Hope at the cemetery
John 11:32-44 When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and troubled. 34He asked, “Where have you laid him?” They told him, “Lord, come and see.” 35Jesus wept.
36Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” 38Jesus was deeply moved again as he came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39“Take away the stone,” he said. Martha, the dead man's sister, told him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, because it has been four days.” 40Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” 41So they took away the stone.
Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you heard me. 42I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” 43After he said this, he shouted with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44The man who had died came out with his feet and his hands bound with strips of linen and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus told them, “Loose him and let him go.”
He has swallowed up death forever! The Lord God will wipe away the tears from every face (Isaiah 25:8). Amen.
They were very good friends. Jesus liked to hang out with Lazarus and his two sisters, Mary and Martha. Since Jesus didn’t have a place of his own (Matthew 8:20), he liked to stay with friends. The home of Lazarus and his two sisters was in Bethany. It was a small suburb only two miles outside of Jerusalem. So, instead of spending money on a motel when he visited Jerusalem to preach and teach, Jesus liked to stay at the home of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. It was kind of alike a bed and breakfast … but better.
Lazarus and Mary liked to tease Martha about the time Jesus had gently scolded her the last time he visited them. Jesus taught them that since he was the one thing needful – more needed than food and drink.
Some time has passed. Jesus has not seen his friends for a while. The last time Jesus was in Jerusalem, his Jewish opponents became so irate with Jesus they attempted to stone him (John 10:22-39). So, Jesus left the area and went across the Jordan River to where John had been baptizing. Jesus stayed away from the city. The city and country people came out to him.
That’s when Jesus receives word that his good friend Lazarus was sick (John 11:3). But then Jesus does something odd. He stays put for two days. He finally told his disciples, “Let’s go back to Judea” (John 11:7). But his disciples are concerned that Jesus’ enemies haven’t gotten over their animosity. They are probably carrying a stone in their pocket just case Jesus shows up again (John 11:8).
Jesus has made up his mind. He’s going to Bethany. He tells them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to wake him up” (John 11:11). The disciples naturally conclude that if he’s fallen asleep than he’ll get better (John 11:12). They didn’t understand that Jesus was equating sleep with death. That’s because they thought of death as final. The Son of God views death as nothing more than sleep.
When Jesus gets to Bethany, Martha runs out to meet him on the road. She says, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:21). There is no anger in her voice. No bitterness. With a calm confidence born from faith, she states a fact. If Jesus would have come to visit his friend, he could have healed Lazarus from his illness.
Martha continues, “But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you” (John 11:22). Martha’s words again verbalize her faith. She doesn’t know exactly what Jesus has planned, but when the Son of God shows up at your house, you trust something miraculous and marvelous can happen.
Jesus gives her a glimpse of what is going to happen when he says, “Your brother will rise again” (John 11:23). Jesus is giving Martha a glimpse into the grave. Martha again verbalizes her faith in Jesus, “I know that he will rise in the resurrection on the Last Day” (John 11:24). She is rightly thinking of the resurrection of the dead from all cemeteries on the Last Day.
Jesus is talking about the resurrection of the dead from the Bethany cemetery on that day! Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me will live, even if he dies. And whoever lives and believes in me will never perish” (John 11:25-26).
Mary then comes to Jesus. She says the same thing as her sister, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:32). There is still no blame in her tone. But there is more hurt. She had really hoped that Jesus would come in time to heal his good friend. When Jesus sees her weeping, he starts weeping, too (John 11:35).
The Son of God is not some stoic divinity without emotions. He is both a God of compassion and a human with emotions. There is no tougher or stronger Man than Jesus … and yet he cries in the cemetery of his dear friend, Lazarus. Jesus sees the effects that sin and death have brought upon his beloved creation. He feels the effects of sorrow on these two sisters at the loss of their brother. He feels the effects of sadness at the death of his good friend.
Mary and Martha take Jesus to the tomb in the Bethany cemetery. The tomb is a cave with a stone rolled in front of it. Jesus declares, “Take away the stone.” Martha objects, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, because it has been four days.” Jesus replies, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone (John 11:39-41).
After Jesus offers a prayer to his heavenly Father, he shouts in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out” (John 11:43)! Lazarus has no choice. The dead man comes out.
The crowd is amazed. They’ve seen Jesus heal lots of people. They’ve heard two stories about a little girl and a young man that Jesus raised from the dead. But this is pretty miraculous! Marvelous! The sisters run to hug their once-dead, but now very-alive brother. Their tears of sadness have turned to tears of joy.
Jesus waits his turn. Then he hugs his good friend. Now it’s Jesus’ turn to tease Lazarus. He reminds him, “You’ve been dead for four days. You stink! You need a bath!” Their tears of sorrow have turned to tears of laughter. There is hope in the Bethany cemetery.
All of us face death. It can be the death of a child, or a spouse, or a parent, or a friend. We will eventually all have to face our own death.
We can figure that since Jesus is our Friend, he should be able to heal us. Cure our kid’s cancer. Improve our dad’s dementia. Heal our spouse’s heart issues. Treat grandma’s stroke symptoms.
If Jesus comes here, our loved ones won’t get sick and die. Except when we try to pray Mary and Marth’s words, they are often spoken with hurt and anger, bitterness and blame.
Death exists in God’s once immortal human race as a punishment for human evil and rebellion. It is not nice or natural. What was once spoken as a curse on Adam and Eve; what has been spoken over countless cemetery committals; will also be stated as a matter of fact upon your
death. “For dust you are and dust you will return” (Genesis 3:19). Death is the clearest expression of God’s hatred over our sins.
We often try to blame God when someone dies. But it is death who is the enemy. Death takes our loved ones away from us and leaves us a hole. And whether it happens suddenly or slowly, to a grandparent, spouse, sibling or child, it really doesn’t matter, does it? The pain is great. The brokenness is absolute. The hurting is unbearable.
What God has joined together, death has torn asunder.
We’re not much help for those grieving. We leave them alone, so they grieve too long. Or we can force them to get over their grief too quickly. We say things like “I’m sorry” because we don’t know what else to say. Or “Call me if you need anything” knowing they won’t call. We bring over a casserole and hope that will be enough.
Only God stands tall and bright in the dark valley of death. God was there when death intruded upon his perfect creation. Immediately after the fall into sin – as funerals and cemeteries would soon be filling the world with prolonged sadness – God brought immediate hope with the promise of the Savior and Serpent-crusher (Genesis 3:15). In the Bethany cemetery, Jesus wipes away tears as he stands near the tomb of his dear friend, Lazarus, and speaks. And Jesus wipes away tears upon the hill of death as he tells the repentant thief, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).
Though we don’t understand God’s divine will for our lives, we trust that when he allows illness, suffering, and even death, it is for our eternal benefit. It’s according to his overall plan. It’s part of his divine will for his good friends. We don’t know exactly what God has planned, but when the Son of God shows up in our lives, we trust that something miraculous and marvelous can happen.
Jesus is our Friend. He’s a Friend who is a Man of Sorrows and familiar with our pain (Isaiah 53:3). The only reason he would put himself through pain, suffering, punishment, and death … is you. He endured all this to sin you a home in heaven. Now he allows you to undergo pain, suffering, persecution, and death so you can enjoy your home in heaven with him.
God promises that through Jesus, “He has swallowed up death forever! The Lord God will wipe away the tears from every face (Isaiah 25:8). He promises that you and your Christian loved ones are sinners now, but one day – through faith in your crucified and risen Savior – you will be made saints. You will be given a white robe to wear. A palm branch to hold. A golden crown for your head. One day you will sit on a throne in glory and judgment.
Jesus lets suffering, illness, persecution, and death happen. What kind of Friend is that?! The kind of Friend who loves us so much he promises an end to suffering, eternal healing of all our illnesses, justice for our persecution, and life after death. Only a Friend like Jesus turns death into a sleep – a sleep that he will awaken us from on the Last Day. That’s an awesome Friend!
A Friend who turns tears of sadness into tears of joy. Who can even turn sorrow into laughter.
A Friend who says to death on that Last Day, “Loose him. Loose her. Let them go.”
That is what gives us hope in the hospital, in the hospice home, in the funeral home, and at the cemetery. Amen.
On that day it will be said, “Look, here is our God! We waited for him, and he saved us! This is the Lord! We waited for him. Let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation!” (Isaiah 25:9). Amen.