John 11:1-45
There are two verses I want to focus on as we encounter Jesus in today’s Gospel lesson.
The first gives us the words of Martha after Jesus has ordered that the stone covering the entrance to her brother Lazarus’s tomb be removed. Martha says, “But, Lord, by this time there is a bad odor…” (John 11:39)
The second tells us the words of Jesus once the stone of Lazarus’ tomb is rolled away: “Lazarus, come out!” (John 11:43)
In that first verse, after four days in the tomb, the body of Lazarus stunk. His corpse was rotting. To this world, he was beyond helping, incommunicado, dead as the proverbial doornail.
In the second one, Jesus, the Word of God, the very Word God Who spoke to chaos back in Genesis in order to bring the life of the universe into being–this Jesus, God the Son–called out to Lazarus who had died to this world, “Lazarus, come out!” and Lazarus emerged from the tomb, alive and whole.
Friends, these two verses–”he stinks” and “Lazarus, come out”–speak God’s Law and God’s Gospel to us.
How had Lazarus died? We don’t know the specific circumstances of Lazarus’ illness and death.
But we do know that the cause of all human suffering and death is sin.
That doesn’t mean that Lazarus had committed sins and God punished Lazarus with death.
It does mean that God originally created us righteous, sinless, and filled with eternal life from God. But Adam and Eve, our first parents, rebelled against God’s good will for them and we have inherited the condition of sin, the condition of alienation from God and others, of alienation from the life God means for us to live.
As the Bible explains elsewhere, “...sin entered the world through one man [Adam], and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people…” (Romans 5:12) Lazarus, who we’re told Jesus loved…Lazarus, the brother of two sisters we’re told Jesus also loved, just like Jesus loves you and me…Lazarus died.
That’s what happens to human beings. We die to life in this world.
Believers and unbelievers.
Repentant and unrepentant.
The perfect Law of God commands perfect righteousness of us and none of us is perfectly righteous. And so we die. “The wages of sin is death…: (Romans 6:23)
What Jesus knows before He goes to Bethany is that from the perspective of this dying and fallen world, Lazarus was dead. But, speaking from the perspective of heaven, He tells the disciples, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.” (John 11:11)
This is exactly how the apostle Paul speaks of those who have died believing in Christ. In about 55 AD, he tells the Christians in Corinth of the more than 500 witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection, “most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.” (1 Corinthians 15:6)
You see, when the Word of God does its work in you, both in the Law that convicts you of your sin and in the Gospel that sets you free from sin and its death sentence, you already have died.
For most Christians, deaths happens at our baptisms. As Paul says elsewhere in the Bible: “...don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” (Romans 6:3-4)
Every time the Word of God comes to a person in Holy Baptism, a death and resurrection happen, new life occurs as the baptized is born again of water and the Spirit. (John 3:3)
Every time an unbaptized person beyond infancy or childhood encounters the Word of God that condemns their sin, drives them to repentance, and gives them faith in Jesus Christ, death and resurrection happen. This is what happened to the thief crucified alongside Christ and to the Ethiopian eunuch who heard the gospel of Jesus’ death and resurrection from the layperson Philip.
People may walk away from the covenant of their baptism. People who have made Spirit-prompted confessions of faith in Christ may abandon Christ. We have no free will when it comes to the Gospel. Our default position as descendants of Adam is to not turn to Christ.
The Word must come to us and come to us again and again so that Christ can daily free us from our natural sinful inclination to walk away from God.
That’s why we need to hear and be given the Gospel Word–in words and in the Sacraments–daily.
We need to be reminded that having died already, we need not die again.
We can simply fall asleep in the Lord, awaiting that day will call all those who have trusted in Him from our graves and call us to life in the new heaven and the new earth!
And so, Jesus knew, as He headed for Bethany, that Lazarus, although dead to the world, his body beginning to decompose, was asleep in the Lord.
Jesus’ Word would do what no human word, no human effort, no human decision, could do. Jesus was going to wake Lazarus and call His friend from the tomb! “Lazarus, come out!” (John 11:43)
Before doing that, Jesus tells Martha, who thinks of resurrection as something that will only happen on some distant someday, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.” “I am the resurrection right now,” Jesus is telling Martha. “I give life now. By the power of My saving Word.” Then, Jesus asks Martha, “Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26)
That question is for us as well. “Do we believe this death-conquering Gospel?”
Friends, I know that many of you are here this morning dealing with the harsh realities of this life.
You have family members who are sick.
You have your own illnesses.
Some of you may be facing tough stuff you wish would go away: decisions, relational discords, hopelessness.
You may feel like you’re bottled up in some tomb, a prisoner to temptation, sin, death, other people’s expectations, the judgment of God’s holy law.
Today, Jesus calls to you from whatever dark place you may feel yourself to be, alone, separated from God, dead, and He says, “Come out of your tomb! Live knowing your sins are forgiven. Live, knowing that I have taken all your sins onto myself so that the tomb cannot hold you any more than it held Me. Live by grace through faith in Me. Live with Me, now and forever.”
This is Christ’s saving Word to you today.
It’s a Word that spells the death of death for all who believe.
Folks, Jesus Christ has already died and risen for you.
He has already called you from death and to life.
That’s the Gospel Word for you.
And you can trust in that Word always.
Amen
The first gives us the words of Martha after Jesus has ordered that the stone covering the entrance to her brother Lazarus’s tomb be removed. Martha says, “But, Lord, by this time there is a bad odor…” (John 11:39)
The second tells us the words of Jesus once the stone of Lazarus’ tomb is rolled away: “Lazarus, come out!” (John 11:43)
In that first verse, after four days in the tomb, the body of Lazarus stunk. His corpse was rotting. To this world, he was beyond helping, incommunicado, dead as the proverbial doornail.
In the second one, Jesus, the Word of God, the very Word God Who spoke to chaos back in Genesis in order to bring the life of the universe into being–this Jesus, God the Son–called out to Lazarus who had died to this world, “Lazarus, come out!” and Lazarus emerged from the tomb, alive and whole.
Friends, these two verses–”he stinks” and “Lazarus, come out”–speak God’s Law and God’s Gospel to us.
How had Lazarus died? We don’t know the specific circumstances of Lazarus’ illness and death.
But we do know that the cause of all human suffering and death is sin.
That doesn’t mean that Lazarus had committed sins and God punished Lazarus with death.
It does mean that God originally created us righteous, sinless, and filled with eternal life from God. But Adam and Eve, our first parents, rebelled against God’s good will for them and we have inherited the condition of sin, the condition of alienation from God and others, of alienation from the life God means for us to live.
As the Bible explains elsewhere, “...sin entered the world through one man [Adam], and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people…” (Romans 5:12) Lazarus, who we’re told Jesus loved…Lazarus, the brother of two sisters we’re told Jesus also loved, just like Jesus loves you and me…Lazarus died.
That’s what happens to human beings. We die to life in this world.
Believers and unbelievers.
Repentant and unrepentant.
The perfect Law of God commands perfect righteousness of us and none of us is perfectly righteous. And so we die. “The wages of sin is death…: (Romans 6:23)
What Jesus knows before He goes to Bethany is that from the perspective of this dying and fallen world, Lazarus was dead. But, speaking from the perspective of heaven, He tells the disciples, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.” (John 11:11)
This is exactly how the apostle Paul speaks of those who have died believing in Christ. In about 55 AD, he tells the Christians in Corinth of the more than 500 witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection, “most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.” (1 Corinthians 15:6)
You see, when the Word of God does its work in you, both in the Law that convicts you of your sin and in the Gospel that sets you free from sin and its death sentence, you already have died.
For most Christians, deaths happens at our baptisms. As Paul says elsewhere in the Bible: “...don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” (Romans 6:3-4)
Every time the Word of God comes to a person in Holy Baptism, a death and resurrection happen, new life occurs as the baptized is born again of water and the Spirit. (John 3:3)
Every time an unbaptized person beyond infancy or childhood encounters the Word of God that condemns their sin, drives them to repentance, and gives them faith in Jesus Christ, death and resurrection happen. This is what happened to the thief crucified alongside Christ and to the Ethiopian eunuch who heard the gospel of Jesus’ death and resurrection from the layperson Philip.
People may walk away from the covenant of their baptism. People who have made Spirit-prompted confessions of faith in Christ may abandon Christ. We have no free will when it comes to the Gospel. Our default position as descendants of Adam is to not turn to Christ.
The Word must come to us and come to us again and again so that Christ can daily free us from our natural sinful inclination to walk away from God.
That’s why we need to hear and be given the Gospel Word–in words and in the Sacraments–daily.
We need to be reminded that having died already, we need not die again.
We can simply fall asleep in the Lord, awaiting that day will call all those who have trusted in Him from our graves and call us to life in the new heaven and the new earth!
And so, Jesus knew, as He headed for Bethany, that Lazarus, although dead to the world, his body beginning to decompose, was asleep in the Lord.
Jesus’ Word would do what no human word, no human effort, no human decision, could do. Jesus was going to wake Lazarus and call His friend from the tomb! “Lazarus, come out!” (John 11:43)
Before doing that, Jesus tells Martha, who thinks of resurrection as something that will only happen on some distant someday, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.” “I am the resurrection right now,” Jesus is telling Martha. “I give life now. By the power of My saving Word.” Then, Jesus asks Martha, “Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26)
That question is for us as well. “Do we believe this death-conquering Gospel?”
Friends, I know that many of you are here this morning dealing with the harsh realities of this life.
You have family members who are sick.
You have your own illnesses.
Some of you may be facing tough stuff you wish would go away: decisions, relational discords, hopelessness.
You may feel like you’re bottled up in some tomb, a prisoner to temptation, sin, death, other people’s expectations, the judgment of God’s holy law.
Today, Jesus calls to you from whatever dark place you may feel yourself to be, alone, separated from God, dead, and He says, “Come out of your tomb! Live knowing your sins are forgiven. Live, knowing that I have taken all your sins onto myself so that the tomb cannot hold you any more than it held Me. Live by grace through faith in Me. Live with Me, now and forever.”
This is Christ’s saving Word to you today.
It’s a Word that spells the death of death for all who believe.
Folks, Jesus Christ has already died and risen for you.
He has already called you from death and to life.
That’s the Gospel Word for you.
And you can trust in that Word always.
Amen
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