Reading
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
Uh, see well.
No.
I don't know.
If you.
We.
Are.
And well.
00:05:21
We pray that I fear without liberty, teachers more of thyself. More teachers like what?
I realize we made some comments on some of these verses in John 11, but I'm gonna suggest that this morning we start reading at verse 21.
The Book of John, Chapter 11, verse 21.
Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hast been here, my brother had not died. But I know that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life, he that believeth in me, though he were dead yet.
Shall he live, And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believeth thou this she saith unto him, Yay, Lord, I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world. And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister, secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee. As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came unto him. Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him.
The Jews then, which were with her in the house, and comforted her when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily, and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth under the grave to weep there. Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet.
Saying unto him, Lord, If thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping, which came with her, he groaned in the Spirit, and was troubled, and said, Where have you laid him? And they said unto him, Lord, Come and see. Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, behold how he loved him. And some of them said, Could not this man which opened the eyes of the blind have caused that even this man should not have died? Jesus therefore again groaning in himself, cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, Take away the stone.
Martha the Son, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh, for you have been dead four days.
Jesus saith unto her, said I not unto thee, that if thou wouldst believe, thou should see the glory of God. Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid.
And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me, and I knew that Thou hearest me always, but because of the people which stand by, I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice. Lazarus come forth. And he that was dead came forth bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go. And many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.
But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done. Then gathered the chief priests, and the Pharisees, the council, and said, What do we for this man do with many miracles? If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him, and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation. And one of them named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, You know nothing at all, nor consider that it it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.
And this faking on himself but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation.
And not for that nation only, so that he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered, scattered abroad. Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death. Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews, but went thence unto a country near to the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, and there continued with his disciples and the Jews. Passover was not at hand, and many went out of the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves, Then sought they for Jesus.
And speak among themselves as they stood in the temple. What think ye that he will not come to the beast? Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a commandment that if any man knew where he were, he should show it that they might take him.
00:10:10
Well, at the end of the last reading, we mentioned how that we have Martha and Mary in the previous verse, the 9, the, uh, 20th verse, and how when the Lord Jesus was eventually approaching Bethany, Martha runs to meet him and Mary sat still in the house. And you know, we want to realize in our souls that while Martha had many lessons to learn, many things to learn in her life from the Lord Jesus and through these circumstances.
Yeah, Martha did love the Lord. They both loved the Lord. The Lord loved them, as we've been saying, but they both did love the Lord and they knew where to turn in their extremity. It's true, as we said, that Mary with perfect confidence and an understanding of the heart of her Lord, perhaps beyond Martha, because she had been at his feet on a previous occasion, she was able to sit still in the house and the blessing that came from that and so on.
But I think it's beautiful to see that Martha does know where to turn, and she rises up and she goes to to her Lord and brother. And that's the only place to turn in our sorrows. That's the only place to turn when the trials and difficulties come in life. We're thankful again, as we said yesterday, for those who come to comfort us in our sorrow, just as there were those who had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them.
But where is our real soul is going to come from, brethren? It's going to come from being in the presence of the Lord Jesus. It's going to come from going and telling him all about it. But I would like to just make another little contrasting connection with Martha and Mary before we pass on. I think it was alluded to, but it's interesting and instructive to find that when Martha comes to the Lord Jesus, she says to him, if thou hast been here, my brother had not died.
Later on, we're going to notice in the 32nd verse that when Mary comes, she says exactly the same thing. Now, I don't want to read more into Scripture than is there, but there is one thing we don't always get from the pages of the written word, and that is the intonation and the tone and the spirit in which things are sometimes said. And again, I don't want to go too far with applications and illustrations.
But I have wondered at trying to listen in to both sisters as they said these words, if while they both said the same thing, they weren't said with a little bit different intonation of the voice or in a little different spirit and attitude. Martha was right. If the Lord had been there, her brother wouldn't have died. But perhaps she said it in a little different way than Mary did I I don't want to accuse Martha of something that we're not told in in the Word of God.
But I do want to just make this little application for my own heart, and perhaps it will speak to yours as well. And that is yesterday we spoke of the different reasons that God allows trials in our life, and we had them enumerated. And Eric brought before us the different words that start with P. And that's very helpful. I would say too, that often the Lord allows circumstances in our lives to test our spirit and our attitude.
What is going to be the way we respond to himself and to others? You know, Moses had a number of tests in the wilderness in his leadership and care for the people of God. It finally got to him. They provoked his spirit and he spoke against the people of God and called them rebels. Daniel had a number of tests in his pathway and it was said of him that there was found an excellent spirit in him.
Caleb had some tests in his past pathway and it says my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him. He had the proper spirit and attitude in the in the circumstances. And so as we go through the trials and difficulties, the sorrows of life, it's often, I believe to bring out our spirit and attitude. How are we going to respond to the Lord? How are we going to respond to one another?
If we are truly walking in communion and taking our trials and tests from the hand of a loving Father and a loving Savior, then I believe our spirit will be preserved, that we might have an excellent spirit like Daniel.
00:15:11
There are two general lessons that we can get from this chapter. It may have been touched on yesterday, but uh, I just make mention of them now. And that is first of all, when trials overtake God's people, they become occasions for God to display His glory and the way in which He helps his people through them. Many people have been converted by word, watching one of the Lord's people go through diff difficulties and see how God sustains them in it and it brings glory to God.
Through it. And that's we have an earlier verse where it says this death is not but for the glory of God. But there's another thing too that we should get from this, and that is that when trials sweep over the Lord's people, God uses them for their profit and blessing and to bring them into a deeper understanding of the ways of God and the heart of God. So there's great profit for the sisters through this and there's great glory for God as a result of this.
Sometimes we sing that him our our times are in thy hands, Father, we wish them there. Sometimes you have to sing that as a prayer because sometimes we don't wish them there because we think maybe the Father has some different plans for us than what we have.
And I was thinking of that burn in the verses that follow with Martha here, because again, in practical application, she said, I know he'll rise in the last day and so on at the resurrection, but she wasn't counting on something happening right then. And sometimes there's two sides to it. Sometimes we want things to happen sooner, quicker than the Lord has planned or our Father has planned, not realizing he has a perfect timetable for us. And sometimes we don't see things happen because.
We don't ask in faith. We don't expect Him to work. And as Bruce said, a situation like this in our lives is often the time when He can show His power and His glory. Not just to sit a trial or a situation, but a hopeless situation. You know, God brings us not only to trials and difficulties in our lives, but to those things that are humanly impossible, humanly speaking, hopeless. This was a humanly impossible situation.
For their brother to ever combat be restored to them in this life. But this was the very opportunity where as we said yesterday, glory was going to be brought to God and glory to the Lord Jesus. And as we noticed yesterday, and we'll notice it again perhaps today if we get when we get on with the chapter, Many of the Jews that came to marry believed on him when they saw the power of the Lord Jesus to raise one from the dead.
There's a lovely verse that supports that point that you make in Job. If you turn to Job 37, and I believe it's verse seven, it says he sealeth up the hand of all men that all might know His word. He puts us in a position or a situation where it is humanly impossible, as you've been saying. Then he comes in and unravels the whole problem and he gets the glory.
She kind of rebuked the Lord here, though, didn't she? She said. If you would have been here, you know?
It wouldn't have happened. Why weren't you here?
Umm hum.
Raspberry, perhaps the information was, Lord, that thou hast been here, my brother had not died. And it makes a big difference. But mm-hmm, mm-hmm. I don't know. It's like instead of we can't really say, but I've enjoyed that rather than it's to me, it seems like with Martha, she wasn't so focused on the Lord as Mary was.
And so when she says, I know that you will rise again at the resurrection of the last day, the Lord Jesus, his response is to present himself as the resurrection and the right, a brother and his person that we need to become enraptured with every situation, every circumstance he is allowed to happen so that we might prune the fullness.
00:20:30
That is in him so this time.
I am the reservation in my life.
Is it gonna be at the last day? You knew it would happen then?
But was there? Was this the last day or now it was the Lord Jesus that was going?
As we said, what they said was true. And I thought of it in connection with recently reading something of the life of Dwight Al Moody when he was a young man just starting out as a gospel preacher, and the first time he was ever asked to take a funeral, he wasn't sure what to say. And so he thought, well, I'll find a funeral sermon that the Lord Jesus preached when he was here.
Well, he searched the four gospels and he realized that the Lord Jesus never preached a funeral sermon.
How could death last in the presence of the Lord Jesus, when the widow of named Son was coming out being carried in his coffin?
I touched the coffin and raised him from the dead when he entered the house where the 12 year old girl was lying dead while he took her by the hand and raised him up. When He comes to the tomb of Lazarus, could death exist? No Lazarus come forth. Mr. Moody said all. I realized that the Lord of life, death could not exist in the presence of the Lord of life. He never preached a funeral sermon. Many of us have preached many funeral sermons waiting for a coming day of resurrection. But here the Lord has something for these sisters right now then, and that was the restoration to them of their brother in resurrection.
No doubt the center of attention here in that story's last service.
And he's giving us in the first verse of a certain man, and his name is mentioned.
But we don't hear anything about Lazarus that he called for Jesus or that he called for medicine and and that he said anything.
The whole story through Lazarus doesn't say a word.
And that puzzles.
All the answers are speaking. The women are speaking.
The Lord Jesus is speaking.
The disciples are speaking. Have something to say.
The Bathurst before he is dead, he said nothing.
After his resurrection, he didn't say a word.
This thing couldn't have happened today to be overwhelmed by the news media.
I had to tell her it's great to go anything and everybody else, and there were many people coming to see Lazarus.
I've been resurrected.
Is very present in life after his resurrection was a powerful message to the power of the Lord's resurrection.
Which is that the power of the Lord is resurrected in such a death.
When my father-in-law got saved near the end of his life, my father-in-law was a very quiet man. He was not a dynamic person. He was not a person who would, if I can speak reverently, jump up and down and say I'm saved. In fact, when my wife called me to say that her father had accepted the Lord, I thought, well I hope it's true, I'll wait and see. The Lord had brought my father-in-law to what seemed like the brink of eternity, saved his soul.
And then pulled him back for four years and though he was not a dynamic man and set a man of very few words, said no more than was absolutely necessary than to convey a thought for four years in the village of in the out port of your harbor, Newfoundland. He was a tremendous testimony. And I have heard since his passing about 11 months ago, nine months ago, I have heard multitudes of people say.
00:25:27
Your father-in-law had a wonderful testimony, just his quiet presence.
There in that village where he had spent most of his life, everyone that entered that home and passed that house knew that Gerald Byrne was now the Lord. And we find that, and with Lazarus in the next chapter, he's not saying anything again. He's just sitting in fellowship and quiet communion with his Lord. But what a testimony. And little did Lazarus realize when he came forth from the tomb, when he sat at meat later on with the Lord, little did he realize.
That his quiet testimony would be recorded in law's eternal record, not only for the encouragement of those at the time, but for the encouragement and blessing of you and me today to read of this man coming forth in resurrection, to read of him sitting at the table later on in communion. What a testimony. He didn't need to say anything. His quiet testimony has been a blessing to, I dare say, multitudes and multitudes.
Who have read this down through the ages?
It would be that she had a knowledge of the general resurrection.
But he did not realize that the Lord was going to.
Raise Lazarus very shortly.
And, and I, I just, uh, oftentimes haven't you noticed that when we read scripture, we read and we get the full story, we get the history, but in the meantime, these Martha and Mary.
Now, often times when our loved ones are laid aside, we try out.
We have one by all means his will fourteen knows what is best for that One of the joints of the trial that may not even be able to be raised a prayer help and we're next to them and we realized that the one who is able does not at that moment.
But here we read the rest of the story and Lazarus is raised from among the dead. I say from among the dead because there are others that perhaps that the Lord hadn't called him by name under the Arisen as well. But but the point is that when we go through a trial, when we go through and we're in the middle of it, it's difficult for us to look beyond but to be reminded. And this is such, so wonderful. I understand the election and the life.
He is the one that.
00:30:02
Had risen victoriously from a moment ahead and he's at the father's right hand and he is that a man in glory and the first fruit of resurrection and and what a promise we have and to realize that and I'm thinking of in Jeremiah 32 it says behold verse 27. Behold I am the Lord I am Jehovah God of all flesh. Is there anything to hard.
We have to take that place.
And able in his mind to answer his prayer according to his will. And that's what we have to learn. And so Mark and Mary are taking through that and each one different personality, different ways in which the Lord is dealing with them. Feeling so sweetly is less of this. So I just wonder, uh, in answer to your question too, if it says.
Uh.
My brother what the Lord said, and her 23 My brother's arrived again, Martha said. I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
The Lord has been reminded that I have the resurrection on the life.
Either believe us in me, though you are dead yet till he lives. So we know that sort of raises laughter.
And I I enjoy this climate. Therefore, in the ministry that it's just a little more case, little encouragement to the disciples that when any time of their own.
Masters or pass through time of suffering and death, and laid aside as he is misdirected from life.
It is quite possible that she had that in mind, because this is at the very close of the Lord's life, and she would have known and heard that Jihad's daughter had been raised by him, and she would have known and heard that the widow of Sinane's son had been raised.
But she does not go so far as to to command or ask the Lord's choice. She shows a spirit of submission.
And he tests her faith by saying, your brother shall rise again. And then they speak about the resurrection of the last day. We must remember that this resurrection of the last day, the, the, the resurrection that he's referring to here is a resurrection, what we call the first resurrection to, to glory.
Lazarus was not going to be raised in this chapter in that character of resurrection. It was a resuscitation really, more than a resurrection to glory. He would have to die again.
So it was quite a little different, but quite possible, brother Steve, that what you say?
Could be true. Yeah. I was thinking exactly the same thing. But even if she had heard that, she didn't seem to have much faith that the Lord would do it, did she? She immediately just thinks of the future resurrection. But as we were speaking yesterday, there is a double meaning to resurrection here, isn't there? It's not only resurrection in the last day which she had, which she understood at least in part. Perhaps she only understood a general resurrection, perhaps.
And the Lord gives us further teaching on that. But again, if we look at the dispensational outline here, the real point here is that man is dead and that the only blessing for mankind is in new creation, which is based on death and resurrection. That's the great secret here, isn't it? If we look at it from a broader standpoint. So she didn't, she wasn't looking so much at the future resurrection. But the lesson here is.
The short term resurrection again, that's what John gives us. He gives us the final failure of mankind and the only means of blessing for mankind, not just in the future resurrection, true as that is, but in new creation which we have in Christianity.
It's interesting too, in connection with what Bruce has said, and I was thinking of it, that.
A man like Lazarus raised from the dead. He entered the grave again later on, as did the others who were raised by the Lord, including those that were raised at the resurrection when the two the graves were open and many came out of the holy city and appeared to many. And it's interesting that apart from those, there the three specific individuals that are raised by the Lord Jesus in his pathway, where all the oldest was a man, Lazarus in his prime.
00:35:30
They were younger, a 12 year old girl, the widow of named son Lazarus. I have no doubt a man in his prime. The Lord never we read. I've raised an elderly person from the dead. Why it really wouldn't have been merciful to raise an elderly person from the dead who if the aches and pains of life and the limitations of old age or about to go through those things. And so it was always those who were were younger in those three specific cases.
Because, and I think it's important to realize it was more of a resuscitation. It was a temporary thing and it was those who would have had a life before them, naturally speaking, that he raised.
This is really changing things, isn't it? It's, it's, uh, it gives the Lord the opportunity to set aside the law as it were, and to present himself as the one the I am.
He is God and as God, he has the power and source of both resurrection and life. But now it's a change condition, isn't it? It's not on what you can do by keeping the law. It's it's by faith, isn't it? So he finishes it by saying, uh, in verse 25, Jesus saith unto her, I am the resurrection and the life and he that believeth in me. Now that's different, isn't it? It's different than what it was before because this is taking up a whole change of things.
Uh, as to man in his lost condition, unable to pro to, to do anything in himself to please God, he's failed in every way. And now there's a new source for this life and it's through Christ. And it says he that believeth in me, though he were dead.
Yet so he lived and so it's, it's developing something, umm, a greater than what Martha could have ever understood, uh, as to what was going to happen through Christ finished work. And so we mentioned yesterday I think it's uh, perhaps I think it's a help. I know a number weren't here yesterday, but.
Brother Eric Smith used to mention that John's Gospel can be divided into three parts quite easily.
And we remember from the very first chapter, he came unto his own and his own received him not. And So what we have rather in the 1St 11 Chapters is imparting of new life. This is the climax of the first section. And that the, uh, the theme there is life. And as we can see, ultimately it's life and resurrection in new creation. And then secondly, as we see beginning in chapter 12 is more or less.
Transitional, but in chapters 13 through 17 we have the so-called Upper Room ministry.
And there he's giving them light as to their new position, which we know of course would be Christianity. And then of course, in the last chapters, 18 to the end, we have love There the Lord demonstrated his love in the most absolute way possible and some, and, and he also demonstrated it in restoring Peter too, didn't he, in the last chapter? So again, uh, we have those three things.
A A simple Outline of the Book of John. Life, Light and Love.
The epistle is divided that way as well. John's epistle. There are some 10 different incidences like this in Scripture.
There are some 10 different incidences like this in scripture. Help me now.
Elijah raised the son of the woman of Surrepta. Elisha raised the woman's son that was with son and the son he died.
Umm he they cast the bones of of a man into Elijah Elijah's grave, and he man was revived and lived.
Then you have the three cases that Jim mentioned in the life of the Lord Jesus. That would be 6. There's the 727th chapter of Matthew when in his resurrection the grace were open some rays. There was darkest Peter raised Dorcas, and there was Utica's.
00:40:01
So I don't know if I got them all, but uh, there is a number of incidences like this in Scripture. None of them are to do with the resurrect, first resurrection of glory. And the first resurrection to glory has three phases to it. Christ, the first fruits and they which are his that is coming is the second, which will be what we're looking for, waiting for the rapture.
And then at the end of the tribulation period, after all the martyred Saints in the tribulation, the number reaches the total that God would have, then they are raised just at the period of Christ. All are partake in what we call the first resurrection, which is a resurrection of glory.
Yes, and that's what distinguishes the first resurrection. Everyone involved in the first resurrection has a heavenly portion. Those tribulation martyrs, they go directly to to to heaven. I used to ponder why they had their part in the first resurrection when it was after the rapture and so on. But Eve, I say again, everyone that has their part in the first resurrection has a heavenly portion for eternity. Mm-hmm.
Is there any different help on uh non 529?
Well, there's 1000 years plus between these two events, isn't there? Because those that come forth onto damnation are going to be raised to stand at the Great White Throne Judgment. And they're going to stand there in their sins. They're going to be naked before God, so to speak. And they're going to be, the books are going to be opened and they're going to be judged and they're going to be taken and cast hand and foot into the lake of fire. It's called the second death.
It's eternal separation from God.
So we're looking for an event to take place now, the rapture, the coming of Christ. Then after the dead in Christ arise and we with them rise to meet the Lord in the air, then we know there's going to be a number of events, including the tribulation. There's going to be the Millennium and so on, and then the great White Throne. Judgment is the last great act of time and the first great act of eternity. It really is what bridges time and eternity. They're raised to stand there.
And the reason they're there is because they've rejected God's testimony, whatever it was, in the age in which they lived, they rejected God's testimony. And they're there for that, for that final judgment. And it will be a very solemn thing. If there's someone here today and you're not saved and you're not looking forward to the momentary return of the Lord Jesus, which may be before this meeting is concluded, then you will be raised too. But let me just say this a little different.
You know, we talk about life and those of us who know Christ, we have eternal life and we're going to live with Christ forever. But I've often said in commenting about the wicked dead that are raised, they are going to exist in a lost eternity with a body that has feelings and emotions. They'll be tormented, they'll feel, I believe, thirst and they'll have a conscience to gnaw at them for all eternity.
But rather than say they live for eternity, I prefer to say they exist for eternity because life has to do with those who are, who are in Christ, those who are associated with Christ. It's heath light. He's not just the giver of life, He's life himself. The resurrection and the life. I am the way, the truth and the life. It's John's ministry. And so we're going to live with Christ for all eternity.
Where the possessors of eternal life, Now we're going to the same life we're going to have for eternity. The wicked dead are going to exist. Perhaps it's better to say than to live. They're going to exist for all eternity. But it will be eternal separation. And so awful will it be that it's called the second death. It's eternal separation from God, his love, and from Christ. Believers that have died live, live again, don't they? Yeah, but it says in Revelation.
When they stood before the great white throne, I saw the dead, small and great stand before. God never says they live again. That doesn't mean, of course, soul death. As we said yesterday, they're fully conscious. We know that for all eternity. But nonetheless, they're spiritually dead. That's the second death.
00:45:05
Debt is separation. Yeah, they're separated from God forever. Thank.
You, Vern, and we said that sleep is taken up in three different ways yesterday and death is as well. And death always denotes the separation of two things. Physical death is in James. The body without the spirit is dead. You know, we talked yesterday about near death experiences and so on. Only God knows when the spirit leads the body. And so the spirit it's the separation of the body and the spirit. The body without the spirit is dead. Spiritual death. We're born we're we're dead in trespasses and sin. Why?
Because your iniquities have separated between you and your God, sin has separated. You see that immediately in the garden. Sin separated Adam from the communion and fellowship he enjoyed with his, with his creator God. So sin separates. And then the second death, as we said, it's referred to as death because it's eternal separation from God. So what we have here is, is the development of a deeper relationship that will go on forever.
Mm-hmm. Yeah. So it says here, it says umm. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. It's just the opposite of what we're talking about, of those who will never enjoy the presence of God ever. For us, it's just the opposite. We will never die. We will always enjoy the presence of God and his love forever.
Now it's interesting, isn't it, that as the Lord brings this out to Martha, he seems to be talking about things that she doesn't understand. And I've wondered, brethren, if that isn't why she goes and calls for Mary. You know, we mentioned yesterday that Mary of Bethany speaks to us of divine intelligence and divine things, having sat at the feet of the Lord Jesus as a learner in Luke 10.
She seemed to enter into things more. And let me repeat what somebody else said yesterday. But I think it's helpful that that's why you never see Mary later on, either at the foot of the cross or at the empty tomb. You see other Mary's there like Mary Magdalene, because she's a picture of divine affection, of affection and divine things. And it was right and proper in her character to be both at the foot of the cross and at the empty tomb. But Mary, Speaking of divine intelligence, is not there.
And I wonder if Martha didn't realize this at that point. And here the Lord is talking about some pretty deep things, some things that really she hasn't been able to grasp and enter into. So to me, it's just as if Martha's I, I'm gonna call Mary, she'll understand. Mary will know what the Lord is talking about. Now, it's true, as we said yesterday, that we don't read of the Lord telling her to go and call for Mary. Maybe he did, maybe he didn't. Again, we don't want to read in more than is there.
But nevertheless, I suggest that Martha goes and calls for Mary, and one reason at least is because she realizes that Mary has more intelligence in these things than she did. And isn't there a little practical lesson for us? You know, I'm thankful for brethren that I can go to, and I know they're going to give me a script and an answer from the Word of God to some question or enigma I have that I haven't been perhaps close enough to the Lord or sitting at his feet enough to enter into. But I say, oh, that brother's been sitting at the feet of Jesus. That brother's been studying the Word of God.
I know that brother will give me an answer that's according to Scripture. Martha seemed to recognize that in Mary. And I'm thankful for sisters who've been a help to me in that regard, too. Not just some brothers, but I've had some Marys in my life who've been a tremendous help when it comes to the truth of God.
Might we say though, in the end of verse 26?
Martha has just been given a tremendous revelation and he says believe us thou. This verse 27 is a pretty deep thing to say.
He saith unto him, Yeah, Lord, I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which cometh into the world. That's a tremendous thing to say. And she's learned this by going through a great trial, that Christ has identified himself with her and has instructed her in a more perfect way, in a more rich and wonderful way, and she seems to acknowledge it.
00:50:04
Am I? Am I is that wrong?
Yes, she does. But yet I wonder if she really understood even what she says by faith here. What do you think, Bruce? Yeah, could be.
But it is a tremendous, it's a tremendous statement to make. Like Peter, who had said, thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Found again, it is the budding of Christianity, isn't it? That's the real theme here. We can talk about resurrection and we can bring that in here, but the real theme, she understood the resurrection in the future days. She didn't understand the two resurrections. Think that's Christian truth only, isn't it? But she did, she did under.
She did understand the future resurrection, but that wasn't the issue and what the Lord is bringing before her in that verse she mentioned that I believe is that.
There's going to be a new creation, and that's Christianity. And that again why? That's again why John's gospel is often called the budding of Christianity. They're slowly being brought in to the fundamental truths of Christianity.
Would this have any, uh, bearing on Romans one and the fourth verse? Not how it reads in the King James, but just look at that verse it says.
The Son of God, he declared the Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection. Now if you read in the margin, it says of such as we're just this was a proof.
That he was the son of God, not just his resurrection, but that he raised people and, and, and like, uh, Bruce has just said it wasn't. It was just raising them up and giving them life, but they were gonna die again. But it was a proof that he could do that. So it showed that he was the son of God. Is that what that first means? Yes. And that word dead. Yeah. That you just read to the resurrection.
From the dead, a resurrection of the dead. The word dead there in the original language is in the plural, so it should be in the resurrection of dead ones. Yeah. Including his own resurrection. Yeah. So this would be referring to the widow's name, Son, this daughter Lazarus, and so on.
It was resurrection, wasn't it? You mentioned the word resuscitation. I think resurrection was a better way, don't you think? Because people talk about people being re resuscitated. It wasn't that he did raise him from the dead. What you mean, I think is that he was, he raised them to that natural life that was switched to his diet reference to. But it was resurrection. Yeah, not yet necessary. Good. Kind of like that. And we know that because he's been dead 4 days. There was no doubt.
And he said, uh, he was starting to dictate the body was starting to break down. And I believe the Lord allowed those four days. I know there's a prophetic character, dispensational character, as we mentioned yesterday. But I believe the Lord allowed those four days in the beginning of the deterioration of the body to make it very clear that this was res indeed resurrection. He'd been dead four days.
Well, it's interesting too, that when Mary rises up to go to meet the Lord, the Jews follow her. As we said yesterday, Mary had a great testimony, but they thought they were going to follow her to the grave. That's not where Mary was going. Mary was going to the feet of Jesus. It wasn't to go to the grave, but it was to go to the one who was the resurrection and the life, the one she knew could comfort her and her her sorrow.
And it's interesting too, as you go through this account, we find that Martha, she talks to the Lord, but not Mary. She goes beyond that. She weeps with the Lord, she weeps at the feet of Jesus. But it's interesting too, that when Martha goes, it doesn't say she goes to the feet of Jesus, but when Mary goes, she not only goes to the Lord, but she goes to his feet. Now, why? Well, again, and I don't want to sound mundane or repetitive, but it is interesting that there are only three times in the Gospels.
That Mary of Bethany is mentioned by name. Now I stress by name because I think there's other times she's alluded to, but not by name. And in all, on all three occasions, she's at the feet of Jesus. She's at the feet of Jesus, as we said earlier, as a learner in Luke chapter 10, she sat at His feet and heard His word. If we were to go ahead to the 12Th chapter of John, she's at his feet again, and there she's at his feet as a worshipper.
00:55:24
Here she's out of his feet in sorrow in connection with the death of his brother. Brethren, where do we go when there are trials and difficulties? Do we go to the feet of Jesus? That's where we're going to find the real comfort. That's where we're going to find the strength for the the situation. That's where we can truly weep and find solace. And so going to having sat at his feet as a learner, she entered into his heart.
And now she knew where to turn in her sorrow, and she goes and falls at her feet.
You know she wet his feet with tears, as a Sinner perhaps, but now she wept his feet as in her tears as a St. As a St. And brethren, we can do that and just think of the Lord of life and glory standing there.
In the town of Bethany.
And that woman weeping at his feet must have really touched his heart. Think of how his heart was touched and how it must have meant to him to have one he loved so much.
Come to him, knowing what he was going to do, but allowing her to weep at his feet and to find her soul is there before he comes to the grave and rat razors her brother. We can understand why she would weep.
But why did the Lord weep when He had the solution right at hand?
Because He had a heart of sympathy, and He entered into their difficulty, their trouble, and sorrowed with them, even though He had right at hand and He was about to exercise the remedy and raised Lazarus. This is the Lord that we have as a Savior, and I wouldn't trade Him for anything. What a wonderful Savior we have. He's a comforter as well. Is this Isaiah 53?
Where he bore our greens and carried our sorrows.
What a commentary that is.
The Lord Jesus walking through the creation that he had made.
And seeing it in the condition that it was, how he felt it.
Brethren, it's not wrong to groan.
Burlington is not complaining.
Raise a complaint.
Saying I'm not.
An agreement with what's happening here. The groaning is recognizing that things are not the way God mentioned to be. They had fallen into such a state of decay that when the Lord looked at it, he groaned.
He was troubled.
It's not amazing to think about brother in 2000 John 14 last night your heart be troubled.
He was troubled.
He spelled it completely everything that.
This world is going through now he feels that God is not insensitive, healed equally.
Could we say there's a difference between uh, where it says he groaned and wept, the identification with the sufferings and the feelings of those that are suffering? But when it says later in verse 2038, it says Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. That seems more personal.
It's the groaning that you have in verse 38 is a groaning over the hardness of the heart of man and the unbelief.
And him because you look at the floor that it's verse 37. Some of them said, could this man which opened the eyes of a blind could have caused even this dead man to have died. There was no faith there in that statement. And Jesus therefore connecting it again, groaning in himself. And so the Lord the mighty Savior groans over the hardness and the unbelief that sin has affected in his creatures that they could be so blind when the light was shining at full day strength in the daytime.
01:00:11
Right in their faces, they were standing in the presence of him who was like, they couldn't see it, couldn't see it. And he groaned. You get it again in chapter 13 in connection with the, uh, Judas turn to chapter 13 and verse umm.
21.
Verse 20. To pick up the connection. Verily, verily, I stay unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send it now of.
Umm, verse 18. I speak not of you all, I know whom I have chosen, but the Scripture saith that it may be fulfilled. Edith with me, bread with me, hath lifted up his heel against me. Now I tell you before it comes, that when it is come to pass, that ye may believe that I am he, verily, verily I say unto you, he that receiveth in whomsoever I send receiveth me, and whosoever he that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me.
When Jesus had said this, he was troubled in spirit, and that could be translated. He was groaned in spirit and said, verily, and testified, saying, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray Me, and so on. And so this was the groaning that he had in connection with what sin and Satan had done in the heart of this poor S poor Sinus Judas, that he would turn against the Lord and betray him. At that time. He felt that keenly in his soul. These are what we call.
That the sufferings of a martyr, not just suffer in his body being beaten by a man and so on, and eventually crucified, but he suffered the reproach and the rejection. It goes along with martyrdom, and he felt it keenly. In fact, his heart and soul flashed forward at this moment, right down through the long range of time to the tribulation period when the Jewish remnant will suffer at the hands of Antichrist. And he entered into the sufferings of the remnant at this time.
And empathize with regard to their situation as well. And it's beautiful, isn't it, to see that before you have his groaning as to what we've just been saying. He groans and weeps in sympathy with these two sisters. He felt it. I'd like to go back to Ed's comment a moment ago about Isaiah 53, verse four, because that has been a very misapplied verse.
But let's read it in Matthew's Gospel when the Lord when it's quoted in connection with the Lord Jesus in his pathway in Matthew chapter 8, because there you really get the context. That verse in Isaiah 53 does not refer to his atoning sufferings at the cross as it has been misapplied. But we find in Matthew chapter 8 and verse 16 when the even when the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils.
And he cast out spirits with his word and healed all that were sick, that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet saying, now he's going to quote the verse himself, took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses, showing that as the Lord Jesus went about and as he came in contact and touched the leper, put his eyes hand on the eyes of the blind, touched the ear of the deaf, he felt with that person very keenly.
What they were going through and the effects that sin had brought into this to this world. And so we find now at the grave of Lazarus, at the end of his pathway, he's still feeling this very keenly. Now what I want to say next, I want to say very, very carefully, brother, but I do believe this, that after 30 some years of life in this world, the Lord Jesus never became insensitive or indifferent to sin and its effect.
Not beautiful to realize.
He felt it just as keenly at the end of his pathway. And I say that because you and I tend to get used to sin and its effects. We mentioned it the other day, but not just in connection with sin, but just the trials and difficulties of life. You know, we, we go through something, maybe we lose several loved ones in a row or family or friends. And you know, we kind of get callous. We built up, build up some scales and we kind of become callous and maybe even a little indifferent to it.
01:05:01
We go through some sickness or trial and after a while we kind of slide into neutral and, and, and, and we, we, we become a little insensitive to it. But the Lord Jesus never did. And as we mentioned yesterday and let me re quote the verse of a hymn we quoted yesterday. He in the days of feeble flesh poured out his cries and tears. And though ascended feels afresh what every member bears 2000 years plus since he's ascended, if he still feeling it as keenly as he felt it.
At the grave of Lazarus. Did he feel the sorrow of Jeff and Heidi as keenly yesterday as they stood by the grave, as he did when he stood by the grave of Lazarus? Indeed he did. And thou ascended fields afresh. What every member bears. How wonderful, brethren, do you and I really appreciate and enjoy this precious truth that He's there with us in the trial. He's living for us as our high priest. He's not only sympathizing, but he's empathizing with us.
So we've said already there's nothing you and I passed through in the path of faith and service that He doesn't feel keenly himself. He was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. He felt their infirmities and sicknesses when he was here, and he feels them afresh with you and with me. Oh, you say nobody knows what I'm going through. Just look up. There's one on the right hand of God that does. There's a.
Good luck. Dairy, domestic. We becoming we become insensitive sometimes. And sometimes I and I'm sad to say I've even said it to my girls. Well, deal with it. We gotta get on with life. Just grit your teeth and de and deal with it. The Lord never became insensitive to what any of his own pass through when he was here. And he'll never be insensitive to anything we passed through. But you were gonna say something, Bruce.
Well I was just gonna say there is 1/3 occasion when the Lord Jesus groaned.
This is at the cross.
It says and I no, it says in Psalm 22, My God, my God.
Why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou silent from the the roaring of my words? The word roaring is groaning. The words of my groaning if you check that.
I didn't quote diverse property, but from the words of my roaring should be translated from the words of my groaning.
So in this Tabernacle we groan, and the whole creation groan. Every level of creation feels the effects of sin. And so again, it's not wrong to groan. The Lord groaned, as you say in his pathway. He groaned at the cross and we groan, but He fully understands.
How someone could help us with this thought? But very interesting that when it says Jesus wept and it's the only time I believe in scripture that this word web is referred to.
He weeps in loop 19 but it's a different word for weekly and it's carries with the thought of a *** or a audible moaning or feeling. But here when he wept.
It's a silent thing. It's just simply the shedding of tears without feeling any sound, and it shows, perhaps.
The sympathy that he had in his heart. We've often been in a situation where if the.
Silent tears that comes forth, nothing said, but it's a tender feeling. I'll grab someone to compromise. I thought it was remarkable. But it's the only time we can be first and then always a particular way.
I was going to mention that myself, but the whaling is what the other word is in Luke 19. He, he was a weeping out laudably, but here it is weeping of silent tears. That's the actual meaning of the word.
01:10:01
There's another occasion when we find that the Lord web that's the Garden of Gethsemane.
Hebrews chapter 5 says that he prayed to him who was able to save him from death with strong crying and tears.
So you have another example there.
So our blessed Savior was truly a man. As uh, umm, brother, sister has been mentioning, He is indeed a man. He feels things that all men feel. That's the point I'm sure that we're making here.
And he's a savior that enters into every trial and every problem that we have. But he likes us to bring the problem to him. And that's what the your sisters did, and they got a blessing from it.
I know the.
First divisions aren't inspired, but it's often been pointed out the contrast of the two shortest V verses in our English Bible. In the New Testament, the first divisions are very helpful, but this is perhaps the shortest verse in our English version. Well, I'd say perhaps it is. Jesus wept what volumes it speaks. But if we go over to 1St Thessalonians 5, we have the second shortest verse, at least as far as English letters are concerned.
Rejoice evermore. And what a contrast that is. Rather than the one who groaned and wept as he walked through this world is now the one who, as the man of patience, is living for us at the right hand of God and waiting for the moment when he's going to have us with himself. And he says, in the meantime, rejoice evermore. That doesn't mean we don't weep. It doesn't mean we become insensitive to the things we pass through. But I think Paul summed it up rather succinctly. He said sorrowful.
Yet always rejoicing, Paul felt very keenly what he and his brethren were going through. Paul no doubt shed many tears. In fact, he says to the Ephesian elders serving the Lord with many tears. And those tears were no doubt, at least in part, for the difficulties and circumstances that many he knew were going through. And he says sorrowful, yet always rejoice things through the sorrow. Brethren, we can rejoice evermore. We don't just have a lot to rejoice in, we have everything to rejoice in.
In Romans 8 we have 3 groanings. In Romans 8 there are three groanings.
Time's up, maybe we can take it up next time we're together. But there's three groanings in Romans 8. Very instructive.
225.
01:15:42
Nsnoise I still haven't done.
My.
Lawn and by never.
Taking.
The forecast.