What It Means To Have True Belief - Richard E. Simmons III

A couple of years ago, I noticed something in the Bible that I had never recognized, and in the book of John, whether you are aware of this or not, there are 21 chapters, and it dawned on me that the last 11 chapters, over 50 percent of the book of John, deals with really the last week of Jesus’ life. And then you have the Resurrection. I share that because in John chapter 11, we read of an incredible event that ultimately led to the crucifixion, which is what we reflect on Good Friday. 

What happened was that this event pushed the religious leaders to the edge. They finally realized, we have got to get rid of this guy. And the event that I am speaking of, which you may or may not be familiar with, is when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.

John 11:19 says, “There were many, there were many Jews present who had come to console Martha and Mary.” In other words, Jesus performed this incredible miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead in front of a crowd of people. He didn’t do it in a vacuum. Think about what, I mean, imagine if you were there! But there was a crowd, and, as word gets out in this Jewish community, just think of kind of the explosion that probably took place. And the talk that went around. 

But what you notice is that there were three basic ways that people responded to this incredible event, and I want to talk about those this morning with you a few minutes and look at these responses. Then I would ask you to look at your own life and ask, "How is this pertinent to me in my own response to this man Jesus?"