The Gospel According To John

by Richard St.James

He That Was Dead Came Forth

Bible 1611.Com / Old Paths Baptist © 2011

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John 11:38 “Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.
39 Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.
40 Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.
42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.
43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
44 And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.”

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1. Groaning Within
2. Lifting Up Your Eyes
3. Thanking God
4. Crying Out … Loud
5. Loose Him

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1. Groaning Within

John 11:38 “Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.”

Do you see in this verse the words: “groaning in himself”?  Oh! What a SAVIOR HE is! Jesus Christ is unlike any who ever claimed to be a savior [or will ever claim].

Whenever groaning occurs in the Bible, it seems to indicate a suffering, or an agonizing within, due to the consequences … of the havoc and ruin of sin.  Romans chapter eight in the King James Bible holds the KEY to the understanding of this truth. This truth being the presence of and the weight of our sin … causes all that was ever created in the creation week of the book of Genesis … to GROAN. Let us start with verse twenty-one.

“Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” [Romans 8:21-26]
 
We see here, that all that was ever created, and [because of our text in John eleven] even our creator, DO groan. Here are the three that groan:

1. The whole creation GROANETH and travaileth in pain, [including the animals!] [Joel 1:18] “How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.”

2. We [all men, women and children that are IN Christ Jesus] GROAN within ourselves waiting for our new bodies.

3. The Spirit of GOD makes intercession for us with GROANINGS.

Now the Spirit of GOD, and the SON of GOD, is the SAME GOD. Notice the connection here to the Spirit of God in Romans eight. “Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave.”  HE is groaning within Himself over the tears, and the sorrow, and the grief of Martha, and of all the Jews with her, and greater than that, Jesus Christ is groaning within Himself over the near impending scene at the garden of Gethsemane, and the looming death on the cross of Calvary, to PAY the sin debt for us all [YOU and I] … the conquering of DEATH and overcoming the power of the GRAVE.

When we ourselves come to the foot of the Cross, and put our faith and trust into Jesus Christ WHO shed HIS blood for us [His so great salvation], we henceforth, groan … waiting for our bodily REDEMPTION.

Turn to [2 Corinthians 5:2-4], and see! “For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.”

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2. Lifting Up Your Eyes

Verse forty-one: “And Jesus lifted up his eyes.”

Now, friend, who is HE looking up to? I will tell you who it is. It is none other than THE FATHER! The SON is talking the FATHER. “Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.”

It is always like this in the Bible, this fellowship between the members of the TRIUNE GOD. Search the Scripture! Compare the Scripture with the Scripture. Here is what the SCRIPTURE says in [John 17:1]. “These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee.”

Do you see in your mind’s eye, the lifting up of his eyes … to heaven? We, as believers, in the LORD Jesus Christ need to do the same. Yea! We need to lift up our eyes to HEAVEN.

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3. Thanking God

Verse forty-one: “I thank thee that thou hast heard me.”

Did you notice why Jesus is lifting up His eyes? He is thanking the Father for hearing Him. We need to lift our eyes to GOD and THANK HIM for His grace and mercies to us … [for hearing us]. Amen!

[Psalm 123:1] “Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens.”

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4. Crying Out … Loud

Verse forty-three: “And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.”

Crying out … is with volume. It is with loudness! Further, crying out with loudness takes in another attribute. This attribute is called boldness.

I have a warning here! This boldness does not come with a self proclaiming “look at me” attitude, or with a swaggering pride. Rather it [the boldness] is clothed with humility and meekness. We need to preach boldly [cry with a loud voice] Jesus Christ to this lost and dying world.

You will see this in [Ephesians 6:20]. “For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”

We need to see several things. Are you ready?
 
• An “ambassador” is the one who is “in bonds”.

• Keep in mind, someone who is “in bonds” not an arrogant or a boastful person.

• Something else! An ambassador is one who is on a MISSION! There is a single heartedness implied here, towards accomplishing the MISSION, which is to see people saved, and GROW in CHRIST. This ambassador is boldly telling others to come forth to Jesus Christ [and LIVE !].

• Something else! This ambassador [who is doing this] will not give an uncertain sound [or signification]. [1 Corinthians 14:8] “For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?”

Turn to the book of the Acts of the Apostles. [Acts 4:29] “And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word,”

Now read the last half of the next verse: [Acts 4:31b] “and they spake the word of God with boldness.” They kept it up! Amen!

In Review: the crying out … is with volume. The crying out is with loudness! We should cry out with boldness to the lost souls of our friends, and our loved ones, and to all those around us throughout the our concourse of our lives. Amen!

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5. Loose Him

Last verse, verse forty-four: “And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.”
 
Isn’t this what it is all about? “Loose him!” The word “loose” is the operative term here. Is not “loosing” all about setting a person free from DEATH, and from the consequences of death, which is HELL???

[Psalm 102:20] “To hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death.”

Remember, Death is a person! [We saw this earlier in our commentary of John chapter eleven, verse fourteen.] Jesus Christ came to this earth to loose or set the prisoner free! Our bondage to SIN made us prisoners to DEATH.

Let me finish here by reading from Psalm 102, verse eighteen through verse twenty-one:
 
“This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the Lord.
For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the Lord behold the earth;
To hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death;
To declare the name of the Lord in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem.”

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Turned The World Upside Down

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The Gospel According To John

John 11:1 Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.

John 11:2 (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)

John 11:3 Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.

John 11:4 When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.

John 11:5 Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.

John 11:6 When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was.

John 11:7 Then after that saith he to his disciples, Let us go into Judaea again.

John 11:8 His disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again?

John 11:9 Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.

John 11:10 But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.

John 11:11 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.

John 11:12 Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.

John 11:13 Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.

John 11:14 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.

John 11:15 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.

John 11:16 Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellowdisciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.

John 11:17 Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already.

John 11:18 Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off:

John 11:19 And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.

John 11:20 Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house.

John 11:21 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

John 11:22 But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.

John 11:23 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.

John 11:24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.

John 11:25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

John 11:26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

John 11:27 She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.

John 11:28 And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee.

John 11:29 As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto him.

John 11:30 Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him.

John 11:31 The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her,
saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there.

John 11:32 Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother
had not died.

John 11:33 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled,

John 11:34 And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see.

John 11:35 Jesus wept.

John 11:36 Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!

John 11:37 And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?

John 11:38 Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.

John 11:39 Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath
been dead four days.

John 11:40 Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?

John 11:41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.

John 11:42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.

John 11:43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.

John 11:44 And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.

John 11:45 Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.

John 11:46 But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done.

John 11:47 Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles.

John 11:48 If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.

John 11:49 And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all,

John 11:50 Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.

John 11:51 And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation;

John 11:52 And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad.

John 11:53 Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death.

John 11:54 Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews; but went thence unto a country near to the wilderness, into acity called Ephraim, and
there continued with his disciples.

John 11:55 And the Jews' passover was nigh at hand: and many went out of the country up to Jerusalem before the passover, to purify themselves.

John 11:56 Then sought they for Jesus, and spake among themselves, as they stood in the temple, What think ye, that he will not come to the feast?

John 11:57 Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a commandment, that, if any man knew where he were, he should show it, that they
might take him.