A Funeral to Remember
John 11:25 – 26
Introduction:
I am sure we have all attended funerals with a degree of regularity. I know I have in the 16 years that I have been a pastor of Grace Gospel Church. In fact, the pastoral team have not only attended funerals but they have also officiated many memorial services and funeral services as well interments. Why? It is because people eventually die. Some die of diseases, others die of old age and age-related complications, and others because of accidents. Thus, because death is unavoidable, funerals are also unavoidable.
Maybe you have personally suffered loss of a loved one – a parent, a spouse, or even a child, and you've felt so much grief and anguish. In their attempt to comfort you, your friends come to the wake and when they greet you, the first words that they blurt out is the word “condolences.” The word “condolences” is a French word which simply means “an expression of sympathy, especially on the occasion of a death.” When you first heard the word, you probably felt comforted, but as the days of the wake drag on and you continue to hear the words uttered, the words may become somewhat senseless or meaningless to you, becoming nothing more than a word we mechanically say when we encounter death.
But what would happen if a friend came to your loved one's wake and then he uttered these words to you, “Your spouse will live again” or “Your child will live again”, what do you think will go through your mind at that very moment? Will you think that this friend is so insensitive and callous? Do you think that your friend is giving you false hopes? Do you think that he's just saying it just to make you feel better or does he really mean it?
In John 11, we find the story of two sisters who were grieving the loss of their brother. As was the custom of their day, people would say words of comfort to the two sisters who were mourning. However, instead of saying the words, “condolences”, the people would normally say something like “your brother will rise again.” The Jews of Jesus' time had been grounded in the teaching and doctrine of the future resurrection of the dead and they expressed their sympathy by giving words of assurances to the sisters that their brother would rise again. However, did the words really sink in to the hearts and minds of the two sisters? Probably in the course of their mourning, they had heard the supposedly reassuring words but it had become nothing more than a cliché oft repeated, having lost its significance for the two sisters.
So, when Jesus came at last, some four days having passed after the death of Lazarus, the sisters, Martha and Mary both sought Jesus and they blurted out the same words of mild rebuke to him, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died”, an acknowledgment that Jesus could have prevented Lazarus' death if only he had been there on time. However, it is to Martha that Jesus makes an important revelation about himself after Jesus had said the same words of comfort to her, “your brother will rise again.” Martha's response was typical for Jews who were in mourning; probably out of courtesy for the person giving comfort, Martha replied that she believed that her brother would rise again in the future. Whether or not she actually believed that it would happen is another question, for she may have been simply responding in the same way she responded to those who sympathized during the wake.
Jesus however did not stop with simply saying these words of comfort, but he proceeded to tell Martha that what he was saying was the truth. He then made one of his “I AM” statements, a powerful claim regarding himself. In the past weeks, we've learned that Jesus is the Bread of Life, the Light of the World, and the Door. This morning, we will examine Jesus' claim as being “the resurrection and the life”. What was Jesus saying when he made this claim? What are the implications of such a claim for us today? Before I proceed to answer these questions, let's set the background or the context.
Context:
At the start of John 11, we find Lazarus of Bethany, a close friend of Jesus, very ill. Most likely his illness was a cause of great concern to his two sisters, Martha and Mary, such that they requested for Jesus to come immediately in order to heal their brother. However, Jesus does not respond immediately to their request but chose to tarry for two more days. As he tarried, he told his disciples and probably to the bearer of the bad news that the illness Lazarus was experiencing would not lead to death. Instead, his illness would bring glory to God and to Him. Two days have passed and Jesus now decided to go to Judea, to Bethany, to visit Lazarus. In verse 11, Jesus told his disciples that Lazarus had fallen asleep and that he was going to awaken him. The disciples did not comprehend what Jesus meant and thought that Lazarus would recover from his sickness. You see, back then, if someone who was seriously ill fell asleep, it was a hopeful sign that they would soon recover, for they understood that if someone fell asleep, then they would surely wake up at some point later. Jesus had to make it plain to the disciples that Lazarus was already dead, but he had chosen not to go to Lazarus while he was still alive and fighting for his life, in order that they (the disciples) would believe. Jesus gives no indication to the disciples as to what would happen and this caused more misunderstanding, which is why Thomas made a rather strange response, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
Upon arriving in Bethany, Jesus and his disciples discovered that Lazarus had already been dead and laid in a tomb for four days already. Now, what is the significance of the number of days here? According to a Bible scholar, the Rabbis or religious teachers of Jesus' time believed that the human spirit stayed close to the physical body for three days. Once a person has been dead for four days, then he is truly dead, and there is no chance whatsoever that the person would live again or that his spirit would return and give life again to the body. Jesus timed his “delay” such that there would be no doubt whatsoever in every one's mind that Lazarus was truly dead.
When Martha heard that Jesus had arrived, we see her rushing to meet Him. This is very characteristic of Martha who is a woman of action, as compared to Mary who is a woman of contemplation. Upon meeting Jesus, she makes the statement, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died”, A mild rebuke to Jesus. In a way, no one can truly find fault in Martha for saying such a statement, for it was most likely made in a time of anguish. Sometimes, when people are going through a period of mourning and sorrow, some of the things that they say are made without really carefully thinking through what they're saying. Yet, we find that Martha has faith in Jesus, for she said that whatever the Lord Jesus would ask from God, God would surely answer (v. 22). To this, Jesus answered that Lazarus would surely rise again. It was the same words Martha had heard over and over again during the wake. She thought that the Lord was just offering her some words of sympathy. What she didn't realize was that Jesus was serious when he made the statement. He then reveals himself as being the resurrection and the life.
When Jesus made this powerful claim of being the resurrection and the life, what was he talking about? Simply put, Jesus was saying that the very power to raise people from the dead was in him. The resurrection was not just wishful thinking, something people sincerely hoped for but were uncertain as to whether or not it would happen; instead, the resurrection is a reality because the very power, the very embodiment of the resurrection was in the person of Jesus Christ. With that resurrection comes life, a life of immortality, a life that knows no bounds. This power becomes real for the believer when he believes in Jesus Christ. True, death will still happen, but then it has lost its stinging power, for what Jesus promised was not just resurrection in the future, but he also promised eternal life as a present reality.
Browsing through the New Testament, we find Jesus affirmed by the apostle Paul as being the “firstborn from the dead” (Colossians 1:18), the very first to rise from the dead, no more to die. His very own resurrection affirms the declaration that he made; by his own example, he proved to everyone that he is truly the resurrection and the life and that all who believe in him would experience the same power in his life.
As we read on the rest of Chapter 11, we find that Jesus demonstrates his power to give life back to the dead when he raised Lazarus from the dead, defying the notion that a man who has been dead for four days is forever lost and can never return to life. This led many to put their trust in Jesus as well as solidify the desire of the religious authority to get rid of Jesus once and for all. Although what Lazarus experienced was not a complete resurrection since he would one day die, still, the fact that Jesus raised him from the grave proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus is the very embodiment of the power of God. To make this truth clearer, think of Jesus as being like the power plant that creates or generates electricity. This is different from the distribution company like MERALCO that simply buys the power and sells to final users like household and industry. Jesus is not just a conduit of God's power, the power resides in him.
We know that Jesus was the embodiment of resurrection power and that he demonstrated this upon the dead body of Lazarus and then later on upon himself in a perfect fashion. What then are the implications of his claim to being the resurrection and the life? There are three key points we need to consider here. All three points begin with the word victory, because that is what the resurrection has brought forth for us.
(1) Victory Over Death
When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead and when he himself rose from the dead no more to die, Jesus defied the power of death over the entire human race. You see, humanity is under the curse of sin. I'm sure we are familiar with the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis 2 and 3. The first couple had been warned by God that they were not to eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for at that very moment when they eat of that fruit they would surely die. Adam and Eve were warned and yet, when Satan tempted them, they immediately fell for the lie. This brought about their death, though not immediately.
The death that both Adam and Eve and their descendants experienced was two-pronged in nature. The first idea behind the word death is, of course, physical death. Whether we like it or not, we are all bound to die physically. We may be able to prolong our life by healthy living and medicine but it doesn't mean that we can defy and win over physical death. Sooner or later, we will all have to go through it. Moses, in Psalm 90:10, wrote that the average span of life of a human being is around 70 to 80 years of age, while in verse 3, Moses wrote about humanity returning to the dust. Physical death is a reality we all must face and go through. There can be no avoidance of it, unless Jesus returns quickly.
However, the death that Adam and Eve experienced at the very moment when they disobeyed God was not physical. Both of them lived well to nine centuries before they physically died. The immediate death they experienced was instead the severing of their once intimate relationship with God. Before the fall, the relationship was similar to that of a father with his children, but after the fall, the relationship soured and humanity became enemies with God.
Through the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus, what happened was that the power of death was broken. It had no hold on the Lord Jesus when he emerged from the tomb. Furthermore, the resurrection of Jesus was not temporary. He rose again no more to die! The promise that Jesus made that all who believe in him will not die and that all who have died but have faith in him would live again is true in light of what Jesus himself did when he came out of the tomb. We now have victory over physical death. We are assured that this thing called death is temporary for those who believe in Jesus and have died will be raised from the dead when Jesus comes again.
Not only will we experience physical resurrection but we also have “resurrection” in our relationship with God. All who believe in Jesus are no longer enemies of God but we have become his children, his precious possession. We are restored to God the Father through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is the first victory that we have through the resurrection of Christ – the victory over death.
(2) Victory Over Sin
The second victory that we have as a result of the resurrection is our victory over sin. According to Paul in Romans 6, the death Jesus died was not just a physical death but it was also a death to sin. We know that Jesus was sinless but he went to the cross, bearing our sins. Thus, when he died, sin was buried with him. When Jesus rose from the grave, the sins he bore on our behalf has already been buried and it no longer has a strangling hold over us.
Thus Paul encouraged the believers in Rome and us today to reckon ourselves as dead to our sins. It is because sin has already been disarmed of its power. Sin no longer has a hold over us; we have the power to resist temptation as well as to run away from it. Jesus' resurrection assures us that we who believe have new life; our old self is already dead. We just need to constantly remind ourselves over and over again that we are already dead with regards to sin and are alive in Christ Jesus.
There may be some here who are trapped in the snares of habitual sins and we think that we can't break the grasp of sin upon our lives; well, the good news is that Jesus' death and resurrection enables us to break away from the grasp of sin, to say no to sin and yes instead to righteousness. This power is available for all who believe in Jesus Christ and who are willing to appropriate it in their lives. So, when you sense that Satan is up to no good in your life, just remind yourself that you are already dead to your sins and you are now alive in Christ, which means you live now to please God and no longer to indulge and stay trapped to sin.
(3) Victory Over The Second Death
Finally, the resurrection of Jesus assures all who believe in him that they will surely not face the second death, a death that is permanent in nature, a death that entails eternal suffering and eternal separation from God.
In Revelation 20, the apostle recorded that death and Hades were thrown into the Lake of Fire, which is also known as the second death. Furthermore, anyone whose name was not on the Lamb's book of life was thrown into the lake of fire were eternal torment awaits him. Believers however need not worry about the Second Death. In Revelation 20:6 we read, “Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.” Who will share in the first resurrection? All who have repented of their sins and have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. They will be exempted from the penalty of the second death, and instead, they will be rewarded by being part of God's kingdom, as co-rulers.
Isn't it great to know that our eternity is already safe, that no punishment awaits all who follow Jesus? This is the victory that we have in Christ in the future – escape from eternal punishment as well as reward of reigning with Christ.
Conclusion:
Max Lucado, in his book entitled Six Hours, One Friday, related a story about a missionary who worked in the remote jungles of Brazil among a tribe of people who lived by a river. A contagious disease was spreading among the people and they needed medical attention very badly. Now, there was a hospital that was located just a few miles across the river; however, none of the natives wanted to cross the river because they thought the river was inhabited by evil spirits and thought that if they entered the water would mean certain death. To prove that nothing would happen to the people, the missionary decided to demonstrate by sticking his hand into the water. The natives were not impressed. He then walked until he was waist deep in the water and splashed some water on his face. The natives were still not impressed. Finally, he dove into the water, swam until he reached the other side of the river and then he punched a triumphant fist in the air. The natives cheered for the missionary had bravely entered the water and escaped, then they, for the very first time, proceeded to cross the river. The missionary showed the Indians that the river was not something they need to fear. The Lord Jesus did just that. He has entered the river of death and triumphantly emerged on the other side alive.
Jesus is the resurrection and the life. His resurrection ensures that we have victory over physical death as well as spiritual death; it also ensures that we can have victory over our sins; finally, it ensures that we will have victory over the second death. Because of these victories that Christ has won for us, we need not be fearful of anything. We need not be fearful of death, we need not be fearful of Satan, our enemy, and we need not fear about our eternal destiny. May the truth of Jesus being the resurrection and the life bring us victory in our walk with God everyday!
