Those Four Days

Introduction

What a powerful song that is. And apropos to this morning’s lesson, thank you, Scott. As you shall see in just a moment, I am one of the most blessed people there is.

And I missed it last week. And this is the sermon that I wanted to preach last Lord’s Day morning, but had to wait a week to do something. And it’s really borne out of our study in the Gospel of John, some things I wanted to note. And the lesson this morning is entitled, Oh, before I get to that, glad it didn’t come up. Tonight’s Lesson is a lesson I got while I was in Florida last week. My sister and I were talking, and my family, we were playing cards and talking about all kinds of things. And I got this sermon idea that I really like. It’s called When Good Deeds Don’t Count. And so I hope you’ll come back tonight at 5 to hear that. But this morning I want to talk to you about those four days.

This is not to be confused with the sermon I preached, which you remember all of them, I know. The sermon I preached several years ago called those 40 days. Remember the 40 days where Jesus, after he was raised, gave instruction concerning the kingdom to his disciples. And I preached a sermon about those 40 days. But I want to talk to you this morning about those four days that we read about in John chapter 11 in verse 17, when it says, So when Jesus came, he found that he, Lazarus, whom we just sang about in verse 1, he found that he, Lazarus, had already been in the tomb four days. Now, word was sent to him by Mary and Martha that Lazarus was sick. Behold, he whom you love is sick of verse 3.

But when Jesus heard it, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, and that the Son of God may be glorified by it. And so, as I talk to you about those four days, people have a lot of questions about the nature of death. Death is described in James 2 and verse 26 as the Spirit leaving the body, or the spirit apart from the body. When the spirit is no longer with the body, the body is dead. And so we’re talking about the departing of Lazarus’ spirit from his flesh. Lazarus has departed from his body in John chapter 11, and he is then with the other Lazarus, who, by the story of Jesus in Luke 16, when he dies, he is in Abraham’s bosom being comforted.

And so during those four days, we have Lazarus, if indeed Jesus is telling a real story in Luke 16 about real figures, that he is now with the other Lazarus, the poor beggar of Luke 16. And so here’s the question that comes to me in my mind. If that is indeed the case, if that’s where Lazarus is during those four days, when he has departed from his body, and all that’s left is his fleshly casing, is it better for Lazarus to have been raised from the dead? Or would it have been better for him to remain on in Abraham’s bosom with the other Lazarus? I want you to think about that question this morning as we talk about this significant sign that Jesus performs as we’re seeing in our study of John that will precipitate the Lord’s death.

1. Jesus Describes Lazarus as Having Fallen Asleep

I want to make several observations about this significant sign that Jesus does. The first from this text in John chapter 11. Jesus describes the condition of Lazarus during those four days as that of having fallen asleep, which is sort of interesting if you’ll look in verse 11. Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep. But I go that I may awaken him out of sleep. And the disciples therefore said to him, Lord, if he falls asleep, he’ll recover.

Well, ultimately, Jesus has to spell it out. He was speaking of his death, but they thought he was speaking of literal sleep, and Jesus therefore said to them plainly, so that they got it, Lazarus is dead. And I’m glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe, but let us go to him. Jesus knows what’s going to happen with Lazarus, that he’s going to raise him from the dead, and thus he describes his condition as that of having fallen asleep. And that will be repeated in later places in the New Testament. Remember when Paul talks about that which is of first importance, that Jesus died and was buried and he rose again the third day, and that there’s all these witnesses of the resurrection of Christ, himself being one of them.

The apostles, of course, being witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection. And he says that he appeared to five hundred at one time. And he says about those 500 brethren who are witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection. He said, Many of them remain until now. But what does he say? Some have fallen asleep. Now we know when Paul says that in 1 Corinthians 15, he’s saying the same thing. Jesus is saying in John 11. They have died physically, but death is not a permanent condition for the righteous. Thus it’s described for the righteous as having fallen asleep. And then in 1 Thessalonians 4, when Paul talks about that day that has not yet occurred, when the Lord will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel. And the dead in Christ, the dead in Christ, shall rise first.

And it says, We shall not prevent those of us who are alive. We who alive and remain are going to be caught up together with the Lord in the air. If that day were to happen today, let’s say this afternoon. Our hope is that we would be going to meet the Lord in the air. Wouldn’t that be a glorious day today? But he says, if that is indeed today, we will not precede those who have fallen asleep. They have fallen asleep. Death is not a permanent condition. They will be raised too on that day, and the dead in Christ shall be raised first, Paul says in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. That’s why I wanted to draw your attention to this phrase Jesus used because Paul uses it later in the New Testament.

2. After Those Four Days, Lazarus Is Raised

Point number two as we move quickly. After those four days, Lazarus is raised. Preceded, of course, by Jesus’ affirmation, I am the resurrection and the life. He weeps. Everybody’s weeping at the loss of Lazarus, his beloved friend. Behold, how he loved him. Remove the stone. Dave talked about that on Wednesday night. Remove the stone. He prayed. And then says, Lazarus with resounding authority, Lazarus come forth. And then I think as he appears in those grave clothes, he must have thought in his mind, this has been some kind of journey. For four days he has been without his fleshly body. It had started to undergo decay. He has been in the spirit realm with Lazarus in Abraham’s bosom. And now here he is back in Bethany. And I wonder if he thought I was in a better place than I am now.

Do we think like that? Lazarus’ resurrection may not have been what was best for Lazarus. Now, possibly so, more on that in a moment. But if Lazarus indeed had to exchange Abraham’s bosom for a return to this world, he received less. But only temporarily so.

Now, Mary and Martha miss their brother. And certainly they’re excited about the reunion of someone they would not have seen anymore in this life. But when Jesus told Martha, look, he’s going to rise again, and she says, What? I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day. And verse 24. She knows that he’s going to rise again. She doesn’t know that he’s going to rise in just a few minutes. Sure, Mary and Martha would miss their brother, just like we do when a loved one falls asleep. But if someone falls asleep in Christ, would it be better for them personally to be raised from the dead to be back with us again? Because this is better. I wonder sometimes if our prayers be lie.

An unhealthy attachment to this world. Certainly we are to pray for the sick that they might recover. This too would be an answer prayer would be certainly to the glory of God. But ultimately, prayers for the sick will not be answered affirmatively. All sick people do not get well. All sick Christians do not get well. And even though God might regard our prayer and acknowledge our prayer and we be in fellowship with Him, ultimately the answer for that beloved family member or brother or sister in Christ will be that they’re not going to get better. Because it is a point in a man wants to die, but after this the judgment. And Paul said, it is better to depart and to be with Christ. But to go on in the flesh, he says at this time is needful for you.

Sure, we will greatly miss those who depart from us, but we must continually remind ourselves of the surpassing greatness of what lies beyond this world. I don’t know about you. I have some dreams about how I could make my life better here. We have it pretty good. But I have some ideas about how I can make my life better here. If all my bills would automatically be paid.

3. He Served as a Glorious Sign

If that magical envelope would appear in my mailbox tomorrow morning, so that I never had another financial concern and worry the rest of my life. My world would get better. Wouldn’t yours. But even if that were to happen, maybe it’s going to happen for you tomorrow. Probably not. But even if it were to happen. What we have awaiting us is so far superior to even my ideal state as I imagine it here. We have treasure in heaven. Lazarus had to forfeit that to return. Was he better off? Let me tell you what he did. He served as a glorious sign of the power and the nature of the king. From then on, people could ask Lazarus about this glorious day. Four days he spent in the other realm.

And returned. Like those saints in Matthew 27 when Jesus breathed his last, and the rocks were split, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. It says the tombs were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised and were coming out of the tombs after his resurrection. They entered the holy city and appeared to many. And we look at that story and say, wow, that would have been amazing. All these people that are dead are now walking the streets of Jerusalem. It’s crazy in Jerusalem. These dead people, a lot of them are now alive, brothers, sisters, mothers. Here they are again. Excitement. We thought we lost them forever. In this life. We thought we lost them. Here they are.

Excitement. But they’re probably doing, I had it pretty good where I was. Look what I had to give up to come back here. And they weren’t coming back to the conditions we often experience in our world. But what a glorious sign. The power of Jesus over death. And we need that. Death. And its sting. And the power of sin that fuels it. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15, 54 through 57. Lazarus and these other resurrected saints would serve as an eyewitness to the Lord in the early days of the church. How important do you think their testimony was among those early disciples? Well, having talked about the fact that now he’s going to serve as a glorious sign after his resurrection, there’s another thought here.

4. Lazarus Got to Participate in the Era of Grace

You remember I said it may or may not have been better. There’s another angle to this that I want to talk about briefly. And that is because Lazarus was raised. The only area where it might have been better for Lazarus is his ultimate experience of the blessings of the gospel of grace. Had he not been raised from the dead, he would not have been present on the day of Pentecost. Is it safe to assume that Lazarus was among the 3,000? I’m going to throw Mary and Martha in there, too. Lazarus, Mary, and Martha among the 3,000 who were baptized into Christ on the day of Pentecost. And there was a special blessing attached to that. Remember John the Baptist who was beheaded during Jesus’ ministry? What was Jesus’ assessment of John the Baptist?

He said, No one has arisen of woman greater than John the Baptist. But then he says, what? He who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Angels longing to look is 1 Peter chapter 1. We’re a part of that. Lazarus got to be a part of that. John the Baptist did not. And here’s something interesting in Hebrews chapter 11. When you look at one beneficial aspect of Lazarus being raised from the dead, Hebrews chapter 11. He who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John the Baptist, Jesus had said. What about all those great men and women of faith that we read about in Hebrews 11? Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David. The other prophets that are mentioned there. All these in verse 39, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised. And that would have been Lazarus. Did not receive what was promised. Because God had provided something better for us, those who are within the blessings of grace, better for us, so that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

They’re dependent upon us, the Hebrew writer says. Apart from us, not because we did anything, but because we are partakers in the era of grace. That’s what they really long for and anticipated to be a part of what we’re a part of. So often, folks, I get concerned when we don’t revel in this like we should. We don’t appreciate this time in which we live. And if there’s one blessing, one silver lining to the fact that the Lazarus had to leave Abraham’s bosom and return to this earth, not just the fact that he was a glorious sign to other people, but that he got to participate in the era of grace. And what is that era all about? Well, it’s all about resurrection. Lazarus’ temporary earthly revival led him to eternal living.

We bantered it about already about the authorship of the Gospel of John and who the beloved disciple is and the interesting story that’s going to unfold at the end of John 21, where Peter is told about his death, and he looks at the beloved disciple. And if indeed that is Lazarus, it’s very intriguing that he says, What about this man? And Jesus says, If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you, Peter? You follow me. Quit worrying about his faith and his future. You worry about yourself and what you need to take care of as my disciple. If I bid him to remain until I come, what is that to you? And of course, the saying went about, the text says, that this disciple would never die.

And I find that so intriguing. If indeed this is Lazarus who had been raised from the dead, I can see where people would conclude, oh, he’s never going to die again. And then the author has to point out, which is the beloved disciple, the author has to point out, well, he didn’t say he would never die. He just simply said, if he remains until I come, what is that to you? In other words, he didn’t imply he was never going to die, even though that was the statement that went about this disciple. But whether it’s John or Lazarus.

5. Made Alive in Jesus, We Taste Eternal Life Now

In 2 Peter chapter 3, yes, we long for a new situation, a new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Wanting to stay on here is a quite inferior goal. I look forward and anticipate a new era of living for us where there’s no more sin. There’s no more death and decay. Where homosexuality is no longer propagated and promoted, and all profanity is eliminated. I look forward to that new world where there will be a complete absence of those things that diminish the quality of our lives here. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life. But what I want you to see is that those who receive the blessings of grace, those who are made alive, made alive in Jesus, in a sense, we taste eternal life now.

Now that doesn’t mean that life cannot be forfeited. The Bible speaks very clearly about that. That salvation can be forfeited. That grace can be severed or lost. We can be severed from grace, Galatians chapter 5 and verse 4. But the passages that speak about our conversion to Christ, those blessings of grace that I mentioned, say that we have come alive. Those of us who have been buried with him in baptism, we were dead in our trespasses and sins, Paul says in Colossians chapter 2, but we have been made alive together with him. In Hebrews chapter 6, it speaks to believers, and it says that we have tasted of the heavenly gift. We have become partakers of the Holy Spirit. We have tasted of the good word of God and the good things to come.

We’re tasting that now. Temporary earthly revival for Lazarus. But because he partakes in the blessings of grace, eternal living. I’m not going to look at all of these passages, but they’ve been leaping off the page at me when we’ve been studying John. Passage was quoted, John 3 16. For God so loved the world, Dean quoted it, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him, and that’s an ongoing thing, whoever believes in him should not perish, but have what? Everlasting life. When we are baptized into Christ, we come from death to life. We’re buried with him in baptism. We rise to walk in newness of life. We’ve come into life, eternal life. You don’t believe that. Look at John 5, 24.

Truly I say unto you, these are the words of Jesus. He who hears my word and believes him who sent me. Hey, you look at this, has eternal life. He doesn’t say he will have eternal life, it says he has it. And does not come into judgment, but he has passed out of death into life.

All of these other passages say the same thing about the eternal life. Eternal life I give to them. Jesus says in John 10 and verse 28, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand. But look at this in John 17, if you’ll flip over the last couple of references here. He has glorified God that he may give eternal life. And then in verse 3, I love this verse. And this is eternal life. That they may know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. He’s not saying, and this will eventuate in eternal life. That’s not what he said. He says, this is it. This is eternal life. And so I want to tell you something this morning.

Oh, let me get my last slide up there because you need to see this word. This is compelling. You know Jesus. You really know him. You know the Father. If you know me, you’ll do what? Jesus said. You’ll keep my commandment. When you know the Lord, and when you persist in believing in him, let me tell you what you have. You have eternal life. This is eternal life. And that’s a compelling thing. Lazarus received eternal life. He didn’t just rise from the dead. When he was there on the day of Pentecost, and he was baptized into Jesus’ death, and he rose with those 3,000 others unto the newness of life, he received eternal life. So he said, but we haven’t gotten there yet. We’re not in heaven yet.

6. The Quality of Our Lives and an Eternal Perspective

No, but we’ve tasted it. We have a taste of it now. And that needs to be compelling in our minds. Because we’re just a step away from the ultimate receipt of it. Just a step between us and death, as David talked about in 1 Samuel chapter 20. And when we pass over from this sleeping stage, when we sleep as those other saints have done, we’re there. But we have a taste of it now. So how do we have a taste of eternal life now? It has to do, number one, with the quality of our lives. I talked about it in our Bible class. You know what makes this eternal life? Is that no matter what happens to us in this world, we see things from an eternal perspective, an eternal viewpoint.

We know that people can take our lives, but that’s all that they can do. I love that passage. That’s a lot. Somebody could take my physical life. That seems like a lot to us not happen to any of us yet, I don’t think. But that’s all that they can do. Somebody kills you. That’s all that they can do. Why? Why is that all that they can do? Because you possess eternal life. That’s God. It’s about duration. Yes. We think of eternal life only in terms of duration. But we have the beginning of it now because we have risen to walk in newness of life. And we’re tasting this eternal salvation that is ours. And yes, when our physical lives are over, we step into the ultimate that cannot be revoked at that point, certainly.

But it has to do with the quality of our lives here and the eternal perspective that Jesus gives us about our temporary existence here. We have an understanding of our mortality that the world desperately needs but lacks. Stories like the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead. Remind us of our mortality and the fact that we’re living for something so much better. And ultimately, we’ll go to our Father’s house. Because Jesus has prepared a place for us. I have a reservation there.

That’s this eternal life. The fact that I have a reservation there. Do you have a reservation there? Where’s the nicest place you’ve ever stayed? The nicest motel where you walk into the room, wow, this is awesome. Did you see the bathroom? The view.

Conclusion

Folks, I know this life can get us down. In fact, I haven’t liked it much in the last 10 days. This life can get us down. But we have eternal life in our hands. And we ought to hold on to that every day. We have passed from death to life. Are you in Christ? That’s why you need to be in Christ. You need to pass from death to life. And you need to pursue knowing Him because knowing Him is eternal life. And if we know Jesus, we know the Father. And we have this quality of life that Jesus came to give. I came that they might have life and might have it more abundantly. Don’t ever devalue it. Don’t ever underestimate its importance. Cling to it more than you cling to anything else.

And if there’s someone in our audience this morning who needs to pass from death to life, what a glorious thing it would be if we could baptize you into Christ today while we stand and sit.