Resurrection

Introduction

Funerals are difficult occasions that few people anticipate with joy. While they often bring families together, they are marked by profound grief and heartbreak. As a minister, standing next to a casket during a family’s final viewing has shown the deep sorrow that death brings. The grief is real, and the impact on families is devastating. It is right to hate death and what it does to those left behind.

One of the most moving moments in the gospel accounts is when Jesus himself bursts into tears at the tomb of his friend Lazarus. The simplicity of the shortest verse in the Bible—“Jesus wept”—captures the humanity of Jesus and his deep emotions. There is profound comfort in knowing that our God hates death as much as we do. He hated it so much that he allowed his Son to experience death so that we might live forever with him. That is worthy of our thanksgiving.

The Story

The story of Lazarus’ resurrection is straightforward, yet the stench of death permeates every part of this text. This is the seventh and final sign that Jesus performs in John’s gospel, each one designed to point to the fact that Jesus is God in the flesh. The text begins with a reference to an event that has not yet happened—Mary’s anointing of Jesus in chapter 12—but John references that act here at the beginning. Mary anointed Jesus to prepare him for his own death. So the text begins with death.

Then we hear of Lazarus’ death. Jesus even delays his journey to Bethany in order to fully establish that Lazarus is dead. Thomas acknowledges in verse 16 that Jesus is walking into a death trap and resolves to go with him even to the point of death. Mary and Martha, sisters of Lazarus, both meet Jesus reminding him that death is permanent. “If you had been here, my brother would not have died.” It is all so final. Even the raising of Lazarus from the dead is quickly overshadowed by the continuing plot to kill Jesus, and as we discover in 12:10-11, the plot now includes Lazarus as well. The stench of death is throughout this text.

John is a master at heaping up a sense of hopelessness and despair. Death is final. Jesus could and can heal sick people, but the dead remain in the tomb. With every turn there is death. What does Jesus say? “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.” Your brother will rise again. Mary and Martha believed in the resurrection—the one that was to come at the end. But that did not take away their grief now. Martha’s confession that Jesus is the Christ mirrors Peter’s confession in Matthew 16, but it did not take away her sense of despair. Her brother was dead and there was no room for hope.

But hope is the very reason Jesus has come. Notice in verse 40 that Jesus says he has come so that God’s glory can be seen. Then in verse 42 his prayer is punctuated with the statement of purpose—that they may believe that you sent me. Of all the signs, any one of which could have convinced someone that Jesus is the Christ, this is the final and ultimate sign. It has taken John eleven chapters to get to the final and most significant sign. “Lazarus, come out!” Jesus shouts to the tomb’s entrance. Can you imagine the breathlessness of the people as they waited and peered into the mouth of that dark, hopeless tomb? All eyes were transfixed on that opening.

And with the passage of what must have seemed like an eternity, the tomb gave back its possession. With every sign, we see that there are those who believe and those who refuse to believe. But what does this text have to say to us?

Application

Look at verses 33 and 38. There has been much speculation about why Jesus wept. The explanation is given in verse 36 that it was because of his love for Lazarus, and there is no reason to think otherwise. But Jesus knew what he was getting ready to do and knew what the outcome would be. As the song says, “He is touched with our grief.” Perhaps that is why Jesus wept. But verses 33 and 38 give us another clue. In both places, the words “deeply moved” are translated for us. This is an interesting word. It has to do with a mixture of sadness and anger. The word is used to describe a snorting horse in other documents. It is a much more descriptive word than grief alone.

Why this word? Let me suggest to you that in the mixture of his own grief, Jesus is coming to grips with a profound truth—the struggle between life and death was getting ready to take place. There is a resolve, a determination, a battle to be fought. Jesus has already declared the truth: “I am the resurrection. He who believes in me will live.”

Do you believe this? The battle rages. Satan is firmly holding on to the body of Lazarus in a dark, hopeless tomb. Perhaps it is at this point in Jesus’ ministry that there is no turning back. On the doorstep of Jerusalem, where there can be no more doubting, Jesus performs the sign that should be enough to convince all human beings that he is the Christ—he brings a man back to life. Do not be astonished. Do not be amazed. Believe. Trust in him will bring life. Our death will not be the final word. Jesus proved that in Bethany. Death has lost its sting. Jesus proved that when Lazarus walked out of that tomb.

I hate funerals. I hate that death brings such pain. But for us as believers death does not win, nor does it have the final word. Jesus demonstrated that with his bringing Lazarus back to life. In that struggle between life and death, life wins. Jesus calls on us to trust him. Do you trust him?

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