The Keys of Hell And of Death (Resurrection Sunday Part 1)

Thank you for listening to this message from the ministry of Morse Corner Church in Leverett, Massachusetts. Morse Corner is a non-denominational church that is committed to the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our church was founded in 1896 by two students of the famous evangelist D .L. Moody. We seek to encourage and edify the body of Christ through the proclamation of God's word through the ministries of the local church.

If you'd like more information, visit our website, morsecornerchurch .com. We hope you enjoy the message. You know, it's true that Christianity really does rise or fall on this one thing. Whether or not Jesus rose from the tomb.

The Resurrection of Jesus as the Foundation of Christianity

So that's what I'm going to be speaking to you about this morning. So if you would, please turn in your Bibles to the Gospel of John chapter 11. We're going to talk about Jesus and his resurrection. But there's also a well-known story about, well, it's called the resurrection when Jesus raised Lazarus from the tomb.

Sort of a foreshadow of what would happen just a few days later. But Christians contend, and I certainly contend, that this event that we celebrate on Easter Sunday, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is the most important event in the history of the world.

And as of this moment, Jesus is the only person, technically, who has ever been resurrected. I'll explain in just a moment, but in the book of the Revelation, Jesus said, I am he that liveth and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore.

Amen. And I have the keys of hell and death. Only Jesus can say that. Here in John chapter 11, this is the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the tomb. But here's the thing about Lazarus. Lazarus lived, he died, he was raised, but he died again.

Jesus is the only one to be resurrected where he conquered death and lives forevermore. This, of course, is what sets Christianity apart from every other religion, and sometimes we don't even call this a religion.

We call it the faith. It is the Christian faith because we believe that the founder, the author, and the finisher, but the founder of our faith, he was dead, but now he lives forevermore. Just one moment before we get into the text.

This totally is different from any other religion.

Why?

Because the founders of all the world's major religions, they all share one thing in common. What is that? They all died. And they stayed dead. That's the difference. Buddha is dead. Muhammad is dead.

The popes are all dead, except for one. Well, two, actually. But whoever founded Hinduism, they're dead too. See, nobody has ever cheated death, and certainly nobody has ever conquered death except for one.

The one who has power over death, the one who has power in and of himself to give life, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Now, I know that at this moment, there's somebody, maybe a few, who, not really sure if you believe that.

Either you don't believe it, or you're not really sure if you believe it. The purpose of this message is that you might believe. And if somebody does believe, but they have been wandering, I pray that this day would be the day they commit, recommit their lives to the cause of Christ.

Why?

Because we need you. We need you. We need, in this hour where we're at, we need all of God's people to stand together. If you haven't noticed, things are changing in the world. They're changing very quickly.

We need all of God's people to stand together in these final days. Before we continue, let's open in prayer. Our Father in heaven, my prayer this morning is that your name would be kept holy, that Christ would be glorified, and that through your word and through your spirit, you might breathe life into that which is dead.

We ask this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

The Raising of Lazarus in John 11

Look at John chapter 11, starting in verse 1. It says, there was a certain man who was sick named Lazarus of Bethany in the town of Mary and her sister Martha. And it was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.

Therefore, the sisters said to him, saying, or sent to him, sent to Jesus, saying, Lord, behold, he whom you love is sick. And when Jesus heard that, he said, this sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.

Now, Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that he was sick, he stayed two more days in the place where he was. And that probably doesn't sound right. Well, he loved them. She's sending someone to tell Jesus Lazarus is sick.

And it says he loved Lazarus, but because he loved him, he stayed where he was. It's interesting.

We continue.

So when, verse six, he heard that he was sick, he stayed two more days in the place where he was. Then after this, he said to the disciples, let us go to Judea again. And the disciples said to him, Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone you and you're 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 one walks in the night, he stumbles because the light is not in him.

And these things he said. And after that, he said to them, our friend, Lazarus, what sleeps. Remember that our friend Lazarus sleeps. But I go that I may wake him up. Then his disciples said, Lord, if he sleeps, he will get well.

However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought he was speaking about taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus said to them, plainly, Lazarus is dead. Now, right away, we notice something. Jesus speaks as death, as sleep.

Now, why would Jesus call death sleep? First, he says he's sleeping. And the disciples, well, just let him rest. He'll feel better soon. But then Jesus has to tell them, no, I meant he's deceased. So, why is, that's the first question we want to look at.

Why is death referred to here as sleep? Well, one reason, it's the perfect illustration really. Have you ever been with someone who's sleeping and you look at them and all of a sudden you get a little worried?

And you want to check and you look at them really close to make sure their chest is just rising just a little bit. Or maybe you get really close to them to see if you can hear if they're breathing. Or maybe you even nudge them just to make sure.

Well, one reason why death is compared to sleep is because when people are sleeping, you know, they look like they're dead. Unless they snore, and that's a different situation. Here's the more important reason, though.

Jesus calls death sleep because he knows it's not temporary. He knows that everyone who is dead eventually will wake up. You say, well, believers will wake up. No, everybody's going to wake up, and we're going to touch on that in a second.

But he says about Lazarus, our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him. So here's the first point. If you take notes, write it down. Write this down. Everybody who dies will be raised from the dead.

Everybody who dies will be raised from the dead. This is taught in both testaments. It's taught in the Old Testament, the book of Daniel, chapter 12, verse 2, says those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake.

Some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt. So everybody who dies will be raised. Then in the New Testament, Jesus said in John 5, 28 and 29, speaking about his return at the end of the age, Jesus said, do not marvel at this, for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear his voice and come forth, speaking of himself.

Those who have done good to the resurrection of life and to those who have done evil to the resurrection of condemnation. So again, everybody who dies will be raised from the dead. And ultimately, there are two destinations.

Those who believe the gospel will be raised to eternal life, to spend eternity with God in the presence of his light and his love. Those who do not obey the gospel, the scripture says, they will be forever separated from God, separated from his light and love in a place that Jesus describes as outer darkness.

So Jesus is a friend to Lazarus. Lazarus is a close friend of Jesus. Jesus allows Lazarus to die. For what reason? So he could raise him from the dead. This would be a sign so that men might believe. And by the way, this is what the church is all about.

This is why the church exists. You know, God could save us and just take us to heaven. But he leaves us here so that we can do what? That we can testify of the works of God. He leaves us here. He has the church on earth so that we can tell other people.

And this is what this event, the raising of Lazarus, is all about, to be a testimony so that men might believe. So Lazarus and his sisters lived in the town of Bethany. This is about two miles outside of the city of Jerusalem.

And the thing about Jerusalem, this is where all of Jesus's enemies were. Well, he had enemies everywhere, but most of them were in Jerusalem. So at this point in the ministry of Jesus, things were escalating quickly.

The leaders of Israel were already talking about how they could kill Jesus. You know, how are we going to do this? They wanted him dead. It's just a matter of figuring out how to do it. Why did they want Jesus dead?

Several reasons, I suppose. But the main reason, I think, they viewed him as a threat. They were the ones in power. And you know, people who have power, they're concerned about one thing. Keeping that power.

Everything they do is about keeping their power. And that's what's going on here. So the religious leaders were also the political leaders, which is not a good idea, usually. But they're the ones in power.

They were cooperating with the Romans. And they had a good thing going. So they wanted to hold on to their position. Here's the problem, though. Jesus had a lot of popular support. The people throughout the land loved, the leaders hated Jesus.

And this is common, too, that usually the people in charge do not love the Lord. But the common man is much more likely to love the Lord. So Jesus had this popular support. And the last thing the leaders wanted was for Jesus to disrupt their gravy train.

Right?

This is what it's all about. Because there was talk, there were rumors that Jesus is not just a prophet. He is the Christ. He is the Son of God. So the leaders were afraid that Jesus might lead some revolution.

And they would lose their control over the people. So all of Jesus' enemies are in Jerusalem. Lazarus is sick. And guess what? Lazarus, Mary, and Martha, they live near Jerusalem. So the last place the disciples wanted to go was where?

Jerusalem.

Right, I mean that makes sense. Their attitude was, this is too dangerous. Too dangerous. So when Jesus stays put in the region beyond the Jordan River, a ways away. When Jesus stays put, they're okay with that.

They're just fine with that. And Jesus stayed long enough intentionally so that number one, Lazarus would die. Number two, would give him the opportunity to go and raise him from the dead. And then number three, the purpose was that people would see it and believe.

So Jesus tells the disciples, look at verse 15 again. He tells him, Lazarus is dead. And he says, I am glad for your sakes that I was not there. That you may believe. Nevertheless, let us go to him. This is just a thought that came into my mind.

You know, did the disciples believe? He says, I'm doing this so that you may believe. He's talking to his disciples who already believed in him, right? Well, you know, sometimes you can believe. But you need to believe more.

You know, sometimes I trust the Lord. How much do you trust the Lord? God is going to bring things into your life so that your trust, which might be like this, turns into this. Thanks for listening. I'm Pastor Michael Grant from Morris Cornick Church.

If you'd like to listen to the complete message, or if you'd like more information about the ministry, visit our website, morriscornickchurch .com. And we'd love to have you join us some Sunday morning here in Leverett.

Until next time, may the grace of God be with you.