June 28, 2026 "Power Over Death" Don Wilhite

John’s Gospel gives its own purpose: these things are written so that people may believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing they may have life in His name. John eleven puts that purpose right in front of death itself. Lazarus of Bethany, the one Jesus loved, is sick, and Mary and Martha send the kind of frantic word that comes out of an ER, ICU, MICU moment: “Lord, behold, he whom you love is sick.”

Jesus answers in a way that does not fit panic. Jesus says the sickness is “not unto death, but to the glory of God,” and then Jesus stays two days longer. Jesus loves Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, yet Jesus delays. The delay is not neglect. The delay is for faith, because Jesus says plainly, “Lazarus is dead,” and adds, “I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you might believe.”

Death stands there like that blank wall nobody wants to talk about. The hearse may have changed from litter, to sled, to wagon, to Cadillac, but the corpse it carries is the same. Everything changes, but death never changes. Death always waits, and the door of the hearse is never closed. So the call to be prepared is plain: settle end-of-life matters, know the Lord Jesus, and speak tenderly to the dying with words that release rather than cling: “I love you,” “It’s okay,” and “I will miss you, but I’ll be okay.”

Martha meets Jesus with honest pain: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Martha sounds faithful, but she also sounds ticked off, because a friend could have prevented it and did not. Jesus gives her more than comfort. Jesus gives Himself: “I am the resurrection and the life.” Mary comes with the same words, but another tone. Mary falls at His feet, weeping, needing to know that Jesus cares. And Jesus does care. “Jesus wept.”

Jesus stands at the tomb and gives two commands. “Remove the stone.” Then, after calling Lazarus by name, “Loose him, and let him go.” Jesus has power over death, but Jesus lets people participate in liberation. The stone gets rolled away by human hands. The grave clothes come off by human hands. Jesus brings life, and His people help unbind the ones still wrapped up.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Jesus delays without ceasing to love Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, and yet Jesus stayed two days longer where He was. That delay did not mean indifference, and it did not mean heaven had gone silent because love had run out. The delay became the place where faith saw more than prevention, because Jesus did not merely stop death, He revealed Himself as life. [32:24]
• 2. Death must be faced honestly Death does not become less real because people avoid the subject. The hearse has changed its shape across history, but the passenger remains the same, and death still waits with an open door. Wisdom prepares before panic comes, and faith looks death in the face because Christ has already conquered what human strength cannot tame. [35:38]
• 3. Grief may speak with frustration Martha’s words carry faith and hurt at the same time: “Lord, if you had been here.” Such grief is not tidy, and it may even sound angry with God because love expected more than delay. Jesus does not crush that honest ache, but answers it with Himself: “I am the resurrection and the life.” [40:23]
• 4. Jesus cares enough to weep Mary needed more than an explanation, and Jesus met her tears with His own. “Jesus wept” shows that divine power does not make Him cold, distant, or untouched by sorrow. The One who is about to raise the dead still stops at the grave and enters the grief of those He loves. [45:37]
• 5. Life comes with unbinding work Jesus called Lazarus out, but others had to roll away the stone and take off the grave clothes. Christ alone gives life, yet Christ invites His people to help loosen what still binds the rescued. Real ministry helps people get the wrappings off their hearts and lives so they can walk free.
  
  ** [49:19]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [29:24] - John’s Purpose for Believing
• [30:27] - Lazarus Is Sick
• [32:04] - Jesus Delays for God’s Glory
• [33:31] - Lazarus Is Dead
• [36:07] - Facing Death Before Crisis
• [37:44] - What the Dying Need to Hear
• [39:13] - Martha Meets Jesus
• [42:06] - Mary Falls at His Feet
• [45:37] - Jesus Wept at the Tomb
• [46:19] - Remove the Stone
• [47:08] - Lazarus, Come Forth
• [49:19] - Loose Him and Set Him Free
• [51:34] - Power Over Death and Life
• [53:03] - Jesus Has the Key

Bible Reading

John 11:1-44
“Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him, saying, ‘Lord, he whom you love is ill.’ But when Jesus heard it he said, ‘This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.’ Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. Then after this he said to the disciples, ‘Let us go to Judea again.’ The disciples said to him, ‘Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?’ Jesus answered, ‘Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.’ After saying these things, he said to them, ‘Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.’ The disciples said to him, ‘Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.’ Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, ‘Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.’ So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, ‘Let us also go, that we may die with him.’ 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 spirit and 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.’” [30:27]

John 20:31
“But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” [29:52]

1 Corinthians 15:55
“‘O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’”

Observation questions

1. In John 11, what details show both that Jesus loved this family deeply and that He still delayed coming to them? [32:24]
2. Martha and Mary both say, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” What is different about the way each sister comes to Jesus? [42:06]
3. What two commands does Jesus give at the tomb, and what do those commands require other people to do? [46:19]
4. What words does Jesus say about Himself to Martha before Lazarus is raised? How does Martha answer Him?

Interpretation questions

1. Jesus says that Lazarus’s sickness is for the glory of God, and later says He is glad He was not there so that others may believe. What does that show about how Jesus can use a painful delay for a greater purpose? [33:31]
2. Martha’s words sound faithful, but they also carry pain: “Lord, if you had been here.” What does her response show about the way grief and trust can exist together in the same heart? [41:25]
3. Jesus weeps even though He is about to raise Lazarus. What does that reveal about the heart of Christ when His people are hurting? [45:37]
4. Jesus raises Lazarus, but others must remove the stone and unbind him. What does that suggest about the way Christ gives life and His people help with the freeing? [49:19]

Application questions

1. Jesus delays without ceasing to love. Where has that been hard to believe in real life? Is there a prayer, a loss, or a situation where the silence of heaven has felt personal to you? [32:24]
2. Death must be faced honestly. Have you avoided conversations or decisions about death and dying? What would it look like to face those matters with wisdom, peace, and faith rather than fear? [36:07]
3. Dying people often need to hear simple, freeing words: “I love you,” “It’s okay,” and “I will miss you, but I’ll be okay.” If the Lord ever puts you beside a bed like that, which of those would be hardest for you to say, and why? [37:44]
4. Martha brought her disappointment straight to Jesus. When have you been hurt enough to wonder why the Lord did not step in sooner? What helps you keep talking to Him instead of pulling away from Him? [39:13]
5. Mary needed to know that Jesus cared, and Jesus met tears with tears. When sorrow hits, is it easier for you to look for explanations or for the nearness of Christ? What helps you remember that He is not cold toward your grief? [44:23]
6. Some people are alive in Christ and still wrapped up in old bindings. What grave clothes still seem to cling to your heart or habits right now? Where might you need help getting unbound? [50:12]
7. Jesus told the people standing there to remove the stone and unbind Lazarus. Who around you may need that kind of loving help right now, and what might “rolling away a stone” look like in a practical way this week? [54:14]