March 26, 2023
Pastor John Hering
Luke 11:17-45
Luke 11:17-45
17 When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.
18 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away. 19 Many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them concerning their brother.
20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him, while Mary was sitting in the house.
21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.”
23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 Martha replied, “I know that he will rise in the resurrection on the Last Day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me will live, even if he dies. 26 And whoever lives and believes in me will never perish. Do you believe this?”
27 “Yes, Lord,” she told him. “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”
28 After she said this, Martha went back to call her sister Mary. She whispered, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.”
29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet gone into the village, but was still where Martha met him. 31 The Jews who were with Mary in the house consoling her saw that she got up quickly and left. So they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to weep there. 32 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.”
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and troubled.
34 He asked, “Where have you laid him?”
They told him, “Lord, come and see.”
35 Jesus wept.
36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
38 Jesus 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.”
40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone.
Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you heard me. 42 I 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.” 43 After he said this, he shouted with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”
44 The 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.”
45 Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary and saw what Jesus did believed in him.
When I send a text I often will include an emoji. It helps us to express our emotion to match our words. I usually send a happy face, confused look, thinking face, winking face or sweating face. There is one emotional face that I don’t think I’ve seen anybody use. The emotional face for death—you know, the skull and cross bones. As we think about death today, there really are a bunch of emoji faces we could connect to death. There is sorrow, pain, anguish, crying and then throw in laughing, joy and peace. These emotions are connected to our relationship to the person who died. If it is a friend of a friend who died? Someone you knew in the neighborhood? Or a Grandpa, brother, dad, or husband like Terry? And what about your own death? What is your emotional reaction knowing there will come a day when everyone of us will die? Today may the Holy Spirit guide our thoughts so that when the difficult day comes that we are facing death, that we would face Jesus!
Facing Death? Face Jesus
With Very Real Emotions
The mortality rate hasn’t changed since the last time I have preached on death—it has remained the same, a constant 100% for every person since death entered our world. Death makes the news almost every night. Death is real and it effects real people. Death creates real, emotional reactions. In John 11 we have the report of family and friends who are experiencing death in their family. We have recorded for us a variety of emotional reactions to death. But, there is one person who reacts to this death in a way that redefines our Christian reaction to death. This person is Jesus, who is the Resurrection and the Life.
Recapping the account we hear of Lazarus who is deathly sick. Lazarus and his sisters are close friends of Jesus so word is sent to Jesus to come and heal his friend like he has healed so many other random people in the crowds. So serious is the situation that even the disciples have, what we would expect to be, the first emotional response to sickness and death—fear and confusion. Jesus heard he was sick and waiting two days to go and the disciples may have thought Jesus was ignoring the request for help. Or maybe they thought the last time Jesus was down in the area of Jerusalem his enemies tried to kill him. Then their fears come true when Jesus tells them that Lazarus died and now he wanted to go!?! Confusion and fear! Perhaps these are emotions you’ve experienced when someone you love dies, especially suddenly or unexpectedly. Confusion and fear strikes our hearts and questions God’s timing and wisdom. We can’t help it. We Face Death With the Very Real Emotion of Fear and Confusion!
Jesus travels to Bethany and John records, “17 When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away. 19 Many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them concerning their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him.” What emotion do you think she had on her face? I suspect it wasn’t happy but frustration. She didn’t even let Jesus make it to the front door before making a b-line to him and bombarding him with her frustrated question: “21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.“ I suppose for her emotion we could use the “cruel face.” Death is a cruel thief. Death finds a victim and violates life without pause. Maybe her emotion was anger? Anger springs from death to be angry at the drunk driver, the affects of Agent Orange, the cancer or the tragedy that was the wave upon which death rolled in to steal away the life of our loved one. And if Anger has its way it even turns to be angry at God, “Because we know he could have prevented this death if he really wanted to!” We Face Death With the Very Real Emotion of Anger.
But, there was another sister in Bethany. Mary. She was also facing death but the emotion on her face appears to be different. She approaches Jesus in humility, “29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet gone into the village, but was still where Martha met him…..32 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.” Mary’s face of tears and sobs of grief reveal the depth of her hurt. Death hurts. This is an emotional face of death we all know all too well. The pain can be sharp, it can be deep, it can be quick. Death can be like that unwanted visitor that stays way too long and is unwilling to leave. We Face Death With the Very Real Emotion of Pain.
I would think that at this point in the sermon your hearts are pretty raw. You have probably been thinking about someone you love deeply that is no longer with you in your life’s journey. So, before I go on, I want to be clear about something. Christians are not exempt from the raw experience of emotions associated with death. We are people, after all. God did not create us to die. Death is NOT a natural occurrence of life. Don’t be fooled into thinking that Christians are somehow above these powerful emotions. But, we Christians do have some other faces of emotion to use against the unholy emotions of death. When we Face Death, we also Face Jesus
With Confidence in His Love
At this point maybe you’re thinking I’m going to say something like this, “You have God’s Word filled with his promises and you can overcome the emotional stings of death!” and you would probably leave here feeling empty and defeated. Do you think that our Bible knowledge can tune out our feelings? Do you really think that Christians who can recite the objective dogmas of the Lutheran faith shouldn’t be affected by the subjective emotions of being human? The disciples were afraid and confused. Martha was angry. Mary was hurt. All because of death! What we need to learn from John 11, what’s important to see is what they DIDN’T do with their very real emotional reactions.
They did not throw up their hands in order to shake their fists at God. They did not sit hopelessly in a puddle of tears. They did not walk away and hide in the closet. Anyone who reacts to confusion, fear, anger, hurt and grief about death by turning away from God, turns away from our only REAL source of comfort, hope and answers about life and death! Instead, look where the disciples, Martha and Mary took their human emotions of death. When faced with death, they faced Jesus confident in his love! The disciples followed Jesus. Martha confessed to Jesus, “22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.”
Dear Friends, when death comes you are going to run the gauntlet of emotional confusion, fear, anger and hurt. You may face the emotions of grief, depression and deep, deep sorrow. I would even say you should expect it. And I would even say it’s okay….. as long as you face death by facing Jesus. Take it to the Lord in prayer. Take the confusions, fear, anger and hurt to the Lord Jesus and expect him to do his mysterious, gracious, saving work. When Facing death, Face Jesus!
When I said “mysterious” I said it because sometimes God’s saving work can seem surprisingly strange. “33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and troubled. 34 He asked, “Where have you laid him?” They told him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus wept.” Jesus faced death along with all its emotions as true human. He experienced the sight and sounds of mourners, feeling the same raw emotions as all the others present. And it all stirred Jesus’ blood, wrenched his gut, broke him down to weep with friends and followers. Yes, God grieves, too!
Therefore when you face death, face Jesus with confidence in his love. When you have fear, confusion, anger and hurt Jesus, who experienced real human emotions, is there to carry them with you. And Jesus is there as more than a mourner who extends his condolences. Jesus reacts as the One, the Son of God who has power over death with his might and mercy.
“38 Jesus 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.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you heard me. 42 I 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.” 43 After he said this, he shouted with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The 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.”
Luke 11:38-44
There it is! When Facing Death, Face Jesus With Confidence in His Love! Jesus is true man with all the human emotions but never once sinned by misusing those emotions. And Jesus is true God and shows us his power over death by raising Lazarus from the dead. What Jesus shows us St. Paul tells us and what we often say together at the beginning of our services here, “38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor rulers, neither things present nor things to come, nor powerful forces, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 8:39). Face Jesus who has such a great love for us to die on the cross to pay for all our sins and open the gate of heaven for us all. Face Jesus who shows us his power over death on the cross. (Tell the Terry story about his first reaction to the crucifix in church).
There are all sorts of emotional faces that you can attach to your emails and texts. They help us to see your heart. There is an emotional face for us to learn from John 11. Like the disciples face Jesus with your confusion, for he is the Way who perfectly knows and understands what you are going through and will guide you through. Like Martha face Jesus with your anger, for he is the Truth who completely satisfied once and for all God’s anger when he died on the cross. Like Mary face Jesus you’re your grief, for Jesus is the Life, and in him, ultimately, death is destroyed for us all. So, what emotional face are you going to put on when Facing Death? Well, when facing death we know we’ll have emoji’s of confusion, anger, and grief. But, today we all have another emoji to use. You have the Jesus Face to calm your very real emotions, and hold on to him tightly because you are confident in His Love! Amen!
