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The Greek word that is translated "groaned" expresses that Jesus was deeply moved, but not necessarily with sorrow. It was more a groan of anger at Satan who had caused all the grief Jesus was seeing around Him. Jesus came to "destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil" (Heb. 2:14), and He was grieved to see the pain that His enemy had inflicted on those He loved.
This is the type of groaning that the Holy Spirit does for us. It is not just the Holy Spirit sympathizing with us, but it is the Holy Spirit doing battle for us when we don't know how to pray. In this case, it was the Holy Spirit doing battle through Jesus against death and the doubt of those present, that would have kept Lazarus in the grave.
Everyone...
DO YOU FIND IT HARD TO PRAY OUT LOUD IN CHURCH OR AT YOUR BIBLE STUDY CLASS? I DO. I WILL PRAY FOR YOU AND WITH YOU FOR YOUR HEALING OR ANY OTHER THING YOU NEED PRAYER FOR BUT I DON'T LIKE TO PRAY OUT LOUD IN A LARGE GROUP. PRAYER, TO ME, IS PERSONAL BETWEEN ME AND GOD. I WENT SO FAR AS WHEN I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO BE CALLED ON TO PRAY, I WOULD MEMORIZE A PRAYER TO SAY. THAT WAS NOT PRAYING, THAT WAS SHOWING OFF TO THE PEOPLE TRYING TO MAKE THEM THINK I WAS RELIGIOUS. BOY, DID I HAVE TO ASK FORGIVENESS FOR THAT.
Some people have interpreted this as saying that it is possible to never die. Therefore, there are people today who are believing that they will live physically until the second coming of Jesus, even if that is thousands of years away. Although it is understandable how someone could interpret this verse in that manner, it is very doubtful that this is what Jesus truly meant.
First, a doctrine as profound as this would certainly be well documented in other scriptures. Other scriptures may sometimes be quoted as supporting this claim but they would not lead a person to this conclusion by themselves.
There would already have to be a prejudice in favor of this stand within a person to lead him to interpret these scriptures in this light. That is not a sound method of Bible...
FOR YOU NON BELIEVERS OUT THERE, I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT YOU ARE MISSING OUT ON THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT COULD EVER HAPPEN TO YOU. THIS NOT ONLY DEALS WITH YOUR FUTURE AND WHERE YOU WILL END UP IN ETERNITY BUT IT IS DEALING WITH YOUR EVERY DAY LIFE. EVERLASTING LIFE DOESN'T START WHEN WE LEAVE THIS EARTH. I WAS GOING TO SAY WHEN WE DIE BUT WE NEVER DIE. THESE OLD BODIES WILL PASS AWAY AND TURN BACK TO DUST BUT OUR SPIRITS WILL LIVE FOREVER EITHER IN HEAVEN OR HELL. HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT ABOUT HOW LONG ETERNITY IS. I ALWAYS LIKE THAT VERSE IN THE SONG "AMAZING GRACE" WHERE IT SAYS "WHEN WE'VE BEEN THERE TEN THOUSAND YEARS, BRIGHT SHINING AS THE SUN, WE'VE NO LESS DAYS TO SING GOD'S PRAISE THEN WHEN WE FIRST BEGUN." NO LESS DAYS AFTER SPENDING TEN THOUSAND YEARS....
Jesus spoke of Lazarus being asleep instead of dead because that is really a much better description. Death, to their carnal minds, would be final; whereas the word "sleep" would not. When the disciples misunderstood what He was saying, He clarified the situation by saying plainly, "Lazarus is dead."
This looks like a contrary statement to what Jesus was going to do (raise Lazarus from the dead) and indeed it would have been if He had left it at that. But He went on to say in verse 15, "I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe." This was referring to Lazarus being raised from the dead and it turned Jesus' statement of a negative fact into a positive confession of faith.
Many people have been confused over this very issue. Many times people will refuse to speak of or...
PATIENCE---The suffering of afflictions, pain, toil, calamity, provocation or other evil, with a calm, unruffled temper; endurance without murmuring or fretfulness.
I NEVER REALLY THOUGHT ABOUT JESUS AND PATIENCE TOGETHER. IT IS NOT THAT I THOUGHT HE HAD NO PATIENCE BECAUSE WHEN YOU THINK OF WHAT HE PUT UP WITH ON A DAILY BASIS WITH HIS DISCIPLES, YOU KNOW HE HAD TO HAVE PATIENCE. I AM TALKING ABOUT THE CROSS. THE AFFLICTIONS, PAIN, TOIL, CALAMITY, PROVOCATION, EVIL HE ENDURED FOR US WITHOUT MURMURING AND THEN HE ASK GOD TO FORGIVE THOSE PEOPLE WHO...
There are many scriptures where death is spoken of as sleep, however, the disciples thought Jesus was speaking of Lazarus simply resting. Jesus eventually clarifies their misunderstanding by using the word "death," but that was not His first choice. This is because God's perspective is different than ours. Death is final to natural man but not to God. There will be a resurrection.
In his second letter to the Corinthians Paul uses natural illustrations to explain the resurrection. He speaks of seeds that are buried in the ground and "die." Then they are resurrected as a plant. The plant and the seed bear no resemblance but they are actually the same. The plant is just in a resurrected state. Likewise, our physical bodies will die but they will be...
Jesus compares His decision to return to Judaea to a man traveling during the day. Daytime travel doesn't guarantee a hazard-free trip but the light does allow us to see the hazards. At nighttime, it's inevitable that we will stumble. Likewise, walking in the light of God's direction doesn't mean that there won't be problems, but the alternative of "doing our own thing" (that is walking in darkness) is guaranteed to get us into trouble.
Jesus was obeying the leading of His Father to return to Judaea. He could see exactly what was going to take place and He was going to walk in the light that His Father had given Him. Our decisions should not be based on whether or not we will be hurt in some way as a result of our...
