Could Lazarus Have Said No?

John 11 and the Glory of God at Lazarus’s Tomb

Commands us to do as we wrapped up the last radio free Geneva. We were looking at John chapter 11. I Wanted to read it to you because I'm going to replay the section. Because I I really do want to try to bring out some important elements of.

These.

Discussions. These sermons Not just you know provide a rebuttal but also Hopefully direct your attention to some of the underlying issues that are that are very important and that I would Hope we would see are our central to our understanding of basically where things have gone wrong in In a lot of evangelicalism today.

In John chapter 11 beginning verse 38. Then Jesus deeply moved again came to the tomb. It was a cave and a stone lay against it. Jesus said take away the stone. Martha the sister of the dead man said to him Lord By this time there will be an odor free.

Has been dead four days. Jesus said to her did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God and just stop right there.

And.

Here that what you know Jesus is putting his own position here. He cannot fail. He has promised that. Here Martha would see the glory of God and He goes on to say so they took away the stone and Jesus lifted lifted up his eyes said father I thank you that you have heard me if Jesus fails.

Then we have reason to doubt with the father. Here's the son. We have reason to to question the very harmony of the Trinity itself. He says I knew that you always hear me but I said this on account of the people standing around they may believe that you sent me.

So Jesus is putting himself in a position here. There is no possibility of failure if Jesus fails here. Scratch Christianity. Scratch the of Christ. Scratch Jesus as Messiah as the one sent by the father.

Everything it goes out the door. There's nothing here there. Where is the focus on Lazarus. What is the focus in Jesus's own words? You're gonna see the glory of God father. I thank you that you have heard me.

I knew that you always hear you. But I said as an account of people standing around that they may believe that you sent me. He is going to do a work that is going to testify that he has been sent by the father.

And then when he had said these things he cried out with a loud voice. He didn't whisper it. He didn't say it with a loud voice so that the dead man could hear him and respond as a dead man. He said this is a loud voice so that there would be no question as to who worked this sign.

There was no whispering. There were no incantations. There was no nothing going on with a loud voice.

Jesus.

Commands.

He commands Lazarus to come forth. That is a word of command. Isn't it obvious? That the whole point of all of John chapter 11 Jesus staying for the extra days Even when the people came and said the Lazarus was the whole point was to bring about this very situation of Lazarus dead for four days in the tomb and that Jesus in Fulfillment of John chapter 5 the dead will hear the voice of Son of God and they will come forth not because they choose to.

Not because they have the capacity to but because the Son of God has the power to give life to whom he pleases. John chapter 5 here's the fulfillment. I am the resurrection life. It's all about Jesus.

It's all about his power. It's all about his capacity to do exactly what the father wills him to do. Isn't it clear. And after Jesus cries out Lazarus come out the man who had died came out had died. He's not dead anymore.

Because he chose to become undead. No, because Jesus said I am the resurrection and the life Jesus said I give life to whom I will it's all about Jesus. It isn't about Lazarus. This is so obvious so plain so clear that is absolutely stunning.

To hear any man stand before thousands of people thousands of people and.

Say.

What Bob Coy said. Let's listen to it again. Well, can a dead man respond to the command of Christ?

Well, no, he can't.

Really? Do you remember the story of Lazarus? It was dead.

Very very dead.

He was so dead He'd been in the grave for three days four days. Jesus stands outside the tomb of Lazarus. He says Lazarus come out. And Lazarus said I can't I'm dead. That's not what he did. Lazarus came out.

So you mean to tell me a dead person can respond to the command of Christ and even in an act of obedience?

There you go. Like I said this I've never. I had had a lady called years and years ago. And in fact, someone said that this this particular program played on the Wayback Machine last week. But I had a lady call once and and I had asked her Could Lazarus have said no Jesus just Lazarus come forth and Could you have heard a voice coming back out of the tomb?

No, thanks. You don't know what's like live with those women, you know. Could that have happened. And you know what her answer was her answer was yes. The Son of God could have failed could have failed to do this.

Now. That's a different argument than what he's saying here. I Disagreed with the person Charles said oh, yeah someone you said you had never heard anybody use that argument before. No, that wasn't her argument.

Her argument was that Lazarus had a choice. The argument he's making here is as a dead person You can choose to be obedient to God therefore resulting in Your I guess becoming an undead person. So, I don't think that Bob Coy would say that there was a possibility that Jesus could have failed.

But I suppose he'd have to when you think about it. I.

Mean.

One of his big things here is he's got this complete Misunderstanding of the reformed position and saying well once God calls it You just got to come whether you want to come or not. He does no concept of what regeneration is reformed theology at all.

It's just it just doesn't understand it. So I guess he'd have to say that Lazarus could have said no. No, thanks Don't want to like it in here. It's nice and cool quiet. I guess that's way to have to.

I don't know. I Don't know but I feel for the people in that in the thousands of People audience is sitting from. I feel for those who are Seriously thinking about their faith or maybe serious facing serious challenges to their faith this kind of preaching Cripples the listener.

Do you hear me? You know people say you're just so mean picking on people. You like to make fun of people and they're nice folks and Bob Coy is a nice guy I'm sure he is but this kind of preaching cripples the people in the audience.

It does not give them an example of how to do exegesis it leaves them in confusion and It leaves them incapable of giving a defense for the faith. It destroys foundational truths. Even when it presents truths it does so in such a way that you don't really understand why it's true.

You're just told that it is and so it's not mean to review such things and hopefully people learn to think critically about what they're hearing from the pulpit and Hopefully those behind the pulpit Are called to a higher standard in handling the Word of God and being consistent in the presentation of the truths that it teaches.