Andy Sochor September 28, 2009

Raising Lazarus

Text: John 11

Nature of Miracles

True miracles cannot be faked, attributed to coincidence, or be just an unlikely event
True miracles are undeniable – Even Jesus’ enemies acknowledged the legitimacy of His miracle (v. 47-48)
Miracles were performed to produce faith (v. 45; John 20:30-31)

God Allows Human Suffering

Jesus knew Lazarus was sick (v. 3-4), allowed him to remain sick and die (v. 6,11-14) – Why does God allow this?
So that He might be glorified (v. 4,40; cf. 1 Peter 2:12)
To cause us to grow (James 1:2-4)

Resurrection & Life

Jesus had the power to raise the dead and grant them eternal life (v. 25-26)
This point has been made repeatedly in John’s gospel (John 3:14-15; 4:13-14; 6:47-51,54; 8:52; 10:28)
Foreshadowing of Jesus’ own resurrection (John 10:17-18; Matthew 16:21)

Response of Jesus’ Enemies

The chief priests and Pharisees knew what Jesus did, but conspired against Him anyway (v. 47) – Why?
They were concerned about their own position of power (v. 48)
Sadly, people willfully reject the truth if it does not personally benefit them in this life

Filed Under: Jesus, New Testament, people of the Bible Tagged With: eternal life, faith, growth, Jesus, Lazarus, miracles, resurrection, suffering

Jesus Christ came to set us free from the bondage of sin (Romans 6:3-6; John 8:34-36). Yet many Christians are content to remain enslaved to it. They have been convinced that we can never defeat sin; therefore, they have resigned themselves to the belief that they will always struggle with it.

Yet the Bible does not present the removal of sin from one’s life as an unattainable ideal but as a realistic goal. Paul said there is a way of escape for every temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13). Peter spoke of what one needs to do so that he will never stumble (2 Peter 1:10). John wrote so that we may not sin (1 John 2:1). Jesus told the woman allegedly caught in adultery, “Go. From now on sin no more” (John 8:11).

But how can we successfully remove sin from our lives? We first need to understand the reasons why we sin so we can learn how to find the way of escape. This material has been written to help each one of us overcome sin, rather than struggling with it perpetually.

The second edition also contains questions at the end of each chapter to aid in personal and group Bible studies. There is also an appendix at the end with additional articles related to sin and temptation. This book is available in paperback and digital formats.

Click here for more information and to download a sample of the book.