Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead.” For most of us, that is the last word. There is nothing else to say. We silently turn, hugging our family or friends who are with us. We cry and walk out the door. The worst has happened. The grimmest of all grim tragedies has already been enacted. Lazarus is dead. In our modern world, the nurse can go home. The physician can return to his office. Medicines, I.V.'s, oxygen and ministering hands are no longer needed.
There had not been a happier home in the little village of Bethany. They had everything a family could possibly need. They had a comfortable home and plenty of good food. More than that, they had a home whose doors were open to many friends. And there was love there. They loved each other, and they had a love for Jesus. That is a sure foundation for any happy home.
But, Lazarus is dead. The head of the house, the protector, the business manager, the beloved brother could no longer join in their laughter or share their tears. The home that once was among the happiest is now filled with gloom, darkness, and despair. The light had gone out of their lives. The sun had set. Home can never be again, what it once was.
Their home had always been the place where people would go to sing and dance and celebrate. They made others feel loved and they rejoiced with others in the village. Opened handed hospitality is what you could expect to find from them. Their home was the preacher's home.
Nowhere on earth was Jesus more at home than when he was with Lazarus, Mary and Martha. Here was a brother to listen, a sister who sat at his feet, and a sister who was the best cook around. What a wonderful place to go! Jesus went there often with his disciples. But, all is changed now. Lazarus is dead.
What took Lazarus' life? We do not know. How intense was his suffering? How long did he linger? Be assured, from the first day of his sickness, his two sisters and others nursed him with the most tender care. During his illness, many times the sisters said to one another, “If Jesus would only come.” There was a dread that death would cross his ghastly foot across the doorsill before Jesus would come again.
Why was this tragedy allowed to take place? Why must Lazarus suffer? Why must death gain hold of him? Why must God call these sisters to pass through this Gethsemane? I am sure that these questions perplexed these two sisters long ago, just as they puzzle us.
Lazarus grew sick, and died. Some may claim, “If Jesus really loved him, he would have been there.” The Bible says, “Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.”
Love does not always do what we want or expect. God does not always do what we want or expect. Jesus loved these three as special individuals and as part of a special family. Yet Jesus stayed away from them in the hour of their dire need. He loved them; therefore, he delayed until Lazarus died. Jesus stayed away until under-takers prepared the body of Lazarus for burial and put it into the tomb. What a strange event! To put it plainly, “Because Jesus loved them, he stayed away.”
We would expect just the opposite. We expect the Bible to read, “Jesus loved him, therefore he rushed to go help them.” That is what we expect. That is what we want. If you are in the hospital, most of you want your family or pastor there immediately.
Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus; therefore, he will let Lazarus die. That is strange to us. What really seems strange is when we read about the disciples being confused about Lazarus really being dead, and Jesus says plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and ... I am glad I was not there.”
God, in infinite wisdom sometimes delays to act, or refuses to act, as we want God to act. For most of us, there is nothing more important than life. For God, death is a transition, not the end.
Jesus loves you, and there are times he brings you to extreme disappointment.
God loves you; therefore, trouble comes to your house. God loves you; therefore, God calls on you to kneel by the coffin of your dear one. None of that makes sense. The goal of God is not to make sense, but to bring people to faith. The desire of God is not to destroy the body, but to build up the soul.
“Why must this happen?” is a question which ran through the mind of Mary and Martha. If only, Jesus had been there. Why couldn't things have turned out differently? Why was this village tragedy allowed to take place? Simply, it was because Christ loved these people. Christ loves us and he comes to us through tragedy and grief.
There is something more precious than life, and that is to do the will of God. There is a power greater than death, and that power is in Jesus Christ. More precious than preserving life are events that bring others to believe in Jesus Christ.
To do God's will is more precious than life. To believe in Jesus Christ is to triumph over death. And, to help others believe in the power of God in Jesus Christ is worth endangering your life.
It was some time after Jesus raised Lazarus that he gathered with his disciples in an upper room in Jerusalem. They saw the resurrection of Lazarus, and still they did not understand that resurrection power was within Jesus. Many times, they sat down at table with Jesus, but on this evening, the meal had a new dimension and a new meaning.
Jesus calls us to himself. He is the resurrection and the life. He is the Lord of the universe and comes as the servant of all. He calls us to die with him, that we might have life. He calls each of us to be a servant that we might reign with him. He calls us to give ourselves and all we own to his purpose, so we can inherit treasures in heaven. Sin and death are powerful and they stand against us. But, thanks be to God who gives us the victory through Jesus Christ.
The pain of the village tragedy receives meaning when we come to the Lord's Table. [Here we obey the command, “Do this in remembrance of me.” Here also we receive the promise, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the close of the age.”] No tragedy, no pain, no tears, no heartache can separate us from the love of God, for he also suffers our tragedy, our pain, cries our tears and experiences our heartache. Trust in the Lord who comes to be with you in your pain, who weeps over you, and gives himself for you.
