The Glory of God Revealed That You May Believe When the Dead are Raised to Life
John 11:38-46
Associate Pastor Doug Forsberg
August 7, 2005
It sure does take Lazarus a long time to get out of the tomb, doesn’t it? The poor guy is in there for four days and it takes forty-four verses in chapter 11 until he comes forth from the grave. “A friend asked me, “Can you get 6 sermons out of one chapter?” I replied to my friend by saying, “Six sermons is no problem. I just hope that by the time that Lazarus is raised from the dead that the congregation will still be attending.”
An ancient Greek philosopher said, “The unaware life is not worth living,”[i] and one of the important ways that the Spirit has been working through our reading and preaching of this chapter is to make us aware that Jesus is the center of this and every story. How easy it would be to make Lazarus the center of this story. He’s the one who can tell us about something that is such a mystery to us: death. Lazarus’ experience is interesting to us.
When Lazarus came out of the tomb, there was a crowd that surrounded him. No doubt they too had many questions that they wanted to ask him about what death was like and where he had been. Our text reveals nothing about this though. In fact, Jesus immediately tells the crowd to unbind Lazarus and to let him go; Jesus frees him from the pressure of the crowd. For a man who plays such an important role in this account, we really know nothing about Lazarus, and it is better that way, for Lazarus is not the one who raises the dead to life.
At the center of Lazarus’ life is Jesus; and as we’ve seen throughout our study of this chapter, Jesus stands at the center of every life. He is the one who reveals the glory of God, and he is seeking those who will believe. Think of all that has happened in this chapter and you will see Jesus as the focus of each event: whether he is waiting, being followed, coming, calling, weeping, or raising the dead to life, Jesus is right there in the thick of things. “The unaware life is not worth living;” and today we are called to awareness as Jesus reveals the glory of God. To be aware is to know that Jesus reveals God’s glory that we might believe. So a question is laid at the feet not only of those who witnessed this miracle firsthand but also at our feet: Do you believe?
Do you believe? Martha’s belief was challenged by the thought of her dead brother’s body in the tomb. As Jesus approaches the tomb and tells the crowd to remove the tombstone, Martha throws out a very sensible objection, “But Lord, by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” Martha does not expect a living, breathing Lazarus to come out of that tomb. She expects to find a dead body.
One of the things that God’s glory reveals to us is our sin. When we see ourselves in light of the mercy and grace of our God, we find ourselves surrounded by a power we cannot face alone, for sin has a hold of us and will not let go. The result of the power of sin in our lives is death. In fact, when we are stuck in sin, we are not unlike Lazarus in that tomb. Listen to the Apostle Paul, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-- it is by grace you have been saved” (Eph 2:1&5).
As Lazarus lay dead in that tomb for four days, he had no idea that Jesus, in all of his glory and power, was going to work a miracle that involved him. He was dead; unaware of the living world. As Martha struggled to believe, she too was unaware of the power and glory of God.
We, ourselves know this feeling, this unawareness of God’s glory, God’s power. Like Martha, we have loved ones who die. Like Lazarus we face death ourselves and we know the disappointment of failed hopes and dashed dreams. Our lack of awareness is exacerbated by the sin that is a part of our lives. The sin that besets our hearts is full of nasty outward expressions that reveal our brokenness and fear, yet sin also brings with it an inward preoccupation with ourselves that makes us unable to be aware of the one who can free us from a past we cannot change.
Jesus is not afraid to call Lazarus out of the tomb. Four days of rotting, stinking death bring no terror to Jesus. Jesus is also not afraid of those parts of your heart and my heart that have decayed and withered. Listen to the Psalmist’s words: “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103:11-12)
With a loud voice Jesus cries out, “Lazarus, come out.” He cries out to you as well, “Come out! Come out of that tomb in which you have been cast by sin; come out of your unbelief; see the glory of God at hand. Come out. Come out.”
Listen to what happened to Lazarus: “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.’” Lazarus is raised from the dead; at Jesus’ command he comes out of the tomb. No one in this whole chapter thinks that Jesus is going to raise Lazarus. Read this chapter on your own and you’ll find no one with a faith that believes that Lazarus will be raised by Jesus to live again before their very eyes. The only one in the whole story who believes this will happen is Jesus. Jesus’ faith raises Lazarus from the grave; and it is Jesus’ faith that breathes life into our dead bones.
Jesus said that “I am the way and the truth and the life.” If our lives are going to be whole, full lives, they must be lived in a way that is centered upon Christ. His faith raised Lazarus to live again, and his faith makes it possible for each of us to be adopted into the family of God as his brothers and sisters. His faith also makes possible the promise that we will rise with Lazarus in the resurrection of the dead as joyful citizens of the Kingdom of God.
When Jesus says, “Come out,” he invites us to live in a new way, putting behind us those powers that hindered us and the sin that so easily entangles us so that we can run with perseverance the race marked out for us (Hebrews 12:1). When faith in Christ is new to us, it is refreshing to throw off those parts of our lives that hinder us. We joyfully give them to God. As we move on in the journey though, God reveals to us secret places in our hearts that are in need of redemption. It is harder to give up these secret things. The fact is we like them. For whatever reason, they give us some measure of comfort. I don’t know what these things are in your life, but you do and Jesus does, and he has said to you “Come out.” When you come out, you enter into a life long process of letting go of those secret things and places that the Lord reveals to you. With Christ’s help, you must leave those things behind, for ultimately, they rob you of the fullness of life promised in Him and they take your eyes off of Jesus, focusing your attention on yourself.
To be aware is to know that Jesus reveals God’s glory that we might believe. I know that many here in this sanctuary believe in Jesus, placing their lives in his hands and living in a way that reflects the fact that he has become the center of their lives. If you’re in this position you will be blessed by something that happens in John 11 that might have escaped your notice. Jesus asks others to remove the gravestone from the tomb and the linen strips from Lazarus’ body. Jesus never works alone. He invites others into his work as he calls forth those who are dead in sin. One commentator notes, “There is no higher privilege this side of Heaven than for us to be used of the Lord in rolling away gravestones and removing grave clothes.”[ii] If you know that Jesus is the center of every story, share that with others, point them to him, bring them into an awareness of his presence.
Some among us do not know Christ. They’ve heard of him, but he is not at the center of their story. Jesus invites you to come out of the tomb and to enjoy the fullness of life lived in him. This whole chapter is focused on Jesus revealing God’s glory so that people will believe in him. Jesus has issued an invitation in a very public manner, and I also issue that invitation to you in his name. How will you respond? Will you believe? Let me encourage you to find your life in him.
I have to admit that in my pride I want to wrap all of this up for you in a neat way that ties up all of the loose ends. I want to make it seem easy for you and give you a manual with just the right steps so that you’ll believe and set aside that which so easily entangles you. I can’t do that. Life isn’t easy or neat and most often it is rather messy. It is never presented to us in a well-wrapped package. Whatever your circumstances are, you have to believe, I have to believe, that Jesus brings life to those parts of our souls that our sin has caused and allowed to decay . . . you have to believe, I have to believe.
This is difficult work. It is Kingdom work, done only with the Holy Spirit’s help. It begins in hearing and responding to the Word of God and it continues at this table, a table set aside for those who believe in Jesus Christ. For those who believe, this bread and this cup are visible signs of an invisible grace at work in your heart. We keep this table at the center of our sanctuary every week to remind us that Christ is at the center of our life together and of our individual lives. We share in the Lord’s Supper each month as a reminder of Christ’s faith even in the midst of our faithlessness, for the One at the center of our lives is faithful and he will never forsake us.
Do you believe this? To God be the glory! Amen.