March 24, 2024 Sunday Worship Service

Call to Worship Isaiah 53:5
Hymn JBC # 232 Come, Thou Fount of ev’ry blessing
The Lord’s Prayer
The Lord’s Supper
Hymn JBC # 236 When can wash away my sin?
Offering
Scripture John 11:17~27
Prayer
Sermon “I am the Resurrection and the Life”
Prayer
Hymn JBC # 321 Years I spent in vanity and pride
Doxology JBC # 674
Benediction
Postlude


This week is known as "Passion Week" in Christianity. It is a week for remembering Jesus Christ's death on the cross, particularly for Christians.
It is also a time we remember the path that Jesus took to Golgotha Hill (the site of his execution) in order to be crucified.
Christianity began with the resurrection of our Lord, when Jesus Christ rose from the dead. The resurrection showed us that death is not the end of everything, but rather the beginning.
The idea that "death is the end of everything" has been overturned by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and those who believe in His resurrection can now live in the hope that death is a new beginning.

　Easter, which commemorates and celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is next Sunday, March 31st this year.
The resurrection was preceded by the event of Jesus carrying the cross and being crucified on what was known as the Hill of Golgotha.
Today, as Passion Week begins, let us once again reflect on the Passion of Jesus Christ and His Resurrection, and lend an ear to the words of the Bible.
Jesus knew that He would eventually be crucified on the cross as He preached the Kingdom of God, healed the sick, and drove demons out of people.
In the Gospels, we find that Jesus foretold His death on the cross and subsequent resurrection mainly to His disciples when He was alive.

In the Gospels, it is written that Jesus told His disciples three times that He would be crucified, die, and be resurrected.
In Mark 10:32-34, the scene where Jesus foretold His death and resurrection for the third time is described as follows.

32 They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. 33 “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, 34 who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.”

Jesus couldn't have been any clearer. After all, being handed over to the Jewish authorities, the chief priests and the scribes, being insulted, flogged, and killed (by the Roman authorities), and then resurrected was a mission from God the Heavenly Father that had been assigned to Him.
But the Bible also says that the disciples did not understand what that meant, or were afraid to accept it, and that Peter opposed Jesus, saying "Lord, this shall never happen to you!”
　It is not normal for God and the Savior of the world to be killed by the hands of man. Why should God be killed by human hands?

　But this was part of God's plan for forgiving our sins and saving us from destruction.
　　Jesus did actually foretell of his resurrection to someone besides the disciples once. This is the scene in today's scripture, John 11, where a man named Lazarus died.
Here, Jesus clearly states that He is the resurrection and the life.
The man who died here was Lazarus. Lazarus had two sisters, Martha and Mary.
Jesus seems to have been especially close to Lazarus and his sisters, for in chapter 11:5, we read "Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus."

At the beginning of chapter 11, we see that this Lazarus was sick, and very seriously at that. And a message about this was sent to Jesus, who was in another town.
However, when Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick, He did not immediately go to Bethany where Lazarus was.
As today's passage states, Jesus came to Lazarus when he had been dead for four days.
At that time, it was believed that during a three-day period after death, there was a possibility that a person who had died (or was thought to have died) could come back to life (or be resuscitated).
However, the fact that Lazarus had been dead for four days meant that people had already established that he was dead.

Verse 19 says that many people came to Martha and Mary, Lazarus' sisters, to comfort them.
Many people came to Martha and Mary to be with them in their grief over the loss of their beloved brother and to ease their suffering.
We are fortunate to be able to comfort and be there for each other in times of sadness and pain.
The grief of losing a family member is not so easily healed, but words of heartfelt comfort from friends and acquaintances can certainly heal our hearts.
It is my hope that we, the church flock, be close to each other in our grief and suffering like a true family of faith.

When the sister Martha heard that Jesus had come, she went to meet him and said
“if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
Martha had people go to Jesus first and tell Him that her brother Lazarus was sick. Martha (and her sister Mary) would have expected Jesus to come immediately.
But Jesus did not come immediately. Martha probably couldn't come to terms with why Jesus did not come immediately to heal Lazarus' illness.
So Martha could not hide her criticism of the Lord Jesus, saying, "If You had been here, my brother would not have died.”

There are many times when we ask God to help us right now, or to solve our problems or troubles right this moment, but God's help does not come.
At such times, like Martha, we may be tempted to criticize God a little.
But God has His time and His ways. The Bible teaches that God has a plan that is beyond our comprehension.
Even when it seems that God is slow in coming, that He is slow in helping, let us trust that God will help at the best timing in the best possible way according to His plan.

Jesus answered Martha.

“Your brother will rise again.” (v.23)

Martha answered Jesus.
“I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” (v.24)

　Among Jews (though not all) they believed in the resurrection. Jesus also said the following earlier in John 5:28-29.

28 “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.
Martha had heard of such a resurrection and knew about it. Whether she “believed in” it or not, we do not know.
She only says, "I know....” Martha had knowledge of the resurrection, but did not truly believe, and she did not know about the grace of the resurrection.
No matter how much knowledge we have of the Bible, if the meaning is not revealed to us through the Holy Spirit and the power of the Word of God bring us to life, it is not faith.
Let us hear the powerful words of the Bible and store them in our hearts so that they can truly sustain, comfort, and encourage us. In this way, our faith will continue to grow through the Word.

Let's see how Jesus responded to Martha. (vv. 25-26)

25 “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

Jesus is not saying here, "I will resurrect” or "I will live again.”

Jesus says, "I am the resurrection and the life.” What is resurrection and what is life? The answer is that it is Himself.
Jesus Himself is resurrection and life itself. It is Jesus Christ who has the power to breathe new life into something that was once dead and thought to be gone.
Therefore, whoever lives and believes in Christ will never die. To “believe” here means to “live in Christ".
We are truly alive when the words of the Bible are not just mere knowledge, but when they feed our very souls.
We live in Christ when we are transformed from a self-centered way of life to a Christ-centered way of life. To live in Christ also means to be partakers of His resurrection.

Jesus asked Martha and is asking every one of use today, “Do you believe this?”

　Let us answer "Yes, I believe”with renewed faith every day.
This Passion Week, let us spend each day remembering the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross to atone for our sins, so that we may not die and perish, but live to eternal life.