Victory over death part 9

April 12, 2020

Sunday. The day after the Sabbath. Two days after Good Friday. This is the day Christians around the word celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.

When we use the word “empty,” generally we use it in the negative sense: empty fuel tank, empty wallet, empty stomach, empty house… but at Easter we remember an empty cross and an empty tomb. The cross is empty, Jesus has moved on to something much more glorious, much more challenging, much more personal.

The women went to the tomb expecting a body that had been crucified. What they found was an empty tomb. “But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.” [Matthew 28:5 ESV] It is interesting they went to care for the body without a plan for rolling the heavy stone away from the tomb. Matthew gives the impression that they witnessed an earthquake and an angel rolling the stone aside. They watched the guards, Roman soldiers, fall into a dead faint (see Matthew 28:4).

After the angel rolled the stone aside, he took up a casual pose, “And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.” [Matthew 28:2 ESV] The angel is not at attention, nor is the angel flashing a sword to keep people away. Sitting is a relaxed posture. Almost as if to say, “Relax, everything is awesome.”

The angel starts with “do not be afraid.” Fear is common with humans. Fear is used to motivate and manipulate us. Don’t believe me? Just watch the news. It’s interesting the message from God is “do not be afraid.” Once we look past the fear, we will have a chance to see God at work.

Then the women are invited to see the empty grave. “He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.” [Matthew 28:6] Luke records the question, “… Why do you seek the living among the dead?” [Luke 24:6c ESV] It’s almost to say, you are looking in the wrong place. If you are looking for a dead Jesus, a grave is the natural choice. Problem is; today the tomb is empty!

The women are told, “Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him.” [Matthew 28:7 ESV] The first invitation was to “come and see.” Now they are told to “go and tell.” The knowledge of a living Jesus requires them to act, to obey, to give witness. 

The women obeyed, “So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him.” [Matthew 28:8 – 9] I do not think it is a coincidence that when they were on their way to tell others about the empty tomb; they meet the main character of their message. It seems obedience is the conduit to experiencing Jesus.

It’s one thing to have a dead Jesus. We can enjoy Jesus being dead because it focuses on God’s love. We can focus on believing as a matter of faith. It means we can go about life undisturbed because Jesus is not involved in life. The flaw in thinking this way is the disciples’ early message was Jesus crucified, risen, and coming again. Having a living Jesus is a very different thing. The crucifixion is only part of the story.

The real question is what do we do with the resurrection? Paul stated, “He was publicly identified as God’s Son with power through his resurrection from the dead, which was based on the Spirit of holiness. This Son is Jesus Christ our Lord.” [Romans 1:4 CEB] So if the resurrection is true, and it is, what are you going to do about it?

While the cross demonstrates God’s love; the empty tomb leads us into personal relationship with the living God. The empty tomb leads us to power in life. The empty tomb leads us to victory in life. This all looks forward to the eventual return of Jesus and the justice, cleansing, and renewal this world desperately needs.

Having a living Jesus means obedience. It means living a holy life in a depraved, dying, and decaying world.

Victory over death part 8

What did Jesus do today?

April 11, 2020

Today is Saturday. The day after Jesus died on the cross. Imagine the death, decay, and despair the followers of Jesus felt today.

But what did Jesus do? His earthly body was dead, but we know that He was busy accomplishing and completing the action started when He gave up His spirit.

Let me take a second to "put down" a poisonous idea. There are people who think Jesus was killed by the Jews. This is a lie, straight from the tongue of the devil. Jesus was very clear, “This is why the Father loves me: I give up my life so that I can take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I give it up because I want to. I have the right to give it up, and I have the right to take it up again. I received this commandment from my Father.” [John 10:18 CEB] This is a key idea of the crucifixion: Jesus WANTED to give up His life. This is love in action.

So what was Jesus doing today? I am so glad you asked!!!

One possible explanation to Jesus’ activity on this day may start with, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” [Isaiah 53:5 NIV] Jesus demonstrated the true cost of sin. This was a legal exchange, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.” [1 Peter 3:18 NIV] Paul put it this way, “God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith.” [Romans 3:25a NIV]

Rather than focusing on the legal theory, I want to point to a simple and stunning truth. Paul claims in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” [NIV] In other words, Jesus took the place we have earned and deserved. In exchange Jesus offers us His place. All because Jesus WANTED to substitute Himself for us by accepting the punishment and suffering our sins deserve. This is what theologians call “vicarious death.” In other word, Jesus suffered the whole of the right judgement against us in every way.

But wait, there is more! In the “Apostles’ Creed” most Christians confess that Jesus “descended into hell” (or “descended to the dead”). We read about this in Acts 2:24, “But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.” [NIV] Notice the “agony of death” part.

Paul testifies, “But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).” [Romans 10:6 – 7 NIV] The “deep” in this verse is properly translated “the abyss” (The Greek says “tis katabesetai eis abusson”) In Hebrews 2:14 – 16 we learn Jesus shared fully in every human experience, except sin.

I am fond of the idea that Jesus substituted Himself for me. He took my deserved punishment for sin on the cross. Jesus literally went to Hell for me. SPOILER ALERT: When Jesus raises from the dead, literally and physically; He shatters the power of sin and death. Jesus crushes the power of Satan (see Hebrews 2:14).

Are you afraid of death? This COVID-19 pandemic is like a splash of ice cold water in the tepid reality of existence. The question is: do you want to exist or do you want to live? Many of us are existing. We eat, sleep, breath, work, and take up space just existing. God calls us to an abundant and eternal life in Jesus. 

This is the question mark of the cross. Will you have faith, the kind that changes the way you think and behave, in Jesus’ shed blood for your soul?  

Victory over death part 7

April 10, 2020

Today is “Good Friday.” On the time line of the final week of Jesus’ earthly life, it is the day on which He is crucified. It is a dark, horrific, and insane day. I’m going to look at the event from Matthew 27:41 – 54.

In fact, today is the most spiritually insane day in the history of the world. How so? I’m glad you asked!!! Let's take a look at it.

The people who should have known were the instigators. “In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him.” [Matthew 27:41 NIV] The "chief priests" were what the Old Testament called the “High Priest.” Here it is plural because the Romans had put term limitations on the office for political reasons, so there was more than one that had occupied that office. He was responsible for the spiritual health of the people. He was the one who entered the "holy of holies" once a year on the Day of Atonement. If the nation was spiritually pure he was allowed to live.

The “teachers of the law” were the Biblical scholars of Jesus' time. It was their responsibility to know and teach the Old Testament. They were the lawyers and judges of the day, giving decisive answers to matters of religion. This class of Levites was set up by Ezra in a national revival at the end of the Babylonian captivity. The “elders” were the political leaders of the day.

Despite all this responsibility and knowledge, they mocked Jesus, “He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, 'I am the Son of God” [Matthew 27:43 NIV] This mockery had been prophesied by King David. “All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads: ‘He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him." [Psalm 22:7 -8 NIV]

Jesus gave witness to this prophecy when He quoted the first line of Psalm 22. Their minds would have known the rest of the text, “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out joint. My heart has turned to wax: it has melted away within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd (a broken piece of pottery), and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death. Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.” [Psalm 22:14 – 18 NIV]

• Verse 14 describes the effect of crucifixion on the heart. When Jesus' side was pierced with the spear, water and blood flowed out. 
• Verse 15 describes the dehydration experienced by someone on the cross. The soldiers gave him vinegar to drink. This was a drink called “Posca,” cheap wine that had gone bad. Roman soldiers mixed it with water, salt and something to flavor it for an ancient version of Gatorade. One idea of crucifixion was to keep the victim alive as long as possible, to insure the greatest amount of misery, suffering, and despair.
• Verse 16 describes “the dogs” that “have pierced my hands and my feet.”  The term "dogs" was a way some Jews referred to Romans. Crucifixion involved Romans nailing Jesus' hands and feet to the cross.
• Verse 17 describes the effect of having the cross set up, more likely dropped into place dislocating many joints. Isaiah writes 700 years before Jesus, “...his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness.” [Isaiah 52:14 NIV] Basically, a casual observer would only have seen tattered skin, meat, and an assortment of disjointed bones hanging on the middle cross.
• Verse 18 refers to the Roman soldiers who cast lots for Jesus clothing.

As usual, there is a “twist” in the story. The people who could not have known figured it out! "When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, 'Surely he was the Son of God!"' [Matthew 27:54 NIV] Imagine, those with no prior knowledge of Scripture came to the correct conclusion. These were professional solders, one was a high ranking officer. In other words, this conclusion was made by intelligent, not superstitious, cowardly men.

Everyone now has a choice to make for themselves. It’s not dependent on prior knowledge. In fact, what we THINK we know can mislead us. We can be blinded by defending territory and theology. The choice is dependent on experiencing Jesus personally. Jesus is not a philosophy, theology, or mystical experience. Our decision cannot be accurately based on culture, training, world-view, or what we want our theology to be… It is experiencing the love of God (the Father), through Jesus (God the Son).

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us...Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” [Romans 5:8 – 11 NIV]

All the human misery is our choice. We inflict them on others for our own reasons. I cannot stress this enough. God does NOT send people to Hell. Eternity in Hell is chosen by each person over the love, forgiveness, and grace of God demonstrated by Jesus on the cross. God has offered victory over death… but that’s a story for another day.

Victory over death part 5

April 8, 2020

Today is Wednesday in our journey to victory. It is “Holy Week,” as some Christians refer to it. This is the dramatic last week of Jesus’ earthly life.

We are not certain of Jesus’ movements or actions on Wednesday. However there are some things during this final week that need covered. I’m going to take a brief look at five lightning bolts from Mark 12.

The first lightning bolt happens in Mark 12:17, “Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” His reply left them overcome with wonder.” [CEB] This teaching was in response to a trap. The Pharisees (conservative theology) and supporters of Herod (upper class supporters of King Herod) intended to either a.) turn the crowd against Jesus or b.) collect evidence against Jesus. If you follow the conversation, they set it up with what is called a “narrative.” A narrative is a frame in which to box the one who answers into an unfair disadvantage. It’s something done regularly by the media that is either hostile or looking for something interesting (a.k.a. “dirt).

Lightning bolt number two is found in Mark 11:24, “Jesus said to them, “Isn’t this the reason you are wrong, because you don’t know either the scriptures or God’s power?’ [CEB] This is a response to a group of theologians called “Sadducees.” They did not believe in the resurrection; so they offered a theoretical question to disprove the resurrection. Jesus was clear, they didn’t know the scriptures or God’s power. In essence they had a form of godliness, but it was based on ignorance.

Lightning bolt number three and four comes from the sincere questioning of a lawyer. Mark 11:29 – 30 records, “Jesus replied, “The most important one is Israel, listen! Our God is the one Lord, and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this, you will love your neighbor as yourself. No other commandment is greater than these.” [CEB] 

The question is “Which commandment is the most important of all?” [Mark 11:28c CEB] On the surface, it is a “no-brainer.” The answer was considered a settled matter. Loving God is the greatest commandment. Yet, Jesus gave an answer only a lawyer could love. He expands the meaning. If you love God, Jesus insists, you will love those God loves (your neighbor). The two cannot be separated. The lawyer gives his approval to Jesus’ answer. Jesus then states, “When Jesus saw that he had answered with wisdom, he said to him, “You aren’t far from God’s kingdom.” After that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.” [Mark 11:34 CEB]

The last lightning bolt comes, not from a question, but an observation. Jesus sat down and watched people at the “collection box.” In America, we think it’s rude to look to see what someone else is doing with their money. Jesus watched rich people and poor people give. One caught His attention. He called the disciples to Him and pointed out an poor widow. Most likely this was embarrassing for her, after all the attention seekers were dropping in large amounts of money. Jesus praises her with these words, “… I assure you that this poor widow has put in more than everyone who’s been putting money in the treasury. All of them are giving out of their spare change. But she from her hopeless poverty has given everything she had, even what she needed to live on.” [Mark 11:43 – 44]

So in this chapter we have a wide selection of religious and political perspectives:

1. Pharisees, who were “holiness” in theological orientation. We’d call them “conservatives.”
2. Herodians, who were religious supporters of Herod. 
3. Sadducees, who were upper class theologians who basically denied the supernatural. We’d call them “liberals.”
4. A lawyer seeking the truth. We’d call him “skeptical.”
5. A poor widow giving everything out of “hopeless” poverty." We’d call her “disadvantaged.”

The poor widow seems out of place among the educated, elite, and arrogant in this chapter. But I submit to you for consideration, she is not. She is "the moral of the story."

Go back to the first lightning bolt for a second. Question: what does God want? Answer: what belongs to Him. What stands between giving to God what is His is our not knowing (understanding) Scriptures and the power of God. The core issue is, do we love God? The “acid test” of loving God is loving others (Jesus "neighbor" means everyone). Knowing all this is good. In fact that puts you “not far from the kingdom of God.” Problem is if you miss heaven by an millimeter, you still missed heaven. The poor widow demonstrated the “all in” mentality of the true follower of God. Soon Jesus is going to demonstrate this by laying down His life, dying on the cross.

Theology, politics, and philosophy all crumble when compared to Jesus-like love in action. 

Victory over death part 4

April 7, 2020

This is Tuesday on our trip through the Holy Week. What I want to cover is a follow up on what happened on Monday.

Mark 11:12 – 14 records this happening on Monday. “The next day, after leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. From far away, he noticed a fig tree in leaf, so he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing except leaves, since it wasn’t the season for figs. So he said to it, “No one will ever again eat your fruit!” His disciples heard this.” [CEB]

On Tuesday, this is noted, “Early in the morning, as Jesus and his disciples were walking along, they saw the fig tree withered from the root up. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look how the fig tree you cursed has dried up.”” [Mark 11:20 – 21 CEB]

Jesus cursing (pronouncement of judgement) the fig tree does not seem “fair.” Mark 11:13 clearly states it was not the season for figs. It seems unreasonable to expect figs out of season. What Jesus was looking for is called a “breba.” This is fruit that grows early (out of season) off the previous year’s shoot growth. In essence this is a bonus crop and is not unusual. Considering the tree had leaves, it was reasonable to expect it to have fruit.

But why would Jesus pronounce judgement on the fig tree? I’m glad you asked!!!

Let me hit the delete button on one poisons idea that is commonly circulated.  Some think the fig tree represents Israel. There is no possible explanation for this idea other than unholy imagination. On top of that it is bad “hermeneutics” (the science of interpretation). The idea that one thing represents another, unrelated and not in the context, should be discarded, dismissed, and dissed.

In Mark, Jesus explains to Peter the interaction between faith and prayer. On faith, “Jesus responded to them, “Have faith in God! I assure you that whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea’—and doesn’t waver but believes that what is said will really happen—it will happen.” [Mark 11:22 – 23 CEB] Wow, I have yet to see a mountain be thrown into the sea. But I think Jesus teaches us, this is the power of faith.

On prayer Jesus continues to teach us, “Therefore I say to you, whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you will receive it, and it will be so for you. And whenever you stand up to pray, if you have something against anyone, forgive so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your wrongdoings.” [Mark 11:24 – 25 CEB]  Wait, how did we go from a cursed tree, to faith, to prayer, to forgiving someone else?

Jesus' typical story telling method was to use an attention getting device, teach on it, then in a surprising twist give a “moral of the story.” In this case Jesus does something seemingly out of character to get the disciple’s attention. It’s about faith, faith is activated and realized in prayer. Yet there is a deep problem Jesus addresses. It is literally a “got ya” moment. It’s a sudden twist that seems to be unconnected.

What is about to happen on Friday, might plant a very deep seed of unforgiveness into the souls of the followers of Jesus. The unwillingness to forgive is at the core of bitterness. Bitterness kills relationships. Bitterness robs us of peace. Bitterness destroys joy. We become unfruitful and die from the roots, like the fig tree, because we disconnect from the love of God. Just as prayer is the conduit for faith to work; forgiveness is the road to being forgiven, to being free, to faithfully walking with God.

Forgiving others is necessary to be forgiven by God. People who have been forgiven by God will forgive others.

Victory over death part 3

April 6, 2020

Today is Monday, if anyone is keeping track. Today is an interesting day in the final week of Jesus’ earthly life (a.k.a. “Holy Week”).

One of the debatable timing of events is the “cleansing of the temple.” Matthew records it happening on Palm Sunday. Mark puts it on Monday. Luke does not give a time. John puts this event at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Considering the detail the Gospel writers put into the story, I think it is likely Jesus cleansed the temple at least twice. In John the key statement is “Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” [John 2:19]. The synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called “synoptic” because they are very similar) record, “And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’” [Mark 11:17 NIV, also see Luke 19:46, Matthew 21:13]

Matthew 21:14 records, “The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them.” [NIV] The significance of this statement comes from those who entered the temple. Jesus cleared space for them. By now, if you follow the life of Jesus, the amazing part was not that He healed. It seems Jesus healed people just about everywhere He went (except for a few in His home town, because of their lack of faith). When Jesus drove out the animals and money changers, He cleared out the section of the Temple reserved for Gentiles, the sick, and the handicapped.

Imagine the indignation on the religious elitists who were the gatekeepers keeping people away from God. They lose money from the business shut down. Their sacred space is invaded by undesirable people. And to add insult to injury, Jesus heals the people, doing what they should have been doing. As a bonus, the people who were no longer excluded from the inner parts of the Temple now had free access.

Imagine being one who has been excluded. Physical suffering compounded by religious exclusion and multiplied by the humiliation of begging are suddenly healed, invited in, and set on equal footing. The blind may never have seen the alter. The lame may have never step past the threshold of the Temple. The Temple gates were thrown open for the “dogs” (Gentiles).

Jesus also declares a significant shift in the purpose of holy space. The Temple was no longer for “sacrifice.” Temple space was now to be used for prayer. Little did they understand that day, God’s perfect sacrifice was about to put an end to the necessity of the daily and yearly sacrifices.

At the moment, most of our church buildings are empty. Most of our buildings will require extraordinary and continual deep cleaning. Contrary to one news network's empty church ad, claiming this is the only way we will have a future; I pray this will not last long and there will not be enough room to accommodate all the people seeking God. When this plague passes, churches will be open, but to whom and for what purpose?  

What would it take to clean out our churches (and lives) to accept those who are not like us, not perfect, or maybe considered “undesirable?” You can do it now or Jesus will do it later.

Victory over death part 2

April 5, 2020

Today is “Palm Sunday.” This story is found in all for Gospels, (first four books of the New Testament about Jesus life, ministry, and miracles).

From Mark’s account we see an interesting bit about the donkey Jesus rode into Jerusalem that day. “Go into that village over there,” he told them. “As soon as you enter it, you will see a young donkey tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here.” [Mark 11:2 NLT] A donkey, in American thinking, is stupid and stubborn. Riding one that nobody has ever ridden would have been almost impossible. Yet this is a fulfillment of prophecy. “Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey -- riding on a donkey’s colt.” [Zechariah 9:9 NLT] The choice of a donkey is significant because it is what a king would ride if he were entering a city in peace. In war time, the choice would have been a horse.

As Jesus entered the city, “Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting, “Praise God (Hosanna) for the Son of David! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the LORD! Praise God in highest heaven!” [Matthew 21:9 NLT] This comes from Psalm 118:26 – 27. The Jewish tradition at the time was to shout “Hosanna” and wave palm branches around the Torah (first five books of the Bible) during the festival of Sukkot (Booths/Tabernacles).  This outraged the political elites of Jesus’ day. They insisted Jesus quiet the crowd. Jesus’ responded, “... “If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!” [Luke 19:40 NLT]

This is five days before the Passover. According to the Old Testament Law, this was the day the Passover lambs were chosen (destined for sacrifice they were taken into the home) . With the huge amount of lambs (and what they drop on the road) brought into the city that day, no wonder the crowd laid down their cloaks. Jesus is openly displaying Himself as the Messiah to the people that day. But Jesus was understood to be the Passover lamb to be sacrifice so the people would be spared. John the Baptist declared, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” [John 1:29b NLT] Paul understood, “Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us.” {1 Corinthians 5:7c NLT]

Jesus enters the Temple, looks around, and leaves. [Mark 11:11] He does nothing. He doesn’t start what would have been an expected rebellion. He doesn’t give a sermon. He simple goes back to Bethany (and goes to bed). I’m guessing that may have been a letdown for people expecting a deliverer. But, Jesus does not meet our expectations, especially when He has something better in mind. The path to victory is not through the sword or sermon. Victory comes only as Jesus lays down His life. Deliverance comes only through the shed blood of Jesus.

The whole trip, from the “Triumphal Entry” to the crucifixion seems scripted as suicidal. Jesus’ confrontations with the political elite, posing as experts of religion, looks like He is poking, prodding and provoking them to into their actions. Yet, I think this shows Jesus is in control of every situation, event and outcome from beginning to end. Jesus clearly understood what He was doing. Listen in on His conversation with the disciples, “From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead.” [Matthew 16:21 NTL]

I do not know what the future holds; except Jesus will return and set all wrongs right. Nobody knows the day or the hour. Who knows how this COVID-19 will fit in, if it fits at all. Yet I see humanity doing everything it can to escape the inescapable. Death waits for us. Maybe not today, or tomorrow, or next week; but it waits and will take every one of us (short of divine interruption in the natural course of history). Just remember our expectations can be very different than Jesus’ plan. His plan is always better than we expect.

Victory over death part 1

April 4, 2020

Tomorrow is “Palm Sunday.” It is the start of the final week of Jesus’ earthly life. Christians around the world consider it a holy week.

The set up for the most dramatic confrontation between good and evil begins with a resurrection. The story is found in John 11. I invite you to find a Bible and follow along.

Verse one is like the dramatic music that signals a turn of events. It starts with “A man named Lazarus was sick.” [NLT] There is a bit of explanation about Lazarus, he has two sisters who call for Jesus to help. [2 – 3] At this point Jesus does something strange. We might start a Congressional investigating over what He knew, when He knew it, and why He acted the way He did. John states, “he stayed where he was for the next two days.” [verse 6] The next verse records Jesus’ decision to go “back to Judea.”

The disciples object [verse 8] because Jesus’ life is in jeopardy. Jesus gives a cryptic answer about walking in light and stumbling in darkness [verses 9 – 10]. Then Jesus declares in verse 11, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but now I will go and wake him up.” [NLT] They don’t understand so He has to tell them in verse 14, “Lazarus is dead.”

Why did Jesus allow His friend to die? I’m so glad you asked!!!

Jesus' lesson is dramatic. A lot of theology comes from this chapter. Especially about who Jesus is and the resurrection of the dead. We’ve all been to funerals. Chances are you have heard a verse or three read from this chapter.

After some more misunderstanding from Lazarus’ sisters Mary and Martha. Jesus leads a procession to the grave of His friend. There are a lot of people crying. “When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled.” [John 11:33] I’m not amazed at the mourning. That’s the natural trajectory of human experience. People die, we miss them, and we mourn their passing.

What amazes me is found a two verses later; for effect, it is the shortest verse in the Bible (in English). “Jesus wept.” 

With all the deep emotion the story continues, “Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance. “Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them. But Martha, the dead man’s sister, protested, “Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible.” [John 11:38 – 39] For the record, the Greek does say that Jesus was angry. Actually it has the force of being VERY angry.

I don’t think it was because the people were having a hard time wrapping their mind around what Jesus was about to do. I don’t think it was because they accused Him of not being efficient enough to prevent Lazarus’ death [verse 37]. I think Jesus was angry because He was feeling the sting of death. Death is the consequence of sin.

After a bit of dramatic set up we read, “Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!” [John 11:43 – 44 NLT]

I can’t imagine the power of that shout. It literally raised the dead. The power of Jesus’ command to do what “everyone” would say was “impossible.” But this is not even “the tip of the iceberg” of Jesus power. Someday at His command the dead will be raised, everyone will be judged, there will be a new heaven and earth, and “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” [Philippians 2:10 – 11 NLT]

Six days before the Passover, Jesus returned to Lazarus’ home [John 12:1]. The next day Jesus entered Jerusalem as its rightful king. The King of Glory stepping toward certain death on the cross. Winning a victory for us forever. Robbing sin of its power. Soothing the sting of death. Crushing the head of Satan.