Friends Church Sermons

Winter gives way to spring and we find Jesus lingering in the wilderness areas on the eastern side of the Jordan River. Multitudes seem to be coming to hear him in this the same arena where John the Baptist taught for so long in preparation for Jesus coming. Jesus is in this wilderness when some men sent by his friends Mary and Martha come to beg his return to Judea. The raising of Lazarus is interesting because it is one of Jesus most well known miracles but is recorded only in the Gospel of John. John is so moved by this moment that we see a most detailed account of all the Jesus does from beginning to end. This is unusual for John except when seen from the perspective of kingdom conflict. John begins to set up our final journey to the cross by dealing with Life and Death in two kingdoms.