41:01,033 The disciples said to him, Lord, if he's fallen asleep, he'll recover? 787 00:41:03,166 --> 00:41:04,599 And they're thinking actual sleep. 788 00:41:05,233 --> 00:41:07,300 I mean, if that's the case, he's going to be all right. 789 00:41:08,566 --> 00:41:10,099 That's what you do when you get sick, right? 790 00:41:10,233 --> 00:41:10,966 You sleep a lot. 791 00:41:12,833 --> 00:41:13,833 Don't worry about it, Jesus. 792 00:41:13,900 --> 00:41:15,266 He gonna be all right. 793 00:41:16,033 --> 00:41:19,699 Verse 13, now Jesus had spoken of his death, but 794 00:41:19,699 --> 00:41:23,300 they thought that he was speaking of literal sleep, verse 14. 795 00:41:23,500 --> 00:41:28,733 So Jesus then said to them plainly, Lazarus is dead. 796 00:41:30,766 --> 00:41:34,300 Read my lips, dead as a doornail, is Lazarus. 797 00:41:34,333 --> 00:41:34,800 Okay? 798 00:41:36,866 --> 00:41:40,000 So the messenger said he's sick, and, 799 00:41:40,000 --> 00:41:44,199 of course, Jesus again said, this sickness is not going to end in death. 800 00:41:44,233 --> 00:41:46,566 We saw that, but now he's just straight up. 801 00:41:46,633 --> 00:41:47,366 He's dead. 802 00:41:47,500 --> 00:41:48,166 Guys? 803 00:41:49,766 --> 00:41:50,599 He's dead right now. 804 00:41:52,233 --> 00:41:56,566 And what they needed to understand was when he said, I'm 805 00:41:56,566 --> 00:42:00,966 going to awaken him out of his sleep, what 806 00:42:01,000 --> 00:42:04,833 he's saying to them is, I'm fixing to go down there and raise him from the dead. 807 00:42:06,666 --> 00:42:09,866 Jesus didn't know Jarius' family that he raised from 808 00:42:09,866 --> 00:42:12,866 the dead, and he didn't know the widow of Nain's family when 809 00:42:12,866 --> 00:42:15,033 he raised those two people from the dead. 810 00:42:15,099 --> 00:42:17,366 This is somebody that he was very close with. 811 00:42:18,333 --> 00:42:21,400 This was a friend that he really loved, and he's going to raise him 812 00:42:21,400 --> 00:42:24,566 for the dead, from the dead, for God's glory, 813 00:42:24,566 --> 00:42:26,666 and for his glory, too, verse 15. 814 00:42:26,966 --> 00:42:29,433 He says, I am glad for your sake that I was not there. 815 00:42:30,966 --> 00:42:31,933 So that you may believe. 816 00:42:33,133 --> 00:42:34,666 But let us go to him. 817 00:42:36,166 --> 00:42:40,000 The disciples, as we've seen, were always struggling with their faith, right? 818 00:42:40,033 --> 00:42:43,400 Oh, ye of little faith, Jesus was saying that to him all the time. 819 00:42:43,466 --> 00:42:44,966 Yes, they believed in him. 820 00:42:45,033 --> 00:42:48,099 Yes, they had already affirmed that he was the Christ, the Son of 821 00:42:48,099 --> 00:42:51,333 God, but they continually needed their faith to 822 00:42:51,333 --> 00:42:53,133 be strengthened, just like who else? 823 00:42:55,566 --> 00:42:55,933 Right here. 824 00:42:56,000 --> 00:42:59,000 You, me, not only them. 825 00:43:00,533 --> 00:43:03,633 Mary and Martha would have their faith 826 00:43:03,633 --> 00:43:07,099 strengthened, as well as the other believers who 827 00:43:07,099 --> 00:43:08,466 were at this scene. 828 00:43:08,533 --> 00:43:12,300 This is a glory that will produce faith for some, 829 00:43:12,333 --> 00:43:16,166 and strengthening faith in many people, and at the same time, 830 00:43:16,166 --> 00:43:19,599 as I said, it's also going to produce a bubbling 831 00:43:19,599 --> 00:43:23,133 over of hostility that will uniquely 832 00:43:23,133 --> 00:43:26,733 drive Jesus to the cross right exactly on schedule. 833 00:43:27,566 --> 00:43:30,633 so that he can die on Good Friday and rise on 834 00:43:30,633 --> 00:43:32,066 the first day of the week, Sunday. 835 00:43:32,133 --> 00:43:33,766 Then verse 16. 836 00:43:33,866 --> 00:43:35,533 We meet good old Thomas. 837 00:43:37,333 --> 00:43:40,466 Now, he doesn't say much, but we know that, what 838 00:43:40,466 --> 00:43:43,599 is Thomas most known for, being a 839 00:43:43,599 --> 00:43:47,366 doubter, and a pessimist, verse 16. 840 00:43:47,533 --> 00:43:50,800 Therefore, Thomas, who is called Didymus, 841 00:43:50,833 --> 00:43:55,666 said to his fellow disciples, Let us also go so that we may die with him. 842 00:43:57,266 --> 00:44:01,433 Now, you can say, all you want about Thomas, 843 00:44:01,433 --> 00:44:04,699 he gets a lot of bad press, and 844 00:44:04,699 --> 00:44:06,933 for sure he may be a pessimist. 845 00:44:07,033 --> 00:44:09,133 I mean, let us go too, so we can die too. 846 00:44:10,566 --> 00:44:11,533 But let me tell you something. 847 00:44:12,566 --> 00:44:14,800 That's not a cowardly pessimist right there, is it? 848 00:44:14,833 --> 00:44:17,599 No, he didn't say, Oh, let's get out of here. 849 00:44:17,666 --> 00:44:18,133 We gonna die. 850 00:44:18,833 --> 00:44:21,766 He said, Let's go and die with him. 851 00:44:21,800 --> 00:44:23,466 He has some faith. 852 00:44:23,533 --> 00:44:25,466 He has some courage. 853 00:44:25,533 --> 00:44:28,599 He obviously understands, if you 854 00:44:28,599 --> 00:44:31,699 want to come after me, deny yourself, and take up your 855 00:44:31,699 --> 00:44:32,966 cross. 856 00:44:33,033 --> 00:44:36,033 It might cost us our lives, men, if we 857 00:44:36,033 --> 00:44:38,666 go with him back to Judea, let's go. 858 00:44:38,733 --> 00:44:40,233 That's what Thomas is saying. 859 00:44:40,333 --> 00:44:42,366 Let's go die with Jesus right now. 860 00:44:43,466 --> 00:44:44,199 And so they do. 861 00:44:46,666 --> 00:44:47,300 They do go. 862 00:44:47,366 --> 00:44:50,966 And remember, it's another day's travel back. 863 00:44:51,033 --> 00:44:52,233 So you had a day traveling. 864 00:44:52,300 --> 00:44:53,866 Jesus stays two days preaching. 865 00:44:53,900 --> 00:44:58,033 Now it's another day back, four days. 866 00:44:59,666 --> 00:45:02,666 Now, the story starts to get very 867 00:45:02,666 --> 00:45:04,233 fascinating. 868 00:45:05,366 --> 00:45:08,066 But you have to come back next time we were in John to hear the rest of it. 869 00:45:08,566 --> 00:45:09,400 That's perfect. 870 00:45:10,433 --> 00:45:11,866 Probably have we thank you for this day. 871 00:45:11,900 --> 00:45:12,933 It's an incredible account. 872 00:45:15,533 --> 00:45:18,633 I'm always amazed by the reality 873 00:45:18,633 --> 00:45:21,800 of what it means to be dead in 874 00:45:21,800 --> 00:45:24,966 our trespasses and sins, because 875 00:45:25,000 --> 00:45:28,466 these Jewish leaders saw this man, that they knew was 876 00:45:28,466 --> 00:45:30,133 dead come out of the grave. 877 00:45:30,833 --> 00:45:34,933 Not only did it not produce faith, saving faith, 878 00:45:34,933 --> 00:45:37,966 it produced much more rage and anger, 879 00:45:38,666 --> 00:45:40,833 and a desire to murder Jesus. 880 00:45:40,900 --> 00:45:42,699 Oh, what you have saved us from. 881 00:45:43,833 --> 00:45:46,966 You've not only saved us from your wrath, but for all 882 00:45:46,966 --> 00:45:50,366 who believe you have saved us from ourselves, in 883 00:45:50,366 --> 00:45:53,733 the depth of our depravity, how we praise 884 00:45:53,733 --> 00:45:55,066 you and thank you, Lord. 885 00:45:56,066 --> 00:45:58,833 For who you are, and what you've done. 886 00:45:58,900 --> 00:46:02,000 And I pray that today we know Jesus just a little bit more than 887 00:46:02,000 --> 00:46:04,233 we did before we came in our doors. 888 00:46:05,766 --> 00:46:06,866 Jesus' name we pray. 889 00:46:06,933 --> 00:46:07,599 Amen.