Lazarus was a good friend of Jesus who got sick, died, and after 4 days being wrapped up like a mummy in a tomb, Jesus brought him back to life.
Because of this miracle, many people believed in Jesus. This was a problem for the religious people who didn’t believe that Jesus was the Son of God.
John 11: 47-48
The religious people didn’t want Jesus to be getting peoples hopes up, they wanted peace with the Roman government. They didn’t want their way of life destroyed. If the the people started saying they had a King, the Roman emperor Tiberius would send in an army and burn Jerusalem to the ground.
One problem with “making peace” is that you must compromise what you believe. Those religious leaders BELIEVED that God was going to send a Messiah, but they wanted it to happen in their own timing. They had the people’s best interest in mind.
Common Good
The common good is not always good. It can actually be evil. When you hear these words coming from leaders…take it as a warning. Common Sense is another version that has taken nations from God fearing to God hating. We must be careful that we don’t trade our moral convictions of truth from the Bible for a leaders version of truth or morality.
In the name of common good these religious leaders, who should have been the gatekeepers of truth turned their thoughts to murder! FOR THE COMMON GOOD.
Here was their reasoning:
John 11: 49-50
He was saying, we need to get rid of Jesus for the common good. Instead of trusting God who had delivered his nation from enemy after enemy, he fell into the same trap set time and time again. He used “reasoning” instead of faith.
God wants people to have faith that He can do what we can’t see or comprehend.
So, they decided for the common good that they would stop Jesus.
John 11: 53
But some people saw what they didn’t - they saw a man raised back to life! Lazarus was living proof that Jesus was the Son of God. He was dead, and now he lived! What other proof do you need?
Seeing is believing and people were seeing that Jesus was doing things that could not be explained. Prophecy was being fulfilled before their eyes and some were following him.
John 12: 9
In our world, we would call this “going viral”. People want to see something cool. That’s what was happening. Jesus was a BIG deal. Lazarus was a celebrity! People wanted to get eyes on this walking miracle.
Let me take a few minutes and compare Lazarus to you and me. We need to do this because we are just like him in a lot of ways.
Lazarus Was Dead
And so are we. Without Jesus, we are just dead men walking through life trying to find the meaning of life. No person is perfect. And don’t I know that to be true! I am just like everyone else in this room. I’m a liar, cheat, phony, selfish, and just plain messed up. I’ve been hurt by others, and I’ve hurt others. I just want full transparency today, I am just as lost as anyone else. Except for the grace of Jesus, I would have been destined to continue down my path that leads straight to destruction and ultimately Hell.
But Jesus brought a dead man back to life, and He brought me back to life too. And I know He’s done the same for some of you, and wants to do the same for other who are just understanding their need.
Ephesians 2: 5
HE is the life giver!
Lazarus Was Given New Life
Here’s my favorite part of Jesus healing Lazarus:
John 11: 44
They used to wrap people up like mummies back then. So, when Jesus called Lazarus out of the tomb, he just kind of hopped out all tied up. He needed to be unwrapped.
He is no longer dead and he is not to look like nor live like a dead man! He has been delivered from death with all it bondage!
The same is true for us too!
Romans 10: 9-10
We have been saved because Jesus is able to FORGIVE all our mistakes! But we don’t have to live all bound up anymore!
Romans 6: 14
He breaks the power of sin in our lives so that we can be a light and witness for the world to see there is a better way.
Peter 1 : 18-19
So, Lazarus had been set free and if you have placed your trust in Jesus you will be too! But you have to believe and keep walking with Jesus.
Lazarus didn’t give Jesus a hand shake and say, “thanks man, you’re the best, I’ve got it from here”.
No, Jesus and Lazarus were friends. They had a relationship.
Relationship Matters
You will NOT be free from the past, guilt, or even sinful desires if you abandon Jesus. You must press in or you will be pressed out!
People who have known Jesus and worked with Jesus can walk away from Him. Listen to the warning from Jesus to those who thought they were part of His team:
Matthew 7: 21
We must have a relationship with Jesus that is more than a transaction. It must be a life change. Surrender requires repentance. There’s no other way. We must walk close to Jesus.
Now, I want to get to my favorite part of this story.
John 12: 1-2
Lazarus was eating with Jesus. HOW COOL IS THIS?
He was dead. He was bound up. His story was over. Not even his family had hope for him.
Look as the person next to you and say something sincerely: “With Jesus things can change!” Now, put your hand on someone’s shoulder look them in the eye and say,
Jesus wants to change your life!
If you were dead, but now you are alive, how thankful would you be. I bet Lazarus was like, “Jesus, can I fill you cup, are you comfortable? Is there anything I can do for you?”.
I think he had to be SO grateful. Folks, when we come to church and lift up our voices in WORSHIP it’s because we have a REASON to worship. Jesus has set us free! He is our soul healer. He has forgiven us! He wants to change our life.
You have to have this attitude toward Jesus. But unfortunately, we’ve all been that ungrateful kid who wants more and more and more…instead of trusting that Jesus has our best interest in mind, we try to impose our own will.
We forget that Jesus said:
Matthew 6: 25
We need to keep our mind on eternity and stop focusing so much on this life. Press into His presence, sit down at His table, worship Him, adore Him, and be willing to trust Him with your life.
So, let’s get back to the guys who wanted the common good for the people of that time.
Jesus was a big problem, but so was Lazarus.
Uh oh…
Associating with Jesus makes us a target
For us here in the USA we don’t get this much more than people thinking a certain way about us, but in the history of the world, followers for Jesus have been persecuted. People who had been healed by Jesus, and sitting at His table have been murdered just because they refuse to renounce Jesus as Lord.
No one could take the experience from him. He had an encounter that led to the Glory that brought people to faith in Jesus. He became a target, but he didn’t care. Why did Jesus Heal him just to allow him to die? Glory.
Let me ask you a personal question: Are you willing to give your life for Jesus? Seriously, if someone held a gun to your head and made you choose, what would you do?
Here’s an indication…what happened the last time temptation came to your door, what did you do? Did you give in or resist the devil?
John 12: 9-11
There it is, Lazarus who had done nothing wrong, accept being associated with Jesus was now a target. His life was a testimony of God’s glory and people were coming to faith because of what God did in him. This made him a threat.
Folks, we need to be wide awake in this place today, if you are a TRUE follower of Jesus, people will be getting saved because of your story.
If you aren’t being targeted it’s because you’re not a target.
I’ve titled this message “Twice Baked”. Because my mind is twisted…Lazarus was cooked once and Jesus brought him back to life. But his new life was not his own, he was surrendered to Jesus, and church history tells that he was beheaded for his faith in Jesus and his refusal to stop telling his story.
Galations 2: 20