See How He Loves Us | John 11:1-6 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (7/19/26)

If you can find your place in the Scriptures and meet me in Mark chapter seven, we're going to take a pause in our series in the book of Revelation. I know that we haven't visited Revelation in a few weeks and we will resume next week, Lord willing, but I'd love to speak to you about something that is on my heart, and that I hope will touch your heart. This is not our main text, but it will be a springboard. It's just a thought that I want to bring to your attention before we go into the main passage that we are going to examine with great joy, I trust. Look at Mark chapter seven verse 37.

And they were astonished beyond measure saying, he has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak. It's that little phrase there. He has done all things well. This is the response of the crowd after witnessing yet another miracle that Christ has performed, and they were helpless.

It says here they were astonished beyond measure, and the consensus was He has done all things well. This was the unanimous commentary of the masses in evaluating the ministry of Jesus Christ. Everything that He has done up to this point, He has done with excellence. They have determined that he didn't do anything half heartedly, that he didn't do anything with mistakes, that he never failed. Everything that he has executed, everything that he has performed, he has done well.

But this is not just limited to what we find here in this account. All things means all things. Everything that Jesus Christ does, he does perfectly. His salvation, his provision, his guidance, his protection, all things he does well, including how he loves us. I wanna speak to you today about the love of Jesus.

And with Paul, with a message like this, you need to pray. As much as you need to prepare, there needs to be prayer because he understood there in Ephesians chapter three, as he got on his knees, he says, before the Father, that we may have the strength to comprehend with all the saints the height and the breadth and the depth, the length of the love of God which surpasses all knowledge. Can you imagine that? Paul says you need strength to be able to understand Christ's love for you. And he says with all the saints.

In other words, there is not one Christian that should be left out and understanding the love that Jesus Christ has for them. Not one. I want all the saints to comprehend this love. And there there requires a supernatural intervention for us to be able to entertain it and not just entertain it but embrace it. How acquainted are you with the love of Jesus?

How familiar are you with the love of Jesus? How confident are you about the love of Jesus Christ? Well there is one account I want to take us to to help us become a little bit more familiar with the love of Christ. And it's a love that he showed to an entire household, a family, namely siblings. Lazarus, Mary, and Martha.

Turn with me to John chapter 11, and we're going to read the first six verses together. And before we even read a verse, I want to pray. We need to pray. That we would really understand this. I I really want this more to to be than just points or clever connections.

I think this message would be a failure, honestly, if the only thing that we leave here is, well, you know, I never saw that text that way. But to experience the love of Christ through the means of his word, that's the objective. That's the goal. That's my prayer. And we have to ask God for his help in order to achieve it.

Let's do that. Lord, we thank you that your love is not just to be studied, it's to be experienced. But Lord, a preacher can only be so eloquent and so insightful. It has to come from your power. You have to illuminate us.

You you have to deposit it in us. So we pray that any obstacle, any hindrance, any lie, any false notion would bow its knee to the truth of your love. Give us revelation with this story, this true story, this testimony and change us through it. We ask these things in Jesus name. Amen.

John 11 beginning in verse one. Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him saying, Lord, he whom you love is ill. 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. Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he had heard that Lazarus was ill he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. What an interesting way to begin this account. We're told here about a man named Lazarus who was ill.

He was of Bethany. You study Christ's life closely and you'll learn that going to Bethany meant often to be with this family. They were great friends of his. He enjoyed their company. They loved his presence.

But this is a different this is a different experience for this family. We're told that one of them is deathly ill. But before we get to that, verse two really stands out to us. At least it should. Because John, in preparing us for this miraculous encounter and the lessons that are attached to it, wants to inform us which Mary we're speaking about here.

There was a lot of Marys in the gospels. But notice how he describes her. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair. Now most of us in here know exactly who that is, but I want you to just imagine for a moment you are reading this account for the first time. And if you are, then this should cause you to scratch your head a little bit because Mary anointing the lord with ointment in that wonderful scene days before Jesus was betrayed and put to death did not occur yet in this account of the gospel of John.

That takes place in chapter 12. We're in chapter 11. So for whatever reason, John reaches a chapter ahead and brings in this moment the Mary that we are going to look at briefly. Assuming that we know who she is, but we haven't read about her yet. If you're the first time reader, I think contextually this reveals a couple of things.

One again John assumes that the reader especially his immediate audience knows who he is referring to. Do you know why? Well, because in the Synoptic Gospels, when Mary breaks that alabaster flask and pours it upon Christ, Jesus made a prediction and Jesus made a promise. Let me read it to you from Matthew 26 verse 13. You don't have to turn there.

Just listen carefully. In Matthew twenty six thirteen, Jesus says, Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her. In other words, wherever this gospel will be declared, attached to it will be the memorial of this act of devotion and worship performed by Mary. And I want to suggest to you that even in the lifetime of the apostles namely John, her memorial was already known. In other words, the church at this time receiving this account when John mentions Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped the sea with her hair knew exactly who he's speaking about because they heard about her.

Because wherever this gospel will be preached, her response to the revelation of Christ's death serves as a model of our response to him. Unreserved surrender and adoration. But there's something else happening here. As we are prepared to examine and look at the love of Christ, John by the Spirit wants to establish the love that Mary had for Christ. And so he points us to this incredible account of Mary lavishing her Lord with adoration.

Let's look at it quickly in John 12. Look at verse three with me in that chapter. This is more than just John distinguishing this Mary from other Marys. He wants to highlight the great affection she had for him. In John 12 verse three: Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair.

The house was filled with fragrance of the perfume. Now John here details for us the worth of this ointment. In fact, Judas in verse five will remark indicating that this perfume was worth a year's wages of a common working man. And the reason why Mary decides to do this, to reach into her closet and take out this perfume and break the neck of the bottle, is because she had a revelation of the death of Jesus Christ. And is that what Christ said?

She did this because of my burial. Wow. Christ acknowledges that Mary is worshiping in this way because Mary has insight into what's about to take place that week. Jesus Christ is going to die. She may not have had the complete understanding of what that entailed, but she knew that Christ was going to die, It could be that she had even further revelation than that.

This woman fascinates me because this woman had a perception that the disciples themselves did not have. The death of Jesus surprised the apostles. Not Mary. She was prepared for it and not only did she prepare for it, she demonstrated love to Christ because of it. This is stunning.

You have these disciples who were with Jesus for three and a half years non stop twenty fourseven. They slept beside Jesus. They ate with Jesus. They traveled with Jesus. They had complete access to the Son of God.

And this Mary, who lived in Bethany, who would be visited by Christ from time to time, demonstrates here that she has more understanding of the destiny of Christ than the disciples themselves. How? I asked this question at one of our prayer meetings not too long ago. And if you weren't there, I'll tell you how. You have to go to Luke chapter 10.

Luke chapter 10. The first time we are introduced to this Mary, look at verse 38 with me. Luke ten thirty eight. Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching.

That's how. If you study Mary's life I've mentioned this before and you look at every occurrence where she is mentioned you'll always find her at Jesus's feet. Always. And what we see here is that Mary is at Jesus's feet listening to what He is saying. She is locked in.

She's undisturbed. She is absorbing everything that is dripping from His holy mouth. And she believed it. Disciples did not have the attention. They did not have the liberty and the freedom in their minds and hearts.

They were so cluttered with other things, and they missed it. Mary didn't. May I add something? Sometimes people use Mary in John chapter 12 as an example of, again, worship and love and adoration. And they they wonder, how can we get there?

How can I get there? How can you get there? And I argue, you can't get to the holy abandonment that Mary shows with the breaking of that flask without Luke chapter 10. You want John chapter 12? You need Luke chapter 10 to sit at Jesus's feet uninterrupted, invested, receiving from him and as he unfolds greater and greater revelation, then eventually you will get to what Mary shows us in John chapter 12.

Take it all. I'm not reserving anything. I'm not holding anything back. You sit at Jesus's feet long enough, He will woo you to that degree. He will draw you in such a way.

Don't expect to fall deeper in love with Christ if you don't know how to sit at His feet and receive from Him personally. May the Lord give us wisdom to know how to do that with our schedules and our jobs, our little babies. He will help us. So with the eyes of faith, this woman pays tribute to the sacrifice of Christ by anointing him in preparation for his burial. But here's what's so amazing.

That's John chapter 12. Right? When you look at John chapter 12 with the background of John chapter 11, there's even more glory. In John chapter 11, her brother Lazarus, is he going to die? He is going to die.

Is it going to be tragic? Absolutely. And then we come to the resurrection of Lazarus. It's a celebration. It's winning more people to Christ and in John chapter 12 where Mary performs this.

You know what question I have? Why didn't Mary break that flask and anoint her brother Lazarus when he died? Don't you think that's a legitimate question? I think it is. Was it a ritual to anoint somebody before they were buried in this time of history?

Absolutely. So what I'm wondering is with the love that Mary had for Lazarus and clearly with the access that she had to this ointment, why didn't she pour it out on her brother? She could have and it would have been wrong for her to do it. Instead, she reserves it. She holds on to it and she pours it on Christ for his burial.

Can I tell you why? Because as much as she loved her brother Lazarus, she loved Jesus more. That's why. That's the kind kind of love that Christ deserves from us. I know we're gonna get to the love of Christ, but John is setting the stage as...

For us here. Lord, I love you more than anybody else that I love. I honor you more than anybody else that I honor. I treasure you more than anybody else I cherish. But there's even more.

I mean we're told here in John chapter 12 verse three that not only did she pour out this ointment, she could have given it to somebody else including Lazarus. I mean that was just a chapter before, but when she decides to wipe his feet, she doesn't grab a towel. She throws her hair over her head and at the feet of Christ dries his feet. That side alone, that description alone is moving, but it becomes even more powerful when you remember that in first Corinthians 11 verse 15, Paul tells us that a woman's hair is her what? It's her glory.

That God has naturally provided an ornament to adorn woman in a special way, and with that in view, when we look back at Mary and what she did for Christ, we realize that she doesn't just dry his feet with what was at her disposal, she's surrendering her glory at his feet. So I'm not just going to communicate that Christ means more to me than anybody else, I'm gladly going to declare that Christ means more to me than me. I wonder if that could be said of us. Your love, your person, your will is more attractive, more fulfilling than anything I can find in somebody else and anything that I can do for myself. I will give this flask, not to Lazarus, but to you, and I will give my glory, not to myself, but to you also.

Before we go back to John 11, I can't help but comment the last part of John 12 verse three. Notice what John says here, the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. I love to think that John is writing as an eyewitness. He is. He's an eyewitness of this whole engagement and he can't help but record that when she did this, the entire living room was filled with that aroma.

Remember John is not writing this independently. He's being led by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit wanted him to write that that entire house was filled with that fragrance. What? Just to give us some more accurate historical record?

I believe it's also to communicate that this love offering symbolizes something, that extravagant worship rarely goes unnoticed by others. Mary did this, it caught the attention of everybody else. Find a person who is madly in love with the Lord Jesus Christ. They don't have to do anything. They just live in that state of worship, and it will carry a fragrance.

It will be noticed. The fragrance here speaks about a devotion that is detectable. When you give every ounce to Christ, it will be a refreshing sight to some and for others, it can incur criticism like it did for Judas. What a waste. There are some people in life who will look at your devotion to Christ and they will say, what a waste.

What a foolish way to live. What a silly way to invest your time. But those who are surrendered to Christ could care less. I love that Mary in this account does not even defend herself to the criticism of Judas. Jesus defends her.

So why am I saying all of this? Well, we gotta go back to John chapter 11 to understand. This woman loves Jesus. And I want you to see verse two again of John 11. After describing her worship, her adoration, her affection, at the end of verse two, it says, whose brother Lazarus was ill.

This Mary, her brother was sick. This woman with this kind of caliber of worship, this intense love for Christ, her her, she had a brother who was sick. What's that meant to tell us? Well, you would think that somebody who was so in love with Christ would be spared from such sorrow. That Christ would not let her endure or experiencing anything like this, would be delivered from pain.

Clearly not. Mary's tenderness, her heart for Christ did not give her a pass from having to face tribulation. Why? Because there's a level of sanctification and there is a level of revelation that can only be known at times in the sphere of suffering. You love Christ?

I hope you do. You adore Him? Is it your prayer that you fall deeper in love with Him? I hope so. But be reminded here that those who love Jesus may suffer.

And I can relate to Mary here. In that... And maybe you're like me as well. I would rather be afflicted than watch somebody I love being afflicted. To me personally, it it's far more agonizing to witness a loved one suffering and me watching them with no ability to alleviate that suffering.

Put it on me, Lord. Give it to me. And so Mary is watching her brother die or dying at least, and my heart goes out to her. These sisters are experiencing this but in the midst of it all, look what they do next. Visit verse three with me again.

So the sisters sent to him saying, Lord, he whom you love is ill. The faith of these sisters, their instinct is to go to the Lord. When they realize that Lazarus' disease is coming to a very concerning state, they sent word to Jesus. Evidently, they knew something about Jesus, that you can bring your problems to Jesus. You can bring your sick loved one to Jesus.

You can bring your pain to Jesus. That's the obvious understanding, but look at it more closely. Have you noticed how they refer to Jesus, Lord? That is not a common title for this rabbi from Nazareth. Among the disciples, surely.

Among those outside of that sphere, rarely. And yet, these sisters ensure that these messengers identified Jesus as Lord. You are still Lord. My brother is dying but you are still master. We need your help.

We don't know why you haven't come sooner as they're about to ask but you are still the captain. You are still the leader. You are still Lord. But more than that, look at the request. Is there even a request?

Lord, he whom you love is ill. Full stop. So simple, so pure, so direct. And what I see here first is that they don't even include Lazarus's name. Did you notice that?

Lord, he whom you love is ill. What does that tell me? That tells me that in the understanding of these sisters, the identity of Lazarus is so wrapped up in the love of Christ that all they have to say is he whom you love is ill. And they knew exactly how he would translate that. Lazarus is so covered in the love of Jesus Christ that he doesn't even need to be named for him to be aware of Lazarus.

That's how personal, that's how intimate, that's how rich the love of Christ is. He whom you love is ill. Moreover, notice that it would have made sense for them to say, Lord, he who loves you is ill. Is that what they say? Do they present Lazarus's love to Jesus as the grounds for their prayer?

No. They appeal to Christ's love for Lazarus. He whom you love is ill, not he who loves you. What wisdom. What incredible wisdom.

Do You see what these sisters are doing? They are not depending their appeal on the shaky, feeble, inconsistent love of even the best of his disciples. They are making their need known upon the basis of Christ unchanging, immovable, unwavering love for us. We know that you're willing to do something about this because of your love for Lazarus, not because of Lazarus' love for you. How confident are we of the love of Christ?

How sure are we that we can go to him with anything on this basis because of your love? Not because of... Because I had a really good month. I didn't miss one morning in your word, so I'm gonna make extra request because I think I deserve it. Foolishness.

You missed it. Thinking like that proves that we don't understand the strength of his love. And I'll tell you this, after years walking with him and preaching about his love, there is yet so much more to know. It it's so inexhaustible. It's found throughout the pages of the scriptures.

Yes. Ultimately manifested upon that tree. Yes. Absolutely in his death. But it's it's sprinkled across the pages of this book.

You know, in these last couple of weeks, I was reminded of how Joseph in Genesis points to Jesus in so many ways, including his exaltation. When Joseph finally came out of that pit and was brought to be second in command, even Joseph's exaltation points to the exaltation of Christ namely in his resurrection. So many parallels. But there are even little nuances and things that we can miss that also have a ring to it that remind us of Christ and how Christ is the greater Joseph. Let me give you one.

I'm just giving you an example of familiarizing ourselves and feeding our souls with how Christ loves us. Because when you understand that, you can be like these sisters and have greater boldness and coming to him and approaching him. Do you remember how Jesus identified his disciples when he encountered Mary at the tomb in John 20 verse 17? He tells Mary Magdalene, go to my brothers and say to them, my brothers, go to my brothers. This is after they betray them.

This is after they... Peter namely lied about his discipleship. After all of that failure, Christ conquers death. He vacates the tomb, he sees Mary, and he wants to reconcile with his disciples and he tells them, make sure that you say to my brothers. He is unashamed to call us his brothers according to Hebrews.

How does that connect with Joseph? Well, if you're willing, go to Genesis 45 with me. I want you to see something briefly. Genesis 45 in verse four. So Joseph said to his brothers...

What's happening here? Well, this is Joseph after his exaltation, after he tested his brothers and he's ready to reveal himself. In his place of authority, in his place of prominence, we read in verse four, come near to me, please. And they came near, and he said, I am your brother. I am your brother Joseph whom you sold into Egypt.

Even in this, I argue, there's a tinge. There there is a little ring of Joseph looking at his brothers who harmed him greatly and still willing to say, I'm your brother. But more than that, Jesus is greater. In what sense? Because Joseph doesn't end there.

He says, I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. What is he doing there? He's bringing to their remembrance their offense. Sure, he is identifying himself by doing so, but he is also bringing to the surface temporarily without bitterness because he's gonna follow it up with, look, I'm not holding this against you. But you can imagine the sting of him saying to them, whom you sold into Egypt.

I'm your brother, the one that you gave up to become a slave. In this, we see Christ being greater because when he tells Mary, go and say to my brothers, you know what he doesn't do? Bring up their offense. Go to my brothers who betrayed me. Go to my brothers who abandoned me.

Go to my brothers who are cowards. He doesn't say that. Jesus says, Go and say to my brothers that I am sending to my father and your father, my God and your God. He does not mention they're wrong. That is not to say that Christ ignores our sin.

That would be a gross misinterpretation of this connection. In fact, Jesus is going to take his time to reconcile Peter by having breakfast together in John 21 and bringing up what he had done. But the reason why I bring this up is to show that this is an illustration of just how approachable Jesus Christ is even in our sin, even in the midst of our failure. And in this, I see that he is more gracious and more compassionate and more forgiving than Joseph himself. So this is just one example.

I'm I'm telling my own experience, I guess, of just how how much there's to know of who this Christ is, how strong his love is, how inviting he is. And there's still more to ring out from verse three of John 11. They call him lord. They say he whom you love. They don't even identify Lazarus because they believe that he is so one with Christ's love.

But notice also this, they don't make any specific demands. Is Lazarus sick or is he not sick? He's sick. Is he dying? He's on the brink of death.

And when they send these messengers, time is of the essence. You would think that even though they said, lord, whom you love, that they would follow it up with, we need you now. We we need you to come here and lay hands on Lazarus. Okay. If you can't get here on time, you will be even greater.

Just say the word. Say the word from where you are and we trust that you have the authority to to heal him. Nothing. There is there is no asking for healing. Lord, he whom you love is ill.

That's it. Why? Well, it would be wrong to say that this is a text to encourage us to not be specific with our prayers. I argue that this is an example that shows that when we don't know how to pray and we don't know how to bring our request and we don't know how to formulate our words before Christ, he understands. He knows.

He translates it perfectly. Lord, he whom you love is ill. And Christ knows exactly what to do with that information. I remember receiving a phone call years ago of a precious woman of God. Older lady saintly, she loved Christ.

She's still alive. And she was going through a nightmarish scenario with... Within her own household. Nightmarish. I I won't get into the details.

But But I remember having a conversation with her, and at one point, she said, brother, I don't even know how to pray about this. I don't know which way to look. If I ask it this way, these are the ramifications. If I ask it that way, these are the consequences. How how do I even pray?

And I'll be quite honest. When she told me what she was going through, I didn't even know how to pray about it. How? It was such a dilemma. And no matter how from a human standpoint it goes or it would go, there's gonna be tragedy.

There's gonna be collateral damage. And in that moment, after a long phone call and after that confession, like a light switch, a verse came to mind so loud, so clear, so undeniable. A promise that I shared with her, and it's a promise for you and I. Do you remember what Paul said in Romans eight verse 26? Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness for we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

When I don't even know how to pray, when I don't have the strength to put words together, When I can't even posture my body in my usual position to show reverence and love for Christ. When I can't offer any of that, the spirit intercedes for me and takes my need and brings it before the throne of grace. And God knows exactly what to do with it because the spirit himself is take... Taking our request on our behalf. Lord, He whom you love is ill.

Aren't you glad that you and I serve a God that doesn't ask us to check certain boxes or to say certain things in a certain amount of times for you to have a chance to receive anything from Him? You can come crawling into his presence mumbling, weeping, repeating yourself even because you're so tired and you don't even know how to go on beyond a few words and Christ will hear you. For the first time, Jesus is about to speak in this story. It's in verse four of John 11. 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. It does not lead to death. At least in a final way, Lazarus is going to die. But notice what else Christ says, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it. What what does that mean?

What are the implications of this statement for Jesus to say, this will not lead to death. It is for the glory of God. And the Son of God will be glorified through it. Through it. Through it.

I'll tell you what it means. It means that Christ here in relationship to this tragedy is showing that there's purpose. Not only is there purpose though, He is in control. You're making this need known to me and I wanna let you know that I'm able to manage it and I'm able to maneuver it and I'm able to accomplish something in it for my glory. This does not escape my sovereignty.

This is no surprise to me. This doesn't startle me. This doesn't push me into a corner and make me wonder how I'm going to bring a solution to this. Nothing is outside of control... His control in the slightest.

I'm gonna get glory from this. What does that mean for you and I? Well, if in the natural we look at this, we would have to admit that this kind of tragedy offers nothing more than agony, distress, pain. However, when Christ is in the picture, there's glory. When Christ's wisdom is in view, there's gain.

You may be in this place today looking at your own pain or looking at the pain of another, and you do so with blurry eyes filled with tears constantly. I wanna let you know that God can see something that often you and I can't. They see their brothers slipping away from them and Jesus strangely enough sees glory. They can only feel the ache in their soul getting more intense as they realize nothing is working. And Jesus sees another reason for people to be able to worship him.

This is mysterious, isn't it? Christ's love is indeed wonderful. And we can sense the build up of the story. We can almost predict what's going to happen next, especially if you've never seen this or heard this before, but there's going to be an interesting turn. Come back here in John 11.

Look at verse five. There seems to be, like, a pause in this play by play, and there's further commentary granted by John. We're hoping to see some action here. And before there's any steps taken, before there's any decision made, look at verse five. What an obscure thing.

What a strange thing to say. Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. It's as though John by the spirit wants to show us the extent of Christ's love. Lord, he whom you love is ill. We we already saw that Jesus loves Lazarus deeply and then the spirit of God says, but I want I want to stop here and show you that he loves each of these siblings.

He loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. You know what's interesting? The order is reversed from verse one. Look at verse one again. Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.

Go back to verse five. Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister, that's Mary and Lazarus. You can debate what that means. You can debate if that's intentional. I believe it's intentional and I believe it's meant to convey this that as unique as these siblings were, Christ's love for them was equal.

There's no preference here. There's no hierarchy here. That brings me great joy. Because with the little information we have about this family, there is enough to show us that they are all very different. Martha, we start in Luke 10, what she's just...

The way her love language is acts of service. She's just running around, putting meals together, and there's nothing wrong with that. People tend to use that text to say, you know, service is not that important. No. Service is very important.

In her case, service crowded out worship. That's the problem. But she... She's she's active. She's moving.

She seems to be the very responsible one. She hosts Jesus. Mary... Oh, Mary. Mary is just lost in Jesus.

Wherever he is, she just wants to sit at his feet. She just wants to hear what he has to say. She wants to just adore him and and experience Christ, and that's a wonderful thing. What about Lazarus? Well, Lazarus doesn't say anything.

You you read of Martha speaking, you find words coming out of Mary's mouth. Lazarus, you'd be hard pressed to find him saying anything. But I like to call Lazarus the silent witness. Can I give you an example of that? Go to John chapter 12 for a moment and look at verse 10.

This is after Lazarus is raised from the dead. We can actually look at verse nine. John 12 verse nine. When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came not only on account of him, but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priest made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, Because on account of him, many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.

I love that. Lazarus doesn't say a word. Obviously, he spoke, but nothing recorded in the scriptures and through his wordless testimony, people were coming to Jesus. He's the silent witness. Jesus did such a work in his life when people saw Lazarus to go, you're different.

And in this case, literally, you were dead, now you're alive. Spiritually, that applies to you and I. So different. Their temperaments, I'm sure, their personalities, you can even feel it reading them in this book. And yet, Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

I can say with confidence that in this room right now as the omnipotent, omnipresent Christ looks in this room and for those who are his especially. He loves each of us. With all your strengths and all your weaknesses and all your gifts or lack of, Jesus loves. He doesn't love in bulk. That's what we're trying to see here.

That's what we have to see here. He loves them personally. This is what's so magnificent about our God that with all the children that he has in this world, he so deals with us and leads us and guides us as though you were the only person in the world. As though you... The world population was one, and that's you.

That's how he treats you today with the billions on this planet. It's hard to comprehend, but it's true nonetheless. He loves them. But there's more happening with verse five of John 11. It's to prepare us for verse six.

Look at John 11 verse six. If you have the ESV, you need to underline the first word of verse six. So so when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. Wait a minute. You just told us in verse five.

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So how would you, in your human way of thinking, read verse six. So when he had heard that Lazarus was ill, he dropped everything and made his way to Bethany. Right? You get a phone call even during the service.

You get a text message, and a loved one is dying, accident, tragedy. Only moments left to live. What are you doing? You're getting up and you're going. You're dropping everything.

You're rescheduling. You're apologizing for your absence because what? Love would go. Love would go. Jesus doesn't go.

Jesus stays. And you're thinking, hold on. You have the power. You can just say something. You don't even have to go.

You can say something. It'll be done. Remember verse five. Jesus loved them. Jesus loved them so he doesn't go.

What do we make of this? I'll give you one thing to make of it. Don't measure Christ's love for you based on how he intervenes in your need. Do not determine his affection for you on the speed of his intervention, on the swiftness of his provision. Don't do that.

That would be a great mistake. A great mistake. Christ's delays and his denials are in no way an indication of his love weakening for you or of his love abandoning you. No. He loved them so he doesn't go.

And I'm trying to make sense of this myself thinking, wouldn't it be loving to actually do something about it? Well, Christ's love is much more profound than what you and I think love looks like. Why doesn't he go? Because in his infinite wisdom and because of his deep unfathomable love, he knows that by delaying, he is building a greater blessing for this family and those connected to them while giving himself greater glory through it. He knows something that we don't know.

Let me prove that to you further. Scroll down to verse 14 of John 11. He speaks to his disciples who themselves are trying to make sense of this. They can't predict Christ's movements here, and they're trying to crack the code of how he is going about this whole thing. And notice what Christ says to them briefly in John 11 verse 14.

Then Jesus told them plainly, Lazarus has died, and for your sake, I am glad that I was not there. Really? You were glad that you weren't there? Yes. Why?

Finish the verse in verse 15, so that you may believe. Well, let us go to him. First question, didn't the disciples already believe? And what are they doing hanging around here this long anyway? Didn't they witness miracles?

Didn't Peter make that glorious confession of Christ being the Son of God? Didn't he raise the dead before? What do you mean so that you may believe? He has raised the dead before. He has.

But not like this. Not raising a man who's been buried for four days. That has never happened. He's visited funerals. He's visited a young girl who was still in her bed.

He's raised the dead before, but not of this category. And what Jesus is saying is, I'm glad that I delayed because when I act in this, you will believe in greater ways. This is gonna stretch your faith. This is gonna help you comprehend something of greater glory. This is going to cause your trust in me to be strengthened and as a result, your worship being strengthened.

That was true for these disciples. Certainly, that was true for those sisters. I'm glad that I procrastinate because I'm trying to do something through this delay and ultimately this denial of this request that you may not understand you need. That is love. That's Jesus' love.

So get it out of your mind, my dear brother and sister and I'm with you on this. That Christ ultimately shows his love for us by giving us everything that we ask. That Christ loves us if he protects us from all harm and danger and suffering. What I see here is that Christ manifest his love ultimately in us by renewing us and transforming us, and sometimes it takes painful things to accomplish it. That's love.

He loved them. So what? He delayed. Why did he delay? So that you would see something that would cause you to believe in a new way.

But it's not through pain merely. That's not the instrument of his sanctification necessarily. It is on the tool belt of our God's sovereign care over our lives. But what did Jesus mentioned earlier? This illness will not lead to death, but it is for the glory of God and that the Son of God may be glorified through it.

In other words, the reason for this delay, the reason for Christ timing was yes, so that he can perform a miracle that would cause him to believe in a fresh manner to get a glimpse of his his majesty and his power, but ultimately, if we put this all together, Christ acts in this way so that these disciples and those who would witness this amazing work would see something of God's glory. Glory. That's the agent of change in our lives. Beholding his glory in a manner that we have not before. So how is Christ showing his great love for them?

I'm going to peel back a layer of my glory. If you think that's imposing something here, look here at verse 40 of John 11. When he finally comes to this site and he is met by Martha. Look what he says in John 11 verse 40. Jesus said to her, did I not tell you that if you believe you would see the glory of God?

This is what Christ is after more than anything else. Everyone involved in this story to catch a glimpse of his glory because there is something better than having all your prayers answered the moment you pray them. And there is something far more necessary than never knowing an ounce of pain in your short existence in this life. And that is to see greater measures of God's glory. As we see in the story, we have to be willing to accept that revelations of his unmatched character and nature can only be tasted sometimes through turmoil, unexpected loss, frustrating delays.

It's a very dangerous thing to be sitting here today and getting up and singing show me your glory. Do you know what you're asking for? How does Christ love us? Many ways we saw it here. But the investment of his love ultimately is to work in your life where you are perpetually exposed to more and more of His glory.

And sometimes that is when you pray and God answers in unexpected ways, and you say, hallelujah. You are God who answers prayer. And other times, it's when you pray and he doesn't answer and you wonder if he even heard you in the first place. But like these sisters, you have enough faith to stay in his presence and to linger. And even in your questioning, wondering where are you?

How does this all make sense? You stay close to him long enough. You give him the little faith that you may have and understand that his love is no different. He's gonna show something of himself in that that will be more satisfying and more healing and more life transforming than if everything just goes okay. See how he loves us?

Do you believe he loves you more than you can imagine? And today, I just want you with me to ask him to help us even in the midst of whatever you are enduring to believe his love and to trust even in that dark place. If you belong to him, he will show you something of his glory, and it will help you love Him more. Let's pray. Lord, can it be so that you love us in such a way?

We choose to believe it by faith. And Lord, it is my prayer that every soul in this place, in these final moments, would not just experience your love in this sanctuary, but as they greet one another and as they make their way back to their vehicles and as they go home, that they would they would be experiencing your love for them. But, Lord, not only when these truths are so fresh in our minds, but we pray that in moments where we are visited by something like what we just read, we would be still convinced of your love. Help us never doubt your love, and help us like Mary love you the way you deserve. We worship you now.

In Jesus' name, amen. With a message like this, I wanna make an invitation. If you wanna stay seated, as long as you're communing with Christ and let this next set of songs wash over you, you can do that. You're free to do that. If you wanna stand because you're ready to just explode and praise, you can stand and worship.

But let's really make this time meaningful as we commune with Christ with the things that we just heard. Amen? Amen. So if you wanna stand, you can stand. If you wanna stay seated, you can stay seated.