Hope in a Cemetery

            Fifty years ago this summer a song was released that would become one of the best-selling songs of 1967 and that would inspire speculations that are still being discussed on the internet.  It was Bobbie Gentry’s Ode to Billie Joe.  Now, I don’t intend to discuss Billie Joe’s motivations for jumping off Tallahatchie Bridge or what he and the girl who looked a lot like the narrator may have been throwing off that bridge a few days before.  I want to draw your attention to a line found late in the song, in the verse in which the narrator talks about the year following Billie Joe’s suicide.  She says,

There was a virus going ‘round, papa caught it and he died last spring,
And now mama doesn’t seem to wanna do much of anything.

Many of us know widows and widowers whose lives have seemingly stopped after the death of their partner.  Marriages that survived sicknesses, separations due to work or war, difficult financial times have been ended by death.

Of course, death doesn’t just ravage marriages.  Death’s impact reaches into every relationship.  This story, found in John 11, tells of its impact on a family Jesus knew.

Here’s how it begins.

 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”

The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?”

Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.”

The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep.

Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

Death is an intruder, isn’t it? Only the very young among us have escaped the grief it brings. We know such losses are inevitably a part of our human experience, but we would still like to stiff-arm the death angel as long as possible. We want to hold on to that friend, that relative, that loved-one just a little while longer. Only when our loved-one is experiencing prolonged suffering or unrelenting degeneration do we reluctantly welcome their death as a release from their trial. Even then, if they could somehow be wrested out of death’s clutches and be restored to health we would grasp the miracle, the reversal.

That probably explains the desparate message to Jesus sent by Mary and Martha. He was Lazarus’ friend, he was their friend. All the fame his work was generating hadn’t changed that. If anyone could do something about their brother’s illness, Jesus could. But he didn’t.

Instead, he waited until it was too late, waited until nothing could be done, waited until Lazarus was dead.

Jesus was busy on the east side of Jordan when the message came that Lazarus was sick. His response? After assuring his disciples that the illness would not end in death, he stayed on for more days. Then, when he told them it was time to go to Bethany he also told them Lazarus had died. Actually, he told them Lazarus was ”asleep”, which the disciples misunderstood to mean that their friend was getting better. He wasn’t. Jesus had to explain that Lazarus had died.

There’s a good chance Lazarus was already dead by the time the messenger had found Jesus to give him the sisters’ message. I can’t help but wonder, did the messenger return to Bethany with the good news that Lazarus’s illness was not fatalonly to be told, “He’s already dead.” I don’t know. This story raises a lot of questions.

Why did Jesus wait two days before setting out to Bethany, so long that when he arrived Lazarus had already been dead for four days?

Keep in mind a couple of things as we look at this portion of the story:

The disciples knew, even if Mary and Martha didn’t know, that geography didn’t limit Jesus’ power to heal. He could have told the messenger to go back to Bethany confident that Lazarus was well. 

The commitment and faith demonstrated by the people in this story amazes us.  Even old “doubting” Thomas seemed willing to face death with Jesus.

 All the pain and grief experienced, all the tears shed during those few days had a purpose which the participants in these events weren’t quite ready to understand.

Jesus defined that purpose early on. ”This sickness will not end in death. Instead, it will be for God’s glory. This will be used to give glory to the Son of God.”

We might be tempted at this point to say, ”But it did end in death. Only two days after this Jesus, himself, told the disciples that Lazarus was dead.” But, remember, sometimes  God’s activities remind us of the old baseball truism: ”It ain’t over ’til it’s over.”

A byproduct of this whole experience would be a healthier, stronger faith for the disciples. That’s behind Jesus’ statement as they set out to Bethany: ”I want you to believe.”

We can only imagine what was going through the disciples’ minds as they walked along those roads toward the suburb of Jerusalem. The authorities were out to get Jesus. The disciples knew they were on their way to one funeral, would there soon

be another?

Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house.

Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”

Jewish burial customs involved placing the dead in their graves on the day they died  if there were enough time. Jewish people follow the same practice today.  Jews have the most intense period of public mourning following the funeral.

“Sitting shiva” refers to this period of mourning by the survivors , a period which lasts some seven days.

The mention of four days is significant because some rabbis  taught one could possibly revive after the third day. This may have reflected experiences in which someone thought to be dead had been misdiagnosed in those days of poor medical protocol. In any case, the fourth day would have been a stressful time for the family and friends.

There were still many mourners present when Jesus and his followers arrived.

Upon hearing Jesus was there, Martha went to him. Her first words to him were:

Lord, my brother would never have died, if you had been here.

But, even now, I know if you ask God, He would give you anything.

Is there a note of frustration in those words? Perhaps. But, listen closely. Do you heara testimony of faith? Was she hoping that Jesus would do the incredible, do the impossible? If so, she couldn’t bring herself to frame the words.

Jesus responds, ”Your brother will rise from death.”

”Yes, Lord,” Martha said, ”I know he will rise up in that great resurrection.” Most Jews accepted the notion of the great resurrection of the righteous dead sometime

in the future. The Sadducees were the only major group which denied the very con-cept of resurrection. Perhaps Martha, after monetarily allowing herself to wish for a miracle, realized she would have to be content with the hope which helped so many through times of grief-a hope for which no one had any tangible evidence-the hope that God would one day say the word which would overrule death.

Jesus responds to her with one more of the ”I am” statements found in John’s Gospel. He said, ”I am the resurrection and the life.” Jesus was saying, Don’t think of the resurrection as just some far off event in the distant future. Think of the resurrection as embodied in a Person. When you trust that Person, commit your life to that Person, come to really know that Person, you begin to experience the Resurrection in the here and now. Death will lose its power.

Then Jesus asked, ”Do you believe this?” Jesus wasn’t asking this question of a learned theologian, he was asking a woman. This was a woman he had spent time teaching when most rabbis would have felt they were wasting their time teaching a woman. How would she respond? After all, the gospels present Mary, her sister, as the reflective, contemplative one; Martha was the typeA sister, always worried about the many details a hostess has to worry about. What would this practical woman say?

She said, ”Yes, Lord, I still believe you are the Messiah .... ” I still believe. I know my brother is dead and buried. I know you could have prevented it. I don’t know why you didn’t keep it from happening. I don’t know what the future holds for my sister and me. But, I know I still believe.”

What had Jesus said to his disciples when they were still east of the Jordan? He said, ”I want you to believe.” They had spent so much time with him and there was still something deficient in their faith. Martha had experienced loss and disappointment but she could say, ”I still believe.”

We’re not told Jesus’ response to Martha’s testimony of faith but apparently he

asked her to invite Mary to join them.

When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him.

Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.”

Jesus wept.

So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?”

Martha goes to bring Mary to meet Jesus, prompting a crowd of mourners at the house to follow them. They thought she was going to the grave. They probably didn’t expect to see the somewhat famous teacher from Galilee waiting to talk to the grieving sisters.

Notice that Mary greeted Jesus with the very statement Martha had used, “Lord, if you had been here my brother would not have died!” Can’t you picture the sisters, in the lonely hours since Lazarus’ death repeatedly saying to themselves, ”Why didn’t he come? Why didn’t he respond to our plea? Why didn’t he drop what he was doing had hurry here? If he had been here, Lazarus .... ” It’s the rare Christian who hasn’t asked a similar question. Why didn’t God stop that drunk’s car? Why didn’t God keep my job safe? Why didn’t God heal my friend? The questions are almost as infinite as individual experience, but even as we ask them we know that the only conclusion may be, ”I don’t know why he didn’t, but I know he could have.”

There’s no reason to believe that one sister had more faith than the other-their statements were the same and, so, the faith which prompted them might be the same. Nor is there reason to believe one sister felt the pain of Lazarus’ death more than the other. Yet, we are allowed to look more closely at Mary’s grief.

She was crying. Actually, the word suggests a loud, soul-wrenching crying.

Jesus was deeply moved by her pain.

So, when she made her statement, instead of discussing the resurrection with her, Jesus simply asked to be taken to the tomb.

At this point something happens which has capt ured the imaginations of John’s

readers for centuries. The Authorized Version simply says, ”Jesus wept.”

The other references to crying in this chapter speak of something loud and demonstrative. This word suggests something much quieter. It means ”tears came to his eyes.” Why had Jesus wept. We can’t give a dogmatic answer, but I think it may have been out of sympathy for every Mary and Martha, for every person who felt the weight of grief weighing upon them.

When the onlookers saw those tears, their response was mixed. Some believed he was demonstrating his great love for Lazarus. Others, contemptuously reminded one another that he could have done something to stop the tragedy if he had wanted to. They belonged to that camp which believe it knows precisely how God must act in every situation.

This kind of murmuring was  still going on when they arrived at the tomb.  When Jesus came to the grave, again he was deeply moved in his heart. It was a cave with a large stone placed in front of it.

Suddenly things start happening quickly. Lazarus’ body, as often was the case, had been placed in a cave. We’re not told if it was natural or manmade. A stone had been place across the opening to protect the body from wild animals. If he had remained in that tomb, the family would have opened it about a year later, when the flesh was completely gone, and stored his bones in a jar which would have been placed on a shelf in the cave wall.

Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

That was what was supposed to happen but Jesus asked for the tomb to be opened, to have that stone rolled away.

At this point, the practical Martha asserts herself. ”Lord,” she says, ”you know he’s been dead for four days. There’s going to be a smell-a bad one.” This is a reminder that all those CSI-type shows are a little misleading.  When they discover a body that has lain in an apartment or a wooded area for a couple weeks, they are not going to find a pristine body—it’s going to be messy.  Decomposition begins almost immediately.

”Lord, by now there is a stench,” was probably not an expression of concern for the olfactory sensibilities of the mourners, it was probably a way of saying it was too late to do anything. It may have even reflected a concern that things were getting out of hand.

Funny isn’t it, we can talk about faith but sometimes, in really dicey situations, we wonder if we’d be better settling for the status quo. Maybe we fear the embarrassment of an unanswered prayer.

Jesus responded, ”I told you, if you believe, you’ll see God’s glory.” Of course, we don’t know just when Jesus said this to her but Jesus’ reminder was enough to make her relent.

The stone was rolled away and Jesus began to pray. Of course, he had certainly prayed before this. Could he have spent part of the days before he arrived in Bethany in prayer about this very moment?

In any case, Jesus prayed-prayed loud enough to be heard-prayed that God would do something which would prompt people to believe him.

Once he prayed, Jesus looked at the open door of the tomb, a tomb holding his friend’s body, and shouted, ”Lazarus, come out.”

I bet every eye was on the entrance of that tomb. Then, after a long moment something appeared the doorway. It was Lazarus. Because his feet were bound he was shuffling. He couldn’t see because there was a cloth over his face. I imagine him moving toward the light pouring though the open door.

Everyone was so dumbfounded, Jesus had to say, ”Go untie him, already.”

John doesn’t let us witness the reunion of Lazarus and his sisters. He doesn’t let us see Lazarus look into the face of the Man who had called him back to life.

But, he does tell us the response of the onlookers.

Many Jews had come to visit Mary. They saw the things which Jesus did. They believed in him. But some of them went off to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.

Some believed. The Man who had claimed to have the power to lay down his life and take it up again had proven he had the power over death.

Some rushed to the authorities and reported what Jesus had done now. It was enough to put steel into the resolve of the Jewish authorities to be rid of Jesus. Soon there would be a cross and another empty tomb.

This great miracle confirms Jesus’ identity. But there’s more here.

This great miracle reminds us that God works in ways we don’t always understand. We need faith with sticking power.

This great miracle warns us against being to quick to look at a situation--in an family, in the life of an individual, in a church--and say, "Too late for Jesus to fix that."  There's hope even in the situations that really stink.

This great miracle transforms the way we look at death. Because of what Jesus said and did at Bethany every pastor or concerned Christian may approach a home touched by death with confidence. We can go there with a word of hope and encouragement.

This great miracle reminds us of Jesus continuing ministry. Jesus brings life to the dead. He does so every time a man or woman believes and experience being born again. Christian baptism reminds us of the resurrection power of Jesus at work in the life of the believer.

The as the believer receives the rite of baptism he or she is said to be ”buried”

and then raised to new life. It pictures the spiritual work Jesus does in the life of every believer.

It reminds us of why we can-because of Christ-find hope in a cemetery.

[For some reason, the some of the formatting on this document has caused problems that defied correction.  At least it’s still readable.  Thank you for your patience.]