Sermon Text v40
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Warm welcome. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Good to be together. Warm welcome to those that are visiting with us. Warm welcome to those online watching as well. We pray God's blessing on our time together as we draw near to worship God.
So just to introduce myself as a visitor. My name is Scott McLeod. David is a minister from Holiday. So I have done the last two years here. So I'm ministering training and I've just finished my time. So I am actually at my last Sunday sermon here. So yeah. I know. Don't start.
But I'll be here on Wednesday. I'll leave the planning on Wednesday. So just to go through the intimations. It's been on the screen. Tea and coffee will be served after the service here. Just to my left.
Creshe is available. Room directly behind me. You can go through the store at any point. Just to go through into the creche room there. Also welcome to stay in.
Tonight's service will be retired Reverend Callum McLeod. Shabbos. And then English fellowship will follow at 7.15. So everyone's welcome to stay behind or come along after the evening service for that.
And Angus and Creshe will update us with their recent trip to Asia. Their missionary trip to Asia. So just to highlight. I don't have an individual in front of me. I usually do it on my phone.
So ladies fellowship. I'm relying on the screen. I know this there for David being away and I'm just covering any pastoral issues.
Little fishes will not be on. No little fishes Tuesday this week. We'll do recovery Tuesday 7pm. As I said I'll be taken by myself this Wednesday God willing.
And men's Bible study. Look at the third question in the Shorter Catechism. And God willing to serve us this next week. The morning will be taken by Stuart King.
And evening will be taken by Pharaoh. So all these intimations are God willing. We're praying for these things that are taking part in the congregation.
So we'll begin our time of worship now. We'll begin by singing in Psalm 95. Psalm 95. Psalm 95. It's a call itself to come and worship God. O come let us sing to the Lord.
Come let us everyone. A joyful noise make to the rock of our salvation. And we'll sing down to the end of verse Mark 6. And we'll stand to sing. O come let us sing to the Lord.
Come let us everyone. A joyful noise make to the rock of our salvation.
Let us sing to the Lord.
A joyful noise. For God our great Lord and great King.
Above all gods He is. Deaths of the earth are in His hand.
The strength of illnesses is. To Him the nations He belongs.
For He the same did make. But right and great King. But right and also from His hands.
It's warm and firstly take. O come and let us worship Him.
Let us bow down with all. And on our knees before the Lord.
Our Maker let us fall. Let us join together in a word of prayer.
Let us bow and pray together. Our Father in heaven. Our Father in heaven. Our Father in heaven. We thank you for this your day. We thank you for this opportunity to come and worship you.
As we sung there. You are a God that has created the heavens. You are a great God. You are above all others.
And so let us have that humble approach that it says in the psalm. That we would bow down before you.
On our knees we come. As little children almost. As a picture that you are our Father. And we come acknowledging our sinfulness.
Before such a mighty and holy God. And so we pray that we would know you in such a manner.
And have that fear of God instilled in us. And yet knowing that you are a God that invites us to come.
Desires us to come. And as a picture of Jesus teaching Mary as she sat at his feet.
May we come and sit at your feet. Give us hearts that sit at your word. And hear it. And receive it. And dwell on it. That it would be a word that would sit in our hearts.
And remain in our hearts. Words that we can think upon. And meditate upon. Words and promises that we can come back to. In difficult days.
When our hearts are full of even joy. That we can recall the experience of the psalmist. That lifts his heart in praise.
And often bemoans. How even he felt that the Lord was not hearing him. That the Lord had abandoned him. Our feelings are so varied and fluctuating.
They go up and down. We reel and stagger like one drunk. We're up and down all the time. But your word is constant. Your word and your.
You do not change. Your promises are for us. And you have secured salvation. For your people that will come and believe and trust in you. And so. Give us believing hearts. Work faith.
In us this morning. May your word speak. May your spirit come. And do our work. In each of us. In each of us. Through us. Through us. Through us. Through us. Through us.
Through us. Through us. Through us. Through us. Through us. Through us. Through us. Through us. Through us. Through us.
Through us. Through us. Through us. Through us. Through us. Through us. that it would be a word that would not return empty, that would not be void, but that it would speak to our difficulties, to our hearts, to our conscience, and that we would come and bow before you, knowing our need, that we come.
And so let us come in worship to you. We pray for services that take place in this village, in this island, from differing congregations.
We pray for them. We pray for increase. We pray for souls to be saved where Christ crucified is preached. Across our nation, across our world, Lord, we pray, do our work.
Revive our hearts. Bring us back to you. We pray for David as he takes our time on holiday. We pray for safety.
We pray for rest and refreshment in the family. We pray for Gordon in Helmsdale as he continues his placement there and expects to stay to do a holiday club. We pray that you would bless their time and encourage himself and encourage the congregation there.
We also are mindful to pray for those who are laid aside in sickness, and especially we pray for little Caleb. We pray for him.
We pray for the family. We pray that you would be near to them. We pray that they would know your presence. We pray that you would hear the prayers of your people. And we pray that you would have them safe in your arms.
We pray for those who know the frailty of the body and cannot make it out to be with us. At home, we remember them. And we ask that you would be with them and comfort them from their pains and aches and the inabilities that they have to come and join with us.
We pray that you would bless them as they hear this message and open up your words. So we pray for young and old. We pray for time of holiday. We pray for holiday clubs.
We pray for safety for children. We pray that you would watch over them and keep them, but that they would grow in knowledge of you and the knowledge of Jesus who saves.
So we pray, help us now as we draw near to worship you. Be with us, we ask. In Jesus' name. Amen. Now, if I could say a word to the younger ones that are with us, if you could just come down to the frontier and speak to me.
Look at how you saw it. Slow this morning. Just coming down. Come and take a seat.
Right. I want to ask. I don't know if any of you know this. I mean, Katie and Lily will. Do you know when I was a wee boy and girl where I grew up?
Ten years, no. Any ideas? Katie, where was it? Back. I grew up in back.
I believe there was a football game last night. Do you see? Yes. Who was playing? Harris to be back. Harris and back. And what happened?
What happened? Harris won. Harris won. Harris won. One nil. I don't know. I think back won.
Is it back won? Yeah. No, no. How many of you are there? Where they are? Who's there? One, two, three, four. Oh, perfect.
Four of you are there. And none of you are telling me that back won. No? No? Who won? Harris. And they won? One nil, did they?
And if I'm going to stand here and say, I don't think back won, what would you say to me? You're going to say, Harris won again. And how would you prove to me?
How would you show me that Harris won? Is there anything that Harris got to show that they won? A trophy. A trophy, yeah? Stevie was holding that trophy, was he?
Yeah? He was quite happy with this trophy. So they got a trophy. That's proof that they won, isn't it? It's evidence. What else could you show me? Maybe camera.
Maybe some people took lots of photos. Videos. Videos. Calm, yeah. Videos. All these different things. It's all evidence, isn't it? To prove to me that Harris won.
I'm back never. Sad, isn't it? No. I'm sort of in between now, so I don't know who I would support. Now, the Bible, there's four of you at that football game.
And you're all saying the same thing, aren't you? Harris won. Now, do you know how many Gospels there are in the Bible? How many stories there are about Jesus?
How many people wrote about Jesus' life? Do you know how many? Four. Yeah, bang on. Four. And what are they all saying this? And they're all saying the same thing, aren't they?
What did Jesus do? He died on the... They're all saying the same thing, aren't they? There's four people, just like the four of you are at the football game, and you're all telling me the same thing.
Harris won. It's proof to me. Harris won. And there's four Gospels in the Bible telling us all about Jesus' life, telling us all the miracles he did.
Didn't they? Yeah. And they all tell us Jesus died on the cross for us. And so there's lots of evidence there.
We're looking at evidence this morning in our sermon. But it's a sure thing. When everyone's saying the same thing. It's supposing everyone in here was saying, Harris won.
And I was saying, no, no, no, that won. I would be wrong. It's a sure thing when everyone's saying the same thing that it's true, isn't it? You guys aren't lying, are you?
Are you lying? No, you're telling the truth. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, they're all telling the truth. So remember, so when you read the stories about Jesus, I want you to remember that they're true.
Okay. And that Jesus died on the cross to pay. What did he pay for? Our sins. So let's pray together.
Our Father in heaven, we pray that when we read the Bible, when we read about the stories of Jesus, that he came into this world to die on the cross for us, and take away all our sin, that we would believe and trust in these accounts as a word of God and the truth of God.
So pray that you'll be with us as we grow up and help us to believe if we struggle to believe. In Jesus' name. Amen. Well, thank you, boys and girls, for listening.
Remember, four stories. Okay, so we'll sing once more. We're going to sing the hymn Amazing Grace.
Mission Praise 31. Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound has saved a wretch like me. It's true. So let us stand to sing in a moment these words to God's praise.
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound has saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now am found. Was light, but now I see.
How sweet the sound has saved a wretch like me.
How precious did that face appear, the earth I first believe. How precious did that face appear, the earth I first believe.
Through many dangers, swords and seers I have already come Tis grace upon me saved us far And grace will lead me home When we've been there ten thousand years By shining at the sun We've no less been to save those days Than when we first began Okay, pray for the children as they go through to Sunday school.
And we'll turn to a scripture reading which we'll find in the Gospel of John. Gospel of John chapter 11. Read from verse 1 from the beginning to verse 44.
Gospel of John chapter 11 from the beginning. We've been looking at the resurrecting work of Jesus in his life.
And we come to that kind of the death and resurrection of Lazarus. So let us hear God's word. Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.
It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sister sent to him saying, Lord, he whom you love is ill.
But when Jesus heard it, he said, this illness does not lead to death, for it is for the glory of God. So that the son of God may be glorified through it.
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.
Then after this, he said to his disciples, let us go to Judea again. The disciples said to him, Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you.
And you're going to go 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 anyone walks in the night, he stumbles because the light is not in him. After saying these things, he said to them, our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.
The disciples said to him, Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover. Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest and sleep.
Then Jesus told them plainly, Lazarus has died. And for your sake, I am glad that I was not there so that you may believe.
But let us go to him. So Thomas called the twins said to his fellow disciples, let us also go that we may die with him. Now, when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.
Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off. And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him.
But Mary remained seated in the house. Martha said to Jesus, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.
Jesus said to her, your brother will rise again. Martha said to him, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.
Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.
Do you believe this? She said to him, yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the son of God, who is coming into the world.
And when she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, the teacher is here and he is calling for you. And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him.
Now, Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. And the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly to go out.
They followed her. Supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. Now, when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, where have you laid him?
And he said, where have you laid him? They said to him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. So the Jews said, see how he loved him. But some of them said, could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?
Then Jesus deeply moved again, came to the tomb that was the cave, and the 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 for he 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?
So they took away the stone and Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me.
But I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me. When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, Lazarus, come out.
The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, unbind him and let him go.
Amen. May the reading of God's word be a blessing to those who have heard it. Before we come back to that passage, we'll sing and we'll sing in Gaelic.
We'll sing first two verses, Psalm 40. I waited for the Lord my God and patiently did bear.
At length to me, he did incline my voice and cry to hear. He took me from a fearful pit and from the mighty clay and on a rock. He set my feet, establishing my ways.
We'll remain seated while we sing in Gaelic to God's praise. He was singing in Gaelic to God's praise. He was singing in Gaelic to God's praise.
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... ... If you have a bible please turn back to that passage we read together. Gospel of John chapter 11. Read again at verse 40.
Jesus said to us. Jesus said to us. Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God. glory of God. So let us briefly pray as we come to this passage. Our Father in heaven, we ask that you would help us. We ask that you would take from this passage, which has many great truths and great verses that we can dwell upon, more than we can consider this morning, but we pray that you would speak to us through it, that we would see your hand of power at work in the lives of Lazarus, Mary and Martha. But Lord, we pray that your spirit and your word would come with power into our own lives this morning. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen.
So as I was saying to you, we've been looking at the resurrecting power and work of Jesus Christ. As he was living on earth, he rose the widow's son in name, we looked at last Sunday morning.
A widow who had, really she had nothing to our name. And then in the evening we looked at Jairus' daughter who he raised. Jairus was a ruler of the synagogue. And it's almost like Jairus, he almost had everything. He was a ruler of the synagogue, probably one that people would have looked up to, someone that people would have thought he had it all sorted. The woman who had nothing, the man who had everything, they both needed Jesus.
And here we have Jesus' close friends, likewise, needing Jesus. Still in need of Jesus. And no matter who we are, we need Jesus. And the Gospel writers knew this. The Gospel writers knew that we needed to believe, we needed to understand who Jesus was. And last week we were in the Gospel of Luke. Luke had written his Gospel for Theophilus, his friend, so that he would be certain about Jesus. And he would be sure about who this man was. And today we're in the Gospel of John. A Gospel that is written so that the reader would believe. That's what he says at the end of his Gospel. You have written this so that you would believe. And believing is key to John. As John writes his Gospel, he's wanting you to believe. He's wanting you to grasp who Jesus is. And in this Gospel he records signs. He's recording evidence really, to point you, to point me to Jesus, to who he is. And this Gospel, it's like, it's centred around seven signs really. Seven evidences of who Jesus is. Jesus revealing himself in power.
Father, the Son of God. And here we have Jesus in the last of the signs, the seventh sign, raising a man that has died, bringing him back to life.
Now, we sometimes joke that, you know, if we won the lottery, we wouldn't tell anyone, but there'd be signs. You know, there might be signs that there's a new house, signs that there's a bright red Ferrari outside, maybe signs that there's even a new face. But they're all evidence is pointing to the truth, aren't they? They're signs to show you, even when you're not told, that they've won the lottery.
And the Gospel, there are evidences pointing us to the truth, to what's happened. But it's actually telling us at the same time. This is truth.
It's all so that we can believe. It's all so that we can understand. And so as we look at this account, I want us to notice in this resurrection account, much as same as what we picked out last week, is that as it wasn't for the son, it was for the son, but it was more so for the widow.
So she got her life back in the resurrection account when he rose her son back to life.
And in the same passage here, it's almost as if it's done for the people. It's done actually for us. It's done for you and for me.
So I want to hinge out thoughts on that and the points that we have on that. So that it's revealed for us, it's evidence for us. And the first point that we think about is a time.
And it's a time that we can put it in for you. Second point is a promise. Again, for you. Thirdly, sympathy.
For you. And last, evidence. For you. It's all for us. So that we, as it says, may believe.
So firstly, a time for you. Now there's loads in this passage and we're just sort of skimming it. But we, I want to see there's a time for us.
Now, Ecclesiastes tells us there's a time for everything, doesn't it? There's a good time, a right time to do something. Even the simplest of jokes that we tell, if we tell it at the wrong time, well, kind of just the complete wrong impact that we were thinking or expected.
The best invention in the world, if it comes out at the wrong time, just doesn't have the effect that it should have. And in our passage, Jesus' time, it sort of grabs our attention, doesn't it?
And you'll see it in verse 6, if you look at that verse. The message has been delivered. And the Jesus' time means so when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.
Jesus is delayed to act. The Son of God who would have rightly known the situation in its entirety. He would have known Lazarus' sisters.
He would have known exactly what was going on. But he waits not just one day, but two days. The message came from his sisters, Mary and Martha, friends of Jesus and well known to Jesus.
And that's emphasised in the passage how close they were in verse 5. Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. It's telling us that important point, that he's not being called, he's not ignoring this message.
He loves it. He would have spent a lot of time with him. And the message is, Lord, he whom you love is ill.
It's not my brother is ill, but he whom you love is ill. Almost picking up on that special love and bond that's between Lazarus and Jesus, that the sisters knew themselves.
And the other people knew that they were going to be called, but Jesus doesn't respond in the way that they would have expected, does he? Jesus doesn't respond in the way we would have expected, hearing this story.
Now this is all, it's enclosed in a conversation with the disciples, this. Jesus says, you might have noticed what Jesus says in verse 7, was that they had to go back to Judea.
Let us go to Judea again. But the disciples are saying, they're going to kill you, essentially.
The Jews say they're ready to stone you. And you want to go back to Judea. Because of the statements Jesus has been saying the whole time.
The claims that he was making about himself, the Son of God, the I am statements. The Jews were ready to kill him. And for the disciples, it seems like, well, it's the right time to stay, isn't it?
The time for them is stay put, stay here, stay in safety. Jesus responds by saying, there's 12 hours in a day in verse 9.
If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of the world. There's 12 hours in a day, and commentators will agree that there's a sort of, Jesus saying, there's a time for action.
There's a time for work. You work your 12 hours in a day. You'll get off these hours, and then the day's done. Jesus is saying to him, now's a time to do my work that has been appointed to me.
Jesus doesn't respond the way the disciples would have expected. The disciples wanted to stay.
Mary and Martha wanted him to come. But to both of them, it's a difference of opinion. You know, different to what they would have expected.
But they should delay. The timing is to delay. Right now, a couple of days, and then they're going to go.
Is it that he doesn't care? No, he says that he loves them. But he tells us why in verse 4. At the end of verse 4.
It is for the glory of God. So that the Son of God may be glorified through it. It is for the glory of God that he waits.
But secondly, he waits. It tells us in verse 15. So that you may believe. Firstly, for the glory of God.
Secondly, so that you may believe. He didn't go to do a healing. He didn't want us to believe in just a healer. He went to do our resurrection.
So that we would believe in our resurrecting power. Jesus waited for the right time. He knew when was the right time.
And what is evident in our lives is that, well, Jesus doesn't always work the way that we would expect. Timings aren't what we would expect.
Days when we cry out for help. And we feel like it's not there. Time when he tells us to go.
And we say, well, not now. Suffering and sorrow even may come. But God has it in control.
Often the reason is kept from us. But in the Lord's providence, it's a time for us. And firstly, it's a time where we must say it's for the glory of God.
Whatever the circumstance. And often, as we looked at Ezekiel a couple of weeks ago. Often we need to say, just like what Ezekiel said, O Lord, you know.
Today is the time that has been given to us. Today is our 12 hours of opportunity. It's a time when the Lord's word lands with you.
Comes before you. And it's a word that comes with great promises. Because it's a promise for you. So our second point is a promise for you.
In the Lord's time. Now promises, they give us a sense of certainty, don't they? Even when time is uncertain. Promises gives us something to hold on to.
And it makes all the difference when the person who makes the promises capable, able and faithful to do it. And to uphold their side of the promise. And you know that you can trust that person for the promises that they make.
It makes all the difference in our lives, doesn't it? Now there's a great promise in this passage. And you'll read it in verse 25. Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life.
Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. What a promise. Even though we die, yet shall we live.
The one who is capable, able and faithful to uphold his promise. Makes the greatest promise to us.
Now as we said, there's loads in this passage. And it's almost just kind of skiffing over the main bits of it. And you can see that Mary, in the conversation he's had with the disciples, he's arrived at the scene.
He's arrived just on the outskirts of the village. He meets Martha. And in verse 23, Jesus said to her, your brother will rise again.
And they talk about the resurrection. The last day, where everyone will rise. Everyone will know resurrection. We said last week that we're more sure to be resurrected than we are to wake up out of our beds in the morning.
It's a sure thing. It's the Lord's word. He's promised it to us. Some to eternal life. Some to eternal death.
Some, as we were saying last week, to enter the city of God's glory and others to remain wallowing in the cemetery of sorrows. Some to heaven.
Some to hell. Some to heaven. And Martha's right in acknowledging it's going to happen. She knows that this day will come.
The day of the resurrection. And Jesus makes it exactly clear what will happen on this day. Makes it clear the difference that it makes for the one that believes.
The day of the resurrection. They live. The body will die. That's sure as. But they who believe.
Their soul will live. What a promise that we can hold on to. Whatever time it is.
Jesus makes that promise. Jesus clarifies the truth of what will happen. Then he asks. And he asks a question that we all must answer.
The question really the word of God asks us every time we read it. And the question Jesus asks us by the prayer of the Spirit this morning. He asks in verse 26.
Do you believe this? Do you? Do you believe this?
It's a promise of life. which he makes and he'll keep. If. If. If. If you believe.
It's not a cold and empty promise. It's a promise that is full of compassion and sympathy for you. Because he knows that you need to hear it. And he knows that you need this hope.
And he knows. That whatever time it is. That you can have certainty. Even though the body fails and dies.
And it's a sympathy. For you. Our third point. We've had time for you. We've had a promise for you.
Thirdly. We have sympathy. For you. Now having sympathy with someone. Helps us. When we've gone through something.
Distressing. Something hard. Something hard. Sympathying with someone. And knowing that someone's gone through that thing before.
Helps. And we often turn to people that have gone through these experiences. Because they kind of. Well they know more about what we're feeling.
Than anyone else. Even if they don't know the extent. Of how we really feel. There's a sort of understanding.
There's a sort of familiarity. A sympathy. With one another. Whether it's suffering.
Sorrows. Or even huge mistakes. That we make. We can speak to someone. That's gone through the same experience.
And what we see in this passage. Is that well Jesus. He isn't detached from us. As the son of God. He's not so far out of reach. From our experience.
But that Jesus. Knows what it's like to mourn. To be sort of. The shortest. Verse. In the Bible. Is there in verse 35.
Jesus. Wept. Jesus wept. Now if you were here last week. Or if you know the resurrection.
Accounts. What did Jesus say. To the woman of name. Do not weep. What did he say.
When he reached. Jairus' house. And saw all the mourners. Do not weep. He adds to that. By saying she's sleeping.
She has not died. And it's interesting now. That. When Jesus comes to this situation. He weeps.
And it maybe points us back. To that verse 5. Again. The emphasis that is there. That Jesus. Loved them.
It's almost like. Jesus had a particular. Friendship with them. But yes, there was a loss of a brother, but a loss of a personal companion and friend.
Feeling the sorrow, feeling the despair, a close friend.
Yes, he's the son of God, but he came in our nature. He came in the full effect of our nature, so that he could sympathise with us in our experiences, in our difficulties.
The commentator Millen says that it's not, as we saw last week, you could hire professionals to mourn at a funeral.
The commentator says, it's not professional tears of a hired mourner or the inwardly detached spectator. Jesus is one with us in our need.
He feels our pain. He loves our experience from the inside. His tears at that moment authentically express the emotions of his heart.
He knows. He understands. He can sympathise with us, even as the son of God. When we mourn, he knows.
When we're full of questions. When we're asking, where were you? He can comfort us at the right time with great promises, drawing near with great sympathy.
But as we have this sadness associated with Jesus here, there's also another emotion that's maybe harder to pick out in the English.
You'll see it in verse 33 and 35. He appears twice in the ESV translates it, deeply moved.
He was greatly, deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. Now when that word is used, it's one word in the Greek.
And when it's used, it sort of refers to an anger towards something. It's kind of strange. I would think that, that Jesus would be showing an anger towards or that word would be used.
It seems like everywhere else, it's, it's an anger towards something. It might have, if you've got a, you've got a footnote at the bottom, it might be a small letter, small number, and it might say indignant.
Or if you're using a different version of the Bible, it might have a word similar effect. It's like, it's like a hostility towards it.
And so what, what's, what's going on here? What's, what's, is Jesus angry at Mary and Martha? No, we're pretty certain of that.
It's understood that Jesus, he's got an inner feeling against death. The effects of death, the power of death.
It shouldn't be this way. The wages of sin is death. It's sin, it's sin.
Where that anger, that hostility comes in this moment. Again, Mel the Comendator says that tears of sympathy fill his eyes.
His soul is held by rage as he advances towards the tomb. And as Calvin says, as a champion who prepares for conflict.
He comes to defeat sin's devastation, he comes. Hostile against that sin. Hostile against the effects of it.
The moment is still. The moment is still. The moment is still. The moment is still. The moment is still. The moment is still. The moment is still.
The moment is still. The moment is still. The moment is still. The moment is still. The moment is still. The moment is still. The moment is still. The moment is still. The moment is still.
The moment is still. with us. Our anger in these moments when things aren't going right, it's against sin that's broken in.
Jesus knows how we feel. And it's one thing knowing that in our heads, but it's also knowing it in our hearts. That no matter what time it is, that we can go to Jesus in prayer.
That he is one that can sympathize with how we feel, even if it's a feeling of unbelief.
Martha was there with Jesus. They're progressing to the tomb. Jesus says, roll away the stone. Martha, I just said, I believe in you, I trust in you.
You're the one that has the power to give life. And then when it comes to actually rolling away the stone, we see that she says that he's been buried for four days.
There'll be an ode. There'll be an ode. We see that in verse 39. Do you not remember what I said?
Do you not remember the promises that I have made? Even if it's unbelief, we can find peace to silence the strongest of emotions by turning to what Jesus has promised us, turning to the word of God.
Promises, comforts, assurances, Jesus, all sympathizing with us. But it's a word that briefly and lastly evidences itself for us.
It's all for us. Jesus waited so the people would believe. Jesus did these things for the people that were there in the moment.
And it's all recorded here for us. And all this evidence for you and me this morning is proof.
It all comes together. What's what we were saying to the children? Four. But we're there at that game. They're all saying the same thing. Four gospels that we have, all saying the same thing.
Evidence makes all the difference when we have to make a decision. Courts will call for all the evidence when they have to make a life-changing decision on someone.
The evidence that we have makes all the difference when we have to decide if we're going to believe and trust in Jesus.
The evidence to displace our sorrows, our anger, our unbelief. Evidence that you will live even though the body will suffer and die.
Evidence that we face hard and difficult situations in the 12 hours that we are given.
But 12 hours. An opportunity to hear, to gather the evidence, to put it together, to hear it.
Not just from the gospels. And every Christian you meet is evidence of a life-giving power at work in them.
The word of Jesus. The word of Jesus. The word of Jesus. The word of Jesus. Lazarus, come out. That's what Jesus said. When they all stood at that tomb.
And he came out. The power of the word of Jesus.
Jesus. What a sight. It would have been. What evidence it would have been. Still bound with linen strips.
Was he shuffling? Was he crawling? I don't know how he came out. But it was out of death he came.
And as we were saying, why did all this happen? Why did he wait two days? We see in Jesus' prayer in verse 41 and 42.
Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me. But I said this on account of the people standing around.
That they may believe that you sent me. The crowd that is sitting here today.
Do you believe in this life-giving Jesus? The evidence is there.
The evidence is in us when we look at ourselves that we're sinners. If we're truthful with ourselves. We're guilty before God.
Liable to receive the wages of sin, which is death. But Jesus makes all the difference. He died on that cross to take away our sin.
As the kids were sick. And to give us the greater evidence that he himself would not remain under the power of death.
And for us, even though we die, yet we shall live. We believe in the one who lives.
He has given us these great promises. He is trustworthy. He is trustworthy. He is trustworthy. He is trustworthy. Luke and John, when they wrote their gospels, they knew it.
They were driven in the 12 hours of opportunity they had to write. Using their time for the glory of God.
So let us live our time. Trust in promises of the word, knowing his sympathy as he draws near to us.
And we trust in all the evidence that we have of the resurrection. All things that are for you. So that you will believe and live not for your glory, but all for the glory of God.
We pray that we believe in Jesus Christ for the glory of God. Amen. We pray.
Lord, help us to believe. Help us to understand. Open our minds, our eyes and block our ears to hear the promises that we have in the gospel.
And that we will use our days of opportunity to glorify you and enjoy you. Not just here, in this day and in this time, but a time for all eternity.
We ask in Jesus name. Amen. We conclude by singing. And we'll sing in mission praise. 534 5 8.
Man of sorrows. What a name for the Son of God. Who came. Ruined sinner to reclaim. Hallelujah. What a Savior. We stand to sing.
In a moment. Amen. Amen.
Amen. Amen.
Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
Amen. Now, may the grace, mercy, and peace of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, rest upon and remain with you all now and forever. Amen.