I Am the Resurrection and the Life
John 11:1-50
What happens when death meets life? That is really loaded question because there are many ways that you could interpret it. In our world today, we could think of what happens to a person when he or she is faced with their own death. There can be a number of reactions. Often people are filled with fear. To may people, death is considered a venture into the unknown and that can be very scary. To others, a confrontation with death can be a time to be calmly thankful to God for the final blessing of this troubled life. To see death as the door to heaven puts a believer in frame of mind that confirms what we have always believed. When God wants to take me from this life, I am ready to go. All things are in His hands.
You could also think of my original question applying to those who are left here when a loved one dies. The survivors are faced with the reality of the death of a loved one and that can be a very sobering and disturbing meeting of death and life. It causes you to evaluate your own relationship with God. It forces you to perhaps think for the first time in your life about the reality of death.
My opening question can also apply to the situation that we find in the Gospel lesson for today. Death met life as Jesus summoned Lazarus from the grave. Death met life as Mary and Martha mourned for their departed brother and again when they rejoiced that Jesus had brought him back to life. Death also met life as Jesus spoke to Martha about her faith in Him as the Messiah. Death also met life a short time later as Jesus Himself died and rose again. As we consider these confrontations between death and life, may your faith be strengthened as you see the great victory that was won for you by Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God, who is the Resurrection and the Life.
The scene that is set for us by the Apostle John is one that might be uncomfortably familiar to many of you. Jesus received word from Mary and Martha, his dear friends from Bethany
Martha’s beautiful confession of faith that follows can serve as a model for all Christians as we confess with our mouths and our hearts the faith that sustains us though life and that saves us. “Yes, Lord,” she said, “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” It is that faith which makes the confrontation between death and life in your life a confident time for you. As Jesus then raised Lazarus from the dead, He displayed the power that gave new meaning to His words about being the resurrection and the life. As we look more closely at those words, may we see what they mean for us as we live now and look forward to living with our Lord forever in heaven.
Jesus began with the words, “I AM.” This may seem like the simple beginning of a sentence but they are very powerful when Jesus speaks them. They take us back to when God spoke to Moses from the burning bush. When Moses asked God how he should identify the one who sent him, God told him to tell the people that “I AM” had sent him. The Lord is the great “I AM.” Jesus, the Son of God, sent into the world to be the Savior is also “I AM.” He is not just sent by God, He is God. He is the resurrection and the life. Those two words do not indicate two separate ideas. They actually go hand in hand. Resurrection means undoing the power of death and giving its opposite, life. The life that Jesus gives is eternal life. That life that Jesus gives is for all who believe in Him as Lord and Savior. Even though we may face death now in this life here on earth, we shall live with Him eternally. Death has no power over us because Jesus conquered the power of death and the devil and paid the price required by God for our salvation. As our life here on earth comes to its end, we have our Lord’s promise that it will only usher us into the glory of heaven which is ours for all eternity. It is ours, not because we deserve it, not because we have earned it by our good works, not because of our background and heritage, but simply by God’s grace. It is ours by faith. As Jesus added, “Everyone who lives and believes in my shall never die.” Living and believing in Christ implies a complete trust in Jesus alone for the forgiveness of our sins and the blessings of eternal life. A complete trust also shows itself in a life of faith that is a response to the great gift of salvation that we have received. Living in Christ is evidence that you believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior.
As we look at this event in the life and ministry of Jesus, you also have to see the connection between what Jesus said to Martha and His own death and resurrection. What may not be so obvious at first is that this event had a direct connection to the plot by the Jews to have Jesus put away. It was the raising of Lazarus that prompted the leaders of the Jews to find a way to silence Jesus. He was gaining in popularity especially after the word travelled around that He had raised someone from the dead. The Gospel lesson ends with the statement that from that time on they plotted to take His life. It was His talk of resurrection that really stoked the fire in the hearts of the leaders of the Jews, many of whom did not believe in a resurrection.
It is important that you realize that the death and resurrection of Jesus are more than simply historical events. You have to look beyond the events and understand what they mean for you today. In the death and resurrection of Jesus, you see, first of all, God’s plan of salvation for all mankind being carried out. The death of Jesus shows us that God was serious when He made death the punishment for sin. Adam and Eve were told that if they disobeyed God and ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil that they would surely die. When they disobeyed, they began a process of ageing and death that has been a part of all mankind ever since. God made sure that His people of the Old Covenant understood this by instituting the system of animal sacrifices as a way of making atonement for sins. That all pointed ahead to the one great sacrifice that would be for the sins of all. Even though He never sinned, Jesus died because our sins were laid on His shoulders. He took our sin to the cross and He died a horrible death.
His resurrection though shows us that God the Father was satisfied with His Son’s sacrifice. It was the sufficient ransom for the sins of all. It showed that all that Jesus said was the truth. Most importantly for us is that because He lives, we shall live also. His claims that we shall never die, in other words that we shall win the victory over death, are true and sure. His resurrection guarantees our resurrection to life eternal.
The leaders of the Jews did not realize what they had before them. They were blind to the truth of the message of repentance and forgiveness that was taught by John the Baptist and then by Jesus Himself. Even after the High Priest, Caiaphas, made his prophetic statement before the Sanhedrin, they didn’t see what was happening and if they did, they ignored it because they were too concerned with their positions and their way of life. Caiaphas said that Jesus had to die because it was better for them that one man died for the people than that the whole nation perish. That is exactly what happened.
Do you realize and appreciate what you have before you in this Lenten season? Do you see Jesus as the one who died so that you would not have to perish? The evidence is there for you. His resurrection proves His power. It proves the truth of His word. It proves that the Father’s anger over sin has been appeased and it proves that we too shall rise to be with Him forever in heaven. May you be strengthened in your faith and trust in Jesus as the resurrection and the life. May you view the remaining days of the Lenten season with a renewed sense of appreciation for the great gift of salvation that is yours in Christ Jesus. May you say with Martha, “I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, who as come into the world to be my Savior, the Resurrection and the Life.” Amen.
Rev. Gerald Matzke
Zion Lutheran Church
Painesville, OH 44077
5th Sunday in Lent
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