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Good Friday

2 great sunrise options

10:30 no sunday school, Baptism, invite friends (nursery, no children’s church) Parking

Sermon

Oops -

I had a dream on Tuesday night. First vivid, rememberable dream I’ve had in a long time.

And it began with a bullet. Right here. Just a random guy running from police and a stray shot.

The EMT was there in moments loading me into the ambulance. But after looking at my vitals, asked me if I would prefer to go home instead of the hospital.

“You aren’t going to make it. You’re family is at home. Would you rather be with them?”

They weren’t home right away. So I sat in the backyard with the EMT and we talked about unfinished projects I would never complete.

He asked how I was and I told him I was really ok. I was confident.

Then my family got there.

I saw Becca and thought about a wedding I would not be there for. Who would walk her down the aisle? Josh would, I suppose…I thought about how proud I was of her, her strength and hard work. Her determination to grow through the pain of her life instead of surrender to it.

I saw Josh and thought about his graduation. I thought about all the ways he both reflects me and yet points me toward the best version of myself. I thought about the life he’s just beginning and how proud I am to see the man he has become. How he’ll have to rise up and be a protector now in a whole new way.

I looked into Monica’s eyes. I saw the girl I married and the woman of grace and beauty she has grown into and wondered at how much more there was to discover…that I wouldn’t get to.

As I spoke to each of them…I needed them to know one thing. Jesus.

Not a theology about Jesus. They needed to know my friend Jesus. They needed to know that he could take this loss and make it beautiful. That my absence wasn’t the end of their story, but a place to know Jesus more, to trust the story he was telling. That they could have the confidence I had in dying as they lived on.

I leaned to the EMT and asked him if I could tell him a story.

I started to do the standard gospel story. I wanted him to know how he could get saved.

He stopped me a little way in and said, “I’ve heard this one…Not my thing...”

I started to weep at this point. I dropped the theology talk. I don’t want you to believe a truth, I want you to know my friend. I want you to know the one who has loved me through every heartache. I want you to know the friend who is the reason I have already forgiven the man who did this. He’s my friend, he’s my life, he’s my friend.

Sometime shortly after midnight I started to wake up. I was still repeating, “He’s my friend, I want you to know my friend, I want him to be your friend...” Then I heard Monica breathing and realized I was in bed. I wondered if I had blacked out and they had moved me here…then I wondered if the whole thing was a dream and checked for the wound.

Tears were already streaming and they turned to sobs when I realized I was not done yet.

Immediately today’s verse ran through my mind and i sat up and typed everything I can remember about that dream into my phone because I knew I had to remember. I had to share.

Ugh

You see, I would like to believe that my attitude and reactions in the dream are what I would really be like in that situation…I can’t say for sure.

But I know my tendencies, that maybe you share.

To hold on to offences when I need to put them down.

To see the hurts more clearly than the joys.

To feel my failures and fears so vividly that I struggle to believe I can do anything worthwhile.

I am so thankful for that dream. I saw a version of myself in the worst possible moment. About to lose my life due to the carelessness of a thief and all I could think about was my friend Jesus.

Aha!

Which leads us to our text today. One of death and life, fear and anger, and doubt, and confusion. And JESUS being a friend.

In fact, all our other I AM statements have been made to? A crowd that wanted a meal, when Jesus wanted to give them himself.

Then responding to enemies and doubters who wanted to define him one way by declaring

I AM the light

And again responding to religious leaders who gave themselves the right to decide who was in and out by telling them he was both the gate for the sheep and the good shepherd.

The next three I AM statements, were not made to crowds or doubters. They were not to persuade people to follow him.

They were made to his friends. That they would know his love for them. Oh church, I have loved this set of messages. But this one, Friday’s and next Sunday’s...

Jesus is helping his friends by telling them WHO he is. We would do well to meditate on words that really are in a way…to us.

If you want to follow along we’ll be in chapter 11, and we’ll read some big chunks together, though not all of it.

Let’s pray once more before we begin

Short prayer.

Whee!

John 11:1-7 “Now a man was sick, Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair, and it was her brother Lazarus who was sick. So the sisters sent a message to him: “Lord, the one you love is sick.” When Jesus heard it, he said, “This sickness will not end in death but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus. So when he heard that he was sick, he stayed two more days in the place where he was. Then after that, he said to the disciples, “Let’s go to Judea again.”

Here is some context for what’s coming.

His friends were hurting, and they sent him a message. Their brother, his friend, was dying.

Note the timeline. Jesus gets the message, declares how it won’t end, then…stayed two more days in the place where he was.

THEN says it’s time to go.

Now his disciples remember something they think he’s forgotten.

John 11:8, 11-16 ““Rabbi,” the disciples told him, “just now the Jews tried to stone you, and you’re going there again?” … He said this, and then he told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I’m on my way to wake him up.” Then the disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will get well.” Jesus, however, was speaking about his death, but they thought he was speaking about natural sleep. So Jesus then told them plainly, “Lazarus has died. I’m glad for you that I wasn’t there so that you may believe. But let’s go to him.” Then Thomas (called “Twin”) said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s go too so that we may die with him.”

So, after you declared yourself the good shepherd and one with the father…the priests are ready to kill you. They have the power and clout to do it too.

Then he gives them the gentle, Lazarus is asleep, but they don’t pick up the nuance and think he’s napping…so Jesus says it plainly.

Lazarus has died, and I’M GLAD I WASN’T THERE so that you may believe. Let’s go to him.

And you have to give credit to Thomas, who we usually call doubting Thom because of a later story. He leads the way in courage.

Jesus is probably getting himself and us killed. AND let’s go with him.

Jesus arrives and finds a crowd there to grieve with the sisters, because Lazarus has been dead and in the tomb for four days. As soon as word reached the family that Jesus was on the way, Martha went out to meet him. And here is our moment.

John 11:21-24 “Then Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died. Yet even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” “Your brother will rise again,” Jesus told her. Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.””

Anyone else hear a little accusation in her voice? If you had been here. Remember, he waited. 2 days.

He did not come as quickly as they would have liked. He still would have been late…but not this late.

Jesus tells her that her brother will rise again. Yes, at the last day she replies.

It’s funny how she just said God would do what Jesus asked, but then immediately limits what can happen to “the last day” And that is what prompts Jesus to define himself again…this time to a friend who is in deep pain.

John 11:25-27 “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live. Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” “Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who comes into the world.””

Jesus is the resurrection and the life

To his friend he says, I AM the resurrection and the life.

you thought bread and light were big claims. Let’s dig in.

Even if... (25-27)

Even if. For the one who lives and believes in Jesus. Even if they die, they live. Then he asks a great question of Martha! DO YOU BELIEVE THIS? to which she replies in faith, Yes Lord, I believe you are the Messiah, son of God who comes into the world.

In your study guides for the week is a passage from Ezekiel, where he has a vision of a valley filled with bones that are completely dried out, no life in them, no remnants of life, and God asks Ezekiel if they can live again.

Jesus in declaring himself the resurrection puts himself right in the middle of that story. I AM brings life to dead places. I AM restores all things to their proper place. I AM doesn’t offer resurrection, teach resurrection, or simply provide resurrection. I AM IS the resurrection.

And my favorite words in this passage are the ones I put in the outline: EVEN IF.

Spoiler alert, Jesus is going to make Lazarus get up in a minute. But after that, Lazarus is going to die again. Martha will, Mary will, I will, you will. What then?

Even if. There is life.

If this is true, and I proclaim it to be so, then what does that mean for us right now?

IF this is true about death, how much more for all of our daily sorrows, our cataclysmic pain, our fears, and every other suffering?

Isn’t this the story of the Old Testament?

Moses commits a murder, God turns him into a deliverer

Joseph is sold into slavery, he becomes the salvation of his family

Gideon is a coward, and God adds pots, trumpets and torches to save his people,

Even going into exile was for their good so they might learn to trust the God they had forgotten and accomplish their purpose.

I need to keep going…but I want to linger here…

Actually, let’s make this a moment. Let’s pray together and I’ll invite you to shout it out, I’ll repeat it so everyone can hear. One sentence prayers. “Jesus, if you make the dead alive, then you will...” Finish the sentence. I’ll start:

Jesus, if you make the dead alive, then you will heal relationships

Jesus, if you make the dead alive, then you will save the lost

Keep it going.

Even if death there is life. The essential question for we his people? Do you believe this?

That was our moment, but I want you to watch Jesus act those words out as the story continues. Martha’s sister Mary is approaching.

John 11:28-29, 32 “Having said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” As soon as Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. … As soon as Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and told him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died!””

Pretty close to the beginning of that text we find powerful words. The teacher is here and he is...

Calling for us…(28-32)

Jesus called for Mary, and Mary has the same words for Jesus that Martha did.

Jesus will respond to Mary different than Martha. John gives us some clues as to why.

In the previous passage, we are told that Martha “said to Jesus” and her declaration of Jesus’ failure to be there ends with a period.

I’m no Greek expert, but the translators noticed some difference here because Mary’s exclamation ends with an, exclamation point.

These women are processing their grief and frustration with God very differently and Jesus meets them where they are.

To Martha, he gives her an explanation and calls her to deeper understanding through her mind.

To Mary, we’ll see in the next point, he simply joins her in grief.

Jesus is the resurrection and the life.

He will navigate every death, pain, hurt, confusion, grief, and loss in your life with you…as you need.

Not as you might think you need, but as you actually need.

He knows you and calls you, and is inviting you to follow him

Simple point, that doesn’t require much explanation…but so important for us to get.

Monica and I have lived in the same home for almost 25 years. longer than we ever lived with our families of origin.

yet her grief is not my grief and vice versa. And your grief is not the same as the person two rows away from you. Even when we experience the same things, we live it and grieve it differently, and Jesus is calling to you in YOUR sorrow and loss and inviting you to trust his resurrection power to change the story.

Note, this is why you should never expect someone else to live out their faith precisely the way you do. Because Jesus loves to engage us where we are, we should do the same for one another.

This next point follows right in line:

John 11:33-37 “When Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews who had come with her crying, he was deeply moved in his spirit and troubled. “Where have you put him?” he asked. “Lord,” they told him, “come and see.” Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Couldn’t he who opened the blind man’s eyes also have kept this man from dying?””

Right in the middle of that, in the bible’s shortest verse is our key. verse 35…Jesus wept

Weeping with us…(33-37)

(put up but don’t read the whole thing) John 11:33-35 “When Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews who had come with her crying, he was deeply moved in his spirit and troubled. “Where have you put him?” he asked. “Lord,” they told him, “come and see.” Jesus wept.”

The resurrection and the life weeps with us.

Psalm 56:8 “You yourself have recorded my wanderings (sorrows). Put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?”

There was a practice when David wrote that psalm of collecting your own tears from times of severe grief, so that you would have a memory of it in the years to come.

I tell you what…I think we have gotten grief wrong. We have defined a process with stages so that way we can get over it. But I’m not sure grief is a problem to get over. It is an experience that becomes a part of our life.

The question isn’t have we gotten back to normal, but has the grief been redeemed for good in our lives, or has it made us bitter?

But notice what David says in the Psalm, GOD collects our tears…in other words, he values and memorized our sorrows, taking them on himself. They are his memory too. They hurt him with us.

I pointed this out in our Genesis series, we’ll see if you remember. What story in Genesis do we see God get angry first?

Trick question. It’s not until Exodus when Moses is refusing to go save God’s people.

What we see in Cain and Abel, the flood, Abraham’s foolishness, and more is grief, sorrow, and patience.

Jesus is the word made flesh. He is the story in person. When Jesus weeps for the loss of his friends, EVEN KNOWING WHAT he is about to do, he is fulfilling the text. God weeps with you.

The crowd around notes Jesus’ love, but they also, thinking back to what they just watched him do with a blind man…wonder why he didn’t stop the death before it happened?

Here’s the climax of the story.

John 11:38-44 “Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. “Remove the stone,” Jesus said. Martha, the dead man’s sister, told him, “Lord, there is already a stench because he has been dead four days.”

Let me stop here a moment. Again this is Martha, who when asked if she believed, gave an absolute yes...

Let’s note that it’s easier to believe in theory than in practice.

It’s the difference between walking in balance on a curb, and a balance beam 5 feet off the ground.

She notes there will be a smell after this time…are you sure you want to do this?

John 11:38-44 Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you heard me. I know that you always hear me, but because of the crowd standing here I said this, so that they may believe you sent me.” After he said this, he shouted with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out bound hand and foot with linen strips and with his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unwrap him and let him go.””

Making death become life (38-44)

This is the power behind our first point. Even if...

Even if they die, they will live. For Lazarus and his sisters this was put on display here.

This is what I wanted my family and that EMT to understand in my dream.

Even with my part of your life ending, Jesus will make this death into new life!

There will be invitations to trust Jesus through this moment that couldn’t have come any other way

You will face the question, DO YOU BELIEVE THIS? And where you do, life will fill the dead places.

The calling of Jesus will become more clear, the invitation to follow him more meaningful.

And you will see in Jesus that God himself is weeping with you, capturing your tears and loving you right through the pain, right through your questions, right through your doubts, he’s not withdrawing, not leaving, not hesitating, just being present and weeping with you.

And in the end, it’s not the end. Here in this time, there is life to be born from this death. Ministry that only happens because of this moment. Someone else will experience Jesus tomorrow because of this pain today if you believe that Jesus is the resurrection and the life.

And beyond the end, there’s life eternal in the presence of our king where Revelation tells us

Revelation 21:4

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away.

What changes?

The next story…Palm Sunday…The disciples concern for going back to Judea wasn’t baseless…Everyone who saw Lazarus return, Luke says it was his disciples, all we know is a crowd is swept up in a praise song. Heralding an incoming king…and in just a few days, this king will be crowned…but not the way they envision it.

It will be a crown of thorns, and his lifting up will be on a cross.

Jesus is about to put his money where his mouth is. Is he the resurrection and the life? If he isn’t, he’s about to make a tragic ending to this story. But if he is?

If he is, then no tragedy is beyond redemption.

No hurt is beyond healing

No sorrow beyond comfort

No guilt beyond forgiveness

And that life replacing the death is for now AND forevermore.

Music by Ellen - In the Name of the Lord

There are some powerful lyrics here reflecting what this crowd who saw Lazarus raised from the dead now believed about this teacher.

Listen and reflect on the places in need of resurrection in your life.

Not what needs to change in another. Resist that temptation.

What needs to change in you? What wound do you keep that the Lord would heal? What bitterness do you have that the Lord would sweeten? What fear that the Lord would overcome?

As you listen, and then sing along…surrender.

If you have never done so and are ready to surrender and like Martha declare

John 11:27 ““Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who comes into the world.””

In the waters of baptism, there’s still time to join those being baptized next week. Come let me know, send an email, whatever.

There is also still time for you to grab someone like I grabbed that EMT and tell them your story. Tell them about your friend Jesus who is the resurrection and life. Who knows, maybe one moment of boldness on your part can mean one more baptized seven days from now.

Do you believe that Jesus is the resurrection and the life? He is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.

Pray

Music