John chapter 11 is where we are today. If you want to take your Bibles and go to John's Gospel

Chapter 11, we are making her way through the Gospel of John on Sunday mornings, and we come now to

Chapter 11. This is one of the most, in my opinion, one of the most beloved stories in all of the

Bible, because it shows this compassionate, tender, and even emotional side of Jesus in response

to a very sad and tragic event, the untimely death of a very close personal friend, and the anguish

of that friend's family. And so this is kind of a long read, but I got to read verses 1 through 44, so you see

the whole story here. This will be a story that is familiar, no doubt, to many of you. Jesus is going to

raise Lazarus from the dead, and I'll read starting at verse 1 down through verse 44. It says, now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.

It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped his feet with her hair whose brother Lazarus was sick.

Therefore the sisters sent to him saying, Lord, behold, he whom you love,

is sick. And when Jesus heard that, he said, this sickness is not into death, but for the glory of God,

that the son of God may be glorified through it. Now, Jesus loved Martha and her sister, Mary, and Lazarus. And so when he heard that he was sick,

he stayed two more days in the place where he was. Kind of an unusual thing we'll talk about in a

moment. And then after this, he said to his disciples, let us go to Judea again. The disciples said to him, Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone you, and you are going there again?

And Jesus answered, are there not 12 hours in the day?

If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble because he sees the light of this world.

But if one walks in the night, he stumbles because the light is not in him.

These things he said, and after that, he said to them,

our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go, that I may wake him up.

And then his disciples said, Lord, if he sleeps, he will get well.

However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that he was speaking about taking rest in sleep. And so then Jesus said to

them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there that you may

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