Jesus Raises Lazarus from the Dead in Bethany

We gather here today with open hearts and minds To grow in faith and truth

In every word we find the pages of the word, alive and full of grace, inspiring faith with him as we seek his face, Bible.

Bible bites in starting faith one bite at a time with every verse we find our

way to live our lives in his life and shine.

Welcome to Bible Bites, the podcast where we work to inspire faith one bite at a time.

I'm your host, Randy Black.

The story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead is one of the most powerful miracles recorded in the Gospel of John

This passage of Scripture demonstrates Jesus' divine authority over life and death, reveals his deep compassion, and strengthens the faith of those who witnessed it

The event took place in Bethany, where Jesus deliberately delayed his arrival, allowing for a greater revelation of God's power.

Through this miracle, Jesus not only restored physical life, but also foreshadowed his own resurrection, offering eternal life to all who believe in him

As we do each week before we dive into our study of the scripture, let's open up in a word of prayer

Heavenly Father, we come before you with humble hearts, seeking wisdom and understanding as we study your word.

Open our minds to grasp the depth of your power, of your love

and of the faithfulness displayed in the story of Lazarus.

Help us to trust in your timing, even when we do not understand your ways

Strengthen our faith and draw us closer to you through this lesson on this scripture.

In the name of your son Jesus, we pray.

Amen.

John chapter eleven, verses twenty-five and twenty-six.

Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life, the one who believes.

believes in me will live even if he dies, and every one who lives and believes in me will never die.

Do you believe this?

John chapter 11 verse

Verses 1 through 16 introduces us to Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, who had fallen gravely ill

The sisters sent word to Jesus hoping he would come quickly to heal their brother.

Surprisingly,

Jesus delayed his journey, telling his disciples that Lazarus' sickness was for the glory of God.

This delay teaches us a vital lesson.

God's timing is perfect even when it does not align with our expectations.

Jesus knew that a greater miracle was to be revealed, strengthening the faith of many

When Jesus finally arrived in Bethany, and we see that in John 11, 17-37, Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.

Martha, filled with grief, but also faith, expressed confidence that Jesus could have saved her brother

Jesus responded with one of his most profound declarations: I am the resurrection and the life in John 11, verse 25.

This statement reveals that Jesus is not only the giver of life, but also the source of eternal life

Martha's response, yes, Lord, I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God

that we see in chapter 11, verse 27, reflects the faith that Jesus desires in all believers.

The shortest verse of the Bible, Jesus wept, John 11, 35, is found within this passage.

This simple yet profound moment highlights the compassion of Jesus.

Even though he knew he would raise Lazarus, he grieved with those who mourned

This shows us that Jesus understands our pain and walks with us in our suffering.

His love is not distant, but deeply personal and empathetic

In John chapter 11, verses 38 through 45, Jesus commanded that the stone be removed from Lazarus' tomb.

Despite Martha's concern about the stench of death, Jesus assured her that she would see the glory of God.

Then he prayed to the Father and called Lazarus Lazarus forth from the tomb.

At his command,

Lazarus emerged from the tomb, alive and wrapped in burial clothes.

This miracle led many to believe in Jesus

Demonstrating his divine power and foreshadowing his own resurrection

We have four key takeaways from this passage of scripture.

The first is that God's timing is perfect.

Jesus' delay was intentional, revealing a greater miracle and strengthening faith.

Often we struggle with waiting for answers to our prayers, but

God's plans unfold in his perfect time.

What may seem like a delay to us is actually a part of

His divine purpose.

We must trust that he sees the full picture and that he's working all things for our good

This passage of scripture encourages us to rely on God's wisdom rather than our own limited understanding.

Our next takeaway is that Jesus is the resurrection and the life.

This miracle illustrates to us Christ's power over death.

and his promise of eternal life to those who believe in him.

Jesus was not just performing a temporary restoration, but was revealing his divine nature

His victory over death assures us that we too will have eternal life if we place our faith in him

This passage of Scripture calls us to reflect on our relationship with Jesus and embrace the hope he offers.

Belief in Christ leads to a life that transcends the grave

Our third takeaway is that Jesus shares in our grief.

The shortest verse of the Bible.

Jesus wept.

Reminds us that Jesus understands our sorrows and walks with us through our trials.

He does not stand at a distance

but enters into our pain, offering comfort and love.

This moment of of deep emotion shows us that grieving is is not a sign of weakness

But a natural response to loss.

Jesus' compassion reassures us that we are never alone in our suffering.

In our darkest moments, he is present and is offering hope and peace.

And our final takeaway from this passage is that faith leads to miracles.

Martha's declaration of faith was pivotal.

We too are called to believe in Jesus' power, even in the face of hopelessness.

Faith does not mean we will always understand God's plan.

But it does mean trusting in him despite uncertainty.

When we act in faith, we open the door for God to work in ways beyond our imagination

This scripture challenges us to place our trust in Jesus fully and witness his transformative power in our lives.

The raising of Lazarus challenges us to evaluate our own faith.

Do we truly believe in Jesus as the resurrection and the life?

When faced with trials, do we trust in his timing or do we grow impatient?

Martha and Mary must have struggled with doubt when Jesus delayed.

Yet in the end, they witnessed an incredible miracle.

Our lives too require patience and trust in God's plan

This story also speaks to the nature of grief.

It is comforting to know that Jesus himself experienced sorrow and wept for his friend

In times of loss, we are not alone.

Jesus walks with us, offering comfort and hope

His tears remind us of his deep love for us and his desire to bring restoration

Furthermore, Lazarus' resurrection is a powerful foreshadowing of Jesus' own resurrection, just as Lazarus was called out of the tomb.

so are we called out of spiritual death into a new life through Christ.

His victory over death assures us of our own eternal life if we place our trust in Him.

Finally, this passage calls us to action.

Many who witnessed Lazarus' resurrection believed in Jesus

Our faith should not remain hidden, but should be a testimony to others.

We are called to share the good news of Christ's power over death.

and his promise of eternal life.

Let's now close out our study of the scripture with a word of prayer

Lord, we thank you for your Son and His revealing of His power over death and offering us eternal life.

Strengthen our faith even when we do not understand your ways.

Help us trust in your perfect timing and find comfort in your presence during our trials.

May we boldly proclaim your name, just as those who witnessed Lazarus' resurrection did

Lead us to walk in the new life you have given us and to share your love with others

In the holy name of your son, Jesus, we pray.

Amen.

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There's a prayer request link there where you can submit it in to us

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Our prayer requests for this week, we continue with the same same ones we've had for a little while.

Uh continue to remember my mom and my dad.

My dad has his last treatment.

uh his last radiation treatment uh for the cancer on Monday of next week on the uh will be the seventeenth

So we are celebrating that this weekend.

Um he's gonna go for have a three-month period of time, and after three months, they're gonna evaluate everything again and see where he stands.

But the doctors are very, very sure they've

been able to take care of this.

We know that God has has helped them in these procedures and to get these things done.

But he still has a a little bit of a road to go through.

My mom as well has been supporting him and helping him and lifting him up and keeping him on track uh with that, keeping him positive throughout everything.

But

The biggest thing to remember for them is that we we want to see them back in church.

We want to see them and worship with others each week.

Um

I know where they stand.

I know what they believe.

I know that they have have been saved and are faithful to that, but I want to see them be able to return to have a worship with others.

Continue to remember our family friend Greg with the the diagnosis and things going on with him with his cancer.

So we're going to continue to pray for Greg.

Tim Kaletka, I talked to Tim uh early this morning uh through a chat

Uh his treatments are working well.

God has blessed him and touched him and helped him.

So we're happy to report that.

He still has a little ways to go.

We want to continue to remember Tim through that.

Uh my dad's cousin Kevin, uh they ultimately did I don't know if I said it or not, but they did have to remove uh a toe from his foot uh because of an injury and things.

So he has a long path ahead learning to to

how to walk and do things properly 'cause without the without the big toe you have problems with balance and things.

So he's gonna have to go and and go to a rehab facility and things and

Or a not a rehab facility.

You go to a a care facility so they can help him and recover um and um be able to get back to uh a somewhat normal way of life with that.

Also continue to remember me, I've still having success in the changes I've made and with the medication, but I'm having some

some other issues related to the medication and and the digestive system.

So uh that's been a little a little rough for the last couple days

But continue to remember me on this journey as I try to get the weight off and make myself healthier and and and be able to live the life I want to live and be in the the shape I want to be in

So let's before we talk about uh next week's show, let's go ahead and and close out with one more word of prayer.

Heavenly Father, we thank you once again for this chance to gather together and to learn from your word.

We want to lift up these requests.

for mom and dad and Greg, Tim, and Kevin, and myself, and any of the unspoken requests those who are listening may have, that we trust that you can touch them and you can answer them in the way that best fits with your will

We know you hold the answers to our prayers, and we trust you and your wisdom in meeting those requests.

It is in your name that we're working every week here on this show to share your word with others

who may not be able to make it to church and they just need that that that study um in the week to to help help keep them along, keep them growing and

Especially for those who may hear the show who do not know your son Jesus as their Savior, that they can accept him and then be able to spend eternity in heaven with all of us who are saved and with you and with your son

And it's in the name of your son Jesus that we pray these things.

Amen.

Next week on the show, we're going to look at another miracle in our series.

This will be miracle number 34.

That's when Jesus restores sight to Bartimaeus in Jericho.

You can find that in three of the Gospels.

That's in Matthew chapter 20, verses 29 through 34.

Mark chapter 10, verses 46 through 52, and Luke chapter 18, verses 35 through 43.

So join us next week on Bible Bites, the podcast where we work to inspire faith one bite at a time.

Bible bites.

Bible bites.

Bring faith one bite at a time with every verse we find our way To live our lives in his life and shine

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