Face to Face - Part 9 [Notes]

Lives were changed after an encounter with Jesus... lives of people just like you and me.

Today's Takeaway //  Jesus came to strip death of its power over everything.

Physical death is the divine object lesson of what sin does in the spiritual realm. As physical death ends life and separates people, so spiritual death is the separation of people from God and the loss of life which is in God.¹
– E.A. Blum
_{¹ Blum, E. A. (1985).John. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 312). Victor Books.}

The last enemy to be abolished is death. For God has put everything under His feet.
–1 Corinthians 15:26-27 (HCSB)

If Jesus Christ can do nothing about death, then whatever else He can do amounts to nothing.²
– Wiersbe
_{² Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 334). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.}

Now a man was sick, Lazarus, from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, and it was her brother Lazarus who was sick. So the sisters sent a message to Him: “Lord, the one You love is sick.” When Jesus heard it, He said, “This sickness will not end in death but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus. So when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.
– John 11:1-6 (HCSB)

When Jesus arrived, He found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem (about two miles away). Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother. As soon as Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet Him. But Mary remained seated in the house.
– John 11:17-20 (HCSB)

...the “soul hovers over the body of the deceased person for the first three days, ‘intending to re-enter it, but as soon as it sees its appearance change’, i.e. that decomposition has set in, it departs.”
– D.A. Carson

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me, even if he dies, will live. Everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die—ever. Do you believe this?” “Yes, Lord,” she told Him, “I believe You are the Messiah, the Son of God, who comes into the world.”
– John 11:25-27 (HCSB)

“Jewish funeral customs dictated that even a poor family was expected to hire at least two flute players and a professional wailing woman".³
– D.A. Carson
_{³ Carson, D. A. (1991). The Gospel according to John (p. 415). Leicester, England; Grand Rapids,MI: Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans}

“Remove the stone,” Jesus said. Martha, the dead man’s sister, told Him, “Lord, he’s already decaying. It’s been four days.” Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”
– John 11:39-40 (HCSB)

After He said this, He shouted with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out bound hand and foot with linen strips and with his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him and let him go.”
– John 11:43-44 (HCSB)

Therefore, many of the Jews who came to Mary and saw what He did believed in Him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.⁴
– John 11:45-46 (HCSB)
_{⁴ The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Jn 11:45–46). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.}

1. Why do you think people don’t like to talk about or think about the subject of death? How has death impacted you personally?
2. Read John 11:1-6. Why is it important that we remember that Jesus loves us when we are going through a difficult time? How was Jesus’ delay an act of love? Can you think of a difficult time where you had to wait?
3. Read John 11:17-27. What do you think Jesus meant when he said, “I am the resurrection and the life?” Read John 1:1-5. How do these verses relate to Jesus’ claim in verses 25-27?
4. Would you agree with the statement that if Jesus can conquer death, there is no problem too great for him to handle? Explain your answer.
5. Read John 11:39-44. What effect might it have had on your life if you experienced a miracle such as this? Read verses 45-50. How are the different responses to this miracle similar to how people today respond to Jesus today?
6. How should Jesus’ claim that he is the resurrection and the life impact our daily lives? How might you apply tonight’s lesson to your life?

Rise Up (Lazarus) / Evidence / O What a Miracle / My Eyes Have Seen / Back to Life

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