Watchtower Study, “Your brother will rise up”, Week of June 12-18, 2023, Practical Comments and Answers.

Watchtower Study, “Your brother will rise up”, June 12-18, 2023, Comments and Answers. 

“Jesus said to [Martha], 'Your brother will rise'” (JOHN 11:23).

1. How did a child express his faith in the resurrection?

Matthew, a 7-year-old boy who suffers from a serious illness and has undergone surgery many times after seeing a music video on Broadcasting showing his brother welcoming his loved ones in the resurrection, expressed his faith in his parents to this Hope by telling them: "Mom and Dad saw that if I die I am going to be resurrected, they can wait for me" everything will turn out well.

If this young man who has a serious illness when they were watching a JW broadcasting program with their parents saw a music video in which brothers appear receiving their loved ones in the resurrection when it finished, this young man approached his parents and took them by the hand and Dad and mom told them they saw that if I die I'm going to be resurrected they can wait for me everything will turn out well, with these moving words we certainly see clearly that for him the hope of the resurrection was very real.

Yes, it is a very beautiful music video that is very closely titled and was featured on the show in November 2016. 

2, 3. Why is it good for us to meditate on the hope of the resurrection?

The Bible teaches us that we must be prepared and meditate because we do not know what can happen unexpectedly. We could get sick or lose a loved one in death. Therefore, if we prepare ourselves by meditating on the hope of the resurrection, we will be able to endure these tests, even if they appear when we least expect it.

The biblical texts of Luke 12:7 and John 11:23 help us meditate on the fact that Jehovah knows us very well and loves us very much. Therefore, we must see death only as a deep sleep. Thinking that if we die, Jehovah will resurrect us so that we can enjoy the rest of his promises in paradise, which strengthens our faith and prepares us emotionally and spiritually to face trials as difficult as serious illnesses, and what can we say about this enemy that it does a lot of damage that is death.

It is good that we do this meditation because as the book of Ecclesiastes 9:11 says here, it says that unforeseen events happen to all of us, and we do not know how this event can fall on us, such as a family member getting sick that it is something unforeseen or the death of a loved one, so here we see the importance of having that hope because the Bible says, Jehovah says through his word that he is a loving father who is interested in us and well, he really takes this into account He says that he also knows us that for him, his power is to give us again if we are going to die, to give us life again through the resurrection because he loves us so much that he gives us the opportunity to live forever.

Yes, based on that same text of first Thessalonians 4:13 that mentions that the promise of the resurrection helps us not to be saddened like those who have no hope, meditating periodically not when we are already in a situation but before it helps us to see grieving in a different way helps us to stabilize in a way that people without this hope cannot.

WHY WE CAN TRUST THE PROMISE OF THE RESURRECTION

4. What must we be convinced of to trust a promise? Give an example.

We must be convinced that Jehovah has both the desire and the power to fulfill all his promises. Therefore, the promise of the resurrection is absolutely reliable. We can illustrate this with the example of a highly trained and well-equipped driver who offers to help a friend rebuild his house. The friend is confident that this promise will be fulfilled successfully because he knows the builder's reputation well. He knows his ability, his intense desire to help, and how well equipped he is. That is why he fully trusts in the fulfillment of his promise.

There are two factors involved, one of them is if you have the desire and second if you have the power or ability to carry it out, here is an example of when you suffer the loss of materials due to a great storm, if a good friend He promises us that he is going to help us rebuild said house and we know that he is sincere and that he has the power to help us because there would be no doubt that he would carry it out.

5, 6. Why can we be sure that Jehovah wants to raise the dead?

We are sure because there are Biblical texts that give us excellent reasons to be convinced. For example, Job 14:14, 15 shows Jehovah's desire to bring his dead servants back to life. Likewise, Isaiah 26:19 and Revelation 20:11-13 prophetically describe the fulfillment of the resurrection hope. 

Other reasons to be convinced are found in Acts 24:15, which shows Jehovah's desire to restore life to all those who have died without having the opportunity to learn from the Bible. And John 3:16 points out that thanks to the ransom, Jehovah will make possible the resurrection of the dead.

We are sure because Jehovah has the desire to raise the dead of course he does, because in Isaiah 26:19 he mentions that he inspired several writers of the Bible to mention the promise of the resurrection, Joseph 23:14 mentions when Jehovah promises something does.

It is also interesting that in Job 14:14 and 15 there he uses the word longing and a reference to a Watchtower says that this word of longing is an intense desire to see something intense to desire something, then it is seen how Jehovah has this intense desire to see people that we also want and long to see.

If Jehovah also has the desire or remembers the people who did not have the opportunity to learn from him, he remembers them that they will also be raised to be instructed.

Yes, and we know that Jehovah from the beginning, those of us who have studied the Bible, when he saw that humanity was condemned to death, made a wonderful arrangement of wanting to bring all human beings back to life so that we could enjoy the earth that he had created for all and that we could also adore him in unity and give him the glory he deserves.

7, 8. Why can we be sure that Jehovah has the power to raise the dead?

We are sure because Revelation 1:8 describes Jehovah as Almighty God. So he can defeat any enemy, even death, as 1 Corinthians 15:26 points out. Also, Jehovah is the creator of life, so he has the power to bring those who have died back to life. Knowing this strengthens and comforts us.

Someone who was very convinced that Jehovah has the power to raise the dead was Sister Emma Arnold. She and her family faced severe trials during World War II. To console her son for the death of several loved ones in the Nazi concentration camps. Emma told him that if death kept humanity bound in perpetuity, it would be stronger than God. But there was nothing and no one stronger than Jehovah because he is the creator of life, so he could bring the dead back to life. Surely that strengthened and comforted them both.

Another reason that convinces us is the infinite memory of Jehovah. The Bible says that he calls all the stars by his name. So he will also remember all the people who have died, even down to details such as their genetic code, their experiences and their memories.

Revelation 1:8 says that he is the almighty this gives us to understand this means that he can achieve everything or do everything because he has all the power the Bible in first Corinthians 15:26 says death is the enemy is an enemy, then as Jehovah can do everything he will defeat death as the last enemy.

And if we also know that he has an infinite memory capacity because according to Isaiah 40:26 he knows all the stars by name, he also remembers all the people who have died in detail, he says that even their genetic code can be remembered to make them when resurrect have the same eye color, the same hair color, the same gestures that he can make and the same memories and personality, then he has all the ability to bring people who have died back to life.

9. Why do you believe in the promise of the resurrection?

I believe in the promise of the resurrection because I know that Jehovah has both the desire to fulfill it and the power to do it, because he already demonstrated it in Biblical times by giving power to Jesus and some men to raise the dead.

For me the most compelling proof is that I have come to know Jehovah when we have a close relationship with him we can see what kind of person he is and so after Jehovah has cared all our lives for us and the way he He listens and answers our prayers. It seems unthinkable to me that if we died today he would forget, just like that, I am sure that Jehovah has the desire and misses the servants and their friends who have died, so that convinces me.

If we also analyze that Jehovah promises what he fulfills and this has been in the past, we also had examples of how he gave some men the power to resurrect and mainly his son Jesus Christ, we can imagine that he will achieve it in the future.

And this account of Lazarus is highly highlighted by the fact that not only the witnesses of his resurrection saw and created everything but the enemies of Jesus also believed that he performed that miracle to the point that they made plans to kill both Lazarus and Jesus. to destroy the evidence of this miracle. 

A GOOD FRIEND OF JESUS ​​DIES

10. What happens while Jesus is preaching two days from Bethany, and what does he decide to do? (John 11:1-3).

It happens that his friend Lazarus gets sick and his very worried sisters send a message to Jesus, who is two days away. But Lazarus dies more or less at the same time that Jesus receives the message, and although he knows that his friend has just died, he decides to stay where he is for two more days. When he arrives in Betania, Lazarus is already dead for four days, but Jesus' intention is to do something that benefits his friend and at the same time gives Glory to Jehovah.

Well, yes he was preaching and they sent him the message that Lazarus was sick and logically they also told him that he had later died, even so he stayed two more days in the place where he was to continue preaching, he did this with the intention of making something that would benefit his friends and give glory to God, since this was done with a purpose that he waited two more days.

11. What lesson about friendship can we learn from this story?

This story teaches us that we must be willing to help our friends and others in general. On top of that, we must take the initiative, be empathetic and compassionate. Therefore, in Jesus we have a good example to imitate to become that kind of friend.

Jesus detected a very close friendship in terms of Lazarus because he was nothing more his friend if he was not his dear friend and that was known by the close nucleus of Mary and Martha, when he was sick because Jesus surely must have been anguished because he was his dear friend he was sick, as if our dear friends know that he has news that is happening, but not only that, he said that he had an objective, what this death was, he could have left everything like many, perhaps we would go quickly, we do not have that power, but Jesus, there was for some reason he was taking so long but he wanted to be in their presence.

As Proverbs 17:17 says, Jesus knew this text in which he mentions that a true friend loves at all times and is a brother in times of anguish, Lazarus was already resting but his two sisters were left very hurt, it is then that he decides going to see them as a true friend of the family to help them and because he knew they were having a bad time, so that leads us to reflect, perhaps we know that in the congregation or close by there are brothers who are going through this but perhaps we do not consider them our friends and there we leave them in Stand Bye, but precisely when there is anguish how much it is appreciated that a hand reaches out and that comfort and that can be the beginning of a good friendship.

Yes brother, also the detail that Jesus Christ waited to go with them, as already mentioned he could have risen from a distance but it would have been very impersonal we know the detail how Jesus was moved by what he saw for them, at the end the paragraph says that what Jesus Christ was doing was going to benefit his friends and above all give glory to God, then he showed that he was someone who cared for them but also used that to praise our father, we can do the same when we comfort our brothers who are suffering we are not going to resurrect your loved one but we are going to give you the comfort of the scriptures.

Yes, it makes me think how many times we have when a death occurs we think he sent a message or sends a letter or I speak on the phone, but here we can see with the example of Jesus Christ many times being there helps the brothers a lot or sometimes we also think well I should go to the funeral speech because I didn't know the person very well, but the fact that we are in the presence also helps a lot for the person who is suffering that loss.

12. What did Jesus promise Martha, and why could she trust him to keep it? (John 11:23-26).

Jesus promises Martha that her brother will rise. That is, he will live again. He also strengthens her by saying: I am the resurrection and the life. Martha can trust that Jesus will keep this promise not only because of his own words to her, but also because Jesus had already raised a girl from the dead shortly after her death and a young man, apparently on the same day that died.

Jesus, to comfort her, lets Martha know that Lazarus will rise and she knew the hope of the resurrection, but what she did not know is what Jesus had the purpose of doing at that moment, as we have already seen, to give Glory to God and so that he also glorify his name, then it is when he tells her I am the resurrection and the life, he had the power to do it and as we have seen also the desire, that is why it is so important that Martha trusted that when she heard the words directly from Jesus and He did so, I am confident in that and the surprise that they brought when Jesus carried out the resurrection was something joyful for them and it is something unheard of even for us.

Because it is very probable that until that moment she had already found out about those other previous resurrections that Jesus had already done, he had resurrected a girl shortly after his death and a young man apparently on the same day, but she did not believe that on that moment was to resurrect his brother.

"LAZARO, GET OUT!"

13. According to John 11:32-35, how does Jesus react when he sees Mary and others crying? (See also drawing).

When Jesus saw her and the Jews who accompanied her crying, he was moved to the depths of his being, he felt anguished and tears came to his eyes, to the point that the Jews said: "Look how much he loved him" referring to Lazarus.

Seeing them hear crying, Jesus has been saddened for a long time and this whole situation brings tears to his eyes.

If, upon seeing the scene of her friends and the Jews who accompanied them, the record in John 11 says that she was moved to the depths of her being and felt anguished, and with those emotions her tears obviously flowed.

When we instinctively receive sad news, we touch our hearts, but Jesus Christ already knew that his friend Lazarus had died and yet he has his strong garment in his fist, right, and one of his Lazarus sisters is seen doubled over in pain because of what they are talking about with him and the scene looks very sad.

14. What does Jesus' reaction to Mary's tears teach us about Jehovah?

Since Jesus perfectly reflects the way his father felt and thought, the way he reacted teaches us that Jehovah is a God who feels tender compassion and is deeply moved when he sees our tears of pain.

It teaches us how Jehovah is a God who feels compassion for his friends, and knowing this makes us want to get closer to our loving God.

And we understand it that way because the Bible shows us that Jesus perfectly reflects his father's way of thinking and feeling, he is his spitting image, so if Jesus Christ was moved when he saw his friends suffer and cry, then Jehovah is also moved, then deeply when he sees each of his servants suffer.

I really like Psalm 56:8 that is quoted there, in part the psalmist says of Jehovah that he collects his tears in a wineskin and then he says perhaps they are not written down in your book, then that way of being of Jehovah is also seen in a different way. similar in how Jesus acted the way he felt when he saw his friends suffer in this case because of the pain of death Jehovah feels it too, it strikes me that he reaches the point of writing down in a book the tears of pain that we suffered , then how nice that Jehovah the God we serve is like this. 

ILLUSTRATION

In the drawing we can notice and appreciate the pain of the people, relatives and loved ones who were at that moment before the event of the death of Lazarus, and how Jesus is as affected as they were, that is why he shared from the first moment their pain, since he knew what they felt.

Jesus weeps along with Mary, Martha, and others who are also mourning. Jesus was deeply moved to see his friends crying. (See paragraphs 13 and 14).

15. According to John 11:41-44, what happens at the tomb of Lazarus? (See also drawing).

What happens in the grave has to be impressive. Jesus shouted: Lazarus, come out and Lazarus came out wrapped in bandages as was the custom at that time. This occurs after a prayer and plea to Jehovah, who by accepting this prayer shows that what Jesus was about to do was in accordance with his will. Lazarus was resurrected for the testimony of all those present and the joy of his relatives.

Yes, when Jesus arrives at the tomb, he asks for the stone to be removed but then his sister tells him that perhaps it must already smell bad because four days had already passed and he tells her I didn't tell you that if you believed you could see the glory of God And then for him to give glory to Jehovah he makes a prayer because he wants to give him all the credit and then he says then he yells Lazarus out and Lazarus comes out of the tomb then in the study note of John 11:17 he mentions that the Jews believed that after After three days of death, the person's soul came out, so four days had already passed here for all the Jews who were watching. I would like it to be unthinkable that he would resurrect a dead person, so in this way Jesus made it clear that Jehovah gave him the power to perform this miracle.

We can also note the testimony since Jesus Christ took charge, he knew very well that he had the power to perform that miracle on behalf of Jehovah but he said I am going to do it out loud so that you know what is expected in the future and that he is a God who has a lot of power who is almighty. 

16. How does the account in John chapter 11 help us to be more confident in the hope of the resurrection?

It helps us because it is demonstrated that Jesus, like Jehovah, wants and can fulfill the promise of the resurrection. Jesus said to Marta: I didn't tell you that you believed, you could see the Glory of God. So John chapter 11 gives us excellent reason to believe that Jehovah will fulfill his promise to raise the dead.

Faith plays a very important role in believing that Jehovah will fulfill his promise and thus we can see more realistic the hope that in the future we will see our loved ones who have fallen asleep in death.

Until then, many people who had been resurrected had died a short time and when we have hope in the Bible that the dead will rise from the graves, the example of Lazarus clearly shows us that the people who are going to rise again they will come out of the graves even when suddenly there are no physical traces of that person, this example that Jesus raised Lazarus from his grave gives us a strong conviction for the future that people regardless of where they have died Jehovah God through Jesus Christ he has the power to regenerate again to create a body as we had known it. 

ILLUSTRATION

And the Enlightenment can be seen, people could not believe they did not accept because four days have passed, they are in shock for four days and it is evident that the corpse was in decomposition, Marta imagined that she had to wait but no, it was at that moment because there Jesus Christ was there and he wanted to show that he loves us and can resurrect us.

Jesus tells Lazarus, who is wrapped in cloth, to come out of the tomb. Marta, Maria and others look on in amazement from outside the tomb. Jesus demonstrated that he can bring the dead back to life. (See paragraphs 15 and 16).

LET'S MAKE THE RESURRECTION MORE REAL TO US

17. What should we do when we read about the resurrections mentioned in the Bible?

We should meditate on how each of them demonstrates that Jehovah is willing and able to bring the dead back to life. In fact, we should make it our goal to thoroughly study each one of them. Especially that of Jesus and looking for lessons for us, since this is a solid foundation for our faith.

Well, we have to meditate on each case because they are in different circumstances, we have already analyzed that of Lazarus, so we can be analyzing the other cases that there are women children of men, look for lessons, think about how each example shows how God cared for each one of them and how he he wishes to bring back to life each one of the dead that are now. 

18. How can we take advantage of songs that speak of the resurrection? (See also note.)

We can take advantage of them to strengthen our faith in the resurrection hope and to make it become much more real to us. From there, it is good that we listen to them, sing them and talk about what their lyrics teach us in family worship. It is also good to memorize these songs and engrave their words in our hearts, so that when we go through a life-threatening trial or lose a loved one, Jehovah's spirit will help us remember them to give us comfort and strength. . 

And some of the songs that we can take advantage of are, for example: Song 139 with the title "You see yourself in the new world", Song 144 entitled: "Don't stop looking there", Song 141 "Jehovah will call them". And also: "They are very close", "The real life" and "You'll see."

We must think that these songs are designed to strengthen our faith about the hope of the resurrection, this is going to make it more real for us, that's why I really like to hear them sing about them because their lyrics always help us to record more in our heart this beautiful hope. 

19. How can we use our imagination when thinking about the resurrection? (See the box “What questions would you ask them?”).

Like the sister mentioned in the paragraph, we can use our imagination to think about what it will be like to meet the biblical characters, what questions we would ask her. We can also imagine the reunion with our loved ones who have died and think about what would be the first words we would say to them, how strong would be the hug we would give them and the enormous joy we would feel when we saw each other again.

Yes, well, the first example is Noah's wife and the question could be what is your name, what did they do to protect their children from the evil that surrounded us and this answer is in Genesis 6:5 and 13.

But someone I would like from ancient biblical characters, I would very much like to meet Abraham again and ask him what you felt when you saw Isaac being born, to see fulfilled the promise that Jehovah made you that he would give you a son at your age.

Yes, the question that I would ask Jonás is like being inside the stomach of a whale, if it could breathe, if it smelled bad, if it could fit, if the gastric juices could not disintegrate it, then perhaps it was an adventure that, since it had the details, would be worth it.

What questions would you ask them?

Imagine that you are talking to the resurrected in the new world and that you ask them the following questions:

To Noah's wife: What's your name? What did they do to protect their children from the evil that surrounded them? (Gen. 6:5, 13).

To Isaac: What was going through your mind as you went up the mountain with the firewood? (Gen. 22:6-8).

To Job: How do you feel now that you know what was happening in heaven while you were going through that trial? (Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7).

To John the Baptist: What was it like to hear the voice of Jehovah? (Matt. 3:13-17).

To the criminal who was executed next to Jesus: What else can you tell us about Jesus' last moments on the stake? (Luke 23:39-43).

20. What should we continue to do?

We must continue to strengthen our faith in the promise of the resurrection, if we do so we get closer and closer to Jehovah, who is this beautiful hope.

If I strengthen my hope, I will be closer to Jehovah, who already arranged that hope for each of us. 

WHAT WOULD YOU ANSWER?

Why can we trust the promise of the resurrection?

Because God is all-powerful and gives us reason to trust that he has the ability to bring about the resurrection. The resurrection of Lazarus is a sign that God has the power to overcome death and restore life, since if he could raise Lazarus, he can also raise others in the future.

We can trust the promise of resurrection due to God's will and power, as well as Biblical examples of past resurrections. In addition, the promise to eliminate the death of suffering gives us confidence that God will keep his word.

Because Jehovah has the desire to resurrect the dead, he inspired several writers to write precisely this promise, this hope that we all now have, but he also has the power to resurrect our loved ones who have died, he knows even the smallest detail. that they have their entire personality to bring them back to life so that's why we can trust this promise. 

What did we learn from the account of the raising of Lazarus?

From the account of the raising of Lazarus we learned several important lessons. First, we learn that Jesus has the power to bring the dead back to life, as he demonstrated by raising Lazarus after 4 days of being dead, and second, we learn that Jesus is deeply moved when he sees our tears of pain and wants to remove the death and the sadness it causes.

We learned that it was definitely something extraordinary, although Jesus had already carried out two other resurrections previously, the resurrection of Lazarus was singular because he had already been dead for four days and then the one who proved, in addition to the beliefs of the Jews that they had apart, that he could do it because he had the power that Jehovah had given him to accomplish this resurrection.

And no matter how long they have been asleep in death, Jehovah has them in mind and is going to raise them up. 

What can you do to make the hope of the resurrection more real to you?

To make the hope of the resurrection more real to us, we can do the following: We can read and meditate on the biblical accounts of resurrections and Look for lessons for ourselves, then study each of these accounts in depth and think about how each example It shows that God wants and can bring the dead back to life.

Also listen, sing and talk about the songs that speak of the resurrection in family worship, since we can memorize the songs and record their words in our hearts so that, in difficult moments, the spirit of Jehovah helps us to remember them and help us comfort strengthen.