Participants: Charles Byrd (Host), Andrea Endries, Levi Longoria, Stephen Fowler
Series Code: THL
Program Code: THL000016
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00:01 I just don't like them, funerals.
00:05 There's a lot of humor on TV about funerals, 00:07 but when it's your child, 00:09 when it's your spouse, or your parents, 00:12 it does something bad to your insides. 00:15 155,000 people die everyday on this planet. 00:20 And at best that's just a statistic. 00:22 But at its worse, it's someone you know, someone you love. 00:27 It's something that hurts. 00:29 So what happens when a person dies? 00:32 Is this just the end of the line as evolution teaches? 00:36 Or is the grave as most suggest 00:39 just a doorway that leads to a new reality? 00:43 On this point, Jesus' teachings 00:45 are a giant thunderbolt of confusion and contradiction, 00:49 to almost every form of religion 00:52 that's out there, including Christianity. 01:48 When it comes to the subject of death, 01:50 the teachings of Jesus do not start in the four gospels. 01:55 They start in the Book of Genesis. 01:58 In John 1:3, the last of Christ's twelve disciples 02:02 makes this bold statement. 02:04 "All things were made by Him, 02:06 and without Him was not any thing made that was made." 02:11 In other words, Jesus was the creator God. 02:15 The apostle Paul wrote the same message 02:17 to the believers in Ephesus. 02:19 Ephesians 3:9 says, 02:21 "God, who created all things by Jesus Christ." 02:26 John plainly stated, "The world was made by Him." 02:30 John 1:10. 02:32 "For by Him," that is by Jesus 02:35 "were all things created, that are in heaven, 02:37 and that are in earth, visible and invisible, 02:41 whether they be thrones, or dominions, 02:43 or principalities, or powers, 02:45 all things were created by Him, and for Him. 02:50 And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist." 02:57 So back in the Book of Genesis 2:17, 03:01 the creator God in love for His new creation, 03:04 warned our first parents not to eat of the tree 03:07 of the knowledge of good and evil. 03:10 "But of the tree of the knowledge 03:11 of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, 03:15 for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." 03:20 The key word here is die, not live. 03:26 In this verse, God is either telling the truth 03:29 or telling a lie. 03:31 He either means what He says 03:32 or His words have no meaning at all. 03:36 In Genesis 3:4, 03:37 we find the serpent sitting in this very tree 03:39 of the knowledge of good and evil. 03:42 This interloper encourages our first mother 03:45 to eat of the forbidden fruit. 03:47 She knows she should not eat or even touch it. 03:50 And she knows the consequence of doing so is death. 03:55 "But the serpent said unto the woman, 03:57 ye shall not surely die." 04:01 Hmm, creator says you will. Snake says you won't. 04:06 Today each of us has a choice. 04:08 We will either believe what the creator God says 04:11 or we will believe what Satan, 04:13 that old serpent, the devil, says. 04:16 From the dawning of time, the source of all love 04:19 and all truth has offered to us the truth about death. 04:23 And when Emmanuel, God with us, 04:26 came to this earth, He reiterated that truth. 04:30 So what was Jesus' disruptive doctrine about death? 04:35 Well, Charles, there's probably no better way 04:37 to see and understand the teachings of Jesus 04:40 about death than by examining 04:41 the story of Lazarus, here in Bethany. 04:44 Now we're on the way to his first tomb 04:46 and as we're headed there, 04:48 Andrea, why don't you get a start on this story? 04:49 Sure. This story starts in John Chapter 11. 04:53 "Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, 04:57 the town of Mary and her sister Martha. 04:59 It was that Mary which anointed the Lord 05:01 with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, 05:04 whose brother Lazarus was sick. 05:07 Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, 05:10 Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. 05:14 When Jesus heard that, he said, this sickness is not unto death, 05:19 but for the glory of God, 05:21 that the Son of God might be glorified thereby." 05:26 So what do we know from these first, four verses? 05:29 Well, we know that Lazarus is sick. 05:32 And his sisters Mary and Martha 05:34 are sufficiently concerned to send a message to Jesus, 05:37 fully expecting Him to come and work 05:39 His healing powers on their brother. 05:41 The followers of Jesus believed that He had the prophetic gift. 05:45 And so Mary and Martha must have found some courage and hope 05:49 when Jesus said, 05:50 This sickness is not unto death." 05:53 But Jesus delayed His coming. 05:55 He did delay His coming 05:57 even though He loved Martha, her sister and Lazarus. 06:02 "When He had heard therefore that He was sick, 06:04 He abode two days in the same place where He was." 06:09 Then Jesus said to His disciples, 06:11 "Let's go back to Judea. 06:13 Our friend Lazarus sleepeth. 06:15 But I go, that I may awake him out of sleep." 06:18 Okay, what does sleep mean? 06:20 Here is where the teaching of Jesus 06:22 needs a complete reading on the text because 06:25 if you read the story in context it's absolutely clear. 06:30 An important principle in biblical study says, 06:32 "A text, without a context, is a pretext." 06:37 That is to say, you can take a single word 06:40 or even a single sentence and make it say almost anything. 06:44 So the context, the bigger picture can create a broader, 06:48 more complete understanding of the text. 06:51 Jesus said His friend Lazarus was sleeping. 06:55 So what's the context? 06:57 Well, the disciples thought, this was great. 07:00 They said, "Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. 07:05 Howbeit Jesus spake of his death. 07:08 But they thought that he had spoken 07:10 of taking of a rest in sleep. 07:12 Then Jesus said unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead." 07:19 We often use colloquialisms to describe something's 07:21 that's difficult to talk about. 07:23 When referring to death, 07:25 we use words like crossing over or passing on. 07:27 But when Jesus used the word sleep to describe death, 07:31 He was deliberate in His intent. 07:32 For example, in Mathew Chapter 9, 07:34 Jesus came to the home of the ruler 07:35 of the synagogue in Capernaum. 07:37 His daughter had died. 07:39 And people had already gathered to mourn her passing. 07:41 "He said to them, 'Why make this commotion and weep? 07:44 The child is not dead, but sleeping.' 07:46 And they laughed Him to scorn." 07:48 They laughed at Jesus because they all knew she was dead. 07:51 But here again, Jesus calls death, sleep. 07:55 Death and sleep have some real similarities, 07:57 but the most notable 07:59 is the suspension of consciousness. 08:01 Eight hours can quickly pass by, but we are unaware 08:03 of our surroundings or lapse of time. 08:06 This was the same teaching of Solomon in Ecclesiastes 9:5, 08:10 "For the living know that they shall die, 08:12 but the dead know not any thing, 08:14 neither have they any more a reward, 08:16 for the memory of them is forgotten." 08:19 The word of God clearly states the dead don't know any thing. 08:23 Here in Israel, when you want to remember a departed loved one, 08:26 it is a custom to leave a stone on the grave. 08:28 It is a reminder to us, the living, 08:30 that we are not the only ones who have come to remember. 08:33 But for the person inside the grave, 08:35 it means absolutely nothing because they are asleep, 08:38 completely unconscious to the world around them. 08:41 Unfortunately, this restful truth 08:43 does not resonate with most people 08:45 on this planet, including Christians. 08:47 But whether we choose to accept it or not, 08:49 the truth is still the truth. 08:51 And death, being in an unconscious state of sleep 08:54 is the clear teaching of scripture. 08:56 In fact, 66 times the term sleep is used for death 08:59 in 17 different books of the Bible. 09:02 The same is true, in the case of Lazarus. 09:05 Jesus said Lazarus was asleep and He was going to wake Him up. 09:09 The disciples took Jesus literally. 09:11 He's sleeping let him rest. 09:13 "Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead." 09:18 Two small observations here before I move on. 09:20 Back in the day, they didn't have cell phones or email. 09:23 So how did Jesus know that Lazarus was dead? 09:26 The same way He knew that Lazarus's illness 09:28 would not ultimately end in death. 09:31 My second observation is that Jesus clearly understood 09:34 that Lazarus had died and so did every one else. 09:37 In fact, in the story of Lazarus in John Chapter 11, 09:40 it is categorically stated eight times 09:42 that Lazarus was dead. 09:44 And by the time Jesus had finally showed up, 09:47 Lazarus had been dead for four days. 09:51 Yes, it had been four days since Lazarus had died 09:53 when Jesus finally showed up here in Bethany. 09:56 And it would appear that Jesus was late. 10:00 But God's plans know no haste and no delay. 10:05 What appears to be our extremity 10:07 is God's opportunity to better showcase 10:11 His unlimited power and love for the human race. 10:15 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, 10:17 she slipped out to meet Him. 10:19 And from the pain in her heart, she said, 10:22 "Lord, if you had been here, my brother had not died." 10:28 There was no recrimination in her words, 10:31 just disappointment and sadness. 10:34 But I think the next two verses reveal 10:37 why she could keep herself from going negative. 10:40 'Cause she knew, who she was talking to. 10:44 Absolutely, if you had been here, 10:47 my brother would not have died, she said. 10:50 "But I know, that even now, 10:52 whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee." 10:56 Martha knew she was talking to someone who wasn't limited. 10:59 And that was born out of the promise He made to her. 11:02 "Thy brother will rise again." 11:06 So here's Jesus' teaching on death, 11:09 just as sleep is temporary so death is also temporary 11:14 for those who love the Lord. 11:17 But Martha already knew that. She did. 11:20 Verse 24, "Martha saith unto Him, 11:23 I know he shall rise again 11:25 in the resurrection at the last day." 11:29 How did Martha know 11:31 about the resurrection of the last day? 11:34 And because she was also a disciple of Jesus 11:36 and she knew what Jesus taught on that subject. 11:38 And here's what He taught from Mark 12:26, 27, 11:43 "And as touching the dead, that they rise, 11:46 have ye not read in the book of Moses, 11:49 how in the bush God spake unto him, 11:51 saying, I am the God of Abraham, 11:53 and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? 11:56 He is not the God of the dead, 11:58 but the God of the living, ye therefore do greatly err." 12:04 Jesus said there will be a time when the dead rise. 12:09 That's exactly what Jesus said in John 5: 28, 29. 12:13 He said, "Marvel not at this, for the hour is coming, 12:19 when all who are in the graves will hear his voice, 12:22 and will come forth, they that have done good, 12:25 unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil, 12:28 unto the resurrection of damnation." 12:32 Here Jesus expands our understanding 12:34 with one more insight. 12:36 Not only will there be a resurrection 12:38 when dead people will come back to life 12:40 or the sleeping people will be wakened. 12:42 There's actually going to be two resurrections. 12:45 Now we need to unpack that further, 12:46 but we're going to do that at another time. 12:49 The point we need to make here is that Jesus taught 12:52 there is something beyond death. 12:54 Indeed. And that something is called the resurrection. 12:57 Right. And didn't Paul refer to that as the blessed hope. 13:02 Yes, in his letter to Titus. 13:05 He said, "He was looking for that blessed hope," 13:08 and he defined that as "the glorious appearing 13:11 of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ." 13:14 When the dead will be raised to life again. 13:17 Hey, there's the tomb. 13:21 In Mathew Chapter 21 and Luke Chapter 20, 13:23 the Bible makes it very clear 13:25 that Jesus definitively believed in 13:27 and taught the resurrection as one of His kingdom truths. 13:32 But He told Martha and He's telling us, 13:34 that the resurrection is not so much an event in the future. 13:38 The resurrection is a person. 13:42 "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, 13:46 and the life, he that believeth in Me, 13:49 though he were dead, yet shall he live. 13:54 Jesus said I am the way, the truth and the life, 13:59 no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me." 14:04 There is no resurrection and no life 14:07 and no way to get there, if you don't have Jesus. 14:11 And John 11:26, Jesus makes such a radical claim, 14:16 you must conclude that He is mad 14:19 or that He is opening up one of the most precious truths 14:22 about death, that we could ever embrace. 14:26 "And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. 14:31 Do you believe this?" 14:34 Jesus asked Martha that question. 14:37 And He's asking us that question. 14:39 "Whoever lives and believes in Me, shall never die. 14:43 Do you believe this?" 14:46 Martha's answer was "Yea, Lord. 14:48 I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, 14:51 which should come into the world. 14:54 She chose to say, yes, to the Lord's doctrines. 14:57 Yes, to His teachings, His truth. 15:01 Any one can make a foolish claim that has no basis in reality. 15:06 Martha, on the other hand, 15:07 based her faith on the reality of prophecy 15:11 that pointed directly to Jesus 15:13 and on the works that Jesus had already done. 15:16 The miracles he had wrought 15:18 that could never have been done in normal human strength. 15:23 In stark contrast to Martha's steady, 15:26 calculated faith is the blatant and willfully blind rejection 15:30 by the priests and the Pharisees of Christ's teachings on death. 15:35 The same truth that Christ shared 15:37 with Martha in John Chapter 11, He had already sought to share 15:40 with the Jewish leaders in John Chapter 8, 15:43 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, 15:45 if a man keep my saying, he shall never see death. 15:50 Then said the Jews unto Him, 15:52 Now we know that thou has a devil. 15:55 Abraham is dead, and the prophets 15:58 and thou sayest, if a man keep my saying, 16:00 he shall never taste of death. 16:03 Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? 16:06 And the prophets are dead, whom makest thou thyself?" 16:11 By asking their indignant question in verse 53, 16:15 are you greater than Abraham and the prophets? 16:18 Who do you think you are? 16:20 They are actually asking, are you greater than death? 16:25 Jesus had said if any man keep my saying, 16:28 he shall never see death. 16:30 Are you greater than death? 16:32 No human being had ever cheated death. 16:35 Even the great pillars of faith 16:37 Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, 16:38 David, Daniel, and Isaiah had all died. 16:42 So how could these words possibly be true? 16:47 The only one who could rescue mortal souls 16:50 from the grip of death would be the one who could create life. 16:54 Jesus claimed to be the resurrection and the life. 16:59 Either this is an idle claim or this is the truth. 17:03 Let's join Levi and Andrea at Lazarus' tomb, 17:06 as we seek to discover the truth 17:09 concerning this mighty doctrine and claim of Jesus. 17:14 Jesus taught it. And Martha believed it. 17:16 At the end of this world 17:18 there is gonna be a resurrection, 17:19 when all who are in their graves will 17:21 awake out of the sleep of death. 17:23 And today, we're standing here at Lazarus' first tomb 17:27 which stands as a monument, a living testament 17:30 to the truth and teachings of Jesus. 17:33 Hey, I'm gonna head on in. 17:38 I wonder what Jesus would have been feeling 17:41 as He stood here at this tomb. 17:45 You know, that's a great question, Levi. 17:47 Perhaps, the two most touching passages in John Chapter 11, 17:50 are the ones that show the feelings, 17:52 the emotions that were in Jesus' heart. 17:55 The first is verse 35, the shortest verse in the Bible. 17:59 "Jesus wept." 18:01 No one gets through this life without some pain, 18:03 without some tears. 18:06 We live in a world that war with God's law of love. 18:10 This war causes us great deal of pain, hurt, and loss. 18:14 Often the mind maybe clouded because of this pain. 18:17 When that happens, don't try to think. 18:20 Just cling to this one truth, Jesus loves you. 18:24 He understands your disorientation, 18:27 your weakness, and tears. 18:29 In such cases, you may do His will 18:32 by simply resting in His arms. 18:36 The second verse that opens our view 18:37 to the emotions of Jesus is verse 38, 18:41 "Jesus therefore again groaning in Himself cometh to the grave. 18:45 It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it." 18:48 Jesus understands our emotions. 18:51 He has tasted the saltiness and the bitterness of our tears. 18:54 He understands the feeling of loss, of pain. 18:59 But that day when Jesus came to the tomb of Lazarus, 19:02 he was not weeping merely for Lazarus, Mary, or Martha. 19:06 He was weeping for the countless millions 19:08 who would never know the joy of the blessed hope 19:10 of the resurrection. 19:12 Jesus cares about every one. 19:14 Even those who choose to reject Him 19:17 and are finally lost forever. 19:19 He weeps for them. 19:22 When Jesus came to the tomb of Lazarus, 19:23 "He said, Take away the stone. 19:26 Martha, the sister of him that was dead, 19:28 saith unto Him, Lord, by this time he stinketh, 19:32 for he hath been dead four days." 19:35 It may not be socially acceptable. 19:37 And it may not be politically correct. 19:39 But it's time to cooperate with Jesus. 19:42 When we obey His command and take away 19:43 the stone of indifference, of apathy, of disbelief. 19:47 When we are ready to be honest with Jesus and to the world, 19:50 to admit that our way stinks 19:51 and has led to the death of God's plan for our life, 19:55 the way is clear for Jesus 19:57 to create a miracle of new life in us. 20:00 "Jesus said to Martha, Said I not unto thee, 20:03 that, if thou wouldest believe, 20:04 thou shouldest see the glory of God?" 20:07 He wants us to see the glory and the power of God. 20:11 He wants to do miracles in our lives 20:12 so that we can believe. 20:15 I think the hardest job that we have is, 20:16 making the choice to let God, be God. 20:20 To believe what He says. 20:22 Jesus had already told Martha, 20:24 I am the resurrection and the life. 20:27 "Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. 20:33 No man cometh unto the Father, but by Me." 20:38 Just as described in the Bible, the tomb of Lazarus is a cave. 20:41 And as such you have to go down 28 steps 20:44 to get to the bottom. 20:46 When Jesus came to the entrance of this tomb, 20:49 He fully intended to do a miracle. 20:51 He was going to show that He was indeed, 20:54 more powerful than death, 20:56 more powerful than our strongest fear. 21:00 Looks less like a cave now 21:01 since a crusader strengthened the tomb with masonry 21:04 which obscures most of the original rock surface. 21:07 But the cave and the structure isn't what's important here. 21:11 Here's where Jesus submitted humanity the ultimate proof, 21:14 second only to His own resurrection of His divinity. 21:18 Here He presents a crowning act, a living evidence, 21:22 that He is indeed the Son of God. 21:40 Okay, so you now have an idea of how far down 21:44 in the ground Lazarus was buried. 21:48 All right, Levi, what happens next? 21:50 John 11 says, "Then they took away 21:54 the stone from the place where the dead was laid. 21:57 And Jesus lifted up His eyes, and said, 22:00 Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. 22:03 And I knew that thou hearest me always 22:05 but because of the people which stand by I said it, 22:08 that they may believe that thou hast sent me. 22:11 And when He thus had spoken, He cried out with a loud voice, 22:16 Lazarus, come forth." 22:19 With intense and painful interest, 22:21 all who were at the entrance were listening and watching, 22:24 for the evidence that would substantiate 22:26 His claim to be the Son of God. 22:28 They wanted to know if Jesus really did have 22:30 power over the grave. 22:33 The voice of Jesus was clear and penetrating. 22:36 It pierced the ear of the dead and sleeping Lazarus, 22:39 life sprang into the lifeless shell 22:41 of the man and he lived. 22:44 There's just one problem, 22:46 Lazarus was wrapped up like a mummy. 22:48 John 11:44 says, "He was bound hand 22:51 and foot with grave clothes 22:53 and his face was bound about with a napkin." 22:56 So the same power that gave Him life, picked him up, 23:00 and transported his once lived body, 23:03 out of the burial chamber and up the steps 23:06 and placed him at the entrance of the tomb. 23:15 No one likes the thought of death. 23:17 Placed in the ground to decompose 23:20 and that was never God's intention. 23:22 His desire is for us to live forever. 23:26 The teachings of Jesus make it absolutely clear, 23:29 how any one can escape their tomb 23:32 and live forever with Him. 23:35 In John 6:49-51, Jesus made it unmistakable, 23:40 that He is living bread. 23:42 If we want to live forever, we must eat that bread. 23:46 Jesus interprets what He means in verse 63, 23:49 "The words that I speak unto you, 23:51 they are spirit and they are life." 23:55 His words are life. 23:57 Many times we go through our day as a 'The walking dead.' 24:01 We maybe physically alive, 24:02 but spiritually and emotionally we're actually dead. 24:06 Jesus really emphasizes that point in John 5:24, 24:10 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that hears my word, 24:15 and believes on God that sent Me, 24:17 hath everlasting life, 24:20 and shall not come into condemnation, 24:22 but is passed from death unto life." 24:26 There's life in the word and no life outside the word. 24:44 Jesus also taught that just hearing 24:47 and believing His words isn't enough to escape death. 24:51 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, 24:54 if a man keep my sayings, he shall never see death." 24:58 Salvation is not just a mental ascent. 25:01 Salvation must also include doing what He says, 25:05 being obedient to His will, His love, love. 25:08 Saying, yes, to Him with every choice. 25:13 I believe it, Levi. 25:16 Starting in Genesis, the bible teaches 25:18 that life comes from God 25:20 and obedience to Him preserves that life. 25:23 If you disobey, you'll lose that life. You die. 25:27 In John 3:16, Jesus confirmed that teaching, that doctrine. 25:32 Now there are some Christians 25:34 who find this teaching so disruptive. 25:38 No, we have a soul that lives on, 25:41 a spirit consciousness that transcends death. 25:44 We go to heaven immediately when we die. 25:48 Often stated, but not biblical. 25:51 The three words translated in the Bible as immortal 25:55 are only used in the Bible in 16 verses. 25:59 Not once are they used to tell us 26:01 that a human soul is immortal. 26:04 In fact, they tell us the exact opposite. 26:09 Three verses tell us plainly that only God is immortal. 26:14 And here is the verse that is most clear. 26:16 It speaks to us of the Kings of kings 26:19 and Lord of lords, "Who only hath immortality." 26:24 So who are you gonna believe, God and His bible or Satan? 26:30 The serpent told Eve, "You won't die." 26:33 But the evidence shows that he was wrong, dead Wrong. 26:38 And that old snake is still tempting us to believe his lie. 26:44 So I've chosen to believe the clear teachings of Jesus. 26:48 There is life after death, but that will be 26:51 at the resurrection, at the last day. 26:54 That's what Jesus said in John 6:44, 26:57 "No man can come to me, except the Father 27:00 which hath sent me draw him, 27:02 and I will raise him up at the last day." 27:07 "Behold, I show you a mystery," writes Paul. 27:11 "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 27:15 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, 27:18 at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound, 27:22 and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, 27:25 and we shall be changed." 27:29 Lazarus's first tomb is empty, 27:31 proving Jesus has power over death and the tomb. 27:36 So who are you choosing to believe, 27:39 the truth or the one that has already 27:41 proven himself to be dead wrong? |
Revised 2014-12-17