DEATH MEETS LIFE!
Rev. Mark F. Bartels
Epistle Lesson;
Romans 8:11-19
Old Testament Lesson;
Ezekiel 37:1-14
Sermon Text;
John 11:45-53
Henry and Harriet had been married for 43 years. Harriet was in the kitchen, working on supper, and Henry was sitting in the chair in the living room, reading the newspaper. All of a sudden, Harriet saw Henry grabbing his chest. Harriet ran into the living room and asked, "Henry are you ok?"
Henry answered, "You better call the ambulance."
Harriet looked into Henry’s eyes, grabbed his hands, and together with Henry, she uttered a little prayer, "Jesus, help us."
The ambulance came, taking them to the hospital, where Henry was hooked up to all kinds of monitors. Harriet sat and watched as the line of his heartbeat heart went up and down, and up and down on that monitor. She knew this was very serious and so again, she whispered into Henry’s ear a little prayer, "Jesus, help us."
Then, all of a sudden, that line on the heart monitor went flat. That was the end. Once again, Harriet uttered a little prayer, "Jesus, help me."
That prayer has been uttered many, many, many times by many, many, many people, even here at Holy Cross. Did you know that here at Holy Cross we average about 20 funerals a year? That means that in the 13 years I have been here, we have had almost 300 funerals. That means over 300 of you have been affected by this very type of situation. That means during the course of the rest of this year, for the next nine months, approximately 15 of the families who sit here today, will in the very near future be affected by the very event that I am talking about. Death will come. And that urgent plea to Jesus will go up from His People, "Jesus, help us."
Does Jesus hear the cry of His People? As we look at today’s scripture reading, where Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, I want us all to see that two thousand years ago, before those words were ever uttered on Harriet’s lips, "Jesus, help us", two thousand years ago, Jesus heard those words. And, two thousand years ago, Jesus determined in His heart to help, not only Harriet, but also everyone who cries to Him, in that moment, when a family member is on their deathbed.
"Jesus,
Jesus help us!"
Let us look in our scripture reading for today, at what Jesus did. In our scripture reading, there were two sisters named Mary and Martha, who had a brother named Lazarus. Their families were no different than our families, today. They dearly, dearly loved their brother. Their brother, Lazarus, was very, very ill and apparently dying. And, as any believer in Jesus should do, Mary and Martha called for Jesus. They sent for Jesus. They prayed to Him. They said, "Jesus, help us."
However, Jesus delayed in coming. In fact, He did not come to Bethany, where they lived, for several days. He told His disciples, "This illness will not end in death. It will end in God’s glory, so that the Son of Man may be glorified."
Jesus was pointing forward to something that was going to happen. As a result of what happened to Lazarus, Jesus, Himself, was going to be glorified. He was not just speaking about Lazarus. He was speaking for all people, of all time.
After several days, Lazarus died. Jesus went to Bethany, and there met Mary and Martha. Mary and Martha were, as anybody who loses a loved one, grieving. They were sad. They were lonely. They were probably depressed. They were probably in shock. They probably had anger. All kinds of emotions were going through their hearts. They said to Jesus, "Jesus, if you had been here, our brother would not have died."
To which Jesus responded, "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." Now, Jesus was not just talking about Lazarus. He was speaking for all people, of all time.
The Bible tells us that Jesus was deeply moved. It says that, two times before our scripture reading, for today. He was deeply moved. It even tells us, in one of the shortest passages of scripture, "Jesus wept." Our dear Savior is deeply moved by death. Our Savior knows how much it hurts, when a loved one, who has been with us for many years, dies.
He knows the agony.
He knows the loneliness.
He knows the confusion.
He knows the isolation.
He knows the terrible feeling of separation.
Jesus knows all of that.
He was deeply moved and He wept. Our Savior Jesus, the holy Son of God, grieved at the death of this dear friend of His. He grieved for Mary and Martha. And, He grieved there, for all people, who lose a loved one in death.
Jesus, in His all-compassionate heart, determined that He was going to do something about, not only Lazarus, but He was going to do something for all of us who face the death of our loved ones, one day. And so, Jesus walked up to the tomb, and said they should roll away the stone.
One of the sisters said to Jesus, "No, Lord. He has been dead for four days and surely there is a bad odor."
Lazarus was already starting to decompose. And yet, Jesus had that stone rolled away. And there, the living Jesus looked into the face of the grave, into the face of death. Jesus called forth into that grave, and said, "Lazarus, come forth."
Now, Jesus had raised other people from the dead before, but they had only been dead for a very short time. Here was somebody who had been dead for four days. That man, who had a flat line on that heart monitor for four days, was starting to decompose. And yet, Jesus cried out, "Lazarus, come forth."
The grave had to listen to the voice of the almighty God, and Lazarus got up, out of the grave!
Oh how happy Mary and Martha must have been to receive, back from the dead, their loved one. But, how does that help you? How does that help you, when you have lost a loved one? How does that help you when your loved one is in the hospital, on their deathbed? How does that help us, when we cry out, "Help us, Jesus."
I want us all to remember that as Jesus called forth into that grave, "Lazarus, come forth", Jesus was there committing an action, that He knew, He knew would have a direct affect on you personally, when you lose a loved one in Him. Jesus knew that miracle, (which was, at that point, the greatest of the miracles He had performed) He knew that miracle would set into action a chain of events, an irreversible chain of events, that would ultimately help you eternally.
Now, we pick up in today’s scripture reading, with what happened immediately after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Immediately after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, a chain of events went into action. Do you know what the result of Jesus doing that greatest miracle was? The result was that the leaders of the Jewish people were so distraught that Jesus had performed such a great miracle, that they were convinced if they did not stop Him, soon all the people in the world would follow after Jesus. They were worried that if the people of the Jewish Nation followed after Jesus, they would set Him up as some kind of an earthly king. Then, the Romans would come and kill the Jewish people. And so, the Bible tells us, from that day on they determined, because of that great act of Jesus, to plot His death. Because Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, from that day on, a chain of events went into action that would actually lead to Jesus’ death.
Now, Caiaphas, who was the High Priest that year, said some very interesting words. As the Jewish people were trying to figure out what to do with Jesus, because He had raised Lazarus from the dead, Caiaphas said, "You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people, than the whole nation perish."
It is better for you that one man die for all the people, than the whole nation perish. Our scripture reading makes this very important editorial comment. It says that Caiaphas "did not say this on his own." That means even though Caiaphas was an unbeliever, God was speaking through Caiaphas. God, Himself, was saying, "It is better that one Man die, than all people perish."
There was going into action the chain of events that would bring Jesus to die, as our substitute, on the cross. That is where He finally answered that plea for all people, of all time, who in the face of death cry out, "Jesus, help us".
Now, let’s step back for a moment, and see why someday, all of us are going to die. What if I were to ask you to get out a piece of paper right now (and I just want you to do this in your mind, because you would never do this if you thought somebody could look at the paper in your lap and see what you were writing down), if I were to ask you, (in your mind), to get out a piece of paper and a pen, and on that piece of paper write down the sins in your life that you are aware of, sins that you have committed, (not hiding any of them), and write down every single one of them? We may get out that pen and that piece of paper and we would write down some very devastating things about ourselves. We may, for example, write down,
I have been disobedient to my parents, many, many times.
I have mocked my parents many, many times.
I have disliked my boss.
I have been disrespectful to my boss.
I have been disrespectful to those in authority.
I have broken the law of those in authority many times.
I have sped, breaking the speed limit many, many times.
Those are all sins. And, did you know that because of those sins, we will die? The Bible says,
"Death came on all men,
because all sin."
We could go on some more, making our list. We could, for example, say
I have also hurt and harmed people in many ways.
Maybe there are people here who could write down that I have physically abused people in my own family.
Maybe there are people here who could write down that I have actually had an abortion and taken the life of someone.
All of us could write down on that list that there are many times, when I could have helped someone in need, but I didn’t. I didn’t give them food, clothes, or what they needed.
Those are all sins. And, the Bible tells us,
"Death came on all men,
because all sinned."
That is why we die.
We could go on with that list and we could write down sins against the Sixth Commandment. We could write down things like,
I have not treated marriage the way I should.
I have not honored and loved my spouse the way I should.
Maybe you could write down on that sheet of paper that I have had an affair, or I am having an affair.
Maybe you could write down on that sheet of paper that I have looked at Internet pornography.
Maybe you could write down on that sheet of paper that I have had thoughts about someone I am not married to, that I should not have.
That is why we will die someday.
"Death came on all men,
because all sinned."
We could go on with the Seventh Commandment, not using property properly. We could all write down
God has blessed me with money, and yet I have used that money selfishly in many ways.
I have not used my money the way I should, to help all those who are in need.
I have not used my money to help my church and God’s Kingdom, the way I should.
Many times I have taken from what belongs to somebody else.
Maybe I have lied on my tax returns.
Maybe I have cheated someone in a sale.
Maybe I have gotten too much change back and never gave that money back the way I should.
Maybe I have shoplifted.
We could write down many sins against that commandment. That is why we will die someday.
"Death came on all men,
because all sin."
If you go on to the Eighth Commandment, "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor", we could write down many sins we have committed with our mouths.
Many times we have said something to someone (maybe someone we love dearly) that desperately hurt his or her feelings.
Maybe we love to gossip about somebody else, or slander, lie, or betray somebody else.
Or, maybe we love to listen slander about somebody else.
That is why we will die someday. The soul that sins, it shall die.
"Death came on all men,
because all sin."
If you go on to the Ninth and Tenth Commandments, "You shall not covet", all of us could write down,
I have not been satisfied with the things God has given me in life.
There are many times I have wanted things that I have no right to have.
And, I have tried to get them in improper ways. We could write down a long list of how we have tried to do that.
That is why we will die someday.
"Death came on all men,
because all sin."
We could write down sins against the first three commandments, our relationship with God.
He has not always been the most important thing in our lives.
We have not used His name, or stood up for His reputation, the way we should.
And, many times and in many ways we have said things and done things that have hurt and harmed God’s reputation.
We have surely have not held His Word in the honor as we should.
Many times we neglect the Word of God.
All of those are sins. The Bible says,
"Death came on all men,
because all sin."
That is the cold, hard reality that all of us need to understand. That is why death comes.
But, God, Jesus our Savior, as He looked out over humanity and saw what we deserved, in His heart said, "It is better for you that one man die for the people, than that the whole nation perish."
This is where we come to Jesus with repentant hearts, and we bring our loved ones to Jesus, talking about our sin, and believing what scripture says about Jesus. The Bible says,
"The Lord has laid on Him,
the iniquity of us all."
There we see that Jesus, in His profound love for us, our dear Savior, Jesus, came to be my substitute. He came to be the substitute of my husband or wife, my father, my mother, my children, my brothers and sisters.
Jesus came to be our substitute!
And, the Lord has taken that list of sins that is lying on your lap, on your spouse’s lap, and on the laps of those you love dearly. And, by faith, we believe scripture. God has taken those sins and He has placed them on somebody else. He has placed them on His own, dear, Son.
"It is better for you that one man die for the people,
than that the whole nation perish."
And so, on Good Friday, when you are here at church and you look up at that cross, and in your mind’s eye you see Jesus nailed to that cross, the Bible tells us our sins were nailed to the cross, with Jesus. There Jesus took that list of sins that is in your lap and He took it as His own. It is nailed to Him. It is not your list, anymore. It does not belong to you, anymore. It is not your possession, anymore.
Your list of sins belongs to Jesus!
And there on the cross, our dear Savior Jesus suffered the wrath of God against all of the sins that we have committed. On Good Friday, when you see that black shroud of death cover our cross, (here at Holy Cross Lutheran Church), there you see that our Savior, Jesus Himself, went into death. He took the death that we deserve, that our loved ones deserve, because of our sins.
And, on Holy Saturday, when Jesus lay in the grave, there you see Jesus’ lifeless body, (a heart that does not beat, a mind that cannot think), taking what all of us deserve as our substitute for our sin.
And then, on Easter Sunday, when that black shroud comes down from our cross, and there hangs that empty cross, we see Jesus is not there anymore.
Your sins are not there anymore.
They are gone!
They have been buried in the grave with Christ.
They have been covered by the blood of Jesus.
They have been totally blotted out.
They do not exist anymore, in the mind and eyes of God.
They have been paid for, by the death of our Savior, Jesus.
And, when He burst forth out of the grave, there we see the answer to our cry for help, "Jesus, help us." Now that our Savior has defeated our sin, He has defeated and become the victor over our archenemy, Death. Now, it is true that what Jesus said to Mary and Martha, applies to every single one of us. "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." So, we as God people can say, when a loved one in Jesus dies, Jesus has heard my cry for help.
There is a great Lutheran theologian by the name of C. F. Walther, who once said this about the year that we die. He said, "It is a blessed year, when he who has a Savior dies. It is the year of his true birth. It is the year of his eternal salvation. It is the year of his marriage feast to the Lamb. It is the year of the LORD’s favor. It is the year of eternal jubilee. It is the year, when all of his sorrows sink into the absolute depths of silence. It is the year when he takes his harp from the willows of grief and encircles his brow with the everlasting flowers of spring and joins with the heavenly choir for ever and ever, the new song, to God and to the Lamb."
When a loved one in Jesus dies, oh how Jesus has helped us. He has taken that loved one to be with Him forever in Heaven, because of what He did on the cross for us. As surely as Jesus takes believers to be with Him in Heaven, so surely one day, our Lord Jesus who has utterly shattered the power of death, He will come back, with the same voice that He shouted into the grave of Lazarus, "Lazarus come forth."
Lazarus had been in there four days. And so, whether our loved ones have been in the grave for four days, or four years, or forty years, or four hundred years, or four thousand years, and that heart monitor has been flat lined all that time, at the voice of Jesus, "Come forth" those hearts will beat again. Those bodies will get up out of the grave again. And, we will be reunited with our loved ones in Christ, again, for eternity.
Oh, how Jesus has heard our cry, "Help us Jesus, in the hour of death!" What victory we have in Jesus!
And, so for the rest of our lives, our earthly lives, let us bring our loved ones to Jesus. There is no greater help than to bring them to Jesus, to show them Jesus. Bring your mother, your father, your children, and your neighbors. Bring them to Jesus, so that when their hour of death comes, they retain the victory. Let us, as long as we live on this earth determine to live for Jesus and look forward to the day when we will live with Him forever in Heaven!
Amen.
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