Worship at Home - I Am the Resurrection and the Life

Even though we aren’t gathering to worship as a church in person, that doesn’t mean we stop worshiping as a church. This is a guide for your in-home worship on Sunday 3/29/20.

You can consider lighting a candle to set the environment for worship and to symbolize God's presence with you.

Families with little kids: There are questions in here to help your kids engage, but you still may feel that this is too old for them. The Scripture for today is John 11:1-44.  There's a short video at the top that does a great job covering the story for kids if you prefer that.  

We've all been to the doctor to seek healing for sickness. Right now is a time when we are very aware of sickness in our world. We are listening to health professionals on how to avoid sickness in this pandemic. You might know someone, maybe even someone very close to you, who is sick, perhaps with coronavirus.

When you read through the stories of Jesus' life, he encountered many people who were sick.  He healed many of them.  It was one reason that great crowds gathered wherever he went.  But Jesus also didn't heal everybody.  In fact, he would purposely leave towns before everyone was healed.  The question for both is why?  Why did Jesus heal the people he healed?  Why did Jesus not heal the people he didn't heal?  We know today that God heals some people and he doesn't heal others.  Again, the question is "why".

Discuss/reflect on that question:

• Why did Jesus heal people?  Why does God heal people today?
• Why were there some people that Jesus didn't heal?  Why are there some people God doesn't heal today?

In John 11, we read about a man named Lazarus who is sick. This man was a close friend of Jesus. We are told that Jesus loved Lazarus.

• How do you feel when you have a friend that is sick? How do you feel when someone you love is sick? What do you do?

Let's read to see what Jesus does.

1 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. ² It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. ³ So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” ⁴ But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

⁵ Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. ⁶ So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. ⁷ Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” ⁸ The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” ⁹ Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. ¹⁰ But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” ¹¹ After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” ¹² The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” ¹³ Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. ¹⁴ Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, ¹⁵ and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” ¹⁶ So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” (John 11:1-16)

When Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick, he told his disciples that this illness would not lead to death but that it is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God (Jesus) may be glorified through it (11:3).  That's a key point and we'll come back to it.

We are told something somewhat strange in verses 5 and 6.  Verse 5 says that Jesus loved Martha and her sister (Mary) and Lazarus.  So we'd expect him to rush off right away to Bethany to heal Lazarus from his illness.  We'd expect him to rush to Lazarus' bedside to be with his friend.  But what does verse 6 say?  "So, when he heard that Laraus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was."  If he loved them, why did he stay two days longer?

In verse 14, Jesus says something strange: "Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe.  But let us go to him."  He's glad Lazarus died?  He loved Lazarus but didn't go help him when he was sick.  Now he is glad that his friend is dead?

Jesus is giving us insights into our "why" questions about healing.  Why does God heal?  Why doesn't God heal?  Jesus tells his disciples in verse 4 that this whole scenario is for the glory of God so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.  In verse 14 he tells his disciples he's glad that he wasn't there to heal Lazarus because it will be for his disciples' benefit "so that they may believe".  There is something greater at work here than simply the healing of Lazarus.

Let's read what happens when Jesus arrives in Bethany where Lazarus' family is.

¹⁷ Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. ¹⁸ Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, ¹⁹ and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. ²⁰ So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. ²¹ Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²² But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” ²³ Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” ²⁴ Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” ²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, ²⁶ and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” ²⁷ She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” (John 11:17-27)

When Jesus arrived in Bethany, the first person he talked to was Lazarus' sister, Martha.

• How do you think she was feeling?
• What does she say to Jesus?
• What does this reveal that she believes about Jesus?
• What did she hope Jesus would do if he had arrived before Lazarus died?
• What does she hope Jesus will do now?

Martha looks to a future resurrection from the dead for Lazarus.  But Jesus responds by saying, "I am the resurrection and the life."  Jesus wants her to see that the one standing right in front of her is the one who holds the power of resurrection and life.  Here's an analogy used by a professor I had in seminary.  Imagine you were talking to Colonel Sanders, the founder of KFC, and you were telling him, "One day in the future, I hope to visit a KFC."  He could rightly respond, "I am KFC."  He's the founder of it.  Without him, there is no KFC.  You can go to the restaurant, but in a sense you have KFC standing right in front of you in the person who made it.

Jesus is telling Martha: "Don't look to some distant day in the future when you will experence the event of resurrection and eternal life.  The person who founded resurrection and life is in front of you right now.  I am the resurrection and the life.  Look to me."

Let's read the next part of the story.

²⁸ When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” ²⁹ And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. ³⁰ Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. ³¹ When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. ³² Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” ³³ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. ³⁴ And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” ³⁵ Jesus wept. ³⁶ So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” ³⁷ But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?” (John 11:28-37)

Jesus now speaks with Lazarus' other sister, Mary.

• What does Mary say to Jesus?
• What does this reveal that she believes about Jesus?
• How does Jesus respond to Lazarus' death?
• What do people think about Jesus?

Let's read the end of the story.

³⁸ Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. ³⁹ Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” ⁴⁰ Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” ⁴¹ So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. ⁴² I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” ⁴³ When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” ⁴⁴ The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” (John 11:38-44)

Why didn't Jesus heal Lazarus of his sickness?  He delayed leaving to visit Lazarus by two days, but he still would have been two days too late to heal Lazarus before he died so why did he delay?  There was an ancient Jewish belief that the spirit of someone stayed near the body of the person after they died hoping to reenter but then gave up and departed after three days.  Jesus waiting two days (11:6) meant that Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days (11:17) when he arrived so there was no chance people would say that Lazarus' spirit reentered him because they were past the three day window.  Jesus was demonstrating that he is the resurrection and the life.

In a time of sickness, the fear of sickness, death from sickness, and the fear of death, we need this story. Yes, we will go to God in prayer on behalf of those who are sick. He deeply cares about our pain and suffering and sickness and loss. We will believe with Mary and Martha: Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.  He has the power to heal!

At the same time, we will also recognize that God has purposes that are greater and better than our own.  Jesus wanted Mary and Martha and his disciples to have something better than their brother healthy.  Yes, they did get their brother back.  But that was not Jesus' ultimate purpose.  He wanted them to see God's glory.  He wanted them to grab more tightly onto him.  He wanted their faith to increase.  He wanted their hope in the resurrection to increase.  He wanted them to have a more sturdy and a more grounded faith.  He didn't want them to be clinging to existence in this life, grasping for as many moments of existence for their brother and themselves as they could get.  He wanted them to hold onto something bigger and more glorious.

We need to remember this as we pray for people because God might not heal them.  Their sickness may lead to death.  So as we pray, we need to not only pray for healing, but pray that people may have the strength to bear their sickness in a way that honors God.  We need to pray that they'd cling to Jesus and that their hope would be in the resurrection and in eternal life.  We need to pray that God's glory would be on display.  We need to pray that if it is God's will that they die, that they would die well.

If there's something the coronavirus pandemic teaches us to remember, it's that our lives are frail and fragile.  There should be a big "FRAGILE: HANDLE WITH CARE" sticker on our lives to remind us that we are not invincible.  As human beings and as a human race, we too often forget this truth.  The fact that a microscopic bug can not only wipe out our bodies, but our way of life and our economy as a country and not only as a country but as a planet should thoroughly remind us that we are not invincible.

The fact that we are fragile shouldn't lead us to live with bubble wrap around ourselves.  That's not what Jesus wants.  Jesus doesn't want us to live saying, "If only I had washed my hands more, if only I had disinfected my surfaces more, if only I had talked to people less, if only I had been more extreme about my social distancing, then I wouldn't have gotten sick."  He doesn't want us to say that about our sick loved ones either.  He wants us to hold onto him as the resurrection and the life.  Whether we are sick or healthy or whether we die or whether people we love are sick or healthy or die, he wants our faith and hope to be in something more substantial and more glorious and more lasting.  He doesn't want us to hold onto a few more breaths and a few more hours and days and years of life here.  Jesus wants us to hold onto him because he is the resurrection and the life.

Response

Jesus said to Martha: "I am the resurrection and the life.  Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.  Do you believe this?" (11:25-26)  Ask yourself that question: do you believe this? 

• Are you afraid of sickness and death?  Have you become afraid of sickness and death in this pandemic?
• Do you believe Jesus is more powerful than sickness and death?
• Do believe Jesus has the power of resurrection and life?  That he has more power over your life and future than coronavirus?
• Do you trust him with your life after death?
• What difference would it make to face possible death knowing you will still live because of Jesus?

Worship with others:

Through WhatsApp or text, share with someone in our church what you learned today.  Tell them how God spoke to you or how God reminded you of something you needed to hear.