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Bob Davis: Lord, come and see, behold. Look, the one that you love is sick. They didn't have to even say his name. The one that you love is sick.

I pray that sometimes for a friend here. You've probably prayed it yourself. I go, "Lord, the one that you love, they're in the hospital and we're asking that you would just help them." Why wouldn't we pray that? That's the one that Jesus loves. You're the one that Jesus loves. If you're sick, we would pray for you. "Lord, the one you love is hurting, is afraid. The one you love is confused. The one you love needs a job." Why wouldn't we pray that way? It's the truth, isn't it? He loves you.

Guest (Male): Welcome to Apply Within, a verse-by-verse study of the Word of God with Pastor Bob Davis of North Country Chapel. We invite you to join with us as we, by the power of God's Holy Spirit, apply His Word within our own hearts as we study line upon line, precept upon precept, verse-by-verse through the Bible. Lazarus dies as our study of John continues in chapter 11. Here's Pastor Bob.

Bob Davis: A certain man was sick named Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. It was that Mary, literally that very Mary or that same Mary, which anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. Therefore, because of that, his sisters sent unto Jesus saying, "Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick."

I love that. The language is simply this: the one that you love is sick. You don't even have to tell Jesus the person's name. He knows right who they're talking about. It's the one He loves. I tell Him when I'm sick, "Lord, the one you love's not feeling good." Why are you laughing? Don't you say the same thing? "Lord, the one you really care about is not doing so hot."

The one that you love is sick. The city of Bethany is located on the east slope of the Mount of Olives right before you get to the top. There's Bethany and Bethphage right next to it. Little bitty villages right there right before you come to the top of the Mount of Olives. At the top, you can see the temple at Jerusalem, you can see the old walled city. So not very far.

And there was a man living there whose name was Lazarus, and Lazarus was very sick. I don't know what he had. Nobody's told us. He's just very, very sick. In fact, he is dying. That's how sick he is. This man Lazarus, you may be shocked to learn, is only mentioned in chapters 11 and 12 of the Gospel of John, nowhere else ever.

His sisters are named as well: Mary and Martha. Well, Martha and Mary. The reason Martha comes first, some suggest that she was older. I don't know. I just know that sometimes it's Mary and Martha, sometimes it's Martha and Mary. John tells us that it was that very Mary. She was the one that anointed the Lord and wiped His feet with her hair. But she wept because of much sin in her own life.

Remember, if you go back, you can read Matthew 26, Mark 14, and Luke 7. They all talk about this woman. We're not told who she was. John gives us the clue: it's her. She was pretty bad. And they said of Jesus, "If he knew what kind of woman that was touching his feet, he would kick her away." So that's the Mary we know.

Bethany is a very little city, a village. But there's certainly more than Lazarus and Martha and Mary living in it. There are plenty of people living in the city. I don't know how many, but probably hundreds and hundreds, if not a few thousand. We don't know. But certainly more than those three. Why am I saying that? Because Mary and Martha really loved Jesus. So did Lazarus.

When we see Mary lots of times, she's at the feet of Jesus. He comes to visit them, you'll see, and when he visits, Mary sits down to listen to everything he's got to say, and Martha does the dishes and makes all the food. Maybe you recall Martha complaining, "Lord, you want to ask my sister to help?" I'm sure they're looking at each other with knives. "You want to just give her a clue? She should help here. I'm doing this all alone."

And what did Jesus say? "Martha, Martha, calm down. There's one thing important and Mary found it. You're missing it, Martha. Sit at the feet of Jesus. You can always do the dishes or clean the house or wash the car." That's Mary and Martha. They loved Jesus. They were dedicated to Jesus as their savior and as their Lord.

Now you know for sure, as I said earlier, more people lived there than those three people, than those two women. But it's called the city of Mary and Martha. Why? Because they were devoted. They were His. He loved them, they loved Him, and it's their city because it's their city. Does God call your city by your name? I hope so because you're devoted to Him, you love Him. They're not perfect. Mary and Martha aren't perfect, neither is Lazarus. They're people saved by grace through faith.

But look at God's heart. He calls Bethany the city of Mary and Martha. He loves that family. Their brother Lazarus is very sick and they are concerned. It's not just a little flu bug. There's something wrong with Lazarus. He is dying and they know it.

So let me read you the letter that they sent to Jesus. "You got to hurry. We love you and you're our best friend and you really got to hurry because Lazarus, he was down and his foot started to hurt first, and the next thing that happened was he got a little bit of a fever." No, notice there's a really short little note. And the note says this: "Lord, come and see, behold. Look, the one that you love is sick."

They didn't have to even say his name. The one that you love is sick. I've prayed that sometimes for a friend here. You've probably prayed it yourself. I go, "Lord, the one that you love, they're in the hospital and we're asking that you would just help them, strengthen them, encourage them, get them home and up on their feet and working again."

Why wouldn't we pray that? That's the one that Jesus loves. You're the one that Jesus loves. If you're sick, we would pray for you. "Lord, the one you love is hurting, is afraid. The one you love is confused. The one you love needs a job." Why wouldn't we pray that way? It's the truth, isn't it? He loves you.

Come and see, Lord, the one you love is very sick. Here's the faith in that. Listen: Drop what you're doing. We know you're far away. You got to get over here now. He is very sick. They are expecting Jesus to heal their brother. Get it? Is that a good prayer to pray? Yes. Wouldn't you want them praying it for you if you were sick? Yes. A good prayer to pray. Nothing wrong with it. They're desperate.

So we go to verse four. Verse four says when Jesus heard that, He said to His disciples, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby." He didn't say that to Mary and Martha. He said it to the boys. Mary and Martha are over there.

Now think about it. What would you be doing? I know what I'd be doing. I'd be going, "All right, he left about a day and a half ago to take that message. I figure about two days and hoping he's hurried." So after about two days, I'd be going, "Okay, Jesus probably has the message, so he's probably on the way." I could just imagine it in my own heart.

Well, he's probably on the way because I know he loves us and I know he loves Lazarus. I know he does. And he's God Almighty, he can do it. Well, they should know he doesn't have to come over there for that. But still, they want him to be there. They want Jesus to be with them. It's a hard time. When you're going through troubles, you want Jesus to be right there, not three days away. "I'll get back to you, send you a text."

You want Jesus to be there. So I'm making this up. I believe that if they were like me, because I'm such a calm man, that I'd be going, "Okay, he's not here. He should be here by now." But it looks like according to what's happening here is by the time Jesus got the message, Lazarus is dead. He's already dead. They're waiting for Jesus to show up, but now it's not to heal. It's maybe to officiate the memorial service.

"This sickness is not unto death." Are you sure, Jesus? He's already dead. We know. The disciples don't, but we know Lazarus is already dead. The sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.

Now Jesus, in case you think he doesn't even care about them, John had to write this down. He knew what you were thinking. "Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister, Mary, and Lazarus." He loved them very, very much. Jesus Christ is God Almighty in human flesh. He loves you. He loves you very much. He wants you to be with Him.

And He loved those three. When He heard, therefore, that Lazarus was sick, He stayed there two more days in the same place. "Lord, the one that you love is very sick." "Okay, not a problem. Let's just stay a few more days here, though."

Now what would you be telling Him? I'll tell you. Listen to you pray next time. "Lord, where are you? You know we got to have rent money. Don't you know this? Let me show you a calendar. I don't know if you got this in heaven, but the calendar says tomorrow's the first and we need, we got to have, and you got to." And what does Jesus go? "Love you, not right now, though. Hang on, hold that thought."

And you're going, "Crazy! You're crazy! What are you going to do?" He's dead. When He heard, therefore, Lazarus was sick, knew it was very sick, He stayed there two more days. Then verse seven. After that, He said to His disciples, "Okay, let us go to Judea again. Let's go ahead and go, let's go see Lazarus and Mary and Martha."

And His disciples say unto him, "Master..." because poor Jesus clearly having memory issues. They talk to God a lot, so do I. I'm guessing you do, you just don't want to admit it, trying to explain to Him. "Do you understand the situation, Lord? Could I put it in simpler terms for you? Can I help you with hurrying up?"

His disciples say to him, "Master, the Jews lately sought to stone you to death and you want to go back there again?" In other words, not on my watch, not if I'm going to take care of you, God. Jesus answered. This is a teaching moment for the disciples, and the disciples are also you and me.

So get this. "Are there not twelve hours in the day?" In other words, twelve hours approximately of daylight. "If any man walk in the day, in the daylight, he stumbles not because he sees the light of this world." If you're walking and it's light outside, you can see where you're going, you don't stumble at all. "But if a man walk in the night, in the dark, he stumbles because there is no light in him."

That's a big thing for Jesus to teach His disciples. They know it, but it is a reminder for all of us disciples. I know that none of you ever have problems, but some Christians do. And the tendency when you do is you got to fix this now. You have to move right now. If you don't, someone's going to die. If you don't, we're going to lose the car. If you don't, the house will fall down, it'll fall over. If you don't do it now, God.

He says the sickness is not unto death. Jesus did not mean that Lazarus was not going to die. Jesus was saying that death isn't the final outcome of this particular situation. Did Lazarus die? Yes. Is he dead for good? No. Jesus will raise him from the dead. Nobody expects that. Once he's dead, they just want to do a little funeral.

God allowed this to happen to Lazarus so that Jesus Christ could raise him from the dead. That gives more proof to the world and to the disciples and to you and me that He is the Son of God, God Almighty in human flesh. Only God can raise someone from the dead.

So it's going to be bigger than what Mary and Martha wanted it to be. But you can believe they are brokenhearted now. Think about it, everybody. People will glorify God for this amazing miracle. And keep this in mind: there is no hint or any suggestion that this sickness was because of some special kind of sin in Lazarus's life, is there?

You have to make that up. I've heard Bible teachers say, "Well, clearly Lazarus was living a pretty lousy life or he was just..." Not clearly at all. This was something that, God bless Lazarus, that God had all planned for him. "Hey man, you're going to love this. You're going to die." "What?" "Oh no, it'll be cool. You'll only be dead for just a little while." "I don't think I want this. I'll take another assignment." That's why God doesn't tell you, right? He just says, "Come on, you're going to love this." And you always do.

This is completely like the man that was born blind. Jesus says it's for God's glory. It's completely for God's glory. Why did it have to be Lazarus? Well, I know the answer to that and so do you: because He loves Lazarus. Do you think this might build up Lazarus's faith a little bit when he's on the other side going, "Whoa dude, whew, that was close"?

How do you think he felt about Jesus from that moment on? How do you think his sisters thought after that? Probably they could run through a troop and jump over a wall, like the psalmist wrote. Probably they could do anything if Jesus wanted them to, true? This wasn't about Lazarus, although he's the one that had to die. It's completely for the glory of God Almighty and His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, God in human flesh.

And here John stops to remind all of us because we start to think when it's not going my way. Are you like me? You start making up sins. "I don't know what I did, Lord, but I probably did this, and I got a lousy stinking attitude anyway." You start, you're trying to confess anything, just get the weight off, right? And it doesn't work that way. I mean, if you've sinned, confess it, of course. But it doesn't work that way. That's not going that way with Lazarus.

John stops to remind us, he's got to write it down, and I understand why. Because you could be going, "Well, I thought maybe He liked Mary and Martha, He called it the city of Mary and Martha, but maybe Lazarus was kind of a knucklehead. It's not called his city." So that you don't start to think He didn't like Lazarus or had something against that family. No. He loved them all. They were His. They were His sheep and He's their shepherd.

He loves you, He loves me, and He lets things happen in our lives for His purposes, for His glory, and for our strength, our learning, and for eternity, for whatever He's getting you ready for out there. Because that's where the life is, it's not here. This is your police academy, this is your boot camp, this is your training grounds. Learn and just go through.

I took a look again this week, just got to thinking about it, took a look at some of the things that we had in the police academy and I thought, "Why would you do this to yourself? Why would you do this?" Well, you did this because it was something on the other side of it that you were shooting for. Why are we doing what we're doing? Because there's something on the other side of all this that God will be glorified by and He will use us for out there. Don't worry about it. Learn and do all the push-ups you have to do, whatever it takes.

So He loves them just by the way as much as He loves you and me. After waiting two more days, He says to His disciples, "Let's go to Judea." And that seems like it came out of nowhere. "What?" That shocks them. "Let's go to Judea." His disciples are shocked. "We can't..." Let me paraphrase. "Now look, we love you and we know you're God and all, but we're going to have to help you here. You've probably forgot that last time we were there they wanted to kill you. You can't go back in there, they will kill you."

"You can't go now." Why are they doing this? Do they think that they're smarter than He is? No, they love Him. But they're not into God's will. They just don't want Jesus to get Himself in more trouble. And Jesus is trying to teach them, so he tells them, he teaches them something about nature here that you turn into a spiritual analogy.

He says, "There's about twelve hours of daylight every day. You need to work while it's daylight because you can see where you're going. But if a man walks in darkness, he can't see where he's going. It's too dangerous. You're going to hurt yourself. There's no light in him." The person who walks in the night is one who is not faithful to God. The person that walks in the dark doesn't belong to the Lord.

And after that, He said unto them, "Our friend Lazarus is sleeping, but I'm going that I may wake him up." Then his disciples say... because you see Lazarus is dead, everyone. We understand that. But when they lay the body to rest, it looks like it's doing what? Sleeping, right? There is no such thing as soul sleep. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.

So Lazarus has to come back to that body because that body's dead now, right? So Jesus says if you look at him, he looks like he's sleeping. He's not preaching soul sleep. Bible never has, never will. And the disciples take that to mean he's doing better. They say, "Oh, Lord, if he's sleeping, he's doing well. That's good. Maybe he's getting some rest and his body will heal up. Sleeping is good."

But Jesus spoke of his death. But they thought He had spoken of him taking a rest in sleep. So Jesus in verse 14 just has to say it out loud to them. He said to them, "Lazarus is dead," is what I'm trying to tell you guys. Just puts it in plain old Greek English.

And listen to what he says about his friend Lazarus who he supposedly loves: "I'm glad he's dead. I'm glad for your sakes I was not there. What? I'm glad for your sakes I was not there, to the intent you may believe. Nevertheless, let us go to him."

"This is going to help your faith. This is going to be good for you to see. So I'm kind of glad I wasn't there. Why? Because I'm going to take care of it. I got this one." Then Thomas said, which was called Didymus—Didymus means "the twin"—then Thomas said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go that we may die with him."

Lazarus is dead. Okay, well, let's go too and die with him then. I don't think Thomas is getting it. I'm not sure he's grasping it. Or that maybe a powerful statement of faith. "Well, if Jesus knows they may kill him when he gets there and he just told us Lazarus was already dead, Jesus is going to be dead, Lazarus will be dead, let's go and die too." Could be a powerful statement of faith. It's hard to say, depends on whether you like him or not.

Because Jesus can tell they're confused and trying to understand. Jesus is telling His disciples, and all of His disciples, not just those twelve, but you and me as well. They're about to learn an amazing lesson from all of this. "I'm glad because this is really going to strengthen your faith. This is going to build you up, grow you up. It's going to be a great blessing to them."

Basically, it's another way to establish their faith on more solid ground, on Jesus Christ. Their faith will be strengthened in a way that a healing of Lazarus could never have done. Get it? Jesus is going to raise Lazarus from the dead. We already know that. But there's more we have to see, we have to learn before we watch him raise Lazarus from the dead.

But one of the things that you know is that He is working in your life right now, and He is working on His Father's schedule for you, not your schedule for you. When I was young, a lot of, to be a millionaire was a big thing and a lot of my friends were going to be millionaires by the time they were thirty. Most of them are in prison by that time, but so they missed it. But still, the idea was right there, right? We got our own schedules.

But then you come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and something happens to you. If He really gets a hold of your heart, you let go. And you say, "Well, I was going to do this and this and this. Now, Lord, I'm asking you, what do you want me to do?" You want to see more answers to your prayers? Start asking Him direct questions. "Lord, what do you want me to say? Where do you want me to be? What do you want?" Try that.

Guest (Male): Thank you for listening to Apply Within with Pastor Bob Davis. Apply Within is a radio outreach ministry of North Country Chapel. Our Sunday morning Bible studies are at 9:00 and 11:00 AM. We also have a Friday evening Bible study at 7:00 PM and a Monday evening Bible study at 7:00 PM.

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