Lenox Federated Church - Firm Foundations, Creation to Christ

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Firm Foundations

Creation to Christ

Lesson 43 - Jesus Raises Lazarus from the Dead

Questions for the LFC Firm Foundations Coordinator may be emailed to firmfoundations@lenoxchurch.org

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REVIEW QUESTIONS:

1. How did the shepherds in Jesus’ day make themselves like a door to the sheep? At nighttime, the shepherds would lie across the entrance to the enclosure where they put their sheep to protect them.

2. Why did Jesus call Himself the door of the sheep? Because He is the door through whom we must enter into eternal life.

3. How does the one door into Noah’s ark remind us of Jesus?

a. Just as there was only one door into the ark, so Jesus is the only way to eternal life.

b. Just as only those who entered into the ark by the door were saved from God’s judgment, so only those who put their faith in Jesus will be saved from the everlasting fire.

4. Of whom do the thieves and robbers who killed the sheep remind us? Of Satan, the evil spirits, and people who say that there are ways to be accepted by God other than Jesus, the Deliverer.

5. What did Jesus say He would do for His sheep? He said that He would give His life for them.

6. What did Jesus promise to give to His sheep? Everlasting life.

7. Who are Jesus’ sheep? All those who have agreed with God that they are helpless sinners and have put their trust only in Jesus as their Savior.

8. Is there another way to God for people in other countries? No. Jesus is the only Savior for all people everywhere.

Our lesson today concerns something which people try to avoid talking about.

- It’s strange how most people avoid mentioning it, because it’s common to all of us.

- We talk about our health.

- We even talk about our age.

- Many spend enormous amounts of money trying to get well and stay well, trying to look young and stay young—trying to avoid getting old.

- But few people want to talk about death.

Jesus talked about it. And what He had to say should change forever our thoughts about life and about death!

LOCATE BETHANY, JERUSALEM, AND TO THE AREA EAST OF THE JORDAN ON THE MAP BELOW.

Jesus was on the other side of the Jordan River. Even though He was a long way from where Lazarus was, Jesus still knew all that was going to happen to Lazarus.

- Jesus is God.

- There isn’t anything that He doesn’t know.

- Jesus knew that Lazarus was going to die. Jesus had all power available to Him.

- He could have healed Lazarus without even going to where he was.

- Or Jesus could have gone immediately to Lazarus to heal him. Instead, Jesus waited two days because He knew that this situation was going to be another opportunity for Him to show His mighty power as the Son of God.

It may seem as though Jesus didn’t love Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, but that is not true. He loved them and was concerned for them, but He had a good reason for allowing Lazarus to die. Jesus truly loves every person and wants everyone of us to trust in Him as our Savior. Through Lazarus’ death, Jesus was going to show His power to give life to those who believe.

The disciples did not understand what Jesus meant.

- They thought that Jesus was going to allow the Jewish leaders to kill Him so He could be with Lazarus.

- That is not what Jesus meant.

Martha believed that Jesus had the power to heal her brother and that God, His Father, would do whatever Jesus asked Him to do.

- Explanation:

- Jesus meant for Martha to understand that He intended to bring her brother back to life right away, but she thought that Jesus was referring to the time at the end of the world when all people will be brought back to life.

- God had taught the Jews, through His prophets, that all people will be made alive in the body again. God gives life to every person, even before each one is born, and He will also give life to all the dead when the time comes for everyone to stand before God and be judged.

The only way anyone can escape the punishment for sins is through Jesus, the Deliverer.

“Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life....”

- Jesus wanted Martha to understand that Lazarus did not have to remain dead until the day of God’s judgment of all people.

- He is the giver of life and therefore has the power to restore life to the dead. He is the only one who can give life to the dead.

- No other person can give life to the dead.

- Satan cannot give life to those who are dead.

- Only God can give life, for He is the almighty Creator who gave life to everyone and everything.

- Consider:

Some people today believe in reincarnation. They think that someone who dies comes back to live on earth again as another person or as an animal or other creature. This is a lie of Satan. He wants people to think that they don’t need to be delivered from their sins. He wants them to believe that there is no Hell and no judgment. If he can get people to believe that there is another life for them right here on earth, then they will think that they don’t need Jesus Christ and they don’t need to be saved from God’s righteous punishment for their sins. Satan is a deceiver, and the lie of reincarnation is another of his attempts to keep men away from God and eternal life. No matter how cleverly this lie of reincarnation is presented to you, don’t believe it! The Bible clearly tells us in Hebrews 9:27 that “…it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,”

Jesus said that, although those who trust in Him as their Savior die physically, they never die to God.

- They are never separated from God to be punished for their sins.

- They only leave this world to go to live with God in Heaven.

Martha was not like most of the people.

- They only followed Jesus because they wanted healing or food for their bodies or political freedom.

- They were not interested in knowing Him as their Savior from sin and everlasting punishment.

Martha truly believed and trusted in Jesus as the promised Deliverer who had come from God.

Jesus knew that He was going to bring Lazarus back to life again, but He wept because He felt the grief of the people who were grieving over Lazarus.

- Recall:

Do you remember that we studied about the fact that God made man in God’s image? He gave man emotions because God has emotions. He feels sadness.

Jesus Christ is God, and He feels sorrow and grief. He is able to identify with us when we grieve. Jesus cried—not because He had no hope of seeing Lazarus alive again in this world but because He identified with the grief of the people and He grieved for all men because of the horrible results of sin. This was the very reason He came into the world: to deliver men, women, and children from death and to give them eternal life.

- Consider:

Some people think that emotions always have a bad connotation. But God gave us emotions. He Himself feels grief, compassion, love, anger because of injustice, and joy over what is true and right.

God is deeply grieved for all people because there is sin in the world.

- Because there is sin, there is sickness and death.

- Sin and death came into the world because of Adam’s disobedience to God.

- All people are now sinners, and we die because we are all the descendants of Adam.

- Consider:

Does God care when you are sick or when someone dies? Yes, He does care. God loves you, and He wants you to believe His words and trust in Jesus as your Savior. He wants you to be with Him forever and ever. Because God doesn’t want any of us to go to the place of everlasting separation and punishment, He sent Jesus into the world to deliver each of us from our sins and Satan and death.

Jesus is God.

- There has never been any other man like Him.

- He is almighty.

- In the beginning, He, with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, created all things.

- They created all things just by speaking.

Now, Jesus stood at the entrance to the tomb and spoke.

- He commanded Lazarus to come back to life.

- Whatever Jesus says always happens.

Many Jews believed in the Lord Jesus when they saw His power demonstrated in the raising of Lazarus from the dead. But the priests and the Pharisees were only interested in keeping their position of power and their wealth. They were afraid that the people might make Jesus their king.

- These Jewish leaders knew that the Romans who controlled the Jews and their land would never agree to Jesus being king.

- The Romans would be angry and blame the Jewish leaders for allowing the people to make Jesus their king, and they would replace the Jewish leaders with Roman leaders. Because the scribes, priests, and Pharisees wanted to keep their place of authority, they planned to kill Jesus. Satan was leading these men.

- Satan does not want anyone to believe on Jesus and be saved from his power.

- He is still trying today to keep people deceived so they won’t believe in Jesus as their Savior.

Of Satan, Jesus said, “…He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him…” (John 8:44).

But of Himself, Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life, He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live...” (John 11:25).

Jesus has the words of life.

“For God so loved the world that He have His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16).

QUESTIONS:

1. Who has the power to give and to take life?

2. Will all people be raised from the dead and judged by God?

3. Why didn’t Lazarus have to wait until the final day to be raised?

4. What did Jesus mean when He said that those who believe in Him will never die?

5. Did Jesus know before He got to Bethany that Lazarus had died?

6. Why did Jesus plan to raise Lazarus back to life? 7. Why did Jesus cry?

8. Why weren’t the priests and Pharisees happy to see Jesus performing these great miracles?

9. Who was leading these men?

10. Why does Satan want to make people believe in reincarnation?

Suggested Daily Bible Readings:

Day 211: Matthew, Chapters 24 and 25

Day 212: Matthew, Chapters 26 and 27

Day 213: Matthew, Chapter 28 and John, Chapter 21

Day 214: Isaiah, Chapters, 1 and 2

Day 215: Isaiah, Chapters, 3 and 4