Jesus has compassion on people in general. But some families were held with a special affection by Him. The family of Mary, Martha and Lazarus of Bethany was one of those families. Jesus returns to Judah at the risk of His own life to restore Lazarus to life.
John 10: I Am the Good Shepherd
1 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber.
2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers."
6 This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
7 So Jesus again said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.
9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.
13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,
15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.
17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.
18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father."
19 There was again a division among the Jews because of these words.
20 Many of them said, "He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?"
21 Others said, "These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"
I and the Father Are One
22 At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter,
23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon.
24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly."
25 Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me,
26 but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock.
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.
30 I and the Father are one."
31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone him.
32 Jesus answered them, "I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?"
33 The Jews answered him, "It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God."
34 Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your Law, 'I said, you are gods'?
35 If he called them gods to whom the word of God came---and Scripture cannot be broken---
36 do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?
37 If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me;
38 but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father."
39 Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.
40 He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained.
41 And many came to him. And they said, "John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true."
42 And many believed in him there.
John 11: The Death of Lazarus
1 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.
2 It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill.
3 So the sisters sent to him, saying, "Lord, he whom you love is ill."
4 But when Jesus heard it he said, "This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it."
5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
6 So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.
7 Then after this he said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."
8 The disciples said to him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?"
9 Jesus 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.
10 But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."
11 After saying these things, he said to them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him."
12 The disciples said to him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover."
13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep.
14 Then Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus has died,
15 and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him."
16 So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him."
I Am the Resurrection and the Life
17 Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.
18 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off,
19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother.
20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house.
21 Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you."
23 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."
24 Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day."
25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,
26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?"
27 She said to him, "Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world."
Jesus Weeps
28 When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, "The Teacher is here and is calling for you."
29 And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him.
30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him.
31 When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there.
32 Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.
34 And he said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see."
35 Jesus wept.
36 So the Jews said, "See how he loved him!"
37 But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?"
Jesus Raises Lazarus
38 Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.
39 Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, by this time there will be an odour, for he has been dead four days."
40 Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?"
41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me.
42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me."
43 When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out."
44 The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."
The Plot to Kill Jesus
45 Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him,
46 but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.
47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the Council and said, "What are we to do? For this man performs many signs.
48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation."
49 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all.
50 Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish."
51 He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation,
52 and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.
53 So from that day on they made plans to put him to death.
54 Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples.
55 Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves.
56 They were looking for Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, "What do you think? That he will not come to the feast at all?"
57 Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should let them know, so that they might arrest him.
Things to think about…
Jesus says that those who know Him hear His voice, Jn 10:1-21. As the Good Shepherd, Jesus leads His sheep. But He also says He lays down His life for His sheep. Many have heard the words of Jesus, but unfortunately very few take them to heart. Some take offense that He has to lay down His life for anyone. Regardless of the wisdom of man, the wisdom of God is required. Let’s continue to speak on behalf of the Good Shepherd. He knows how to lead us.
It is interesting that John records the celebration of the Feast of Dedication, John 10:22. The Feast of Dedication, which was once also called the Feast of the Maccabees, was an eight-day winter festival celebrated by the Jews in the month of December or sometimes late November. It celebrates the miraculous provision of light for the menorah when there was only one days provision of oil. Jesus gives us oil of the Holy Spirit; He is the light of the world.
Some Jews who wanted an earthly deliverer and a Messiah of their own making ask Jesus whether He is the Christ, Jn 10:24-28. Jesus says He did tell them, but they refused to accept it. Why? For the simple reason that Jesus didn’t match up to their expectations as to what they believed the Messiah would look like. Jesus said that for this first part of His ministry as the Christ He had to call His sheep and that they will have eternal life. This is still the commission Jesus gives to His people. Jesus will return in judgement only when the Great Commission is completed. Pray that the Lord continues to call His sheep out of this world.
After Jesus says ‘I and the Father are one’. The Jews pick up stones to stone Him, Jn 10:31. Why? Because He made Himself equal with God. Jesus said if this is not true then they should judge His words by His works to understand that what He said was true, Jn 10:34-38. To be the Christ He had to be God. They were happy to ask if He was the Christ. But when He made Himself equal with God they got angry. If anyone is going to accept that Jesus is God they require supernatural grace to work upon their hearts. Who are you praying for to accept Jesus for who He said He was – the Christ?
Jesus escapes and turns away from the crowds by going to where John was baptising at first. Even today it is a place that is out in the middle of nowhere. Sometimes we need time to be alone with the Lord where we can recover and be restored by His Spirit. How are your quiet times with the Lord going at the moment? Sometimes a change in scenery can refresh the outlook and the spirit.
Jesus wanted to go back to Bethany – near Jerusalem to heal Lazarus, Jn 11:1-6. Bethany today has a traditional site for the tomb of Lazarus and is one of the sites that helps bring tourists into this troubled area. The Jews today are actively renaming it back to its biblical names of Judea and Samaria. As a small village in Jesus’ day everyone would have known Lazarus and mourned his death. Jesus puts Himself in danger by going back to Judea to heal His friend. What would you do for your closest friends? Surely the greatest thing is their salvation. Jesus gives a remarkable lesson on the power of Him being “the resurrection and the life”.
We often hear that Mary is the one who sat at Jesus feet and Martha was the worker. But consider here in Jn 11:17-27, Martha is the one who goes out to greet Jesus and confesses that Jesus could have healed her brother and that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God. Look at her theology and confession in Jn 11:27 “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world." Martha’s eyes had been open to the truth even though she struggled at times. Note that her confession is before her brother has been raised after being over 4 days in the tomb. I get great encouragement when I see these insights in scripture. There’s hope for me!
“Jesus wept”, Jn 11:35. Is the shortest verse in the bible and yet it displays the compassion and humanity of our Lord and His identity with a lost, broken and dying world. What makes you weep? When was the last time you wept over someone who was outside a saving knowledge of Christ? They are dead even while they live. Jesus has come to give them life.
Imagine the effect of seeing your brother who had been dead for four days get up and walk out of the tomb, Jn 11:44. Yet those who have accepted Christ as Saviour have a greater resurrection. They have been raised spiritually – a truly impossible task for the flesh. May you be part of this ‘first’ resurrection.
The words of Caiaphas the High Priest are very insightful. He speaks with the authority of the Holy Spirit in John 11:49-53. While this is ordained by the Lord, the Pharisees and Jews seek to murder Christ. This is a graphic outworking of Romans 8:28 for both Jesus and His people.
This miracle was always going to cause a problem for Jesus. The Pharisees were already angry at Him before He left the area and wanted to stone Him. Now with this latest miracle which displayed the undeniable power of Jesus, they plotted to kill Him from this point on, Jn 11:53. John 12 makes the point that they wanted Lazarus dead for the same reason. What do you think of Caiaphas’s comment, Jn 11:49-52? He was speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. God used their plotting towards Christ’s murder for the purpose of saving the Lord’s people. Peter confirms this in his sermon in Acts 2:36. There is a greater merciful purpose of the Lord behind the evil plotting within the hearts of men.
Vision Point for cell groups
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Title was “Who would want to be an elder” – Reading Ezekiel 14:1-11
1. Judgement had come upon Jerusalem. The year was 592BC. But further judgement was about to happen in 587/6BC. This was due to corrupt leadership. What was the problem that Ezekiel’s vision (the Lord) is addressing?
2. What idols do we see in the religious and secular world today? What idols do we have personally?
3. God gives life. The people of God rise up from death to life, similar to the vision Ezekiel had of Israel and the valley of the dry bones in Ezek 37. Israel would be restored. We are also restored even after rebellion and idol worship. Discuss how this has happened for Israel, but also for the church in the west.
4. Pray for each other and the outreach of the gospel
Prayer Points
1. Pray for the people of Iran. There is horrible oppression of women who are being beaten and killed by a corrupt government, simply for refusing to wear a head covering.
2. Pray for safety as people go on holidays and return.
3. The right choice for a full time Youth and Young Adults Pastor to start Jan 2023 and the finances to support them.
4. More young families and youth into the church.
5. Ministry leaders within the church.
6. Our One for Israel ministry.
7. Pray for other building projects – café roof, the repair of the house roof.
8. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. Doug’s message and the gospel faithfully given on Sunday.
2. Some returning back to church after a while away.
3. Worship on Sunday – thankyou Paul, Suzy, Zac. Dan on Words and Tim on sound. Thankyou. Fiona and Maddison in café always do a stellar job. Thankyou for those who welcomed at the door.
4. All those who faithfully serve in ministries, Worship, Sound/Technical/Kids Church/ Cell Groups/Admin - Bulletins/Finances/Property/Welcoming/Spiritual Leadership/Cafe
5. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Remember to check your duty rosters.
2. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
3. Tune in again this week on our youtube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism question for September...
Q. 8. What will happen to the righteous in the day of judgment? A. They shall live with Jesus Christ forever, in a new heaven and a new earth.
