To a great pleasure, I want to introduce our brother, John Bonomo. He was a pastor in South Bend, Indiana, and then served in the Willow Grove PCA Church there. And now he's a chaplain of Whosoever Gospel Mission. He has served on a committee that Terry and I served on. He served there for a couple years. and has been a member of the Presbyterian, a brother we've gotten to know over the years and love, and we're very delighted that he's able to bring God's Word to us. So, Jonathan, where are we? Oh, there you are. If you would come. Good morning. Good to see you, beloved people of God, and a great, great blessing to be here with all of you. Many, many thanks to Pastor Mark and your session for the invitation to come and share a bit of God's Word with you this morning. And on behalf of all of your friends at the Whosoever Gospel Mission, I bring you warm greetings in the Lord. The Whosoever Gospel Mission is located in the Germantown section of Philadelphia. We've been there since 1892, serving the Lord through bringing the hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ to homeless men in the Philadelphia area, and it's a great, great blessing to be there, and please keep us in your prayers. It's a place where we're doing the work of the Lord, and we appreciate your partnership with us in prayer, and I wanna share this morning with you, a passage that is deeply, deeply meaningful to me personally, and it's also a passage that winds up coming up very frequently in my ministry at the Hussorva Gospel Mission with the men that I've been called to serve there, and that is John chapter 11, famous text where Jesus raises up his friend, a man named Lazarus, from the dead, but I'm going to focus this morning not on the raising up of Lazarus, but everything that comes before Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. In other words, everything that comes before the happy ending. And so, let us hear God's word together. As you're turning there, I'll pray for us. You are the true and living God and your word is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword able to divide between the division of soul and spirit. And so we pray this morning that you would give our wandering minds focus, open our hearts to the truth of your word, give us light and understanding to see Jesus clearly. For we pray this in his matchless and victorious name, amen. John chapter 11, starting at verse one, going to verse 37. Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him saying, Lord, he whom you love is ill. But when Jesus heard it, he said, this illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God so that the Son of God may be glorified through it. Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. Then after this, he said to the disciples, let us go to Judea again. The disciple said to him, Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you and are you going there again? Jesus answered, are there not 12 hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles because the light is not on him. After saying these things, he said to them, our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him. The disciple said to him, Lord, If he has fallen asleep, he will recover. Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest and sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, Lazarus has died. And for your sake, I am glad that I was not there so that you may believe. But let us go to him. So Thomas called the twin, said to his fellow disciples, let us also go that we may die with him. Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. Martha said to Jesus, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you. Jesus said to her, your brother will rise again. Martha said to him, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day. Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? She said to him, yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world. When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, the teacher is here and is calling for you. And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who were with her in the house consoling her saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, where have you laid him? They said to him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. So the Jews said, see how he loved him. But some of them said, could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying? This is the word of the Lord. May God add his blessing to the reading and preaching of his word. A few years ago, on a beautiful fall day, Not like today, this kind of dreary, wet weather, but a day more like the days that we've been having over the past couple of weeks. I was out with my family at the Wissahickon Valley Park, and just sort of like an ideal day together as a family, you know, walking around in the morning, looking at nature, eating lunch together in the park, going for a little walk after lunch, and then at the end of this day, we get back to our car, to the scene of our windows smashed, and my wife's purse is stolen and sort of all the disarray that goes along with that. And the question from my children over and over and over again, I had two kids at that time, now we have a third, but there's my daughter Monica, my son Silas, asking over and over, Daddy, why? Why did this have to happen? Why did this happen to us? Why today? On a day that we were having so much fun together and the sun is shining and it seems like all is right with the world. Why? And I sort of realized in that moment that Giving an intellectually satisfying answer to the question why isn't really what my children were needing in that moment, right? I couldn't just get into speculations about all the arguments that have been made over the doctrine of evil. You know kids, St. Augustine says that sin is privation, so buck up, it's okay. No, that's not what my kids wanted to know when they asked the question why. What they wanted to know was that they were safe. you They wanted to know that the situation was under control. They wanted to know that they were safe with me. And so any answer that I gave ultimately wouldn't be nearly as satisfying to them than if I just said to them, you know what, it's okay. And I wrapped my arms around them and assured them of my presence. And so when I got home later in the day and started reflecting upon this, I thought, Man, isn't that the way it is with the Lord too? You know, we have these questions, all sorts of bad things going on in the world, horrible things. Many of you have seen suffering in your lives, the likes of which I can't possibly know, and other people in this room cannot possibly know, and we want to ask the question, why, right? And there are all sorts of answers out there, and we can have those conversations about the theological, answers and reasons that people have given through history about why bad things happen in the world, and of course that conversation has its place, but when it really comes down to it, when you are in the thick of it, right, and you are in the darkness, what you really need is to know that your father loves you, that he is with you, that he cares, and that you are safe in his arms. Isn't that true? And so I really think as we look at this passage here in John 11, why does John spend so much time focusing on all of this stuff that happens before the happy ending? Why is it the case that we have 37 verses from the time that the word is sent to Jesus, that his friend Lazarus is ill, to the time that Jesus actually raises Lazarus, and then we only have seven verses about the resurrection of Lazarus? I want to suggest to you this morning is that it is because we do not live our lives yet, beloved, in the happy ending, right? Where we live our lives in this world is in this very dark and terrifying place between death and resurrection. We live in this world in this time when we see our loved ones going into the grave and not yet coming out. And the Lord wants us to see here how he comes to us to be with us, to comfort us, to walk with us, even in this time, even in this space that we find ourselves today between death and resurrection. When yes, the day is coming, when he is gonna come again, and he is gonna wipe every tear from every eye, and it's right around the corner, beloved, Just like here in John 11, he's gonna raise Lazarus from the dead in just a few minutes. But in this time between death and resurrection, he is God with us, amen? That's what we wanna see here. And so three points this morning as we look at this text in John 11. First, Jesus waits. Second, Jesus weeps. Third, walking with Jesus in our waiting and our weeping. Jesus waits. Verses one through three, we learn that this close friend of Jesus, one of Jesus's precious sheep, Lazarus, is sick, and Lazarus's sisters, Mary and Martha, send to Jesus. In verse three, they say, Lord, he whom you love is ill. Jesus says in verse four, this illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God. so that the Son of God might be glorified through it. It's worth pointing out here, not long before this, Jesus had said something very, very similar. In chapter 9, Jesus healed a man who was born blind, who was blind from birth, and, you know, the disciples, before Jesus heals the man, are standing there saying to Jesus, Lord, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? And Jesus responds, responded this way, neither this man nor his parents sinned. This happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. So something very similar said by Jesus there, but there in John chapter 9, what did Jesus do? Well, he immediately went and healed the man who was born blind. And so we might expect, right, that guy in chapter nine was a guy who never even met Jesus before. Now here in chapter 11, we have one whom it is said Jesus loved. And so surely, what is Jesus gonna do? He's gonna go right away and he's going to heal this man, Lazarus, of his sickness. And yet that's not what happens, is it? Actually, in verse 37, the very last verse that we read, we see that people were actually thinking about that scene in John chapter nine as all this is going on. They said, could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have also kept this man from dying? So this is actually a question that these people are asking here, right? Why is Jesus doing something different in this situation? John tells us in verse five that Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus specifies not just Jesus loved them, but he loved each of them individually. He loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Now get this, verse six. So, don't miss that little word so, it's very important. So he stayed where he was two days longer. He loved them, therefore he did not go right away. How does that make any sense? Actually, some of the translators in various English translations have said it actually doesn't make sense, and so instead of so, they put a bet or a but or a yet there. I would suggest to you that the English Standard Version actually has it right as well as the New King James Version, as it puts the word so. That's the meaning here. He loved them, therefore, this is how he acted. How does that make any sense? It's very, very important. Here's the thing, beloved. Do you wonder in your life why God doesn't act right away to change things? I'm sure you do. Whether it's something going on in your own life or you look at the mess that our world is in and you say, Lord, what is going on? Why are you not answering? Why does it seem like you're just far away? And you see, this is a biblical question to ask. The Bible actually invites us to ask these sorts of questions. Psalm 10 is one example, right? Psalm 10, the opening words of Psalm 10, And just one of many examples we could point to, why, oh Lord, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? Why, Lord, aren't you moving? Why aren't you putting an end to this in my life, in the life of my friends, in the lives of my family members, in this nation, in this world, sick of all of the nonsense going on? Are you sick of it all like I am? Why, Lord, why aren't you answering? And so here's the thing that John chapter 11 says, at least in this situation, why Jesus didn't go right away. with these people that he loved. First, verse four, it was for the glory of God. It was for the glory of God. Second, verse five, because Jesus loved them. Third, verse 15, so that his disciples might believe. So that his disciples might believe. The glory of God, the love of Jesus, and your faith. And you see, when it really comes down to it, is there anything more important in all of the universe than those three things? The glory of God, the love of God, and your faith, the building up of your faith, which the scripture says in 1 Peter, Chapter one is more precious than gold that perishes, though it is refined by fire. The glory of God, the love of God, your faith. You can't know the particulars of the why in each and every situation, but you can know that what God is in the business of doing is those three things. He is in the business of bringing glory to himself, He is in the business of showing to you the full extent of his love for you, and he is in the business in each and every circumstance of building your faith. Amen? It says he loved them, each one of them. It was because he loved them that he wanted them to see the full extent of his love. Not just in the end making everything better, but how he was going to be with them in their grief. Verses 7 through 16, a whole lot that we could say here, but in the interest of time, let me just summarize it very quickly. In the two days that Jesus decided to wait, Lazarus winds up dying. Nobody tells Jesus that Lazarus has died. He just knows that it happens, and so he now goes He decides to go down to Bethany. Now, here's something worth pointing out. From the place where Jesus is at this point, probably just east of Galilee in the north, it's around a four-day journey to Bethany. Now, that's interesting because once Jesus gets there, how long had Lazarus been dead? days, right? And so the implication being that Jesus knew when Lazarus died without anybody even telling him, and he wanted to be there four days after Lazarus had died. He wanted to be there at that precise moment. He had his perfect timing. His purposes were clear. The people in the story were privy to all of the reasons, but Jesus knew what he was doing all the while. And in your life, beloved, Jesus knows what he is doing. And in this world, Jesus knows what he is doing even when it does not make any sense to us. And so he waited for this moment to do battle with death itself. That's the first point. Second point, he wept. Before he goes to Lazarus's tomb, just moments before, Jesus comes to Mary and Martha and sits with them in this dark space between death and resurrection. Verses 17 through 20, Jesus makes it to Bethany. He's approaching the village. Martha, Lazarus, the older of the two sisters, hears that Jesus is coming. She goes out to meet him. Mary, the younger of the two, stays behind in the house. Martha says to Jesus, verses one and 22, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you. Now here's a question. Was Martha upset with Jesus? because he didn't come right away. Maybe, it's sort of seen, I get that kind of feeling. Lord, if you had not been here, my brother would not have died. But even if she's upset with Jesus, notice she is still holding on to faith, isn't she? Right, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died, but even now I know I'm not doubting who you are, right? I may not have all the answers as to why you acted the way you did, but I'm still holding on to this faith that I trust that you are the one who God listens to and answers in his prayers. Even now, Martha says, it is not too late. Even now, Lord Jesus, I believe that you can work, and so verses 23 through 26, Jesus said to her, your brother will rise again. Martha said to him, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day. Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? You see, Martha believes, yes, one day, One day, her brother is going to rise again, right? She's still holding on hope to those promises that the Lord is going to make everything right in the future. But Jesus responds. Notice how he shifts the focus. He shifts the focus to the resurrection at the last day, to the one who is standing right in front of her in that moment, Martha. I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. Beloved, we need to see that resurrection life is not just an abstract doctrine in the far off future. Resurrection life is a person. Because Jesus is the Lord of life. Jesus is the God of resurrection life. Come in our flesh. I am, Martha. Do you believe this? Verse 27. Yes, Lord. I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God. Thanks be to God. Okay, that's Martha. She's holding on to her hope in the promise of the gospel. What about Mary? There's something about Mary. Mary also loves Jesus, right? Mary also believes, but Mary isn't quite in the same place, is she? whether either physically or emotionally. Martha has come out to meet Jesus. Mary has stayed behind in the house. Martha seems to not be able to see past her tears. Verse 28, Martha goes to Mary and says, Mary, the teacher is here and he is calling for you. At this, finally hearing that Jesus is calling for her personally, She gets up and she goes outside the village to meet Jesus, and when she sees him, what does she do? Immediately she collapses. She falls at his feet. And you just sort of sense here, don't you, with Mary, you sense two things. First, her love for Jesus, yes. but also her desperation, right? She is in the darkness of grief, and in adoration and desperation, Mary collapses, but she collapses in the right place, does she not? And it's worth noting, by the way, that this is a place at the feet of Jesus that we actually find Mary at frequently. In the very next chapter, she is going to anoint Jesus' feet with perfume and wipe her feet with her hair. We'll find her there in the next chapter at the feet of Jesus. You also have that famous scene in Luke chapter 10 where Martha is up serving all the guests in their house and What is she doing? She's sitting at Jesus' feet, listening to his teaching. And so you see, this collapsing at the feet of Jesus here, with Mary in her grief, is actually something that is flowing out of a living relationship of love that she had with her Lord. This is collapsing before the one she loves, even as she is in desperation. Now, Here's something that's really, really important. After she falls at Jesus' feet, don't miss this, what does she say? Verse 32, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. Now does that sound familiar to you? It should because that is word for word the very same thing that Martha, her sister, had said to Jesus, isn't it? Word for word. And yet, so important, How does Jesus respond? Same thing said each time, but don't miss this, the same words, but Jesus responds very, very differently to the two of them, doesn't he? Why does he respond to the same words so differently? With Martha, what did he do? He starts talking to her about the resurrection. Martha, your brother will rise again. But with Mary, there's none of that, is there? No talking, no reasoning, no questions. With Mary, this is all we read, verses 33 through 35. When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit, and greatly troubled, and he said, where have you laid him? They said to him, Lord, come and see. And then we have the shortest and, to my mind, perhaps the most profound verse in the entire Bible, John 11.35, Jesus wept. So much meaning packed into those two little words, Jesus wept. Why the difference? You see, for both Martha and Mary, they were grieving, yes. But they were at two very different places in their grief, weren't they? Martha is at a place where, yes, she's grieving, but she can sort of see past the tears, right? She can grab hold of that hope that she has in the resurrection. Mary is not there, is she? Mary can't see past the tears. She is at a different place in the process of her grief. To be sure, she believes in Jesus, she loves Jesus, but grief has so overcome her that at this time, in this moment, she cannot see past the tears. And here's the thing, beloved, and some of you need to hear this today, that is okay. That's okay. Don't let anybody ever tell you that if you just had enough faith, you would be so much happier and you wouldn't be crying and depression and sorrow and darkness wouldn't be there. That is a lie right from the pit of hell. It's okay, but here's the thing. Do you see Jesus? Right? Mary sees nothing, but Jesus has come with her to be with her in her grief so that, and it's right around the corner for her, and it's right around the corner for you, even if it's many, many years in the future, right? Because in the light of eternity, many, many years are like that. He is going to raise her out of her grief. Hold on to that today, beloved. Now, Jesus, and note the intensity of the language here. It's not just that Jesus shed a couple tears. It's not just that Jesus had some sentimental thoughts. It's not just that Jesus got a little sniffy, got a little watery-eyed. No, he was deeply moved in his spirit. In other words, his spirit groaned within him and he was greatly troubled, right? This is intense language, and these tears that start streaming out of his face are but the overflow of a heart that is bent with compassion, that is going out of itself in compassion and in mercy to these women whom he loves, who are trapped in this grief, and he weeps, not just a few tears, he weeps, even knowing that in just a minute, He's gonna call this man out of the grave. Why? Because he wants you to know that he is God with you in your grief, in this time between death and resurrection, beloved. That is why. Because he loved them and because he loved you, this is how he did it. And this is how he works in our lives too. Now, Jesus wept. Let me just stop there for a minute and before I close, ask the question, who is this? Right? Who is this man who we see here deeply moved and greatly troubled and weeping over the grief that he sees? Is this a weak man? No. Is this a man who is just the stuff of Hallmark cards and fluffy bunnies? No. Is this just a sentimentalized bleeding heart? No. This is the Lord of all the earth. This is the Alpha and the Omega. This is the One, the Word. John told us at the very beginning of this Gospel, in the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God. The Word was God. Through Him, all things were made. And without Him, Nothing was made that has been made. This is the one who, in the beginning, made all things. This is the one who, the book of Hebrews says, upholds the universe by the word of his power. This is the bread of life. This is the fountain of living water. This is the light of the world. This is alpha and omega, beginning and end. This is the one who holds in his hands the keys of death and Hades. This is the king of the ages. This is the good shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. This is the coming judge who is coming again with glory to judge the living and the dead and who will be king over all the earth for all eternity. Beloved, that is the one who here and no other, that is the one who we find here in our own flesh weeping with these two women. It is Him. It is your King. It is your God. He is your life. He is your all. Do you see Him? Do you see Him? So very briefly, what does it look like for us as we continue to linger in this world? In this time between death and resurrection, as people of the risen Christ, what does it look like to walk with Him? in this time. You know, some of you here today know what it's like to grieve the way that Mary was grieving here, don't you? Many of you, I'm sure, have things that you've experienced in your life where you cannot possibly express with words the things that you've experienced, where you just weren't able to see past the tears. And you know, what would it have been like, or even if that's you now, what would it be like for somebody to see you in your grief and say, you know, Romans 8.28 says, all things work together for the good of those who love God and are called to his purpose. Cheer up, it's not really that bad. You know, don't you, that not only does that do no good, but it actually is painful. Why? Because it cheapens the depth of what you are experiencing, doesn't it? If somebody just comes and acts like it's not that big of a deal, that cheapens what you're going through. And so it's painful when people do that, isn't it? That is not the God you serve. Jesus does not cheapen your grief. Jesus doesn't say, just cheer up and get over it. What he says is, I am with you to see you through it. He doesn't give you all the answers as to why, but he says, my dear child, I know that it's confusing. I know that there's glass all over the ground and somebody stole mommy's purse, but I love you, I am with you, and you are safe with me. That's your God. That's the God you serve. And so you see, yes, Jesus came to save us. to do away with the power of death, and he has done that. Where, O death, is your victory? O death, where is your sting? It is buried in the grave because Jesus has risen victorious over it. and in the lives of Mary and Martha. Yes, all of this is going to work out for their good. Romans 828 is true, and it's true for them, and it's true for you, but it's not true in just that sort of trite cliche, just cheer up and get over it sort of a way. It's true because you serve a God who is not far off and aloof to the things that you go through. You serve a God who came into your flesh and suffered in all the ways that we suffer, and wept with us and for us, and sat through the darkness, and had nails pierced through his hands, and a crown of thorns placed on his head, and people spitting on him, and mocking him, his closest friends betraying him, he experienced the death of people that he loved, and he now, in the words of the book of Hebrews, is able to sympathize with all of your sufferings and weaknesses. Why? Because he himself suffered in every way that we suffer, yet without sin. And so that when we go to him, we don't just go to a God who is out there somewhere, we go to a God who is close. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. me. Not just at the end of the story waiting for everything to get better. Not just up in the heavens looking down and say come on little Johnny you can make it. Though he is high and lifted up, and he is at the end as well, but he is with you. Emmanuel, God with us. Do you see him today? He loves you, he is with you, and you are safe, beloved. Whatever you see going on around you, whatever questions of why may continue to come up again and again, even as you cry out why. He is with you. He is with you. Let me pray for us. Lord, we praise you and we proclaim your glory. Even as we wonder like the people in John 11 wondered, could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have stopped this man from dying? Lord, could not you, who have all power in heaven and on earth, who is risen victorious, who is king, could not you put an end to this pandemic? Could not you put an end to the suffering that we're going through? The answer is, yes, you can. Yes, you can, and you have, and you will. Help us to trust in that, oh Lord, even as we continue to walk through the valley of the shadow of death. Help us to trust, Lord, that not only Have you and will you, but you are. You are working in our lives to change us. You are working in the world to bring glory to yourself. You are working in the hearts of the people around us to show them the full extent of your love. Help us, oh Lord, to esteem above all things your glory, the power of your love, and the faith that is in you which is the only thing that will overcome the world because you oh lord the one who our faith is in not because our faith is so strong but because you are strong you lord jesus have overcome the world give us the grace to trust in you today we pray this in jesus name and for the sake of his glory amen let us