John 11:11 These things said he: and after that he said to them, Our friend Lazarus sleeps; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. We have here - I. A VIEW OF CHRISTIAN FRIENDSHIP. 1. It has Christ as its Center and Inspiration. (1) He is its Author, its Model, and Inspirer. He is the only true Friend of humanity. In him all the elements of true friendship pre-eminently meet; and they are pure, elevating, and Divine. (2) By union with him it is alone attainable. Apart from Christ there can be no true Christian friendship. (3) Love is its leading feature. It has other features, such as sincerity, truth, fidelity, guilelessness, and constancy; but they are all the emanations of deep, high, broad, pure, and burning love. 2. It is common and mutual. "Our friend." Not "my" nor" your friend," but "our friend." The friend of Jesus and that of his disciples. The friendship is common and mutual. Friendship expects and deserves the same in return. It manifests itself specially to Christ and his followers, and generally to mankind for Christ's sake. Many profess great friendship to Christ, who is personally absent and invisible, but act not as such to his followers, who are visible and present - a proof of a lack of Christian friendship altogether, or a great scarcity of it. The true friend of Jesus is the friend of all his disciples. 3. It is a mark of a high Christian excellency. Our Lord wished to make an honorable mention of Lazarus, and speak of him in high but appropriate terms. He did so by calling him a friend. There are degrees of Christian excellence, and there are outer and inner circles of Christian fellowship. Christian friendship is one of the inner ones. Lazarus had attained to this. Every believer is a brother, but every brother is not a friend. This is a distinction attained but by a comparative few. 4. It is not altogether excepted by death. Lazarus, though a friend, yet died. Christian friendship does not prevent all actions of death. In spite of it, the change, with its pangs and pains and separation, is experienced. The law of dissolution is left by Christ to take its natural course, even with regard to most of his best friends. 5. Although not excepted by death, yet it triumphantly survives it. Lazarus was dead, still he was the friend of Jesus and of his disciples. "Our friend Lazarus." Death, so far from destroying Christian friendship, serves its highest interests, intensifies and purifies it. It burns in the pangs of dissolution, blazes even in the swelling river, and shines with increasing brightness through the intervening gloom. II. A CHRISTIAN VIEW OF DEATH. "Our friend Lazarus sleepeth." 1. With regard to his friends, Jesus has changed the name of death. It is not to be called any more death, but sleep. Christ not only changes human character, and the character of human events, but changes human language. In the Christian dictionary the word "death" is not found but as an explanation of the word "sleep." The worldly mind cannot understand this new language of Christianity. And even the disciples could not yet understand it. Christ had to speak to them in their own language, the language of the old world, and say, "Lazarus is dead." 2. With regard to his friends, death is really transformed into sleep. Death to them is abolished. To his foes, death is death still, and will ever be so; but to his friends, all that makes it really death is taken away. They are too near him who is the Life for death to hurt them; if. acts as their friend, and lulls them into a quiet and happy sleep. Death is friendly to all the friends of Jesus. 3. This view of death is very consoling. (1) In this view, departed pious friends are still in a conscious and a happy existence. They are neither annihilated nor lost, only asleep. Neither are they in a state of dormancy. Physical sleep is a state of unconsciousness, but the term as applied by Christ refers not to the state of the soul in relation to the spirit-life, but in relation to this life, with its trials, afflictions, and sin. In relation to these, it is asleep; but in relation to the spirit-life, it is awake and intensely and happily alive. (2) In this view, death is necessary and refreshing. Physical sleep is a refreshing rest, and one of the essential conditions of life and health. We could not fully enjoy spiritual life without physical death. We cannot stand a hard day's work without a good night's rest. The sleep of death is a necessary and most refreshing preparation for the "weight of glory," and the pleasant enjoyments and duties of an eternal day. (3) In this view, death is natural. Had man retained his primitive innocency, doubtless there would be some process of transit from this world tantamount to death, although not so called - called perhaps "birth;" but it would be perfectly natural, timely, desirable, and beautiful, like the falling of a ripe apple from the tree. But sin has made this transit unnatural, painful, and filled it with horrors; but union with Christ makes it natural again. It becomes natural and even desirable in the degree this union approaches perfection. "Having a desire to depart." It is not death, but sleep. (4) In this view, death is robbed of all its real terrors. We may be afraid of sleep in the day, when duty calls; but at night, after the day's work is done, who is afraid of sleep? We are far more afraid to be awake. What parents are afraid in the bedroom at midnight, surrounded by their sleeping children? Christians' death is but sleep, and their graves are but beds in which they enjoy rest from their labors. III. THE RESURRECTION OF THE FRIENDS OF JESUS. 1. It will involve a Divine process. It will involve the exercise of Divine power. Divine power alone could restore Lazarus to life. All the power of men and angels would be insufficient. The same power which made man at first a living soul can alone reunite body and soul at last, after the great dissolution. 2. This Divine process will be performed by Christ. He raised Lazarus, and he shall raise all the dead at last. This is most becoming and essential, as the resurrection is a most vital part of his redemptive work. 3. A Divine process most easily performed by Jesus, and most natural and improving to them. When on his way to raise Lazarus, he spoke of his Divine process not as an exploit of power, but as an easy task; as easy as it would be for one of his disciples to' awake a friend out of his slumbers. "I go that I may awake him." The resurrection of his friends to Jesus will be a most easy process, and to them a most natural and refreshing experience. There will be no sudden shock, no painful consciousness of the pangs of death and the grief of separation; but the throbbing delight and gratitude of awaking after a sweet and a refreshing sleep. The Christian's death being sleep, his resurrection will be an awaking out of it. How natural and delightful! 4. A process of Divine friendship. Not alone of power, but of friendship as well. "Our friend Lazarus sleepeth," etc. He approached his grave as a Friend, and, as a Friend, called his friend back to life. The resurrection of the wicked will be an act of retributive justice, but that of the good of Christian friendship. Mutual friendship was an element in the resurrection of Lazarus, and will be at the resurrection of the last day. LESSONS. 1. The death of Lazarus was an opportunity for Jesus to show his Tower and friendship. Our greatest miseries are his special occasions of mercy. 2. His sower and friendship manifested in the resurrection of Lazarus were only specimens. What he did to him he will do to all his friends. 3. If the friends of Jesus, we may venture to die. Death will be only sleep. 4. If so, we may venture to sleep. Jesus will awake us in due time. He cannot leave his friends to sleep long. It is worth while awaking a friend. We would leave a foe to sleep along, unless we awoke him to try to make a friend of him. His friends shall not sleep too long. He is on his way now to the resurrection. 5. It is worth while to sleep in order to be awakened by Jesus. How sweet his voice in the morning! But this cannot be experienced without the sleep. But the sleep would be intensely dismal but as an introduction to the glorious awaking. 6. The friends of Jesus at the general resurrection will be better off than Lazarus. Now he awoke to the old life; they to a new one. He awoke to experience, perhaps, trials untold, and weep over the grave of sisters, and pay with interest tears shed on his own; but they shall awake to weep no more. Lazarus left his grave and his grave-clothes to assume them again; but they shall forever leave the abode and garments of mortality and enter life eternal. - B.T. Parallel Verses KJV: These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. |
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