Lazarus: Back By Popular Demand | Pastor Jeff Bucknam, September 5

Devotional

Day 1: The Coffin Elevator and the Smell of Death

Death’s reality lingers like the stench of a four-day-old corpse. We build mezzanines to store coffins and invent rituals to distance ourselves from decay, but death still barges into our lives uninvited. It interrupts plans, steals loved ones, and leaves us staring at empty chairs. The modern world’s sterile avoidance crumbles when grief crashes through the door. Jesus doesn’t sanitize death’s horror—he walks into the rot to confront it head-on. [35:27]

So when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. (John 11:17–19, ESV)

Reflection: When have you encountered death’s unavoidable presence—a hospital room, a graveside, a sudden loss? How does its rawness challenge your attempts to control life’s fragility?

Day 2: When God Feels Distant in the Funeral Home

Grief erupts in accusations. Martha’s “if you had been here” mirrors our own clenched fists toward heaven when prayers seem unanswered. Jesus doesn’t scold her raw honesty—he listens to the ache beneath the words. In crowded rooms of mourners, faith isn’t polished theology but the guts to say, “I don’t understand, but you’re still my Lord.” True lament names the disconnect between God’s power and our pain without abandoning hope. [57:51]

When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. (John 11:32–33, ESV)

Reflection: What unresolved “if only” have you been afraid to voice to God? How might speaking it honestly—like Martha did—deepen your trust in His presence?

Day 3: Snorting Warhorse at the Tomb’s Door

Jesus doesn’t offer platitudes—he snorts like a battle-ready stallion at death’s arrogance. His tears aren’t passive sympathy but fury at the thief who steals, kills, and destroys. The same God who wept outside Lazarus’ tomb would later let death swallow Him whole…only to burst its guts three days later. Resurrection isn’t a gentle metaphor—it’s divine vandalism against the grave’s tyranny. [14:16]

Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” (John 11:38–39, ESV)

Reflection: Where has death’s shadow (loss, addiction, despair) made you feel powerless? How does Jesus’ warhorse anger toward the grave reframe your battle?

Day 4: Unwrapping Grave Clothes in Broad Daylight

Lazarus stumbled out bound in burial strips—a walking contradiction of death’s finality. Jesus didn’t just reverse decay; he mocked its claims. Every Christian carries resurrection DNA, yet we often live like mummies—half-alive, trailing the stink of old tombs. Christ’s command to “unbind him” still echoes, inviting us to shed death’s lingering wrappings: shame, fear, smallness. [22:03]

The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” (John 11:44, ESV)

Reflection: What “grave clothes” still cling to you—habits, lies, or regrets that contradict your resurrection identity? What first step could you take to loosen them?

Day 5: Packing Your Coffin for the Mission Field

Moravian missionaries sailed with coffins as luggage, treating death like a toothless chaperone. When the worst Satan can do—kill you—becomes a gateway to glory, boldness follows. Peter denied Jesus to a servant girl but later defied murderous councils. Resurrection turns caskets into footstools, making every risk worth taking. [26:16]

“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:55–57, ESV)

Reflection: What bold act of love or obedience have you avoided out of fear? How might packing your “coffin” change your willingness to risk?

Sermon Summary

John 11 brings everybody face to face with the grim reality that death comes for all of us. Lazarus has been in the tomb four days, which means he is not merely sick or mostly dead. He is dead dead. Mary and Martha are not casual followers either. Jesus loves them, they love Jesus, and still Jesus delays while the brother they love dies. Death is overwhelming precisely because it tears apart the future people thought they had.

Martha runs to Jesus and says what grief often says: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Martha hears Jesus promise resurrection and gives the right theological answer about the last day. Jesus refuses to leave the answer as a distant doctrine. Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Resurrection is not merely an event on a calendar somewhere. Resurrection is standing in front of Martha.

Martha becomes a model disciple because she holds her hands open even when life makes no sense. Martha has questions, disappointment, and a real complaint, but she still confesses that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Mary comes differently. Mary falls at Jesus’ feet and crumples under the weight of the same loss. John gives room for both responses. Death does not make faithful people plastic, happy, clappy people. God gives lament because suffering can leave people without words, and Psalms gives God’s own words to pray back to him.

Jesus sees Mary weeping and the mourners weeping, and Jesus is deeply moved. The image is not mild sadness. Jesus is like a horse snorting before battle. Death makes Jesus angry because death should not be. Jesus also weeps because he pins his heart to the sorrow of people he loves. The incarnation shows that God does not keep a professional distance from suffering. Jesus gets in it. Jesus knows the room with dead people, betrayal, abandonment, tears, and pain.

Jesus then comes to Lazarus’s tomb as a warrior. Jesus commands the stone removed, even though the smell of death will overwhelm everybody standing there. Jesus calls, “Lazarus, come out,” and the dead man comes out. Jesus tells death, in effect, “Unbind him. Let him go.” Christ holds power over death, and the final boss is toothless.

Christ’s resurrection changes the present because a secure future produces boldness now. The plane may be uncomfortable, but the destination is magnificent. Death may be overwhelming, but it cannot hold those who belong to the resurrection and the life.

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Key Takeaways

1. Lament is faithful, not faithless Lament refuses the lie that trust in God requires a fake smile. God gives words in Psalms and Lamentations for people who cannot make sense of their pain. Honest grief can bring its complaint directly to God without letting go of God. [71:22]
2. Jesus meets grief from the inside Jesus does not observe suffering from a safe distance or offer detached religious advice. His tears reveal that he enters the sorrow of those he loves and feels the weight of death with them. His presence does not make pain unreal, but it means pain is never faced alone. [75:17]
3. Resurrection is standing before Martha Jesus does not merely point Martha toward a future truth. Jesus declares that he himself is the resurrection and the life, the fulfillment of every hope death appears to destroy. Faith rests not only in an outcome, but in the living Christ who holds that outcome. [63:44]
4. Death is a defeated final boss Jesus approaches Lazarus’s tomb with warrior anger because death is an enemy, not a friend. Lazarus coming out of the tomb gives a preview of Christ’s own resurrection and death’s coming defeat. The grave can still wound, but it cannot finally win. [81:31]
5. A secure future creates boldness now Christ’s victory over death changes how present fears are sized up. Peter’s boldness and the Moravians’ willingness to carry coffins show what happens when death loses its ultimate threat. A magnificent destination reframes the discomforts of the flight.

## [82:34]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[34:01] - John 11 and the Reality of Death
[36:43] - Why Death Cannot Be Avoided
[41:10] - The World’s Answers to Death
[44:17] - Jesus Has Been There and Returned
[45:31] - Death Is Overwhelming
[57:51] - Martha’s Complaint: Where Were You?
[63:06] - I Am the Resurrection and the Life
[67:04] - Mary Falls at Jesus’ Feet
[69:22] - It Is Okay Not to Be Okay
[73:27] - Jesus Weeps and Rages at Death
[79:06] - Jesus Overwhelms Death
[82:03] - The Final Boss Is Toothless
[86:36] - Living Boldly Because the Future Is Secure

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

John 11:17-44
Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”

When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?”

Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” [34:19] [45:00] [45:04]

John 11:25-26
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” [01:03:39]

Psalm 13:1-2
How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? [01:12:35]

Isaiah 43:1-2
But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.” [18:33]

Observation questions

What details in John 11 make clear that Lazarus’s death is final and that Mary and Martha are surrounded by deep grief?
What is the difference between Martha’s first response to Jesus and her confession in verse 27? [01:05:00]
Mary and Martha say the same words to Jesus: “If you had been here…” How do their actions and posture toward Jesus differ?
What does Jesus do and say at the tomb after seeing everyone weeping? What details show both his sorrow and his authority? [01:19:23]

Interpretation questions

Martha believes in a future resurrection, but Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life.” How does Jesus move her from trust in a distant event to trust in himself? [01:04:29]
Martha brings a real complaint to Jesus while still calling him “Lord” and confessing him as the Christ. What does her response show about the difference between lament and unbelief? [01:05:33]
Jesus weeps even though he knows Lazarus will soon come out of the tomb. What does this reveal about how Jesus relates to the sorrow of people he loves? [01:15:43]
Jesus is deeply moved as he approaches the tomb, and then he calls Lazarus out. Why is death presented as an enemy that Jesus confronts rather than something people should simply accept? [01:21:31]

Application questions

Is there a loss, disappointment, or unanswered prayer that has made you say, “Lord, if you had been here”? What would it look like to bring that complaint honestly to Jesus rather than hiding it from him? [57:51]
When life becomes painful, do you tend to respond more like Martha—trying to fix and manage everything—or more like Mary—falling apart at Jesus’ feet? How might each response become a way of coming to Jesus?
Where have you felt pressure to act fine when you are not fine? Is there a trusted believer with whom you could be more honest this week? [01:09:22]
Psalm 13 gives words such as “How long, O LORD?” Is there a Psalm of lament you could pray this week when you do not know what else to say to God? [01:11:47]
Isaiah 43 does not promise that God’s people will avoid waters and fires; it promises that God will be with them in them. What difficult “water” or “fire” are you walking through right now, and how does God’s presence change the way you face it? [01:18:33]
Jesus does not keep a safe distance from grief, betrayal, pain, or death. In what situation do you most need to remember that Jesus is present with you, not detached from you? [01:15:43]
Because Christ holds power over death, present fears do not get the final word. What fear may be keeping you from a bold act of obedience, love, generosity, or witness? What could one faithful next step look like? [01:22:34]

Sermon Clips

57s

“You and I serve a God who does not keep a professional distance from suffering. He knows exactly what it's like to get in there, to get dirty. He knows what it's like to sit in that room with dead people. He knows what it's like to face people who are stabbing you in the back. He has his Judas. He knows what it's like to have people you're counting on let you down. He was all alone on the cross, everybody fled. He became us like us in every way except without sin. He does not keep a distance. I mean, all the other religions of the world have a God who tells you, this, do this, do this. Jesus gets in it and says, I'm in it with you.”

60s

“So it's okay not to be okay. But second, listen, listen very closely to me. You gotta learn how to lament. The Bible is filled with a whole category of words and emotions that God endorses called lament. We have a whole book of it, Lamentations. I want you to think about this for a minute. God, in his divine sovereign kindness, knew that our lives were gonna be so challenging at points that we would run out of words to say to God. We wouldn't know how to deal with the world around us. And so he gives us in Psalms and Lamentations and other things. He says, listen, let me, through the Holy Spirit, inspire these writers who are gonna give you my words to complain back to me.”

48s

“The whole story basically makes the point that Christ Jesus holds the power over death. That because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, the final boss is toothless. You do realize what that should do to you, right? Your understanding of your future should have an enormous impact on your actions in the present.”

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Lazarus: Back By Popular Demand | Pastor Jeff Bucknam, September 5–6, 2026