Long Island Abundant Life Church長島豐盛生命教會
  • Home
    • About Us 關於教會 >
      • Mission Statement - 使命宣言
      • Statement of Faith - 信仰立場
      • Biblical Marriage - 合乎聖經的婚姻
      • Church Leadership - 教會同工
      • Doc, membership - 文件, 會員
      • Contact Us - 聯絡我們
      • Directions - 路線圖
      • Ministry opening - English Pastor
  • Chinese Ministry 華語事工
    • 崇拜
    • 講道集 >
      • 主日信息
      • 特會 / 講座
    • 主日學
    • 門訓小組 >
      • 門訓小組介紹
    • 團契
    • 讀經
  • English Ministry 英文事工
  • Youth 少年事工
    • Worship
    • Sunday School
    • Youth Fellowship
    • Events
    • Our Vision
    • Connect with Us
    • Parent Resources
    • Youth Prayer Requests
  • Children's Ministry 兒童事工
    • Children's Worship - 兒童崇拜 >
      • Children's Songs - 歌曲
      • Junior Worship, Archive - 學習內容
      • Junior Worship, Current - 學習內容
      • Preschool Worship, Archive - 幼兒崇拜
    • Sunday School - 主日學 >
      • Preschool - 低年級
      • Middlers, Current - 高年級
      • Elementary, Archive - 高年級
    • VBS-特别暑期聖經班 >
      • EVENTS- 特別活動
    • Nursery - 幼兒照顧
    • Resources - 資源
  • Missions/Evangelism 宣教/佈道
    • *Global Missions 全球宣教
    • *Missions Ministry 宣教事工
  • Chinese School 中文學校
  • Church Activities / News / Calendar 教會活動 / 消息 / 行事曆
    • 教牧心聲Pastoral & Coworkers' Sharing
    • 教會事工Church Ministry
    • Special/urgent 特別/緊急
    • Calendar 教會行事曆
    • Bulletin 週報
    • Archive 檔案 >
      • Pray for Hindus 2018 為印度人禱告
      • Seek God 2019 尋求神
      • Misc. 其他
  • Chinese Student Ministry 学生事工
    • Campus Ministry 校园事工
    • CSF 衣
    • CSF 食
    • CSF 住
    • CSF 行
  • Links 资源鏈接

John 11:1–27

6/5/2012

 
Click here to read today's passage on Bible Gateway.

That We May Die With Him
Today is the beginning of a story that is no doubt familiar to most of us:  the raising of Lazarus.  Probably some of us have a heard a sermon or two on this story and probably we'll hear one or two more in our lifetimes.  There's a lot of profound stuff in this passage, which proclaims very clearly who Jesus is, what He can do, and what He WILL do. 

Notice that Jesus lingers for two days when He hears that Lazarus is sick.  Why?  To show who He is to everyone.   He asks Martha if she believes, speaking a very familiar phrase "I am the resurrection and the life."  More on some of these things tomorrow.  There's a small part of this passage that I think is a little confusing that I want to address, because it's unlikely that it would be mentioned in a sermon with so many other things going on in this passage.

Thomas says in verse 16: "Let us also go, that we may die with Him."  First of all, this is one of the few places in any of the Gospels that Thomas speaks.  I don't really think that is super significant, just interesting as a fact and because Thomas is so sulky most of the time he speaks in the Gospels.  So what does Thomas mean?

"The decision finally to go up to Judea must have been frightening to Jesus’ disciples (11:8). Throughout the story we have learned of the growing tensions surrounding Jesus’ contact with the religious leadership. During the previous autumn celebration at the Feast of Tabernacles the authorities tried to arrest him (8:44), and rumor was out that they wanted to kill him (7:25). At one point a crowd tried to stone Jesus (8:59). A few months later at Hanukkah they tried to arrest him (10:39), and again there was the threat of stoning (10:31). The events of John 11 are set sometime between the winter Hanukkah Feast and the upcoming spring when Jesus is crucified—and the tension must have been palpable. The threat is not simply to Jesus but to his disciples as well, so that Thomas speaks up, “Let us also go, that we may die with him” (11:16)." [1] (emphasis mine)

So there you have it - it's easy to think of this statement as some kind of reference to taking up your cross and dying to yourself, but it's really much more rooted in what was going on and an expression of Thomas expected to happen if they went to Judea. 

In the end, Thomas DID end up dying for Jesus.  Some traditions say he was boiled in oil while bringing the Gospel to India.  Whether we think of him as "Doubting Thomas" or "that sulky guy", the reality is that Thomas was changed by Jesus and compelled to bring the Good News of Jesus to the ends of the earth, paying the highest price to do so. 

[1] Gary M. Burge, NIV Application Commentary: John (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 2000), 314.
Andrei
6/5/2012 05:50:34 pm

I was going to ask about that line from Thomas; glad you wrote about it.

I actually had a comment about some of the ads on Biblegateway.com's website, which made me lol. I see a lot for Christianmingle.com and I saw a few for Xulon.com, which seems to be some Christian, do-it-yourself publishing company. It seems somewhat sketchy, though I guess they are 'legit' Christian websites (a friend of mine is an avid participant on Christian Mingle)... was wondering if anyone else found these ads humorous.

Greg
6/6/2012 04:19:04 am

I use and ad blocker, so I guess I don't see them. We could use Xulon to publish our book on sarcasm in the Bible, after you find your wife on Christianmingle.com

Andrei
6/6/2012 06:45:25 pm

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

Josiah
6/7/2012 01:49:00 pm

I see them all the time when using the online bible. I just find it ironic since god already knows what's going to happen, you're probably going to find a wife if you want one. These sites make as much sense as starting a relationship in High School.(I mean it's rare. Well, at least for my school.)


Comments are closed.

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.