COV LIFE BLOG

John 11 – Jesus Wasn’t Just Resurrected. He is the Resurrection.

In John 14:21, Jesus says, “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” What a wonderful statement! “I will love you, and manifest myself to you.” That is how I will love you.

O how many of us can testify to this reality with thankfulness and joy. In the days of suffering and loss. In the days of darkness, and when it seemed that all around our souls would give way, Jesus loved us—not first by taking away the suffering or the loss or the darkness, but first by giving us himself in ways that could not have been ours without this painful season. If you demand that God love you the way the world expects to be loved in this life, you won’t know what it is to really be loved by God. The love of God is the gift of his glorious self.

Because he loved Lazarus and Mary and Martha, he stayed two days longer and let them walk through the valley of the shadow of death, and then went and showed them his glory.

This is the glory of Jesus. Jesus raised Lazarus because he is the resurrection. He is the arrival in history of God’s final, glorious renovation of all things, including our bodies. Believers, you will be raised from the dead and shine like the sun in the kingdom of your Father. Lazarus is a preview of your resurrection. Jesus is coming back to this earth in power and great glory. And this event, and this story, and this sermon is window onto that glory.

And therefore it is God saying to you in this service: I love you. My love for you is not sparing you suffering and death. It is the gift of myself. My glory. Do you see me? Do you see me for who I really am? Come to me. I have much more to show you.

John Piper

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Heart Preparation
Read John 11 and specifically notice the words of Jesus in verses 25 and 26. Easter is not just a day to be celebrated, but a life to live because it’s not just that he has been resurrected. He is the resurrection!

So at the end of Sunday what do you do with Easter? How does this impact your everyday life? How does this truth speak into your struggles? What difference does this testimony make in how you approach and live your life?

 

Song for This Week
Come Thou Fount, Come Thou King by Gateway Worship