part0016

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

What comes to mind when you consider death? It’s probably not a topic you are dying to think about, but it is nevertheless important. Have you experienced the death of loved ones in your life? Have you come to terms with your own? Or do you avoid it and try to numb yourself to its reality? It’s true that the surest fact in life is also the one we fear the most: death.

However, if you’re a believer, you have a sense of what it is like to be dead and now live. You know what it is like to move about this earth being a slave to your sin, guilt, and regret, and then meet Christ on the road. Suddenly, your life is filled with grace, peace, and a sense of forgiveness. This is the transition of death to new life. And it happens to be Jesus’ specialty.

Jesus’ miracles are all amazing—healing, turning water to wine, making a blind man see—but the miracle of Lazarus is perhaps the most awe-inducing. In this miracle, Jesus actually raised a dead man to life. And he didn’t do so immediately after the man had died. He raised Lazarus after he had been dead for four days . There can be no mistake the man’s heart had stopped beating and his breath had ceased. Jesus raised a man from death to life.

Don’t miss the metaphor. Jesus didn’t do this simply to amaze us. Rather, it speaks to his ability to raise each of us. His desire is to move us from a life of darkness and death to one that is vibrant with life. He wants to redeem us and forgive us of even the worst of sins that we have committed. This is why the cross parallels the miracle of Lazarus so beautifully. One proves Christ’s victory over death. The other proves Christ’s victory over our individual sin.

As we will see in this week’s study, no miracle is more personal to each of us than the one that occurred when Jesus finally said, “It is finished” (John 19:30).

Begin your group time by asking anyone to share his or her insights from last week’s personal study. Then, to get things started, discuss one of the following questions:

Invite someone to read the following passage aloud. Listen for fresh insights as you hear the verses being read, and then discuss the questions that follow.

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.”

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” (John 11:21–27).

Martha was able to profess her belief in Jesus as the Messiah even this soon after her brother, Lazarus, had died. Why do you think her belief in Jesus was still strong in this moment?

Play the video segment for session five. As you watch, use the following outline to record any thoughts or concepts that stand out to you.

Jesus promised, “Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death” (John 11:4 NLT ). It would have been easy for the messenger to misunderstand the statement and believe Lazarus would not face death. Lazarus would find himself in the valley of death. But he would not stay there.

“Do you believe?” It’s the same question Jesus asks us when we find ourselves in the middle of the valley of death. When all hope seems lost and Jesus’ help seems missing.

No matter how well you run this race, you will not run it forever. When that time comes, you need Jesus’ help to enter your eternal home. Thankfully, that help has already been given. For the raising of Lazarus was only a small hint of the greater resurrection to come.

It is finished. In the Greek, the phrase is a single word: tetelestai. It is a holy word. A sacred point in time. The moment the artist steps back from the canvas and lowers his brush. This announcement on Calvary was sufficient to save all who believe in him from eternal death.

The work of Christ on the cross satisfied the demands of the eternal tribune—the greatest of the miracles John records in his Gospel. Humanity had been redeemed.

Our part is to simply receive this great miracle of mercy—to let God’s grace flow over us like a cleansing cascade, flushing out all dregs of guilt and shame. Nothing can separate us from God.

Take a few minutes with your group members to discuss what you just watched and explore these concepts in Scripture.

1. What tends to be your reaction when you think about death and the end of your own life? Why do you think you react this way?

2. Read John 11:21–27. What promises did Jesus make to Martha in this passage? How did Martha respond to this promise from Christ?

4. How were the witnesses affected by seeing Lazarus raised from the dead? How did this accomplish Jesus’ purpose that the miracle would result in bringing God glory?

5. The phrase “ it is finished” is a single word in the Greek: tetelestai . What is significant about this word? What does it tell us about what Jesus accomplished on the cross?

6. In the Old Testament, the firstborn of every Israelite family legally belonged to God. However, he allowed each family to reclaim or “redeem” their firstborn child by paying a price. How did God do the same for us by allowing Jesus to die on the cross?

7. Paul wrote, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). How would you describe what this means? How are we made righteous through Jesus’ death on the cross?

8. Remember the question that Jesus posed to Martha: “Do you believe?” (John 11:26). It’s the same question Jesus asks us when we find ourselves in the middle of the valley of death. How would you answer this question today?

Close this session with an extended time of prayer with your group. Break up into groups of two and share prayer requests with one another. If you are comfortable in doing so, share any areas in which you are struggling with belief right now. Pray together to have the same kind of belief in Christ that Martha did, who said to the Lord, “I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God” (John 11:27 NLT ).