The Glory of God Revealed that You Might Believe When He Comes
John 11:17-27
Associate Pastor Doug Forsberg
July 17, 2005
We Believe!
This past fall, as the leaves turned into a brilliant range of colors and the nights became cool, you just knew that something big was happening. There was a revival of sorts here in New England. Grown men everywhere were openly weeping and embracing one another. Fathers called sons and sons called fathers in triumph saying “We did it! We did it!” Mothers let their young children stay up until all hours of the night for weeks on end. 86 years of misery, frustration, anger, humiliation and tyranny were finally ended. Suddenly everyone was a fan and wanted to be a part of the nation. O to be a citizen in the Red Sox nation, for finally it had triumphed and left the lowly Cubs and their fans to wait and wonder what it would be like when winning comes to town!
As one who is interested in matters of faith, I couldn’t help but notice the proclamations of faith that accompanied the Red Sox on their way to victory. We believe! We believe! I was never sure who the “we” stood for on all those signs or for that matter what belief was being held by those zealots, but faith was certainly a part of the story last fall.
If you were for the Red Sox, you were a believer. You were sure that somehow, someway, even if you only had one out left, that the darkness that held your team in bondage all these years would be lifted and that the light and joy of victory would shine forth. We believe!
Our continuing study of the 11th chapter of John brings us to verses 17-27 as Jesus finally arrives on the scene in Bethany. The first two sermons in this series focused on waiting for Christ and on following him. Those who faithfully wait for and follow Jesus allow him to be at the center of their lives, shaping and molding them. Today we take time to notice that Jesus comes to Bethany, the village in which Lazarus died. Jesus’ coming changes everything for Lazarus and Martha and for each of us, for his coming brings with it the need for a decision. When Jesus comes, he brings with him the opportunity to let go of the darkness and embrace the light. Jesus is the light; will you believe him?
Jesus comes to Lazarus. The first thing Jesus does when he arrives in Bethany is to find out where Lazarus is. That is Jesus’ first order of business; and he’s told that Lazarus has been in the tomb four days. Remember that Jesus waited two days after hearing of Lazarus’ illness and that it probably took Jesus three days to travel to Bethany. Given such a timeline, we can guess that Lazarus died while Jesus was waiting to leave for Bethany. Nonetheless, Jesus comes to Bethany and he immediately looks for Lazarus, the person who needed his presence the most.
Lazarus has been in the tomb four days though. Four days is a long time to be in a tomb. He really must have been dead; we can be sure that Lazarus was not faking his death or sleeping so stilly that he was mistaken as dead. No, Lazarus was dead, and we have to figure that Jesus waited those extra days in order to be sure that all were persuaded that Lazarus had departed this world.
Jesus comes to Lazarus. Jesus is always coming when we don’t expect him. His birth was a surprise that caught Herod unprepared for this threat to his throne. Herod had to act quickly and figure out just who this baby was and where this King of the Jews might be. Perhaps we are also surprised that Jesus comes to Lazarus. What’s the point? Lazarus is dead. Why would Jesus come to Lazarus after Lazarus’ death?
In verse 4 Jesus has told us why Lazarus is sick and it is for this same reason that Jesus comes to Bethany and to Lazarus: that God will be glorified. As God is glorified, many will believe. Jesus comes to Lazarus and does great things for him, but such things are not the only reason he comes. The question of belief, an embrace of the light, or unbelief, an embrace of the darkness, hangs in the air in Bethany and Judea even among those who know Jesus. So it is that Lazarus is not the only one that Jesus comes to in Bethany.
Jesus comes to Martha. To be sure Jesus comes to Mary too, but Mary isn’t ready for Jesus yet, and we’ll speak more about her next week. Martha is ready for Jesus. She hears that Jesus is in town and she rushes out to meet him. Martha is always the woman of action and that is true here in this episode. Jesus comes to Martha and she meets him in her grief and despair and also in her hope.
It is not difficult to imagine how Martha must have been feeling. Her brother was dead; he’d been in the tomb four days. The ugly reality of death and its finality had weighed down Martha. She was mourning her loss and she was facing the brutal coldness of a world governed by forces beyond her control. Jesus steps into Martha’s nightmare. One commentator has said that “The darkness of grief and the light of hope were engaged in deadly combat” within Martha.[1] (Hendrickson, 148) The darkness of grief. The light of hope. Martha faces these powers at work within her as they vie for her heart and for her fidelity.
She says to Jesus, “If you had been here my brother would not have died.” She must have said this often in the preceding days: “If only Jesus had been here.” I don’t think she is accusing Jesus of negligence here. Jesus had sent a message that Lazarus’ sickness would not end in death, and Martha believed that message. She believed that Jesus could heal Lazarus, so she is stating a fact when she says that Lazarus would not have died if Jesus had been there.
Jesus gets to the heart of the matter and says that Lazarus will rise again, but Martha isn’t ready to entertain that kind of hope. The darkness is too close; her brother is dead. Surely, Jesus cannot resuscitate him. Martha says that she knows her brother will rise again in the resurrection on the last day. Her hope in that final resurrection has not faded yet, but she isn’t ready to hope that Jesus has come to her, has come to Lazarus with the intention of doing something today. That kind of hope is risky; it so often it ends in disappointment.
Jesus responds with an incredible word about who he is: "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. Do you believe this?" Jesus, the resurrection and the life, is our future hope and present reality. It is as if Jesus is saying to Martha, “Dear friend, your hope can never out strip my reality. All that you hope, all that is missing in this world, you’ll find in me, for in me the dead live and those who live and believe in me will never die.”
Do you believe this?
When Jesus comes to Martha she is faced with a choice. She can embrace the darkness of grief and loss or she can grab hold of the light of hope that has come into the world. The death of Martha’s brother causes her to mourn, but there is more at stake here for Martha. She is having a crisis of faith and Jesus comes right into the middle of that crisis and without hesitation shows her the two possibilities she faces. When Jesus comes to Martha he goes straight to the heart of the matter, forcing nothing on Martha and waiting for her response.
Faced with these two options, Martha chooses life and hope and faith. She says, "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who comes into the world." In the midst of chaos and encroaching darkness, Martha proclaims her faith, a faith that rests in Jesus, the one who has come and made himself known to her.
Martha reminds us in her confession of faith that Jesus has come into the world. From the very beginning, Jesus’ presence among us has caught us off guard, for his presence forces us to see the two realities that exist: darkness and light. No sooner is Jesus born than the wise men come from far off to pay homage to this newborn king while Herod plots this tiny baby’s death. When Jesus comes into the world, the wise men believe in him, Herod does not. Throughout his life, Jesus coming forced people to see their lives in a new way.
When Jesus comes into the world, he comes to each one of us and in the midst of the darkness that surrounds our lives he says, "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. Do you believe this?"
There are always impediments or obstacles to faith. For Martha the death of her brother and the presence of his body in the tomb brought about a crisis of faith and Jesus comes to her and says “Do you believe?”
There is a man for whom the disappointments of this life act as an impediment to faith. Lost opportunities, broken dreams, unfulfilled promises, and shattered hopes lead him to questions of meaning and purpose and tempt him to think that life is just a random series of events ruled by forces that care little for him. Jesus comes to him and says “Do you believe?”
There is a teenager for whom questions of identity act as an impediment to faith. Everyday she is told that she needs to change her body in some way so that she will look perfect. Everyday she is told that she needs to change her behavior so that she will fit in. Everyday she is told that who she is isn’t good enough. She wonders if she has any value and if anyone will care to love her just as she is. Jesus comes to her and says “Do you believe?”
There is a man whose body is frail, and his frailty acts as an impediment to faith. He had thought at one time that he would live into the indefinite future, if not forever, and now his body is failing and he wonders if he really is just made of the dust of the earth or if there is some larger purpose to his life. Jesus comes to him and says “Do you believe?”
Do you believe this enough to lay your life at the feet of Jesus and trust him to make you alive?
Jesus comes to us and offers us a way out of the darkness that surrounds us, the darkness that we bring on ourselves and the darkness that is brought upon us by a world that is indifferent and cold.
Today, we baptize Elizabeth Hannah Wicks and welcome her into the family of God. Baptism is a sign to us, a sign that Jesus has come and that Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Baptism is not some kind of magic that washes away the darkness. Jesus washes us clean; Jesus makes us new. Baptism is not about our ability to wash ourselves or our ability to say “Yes” to Jesus. Baptism is a visible reminder of what Jesus does inside of the hearts of those who believe in him. We do not go to Jesus. He comes to us.
Do you believe this? Maranatha. Come Lord Jesus, come.