A God of Resurrection
Is. 25:6-10; John 11:32-44 November 2, 2003
CCI: The Good News is that Jesus came to give us new life and to free us from the shroud of sin and death.
Intro: Today is All Saints Sunday. As Protestants we really misunderstand this day on the Christian calendar. All Saints Day is a time to celebrate the work of Christ throughout the world. It reminds us of the reality of our nature in Christ. When Paul was writing to the Ephesians, he said, “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household,” In other words, in Christ are saints. That is the reality of our nature.
All Saints Sunday reminds us of that nature. It also reminds of the call of God that we might be holy. The word Saint means “holy one.” In God’s eyes, the work is complete, in our lives, it is an ongoing task.
All Saints Sunday reminds us of 2 Cor. 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” That new creation is the result of the hope of resurrection. Let’s turn to John’s gospel and read the end of the account of the raising of Lazarus.
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."
[33] When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. [34] "Where have you laid him?" he asked.
"Come and see, Lord," they replied.
[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, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. [39] "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."
[40] Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"
[41] So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. [42] 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."
[43] When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" [44] 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."
Intro: Wow! What a story of life! “Lazarus, come out!” and he did. Can you imagine what that may have been like? Here was a man who had been dead for four days! If you turned the television on during this last week, you saw movies based on situations like this.
Lazarus was dead, in fact, Martha, his sister, pointed out that Lazarus had been in the grave long enough, that he stunk! And Jesus offered a simple prayer thanking his heavenly Father for hearing him, and then cried, “Lazarus, come out!” And the dead man came out! At Jesus’ words, the dead man came out of his tomb!
Those who were watching were astounded, Lazarus’ sisters were thrilled, we even know that the rulers and leaders from Jerusalem saw Lazarus as a threat, because everyone knew he had been dead! But Jesus, by his word, called him back from death. Jesus gave him life.
I. Jesus is the source of Life
In John 11:25 Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies.” Jesus is the source of life. In Ephes. 2:1, Paul wrote, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins.” The word Paul uses is the same word that described Lazarus. Dead. And here is a news flash, dead people are unable to do anything.
While the Bible is clear that apart from the work the Jesus does, we are dead, we often like to think of ourselves as pretty sick, not dead. Maybe it is like the hero in the movie Princess’ Bride. Westley has had all the life drained from him by the evil Prince Humperdinck. His friends find his body and carry it to Billy Crystal who plays the part of Miracle Max. Miracle Max takes one look at Westley and says, “There is hope, he is not completely dead, only mostly dead. When a person is mostly dead, there is still hope.” We want to believe that we are only mostly dead and if we try hard enough, we can return to life.
But it is not true. Because of sin, we are dead, unable to do anything to please God. We are not sick, we are not near death, we are not mostly dead, we are dead in our trespasses and sins.
That means that all our effort to keep the law is a waste of time. It means all the self-help books may make us look better, but we will never reach the standard God has established. When Paul says we are dead, he is reminding us that all our accomplishments and all we have accumulated are worthless because a dead person can not impress anyone.
And then to make matters worse, in our efforts to beat back death, we wrap ourselves in all kinds things that we think will make us feel better. Alcohol is used to numb the pain of death. We buy things out of habit to distract ourselves from death. We get involved in clubs and hobbies to insulate ourselves from death. We exercise and worry and diet and go to doctors and use make-up and try to act younger all so we can cheat death for just a little while longer. We wrap ourselves in all these things, and in the end, these things are what enslave us. The more we do, the more we realize it is futile, not because we will eventually die, but because we are dead right now in our sins and trangressions.
Our only hope is resurrection. Our only hope is a new creation. And that is what Jesus offers us. If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation! Old things are gone, all things are new.” In Him we are a new creation. In him we receive life. John put it this way, “In Him was life and the life was the light of men.”
Just as Jesus gave life to Lazarus when he called him forth, Jesus offers to give us life. For Jesus is the source of life. If you have never received His gift of life, you can do that today by admitting you are dead and you need Jesus’ life.
II. We are invited to free those Jesus has given life.
The story of Lazarus is a the story of a new chance at life. Jesus restored Lazarus’ life, but the story does not end there. Notice verse 44. ‘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."’
Jesus gave Lazarus life, but the people around him were to free him. I have no idea what Lazarus looked like when he came out of the tomb, but he face was covered and his hands and feet were bound. He was wrapped in a shroud. The remnants of his four days of death hung on him, tying him up. He was alive, but he was not free to really live. His friends had to help him out of his death clothes. And after they did, I think they had a feast. Don’t you? There was probably a party there unlike any Bethany had ever seen.
The Prophet Isaiah spoke of a day like this.
On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare
a feast of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine--
the best of meats and the finest of wines.
[7] On this mountain he will destroy
the shroud that enfolds all peoples,
the sheet that covers all nations;
[8] he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears
from all faces;
he will remove the disgrace of his people
from all the earth.
The LORD has spoken.
[9] In that day they will say,
"Surely this is our God;
we trusted in him, and he saved us.
This is the LORD, we trusted in him;
let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation."
Can’t you just hear the people of Bethany singing this song? God has destroyed the shroud that encompassed the people, he has swallowed up death, let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation!
Today, those who have found life in Jesus, also need help in becoming free from the shroud that had bound them. When we are trying to deny death in our lives, as I said earlier, we wrap ourselves up in many things. However, when Jesus makes us new creations, these things don’t fit any more, and they don’t help. We need to get rid of those habits and relationships and goals that were a part of our lives of death.
But just as Lazarus could not remove his own shroud, we need one another to help us find freedom. If alcohol has controlled your life, numbing you from the reality of death, you need the help of people like AA who can unwrap you from the addiction. If you have wrapped yourself in your job and have made business success the measure of your life, you need your Christian sisters and brothers to help you discover a new life that finds meaning in relationships that do not judge, and are not always trying to climb over you.
Christian friend, Jesus is calling us to go and unbind one another. Lazarus may have been quite comfortable in the grave clothes, but Jesus was not content to let him stay there. And no matter how comfortable we may think another believer is, we are called to help unwrap them. We do that through words of encouragement, we do that through deeds of kindness, we do that as we share the scriptures with one another. And we do that as we permit others to unwrap the death clothes that bind us.
In Jesus, we have been given new life. In Isaiah we read of the suffering servant of Israel who is a clear picture of Jesus. “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.”
Today as we share around the Lord’s Table, we remember what Jesus did for us, and then I would encourage you to ask God what grave clothes you are still wearing, and ask him to help you seek our someone who can help free you from that shroud. The Lord’s table is a commemoration, but it is also a celebration. Let us prepare for this celebration by joining in prayer.
