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Good morning. My name is Brian Lee, and my family and I are part of the Alameda Community Group.
The Lord's word for us this morning comes from the Gospel according to John, chapter 11, verses 17 to 53.
On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.
Now 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.
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
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.
Jesus said to her, your brother will rise again.
Martha answered, I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life.
The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.
And whoever lives by believing in me will never die.
Do you believe this?
Yes, Lord, she replied.
I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.
After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside.
The teacher is here, she said, and is asking for you.
When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him.
Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him.
When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house comforting her noticed how quickly she got up and went out,
they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
When Mary reached the place 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.
When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping,
he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.
Where have you laid him? he asked.
Come and see, Lord, they replied.
Jesus wept.
Then the Jews said, see how he loved him.
But some of them said, could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?
Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb.
It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance.
Take away the stone, he said.
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.
Then Jesus said,
did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?
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 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.
So from that day on, they plotted to take his life.
This is the gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.
Good morning, Christ Church.
Thank you so much, Brian.
If you're new with us, on November 14th, we commended Isaac, Brian, and Seung-yoon's son into the Lord's hands
as he passed from this world into the world to come.
And our hearts just broke that Sunday morning.
And I threw the sermon that I had prepared into the trash.
And we just stumbled our way through this text about the death of Jesus' friend.
And so we love you guys.
And it's not often you get to preach the same text twice in a year.
Fortunately, this one is a rich one.
And I hope I can bring something fresh and helpful to you today.
It's the first Sunday in Lent.
And those Ash Wednesday words, those sober words, ring especially true these days.
Remember that you're dust, and to the dust you shall return.
There's nothing like a once-in-a-hundred-year killer virus to remind us of our frailty,
where it's felt at times like nature itself is trying to destroy us.
And then there's nothing like, you know, national vitriol just spewing
and internationally rockets launching to make us conclude that if nature can't kill us,
then we certainly are capable of doing it ourselves.
And, you know, there's one place.
Sorry, this thing doesn't want to fit my ear this morning.
I don't know what happened to my ear.
But there's one place I know to go and find big-picture help in our dust-to-dust reality of our lives and of this world,
and that's the Bible.
But as we open the Bible, I remember a book that I opened a few years ago by a philosopher named Luke Ferry.
He's a professor of philosophy at the University of Paris,
and he served as the French minister of national education.
And he wrote this book called A Brief History of Thought, A Philosophical Guide to Living.
And this is what Luke Ferry says.
He says,
When I was a student in 1968, when religious questions were not the most fashionable,
we basically ignored, lumped together, and cheerfully channel-hopped our way through the great monotheistic religions.
It was possible to pass our exams and even become a philosophy professor by knowing next to nothing about Judaism, Islam, or Christianity.
As a result, for years, I knew more or less nothing about the intellectual history of Christianity beyond the cultural commonplaces.
And Ferry says,
This strikes me as absurd, and I would not wish you to repeat the mistake.
Even if one is not a believer, and all the more so if one is hostile to religion, we have no right to ignorance.
If only we oppose it, we must at least be familiar with religion and its various forms and understand what we are opposing.
There is not a museum of art or even of contemporary art which does not require a minimum of theological understanding if one is to fully understand its contents.
That's a striking quote to me because as we think about the universal aspirations of humankind,
the kind of stuff philosophers work on, the search for identity, the quest for meaning, the sense of guilt, longing for freedom,
the hunger for love, the instinct to worship, the dread of death, and the desire to survive,
I would argue that Jesus corresponds rather wonderfully and beautifully to these deep and universal human aspirations.
And so I agree with Luke Ferry that it's strange and rather shocking that Jesus would be so studiously ignored by philosophers
and by the educated elites of the Western world.
Think about it.
We have more evidence about Jesus than all the great figures of ancient history,
and part of that evidence is the Gospel of John and the story of Lazarus.
And when you think about all the great heroes of history,
how many of them have stood in a cemetery and with the power of a word raised a human being from death to life?
Now, if that happened and we have strong evidence and tough-minded reasons to believe that it did happen,
wouldn't we want to know more about this person, who they are, what they came to do,
what their philosophy of life is all about?
And shouldn't that have some bearing on our philosophy of life and our approach to how we're going to live it?
So what I want to say this morning from John 11 is that Jesus gives us tombstone truth,
graveside grace, and primal power.
I just want to walk us through each one of those.
Jesus gives us tombstone truth, graveside grace, and primal power.
First of all, Jesus gives us tombstone truth.
Look at verse 21.
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.
And Jesus said to her,
Your brother will rise again.
And Martha answered,
I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
These are orthodox doctrines of Scripture.
That God is all-powerful,
that nothing's impossible for him,
that he listens to the prayers of the righteous,
that at the end of history,
God will raise his covenant people to new life.
That's sturdy biblical theology that gives us hope in the hardest times.
And though it's true,
it's kind of cold comfort to grieving Martha.
And so Jesus gives an even deeper comfort to her
with what are perhaps some of his most famous words in verse 25.
He says,
I am the resurrection and the life.
Anyone who believes in me will live,
even though they die.
And whoever lives by believing in me will never die.
Do you believe this?
Jesus, when he says,
I am the resurrection,
he's claiming to be the Lord of our physical death.
If you're trusting in me,
he says,
even though you die,
you will live.
Now, you'll not escape the experience of death,
but you will survive it.
You'll live with God in a disembodied state temporarily.
And then as the scriptures teach,
when Jesus comes again on the last day,
you will be raised up.
You will be re-embodied with him and like him
with a new resurrection body like Jesus' body
that has unimaginable powers.
So though your body now is weak and fragile and mortal,
your new body will be immune from pain and disease and fatigue
and shame and age and death
because that body will be free finally of sin.
So Jesus says,
I am the resurrection.
You don't need to look to a future event.
You need to look to the present person with you now.
Now, the resurrection is not so much a distant hope
as it is God in the flesh talking to you.
Jesus is saying,
I've come to win a victory.
I've come to triumph and conquer over death.
And so it follows logically
that my beloved believers,
for them,
death will not be the last word.
You guys tracking with me?
I need like an amen or I need,
I can't keep preaching the sermon.
This is like not a monologue here.
Yes, you are going to share in the shock
and the scandal and the sadness of death,
but for you,
your final state will be the reversal
of the reality of physical dissolution.
So don't look to the future for your hope.
Look to me right now
for I am the resurrection
and I have come to bring people
from death to life.
The resurrection is not a doctrine.
The resurrection has a living face
and a name.
It's Jesus.
I'm the resurrection.
That's a claim to be the Lord
over physical death.
And when he says,
I am the life,
that is a claim to be the Lord
over spiritual death.
Jesus says in verse 26,
I'm the life
and whoever lives by believing in me
will never die.
Or as one translator says,
they will never ever die
an eternal death.
For all people are born
under the judgment of God
for our sins.
We arrive at life
already in a state of death,
alienated from God,
separated from the God of life
under his just condemnation.
But Jesus says,
when we experience him
who is life with a capital L,
we will come alive.
That as he taught Nicodemus,
we will be born again from above,
that the Holy Spirit
will come down
and bring the divine,
eternal life of God
into us.
That Jesus,
who is the life
by the Holy Spirit,
will bring us
into the fellowship of love
with his Father.
And if that's true of you,
if you're in this circle
of life and love
with God,
you can never die
a spiritual death.
Nothing can separate you
from the love of God.
If you have this real,
true,
deep experience
of life in Christ,
your moment of physical death
will not even be a blip.
This life will be so strong,
so full,
so rich,
so indestructible
that in comparison
with your physical death,
it will be trivial.
You will simply go
straight from living
with Christ in this world
to a more intensified form
of life
with him
in the world to come,
which the scriptures tell us
is better by far.
Jesus has been building up
to this
through the whole gospel.
And we heard him say
in John chapter 5,
verse 24,
he says,
very truly I tell you,
whoever hears my word
and believes him
who sent me
has eternal life,
not will have eternal life,
but has,
as a present,
authentic experience,
you have eternal life
now,
and you will not be judged
because you crossed over
from death
to life.
And Jesus goes on,
he says,
very truly I tell you,
a time is coming
and has now come
when the dead
will hear the voice
of the Son of God
and those who hear
will live.
We heard him say
a couple weeks ago
in John chapter 8,
very truly I tell you,
whoever obeys my word
will never see death.
And Jesus is going to go on
in his great
high priestly prayer
in John 17,
he's going to pray this.
He's going to say,
now this is eternal life
that they may know you,
the only true God
and Jesus Christ
whom you have sent.
Eternal life
is not a thing,
it's not an object
that you possess.
Eternal life
is a person,
it's a relationship,
it's an experience
that you enter into.
And Jesus,
I have to say,
he's pretty excited
about not only life
after death
but life before death
right now.
He's come
and he's come
to deal with
the problem
of life
and its meaninglessness
and he's also come
to deal with
the problem
of death
and its certainty.
And that's why
he says,
I am both
the resurrection
and the life.
Do you believe this?
Do you believe that?
That's the question
that he asked
and we're going to come
to Martha's answer
in a little bit.
But this is,
this is just good
tombstone truth
and you're going
to need it.
You're going
to need it
because you're all
going to stand
at a tombstone.
And so Jesus gives us
not only tombstone truth
but he also gives us
graveside grace.
He gives us
not just tombstone truth
but graveside grace.
I was with one
of my New Testament
professors last week,
Reggie Kidd
and we were talking
by the fire
drinking some strong
beverages
talking about
how much we love
the gospel of John
because in it
we get this
high divinity
of Jesus
but also this deep
humanity of Jesus.
Jesus is the word
of God
who made the world
but he also
has the longest
and deepest
conversations
and dialogues
with people
whom he radically
is transforming.
And John 11
is no different.
Here we see
Jesus' divine power
and his great
humanity.
Look with me
at the end
of the story
where Jesus says
in verse 43
called out
in a loud voice
Lazarus come out
and the dead
man came out.
Now that's a power
beyond human imagining.
We can put a man
on the moon
but can we
call the dead
out of a grave?
Of the greatest
achievements
of the 20th century
Jesus' achievement
in the first century
was even greater
I have to say.
We get
this amazing
description
of divine power
here
but alongside
it we get
this lovely
description
of humanity.
Jesus is close
with this family.
It says that
he had great
affection for them.
He loved Martha.
He loved Mary.
He loved Lazarus.
When they saw him
weeping over his friend
they said
see how
he loved him.
This was his
home base
his spiritual family
that he had adopted
when he'd come down
to Jerusalem
this is where
he would be
with this family.
And
alongside
of his divine
power
we see
a deep
sympathy
that Jesus
has with those
he calls
friends
especially when
they're going
through a family
tragedy
we see Jesus
weep
with those
who weep.
We get here
a picture
of the supernatural
power that
separates Jesus
from us
because we can't
do that
we can't stand
in a graveyard
and call people
to come out
but we also
get here
a picture
of a human
sympathy
from Jesus
that draws
us close
to him
and if
in his divinity
he does
for us
what we cannot
do for ourselves
in his humanity
he sets
for us
a pattern
of what
we ought
to be
like
in our life
and in our
experience
and look
at what
he does
with these
two sisters
Martha
and Mary
in their
different
personalities
and their
drastically
different
needs
we read
in verse
32
that when
Mary reached
the place
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
the same
statement
as Martha
they must
have been
saying it
to one
another
for days
all week
long
if only
the Lord
were here
but Mary
in contrast
she doesn't
want to
talk theology
she doesn't
want to
talk the
truth
with Jesus
she's
so
stricken
with grief
that all
she can
do
is throw
herself
down
on the
ground
at his
feet
and some
of us
know what
that means
some of us
know what
it means
to be so
sad
and so
broken
that all
you can
do is
just crumble
up in a
pile
and in a
puddle
of tears
but look
at verse
35
kids
this is a
great one
if your
parents want
you to do
some scripture
memory
I recommend
starting here
what does
it say
it says
Jesus
wept
my son
Walter
was reflecting
on this
verse a few
weeks ago
he said
dad
isn't it
amazing
that the
most powerful
person in
the universe
cries like
us
and that he
cries with
us
it is
amazing
it's amazing
that he
shares our
tears
and what's
amazing
is that
he's
deeply
moved
and
troubled
with
us
in
verse
33
it
says
that
when
Jesus
saw her
weeping
and the
Jews
who had
come along
with her
also
weeping
he was
deeply
moved
in spirit
and
troubled
we could
also
interpret
that
he
was
outraged
and
grief
stricken
and if
you know
anything
about
bereavement
you know
that tears
and anger
often
flow
together
Jesus
I think
is outraged
why
because
is he
seeing
the raw
havoc
that
suffering
and sin
wreak
on our
lives
as we
encounter
death
is Jesus
looking down
the corridors
of time
looking down
through the
centuries
at all the
tombs
and all the
funerals
of all of
his beloved
people
unable to
hold back
his tears
as he
sees his
loved
ones
losing
their
loved
ones
I
think
Jesus
is
outraged
in this
moment
because
he
sees
all the
tears
of
Christian
people
and he
knows
that the
turmoil
and the
bitterness
that's in
the heart
of this
family
at this
particular
graveside
is going
to be
repeated
countless
numbers
of times
through
Christian
history
and that
question
of verse
37
is going
to be
asked
over
and over
again
Lord
where
were
you
if
only
you
had
been
here
my
loved
one
would
not
have
died
and
Jesus
knows
that in
the future
he will
not do
what he's
going to do
for Lazarus
in each
case
that despite
the fact
that he
wins
the victory
over death
at Easter
death
will continue
to cause
us
intense
grief
and so
he's
outraged
and he's
grief stricken
at the
prospect
of this
pattern
repeating
itself
down
the
ages
so
friends
I hope
you can
see here
that
John 11's
tombstone
truth
assures
us
of Jesus
power
over
physical
and
spiritual
death
but it
also
assures
us
of
Jesus
love
it
assures
us
that
he
is
in
fact
the
suffering
servant
of Isaiah
53
who
has
borne
our
griefs
and
carried
our
sorrows
and if
Jesus
is the
pattern
for our
humanity
then we
too
are to
bear
one
another's
grief
and we
too
are to
carry
one
another's
sorrows
and to
weep
with those
who
weep
in fact
I would
say
that our
visits
and the
tears
of
Christians
are one
of the
major
ways
the
world
can
experience
God
today
amen
so
Jesus
gives
us
tombstone
truth
and
graveside
grace
but finally
he also
gives us
primal
power
the
prologue
of this
gospel
we learn
that Jesus
came from
the father
full of
grace
and truth
but
he doesn't
just tell us
he's full of
grace and
truth
he gives
us
a visual
aid
in verse
39
we read
take away
the stone
he said
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
now I
love the
old
King James
version
because
Martha
says
there
but lord
he stinketh
and that
just tips
me off
that the
gospel
is about
turning
tragedy
into
comedy
right
lord
he
stinketh
and Jesus
says
well did I
not tell you
that if you
believe
you will see
the glory
of God
and then
down in
verse 43
he called
out in a
loud voice
Lazarus
come out
and the
dead
man
came out
his hands
and feet
wrapped
with strips
of linen
and a
cloth
around his
face
and Jesus
said to
them
take off
the grave
clothes
and let
him go
now this
is a
heart
stopping
glorious
moment
because an
immovable
object
meets with
an
irresistible
force
death
meets
Christ
and Christ
conquers
this is a
power that
should drive
us to
awe
and thanks
and hope
this is a
power that
should be
the center
of our
philosophy
of life
now if
you think
about it
there are
most likely
other newly
buried people
in this
tomb
and so
it's a
good thing
that Jesus
said the
name
Lazarus
otherwise
many people
would have
come out
Jesus
would have
been like
no Kevin
I'm sorry
not you
not now
at least
but there
is a
kind of
miracle
within a
miracle
here
that
Lazarus
comes
stumbling
out
somehow
wrapped up
in his
burial
clothes
I mean
we don't
know
really
how
he
did
that
Jesus
doesn't
bring him
out in
pristine
condition
he gets
his friends
involved
and I think
that's a
little picture
of the
mission
of the
church
he says
to his
disciples
around him
take off
the grave
clothes
and let
him go
free
and that's
really kind
of our
job
with each
other
you're not
dead
anymore
you're
alive
you need
to go
free
and walk
and follow
Jesus
but how
did Jesus
reveal the
glory of
God
how did he
life out
of death
we're told
in the story
that he did
it through
prayer
verse 41
then Jesus
looked up
and said
father
I thank
you that
you have
heard me
I knew
that you
always
hear me
Jesus I
think invites
us to pray
like him
to look
up
to open
our eyes
to talk
straight to
our father
in heaven
to say
thank you
so much
for hearing
us
and he
invites us
to pray
and ask
God
to hold
at bay
the forces
of death
and to
cause
life
to triumph
over death
and we
should try
to pray
this way
we should
try to pray
like Jesus
for the war
in Ukraine
for strained
marriages
for troubled
youth
for broken
hearts
for gospel
breakthrough
we should
ask God
would you
let life
triumph
over death
and Jesus
when he
thanks his
father
for hearing
his prayer
he's referring
to the fact
that he's
been praying
for Lazarus
for days
before he
even got
to this
prayer
he's been
praying
that though
he die
he'd be
preserved
from corruption
that his
body in the
tomb
would be
whole
and complete
that he'd
be ready
to be
summoned
back
to life
and Jesus
prayers
are powerful
and we're
told in the
new testament
that Jesus
prays for
us
Jesus
is praying
right now
from the
throne of
God
and the
power of
the Holy
Spirit
for you
by name
in all
the circumstances
that you're
going through
and that
should give
us incredible
confidence
for our
lives today
it should
also give
us incredible
confidence
for our
future
that one
day Jesus
prayers are
going to be
answered
and he is
going to
say
Jonathan
Barry
St.
Claire
come
out
and that's
exactly what
I'm going
to do
so if
that's
what's
going to
happen
why am
I afraid
what do
I have
to be
afraid
of
now notice
as we
close
that Lazarus
is not
given a
body like
Jesus
resurrection
body
Jesus
does not
come out
of his
tomb
bound
hand
and foot
his
resurrection
body
is so
powerful
that we're
told in
the end
of this
gospel
that he
just passed
through his
grave
clothes
Jesus
just passed
through his
tombstone
right
that wasn't
moved for
Jesus to
get out
it was
moved for
us to
get in
and see
that the
tomb
was empty
Jesus
has gone
through
death
and out
the other
side
into a
life that
can never
die
into an
indestructible
life
but Lazarus
merely comes
back to
ordinary
human life
the process
of death
has been
reversed for
him and
he's not
given
a new
body
which I
imagine
caused him
to feel
a little
bit
ambivalent
on this
day
yes I'm
glad to be
welcomed back
by my
sisters
yes I am
glad that
Jesus used
me to
convince the
world that
he's the
son of
God
but I
gotta say
I'm a
little
bummed
I'm a
little
bummed
to be
leaving
the
joys of
heaven
behind
I'm a
little
bummed
that I
gotta come
and face
disease and
dying all
over again
I'm a
little
bummed
because it's
bad enough
to die
once
right
for most
of us
one funeral
is sufficient
that's all
I want
why does
Jesus go
through the
trouble
with his
friend
Lazarus
why does
he bother
with this
because we're
told in
verse 53
from that
day on
they plotted
to take
his life
Jesus I
think conspires
with his
friend Lazarus
and he knows
that this is
going to be
the triggering
event
he knows
that if he
goes to
war with
death
Jesus is
signing his
own
death
warrant
no one's
gonna want
me around
anymore
this is
too much
power
this threatens
the powers
that be
if I
bring
Lazarus
out
I'm
essentially
burying
myself
if
Lazarus
is raised
I'm
gonna sink
if Lazarus
lives
then I
have to
die
but Jesus
is joyfully
going to
die
why
because he
knows
that the
resurrection
and the
life
must die
if he's
going to
destroy
the power
that death
holds
over us
Jesus
is going
to have
to go
into
death
and dismantle
it from
the inside
and so
the immortal
God
in the
flesh
joyfully
walks
into the
jaws
of death
on the
cross
for you
and for
me
to give
us life
life to
the full
life
abundant
life
everlasting
life
that can
never
die
do you
believe
this
that's
the question
that
Jesus
asked
to
Martha
do you
believe
this
and
John
tells us
at the
end of
his
gospel
he says
in John
20
that Jesus
performed
many other
signs
in the
presence
of his
disciples
which are
not recorded
in this
book
but these
signs are
written
this
sign
of
Lazarus
was
written
down
as the
seventh
and
climactic
of the
great
signs
in this
gospel
it was
written
down
so that
you
may
believe
that
Jesus
is the
Messiah
the
Son
of
God
and that
by
believing
you
may
have
life
in
his
name
do
you
believe
Martha
says
in
verse
27
yes
Lord
I
believe
that
you
are
the
Messiah
the
Son
of
God
who
was
to
come
into
the
world
on
the
lips
of
this
woman
in
a
culture
by
the
way
that
hadn't
been
revolutionized
by
Jesus
yet
they
hadn't
learned
from
Jesus
how
to
value
women
yet
on
the
lips
of
this
woman
comes
the
highest
confession
of
faith
in
the
gospel
three
amazing
affirmations
about
Jesus
person
that
you're
the
Messiah
you're
the
Son
of
God
and
you're
the
one
who
was
to
come
to
bring
life
to
this
world
Martha
brings
together
objective
intellectual
conviction
with
subjective
personal
commitment
believing
in the
person
of
Jesus
trusting
in the
work
of
Jesus
she
said
yes
Lord
I
believe
do
we
believe
do
we
believe
in
this
Jesus
who
brings
tombstone
truth
who
brings
graveside
grace
and who
brings
us
even
now
and
especially
on
the
last
day
primal
power
to
bring
the
dead
back
to
life
may
God
help
me
believe
may
he
help
you
believe
in the
name
of
the
Father
Son
and
Holy
Spirit
Amen