A Picture, A Preview and A Promise

A little boy was having a conversation with his mother. “Mom,” he said, “Why doesn’t the Bible tell us the names of the other three people Jesus raised from the dead with Lazarus?” The mom answered her son, “What are you talking about, honey? Lazarus was the only one in the grave when Jesus raised him from the dead. Where did you get the idea that there were three other people?” The little boy said, “Because mom, when Jesus called out to him he said, ‘Lazarus, come forth.’”

What a great story. What a powerful story. What a kind of long story. But what a great story nonetheless. What we have here is a picture, a preview and a promise.

This story is a picture of Jesus and we see him as he describes himself in his own words. He says, “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.

Lazarus was a dear friend of Jesus who falls ill. Jesus gets word and after two days makes his way to Bethany. Now this is no small matter. Remember this is in a day an age where there are no hospitals to take people to when they become sick. This would be a very dangerous situation for Lazarus. On top of that Jesus’ own life is in danger as the religious leaders are ready to have him stoned.

But he goes anyway. And while he is on his way, Lazarus dies. When Jesus arrives in Bethany he is greeted by Martha. Eventually her sister Mary comes. Jesus seeing their grief, and most likely feeling some of his own, responds by weeping. This is a tender moment and one where we see the humanity of Jesus in a big way.

Of course, the question that is on people’s minds is, “Couldn’t he have done something about this? I mean, he did heal a man born blind, this sickness that Lazarus suffered, well it was unnecessary that he wound up like this. If only Jesus would have showed up sooner.

But that is kind of the point here isn’t it? You see, Jesus isn’t just a person who can heal sick people. He isn’t just somebody who drives out demons and heals the lame and the blind. He is not merely a faith healer and miracle worker. He is somebody more. Much more. He is God in the flesh. Truly 100% a human being, but also truly 100% God and he is the resurrection and the life.

If he had healed Lazarus earlier, then it would not have been any different from any of the other healings and miracles he performed, and people would not see the demonstration of who he really is. But now when Jesus arrives at the tomb there is no doubt that Lazarus is dead. There are no tricks or sleight of hand here.

He orders the stone removed. And Lazarus’ sisters are a little apprehensive here. Remember people don’t just raise others from the dead, at least not after they have been dead for four days. But they remove the stone. Jesus offers up a prayer for the sake of those around him and then he calls to Lazarus. “Lazarus, come out.” And Lazarus comes out and they unbind him.

What a powerful picture we see here. Jesus is the resurrection and the life. He is able to call out and raise the dead back to life. If you weren’t amazed by the things that you saw before, well look out because this is certainly something special.

But we don’t just see a picture of Jesus as the resurrection and the life here. We also see a preview. We see a preview of what we will begin celebrating next week. We see a preview of what is know as Jesus’ passion. Here the word “passion” is a reference to the sufferings and crucifixion that Jesus endured.

Now calling it a celebration might seem a bit morbid. And indeed it would be if all we were talking about was the death of an innocent man. But what is actually happening here is so much more and so much bigger than that. We are talking about something that Jesus endured so that he, who is the resurrection and the life, would forever defeat the powers of sin, and death and the devil.

What we saw with his calling out of Lazarus was proof that he could bring people back from the grave. Proof that he is the resurrection. Proof that he is the life. But this is also a preview of what he himself will do as he willing gives up his life. Lays it down so that you and I and all the people of the world might have forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. He died himself and in so doing gave a death blow to death.

He rose victoriously from the grave. Thus death’s days are numbered. There will be a day when death will die, and then there will be no more death. This resurrection and life Jesus made available to the whole world so that whoever believes in him will not perish. So that whoever believes in him , even though they may die, will live. And whoever lives and believes in him will never die.

In the picture of Jesus calling out Lazarus from the tomb we see his power over death. We see a preview of him being victorious over death in the cross and empty tomb. We also see in this picture and preview a promise for you and for me.

This promise is that we will have life everlasting. We will have life in Jesus. We will have life lived in relationship with our God. Death does not get the final say. Death does not get the victory. That belongs to our Lord, and because we belong to him, therefore it belongs to us as well.

This promise is real and certain. You can count on it. You can be sure of it. Because it is not dependant upon you or anything that you can do. You have it because of and for the sake of Jesus. And when God does something, he always does it right. Right? Right!

Jesus is for you and me the resurrection and the life. Life. Real life. Life the way that it was meant to be lived. Life lived in relationship with our God. This is life before death and not just life after death. It is life where we see our God active in our lives and in our world.

So that as we come together to hear and to study his word, we know that he is present and that he is working through that to strengthen our faith and to enable us to grow in our relationship with him and understanding of who he is.

We see him at work in the waters of baptism. Where his word came together with the water. He washed away our sin and gave us his Spirit. Making us his own dearly loved sons and daughters. We are his. We belong to him. And he loves us more than we could ever understand.

We see him at work in bread and wine as we receive his body and blood. Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. As we eat and drink we receive forgiveness and life and salvation. For wherever there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation.

He gives us one another to live life together. To support and care for each other. As we love one another and live life together we reminding each other of God’s love for us. As our friends, neighbors, family members, co-workers and fellow students see the way that we live life together they see a witness to the difference that it makes when people live life in relationship with God.

It’s not that we are any better than anyone else. That is not the case at all. What we have is a gift from our God. He gets the credit for it. Not us. But what we have is life. And it is a wonderful gift.

Not only that, but our God enables us to join him in the work that he is doing in the world. He allows us to be a part of his mission of reconciling the world, the creation back to himself in Jesus. So that we share the love of God with the people that we come into contact with as we serve them or help them; as we listen to them; as we share our lives with them. It is really an awesome thing.

And if all of this were all there was that would certainly be enough. But there is also for us the promise of a new creation. When Jesus comes back there will be a new heaven and a new earth. We will live forever with our God in that new creation. We will live in new resurrected bodies that do not get old or sick or suffer from sin. There will be no death. It will be better than anything we could ever begin to imagine. And this is yours.

How do you know? Because in the story of Lazarus we see a picture, a preview and a promise. Because of the story that this story previews it is a picture and a promise for us of the life that our God so lovingly, generously, graciously and mercifully gives to us.

As we prepare to enter into Holy Week, don’t let it be a time that is just depressing. But let it be an opportunity to bask in the story and to know of the gift of life that our God gives to us. He was willing to go through great lengths for you, because he loves you so very much. May that love be something that you feel in a strong way during that week and always. Amen.