JESUS DIED FOR US - John 12,13,18,19

"Why did Jesus have to die?"

Focal Verses: John 12:12-15; 13:21,26-27; 19:16b-19,33-37

I am concerned that for many people the gospel has ceased to be the amazing news it truly is. Consider the scandal involved. Jesus was God in the flesh. But the Jewish religious leaders would not accept Him and decided that He should die. They bribed one of His followers to betray Him. Jesus was tried illegally, flogged, and nailed to a Roman cross, all in the name of religious purity and political stability. The religious leaders congratulated each other and thanked God that they were rid of the troublemaker. But the troublemaker they crucified was God. And in Jesus' death, God accomplished the thing Jesus' killers needed most - their redemption. How could anyone be bored with the message of the cross?

"Jesus Restores Our Lives"  John 11:1-44

Who can help me through situations that seem hopeless?

Focal Passage: John 11:1,3,6-7,20-27,38-40,43-44

Display a large sheet of blank paper or poster board before the class. Ask learners to offer suggestions of difficult situations people face. Write several on the paper large enough for learners to read.

Share the following story:

In 1871, Horatio Spafford, a Chicago lawyer, was still grieving over his son's recent death when the Great Chicago Fire took almost everything he owned. Two years later, he decided to take his wife and four daughters on a trip to England to participate in an evangelistic crusade at which D.L. Moody would be preaching. Spafford was delayed by some business, so he decided to send his family on ahead of him, planning to meet them later in England.

On November 21, 1873, the ship on which his wife Anna and their four daughters were traveling collided with another vessel. Two hundred twenty-six people lost their lives, including all four of the Spafford daughters. Anna survived. Horatio received the tragic news in a telegram from his wife. The message read simply, "Saved alone."

Spafford boarded a ship to unite with his wife in England-the ship passing over the spot where his daughters perished. During the voyage, Spafford penned the words to the great old hymn "It Is Well With My Soul."

Distribute a self-stick note to each learner and ask that they pen down a difficult situation they are currently facing. Attach these to the large paper. If learners have completed ‘I Need to Trust Jesus With...' (learner guide pg. 34) they can use their answers from the exercise. Learners may need to complete the exercise as a prompt to know what to list on their note.

A Desperate Situation (John 11:1,3,6-7)

Jesus had moved from Judea and was across the Jordan River at the place John the Baptist earlier had baptized people (John 10:40-42). Because of the religious leaders' growing hostility, He had withdrawn to this safer place to await the time of Passover. Not until then would He offer Himself as the sacrificial Lamb for the sins of the world.

While at this relatively secure place, Jesus received a message from Mary and Martha. These two sisters lived with their brother Lazarus in Bethany, a village located two miles from Jerusalem (11:18) on the southeast slope of the Mount of Olives. They were well known to Jesus. Earlier, He had enjoyed the hospitality of their home (Luke 10:38-42). On a later occasion in their home, Mary anointed Jesus' feet with an expensive, fragrant oil (John 11:2; 12:1-7).

On some other occasions when Jesus was informed of a need, He responded immediately but not this time. Instead, he stayed put for two more days. His disciples apparently assumed Jesus counted the risk too great to go into Judea where He would be more exposed to His enemies (10:31-41; 11:8), but they were wrong. After the two days, Jesus was ready to depart.

Do the math. The messenger's journey to Jesus took one day. Jesus delayed two days, and His journey to Bethany took one day. So: 1 + 2 + 1 = 4. When Jesus arrived in Bethany, Lazarus had been dead four days (11:17). Thus Lazarus died the same day the messenger left to find Jesus.

Why did Jesus delay? Jesus' purpose was to raise Lazarus from the dead to the glory of God (11:4,11-14). Thus His delay may have been related to a belief held by many Jews about death. They thought a person's spirit lingered near its body for three days after death, hoping to enter it again. After the third day, the spirit departed for good. In other words, after three days in the tomb, no one would have any doubt that Lazarus was stone cold dead. Perhaps Jesus did not want the miracle He was about to perform to God's glory confused with any superstition (11:4,40).

• How do you think Lazarus' sisters felt as time passed and Jesus did not come?
• How do you feel when you pray and nothing happens?

"Shoulda...Coulda...Woulda" (John 11:20-27)

Martha's words to Jesus reflect what people often say when tragedies occur. They speak of what "shoulda . . . coulda . . . woulda" happened if only Jesus had done something.

• How might you have responded to Jesus' delay had you been in Mary and Martha's situation?
• How have you struggled in the past with Jesus' timing?
• What did Martha mean by her statement in verse 22?

Divide learners into two groups to discuss the following questions:

• Do you have a tendency to question God when He doesn't answer your prayers the way you expect or want them to be answered?
• What do our "if only" responses say about our ability to trust Jesus and our motivation when asking Him for help?

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection," declaring a present reality, not a future event. Apart from Jesus no one can be confident of a bodily resurrection after death. Furthermore, Jesus said He is the life. Apart from Jesus no one can have spiritual life or eternal life.

How can people experience resurrection to eternal life? Jesus said that the one who believes in Me, even if he dies, will live. Everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die-ever. For believers, physical death is a comma, not a period. Spiritually, they never die-ever; and they will receive a physical resurrection body at Jesus' return.

For most of us, these teachings are familiar. We learned about Jesus' identity and mission long ago. We do well, however, to stand alongside Martha and to hear Jesus say to us as and to her: Do you believe this? Do you?

Let's ask ourselves how real to us today is the faith we so easily professed in earlier years.

• Has the unrelenting bombardment of worldly skepticism eroded it?
• Has the mocking of sophisticated intellectuals undermined it?
• Have life's harsh and disappointing aspects weakened it?
• Has the darkness of guilt for disobedience to the Lord dimmed its light?
• Is it time for you to renew your commitment along with Martha?

Life and Hope Restored (John 11:38-40,43-44)

John 11:28-37 reports that Jesus had Martha tell her sister Mary to come to Him. Mary greeted Jesus with the same lament as Martha and then burst into tears. Seeing her grief as well as the grief of others, "He was angry in His spirit and deeply moved" (v. 33) and wept. A number of the Jews who were present commented on Jesus' love for Lazarus; but others were critical-" ‘Couldn't He who opened the blind man's eyes also have kept the man from dying?' " (vv. 36-37).

The Greek word translated angry carries the idea of a strong negative emotion such as indignation, or disgust; so angry is an excellent and accurate translation. Jesus could have been angry at the enemy of death that had caused so much grief to those He loved; or He may have been angry at the mourners who were present.

When Jesus ordered for the stone to be removed, Martha objected. She mistakenly assumed Jesus wanted to see the body, and she knew it was too late for that. Decomposition was well under way after four days. Whatever benefit might come from viewing the remains would be offset by the repulsive smell of decaying flesh.

Martha's objection shows she had absolutely no expectation that Jesus would raise her brother from the dead. Jesus countered her remarks by asking, "Didn't I tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?" Mary had said she believed Jesus was the Son of God, so now He challenged her to act on her faith and permit the tomb to be opened. It made no sense to her at the time, but she obeyed. This reminds us that in crisis times, we need to trust Jesus and obey Him regardless of our doubts and fears. Our obedience can be part of His means of helping us.

• What happens when we fail to recognize what Jesus is doing in response to our prayers?
• How can lack of belief keep us from recognizing God's answers to our prayers?

At times we pray in crisis situations and do not see a change in circumstances. Does this mean the Lord loves us less than Lazarus's family? No. It may mean He wants to bring glory to God through the way we handle our circumstances. Even when situations seem hopeless and are irreversible, Jesus is able to help us make our way through and beyond tragedies and to restore our hope. Ultimately, He indeed will make everything right.

"But Jesus looked at them and said, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26 (HCSB)

JESUS OPENS OUR EYES - John 9:1-41

"What's the Key to Knowing for Sure that One's Faith is Valid?"

Focal Verses: John 9:8-10,20-22,24-25,30-33,35-39

Opening Exercise: Spiritual Eye Chart - Distribute ‘Spiritual Eye Charts' and ask learners to circle one topic on the chart that they know the most about. Then ask them to write a few brief sentences outlining what they know about the subject.

Ask for volunteers or enlist 1 or 2 learners in advance to share their information with the class.

Ask:

• How much did you understand about this topic before coming to Christ?
• How much did you understand about this topic just last year (if not a new believer)?
• How do you think your spiritual growth in Christ has aided your understanding of the topic?

This lesson is designed to help you discover what Jesus does for us by:

• Recognizing that personal experience with Jesus is essential to a decisive declaration of faith; and
• Worshiping the One who cures your spiritual blindness and opens your eyes of faith.

Some have commented on how messy my desk is at the office (actually two desks). I have posted the cartoon below to illustrate my organizational system.

Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.

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