A Sermon Manuscript by Adam Miller
Read: John 11:1-12-11
I performed my first funeral for someone I had never met. I was working at a restaurant when my boss came to me and asked if I would perform his father’s memorial service. I didn’t know exactly what to do, but I couldn’t say, “No.”
Funerals are not easy to perform, especially if you didn’t know the person. I found out that my boss had a strained relationship with his father and they hadn’t ended things on good terms. They were not believers, so that put an even greater strain on what I was asked to do.
I took the opportunity to talk about the sting of death and present the gospel. Jesus is the only hope for the greatest enemy we all face. It is appointed for everybody to die, but Jesus offers us eternal life.
The Gospel of John gives us a unique story in the final narrative leading up to the triumphal entry and the start of passion week. While most of the encounters Jesus has had up until this point have been heavily based on conversation and teaching, this story gives us a lot of narration. In fact, there is very little actual teaching from Jesus. Instead, we learn about Jesus primarily from His responses and the responses of those around Him.
Jesus Responds to News that His Friend is Sick
We know this story, or at least we can anticipate how it is going to end. Jesus is going to raise Lazarus from the dead. John gives us that insight early on when Jesus says that this sickness will not end in death. His responses, therefore, don’t seem that strange to us, but we have to consider how they might have been perceived by His disciples.
Jesus is not in a hurry to get back to Judea. The disciples thought that it was because Jesus was afraid of His enemies, but Jesus is delaying to demonstrate a point.
When Jesus finally decides to leave, the disciples remind Him how the religious leaders had tried to stone Him. So Jesus responds with a cryptic message about walking in the light versus walking in the darkness. In this He is saying that He knows what He is walking into, and He is not afraid.
Jesus is going to Jerusalem to die. The death of Lazarus will become an important teaching opportunity for His disciples. Thomas rallies the others and says, “Let’s go and die with Him,” but he doesn’t quite understand the depths of what Jesus is about to endure.
Martha’s Response to Seeing Jesus
Jesus first encounters Lazarus’ sister Martha. She is the strong willed leader of the clan. She tells Jesus that she knows that if He had been there, the circumstances might have turned out differently. Jesus’ response seems like a generic comfort, “Your brother will rise again.” So Martha responds with the appropriate catechized answer, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” But Jesus wasn’t interested in testing her theological aptitude. He is pushing Martha to see who He really is. This is where we have the fifth of the great “I Am” statements, “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?” This is the summation of everything Jesus had been teaching for three years leading up to this point. Martha answered with a powerful confession, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”
Notice the simplicity of her confession. Martha expresses her faith, but it is not fully formed. Her brother is still in the grave. She will protest when Jesus tells them to roll away the stone. Jesus accepts her confession, however, not because of her great faith, but because it is true. He is the Messiah and the Son of God. He will do for Martha what she cannot do for herself.
Jesus Weeps
As Jesus heads toward the grave, He encounters Mary, Lazarus’ other sister. She is the emotional one. She is flocked by a crowd of mourners. She echoes the same words as Martha, but there is no theological conversation about the resurrection. Her response is saved for later. Instead, John points us to Jesus’ reaction to seeing Mary and the mourners overcome by grief.
In ancient Israel, it was a custom to mourn for the dead for a prolonged period of time. Families would often hire professional mourners to cry and stir up everyone’s emotions. Jesus sees the display of grief and is troubled. This is the same expression that Jesus had when He wept over Jerusalem in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.
Jesus is not weeping for Lazarus. It’s not an empathetic response for Mary or Martha. He is troubled by the mourners. They are fixated on death and their mourning symbolizes their lack of hope. Jesus weeps because He sees the real problem. Death is their greatest fear. It has come into the world because of sin and Jesus is about to die on the cross for the sins of the world.
Jesus demonstrates the frustration He feels by praying out loud, “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.” Then He calls Lazarus by name and Lazarus comes forth.
Caiaphas Responds to Jesus
The crowds respond in an expected manner. Many believe in Jesus after witnessing His power, but some went straight to the Pharisees to tell them about what Jesus had done. While they are discussing what to do with Him, the high priest declares, “It is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.”
John gives a bit of commentary here to explain that Caiaphas was prophesying without even realizing what He was saying. Yes, Jesus would die for the people, but not so that the Pharisees could maintain their power and control.
Jesus came to die, but His death was meant to bring life. No one could take His life. He would lay it down willingly, but He will take it back up again. Just as Lazarus was raised from the dead, Jesus would conquer death so that we might live with Him for eternity.
Mary Responds to Jesus
Later, Jesus is feasting with Lazarus and His disciples when Mary comes in and pours out an expensive ointment on Jesus’ feet and wipes it up with her hair. This is not only an expression of gratitude to Jesus, but an act of worship.
This is contrasted by Judas’ response. He considers the gesture a frivolous waste. This is meant to demonstrate the differences between those who recognized the value of Jesus and those who were only concerned with their own interests. Judas and the Pharisees had every opportunity to see Jesus and hear the words of eternal life, but they were only focused on the riches this world has to offer. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus had faced death and understood what really mattered.
Jesus says that this ointment was meant for His burial. It wasn’t just the leftovers from Lazarus’ funeral. Mary and her siblings must have bought this in anticipation of the worst case scenario. Mary’s expression to anoint Jesus’ feet before He died demonstrates her faith that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. Instead of using this ointment to symbolize their sadness, it is used to celebrate Christ’s life.
We must consider our own response to Jesus. Are we like the Pharisees who outright reject Him? Are we like Judas who drew close to Jesus because He saw a way to enrich his own life? Or are we like Martha and Mary? Have we confessed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God? Have we poured out our greatest treasures at His feet and exalted Him as Lord over our lives?
Adam Miller is the president and host of Songtime Radio and serves as the pastor of South Chatham Community Church. This article is a condensed version of one of his sermons.