Lazarus, rising from the dead.

This past Sunday's Lectionary offering from the Gospels found us in the 11th Chapter of the Gospel of John, and the story of the Resurrection of Lazarus.  This bit of Scripture is ripe for Preaching and any number of avenues can be approached.  I will touch on three of the points in the sermon.  

First, the waiting of four days before coming to Bethany to render aid to Mary, Martha, and of course Lazarus.  There was at the time of Jesus a common belief among the Hebrew people that the soul stayed near the body for three days, on the fourth day the body no longer recognized it's old vessel due to decay and the soul would then depart.  By waiting four days, Jesus underscored that fact that Lazarus was 'good and dead', he wasn't coming back and his soul 'had left the building'.  Just as there had never been anyone cured of blindness that had been born blind (from last week's Gospel offering), nobody could bring back someone whose corpse had begun to decay... no-one that is except for God the Father.  By raising Lazarus on the fourth day, Christ showed not only that He and the Father were one, but it highlighted the scope of God's ability and God's glory.

Second, that though Jesus waited to come to Lazarus' aid, that neither He nor God the Father caused Lazarus' illness and death.  God does not cause bad things to happen to anyone, what God can do (and very often will do if we are open and receptive), is bring good out of the darkness and show God's glory and love to His children.  God neither caused the blindness of the man in last week's story, nor did He cause the death of Lazarus, but both stories show an escalating display of God's ability, glory, grace, and His unfailing love for His creation.

Third, I used this story as an illustration of our life in prayer. Martha and Mary send word to Jesus that their brother was in need of His assistance.  This event is no different than when we raise petitions to God for His intercession in our or our loved one's lives.  I have heard it often said that when we pray we can get one of three answers, yes, no, or wait; but, the reality is there are only two answers, yes or no.  Within the 'yes' there can also be a stipulation of 'wait', and with the 'no' there can also be a requirement of 'wait'.  Perhaps our biggest failing as humans is our difficulty with the 'wait' component of either the yes or no.  I used my search for a pulpit and my calling here to Woodlawn Christian as an illustration for the 'no' but 'wait'.  Many times we pray for something without the knowledge that God is working behind the scenes with something much better in the wings.  If we can just put our impatient human nature to rest we can 'wait' and realize the fullness of what God wants and wishes for us on this journey to serve Him and His creation.

Beyond these three points, there is also the enormous message delivered by the Bible's shortest verse (John 11:35) "Jesus wept".  The shortest verse and potentially one of the most powerful messages in scripture.  I'm going to be a bit importunate and pertinacious and ask that you watch the sermon to get the full extent of the message of "Jesus wept".

Be a blessing to someone today!

In His love & glory,

Roy

John 11:1-45  New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

The Death of Lazarus

11 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. 3 So the sisters sent a message to Jesus,[a] “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” 4 But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” 5 Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, 6 after having heard that Lazarus[b] was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

7 Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” 8 The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?” 9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. 10 But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them.” 11 After saying this, he told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.” 12 The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.” 13 Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. 14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. 15 For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16 Thomas, who was called the Twin,[c] said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

Jesus the Resurrection and the Life

17 When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus[d] had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles[e] away, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.[f] Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah,[g] the Son of God, the one coming into the world.”

Jesus Weeps

28 When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” 29 And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 32 When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. 34 He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus began to weep. 36 So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

Jesus Raises Lazarus to Life

38 Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

The Plot to Kill Jesus

45 Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.