Mar 29, 2020  SERMON ARCHIVE

Grace to you and peace from God our Heavenly Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

The text for our meditation today is the Gospel Lesson for this 5th Sunday in Lent, John 11:1-45. There we read these words:

We will be emphasizing verses 25-26: "I am the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die."

This is the Word of the Lord.

In the middle of winter, even a well-managed cemetery is a terribly bleak place to visit. It isn’t designed to be this way: normally, trees and shrubs and flowers are carefully planted to give color and beauty to the resting place of loved ones, to a site of mourning and grief.

But winter comes with its cold winds and freezing temperatures, with snow and ice. Life retreats: green disappears, the lawns turn brown, leaves fall, and branches look like deadened sticks while the gravestones stand sentry and time goes on. For those weeks of winter, it is a place where all seems dead.

But it is not so. Though sometimes it seems like it will never happen, the sun will rise higher with warmth and light, and the cemetery will be more a like a garden again. Throughout the winter, those trees and shrubs and lawns are not dead forever; they are merely dormant, waiting for the sun to bring them back to life.

The Son of God arrived at Bethany late. His friend Lazarus had been ill for a while, but Jesus had delayed. Now Lazarus was dead, buried in the tomb for four long days. The number may have some serious significance: ancient rabbis are known to have taught that the soul of the dead hovered over their bodies for three days, then departed for good. Lazarus wasn’t just dead: he was gone. It would take more than the usual miracle (whatever that might be!) to bring him back now.

Lazarus had two sisters, Mary and Martha. Martha went out to meet Jesus; and she gave a curious confession of faith. She said, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died." She was absolutely right: she knew that Jesus had the power to heal, and that He could have saved Lazarus while he was still alive.

At the same time, though, it appeared that she saw Jesus’ power as weaker than death: she thought that while Jesus could heal people who still had life, He could not give life where there was none left. She did go on to say, "But even now I know that whatever You ask from God, God will give You;" but her words throughout this text indicate she had put limits on the "whatever." She didn’t believe that Jesus could bring Lazarus back to life.

Jesus told her otherwise. He said, "Your brother will rise again." Martha thought she knew what He meant, so she said, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day."

Here is an error to keep in mind, dear friends: the Last Day will raise nobody from the dead. The Last Day is simply the last day. It is Jesus who raises from the dead, because Jesus is the Conqueror of death. The dead will rise on the Last Day because He raises them then.

And if Jesus chooses to raise the dead on another day, He can do that too. His power is not chained to the Last Day: wherever He is, whenever He is, He is the Lord of life.

This is what He proclaimed to Martha: "I am the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?"

She responded, "Yes, Lord; I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world." She didn’t know what all that meant. But she trusted that Jesus was the Savior.

Jesus then went to the tomb, deeply moved and weeping. Behold your Savior, who empathizes with His people.

Even though He knew that He would raise Lazarus from the dead, He hurt with Mary and Martha because they hurt, and they were His beloved children—as are you. He arrived at the tomb and commanded that the stone be taken away. Martha objected, Lazarus was dead, and his body had become corrupted in the past four days. Why make that any more evident?

Please listen to Jesus’ answer: "Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?" The glory of God was about to be displayed at the tomb of Lazarus. And so Jesus prayed aloud that people might know that the Father was in on the miracle, too, that He had sent His Son to do His work and will. Having made that clear, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out."

And Lazarus came out of the tomb. Just like that. Because Jesus had spoken and had told him to. That was the glory of God on display: Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life. Where He is, life is, because He gives life; and He gives life by His Word. He spoke and told Lazarus to live, and Lazarus lived again.

Many of you mourn right now. In the past year, we’ve said goodbye to several of our brothers and sisters in Christ who were part of our family here; and that does not include your friends and loved ones whom you know, but who were not part of our fellowship in this place.

I pray that this text gives you comfort. Christ Jesus died and Christ is risen. He is the Conqueror of death. He is not the Resurrection and the Life only in the past, as if He retired from that after raising Lazarus from the dead. He is not the Resurrection and the Life only in the future, on the Last Day. He is the Resurrection and the Life now. Now, and forevermore.

Where Jesus is, life is. That’s what Jesus is about: and whenever He is present forgiving sins, He is also present giving life. By His forgiveness, He already declares that eternal life is yours, for He has done all to accomplish it by His death and resurrection.

At your baptism, Jesus declared, "Come out! Come out of the bondage of sin, for I make you My beloved child this day! Come out of the darkness of sin, for I am the Light of the world! Come out of death, for I am the Resurrection and the Life—and I make you alive forever by water and the Word."

Dear friends, your resurrection at the font was a far greater miracle than the one of Lazarus at the tomb: Jesus gave physical life back to Lazarus’ body, and that life would be lost again—Lazarus’ body would die again.

Jesus has given eternal life to you: you already have it. Yes, unless the Lord returns, your body will eventually die. But your soul will not: you are alive forever, and the Lord will raise your body up, too, on the Last Day.

Where Jesus is, life is. And whenever He is present forgiving sins, He is also present giving life. His Word gives life. He spoke to bring Lazarus back from death. He put His words in Ezekiel’s mouth, and those words made dry bones alive. This day, He speaks His forgiveness to you. These are not empty words: they give you life, renew that eternal life in you once again.

Where Jesus is, life is. And whenever He is present forgiving sins, He is also present giving life. It is likewise true at His Supper. He is present, for He gives you His very body and blood—and He gives it for the forgiveness of sins. He gives it to keep you alive—for where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation.

This is true for you. It is also true for those you mourn who died in the faith. Those who died in the faith are not dead, because the Lord is not the Lord of the dead but of the living. Their bodies may rest in the grave for now, but they live even now with Christ in heaven.

You have His promise: "I am the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die." It is true for the saints who have gone before us, and it is true for you.

Where Jesus is, life is. Do not despair, dear friends of God. Whatever sins you have clung to in the past, Jesus Christ died for them all; and He promises "everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die." This promise is for you. It is for all the penitent people of God who have died in the faith.

You know, in the springtime, a well-managed cemetery is a pretty place. The lawns turn green, the trees leaf and the flowers bloom as the sun restores life with light and warmth. It can be a lovely garden. But the renewed foliage is only a hint, only a shadow.

Martin Luther once said that, for the Christian, a cemetery is not the final resting place of the dead, a place of dry bones. It is a place of planted kernels, sown seeds. Those who died in the faith are alive with Christ even as they await the resurrection of their bodies; and on the Last Day, the Lord will bring forth those bodies in the ultimate restoration of life as He calls His people from the grave.

For Christ will return in glory; and where Jesus is, life is. That is your hope for you and for all who die in Christ. Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life, and He has given that life to you.

Christ is Risen.