We have now our second reading from God's Word, again from the Gospel story, but this time from John's Gospel, and we're going to begin in chapter 11 at verse 45, and we're going to read on a few verses into the following chapter too. So it's John's Gospel, chapter 11, beginning at verse 45. Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary and had seen the things Jesus did believed in him. But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things that Jesus did. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, what shall we do? For this man works many signs. If we let him alone like this, everyone will believe in him and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation. And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, you know nothing at all, nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people and not that the whole nation should perish. Now this he did not say on his own authority, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation. And not for that nation only, but also that he would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad. Then from that day on, they plotted to put him to death. Therefore Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews. but went from there into the country near the wilderness to a city called Ephraim and there remained with his disciples. And the Passover of the Jews was near and many went from the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves. Then they sought Jesus and spoke among themselves as they stood in the temple, what do you think, that he will not come to the feast? Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a command that if anyone knew where he was, he should report it, that they might seize him. Then six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, who had been raised from the dead, whom he had raised from the dead. There they made him a supper, and Martha served. But Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with him. Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. Then one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray him, said, why was this fragrant oil not sold for 300 denarii and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief. and had the money box, and he used to take what was put in it. Then Jesus said, let her alone. She has kept this for the day of my burial. For the poor you have with you always, but me you do not have always. Then a great many of the Jews knew that he was there, and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. But the chief priests took counsel that they might also put Lazarus to death because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus. We'll conclude our reading there as we thank the Lord for his own word. Now the Lord Jesus Christ, as you know, worked many mighty miracles. He walked on water, he stilled the storm, he turned water into wine, he healed the sick, he gave sight to the blind, he gave hearing to the deaf, he enabled the paralyzed to walk. And all these are amazing miracles. As you read them you say, this is amazing. Of course it is amazing, but When you take into account that he is God the Son, you think, oh, that's just the kind of thing you would do, work these miracles. But if we had to choose the greatest miracle he performed during his ministry, we would probably think of the raising of the dead, wouldn't we? All those other miracles, glorious, wonderful, but this, I suppose, stands out above all the others. Head and shoulders, if you like, above all the others. Jesus Christ actually raised the dead. And the Gospel story records three occasions when he did that. The widow's son at Nain, Jairus' daughter, and we might say the most startling and wonderful was the raising of Lazarus. Because Lazarus had not only died, but he had been in the grave for four days. And perhaps we can imagine the scene, we can picture it. There is the tomb, there is Lazarus within it, and Jesus stands outside and he says, Lazarus, come out! And this man came out alive and well. In one sense, it was not surprising. This was the voice that raises the dead. This was the voice of the Son of God. And Lazarus had to come out. He was empowered to come out. The life, as it were, went flowing from Jesus Christ. And this once dead man is alive again. Now, you would have thought, after that, that things would be going well for Jesus. He has showed, revealed his power in the most startling way. Not only that, of course, his teaching had been so wonderful. And yet, that was not the case. The very opposite, in fact. The record of Lazarus' resurrection is found in John's Gospel chapter 11. But if you have your Bible with you, notice the grim words, if you will, of verse 53 of that chapter. Then from that day on they plotted to put him, that is Jesus, to death. So things are heading for a climax. They're inexorably working towards suffering and death. for the Lord Jesus Christ. The religious leaders are out to get him, to kill him. Look at the last verse of that chapter 2. Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a command that if anyone knew where he was, he should report it, that they might seize him. So they issued a warrant for his arrest. What does Jesus do? First one of chapter 12, then six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, who had been dead, whom he'd raised from the dead. Jesus is moving towards danger, not away from it. Bethany. That's where he gets to. And Bethany is only about two miles away from Jerusalem. There's Jerusalem. There's Calvary. There's the cross. And Jesus is traveling now towards that cross. He knew it was there. He could have gone in the opposite direction. But in another sense, he couldn't go in the opposite direction because he knew this was the Father's will for him. He had to go there. He had to travel onwards toward that cross. And that's what he's doing here. The day referred to there in verse one is probably a Saturday, the last Saturday before his death. So he's got less than a week to live. Then six days before the Passover. This is the Passover at which Jesus will die. Let's try and get a flavor now what's actually happening here. For one thing, as we've said, Bethany was so near Jerusalem, which meant that Jesus was so near the cross. For another, the order of the religious leaders to arrest Jesus had been given out. They want him put in custody. And then there was that amazing recent miracle. Lazarus had become, because of that, something of a local celebrity. And it was the Passover. which meant that Jerusalem would be crowded in fact as many as 180,000 people would be at the feast. So you can, as it were, combine all these things together and say now this is the situation in John's Gospel chapter 12 and things are heading inexorably towards a climax. Something's happening. It was an electric atmosphere. There was excitement in the air. There were hopes, there were fears. But before anything dramatic and climactic occurs, Jesus takes a little while out of things, as it were. And it's a bit of an oasis, isn't it, when he goes to that supper at Bethany. But this evening we're not concerned with that wonderful time that Jesus had there. We're concerned this evening with verses nine to 11. Just notice verse nine. then a great many of the Jews knew that he was there, and they came not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. And so the word was spreading rapidly, and people say, have you heard? Jesus is traveling towards Jerusalem. Yes, he's in Bethany already, and it seems as though he's going there. That's the situation. The people are fascinated by Jesus, and no wonder, but it's a very fickle crowd. It's at this point that they're very excited about Jesus, although the religious leaders are the very opposite. Some are so excited because of what he did for Lazarus, that they, a little bit later, and we didn't read that part of John 12, they sing out as he travels into Jerusalem, Hosanna! And you can imagine the crowds there, they're full of excitement and joy and happiness, Hosanna, he's come at last! But, as we say, it's a fickle crowd, because that very same crowd shouted something very different a few days later. And what was that? Crucify Him! Crucify Him! The hymn puts it well. Sometimes they strew His way, and His sweet praises sing, resounding all the day, Hosannas to their King! Then, crucify is all their breath, and for His death they thirst and cry. What a difference. But now, in these few verses that we're looking at, especially verse 9, they want to see Jesus, the miracle worker. But you'll notice, according to verse 9, not only Jesus, they also want to see Lazarus. Then a great many of the Jews knew that he was there and they came, not for Jesus' sake, only, yes, we want to see Jesus, but also we want to see Lazarus. Want to see them both. It was curiosity. The love of seeing something sensational and out of the ordinary is pretty universal. Well, if you knew someone down your street had been dead for four days and then he came back from the dead, you'd want to talk to them, wouldn't you? And what questions you'd ask. You'd knock on their door and you'd say to them, I'm most interested in what happened to you. I understand you were dead. Now, one day I've got to die. And I'd like to know what it's like. You see, I've never died, I want to know. Because somewhere in the future, and maybe quite soon, I'm gonna die. What happened? Did you see something? Did you hear something? What happened when you died? And no doubt that people ask Lazarus that. But we don't know what Lazarus said. We'd like to know, wouldn't we? But we don't know. Lazarus must have been asked many questions, but the replies he gave are not known. But now we're going to make a few points as we consider those three verses. And let's believe now the Lord is going to speak to us through his word. Isn't that what he does? He speaks, not through strange voices in our heads, but through this word, his word, the Bible. And our first point is this, united to Christ, united to Christ. Notice the reference to also Lazarus in verse 9. A great many of the Jews knew that he was there and they came not for Jesus sake only but that they might see also Lazarus. Notice those two words also Lazarus. They want to see Jesus, they want to see Lazarus and they want to see Jesus and Lazarus together. The one who had given life and the one who had received life. The prospect of seeing them together was most inviting. Lazarus, do you see this, is now linked to Jesus. And you, as a believer, are linked to him too. When did that happen? Let me read to you from Ephesians. Ephesians chapter one and verse four, where Paul says this, just as He chose us in Him. In Christ. When? Before the foundation of the world. Can you grasp that? That God, before you existed, got hold of you because you existed in His mind and plan and purpose. God got hold of you and put you in Christ. He united you to Christ, so that from that second on, if we can talk about eternity in seconds, in eternity, he put you in Christ. You were united to Christ then, before you existed, way, way back. And that was a tender, gracious, but firm thing that God did for you. With those hands, those divine hands of his, he put you in Christ. You became one with him. How many times the apostle Paul uses those two little words, but so profound, aren't they? In Christ. In Christ, in Christ, that's what you are. That's where you are spiritually speaking. You're in Gateshead, geographically speaking, but spiritually speaking, you're in Christ. And when did it actually happen? Well, as we say, in God's mind and will, it happened in eternity, but in your life and experience, it happened when you were converted. because you were on that broad road which was leading downwards to destruction. It was a sinful road, an evil road, a wicked road and you were travelling that quite happily. And then what happened was this, God got hold of you, in a sense just as he did in eternity in his own mind, he got hold of you and he turned you around and he placed you in Christ. And you came to Christ, willingly, happily. And you look back upon that and you say, that's the best thing that ever happened to me. I was without him once, but now I'm in him. I'm united to him. That's what God has done for us. United to Christ. Then secondly, let's notice witnessing for Christ. Witnessing for Christ. In Bethany, there was a dinner, especially arranged in honor of Jesus. Who was there? Verse two. There they made him a supper and Martha served, but Lazarus, Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with him. Yes, Lazarus was there. And the Pharisees could not deny the fact that he was there, well, alive eating and drinking and he was there within two miles of Jerusalem he's come back from the dead and he's telling everybody that he was dead and now he's alive and it's all due to Jesus and so what's he doing he is in fact a living miracle You look at this man Lazarus walking down the street and you say to yourself, he is walking down the street because Jesus brought him back from the dead. And therefore he is a living witness of the power and the grace and the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. There's a sense in which Lazarus didn't have to open his mouth just by living, just by walking down the street in Bethany or anywhere else. He was testifying to the fact, witnessing to the fact that Jesus was who he claimed to be. A living witness. Now let's apply that to ourselves. In what state were you naturally? You were dead, dead in trespasses and sins, dead to God, spiritually dead. You were locked away in the sepulcher of death, in the graveyard of hopelessness, in the tomb of helplessness. The Lord, I was dead. I could not stir my lifeless soul to come to Thee. Completely dead. Then what happened? Well, what happened to Lazarus physically happened to you spiritually. Jesus stood outside your sepulcher and just as he called Lazarus by name, so he called you by name and he said, come out. And you did. Again, as we say, gladly, happily, with great relief, you came. But now, since thou hast quickened me, I rise from sin's dark sepulcher. Raised from the dead. Because the Bible refers to that very often. Let me read Colossians chapter 3 in verse 1. If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above. And that's what Paul is saying to these believers in Colossae. You were raised with Christ. Again, notice it's with Christ. It's not separated from Christ or apart from Christ. It is with Christ, in Christ, always linked to him. There you have it, raised with Christ, united to Christ and raised with him. And like Lazarus, you've come back from the dead. And like him, you are living proof of the power and the grace and the deity of Christ. because you live a different kind of life now, a resurrected person, that's what you are. You left the grave of death and captivity to sin and you walk in newness of life. In fact, this very life that's flowing through you is the life of God now. And just as by being a believer in an unbelieving world, you're witnessing to Christ. So that people will look at you, or at least should be able to look at you and say, now look, that person is proof that Jesus Christ has power, that Jesus Christ is merciful, and that Jesus Christ is indeed God the Son. Because that person couldn't change themselves, That person hasn't been changed by the church. That person hasn't been changed by some religious rite or ceremony they've gone through. That person has been changed by Jesus Christ. Now of course, when you're given the opportunity, you will speak of the Lord Jesus. But the point just now is this, by living in this world as a Christian, Your life is testifying to him, witnessing for him. What you do, you see, as a believer, is this, in your ordinary, mundane, ordinary, let's emphasize that, ordinary life, which is so petty in many respects, but by living that life and obeying God day by day and seeking to please him day by day, you are saying, Jesus Christ has changed me. And what a great thing that is. And what you're doing also is to put into effect biblical responses to the situations and the circumstances that face you. In other words, what you're doing, if you're a true believer, is living a holy life and a godly life and a Christ-like life. Not as perfectly as you should, of course, but nevertheless that holiness, And that godliness and that Christ-likeness can be seen to some extent in you. So people are saying, look at Lazarus, he's proof that Jesus is who he claims to be. And look at you, you're proof too that Jesus is who he claims to be. Someone said this, the Christian life ought to be a beautiful balance of worship, work, and witness. And our lives ought to commend Christ. They ought to point to him. And as others look at us and at the things we do and at the things we don't do, they should be saying, now something of Jesus is to be seen there. Living witnesses, living proof that Jesus saved. So united to Christ, witnessing for Christ, and then thirdly, suffering. with Christ, suffering with Christ. The religious leaders had already decided that Jesus should die. But now a complication had arisen, something most inconvenient. And what was that? Lazarus. Lazarus had come back from the dead and Jesus had brought him back. Jesus must die. That's what they decided, but is that all? No. because if Jesus is to die, Lazarus also must die too. It's not going to be enough to kill one person, you've got to kill two. Will you look at verses 10 and 11, but the chief priests took counsel they might also put Lazarus to death because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus. They cannot Accept the evidence which is staring them in the face. So they want to get rid of the evidence destroy the proof It's undeniable that the Lazarus has come back from the dead. So we'd better send him back to the dead He came out from the tomb that's where he ought to belong they say get him back This is a completely innocent man guilty of only returning from the dead and Matthew Henry, the great commentator, said this, God will have Lazarus to live by a miracle, but they will have him to die by malice. And you see, it's the old lesson, isn't it? That one sin leads to another. Kill Jesus, yes, but that won't do. Kill Lazarus, and then they go on to want to kill many others too. The chief priests were concerned about their own position and power. That's what verse 11 says, on account of Him, many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus. Leaving us? Oh dear. And going to Jesus? We've got to stop this. And they decide the only way to do it is to have both of them killed. And also, of course, many of the chief priests were Sadducees. Now, you know what the Sadducees believed, or rather, you know what the Sadducees didn't believe? They didn't believe in resurrection. And here is Lazarus saying, I'm a resurrected person. And they say, you can't be. We don't believe in resurrection. It was an affront to their theological system. So again, they better kill him. Arthur Pink said this, they had rather commit murder than acknowledge that they were wrong. And so taking all things into account, they conclude, well, the best thing to do is to kill Lazarus. It's a bit of a messy thing to do, but it's best, isn't it? The most convenient thing for us, for the nation, We'll have to kill them both. But step back a bit, just for a moment. Isn't that amazing? Isn't that staggering? And you thought that religious, what religious leaders were talking about, we're not talking about people who have nothing to do with Old Testament religion and God. We're talking about religious leaders, and they want to kill the Messiah, and they also want to kill Lazarus, who's been brought back from the dead by the Messiah. This is madness, isn't it? It was John Calvin who said, there is no end to their madness. It's the madness of sin, isn't it? Jesus, on one occasion, marveled at unbelief. That's an interesting thing to say, isn't it? He marveled at unbelief. How can Jesus marvel at anything but he did? And we marvel at this, don't we? But don't we also marvel at the unbelief of people today? I mean, what do you say to people? Publicly and privately you say, come to Jesus Christ and he will forgive you. And you'll go to heaven and you'll have every blessing imaginable in glory. Even every blessing unimaginable. It'll all be yours. And they say no. Don't want to go. We'd rather go to hell. That's what they're saying without saying it. But isn't that madness? We marvel at it. So our first point was united to Christ. And you remember we drew attention to those two words, also Lazarus. Do you notice they're there in verse nine as well? Well, they're in verse nine, but they're also in verse 10. but the chief priests took counsel that they might also put Lazarus to death. Also Lazarus. They wanted to see Jesus also Lazarus and then these chief priests wanted to kill Jesus also Lazarus. So what do you learn from that? You learn that being united to Jesus Christ often means suffering with him. Suffering what? Sharing what? Let me read you from Hebrews. That last chapter in Hebrews, chapter 13, verses 12 and 13. Listen to this. Therefore Jesus, also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. He went out, as it were. And then the writer continues. Therefore, let us, us, go forth to him. outside the camp bearing and we might say sharing his reproach, his shame. Because if you're a believer here this evening then the shame that the Lord Jesus Christ endured will come down to upon you. Why? Because you're united to Christ. If you were not linked to him, that shame would not be yours. The shame would come down on him, but not on you. But because you're with him and in him, the shame and the suffering and the abuse falls upon you as well. We share his disgrace. Isn't that what Jesus said in John 15, just a little bit later than John 12 that we were looking at. In John 15 verse 18 it says this, Jesus says this, if the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. That's how it is because you're linked to Jesus. Hostility to Christ is characteristic of the world in which we live. And always people have been trying to get rid of Jesus Christ. And when you are a living, breathing, resurrected person from the dead, there are people who want you out of the way too. What applied to Christ applies to us as well. Lurking behind this hatred and hostility, of course, is Satan himself. And he seeks with his utmost strength to bury, or at least in some measure to obscure the works of God. Jesus brings Lazarus back from the dead. Kill Lazarus! Jesus saves you and makes you a believer. And so Satan doesn't necessarily say kill him, but at least put him down, put him out of sight, stop him witnessing, stop him living the Christian life, stop him being godly and holy, stop him at all costs. What happened to Lazarus? Did the chief priest succeed in killing him? Well, probably not, but the honest answer is that we just don't know. Certainly he was in danger. Interesting, we don't hear of him again. Apparently he's not there at the cross. Don't hear about him after the resurrection. So we just don't know. Kill him. Kill Lazarus. But trace it through and you will discover that he's in a long line of martyrs, whether or not he was actually healed for his faith. And that list is a tremendously long list and it's being added to even in this 21st century. They wanted to kill Jesus and also Lazarus. And of course, although we don't know what happened to Lazarus, we do know what happened to Jesus, don't we? They got their way. Of course, they got their way, but above that, God got his way. It was God's will. It wasn't a terrible accident. It was God's will being outworked. They were free to kill him, but above that was the sovereignty of God. And of course, so many people were pleased when Jesus died. Pilate, and the Romans, and the chief priests, and Pharisees, and many other people. Done with, they said! Gone! Finished! He was a troublemaker right from the beginning! Oh yes, he may have worked miracles and brought Lazarus and others back from the dead, but... Oh, he's a troublemaker, that Jesus. My father died when I was only nine years old but I still remember some of the phrases he used and one of them was this, the matter is closed. Now I don't know what I was asking for, I was probably pestering him for a toy or for an ice cream or something and I want it and he said no you're not having it and then he said the matter is closed. That was it, I knew I couldn't go on at him anymore. I had to stop asking for whatever it was. The matter is closed. And that's what they said about Jesus. The matter is closed, it's finished with, it's over and done with. And then he came back from the dead. And they found he was alive again. He had the power of an endless life. And that was bad enough. But then there were people who were popping up all over the place saying, Jesus has saved me. I was spiritually dead and now I'm spiritually alive. The miracle he worked for Lazarus physically has worked for me spiritually. And people were popping out. Thousands of them were saying that. But more than that, they were saying, this Jesus whom you killed lives in me. He's in my heart. He's in my life. Oh, when they said the matter was closed, they were so, so wrong, weren't they? and they always are. How tragic then these verses are in John 12. But as we look at them, we remind ourselves that these things were foretold. Just look at verses 37 onwards. Verse 37 onwards, it says this, but although he had done so many signs before them, They did not believe in him. That's the amazing thing, isn't it? That's what we marvel. But of course, unless the Lord had worked in our hearts, we wouldn't believe either. And then the writer John continues, that the word of Isaiah, the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke, Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again, he has blinded their eyes, hardened their hearts. lest they should see with their eyes and understand with their heart lest they should turn so that I should heal them. It's all prophesied. It's all in the plan of God. He's in control. But nevertheless it's amazing isn't it? Lazarus came back from the dead but they do not believe. Jesus came back from the dead but they do not believe. It's tragic. I read earlier Our first reading was Luke's Gospel, chapter 16. You might remember that very serious story. I want to read the last verse to you again. But he said to them, if they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they believe though one rose from the dead. Isn't that true? It's true of Lazarus, but more importantly, it's true of Jesus. He came back from the dead. He proved that he'd come back from the dead. He proves it still. If you're a Christian here this evening, he's proving that he's alive, that he came back from the dead by living in you and changing you and saving you. Oh, there's every proof, every evidence that Jesus Christ is alive. But still they do not believe. But only the Lord can save them. Only the Lord can open their eyes and unstop their ears and give them life. What he's done for us, because he's a sovereign, gracious God, he can do for others too. And that should be our prayer. Lord, save these people. Maybe you've got unsaved relatives. The Lord can save them. Pray that he might do so. Colleagues, friends, neighbors. As he's worked that miracle for you, ask him to work that miracle for others too. But of course, there's some people here maybe this evening who are not yet believers. You're not a Christian. Look, Jesus Christ has come back from the dead. Thousands, millions of people testify to that fact because we know him. We know him. We know he's alive because he's real to us. And we live with him and he lives in us. We know Jesus Christ is alive because day after day we have fellowship with him. He's our friend, He's our Lord, He's our Saviour. So if you're not a Christian here tonight, what you need to do is to say to yourself, Jesus Christ is alive. This record here is right, it's true, it's correct. These are the things that happened and Jesus Christ is still a Saviour who can forgive people's sins and take them to heaven. You need to come to Him. If you've never come before, you need to turn from your sins. The Bible calls that repentance. You need to trust in Him. Turn and trust. That's what you ought to do if you've never done it before. So, what does this little passage, these three verses in particular, teach us? First of all, we're united to Christ, as Lazarus was in a sense. Secondly, we're witnessing for Christ, just by living the Christian life. And we have to suffer with him too, and take that abuse upon ourselves. but all the time we've got Him and He will never leave us. We've got Him forever. Amen.