Take Away the Stone

When I left off preaching to you this past Sunday, we saw that the Lord Jesus was groaning in His spirit. It says in verse 33 that when Jesus saw Mary weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in His spirit and was troubled. Even though He knew what He was going to do in raising Lazarus from the dead, He groaned and was troubled. As a Wise Master Teacher, He knew that it was in this very situation that He must show forth the Perfections of His human nature in such a way that Martha and Mary and everyone there that day, would behold His glory and they would learn from Him how to think about death. He knew that when He raised Lazarus from the dead it would also lead to some of the Jews placing their faith in Him for salvation.
And so, what I want to do in this message is to show you the truth which flows forth to us, here today, in Jesus' 3 words of Command which are found in this passage. The 1st Command is when Jesus says – Take away the stone. The 2nd is when He says – Lazarus come forth. And the 3rd is – Loose him and let him go. I want you to focus on the thought that the Lord Jesus wants you to see your own responsibility; to take away the stone which blocks your having faith in Him. If you will do this, then you will be able to look for the glory of God in all that He does, and all that He says that He will do for you, and for all believers.