From John 11 (NIV) Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He
was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 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.” 17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been
in the tomb for four days. 20 When
Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed
at home. 21 “Lord,” Martha
said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give
you whatever you ask.” 23 Jesus
said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise
again in the resurrection at the last day.” 25 Jesus
said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The
one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and
whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe
that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
38 Jesus, once more deeply moved,
came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,”
said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for
he has been there four days.” 40 Then
Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you
will see the glory of God?” 41 So
they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I
knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people
standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said this, Jesus called in
a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and
feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
The miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead raises many questions for
us, but John does not answer most of them. This miracle is one of the seven
signs that he gives. When we hug someone or give a gift to them, it is a sign
that we care about them. It is a visible and tangible way of speaking the
message. And when we are standing in the graveyard of reality, sentimental
words about death or life after death can ring hollow. We want action. We want
a sign. We want some visible evidence that tells us the truth, and this miracle
is an action sign pointing us to the truth. The miracle of Lazarus is not a
resurrection to life eternal. It is the resuscitation of a body to life here
and now, but it also points to more. Resurrection and life are complimentary.
It is as if the abundant life here and now is the focus of the picture. The
resurrection to eternal life is the background. And both are necessary.
Belief is the way we read the sign and the way the message of the sign
becomes real to us. The body has been in the tomb four days, Martha says. Decay
has set in. There will be a terrible odor. Death is talked about in all its
graphic and real details. Faith faces the obvious logic that death is the end
of flowers, animals, and humans. And in the face of that reality, belief
affirms confidence in Jesus Christ. So this confidence in Jesus Christ is a
defiant faith. It holds on to the truth of Jesus Christ in the face of the
reality of death. It is a defiant faith, but it is not a groundless faith. One
of two things is always happening with us. Either there is slow erosion of our
faith or an on-going nurturing of our faith. Faith is a confidence in Jesus
Christ.
From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope March 24, 1996
© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell (Broyles)
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