Surprising Hope

The world of the sisters Mary and Martha came crashing down. Their beloved brother Lazarus was deathly sick. They had sent word to Jesus, the miracle working Messiah, their good friend, but for some reason he did not come. Lazarus died. Jesus was absent. The combination of negative emotions was overwhelming—shock, disappointment and even anger with Jesus, sadness, and crushing grief. Most of you know the ending. Four days after the death of Lazarus, Jesus finally came. He weeps and then leans in. He cried out, “Lazarus come forth!” To the shock of everyone there, Lazarus emerges from his grave! Jesus conquered death! Did you hear me? DEATH!
This incident in the life of Jesus gives us so much to consider. Let me simply scratch the surface with three takeaways. First, Jesus is with us. Jesus comes to the home of his friends. He lets them vent their feelings to Him. He absorbs their frustration, even anger as they remind him that this would not have happened if he had only been there. He then goes to the grave. Then comes the shortest verse in the Bible, “Jesus wept.” He saw their pain and he felt it. Their disappointment in him mattered to him. He wept for them. But he also wept out of his own pain. Lazarus was his friend. Despite knowing the glorious ending of this incident, he embraced the pain of that moment. Here he is toward the end of a long journey that began in eternity where He, God the Son, took on human flesh and lived life on our terms. He was born into poverty among the Jews, an oppressed people group. He fully experienced life on our terms. He is with us...
Second, He is for us. He does eventually show up. He does lean in. He does intervene. He is like a light bursting into a dark room. His power is revealed. He calls out to Lazarus, and the dead man, responds and exits his tomb. Death is defeated. Grief is shattered. It’s like Jesus steps into the path of death and proclaims, “not today.” This concept is important to remember because for the sisters, for literally days it did not seem like Jesus was for them. All of us have our moments, even seasons when it does not feel like God is for us. When we struggle to believe that God is for us, look to the cross. Jesus willingly volunteered to pay the penalty for our sins so that we could be forgiven and made part of his family. There is no greater example of love than that. Third, Jesus is Lord. Many in our culture respect Jesus. Maybe they see him as a philosopher, moral teacher, even life coach. In contrast, at the heart of the commitment to be a Christian is the acknowledgement that Jesus is Lord. He is our master, our leader even our owner. He is the greatest and highest authority. Someday everyone will bow before him. Some people cringe at that kind of claim, but it is unavoidable. The one who can call a dead man back from the grave after four days, later predict his own death and resurrection and walk out of his own grave gets the right to call the shots.
While there are certainly other lessons from this story, the fact that he stands with us in compassion, stands in commitment to us and leads us in preparation for His eternal kingdom should grab our hearts. Imagine those sisters mourning their dead brother and then someone says, “Jesus has arrived” and a new chapter begins. What is hopeless and even dead in your life? Isn’t it time to invite Jesus into that part of your story?

Pastor Derek Dickinson
Journey Christian Church