John 11:1-45
“The Resurrection is a Person”
By: Ken Sauer, Pastor of East Ridge United Methodist Church, Chattanooga, TN www.eastridgeumc.org
Our nation is at war and young Americans have been and are being killed nearly every day.
There are gangs and gunfights in our communities.
A police officer was killed just last week.
Children are buying, selling and using illegal drugs—which will invariably rob them of their childhoods, and possibly ruin their entire lives.
There are many, many human beings who are living on the streets, without homes or family or friends…
…quite a number of these people suffer from some kind of mental illness.
Within our own families, our own congregation there is illness, mourning and death.
Often, we try not to notice…
…but sometimes we can’t help but notice…
…when the tragedy is as big as the New York skyline or as close as the passing of a loved one.
And then there is that awkward “I don’t know what to say” feeling that often causes us to send flowers instead of placing a phone call or stopping by to visit.
But, as awkward as it is, our Gospel Lesson for this morning forces us to take notice—as we are taken to yet another funeral.
Lazarus was dead and entombed.
Mary and Martha—sisters of Lazarus—were devastated.
Their family circle was broken and they were broken as well.
Their dearly beloved friend—Jesus—Whom they knew and loved so much was far away from them and didn’t appear to be in a big hurry to come to their rescue.
The whole town of Bethany seems to have been in mourning as Jesus is finally seen coming down the road…
…a little too late to do any good.
Everything seems so mournful and sad.
We are sure that Jesus often came this way and stopped at the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus for relaxation and genuine friendship.
They were some of His closest friends.
Had all that now ended with Lazarus’ death?
It seemed like it.
But we know that there is more to this story and that this Scripture is called “Jesus Raises Lazarus From the Dead”…
…because it has to do with Jesus going to the tomb and calling Lazarus to come out.
The stone is removed and, sure enough, Lazarus comes out “his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.”
And now there is rejoicing instead of weeping!
Look what Jesus has done in the face of death itself!!!
Jesus certainly is “the Resurrection and the life!!!”
That’s right!
Resurrection isn’t just a doctrine.
It isn’t just a future fact.
It’s a Person.
That Person is Jesus Christ.
And in order to be Resurrected we are called to trust and hope in Jesus just as Jesus challenged Martha to do.
Now Jesus didn’t come right away when He was told about Lazarus’ illness.
Why was this?
Why did Jesus allow all this sorrow to take place?
Why, why?
Could it be that Jesus wanted to show us that God is somehow bigger than the worst tragedy that can happen in human life?
Could it be that Jesus’ thinking was, “let it happen and we’ll see what God can do?”
Do we have faith as big as that?
Can we wrap our faith around our own human tragedies and believe that God can do something with them and through them?
We are told in verse 33 that when Jesus saw Mary weeping, “he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled…”
In verse 35 we are told: “Jesus wept.”
And in verse 38 we are told, as Jesus came to the tomb He was “once more deeply moved.”
Could it be that one of the reasons that Jesus waited so long to come to Bethany is because as the Son of Man…Jesus had to experience human sorrow…
…He had to be able to empathize with the pain we struggle with when something horrible happens in our lives.
How much more proof do we need to understand that our Lord is one with us?
Throughout the Gospels we can feel that Christ’s glorious message of hope is not spoken by someone on the outside looking in….but by One Who was Himself touched by what life brings upon the rest of us.
The world around us is suffering…
…it’s crying…
…grieving…
…it’s falling apart in emotional turmoil…
…the pain is everywhere we look…
…so we look to the Word of God—into the Gospel of John—and ask: “Lord, where can I turn when I’m hurting…?”
I think that if we look deeper into this passage we will find the answer bound up in the character of Christ—Companionship, Comfort, Compassion, Resurrection—New Life!!!
Now because the concept of someone who is the Son of God has been elevated to such a lofty state, we might often forget that Jesus was also called the Son of Man.
And He liked that name.
He used it a lot.
Jesus is the Son of God…but on earth He was also the Son of Man.
And He was a likeable person.
Jesus was a person that other people liked being around.
More than just the life of the party…
…More than just the Lawyer or Medical Doctor within a circle of friends who is bombarded with calls for free advice…
….Jesus wasn’t just the guy people wanted to be around—He was the guy people wanted around.
The friendships Jesus made kindled hot in the hearts of those who loved Him…
…Because He first loved them---and better than they could ever love Him back!
If someone offered Jesus bread—He fed 5,000 persons to their fill.
If someone called on Him He made them whole.
If someone trusted in Him—He gave them new life!!!
And He is still doing the same thing today!!!
Built into the character of Jesus Christ is unconditional companionship.
Jesus is faithful to His friends in the face of danger—even to death on a Cross!!!
And if we are His disciples, then we are Jesus’ friends!!!
What a friend we have.
And the New Testament reassures us over and over again that Jesus Christ is the exact representation of God…
…the perfect resemblance, in human form, of the very character of God!
Therefore, these tears we read about in this morning’s Gospel Lesson are a revelation!
They give us a look into the mind and nature of God.
In Christ’s tears, we are able to get some inkling of the wonder of God’s compassion….
….of the depth and certainty of God’s sympathy with those of us who are needy…
…desperate…
…hurting and heartbroken.
When Jesus saw His friends weeping…
…when He saw the pain in their hearts…
…Jesus was “deeply moved in spirit and troubled…
…Jesus wept.”
God burst into tears!!!
Through this passage we are able to see what God is really like, and how God feels when we are weeping!!!
Are any of us weeping this morning?
Perhaps a son or a daughter is in trouble.
Maybe we have gotten to the end of our rope and are wondering if there is any meaning in this existence.
Maybe we feel that we are all alone in our sorrow.
We are not.
When did you last say, “If only…”?
“If only I had worked harder in high school I might have a better job…”
“If only I hadn’t lived such a reckless and sinful life my life wouldn’t be such a mess right now.”
“If only I knew then what I know now.”
“If only…”
Whatever it is, most of us know the sickening sense of wanting to turn the clock back.
That’s why when movies are made, like Back to the Future—they are box office hits!!!
“If only the past had been a little different.”
Martha has an “If only…” for Jesus.
She knows that if Jesus had been there He would have cured Lazarus.
But Jesus’ reply to Martha invites her to a different sort of thought, a different sort of “If only.”
Instead of dwelling on the past and dreaming about what might have been, Jesus invites Martha to look into the future.
Jesus is challenging Martha to trade in her “If only…” for an “If Jesus…”
“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. [Whoever] believes in me will live, even though [they] die; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.”
“If only you believe this you will see that Jesus is Resurrection in Person, Life come to Life…
…you can know that Jesus will meet your problems with some new and good part of God’s future that can and will burst into your present time, into the mess of grief, with Good News, with hope, and with new possibilities that are greater than you could ever imagine!!!”
Do we believe this?
Dear friends, Jesus understands us.
He understands the things that are hurting us—even now, at this very moment—and these things bring tears to His eyes.
John 11:35 may be just two words long, but I believe it’s one of the biggest verses in the Bible…
…because it shows us the heart of God.
Just as Jesus gazed upon Martha as she was deeply hurt, and wept with her…
…today, Jesus is gazing into our hearts and crying over our hurts, our burdens, our sorrow.
Jesus says: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Let us open the graves of our lives and let Jesus work in us.
Let’s ask Jesus to bring life from death.
Let’s get up out of our problems and walk into the Light and keep living for Jesus no matter what!!!
Let’s share our hurts with Jesus today.
Let’s open our hearts to Jesus and experience the healing power of His love.
May God comfort us and give us true peace.
And may we be Resurrected, in Christ, with Christ and through Christ—to completely NEW LIFE!!!
And may we share that New Life with others!!!
Amen.
