October 30th, 2015: The Mummy

 

This week, my talk was called "The Mummy",  a spooky, Halloween theme! We reviewed the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead in John 11 and 12. In it, Jesus was told that his friend, Lazarus, was sick and that he should travel to Bethany immediately to come to the rescue (kind of like a superhero). Jesus, however, does something strange in an emergency situation. He tells his disciples that its no big deal and that Lazarus wouldn't die, and THEN he waited two more days until Lazarus had died before he decided to travel to Bethany. When he got there, everybody seemed to blame Jesus for Lazarus' death. Lazarus' sisters and the people who were there mourning all believed that, if Jesus had only come earlier, Lazarus would never have died. While they believed that Jesus could have healed Lazarus, they all believed that there was no longer any hope. I mean, healing someone is one thing, but raising someone from the dead? That's impossible!

Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” John 11:33-34

1. A True Mummy Story

About a month ago, I shared about why I believe that we can trust that the Bible is true (even the weird supernatural stuff). I talked about how the disciples were thoroughly convinced that Jesus was who he said he was- so much so that they spent their entire lives telling others about Jesus. The disciples didn't make millions of dollars in a book or movie deal. The majority of them were hurt, mistreated, thrown in prison, and ultimately killed for believing that Jesus was God. Do you think if the story was made up, they would have allowed themselves to be tortured and killed? No way!

This story of The Mummy was an event that happened in history. There were plenty of eyewitnesses. In fact, it's what set into motion Jesus' death on the cross. So many people were believing in Jesus because of seeing what he did and hearing Lazarus' story that it threatened the government (people were calling Jesus the Messiah-- a godly king) and it offended the religious leaders (John 11:45, 12:9-11).

2. Spoiler Alert!

The whole reason why Jesus waited before responding in this emergency situation is that Jesus wanted to prove to people that he wasn't just a great teacher or even a miracle worker, but that he had power and authority over death itself! People had no problem believing that Jesus could have healed Lazarus (as amazing as that is), but they believed that Lazarus being raised from the dead was completely impossible. By raising Lazarus, Jesus showed people that he truly was the Son of God. This miracle was also a spoiler, because three days after Jesus was crucified on the cross, he again proved that he had power and authority over death by rising from the dead himself! And just like with Lazarus, there were hundreds of people who witnessed Jesus' resurrection. There were many people who walked, talked and shared a meal with Jesus after he had risen from the dead! In both of these cases, it was Jesus' power over death that convinced his followers (even sceptical ones like Thomas).

Discussion Questions:

1. Do you think that Christianity would exist today if Jesus hadn't raised Lazarus from the dead or came back from the dead himself? Why do you (or don't you) think so?

2. What are some amazing things in the Bible that are hard for you to believe? Do you think that the Bible is true and trustworthy? Was there anything this week that helped remind you why the story of Jesus is the truth?

3. Jesus proved that he had the power and authority to raise people from the dead. Have you ever given up praying for things that seemed impossible? Don't give up! Take the time to pray for impossible things! If anything, this reminds us that nothing is impossible with God.