April 10th, 2011 Sermon

The Fifth Sunday in Lent
April 10th, 2011

Text: John 11:17-27, 38-45
JESUS HAS POWER!
I. Power to raise the dead.
II. Power to give his life for all.

In the name of Jesus, the resurrection and the life, dear fellow redeemed children of God,
Years ago our Waldschmidt family reunion summertime picnic would end with a tug of war. It wasn’t a tug of war over the last brownie or last little glass bottle of soda at the bottom of the ice water filled tub even though I seem to remember some battling going on for those items. No, this was the tug of war event between the branches of the family. The most important person on the tug of war team would be the anchor. You would look for someone so big and so strong that they could not be moved. Our side of the family didn’t always win. But no matter which side of the family won or lost, the Lord blessed us with another kind of anchor in our lives. He has blessed you with that same powerful anchor- our Savior Jesus. We see His power in God’s Word today. Just like we sing in the children’s song, “we are weak but he is strong”, we put our trust in Him Jesus has power. I. Power to raise the dead. II. Power to give his life for all.
Have you ever been watching a movie or reading a book and all of a sudden something happens that makes it clear to you how it was going to end. English teachers call that foreshadowing. In God’s Word today, we see Jesus give his disciples and us a powerful hint about how the story of our salvation was going to end. Jesus is just about ready to go to the cross. Yes, Jesus would suffer and die, but there would be a twist in the story. Just as he had shown with the young man outside of Nain, or with Jairus’ daughter, Jesus shows that he is much more powerful than death. He gives us a foreshadowing of Easter. Jesus has power - power to raise the dead.
Jesus had received an urgent message from the town of Bethany. His friend Lazarus was sick. His sisters asked that Jesus come right away. Humanly speaking Bethany seemed like it would be a dangerous place for Jesus to be. The disciples pointed tried to point that out to Jesus when he said he “was going to wake Lazarus up.” They said that the chief priests had tried to stone him last time he was near Jerusalem. But Jesus’ love took Him there. As they left for Jerusalem, Thomas tells us how dangerous it really was for Jesus as he tells the other disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
Judging from the “four days” mentioned later it seems likely that Lazarus died just after the messengers left Bethany to take the urgent message to Jesus. Jesus’ love brought him to Bethany but His love and wisdom also led him to delay two days before he made the day’s journey to Bethany. There is an indictment and a comfort here for all who have wondered about God’s timing. Have we ever waited for the Lord to help us with something and foolishly said, “What is He doing? Why isn’t he helping me? What’s taking Him so long?” With our little brains and our limited sight we have questioned the ways of the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” How foolish! But the One who holds all of this power and knowledge in His hands loves us. When Jesus delays he has a blessing in mind, even though like with Mary and Martha, it might be hard to see those blessings. His timing is always just right.
That’s where we pick up the story in God’s Word, “On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.” It would seem ridiculous to take a dead body to the doctor 4 days after death. It would seem pretty obvious that it would be too late for medical treatment to help. But not for Jesus. Jesus has power- power over death.
“Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother.” Notice all the details. This wasn’t a “once upon a time” kind of thing. Jesus showing His care and power would be seen by many people. “When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.” This time it is Martha who hurries to sit at Jesus’ feet. “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” Martha hints at the power that Jesus has-power even over death. She pours out what’s in her heart. She was disappointed that the Lord was not there while Lazarus was still alive. But she also now humbly says that she knows that somehow someway Jesus was going to work it all out in the way He knew was best. Isn’t that something we can say to Jesus when we don’t understand something that happens in our lives. I don’t understand this Lord but I know you can work something good out of it. At times we pour out our disappointment to the Lord that this or that didn’t happen but then rest in Jesus’ love and power knowing that somehow someway he’ll work it all out. Jesus’ power was not just something off in the future. Jesus power over death was real then and there. “ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.”
We pick up the story at the cemetery where Jesus’ friend Lazarus had been buried four days earlier. “Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance.” The Bible describes Jesus as a “man of sorrows, familiar with suffering.” We see that there at the tomb as he mourns with the family. There is also sometimes a feeling of helplessness that we have around someone who has lost a loved one. We would like to help but we can’t. Jesus can! “Take away the stone,” he said.” Right away Martha objects thinking that Jesus’ grief and compassion have overcome his good sense. “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.” If you have smelled the odor of a dead animal, the odor of a body that has been dead for 4 days in a warm climate is far worse. It is a reminder that things have been messed up in God’s perfect world. It is a stark reminder of part of the foul smelling payment for sin- my sin, your sin.
“Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” Sometimes we forget that the Bible says that “Jesus is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.” So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father I thank you that you have heard me. 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.” When he had said this, Jesus called out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” My confirmation pastor, Pastor Janke had a very powerful voice. It seemed like he could sing as loud as the whole congregation could, all by himself. You always knew when he was in the room. But look at the power in Jesus’ voice! With a prayer and a few simple words, Jesus calls Lazarus back to life on this side of the door of death. Without lifting a finger, Jesus brings a man who has been dead for four days back to life. What power! The one who holds that power is the one who is on the receiving end of our prayers. No matter what enemies face us every day- sickness, financial problems, unbelieving co-workers who harass us- Jesus is with us,
That powerful voice belongs to the one who in great love let his voice go silent in death. Believers would see the glory of God even clearer in the days to come on Calvary and at the tomb. They would see that Jesus has power-power to lay down his life for all.
Jesus told Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” Jesus would make our living forever possible by laying down His life on the cross. Jesus’ miracle of raising Lazarus moved things in the direction of the cross. From that point on the Pharisees plotted in earnest to kill Jesus.
Unlike the Pharisees, by faith we see that Jesus’ raising of Lazarus was really more something really cool that Jesus could do. It reinforced for everyone again that Jesus was the one Martha had talked about earlier. Remember? Jesus asked her, “Do you believe this?” “Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”
Jesus’ miracle in the cemetery that day brought others to see that He had power- power to give up His life for us all “Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him.”
A number of folks have said that this winter sure has seemed long. Do you feel like your batteries are empty? God has something to pick you up. In the weeks we’ll see him in the upper Room, in Gethsemane, we’ll see him whipped and crowned with thorns in Pilate’s Palace, we’ll see his chest heaving in agony on Golgotha. See there your Savior’s love. As we see him helpless and dying let’s remember what happened in the cemetery outside of Bethany. Let’s remember His power. Our powerful Savior goes with us everyday. Amen.