This is the manuscript of the third sermon in the Christ Church Los Angeles"Lenten Journey" series.
Scripture
John 11:1-7, 17-27, 41-44 NIV Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. [2] (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) [3] So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” [4] When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” [5] Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. [6] So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, [7] and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”
[17] On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. [18] Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, [19] and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. [20] When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. [21] “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. [22] But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” [23] Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” [24] Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” [25] Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; [26] and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” [27] “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
[41] So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. [42] I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” [43] When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” [44] The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
Text:
John 11:25-26 NIV [25] Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; [26] and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
This is the fourth sermon in this Lenten Journey series, which will take us up to Easter Sunday. We’ve highlighted some of the amazing encounters found in the Gospel of John. We’ve talked about trading in the shortcuts we usually lean on, for a solid foundation built on what God truly wants for us.
In our first sermon we met a man named Nicodemus. He had the perfect religious resume. But he came to Jesus in the dark of night because his foundation was cracking. He didn't need a renovation; he needed a rebirth.
In the second sermon we talked about the encounter that Jesus had with a Samaritan woman at a well and we asked what "water jar" are you carrying? What are you holding onto, thinking it is the only thing that can sustain you? We concluded that we need to ask Jesus for the Living Water and trust the fountain that never runs dry. We should align our hearts with His will, and watch how our thirst for the world begins to change into a hunger for His kingdom.
Last week, we met a man that had been blind from birth and Jesus used the miracle of his healing to teach a spiritual lesson to show that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.
We learned that Jesus is putting His hand on the "blind spots" of your heart. Maybe it’s a blind spot of pride, a blind spot of resentment, or a blind spot of fear that has kept you from seeing God’s hand in your life.
Today our path takes a dramatic turn. We are no longer just looking at our own hearts; we are standing at the mouth of a grave. Today’s theme is the ultimate test of the believer: Trusting in God’s timing and power, even in the face of "dead" situations.
As we look at the raising of Lazarus, we aren't just looking at a miracle from over two thousand years ago; we are looking at the blueprint for how God works in the dark, silent, and "stinking" chapters of our own lives.
II. The Mystery of the Loving Delay
There is something in the scripture that James read this morning that challenges our human understanding of compassion; verses 5& 6 of John 11 say
“Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days,”
We often equate love with immediacy. We think that if God loves us, He will answer our "911" prayer before the situation becomes fatal. But here Jesus reveals a deeper dimension of divine love—a love that is willing to let us experience the pain of a "death" so that we can experience the power of a "resurrection."
Jesus was not late; He was waiting for the situation to become humanly impossible so that the glory would be undeniably divine. If you are in a delay right now—if you sent the message to Jesus and the situation only got worse—know that His silence is not a sign of His absence, but a sign of His sovereign preparation.
III. The "Four-Day" Reality: When Hope Has a Stench
By the time Jesus arrives in Bethany, Lazarus has been dead for four days. In the culture of that time, the fourth day was significant. It was the point of absolute finality. The mourning had settled in; the decomposition had begun. Martha’s comment in verse 39 that “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”, — is the voice of realism, the four-day reality, hope by this time has a stench.
We all have "four-day" situations:
A dream that has been buried so long it feels foolish to even mention it.
A relationship that has moved past "troubled" and into "decayed."
A spiritual life that feels like a cold, dark cave.
When we face these moments, our instinct is to keep the stone rolled shut to hide the smell of our failure or our grief. But trusting in God’s power means being willing to roll the stone away and let Jesus, the Light of the World see the "stench" of our reality.
IV. The Present Tense of the "I AM"
Martha’s struggle is a classic example of "bookend faith"—she has total confidence in the past and the future, but a gap where the present should be.
John 11:21 NIV “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
John 11:24 NIV Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
She says, "If you had been here..." (past) and "I know he will rise on the last day" (future). She has faith in what God did and what God will do, but she is struggling to trust what God is doing right now.
Then Jesus pivots the dialogue from a dry doctrinal concept to a vibrant reality. He shows that eternal life isn’t just a destination at the end of a timeline; it is an identity found in Him in the here and now.
John 11:25-26 NIV [25] Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; [26] and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
Trusting God in a dead situation means realizing that the power of the Resurrection is not waiting for us at the end of the road; the Power of the Resurrection is walking the road with us. He is the Life right now, today, in the middle of the cemetery.
V. "Lazarus, Come Out!": The Call to Freedom
When Jesus cries out with a loud voice, “Lazarus come out” He isn't just speaking to a corpse;
He is speaking to every dead situation represented in this room and the rooms of everybody watching today or whenever. His voice carries the same authority that brought light out of darkness at the dawn of creation.
Genesis 1:3 NIV And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
But notice something here . Lazarus comes out, but he is still bound.
John 11:44 NIV The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
He is alive, but he is not yet free. He is a living man wearing the clothes of a dead man. Then Jesus gives a command “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
God provides the Life, but we—the community of faith—participate in the Unbinding. We are called to help one another strip off the grave clothes of shame, the bandages of old habits, and the shrouds of past labels. (example from His Only Begotten Son, where cast members help Lazerus get out of the grave clothes)
Galatians 6:1-3 MSG [1-3] Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day’s out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ’s law. If you think you are too good for that, you are badly deceived.
Trusting God's power means believing that He has given us the authority to walk out of our tombs and help others do the same.
Conclusion: Trusting the God of the Turnaround
As we prepare our hearts for Holy Week, which starts with next Sunday, Palm Sunday, let this be our anchor: Our God is a specialist in the impossible.
If you are standing before a tomb today, do not be afraid of the silence or the "stench." Trust the timing of the One who stayed two days longer. Trust the power of the One who is, at this very moment, the Resurrection and the Life. The stone is being moved. Your name is being called. It is time to come out.
Prayer
Lord of Life
We stand before You today at the mouth of our own "tomb" situations. We confess that like Martha, we have often doubted Your timing. We have looked at the "four-day" silence in our lives and assumed You were too late. We have smelled the "stench" of our broken dreams and failed efforts, and we have been tempted to keep the stone rolled shut in shame.
Forgive us for limiting Your power to what we can understand. Today, we choose to trust. We trust that Your delays are not denials, but preparations for a greater glory. We roll back the stones of our doubt, our pride, and our cynicism. We ask You to speak into our darkness.
Call us by name, Lord. Call us out of the places where we have settled for death. And as we emerge, give us the courage to help unbind one another from the grave clothes of the past. May we walk not as those who are defeated, but as those who have witnessed the Resurrection and the Life.
In the name of the One who calls the dead to live, Jesus Christ,
Amen.
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