Luke 4:31-37

Satanic and demonic encounters marked the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry and the inauguration of the kingdom of God. This factor revealed another – Jesus’ absolute power and authority. These factors authenticate who Jesus is, what He said, and what He came to do.

Luke 4:31-37

Words matter. But it’s the person speaking who adds power, authority, and impact to those words. Every single one of us has someone whose words have profoundly mattered to us; a person whose every word we’ve clung to. But what is it about that person that convinced you to give them such influence in your life? Their title? Their experience? Their character? Or, most importantly, what and whom their words point you to. Jesus’ words had that same impact on many who listened to Him. Words so powerful that even the demonic listened and trembled.

Luke 4:31-37

In our text this morning we see a shift from Jesus' prophetic declaration to Jesus' powerful demonstration.

John 11: 38-44

What Jesus did for Lazarus proves that He has the power to keep His promise: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” (John 11:25-26). The message of Easter is that those who believe in Jesus will live eternally, even though they die physically, and that Jesus gives meaning and purpose to our suffering in a sinful, broken world. Those who hope in Jesus have a great hope indeed!

John 11:21-27

Easter is the joyous celebration that death is not the end of the story. In John 11, Jesus, the loving, Son of God, makes an astounding statement in the face of the death of his friend Lazarus: “I am the resurrection and the life.” Through the raising of Lazarus from the dead and through his own resurrection, Jesus demonstrates that he has the power over death, sin and Satan. Jesus alone can offer us eternal life. Do you believe this?

John 11:17-27

This Easter in the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead in John 11 we see that He is more than just a healer or a prophet but also the resurrection and the life! What Jesus does for Lazarus proves that He has the power to keep His promise. He had just finished telling Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life” and that “whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die” and then He proceeds to raise Lazarus from the dead. Here’s the lesson: Believe the One who raised a dead guy and take Him at His word.

Jesus promises that those who believe in Him, though they die physically, they’ll live eternally with Him. Those who hope in Jesus have a great hope indeed. This has enormous ramifications for our times of suffering, in our wrestle with sin, and for the way in which we view our broken world. Jesus turns death into resurrection life!

John 11:1-6

Good Friday is the most powerful reminder that suffering & death are not futile, even though we tend to think they are. They don’t get the final word, even though it can feel like they do. When people suffer – particularly when it results in death, we rarely understand the why. But the story of Lazarus – and the cross most of all – gives us a window into a few of the reasons.

John 11:1-6

Good Friday is the most powerful reminder that suffering is not futile, even though we tend to think it is; and that it doesn’t get the final word, even though it can feel like it does. In the midst of suffering we rarely understand the why. But the story of Lazarus — and the cross most of all — gives us a window into a few of the reasons why.

The story of Jesus raising Lazarus shows us that far from being futile, it is actually suffering that produces greater faith and reliance on Jesus more than anything else. Suffering and even death are not the last word. Jesus gets the last word. And while Good Friday is full of sorrow, heartbreak, and death, S.M. Lockridge was right when he famously bellowed, “It’s Friday, but Sunday’s coming.” Death is not dying. Resurrection gets the last word.