Ezekial #16

Restoration of Israel

Ezekiel Chapters 35-37

One More Judgment

Ezekiel 35:1 - 15 (NKJV) ¹Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²“Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir and prophesy against it, ³and say to it, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, O Mount Seir, I am against you; I will stretch out My hand against you, And make you most desolate; ⁴ I shall lay your cities waste, And you shall be desolate. Then you shall know that I am the Lord. ⁵“Because you have had an ancient hatred, and have shed the blood of the children of Israel by the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, when their iniquity came to an end, ⁶therefore, as I live,” says the Lord GOD, “I will prepare you for blood, and blood shall pursue you; since you have not hated blood, therefore blood shall pursue you. ⁷Thus I will make Mount Seir most desolate, and cut off from it the one who leaves and the one who returns. ⁸And I will fill its mountains with the slain; on your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines those who are slain by the sword shall fall. ⁹I will make you perpetually desolate, and your cities shall be uninhabited; then you shall know that I am the Lord. ¹⁰“Because you have said, ‘These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess them,’ although the Lord was there, ¹¹therefore, as I live,” says the Lord GOD, “I will do according to your anger and according to the envy which you showed in your hatred against them; and I will make Myself known among them when I judge you. ¹²Then you shall know that I am the Lord. I have heard all your blasphemies which you have spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, ‘They are desolate; they are given to us to consume.’ ¹³Thus with your mouth you have boasted against Me and multiplied your words against Me; I have heard them.” ¹⁴‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “The whole earth will rejoice when I make you desolate. ¹⁵As you rejoiced because the inheritance of the house of Israel was desolate, so I will do to you; you shall be desolate, O Mount Seir, as well as all of Edom—all of it! Then they shall know that I am the Lord.”’

Mount Seir covers the area settled by the Edomites between the Dead Sea and the Elanitic Golf. This is the area of the city of Teman and of Petra, which we have already discussed. Ezekiel’s prediction was literally fulfilled as Edom was conqured by Babylon, Medo-Persia and the Hasmonean Empire. While other nations were restored the judgment of God upon the Edomites was do total that they ceased to exist. Edom cut off the needy of Jerusalem so God cut the Edomites off totally by war. The entire book of Obadiah is a prophecy of this total destruction.

Obadiah 1:1 - 21 (NKJV) ¹The vision of Obadiah. Thus says the Lord GOD concerning Edom (We have heard a report from the Lord, And a messenger has been sent among the nations, saying, “Arise, and let us rise up against her for battle”): ² “Behold, I will make you small among the nations; You shall be greatly despised. ³ The pride of your heart has deceived you, You who dwell in the clefts of the rock, Whose habitation is high; You who say in your heart, ‘Who will bring me down to the ground?’ ⁴ Though you ascend as high as the eagle, And though you set your nest among the stars, From there I will bring you down,” says the Lord. ⁵ “If thieves had come to you, If robbers by night— Oh, how you will be cut off!— Would they not have stolen till they had enough? If grape-gatherers had come to you, Would they not have left some gleanings? ⁶ “Oh, how Esau shall be searched out! How his hidden treasures shall be sought after! ⁷ All the men in your confederacy Shall force you to the border; The men at peace with you Shall deceive you and prevail against you. Those who eat your bread shall lay a ^£trap for you. No one is aware of it. ⁸ “Will I not in that day,” says the Lord, “Even destroy the wise men from Edom, And understanding from the mountains of Esau? ⁹ Then your mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, To the end that everyone from the mountains of Esau May be cut off by slaughter. ¹⁰ “For violence against your brother Jacob, Shame shall cover you, And you shall be cut off forever. ¹¹ In the day that you stood on the other side— In the day that strangers carried captive his forces, When foreigners entered his gates And cast lots for Jerusalem— Even you were as one of them. ¹² “But you should not have gazed on the day of your brother ^£In the day of his captivity; Nor should you have rejoiced over the children of Judah In the day of their destruction; Nor should you have spoken proudly In the day of distress. ¹³ You should not have entered the gate of My people In the day of their calamity. Indeed, you should not have gazed on their affliction In the day of their calamity, Nor laid hands on their substance In the day of their calamity. ¹⁴ You should not have stood at the crossroads To cut off those among them who escaped; Nor should you have delivered up those among them who remained In the day of distress. ¹⁵ “For the day of the Lord upon all the nations is near; As you have done, it shall be done to you; Your reprisal shall return upon your own head. ¹⁶ For as you drank on My holy mountain, So shall all the nations drink continually; Yes, they shall drink, and swallow, And they shall be as though they had never been. ¹⁷ “But on Mount Zion there shall be deliverance, And there shall be holiness; The house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. ¹⁸ The house of Jacob shall be a fire, And the house of Joseph a flame; But the house of Esau shall be stubble; They shall kindle them and devour them, And no survivor shall remain of the house of Esau,” For the Lord has spoken. ¹⁹ The ^£South shall possess the mountains of Esau, And the Lowland shall possess Philistia. They shall possess the fields of Ephraim And the fields of Samaria. Benjamin shall possess Gilead. ²⁰ And the captives of this host of the children of Israel Shall possess the land of the Canaanites As far as Zarephath. The captives of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad Shall possess the cities of the ^£South. ²¹ Then saviors^£ shall come to Mount Zion To judge the mountains of Esau, And the kingdom shall be the Lord’S.

There are lasting consequences of those people who hate Israel. Those who are delegated to chastise Israel from time to time receive retribution but those who raise their hands against God’s chosen without His permission face total judgment themselves. We will see Ezekiel’s prophecies against modern nations who come against the restored Israel in chapter 38.

Genesis 12:1 - 3 (NKJV) ¹Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. ² I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

The Restoration of Israel

Ezekiel 36:1 - 12 (NKJV) ¹“And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say, ‘O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord! ²Thus says the Lord GOD: “Because the enemy has said of you, ‘Aha! The ancient heights have become our possession,’”’ ³therefore prophesy, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Because they made you desolate and swallowed you up on every side, so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations, and you are taken up by the lips of talkers and slandered by the people”— ⁴therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD! Thus says the Lord GOD to the mountains, the hills, the rivers, the valleys, the desolate wastes, and the cities that have been forsaken, which became plunder and mockery to the rest of the nations all around— ⁵therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Surely I have spoken in My burning jealousy against the rest of the nations and against all Edom, who gave My land to themselves as a possession, with wholehearted joy and spiteful minds, in order to plunder its open country.”’ ⁶“Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains, the hills, the rivers, and the valleys, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I have spoken in My jealousy and My fury, because you have borne the shame of the nations.” ⁷Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “I have raised My hand in an oath that surely the nations that are around you shall bear their own shame. ⁸But you, O mountains of Israel, you shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to My people Israel, for they are about to come. ⁹For indeed I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown. ¹⁰I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, all of it; and the cities shall be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt. ¹¹I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bear young; I will make you inhabited as in former times, and do better for you than at your beginnings. Then you shall know that I am the Lord. ¹²Yes, I will cause men to walk on you, My people Israel; they shall take possession of you, and you shall be their inheritance; no more shall you bereave them of children.”

This prophecy could not have been fulfilled in the return from Babylon. They could only be partially fulfilled with the return of the Jews to the Holy Land and the establishment of the nation of Israel in 1948. Indeed God has promised a populated, productive and peaceful Israel. Israel because of the return of the Jews from the nations where they have been dispersed is one of the fastest growing nations on the face of the earth in population. My wife and I were driving down a road in modern Israel and my wife noted to our driver the difference between one side of the roadway and the other. To our left the vegetation was green and abundant. The hills were covered with crops and grapes. The right side of the road was sparse, unproductive wasteland. “What is the difference between the left side and the right side of the roadway?” Mary asked the driver. “The land blossoms because the left side is inhabited by the promised people,” our non-Jewish driver remarked, “but on the right side the land is not yet inhabited by the Jews!” Yet, there is no place on earth more dangerous than Israel. There is no peace. Terror fills the streets and violence is there every day. When will the prophecy of Ezekiel be fulfilled? When the prophecy of Ezekiel chapter 38 is complete and Israel returns to her God!

Ezekiel 36:13 - 32 (NKJV) ¹³‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Because they say to you, ‘You devour men and bereave your nation of children,’ ¹⁴therefore you shall devour men no more, nor bereave your nation anymore,” says the Lord GOD. ¹⁵Nor will I let you hear the taunts of the nations anymore, nor bear the reproach of the peoples anymore, nor shall you cause your nation to stumble anymore,” says the Lord GOD.’” ¹⁶Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ¹⁷“Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own ways and deeds; to Me their way was like the uncleanness of a woman in her customary impurity. ¹⁸Therefore I poured out My fury on them for the blood they had shed on the land, and for their idols with which they had defiled it. ¹⁹So I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed throughout the countries; I judged them according to their ways and their deeds. ²⁰When they came to the nations, wherever they went, they profaned My holy name—when they said of them, ‘These are the people of the Lord, and yet they have gone out of His land.’ ²¹But I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations wherever they went. ²²“Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. ²³And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord,” says the Lord GOD, “when I am hallowed in you before their eyes. ²⁴For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. ²⁵Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. ²⁶I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. ²⁸Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God. ²⁹I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. I will call for the grain and multiply it, and bring no famine upon you. ³⁰And I will multiply the fruit of your trees and the increase of your fields, so that you need never again bear the reproach of famine among the nations. ³¹Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good; and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight, for your iniquities and your abominations. ³²Not for your sake do I do this,” says the Lord GOD, “let it be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel!”

Why had God dealt as He has with Israel? Because He considers her as a woman, as a wife He has to treat her and the land as His law deals with an unclean woman. The entire land of Israel is God’s sanctuary and the Jewish people had made it unclean. They had committed adultery in their idolatry for the two in God’s sight are parallel.

Ezekiel 16:35 - 39 (NKJV) ³⁵‘Now then, O harlot, hear the word of the Lord! ³⁶Thus says the Lord GOD: “Because your filthiness was poured out and your nakedness uncovered in your harlotry with your lovers, and with all your abominable idols, and because of the blood of your children which you gave to them, ³⁷surely, therefore, I will gather all your lovers with whom you took pleasure, all those you loved, and all those you hated; I will gather them from all around against you and will uncover your nakedness to them, that they may see all your nakedness. ³⁸And I will judge you as women who break wedlock or shed blood are judged; I will bring blood upon you in fury and jealousy. ³⁹I will also give you into their hand, and they shall throw down your shrines and break down your high places. They shall also strip you of your clothes, take your beautiful jewelry, and leave you naked and bare.

Ezekiel 23:36 - 39 (NKJV) ³⁶The Lord also said to me: “Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominations. ³⁷For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols, and even sacrificed their sons whom they bore to Me, passing them through the fire, to devour them. ³⁸Moreover they have done this to Me: They have defiled My sanctuary on the same day and profaned My Sabbaths. ³⁹For after they had slain their children for their idols, on the same day they came into My sanctuary to profane it; and indeed thus they have done in the midst of My house.

The laws of purification apply:

Leviticus 15:19 - 33 (NKJV) ¹⁹‘If a woman has a discharge, and the discharge from her body is blood, she shall be set apart seven days; and whoever touches her shall be unclean until evening. ²⁰Everything that she lies on during her impurity shall be unclean; also everything that she sits on shall be unclean. ²¹Whoever touches her bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. ²²And whoever touches anything that she sat on shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. ²³If anything is on her bed or on anything on which she sits, when he touches it, he shall be unclean until evening. ²⁴And if any man lies with her at all, so that her impurity is on him, he shall be unclean seven days; and every bed on which he lies shall be unclean. ²⁵‘If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days, other than at the time of her customary impurity, or if it runs beyond her usual time of impurity, all the days of her unclean discharge shall be as the days of her customary impurity. She shall be unclean. ²⁶Every bed on which she lies all the days of her discharge shall be to her as the bed of her impurity; and whatever she sits on shall be unclean, as the uncleanness of her impurity. ²⁷Whoever touches those things shall be unclean; he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. ²⁸‘But if she is cleansed of her discharge, then she shall count for herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean. ²⁹And on the eighth day she shall take for herself two turtledoves or two young pigeons, and bring them to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting. ³⁰Then the priest shall offer the one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, and the priest shall make atonement for her before the Lord for the discharge of her uncleanness. ³¹‘Thus you shall separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness, lest they die in their uncleanness when they defile My tabernacle that is among them. ³²This is the law for one who has a discharge, and for him who emits semen and is unclean thereby, ³³and for her who is indisposed because of her customary impurity, and for one who has a discharge, either man or woman, and for him who lies with her who is unclean.’”

God’s concern is for His name.

The sins of Israel have profaned the name of God among the heathen and God is jealous that His name is kept Holy! God is concerned how the Christian represents Him before an unbelieving world by our words and actions. God’s supreme concern is for the glory of His name. How does the church today by its divisions, competitions, and public immorality manifest the Holiness of His name?

God is not only going to restore Israel but He is going to purify Her, not by law but by His own grace and for His own Glory

The Millennial Kingdom

Ezekiel 36:32 - 38 (NKJV) ³²Not for your sake do I do this,” says the Lord GOD, “let it be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel!” ³³‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will also enable you to dwell in the cities, and the ruins shall be rebuilt. ³⁴The desolate land shall be tilled instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass by. ³⁵So they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden; and the wasted, desolate, and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’ ³⁶Then the nations which are left all around you shall know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt the ruined places and planted what was desolate. I, the Lord, have spoken it, and I will do it.” ³⁷‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “I will also let the house of Israel inquire of Me to do this for them: I will increase their men like a flock. ³⁸Like a flock offered as holy sacrifices, like the flock at Jerusalem on its feast days, so shall the ruined cities be filled with flocks of men. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.”’”

The Dry Bones

Ezekiel 37:1 - 28 (NKJV) ¹The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. ²Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. ³And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” So I answered, “O Lord GOD, You know.” ⁴Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! ⁵Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. ⁶I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.”’” ⁷So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. ⁸Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them. ⁹Also He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.”’” ¹⁰So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army. ¹¹Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!’ ¹²Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. ¹³Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. ¹⁴I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it,” says the Lord.’” ¹⁵Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁶“As for you, son of man, take a stick for yourself and write on it: ‘For Judah and for the children of Israel, his companions.’ Then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel, his companions.’ ¹⁷Then join them one to another for yourself into one stick, and they will become one in your hand. ¹⁸“And when the children of your people speak to you, saying, ‘Will you not show us what you mean by these?’— ¹⁹say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Surely I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will join them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in My hand.”’ ²⁰And the sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes. ²¹“Then say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; ²²and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again. ²³They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God. ²⁴“David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd; they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes, and do them. ²⁵Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant, where your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children’s children, forever; and My servant David shall be their prince forever. ²⁶Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore. ²⁷My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people. ²⁸The nations also will know that I, the Lord, sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.”’”

Ezekiel is shown a valley filled with the dried out bones of many people. The question, “can these dry bones live?” is asked in sarcasm. How can dry bones live? Ezekiel answers the question correctly, only God knows. But Ezekiel is to speak to the bones with the Word of God and the bones which are the nation of Israel will react. Notice that the bones represent the people of Israel and they are scattered, dry and dead. The vision will not be instantaneous the bones will slowly start gathering and then after another word flesh will come upon them. They are now human beings but they still do not have life. Now the prophet is to speak again and breath will come and they will really become alive. The prophet is not speaking about the resurrection but about the gathering of the nation of Israel. Israel will be gathered in three distinct phases.

• The nation will be gathered

• The nation will be formed

• The nation will have spiritual awakening

I believe the first two phases have happened. The gathering started with the Belford Declaration in 1917, the nation was formed in 1948 but the spiritual turning to God is yet to come. The two sticks are the tribes of Judah and the tribes of Israel who will become one nation again. The Spiritual awakening will occur when the Son of David, Jesus Christ, is recognized and accepted which will happen at the beginning of the thousand year reign of Christ. When will that happen? After a seven year period of tribulation called the “time of Jacobs Trouble” that I believe Ezekiel receives revelation on in the next chapter.

Love in the Midst of Sorrow

Introduction: John gives us seven miracles to show that Jesus is God. Seven is the perfect number, no doubt Jesus preformed many more than the six we have looked at in John’s gospel but John is building a case against the Gnostics. The Gnostics said that Jesus became the Christ and was not the Christ at crucifixion. John is proving that Jesus is God and his greatest proof is in the miracle we are going to look at today.

John 11:1 - 4 (NKJV) ¹Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. ²It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. ³Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” ⁴When 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.”

1. The difference between a house and a home

1. Jesus had no house.

Luke 9:58 (NKJV) ⁵⁸And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

2. But the house of Lazarus was a home

• We do not know who Lazarus’ mother and father were or if they lived there – but we known that this was one place were Jesus was welcome and could find peace

• We do not know if Lazarus was married or if he had a wife what her name was

• He was probably not married but was single and lived with two single sisters, Martha and Mary

• John tells us it was not Mary Magdalene who anointed the Lord’s feet, nor a prostitute by Mary the sister of Martha – some have conjectured that she was in love with Jesus

• The sisters sent a message and did not use Lazarus’ name only “he whom you love” – that was enough!

• They did not ask Jesus to come – they believed that he would – it is not possible that one could love a friend and desert him

2. The time for God’s Glory- is connected to the Cross!

John 7:37 - 39 (NKJV) ³⁷On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. ³⁸He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” ³⁹But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those ^believing in Him would receive; for the ^Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

John 12:23 - 28 (NKJV) ²³But Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. ²⁴Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. ²⁵He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor. ²⁷“Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. ²⁸Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.”

ILL: It was Lazarus’ sickness and death that brought Jesus back to Jerusalem and to the cross. Bethany is less than two miles from Calvary! To go to Lazarus was to take the first step which would end on the cross. Lazarus being sick did not bring God glory – the Cross did!

3. Time enough but not to much

John 11:5 - 15 (NKJV) ⁵Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. ⁶So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. ⁷Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” ⁸The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?” ⁹Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. ¹⁰But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” ¹¹These things He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.” ¹²Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.” ¹³However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep. ¹⁴Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. ¹⁵And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.”

1. Why did Jesus wait?

1. One answer is that Jesus waited so that there would be no doubt that Lazarus was really dead.

2. Another answer is that the miracle would be more impressive

3. Jesus moved on His own initiative not on any one else’s – He is God and you do not direct what He does or when He does it!

John 2:1 - 5 (NKJV) ¹On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. ²Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. ³And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” ⁴Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.” ⁵His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”

John 7:1 - 10 (NKJV) ¹After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the ^Jews sought to kill Him. ²Now the Jews’ Feast of Tabernacles was at hand. ³His brothers therefore said to Him, “Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing. ⁴For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.” ⁵For even His brothers did not believe in Him. ⁶Then Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready. ⁷The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil. ⁸You go up to this feast. I am not ^yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come.” ⁹When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee. ¹⁰But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.

ILL: My wife’s father, Steve Roberts, said he was going to die on his 81^st birthday. He died 28 days before. I told the people at his funeral that God did not let him die on the day he had planed so the God would still be God!

2. Jesus is eternal – He always was He always will be

Revelation 1:4-8 (NKJV) ⁴John, to the seven churches which are in Asia:

Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, ⁵and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth.

To Him who ^£loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, ⁶and has made us ^£kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

⁷Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.

⁸“I am the Alpha and the Omega, ^£the Beginning and the End,” says the ^£Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

C. What is time with God?

2 Peter 3:8 - 9 (NKJV) ⁸But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. ⁹The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward ^us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

ILL: “Are there not 12 hours in a day”

• A day cannot finish before it ends and nothing will shorten or lengthen it. – If you choose to serve God your day cannot finish until God wishes it to end

• There is time enough to do everything you should do

• But since there are only 12 hours they should not be wasted

ILL: I have noticed when I desperately need something from God, He usually shows up at the last moment!

4. The Courage of Thomas

John 11:16 (NKJV) ¹⁶Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.”

ILL: Yes this is the disciple called “doubting Thomas.” It was easier for Thomas to be able to die with Jesus than to live with the resurrected Christ.

5. The funeral

John 11:17 - 32 (NKJV) ¹⁷So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. ¹⁸Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about ^two miles away. ¹⁹And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. ²⁰Now Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house. ²¹Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. ²²But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” ²³Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” ²⁴Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” ²⁵Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. ²⁶And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” ²⁷She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” ²⁸And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, “The Teacher has come and is calling for you.” ²⁹As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him. ³⁰Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but ^was in the place where Martha met Him. ³¹Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, ^saying, “She is going to the tomb to weep there.” ³²Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”

1. What the Jews believed about death

Psalms 6:5 (NKJV) ⁵ For in death there is no remembrance of You; In the grave who will give You thanks?

Psalms 30:9 (NKJV) ⁹ “What profit is there in my blood, When I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it declare Your truth?

Psalms 88:3 - 5 (NKJV) ³ For my soul is full of troubles, And my life draws near to the grave. ⁴ I am counted with those who go down to the pit; I am like a man who has no strength, ⁵ Adrift among the dead, Like the slain who lie in the grave, Whom You remember no more, And who are cut off from Your hand.

Psalms 88:10 - 12 (NKJV) ¹⁰ Will You work wonders for the dead? Shall the dead arise and praise You? Selah ¹¹ Shall Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave? Or Your faithfulness in the place of destruction? ¹² Shall Your wonders be known in the dark? And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

Psalms 115:17 (NKJV) ¹⁷ The dead do not praise the Lord, Nor any who go down into silence.

Ecclesiastes 9:10 (NKJV) ¹⁰Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.

1. The Jewish death ceremony

   • The Procession: The women went first because it was a woman who brought death into the world by her sin

   • Memorial speeches of deepest sympathy

   • No food to be eaten in the presence of the dead

   • All furniture in the house reversed

   • Three days of weeping – no anointing – no shoes

   • Everyone expected at the home

1. The Greatest Knowledge of Who Jesus is

John 11:20 - 27 (NKJV) ²⁰Now Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house. ²¹Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. ²²But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” ²³Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” ²⁴Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” ²⁵Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. ²⁶And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” ²⁷She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

1. Death is separation

1 Corinthians 15:20 - 28 (NKJV) ²⁰But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. ²¹For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. ²²For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. ²³But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. ²⁴Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. ²⁵For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. ²⁶The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. ²⁷For “He has put all things under His feet.”^ But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. ²⁸Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.

B. Jesus gives eternal life

John 3:10 - 21 (NKJV) ¹⁰Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? ¹¹Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. ¹²If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? ¹³No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man ^who is in heaven. ¹⁴And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵that whoever believes in Him should ^not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁶For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. ¹⁸“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. ¹⁹And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. ²⁰For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. ²¹But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

V. Jesus proves who He is

John 11:33 - 44 (NKJV) ³³Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. ³⁴And He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” ³⁵Jesus wept. ³⁶Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!” ³⁷And some of them said, “Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?” ³⁸Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. ³⁹Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.” ⁴⁰Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” ⁴¹Then they took away the stone ^from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. ⁴²And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” ⁴³Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” ⁴⁴And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”

1. We have to be freed from the penalty of sin

2. Take off the rotten grave cloths

James 1:16 - 21 (NKJV) ¹⁶Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. ¹⁷Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. ¹⁸Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures. ^19So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; ²⁰for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. ²¹Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

Conclusion: - Many Believed

• Love permits pain and sorrow

• Love leaves prayers unanswered

• Love comes at length with blessings which are indescribably, immeasurably glorious