Behold the Resurrection, Pt 2

Well as we come together this morning we will be bringing a close to our Christmas series and over the last four weeks we have looked at individual encounters with Christ and this morning we are going to complete that or conclude that by finishing what we began last week as we were looking at Christ's encounter with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus surrounding the events regarding the resurrection of Lazarus.

And so last week as we came to a close or conclusion we we left Jesus having asked Martha if she believes and then we looked at the confessional response that Martha gives as she responds to this question of faith from Christ.

The Coming Light in Isaiah 9 and Martha’s Confession

In fact what we see is that she demonstrates her faith and proclaims Jesus as not only the Christ, not only the Son of God, but also the one who was to come. If we look back in the Old Testament Isaiah writes about this one who was to come, he whose birth we have all celebrated this past week, Jesus the Christ, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords.

Isaiah says this in chapter 9 beginning in the first verse, but there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish. In earlier times he treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on he shall make it glorious by the way of the sea on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.

The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. Those who live in the land of the shadow of death, the light will shine upon them. You shall multiply the nation, you shall make great their gladness.

They will be glad in your presence as with the gladness of harvest. As men rejoice when they divide the spoil, for you shall shatter the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders, the rod of their taskmaster as the battle of Midian.

For every boot of the booted warrior in the rumbling of battle and cloak rolled in blood will be burning fuel for the fire. For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us, and the government will rest upon his shoulders, and his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

And of his government there will be no end, and there will be peace on the throne of David and over his kingdom to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore.

The zeal of Yahweh of hosts will accomplish this. The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. As we have taken this time and looked over these encounters with the Incarnate Word, that is a central theme that we see repeated over and over throughout the New Testament, throughout the encounters that we see with Christ, the fact that the light has come, and that as every individual is confronted by this light, they have to ultimately answer the same question that Pilate posed to the Jewish crowds that had gathered in Matthew 27 and 22.

It says, Pilate said to them, then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ? Now we know the response of the crowds that day. We know that they would have had nothing less and accepted nothing less, and they desired nothing less than the crucifixion of Christ.

Contrast to that, what Martha responds when Jesus asks her the question, do you believe? But the reality is that even though she had the faith, even though she believed, even though she proclaims who Christ is, she does not yet fully understand.

In fact, for her to understand, for us to understand, it is imperative that God moves first. But we have a big problem. We have a big problem, a problem that we cannot solve, and that problem, the problem that clouds our understanding is the problem of our condition.

You see, as people, as humanity, apart from Christ, we are like Lazarus, dead. Now we may not be physically dead, but we are spiritually dead. Ephesians 2 .1, and you were dead in your transgressions and sins.

Our natural condition is such that Jesus Himself in John 5 .39 -40 shows us that we are simply not willing to come. As He responds to the Pharisees, what He says to them is, you search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life.

And we must pause here for just a moment because what Jesus is telling the Pharisees is that they study the Word, they seek within the Word, desiring that the Word itself give them eternal life. And then He concludes by saying to them, you search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life.

It is these, it is the Scriptures, it is those very things that you search that bear witness about me, and you are unwilling to come to me so that you may have life. Now this is a condition with which we wrestle.

We wrestle with it in an attempt or in an effort to accomplish the task of making ourself right before God. We strive to live a certain way, act a certain way, appear a certain way, all in an effort to, whether it is conscious or unconscious, seem right and make ourselves presentable to God.

Yet the truth is that all of our efforts and all of our struggles are absolutely in vain. It is God alone that works to bring the dead to life, to regenerate so that it is possible to grasp the gift of faith that has been given through the grace of the Almighty God.

Consider for a moment the words of Charles Spurgeon as he writes regarding our text for today in the truth that it is God alone who saves. He writes,. Now let this be taken as a plain statement of our belief as to the Lord's work in salvation and taken without any mitigation or dilution.

We believe that in every case salvation is of the Lord alone and all together. Regeneration is a supernatural work. Man must be born again from above. Any power short of that from heaven will be ineffectual.

The new creation is as much and entirely the work of God as the old creation. And he goes on to quote a very old hymn and it.

Says,.

So this morning as as we studied the remainder of this passage, as we witnessed the miracle that Christ gives as evidence of his claim that he makes to Martha in John 11 25 through 26 where he says, I am the resurrection and the life.

He who believes in me will live even if he dies and everyone who believes in me will never die ever. My invitation before we ever begin is that as we study God's word, you evaluate your life, that you will see in this text the polarizing effect that Jesus has on everyone he comes into contact with.

And that as he comes to the grave of Lazarus, he calls him as he calls all who are his. If you will join me in standing as we read God's holy, inerrant, infallible living word beginning in John chapter 11 with the 28th verse.

This is immediately following the encounter that Martha has with Jesus and it says in verse 28,. And when she, being Martha, had said this, she went away and called Mary her sister, saying secretly, the teacher is here and is calling for you.

And when she heard it, she got up quickly and was coming to him. Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha met him. Then the Jews who were with her in the house and consoling her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, they followed her thinking that she was going to the tomb to cry there.

Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw him and fell at his feet, saying to him, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. When Jesus therefore saw her crying and the Jews who came with her also crying, he was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled and said, where have you laid him?

They said to him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. So the Jews were saying, see how he loved him. But some of them said, could not this man who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man also from dying?

So Jesus, again being deeply moved within, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave and a stone was lying against it. And Jesus said, remove the stone. Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to him, Lord, by this time he smells for he has been dead four days.

Jesus said to her, did I not say to you that if you believe you will see the glory of God? So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised his eyes and said, Father, I thank you that you have heard me. And I knew that you always hear me.

But because of the crowd standing around, I said this so that they may believe that you sent me. And when he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth.

Jesus said to them, unbind him and let him go. Therefore, many of the Jews who came to Mary and saw what he had done believed in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done.

Father, we thank you for your holy word. We thank you for its principles, for its promises, for its direction, for its light. Father, we partake of your word this morning. May we learn more of Christ.

Teach us to behold our creator, your ability to save, your arms outstretched, your heart big for your people. Father, may we have confidence in your power, in your love. Father, may we commit ourselves to you without reserve, bearing your image, observing your commands, pursuing your service, and for all time be a monument to the effectiveness of your grace.

Lord, help us not only to receive Christ, but walk in him, depend upon him, commune with him, be conformed to him, follow him, even though it may be our effort, even though our efforts may be imperfect.

May we press on, thankful for your salvation and for your rest. May it be that as we are saved by grace through faith, that we continue to live by that faith, feel the joy of that faith, and do the work of that faith, acknowledging nothing in ourselves but finding in Christ wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption for your name's sake and for your glory above all.

Father, we ask all of this in the blessed name of Jesus Christ. Amen. So as we return this morning to the text and we pick up where we left off, what we see is Martha leaving her encounter and going to Mary and telling Mary that the teacher is calling.

Now you may remember, we discussed this briefly last week, but during the loss in Jewish culture, during the loss of a loved one, there is a period of mourning that takes place. In fact, it's a very specific period.

It's a very detailed process of mourning for the Jewish people. It remains so to this day, but the first seven days of this process are the most important. And so the community would gather around and even if someone didn't have a community to gather around, they were expected to hire instrumentalists and mourners all for this period of time to come together and mourn.

The Jews that were gathered in this home were here for that specific purpose. They were here to gather or to here to mourn the loss of Lazarus. And so as Martha comes to Mary, she does so according to verse 28, and she calls to her saying secretly.

So for some reason, Martha pulls Mary away and Scripture doesn't tell us exactly whether this is an attempt to give Mary and Jesus some time to speak apart from the crowd or if it's to protect Jesus because they knew that some of those amongst the crowd were supporters of the Pharisees and were likely to report that he was back in the area.

If you remember last week, we talked about he had left the Judea region because they were seeking to stone him. But regardless of the reason, the efforts of Martha to provide this moment of secrecy were in vain.

They were so because Proverbs 16, 9 says, the heart of man plans his way, but Yahweh directs his steps and God's sovereign plan is in motion for the purpose of glorifying the Father and the Son. So as Mary reaches Jesus, she gets to him.

He has remained where he was during his conversation with Martha, and as she arrives, she throws herself at his feet. Now, what's interesting about this passage or this statement is that during a time of mourning in the Jewish culture, they would have sat down and the people would have come to them.

We also know based on this interaction and other interaction that this action of Mary is entirely in keeping with her character. If you remember, there was Martha, the ever-practical sister, but then Mary, the one who was more demonstrative in what and how she felt.

So if you think back to the events at their house where Martha is running around, bustling, trying to get everything ready and prepared, and then literally wants Jesus to rebuke Mary for sitting at the master's feet.

And so as she comes to Jesus, she falls at his feet. Again, normally during this time when there is a loss, others would come to them. Others would console them. But now, not only has Martha come to Jesus, but so has Mary.

It's as if there is no other place that she finds more comfort than there at the feet of her master. How often do we, in periods of distress, disturbance, distance, difficulty, how often do we throw ourselves at the feet of the master because we know that there is no other place that we may find peace and hope and consolation and joy?

Then Mary makes a statement to Jesus, and if you'll notice, the statement that Mary makes is almost identical to the one that Martha made. Lord, had you been here, if you had just been here, Jesus, I know that my brother would not have died.

Now, just like Martha, this is not a rebuke. Neither of them are fussing at Jesus. This is a statement of fact and faith. They have absolutely no doubt that Jesus has the power to heal. They have no doubt that had Jesus been present, that he would have healed their brother Lazarus.

There would have been no doubt that this death in their minds could have been avoided. But in reality, it would have only been merely delayed. What's interesting about Jesus and Mary's encounter is that John records nothing else of the encounter except the words of Mary.

He does not have any encouraging words from Jesus to Mary. He doesn't have anything else for us except for what she says, but what we do see is his reaction. And so we are in, if you will, look at your text, verse 33.

And so we have a two-part statement here. It says, first of all, when Jesus saw Mary, or therefore saw her, Mary crying, and the Jews who came with her also crying. He was, according to the text, deeply moved in spirit and was troubled.

However, the response that we see and the translation to the English language that we see is a bit misleading. And it's misleading because of the way that we read and understand the words that are written here.

If we go back to the original Greek, the word that is translated as deeply moved is a word that only shows five times in the entire New Testament. This word is found in verse 33, it's found again in verse 38, and then it's found twice in Mark's gospel and once in Matthew's gospel.

What is very interesting is that in each of the other three times that this word is used, there is a very different meaning that is established. And so if you remember, one of the ways in which we work to translate Scripture and understand Scripture is we look at the way a word is used in other places.

And so in Matthew 9, verse 30 reads, and their eyes were opened, and Jesus sternly warned them, saying, see that no one knows about this. In Mark 1, verse 43, it says, and he sternly warned him and immediately sent him away.

In Mark 14, verse 5, it says, for this perfume might have been sold for over 300 denarii and given to the poor, and they were scolding her. In each one of those three verses, the same Greek word appears that we have translated here in John as that he was deeply moved in spirit.

But in all three of these situations, it is dealing with a warning and a rebuke. Now, what we do with that information is important. Now, I want you to understand because you see the words of Jesus, you see the actions of Jesus, at no place does Jesus stop the procession and bite down on anyone or rebuke them here.

However, what we must understand is this movement in his spirit, this troubling movement, and the word troubled there simply is there to amplify this deeply moved that's here. And so we see this rise in this concern that Jesus has.

And what we need to understand, this nonverbal response that we see here by Jesus is more than compassion for those that are mourning. There's something deeper here. Oftentimes, we're tempted to skip, almost skip through verses 33 and 34 to get to 35.

Because what we see is this culmination from 33 and 34 to 35 where we see this humanity of Jesus come into play, and we'll dig into that more in just a minute. But we must pump the brakes and think for just a moment about this reaction, because to not misses an important truth that we are taught in Scripture.

In 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 13, Paul writes these words, but we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. Now, we need to be clear about something in this passage because oftentimes, this particular verse gets mishandled, and people will take this word asleep, and they go, oh, well, that's soul sleep that happens between death and the resurrection.

That's not what this verse is saying. This verse is merely referring to those who have died in Christ. So those who you know, your loved ones, who were saved, who had Christ as their Savior, this is referring to them.

And what it says is we do not want you to be uninformed and to grieve as those who have no hope. And so what we see is this passage being used in times of grief. If this is not a passage I've heard once at a funeral sermon, I haven't heard it a hundred times.

And as we look at Christmas, and one of the great themes that we have celebrated at Christmas is this theme of hope. But hope is a present condition based on a future certainty. I want to repeat that because it's important.

Hope is a present condition based on a future certainty. And hope, just like everything else in this world, was affected by this fallen, broken world in which we live. In fact, before coming to faith in Christ, we can only hope in temporal things, things that have no lasting impact, things that merely affect our time here and now.

We place our hope in things like money, and security, and even family. But when we, by the grace of God, have faith, then the foundation of our hope changes. It is a hope that is no longer resting on ephemeral things of this world, but now rests on the internal creator of all.

And so, the reality is that we stand on this side of the completed work of Christ. And we can see things that, in these events that are occurring, that those who were walking in those times couldn't clearly or fully see.

They had no idea exactly what the plan was. But what they did have, what they did have was a preponderance of evidence and truth available for them. Literally, for three years, they had walked beside the incarnate word.

Of the living God.

They had witnessed all of these miraculous events. They knew that the power of God was resting on Christ. If you go back up to verse 22, Martha says to Jesus, but even now, I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.

They knew that Christ had the power of God resting upon them. Now, they may not have fully and completely understood everything, but they knew the relationship Jesus had to the Father. They both, her and Mary, had belief regarding the ability of Jesus to heal their brothers, and yet, they still do not understand the hope that has been displayed before them.

What we see in verse 33 is that these are grieving as those who have no hope. The words that's used for crying in verse 33, both of Mary's crying and of the Jews around her refers to a loud wailing. We will contrast that in just a minute, but I want you to keep that in mind.

And so, they are suffering these effects of the fallenness of the world. They are grieving as those who have no hope but God. Now, I find it fascinating that it is not until Jesus actually asked for the final resting place or the tomb of Lazarus, and they are presumably on the way that Scripture records a small but mighty verse.

Jesus wept. Jesus wept. Truly God, truly man, Jesus had all of the emotional responses that we would ever have. He truly was a man of sorrows, one familiar with grief. However, even in the midst of this most human of responses, weeping for a loved lost one, there is a difference in the reaction of Christ.

In verse 33, we see Mary and the Jews who were with her weeping, wailing, crying out in a loud voice. And in verse 35, we see Jesus silently bursting into tears, grief. It is a different word. Tears stream down the face of the one who deeply loves, not just Lazarus, but the one who loves all of his people.

And the tears that are running down his face are not just in a response to a temporary separation from a loved one. Jesus knows that in just a few moments, he'll be standing face-to-face once again with Lazarus this side of eternity.

The tears are not just for the fact that these people are grieved. These tears go much deeper. They go to the depth of sin in this broken and fallen world. Spurgeon, again, is helpful when he says these words, that love in Christ towards us most fitly shows itself in tears.

When he thinks of what we are and how we have become subject to death and how sin has brought us under this bondage, since he loves us, he must weep. Nay, he must die, for even his tears cannot suffice to manifest his love.

Jesus must pour out his soul, not only into tears, but unto death, that all may see how deeply he loves us. And so as the people were standing around, they witnessed this man weeping. And the presumption is, we see in verse 36, that he is weeping for his love of Lazarus.

And while this is certainly a truth and certainly a reality, the very words contained in verse 36 demonstrates a misunderstanding. Because you see here, the word for love is the word phileo, brotherly love.

And the love that Jesus loves us with, the love that Jesus had for Lazarus, the love that Jesus has for his people is described as agapeo, love. The greatest, deepest form of love. And so as we see in verse 36 and 37, these people gathered around, we see initially the polarizing effect just of Jesus's response on these people.

One group says that he loves them. The second group, however, responds with a question, and it seems to be a question that is simply a negative question. If we look at the words that we find here in verse 37, they say, but some of them said, could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind man, have kept this man also from dying?

Now, there's multiple ways that we could take this question. The first of those is that this is a vain question. In other words, this is a what if question. What if he had healed? What if he had been there?

What if he loved him so much? Surely he could have prevented this whole thing. If he can heal the sight of the blind man, surely he could have healed this man whom he supposedly loves. We can also see it as a truthful question because the reality of the statement is, is could this man who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept, could not this man have kept this man also from dying?

It's a true and a fair question and a question that we can all answer with a resounding absolutely. However, something more is at play. And so, if we are honest with ourselves, most of us have asked one of these two different types of questions or like a time or two in our lives, one of accusation regarding the truth of his love or one of what if or why didn't.

But Jesus provides the answer for us twice in this passage. First in verse four and then again later in verse 40. The first response is in response to the initial message he received regarding the sickness of Lazarus.

The second is found in just a few verses as he responds to Martha, and both bring us to the same reality. This, this event that we have recorded for us, just like all of life, just like all things occur even when we do not and cannot understand how or why they happen for the glory of God.

In all reality, this is the truth, the central theme that runs throughout all of scripture, throughout all of life. It is the entire purpose for all things. It is to bring glory to God. Unbeknownst to some, the central figure in the entirety of chapter 11 of John is.

Not Lazarus.

Lazarus gets the recognition 90 of the time. Well, which section are you reading? I'm reading the part about Lazarus' resurrection. But the central figure in this entire chapter is, always has been, and always will be Christ.

The Tomb, the Stone, and the Prayer of Jesus

In the next few verses, set a stage for us describing the events as they approach the tomb of Lazarus and the resurrection of Lazarus. So, as Jesus and the crowd reach the tomb, the first thing that scripture notes is that it was a cave with a stone covering the entrance.

Now, this may seem as if it is a inconsequential detail, but it is an important truth. It is a natural cave that the Greek language here actually specifically differentiates this cave from a man-made cave.

Together with the fact that the stone was still placed over the entrance serves as evidence that the grave had been undisturbed, had not been tampered with, that Lazarus' body had not been moved, and that he was truly dead.

A couple of times in this passage, it makes reference to the reality that Lazarus had been dead for four days. And this is important because in the Jewish tradition, four days served as a marker. If someone stayed dead for four days, they were absolutely, truly,.

Verifiably dead.

And so, as they approach, this is the situation. And Jesus commands those who were walking with them to remove the stone. And Martha, Martha protests. She says to him in verse 39, Lord, by this time he smells, for he has been dead four days.

Now, her comment was not a rebuke. It was a statement of fact, but it was also a statement that demonstrates how little Martha actually understands. You see, there's no doubt Martha had faith. We go back up and we can read the text again, but Martha's response to Jesus absolutely shows unequivocally that she believed.

What Martha lacked was full comprehension. As a result of that, there should be some things that we observe based on this understanding, first and foremost, that her faith was not conditioned on her full comprehension.

Sometimes we get the idea that faith requires full comprehension. The reality, however, is that faith, even though we have faith, we will not have full comprehension. To me, it solidifies the understanding that faith is a gift given by the grace of God, else we would all be stuck in the I cannot believe because I do not understand mindset.

Secondly, the miracle was going to occur. Whether Martha believed or didn't believe, there are some who would proclaim that, well, Martha had to believe in order for the miracle to occur. That is a false statement.

The reality is, is the miracle occurs to glorify the Father and glorify the Son. That will occur whether Martha agrees or believes or any of those things. Just like scripture is the truth, whether we believe it or not.

That doesn't change what it is. Finally, this lack of hope that she has demonstrated in her language, the word that she used is here, for he has been dead four days. The tense of this language is in the perfect tense.

What the perfect tense means is that she sees the death of Lazarus as a final and permanent reality. It is a past action that has a present consequence and a continuing consequence. And so, Martha does not have hope.

She has faith, but a lack of understanding has removed her hope. And Jesus says to her, in a very gentle rebuke, did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God? And so, the stone is then removed.

Now, verse 41 records for us the event of the stone being removed, and then the remainder of 41 and verse 42 record for us a prayer of Jesus. The interesting thing is that this is, or should be, considered an amazing prayer.

But that it also should teach us some things about prayer. First of all, you will note that the prayer itself was not 12 minutes long. It was not a repetition of the same ideas. Jesus did not drone on and on.

He merely acknowledged the fact that his father had already heard his request. The prayer, though not long, was still full. He acknowledged that God had already heard his request. He acknowledged that God always hears his request.

And then he makes it clear that the only reason he's even praying this out loud is because of the people standing around. How often do we overlook this truth when we come to God? We think it requires some magical recipe of things to put together to pray, versus merely taking ourselves.

He already knows. Jesus says, first thing he says, Father, I thank you that you have heard me. How often do we overlook the fact that he has already heard? Not only this prayer, but all prayers. What about the fact that prayer required no specific posture?

Each one of us was raised, most likely, with the idea that if your head wasn't bowed, your eyes wasn't closed, your hands weren't folded, you weren't praying. Some even went so far as to say if you weren't on your knees.

Some would say if you aren't on your face. Prayer is simply a means of communicating with God. It's a means of us speaking to him, delivering ourselves to him, submitting ourselves to him. And it requires nothing but that we come in the strength of the Almighty God.

Prayer itself was another small piece of evidence, and a chain of evidence. Jesus' continual referral to the Father, as the Father, reminds us and places him at a level equal with the Father. And so after Jesus prays the prayer, we have recorded for us in verse 43, it says, and when he said these things, he cried out with a loud voice.

Now, once again, most of us don't have the privilege of reading this in anything other than the English language, and it sounds wonderful, but the reality is, is we miss part of the truth of what's being said here.

The Greek word that is translated cried out here already contains within it the fact that it is a loud verbal command. And so then to it is added a modifier in the Greek language that also expresses the loudness, and the two of them together shows us the amplification of the sound that was heard.

John MacArthur describes it this way, at the command, at his command, at Jesus' command, the king of terrors yielded up his lawful captive. The grave was robbed of its victory. The door of death and Hades was unlocked by the one who holds the keys.

And Lazarus came forth from the grave throughout the New Testament. Time and time and time again, Jesus demonstrates his authority, his divinely appointed authority by statements that he makes, by miracles that he performed.

Matthew 9, chapter 9, verse 6, but so that you may know that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins. Then he said to the paralytic, get up, pick up your bed, and go home. It demonstrates for us the power that Christ had to forgive sins.

Luke 11, 20 demonstrates that the kingdom of God has come. It says, but if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you, demonstrating that he is the Messiah. He says in Luke 7, verse 19, summoning two of his disciples, John sent them to the Lord saying, are you the one who is to come, or should we look for someone else?

And the reply in verses 22, and he says to the disciples, the day will come when you long to see the Son of Man. In John 2, 19, Jesus answered, demonstrating the authority he had to cleanse the temple when they accosted him regarding his running out of the money changers, destroy the sanctuary, and in three days, I will raise it again.

Over and over, he taught his disciples that he would rise. Matthew 16, 21, from that time, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem, suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day.

Matthew 17, 22 through 23, and while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day,.

And they were deeply grieved.

Matthew 20, 18 and 19, behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and will deliver him over to the Gentiles to mock and flog and crucify him, and on the third day, he will be raised up.

Luke 24, 6 through 7, he is not here, but he is risen. Remember, he spoke to you while he was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.

Ultimately, by his own resurrection, Jesus would demonstrate his own authority. Paul records in Romans 1, verse 4, who has designated as the Son of God in power, according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

But here, in the 11th chapter of John's Gospel, Jesus puts on a display that demonstrates and substantiates that claim that he made in verse 25 and 26, where he says, I am the resurrection and the life.