“Living Well, Dying Well” (John 11:17-27; 1 Cor 15:50-58)

Death’s Bite Remains

It was yesterday morning when the phone rang. It was sad news about the sudden death of one of the most faithful members at the Hodgdon UMC. At first, I couldn’t believe my ears. Still can’t. She was at the Easter worship service. She invited my children to come over to her place and learn how to bake oatmeal bread during this upcoming spring break. But now she is gone. Last Sunday we sang and celebrated the resurrection of Christ. Indeed Jesus conquered death through his resurrection. Death’s sting is removed but its bite still remains. So we mourn and grieve the loss of our loved ones.

As I was grieving all day yesterday, somehow the story of Lazarus came to my mind. Jesus knew that he would shortly raise Lazarus from the dead. But when he stood before the tomb, he wept. Jesus wept (John 11:35). In our broken world Jesus suffers with us. He mourns with us. He is with us. The story of Lazarus begins this way: “Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha” (v. 1). It looks like they were very close to Jesus. Verse 5 says, “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.” When Lazarus got seriously ill, the sisters sent word to Jesus, saying, “Lord, the one whom you love is ill.” They were anxiously waiting for Jesus and for his miracle. But when Jesus heard this, he stayed two more days where he was (v. 6). In other words, Jesus loved Lazarus and his sisters, so he stayed two more days. He waited until Lazarus was completely dead. Why? How can this be? Jesus answers our “why” question later in verse 15, saying, “For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe.” In other words, Jesus waited until God’s time, so that they (and we!) might know the God of today, the God of resurrection.

The God of Yesterday

When Jesus arrives in Lazarus’s place, Lazarus has already been in the tomb for four days. Both Martha and Mary say to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (vv. 21, 32). Here what they were saying is, “Lord, it’s too late. Now there’s nothing you can do about it. It’s over.” They believe in the Jesus of “yesterday,” but they don’t believe in the Jesus of “today.” All of us in this room have our own testimonies. We have our stories – how we met Jesus, how we were healed, etc. – at some point in our lives. We believe that Jesus died for our sins. We believe that Jesus was raised from the dead to make us righteous. We believe historical Jesus, the Jesus of yesterday. But too often, we think that there is nothing even Jesus can do about what we are going through today. We think, “It is too late,” “Even Jesus cannot do anything at this point!” However, today Jesus comes to Martha, and he says to her, “Your brother will rise again today!” (v. 23)

The God of Tomorrow

Then, Martha answers, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day” (v. 24). Now she believes in the Jesus of “tomorrow,” but she still doesn’t believe in the Jesus of “today.” She has some kind of faith in the resurrection of the dead on the last day. But still, she doesn’t know what to do in front of the present, real death of the loved one. Martha believes in the Jesus of yesterday, she believes in the Jesus of tomorrow, but she doesn’t know yet the Jesus of today.

The God of Today

So Jesus says to Martha, “I AM the resurrection, and I AM the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (vv. 25-26) Martha replies, “Yes, Lord” Jesus says to her, “Then, take away the stone” (v. 39). She is shocked and says, “But, Lord, by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” In Jewish tradition, if someone is buried in a tomb for 4 days, then people consider that person dead completely. So, from a human’s perspective, Lazarus is completely dead. But now, Jesus says, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God? Take away the stone!” (v. 40) So the people take away the stone – the stone of doubt, the stone of unbelief. Then, Jesus looks up and says, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me!” (v. 41) Jesus completely trusts in the God of today. And he calls in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” Then, the dead man, Lazarus, does come out.

The Best Is Yet to Come

Lazarus was raised, but later he died again. The resurrection of Lazarus is in a sense the prelude to what would happen to Jesus himself – his death and resurrection. In his death and resurrection, Jesus crushed the Serpent’s head. Jesus destroyed the one who had the power of death. Death is not a natural part of life, but the most unnatural part of life you could imagine. Death is a horrible enemy, the last enemy, attempting to keep us in the grave. But in his death and resurrection, Jesus set us free from the grave, from the fear of dying and death. So now we can say in Christ, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!” The Jesus of today who raised Lazarus now reigns, until he has put all his enemies, including death, under his feet.

Death’s sting has been removed, but its bite remains. But it does not have the last word for Christians. Only Jesus’ cross and resurrection define our destiny. Today we do mourn and grieve. But we do not grieve as others do who have no hope (1 Th 4:13), because we know the best is yet to come. A Christian’s last is his or her best. Richard Sibbes rightly said, “Christians are happy people in their life, but happier in their death, because then they go to Christ; but happiest of all in heaven; for then they are with Christ.” We can only imagine that day!

The apostle Paul always lived with the end in mind, saying, “I die every day” (1 Cor 15:31). To die well is a matter of every day. To die well is a matter of the whole life. So Paul concludes today’s scripture, the resurrection chapter, this way: [When all has been heard, the conclusion is] “Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (v. 58). Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us live each day as if our last. Let us die every day – die to self and live for Christ every day. Then when death comes knocking on our door, we will end our days with comfort and joy. Amen.