Grace, mercy, and peace to you from
God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
We’re all under the
veil of Isaiah chapter 25. From the time
we’re conceived, until the time we die the shadow of death dogs us at every
step - waiting, watching, creeping. And sooner or later, until the time of
Christ’s glorious appearing, he’ll take us all as his victims.
Sin
and death go hand in hand. For God had
warned Adam concerning the fruit of the
Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, “Of the day you eat of it you shall surely
die.” He ate, did what God had forbidden
him to do. Adam trusted the lies of
Satan rather than the Word of God and so, by one man, our human nature has been
corrupted by sin, like a cancer that infects the body. We’re sinners and so we receive our just
wages – our bodies will wear out and death, it seems, will claim another
trophy. And when he attacks, his
unwelcome presence sends a wave of mourning and sadness all around.
Today
in our Gospel text we see death rear his ugly head, leaving behind in his wake
one dead man named Lazarus and his two mourning sisters, Mary and Martha. By the time Jesus had arrived it was too late,
death had already done his dirty work, Lazarus had been lying in his tomb for
four days. The scene is intimately
familiar, we’re Mary and Martha standing at the graveside of a loved one and
we’ll one day be Lazarus in the tomb.
But
at the grave of Lazarus we get a glimpse into the heart of Christ. “Then
Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb.” Jesus was sorrowful because He was coming face to face with the
consequence of man’s sin and rebellion. Because of sin, death came into this world and
it’s a scourge, a blight upon this earth, and no one is exempt. Jesus mourns because it wasn’t supposed to be
this way. Death was to have no place in
God’s perfect creation, but sin intervened, and sin can have only one
consequence. Jesus looks at His dear
friends, Mary and Martha, who have lost their brother, he looks at the tomb of
His friend Lazarus, and He mourns with a gut wrenching compassion that drives
our Lord to tears.
Jesus
is moved to weeping by the death of His saints, but His aren’t tears of
helplessness and despair because He’s about to do something about foe we call
death; take him head on, crush the serpent’s head, remove the veil. He preaches a sermon that calls out the
enemy; He announces to this foe that the grip he rightfully had on humanity because
of sin has come to an end. “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.”
Words
that bring comfort to Martha’s troubled soul, words that bring comfort to all
who mourn the death of those who’ve died in the faith. Jesus doesn’t weep in despair and neither do
we because this is why God became man – to lift the veil of Isaiah 25 that was
cast over us, to throw down the deadly foe, to yank out the teeth and de-claw
death so that he may bark and snarl, but for those in Christ, He can’t harm you.
Jesus turns Martha’s
hurt, anger, frustration, her mourning into hope and comfort. Resurrection and life are staring her right
in the face in the person of Jesus. Because
of Jesus’ death and resurrection, death is a temporary condition, transformed
into an extended nap. We go to bed at
night and wake up in the morning and so it is for the Christian.
Death has been
defeated by Jesus’ death and resurrection.
He gave Himself into death, who couldn’t resist to swallow Jesus whole;
but death choked on our Lord and spit Him back out and died himself. After three day’s rest in the tomb, Jesus
lays the knockout blow on our deathly enemy by rising from the dead. The stone-cold, dead body of Jesus, who was
crucified, died, and buried, lives! So
that at the last, on the Day of Our Lord, He will stand at your tomb, and every
Christian’s tomb, just as He did at the graveside of Lazarus, and will call you
by name, “Come out!” And like Lazarus,
hearts will begin to beat, lungs will fill with air, eyes will be open to see
their Lord’s smiling face, mouths will sing the Lord’s glory into the
ages. Oh, what joy that day will bring!
Because Jesus gave
Himself into death for you, the grave has been turned into a bedroom, where
we’ll be tucked into be for a time. Actually,
that’s what the word cemetery means. It comes from the Latin word, coemeterium, which means
dormitory or sleeping place. Even the
word we use for the place where we tuck in those who have fallen asleep
confesses that, because of Jesus’ victory over death and the grave, death is
nothing more than hibernation, from which Christ will awaken Him people – will
awaken you.
“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.” That’s what we mean when we confess in our creeds that we believe in
the “resurrection of dead and the life everlasting.” Eternal life isn’t one of a spiritual
existence, but a bodily eternal life.
The same bodies that that we have now are the ones that will be raised
to glory, never to suffer, hurt, or die again.
“I am the resurrection and
the life,” says the Lord. Death
has been undone, the curse that Adam brought into the world has been defeated
in the death and resurrection of Jesus. “I am the resurrection and
the life,” says the Lord. The
victory that Jesus won by His cross and resurrection He gives to you, you’ve
been made a part. “I am the resurrection and
the life,” says the Lord. In
Christ, the veil has been lifted, the shadow of death dispersed by the light of
Jesus.
“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,” Jesus promises and this promise is for
you. Jesus’ death and resurrection is
for you. Eternal life has been promised
to you, who are in Christ; and that promise has been sealed in His blood and
empty tomb. Amen.
The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts
and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
