75
John 11:5-16 THE DECISION TO RETURN TO JUDAEA

Introduction:

	On the two previous trips which Jesus made into Judaea
the Jews had attempted to kill Him.  On the first of those
trips, He had gone to Jerusalem for The Feast of
Tabernacles.  It was required that all men of Israel to go
there for the observance of this feast.  Therefore the
Jewish leaders knew that He would be coming and they planned
in advance to arrest Him upon His arrival and kill Him.
Throughout that entire stay they tried unsuccessfully to put
	Him to death.  About two months later Jesus returned to
Judaea to celebrate The Feast of Dedication.  It was not
required that all men go to Jerusalem for this feast and the
Jewish leaders surely did not expect Him to show up after
those previous attempts to kill Him, but He did.  So again
they tried to kill Him.  They tried to stone Him, but He
walked right through their midst and escaped.
	At the time of this text He and His disciples are in
Perea about thirty miles from Jerusalem.  Martha and Mary
have sent a messenger to Him from Bethany, which was about
two miles from Jerusalem.  The messenger informed Him that
Lazarus was gravely sick.
	Unknown to the messenger, Lazarus had died shortly after
the messenger left Bethany.  So when he found Jesus, he just
told Him that Lazarus was sick.  He did not know that
Lazarus was dead.  However, Jesus knew.  He knew that
Lazarus was actually dead, but said nothing at that time
about Lazarus being dead.  He made no effort to go back to
Bethany with the messenger.
	In our text Jesus at a later time speaks to His
disciples about returning to Judaea to see Lazarus.

I.  An explanation of why Jesus delayed this trip to Bethany

	V. 5, "Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and
Lazarus."  John, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, makes
one thing very clear to all who read this passage.  He makes
it clear that Jesus did not delay His return to Bethany
because of any lack of concern for Martha or Mary or
Lazarus.  Jesus loved this family.  He loved Martha.  He
loved Mary.  He loved Lazarus.  Oh, it's true that Jesus
loves everybody, but Jesus has a special love for those who
are saved.  He has an even greater love for those Christians
who are devoted to Him and who love Him in return.  Martha
and Mary and Lazarus did love Jesus and were exceptionally
devoted to Him and Jesus had a special love for them.  He
most certainly did not delay His visit to Bethany because of
any lack of love for them.
	Let me ask you a question right here.  Do you have the
assurance that Jesus loves you?  Do you have the assurance
that Jesus loves the members of your family?  I am not
talking about that love that He has for all men.  I am
talking about a special love.  Does Jesus have a strong
special love for you and your family?
	If not, then perhaps you need to stop and ask yourself,
"Why not?"  Why is it that Jesus does not have a special
love for you and your family?  Could it be because you do
not have a special love for Him?  Could it be that you have
not taught your family to have a special love for Jesus?  If
it is any consolation to you, Jesus loves you anyway.  He
loves you with the same kind of love that He has for all
mankind and He is willing to save you if you repent of your
sin and trust Him to be your Savior.  He loved all mankind
so much that He died for them all and offers to all the
opportunity to be saved.
	But if you want Jesus to have that a special love for
you and your family like He had for Martha and Mary and
Lazarus, then you and your family need to do more than trust
Him for salvation.  You need to love Him and be devoted to
Him like Martha, Mary and Lazarus were devoted to Him.
	Yet in spite of the great love that Jesus had for this
family, Jesus did not immediately go back to Bethany to be
with them and help them.  V. 6, "When he had heard therefore
that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place
where he was."  He remained in Perea two more days after the
messenger had arrived with the news that Lazarus was sick.
	This means that Lazarus had already been dead for three
days.  It took the messenger one whole day to make the trip
to Perea to find Jesus.  Lazarus was alive when he left
Bethany, but died shortly thereafter.  By the time he
reached Jesus to tell Jesus that Lazarus was sick, Lazarus
had already been dead one day.  Then Jesus stayed two
additional days in Perea and that made three days that
Lazarus had been dead.

II.  The call of Jesus for His disciples to go with Him to
	Judaea

	V. 7, "Then after that saith he to his disciples, Let us
go into Judaea again."  Even then Jesus did not tell the
disciples that they were going to Bethany.  He just said
that they were going into Judaea.
	This frightened His disciples.  They were afraid for
Him.  After all, the Jewish leaders had made an all out
effort to kill Him on their last two trips into Judaea.  So
they tried to talk Him out of going.  V. 8, "His disciples
say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee;
and goest thou thither again?"
	The disciples were, no doubt, somewhat fearful for their
own lives even though there had been no effort on the part
of the Jewish leadership to harm them.  But their greatest
concern was for Jesus whom the Jews had attempted to kill.
The disciples knew that if given a chance, they would try
again.
	V. 9, "Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the
day?..."  He was talking about the daylight period.  In the
vicinity of Jerusalem, the daylight periods were very close
to twelve hours year round.  The daylight periods did not
get long and short as they do here in East Texas.
	(V. 9), "...If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth
not, because he seeth the light of this world."  In the
daylight period of time when the sun was shining, it was
highly unlikely for a man to stumble.  The danger of
stumbling was greater during the darkness of the night.  V.
10, "But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because
there is no light in him."
	Jesus was using an illustration from nature to reassure
the disciples that it was safe for Him to make this journey
to Bethany.  He used the daylight period of the natural day
to  represent His entire lifespan.  It was a time when there
was really no danger of Him being put to death by His
enemies.  Just as God had allotted twelve hours of day
daylight in the day, even so He had allotted Him a certain
lifespan in which He could work without danger of being put
to death by His enemies.  He knew that He was still in that
daylight period of His lifespan and He must proceed to do
the work which His Father had assigned Him to do.  In other
words, He knew that it was safe for Him to go to Bethany
without danger.

III. The announcement that Lazarus is dead

	V. 11, "These things said he: and after that he saith
unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may
awake him out of sleep."  Jesus told His disciples that
Lazarus was asleep.  He was using a figurative term meaning
that Lazarus was dead.  He further said that He was going to
Bethany to awake Lazarus from his sleep.  In other words, He
was going to raise Lazarus from the dead.
	But the disciples did not know that He was talking
figuratively.  They thought He meant that Lazarus was simply
asleep in the way that we sleep at night and they thought
that He meant that He would wake Lazarus up so that He could
visit with him.
	V. 12-13, "Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep,
he shall do well.  Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but
they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep."
The disciples did not really understand what Jesus was
talking about.  However, Jesus did not leave them in the
dark very long.  V. 14, "Then said Jesus unto them plainly,
Lazarus is dead."
	Then Jesus explained further.  V. 15, "And I am glad for
your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may
believe..."  What Jesus is saying here is that if He had
been there when Lazarus got sick, He would have given in to
the wishes of the two sisters and He would have healed
Lazarus.  By not being there, Lazarus was allowed to die and
Jesus would have opportunity to perform the greater miracle
of raising Lazarus from the dead.
	Jesus said that He was glad for the disciples sake that
He would get to perform the greater miracle.  It would not
only be a miracle which would bring glory to God among the
masses of people, but it would be a miracle which could help
to strengthen the disciples in a special way.  It would
strengthen them in a way which they especially needed.  It
was but a very short time when He, Himself, would be nailed
to the cross.  The disciples would be devastated by His
death.  They would need such a miracle as the resurrection
of Lazarus to be fresh on their minds to re-assure them that
all is well.  Jesus has the power over the grave.  If they
would only allow it to do so, what they were about to see at
Bethany would strengthen them and, in some measure, help to
prepare them for His own crucifixion.
	(V. 15), "...nevertheless let us go unto him."  Jesus
was not only going to Bethany, but He was calling upon His
disciples to go there with Him.  He was going there to raise
Lazarus from the grave and to bring untold joy to the two
sisters.  He was also going there to strengthen His
disciples and help to cushion the devastating blow that they
would feel when He would be crucified.

IV.  The response of Thomas to the call of Jesus

	V. 16, "Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto
his fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with
him."  Now Thomas was not talking about the death of
Lazarus.  He was not saying, "Let us go and die with
Lazarus."  He was talking about the death of Jesus.  He had
failed to get the point of what Jesus had said to them.  He
had failed to understand that Jesus was saying that there
was a little time left in the working day that God the
Father had allotted to Him and that nothing would bring His
death until that work period was over.  Furthermore, he had
failed to understand that Jesus was going there to bring
Lazarus back to life again and that with that kind of power
He was well able to protect Himself against the Jewish
leaders.
	Yet in spite of his lack of understanding, we cannot
help but admire Thomas here.  He thought that Jesus was
surely going to be put to death by the Jewish leadership,
and yet he was 100% willing to go with Him and to be put to
death with Him.  Furthermore, he called upon all the other
disciples to join him in going with Jesus to Judaea and
being put to death with Jesus.

V.  The call that I make to you today

	Let me now call make a call to today.  Let me call upon
you to repent of your sin and place your faith in Jesus
Christ to save your soul.  God had sent Jesus here into the
world not just to raise Lazarus from the dead.  Rather He
sent Jesus here to die upon the cross and to give His own
life's blood that we might be saved.  Jesus died that you
might be saved.   But according to the plan of God the
Father, Jesus will not save you until you first repent of
your sins and place your faith in Jesus for salvation.  What
I want you to know is that Jesus has done all He can to save
you until you make the first move.  If you will repent of
your sin and call upon Him to save you from your sin Jesus
will save you.  He has promised that He will and Jesus will
keep His word.
	Secondly, I want to call upon you after you are saved to
love Jesus with all your heart and soul.  I want you to love
Jesus and devote your life to Jesus for two reasons.  The
main reason I want you to love Jesus and devote your life to
Him is because He deserves your love and devotion.  He has
loved you and died for you and He is worthy of your love for
Him.  Another reason I want you to love Jesus is so that
Jesus will have a special love for you.  I want you to have
that special love from Jesus and I am calling upon you to
seek it.
	Furthermore, I am asking you who are saved to seek to
lead your family to have a special love from Jesus.  I am
asking that you first seek to lead them to Jesus for
salvation.  Then after they are saved, I am asking that you
seek to lead them to have a great love for Jesus and to
devote their lives to Jesus.
	I am also calling upon you who are saved and who love
Jesus to learn to work for Jesus while there is time.  Just
as Jesus was allotted a time in which He could carry out the
work that God had assigned Him to do, even so God has
allotted us a time in which to work for Him.  We are all in
the daylight time of our lives right now, but the sun will
soon be setting for us.  We, too, must work the work of God
while it is day for the night comes when none of us can
work.  Our allotted time will some be over.  We need to be
about the Master's business while we have time.
	I am also calling upon you to go where the Lord would
have you to go.  In our text Jesus called upon those
disciples to go with Him to Bethany to the home of Martha
and Mary and Lazarus.  Today Jesus is calling upon us to go
with Him into the field of service.  In the realm of
possibility Jesus may be calling upon someone in this
congregation to go across the country to a distant city and
render service to Him.  He may even be calling someone here
today to go across the seas and to carry the gospel to the
people in a distant land.  But almost certainly He is
calling upon each Christian present to go out into the
neighborhood and out into the family and seek to lead others
to salvation and to service to our Lord.
	I am calling upon the people of this church to go out
into the area around and seek to get people to come to
worship God in this church.  I am willing to go myself.  I
would go to every person if I could possibly do so.  But I
cannot possibly get to everyone who needs a visit.  So I am
calling upon you to go and seek to bring your friends,
neighbors and relatives to our church services.  If this
church is going to grow in number it is going to require
your help in making it grow.
	I am going to make one more appeal to you who are saved.
I point out to you that Thomas was willing to go to Judaea
and die with Jesus.  He was willing to lay down his life for
Jesus.  I hope that it does not become necessary for you to
lay down your's for Jesus.  I hope also that it does not
become necessary for me to lay down mine for Jesus.  But I
hope and pray that if it does become needful that I die for
Jesus that God will give me the grace to do so.  And I am
calling also upon you to ask God for that same grace.  Ask
God that if it does become needful for us to lay down our
lives for Jesus sake that we will have the grace to do so.
Be willing to live for Him or die for Him.

Conclusion:

	Who will come?  Who will come and trust Jesus and be
saved?  What saved person will come and follow Jesus in
baptism?  What saved person who holds membership in some
other church will come and place his membership here?  Who
will come?