What if we lived like we actually believed Jesus is resurrection and life? How would it change us? Join us as we start our journey toward Easter!

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OPENING ILLUSTRATION:

One of my favorite magic duos is Penn and Teller, I love them because they all the time tell you what they are doing as they do it to you.  They perform a magic trick while telling you what it is.  They both create mystery and take the mystery away at the same time.  I love it!

This morning we are starting a 5 week journey towards Easter morning.

We are going to follow Jesus into life and my honest hope for you over the next few weeks is for nothing more than for you

My hope for the next 5 weeks is for you to fall more in love with Jesus and to double down on your commitment to following Him through life…

So, now I’m going to Penn and Teller this bad boy, I want to let you behind the scenes to see what we’re doing with this sermon and then I want to perform my “magic trick” for you…

Let’s jump into it, but instead of jumping into the beginning of the story I want to take you where it ends, I want you to see what Jesus is doing before He does it so you can see where he’s taking us..

SCRIPTURE:

After the event we’re about to unpack, people go out and start telling others about it…  I mean the word is spreading everywhere.  Word of what Jesus’ big reveal was…  I want you to see the result of what He did… listen…

John 11:45-53

46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.

“What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”

49 Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! 50 You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”

John tell us that Caiaphas is prophesying about the power of Jesus’ death without knowing it, but listen to what happens…

53 So from that day on they plotted to take his life.

I want you to hear this

Whatever you hear in the next few minutes, remember that this is the event that triggers the religious leaders to decide that Jesus must die.

Here’s the question

What in the world could have happened that would cause these leaders to come together to start plotting the death of Jesus?

b

What kind of heinous thing could He have done?

REWIND:

We have to rewind several days before.  

Jesus is not near Jerusalem, He’s with his buddies and while He’s hanging with them he gets a message from a couple of sisters that he had a very special place in his heart for them.  Here’s what their message said about their brother…

John 11:3

“Lord, the one you love is sick.”

Jesus tells his boys, “This sickness will not end in death…

There’s this crazy verse that tells us Jesus loved these two sisters and their brother.. and it says, “so, He stayed two more days…”

Now, I don’t mean to call what Jesus is doing here a trick – it’s not a trick, that’s just a metaphor to understand it, but there is a slight of hand Jesus is doing right now, He’s like, “don’t pay attention to what’s happening to this guy” and He stays where He’s at for a couple days…

If you just look at it as a story and don’t know where it ends, it’s confusing, but Jesus is trying to get somewhere.  We know whatever is about to happen is going to end with them plotting to take His life…

Finally, Jesus leave to go to His friend’s house.  

I want you to picture the scene.  The tone of his disciples has been quiet this whole trip.  Right before they left he had told them his friend Lazarus had died.  they have walked in almost complete silence as the dust filled the air from their footsteps.  Jesus seems determined but also a little more intense than usual.  As they come around the mount of olives to Bethany they see a woman running to Jesus, tears have stained her face – streaks cut through the dust of the road on her face.  Her voice cracks as she says to Him…

I want you to listen to their exchange…

John 11:21-27

21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

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

27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

If ever you underlined something in your bible, these verses should be underlined/highlighted –

These are some of the most important words you will ever hear!

Jesus says to Martha about her brother who has died…

Think about the loved one you’ve lost – think about your own fear of death for yourself…

Jesus doesn’t say “he will rise again, he doesn’t say, he will have life” 

Jesus says “I am resurrection.”  “I am life”

I don’t know how to make you understand how outrageous this claim is…  I don’t know how to make you understand out how mind blowing it is…

I think Martha would have kind of gag-breathed [shutter]

Jesus is saying if you place your whole trust in Him that even if you are touched by death you will not die…

b

This is the confidence of every Christian who follows Him…

I promise you, you will never hear words more powerful than that…

I know, some of you know the rest of the story, but I have to tell it to you because He’s going to prove it to us…

CLOSING: Mary, Martha’s sister will come out to Jesus and fall in front of him weeping.  You can picture her beating Jesus’ chest as he pulls her to her feet she with a tight voice tells him if he had been there her brother wouldn’t have died…

One of my favorite moments happens at this point.  Jesus looks around and as God of the universe, He experiences the pain of death as a human experiences it.  And Jesus wept.  Not because death had won, but because grief is overwhelming, even if you know the truth…

but this is the moment that Jesus has come for.  He has them take him to Lazarus’ tomb.  They tell him there is not use because it’s been 4 days.  The jewish people had a tradition that the spirit hung around for 3 days and after that it left and there was no coming back from death.  it is over by all accounts.  Jesus tells them to move the stone from in front of the tomb.  They don’t want to do it.  I can’t imagine the anger at Jesus for Him asking this.  The confusion.  They tell Him that the body has started to stink by now – ever smelled a dead mouse, multiply that by 1000.  They move the stone, probably a lots of protest of those around, this has got to be why Jesus needed 12 guys… :).  The crowd quiets….  Jesus in a loud voice says this

“Lazarus, come out!” and he comes out…

Jesus is resurrection, He is life…

Don’t forget Penn and Teller though…

All the while you thought Jesus was just telling us He is how death is overcome

b

He is actually secretly triggering His own death.

 He is both the conqueror of death and the one who will go through death…

this is why we are here, it’s the most important message in all the world…  and we sit on it…

What if this Easter, we started to pray and seek and say Jesus, I want to make you famous, I’m going to advance your Kingdom and invite people to hear the story of Jesus…

I can promise you, I’m going to preach it with everything I’ve got.

b

What if you chose to invite people who need to hear the story of Jesus?  People who needed to meet the one who is “resurrection” and who is “life”?

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