Welcome to Day 2154 of Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom The Gospel of John – 22 – Back From Beyond – Daily Wisdom Putnam Church Message – 07/03/2022 The Gospel of John – Part 3 Authentication Of The Word – Back From Beyond   Today we continue our series, the Good News according to John the Apostle. Last week, we saw Jesus as the good shepherd and the living door. Today, our scripture is John 11:1-46, starting on page 1668 in the pew Bible. As with last week, since it is a more extended passage, I will read it as we go through the message, so follow along. We will see in today’s passage that Jesus performs the greatest and most spectacular miracle of his ministry. He raised his friend Lazarus from the dead after he had been dead for four days. This miracle is undoubtedly the final catalyst that leads to His crucifixion.   Death is an inescapable fact of life.   Death is ruthless;/ it frequently comes without warning and strikes without mercy./ Death is unrelenting; it cannot be cheated, bribed, outwitted, overcome, or eluded. /Death is indiscriminate; it takes young and old, poor and rich, sick and healthy, wicked and benevolent./Death is universal; all must ultimately succumb to its darkness.   Death is a harsh reality of life … but it was not always so, and it need not be the end. —11:1–2— Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.)    After His last encounter with the religious elite in Jerusalem, Jesus took refuge in the same wilderness that had protected John the Baptizer<-> from their murderous intent. The Lord ministered to John’s disciples there for an unknown length of time (though not more than three months) before traveling to Perea or perhaps Galilee (11:7). We know that Jesus was more than a day’s walk from Bethany, the home of His friends Lazarus, Martha, and Mary, which as just two miles east of Jerusalem.   John’s editorial note about Mary’s anointing of Jesus demonstrates that he assumed his audience was familiar with the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke). John doesn’t tell this story until 12:1–8. (message in two weeks)   —11:3–6— 3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” 4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days,    Lazarus was not among the twelve disciples, but the Lord loved him. The man’s sisters sent a messenger to inform Jesus that His friend was near death with a serious illness. However, Jesus purposely delayed His departure, confidently declaring, “This sickness will not end in death.” Depending on how far away Jesus was from Bethany, it is very likely He knew what the disciples did not realize at the time: Lazarus was already dead when he received word. (Bulletin insert of map) Consider a possible order of events:   The...