Grace Mercy and Peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Our text today comes from the Gospel of John, chapter 11. Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for 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. Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 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.”
Thus far our text.
He is risen, He is risen indeed, alleluia, amen. That phrase has been the greeting of the Christian Church at Easter for thousands of years. In the ancient church it was even the greeting of Christians year round. In that simple phrase, “He is risen,” our entire faith is summed up. We believe that Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead, and that we too will be raised from the dead.
A few days ago, we gathered together and meditated on the torture that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ suffered. We saw Him beaten, spit on, mocked, tortured and crucified. We saw as He cried out in a great voice, “It is finished, Tetelestai,” and earned our salvation as He gave up His life. This morning, we look back with certainty, knowing that when the tomb in which He was laid was found empty, our salvation and eternal life was truly earned for us. The empty tomb meant that Christ is no longer dead, and that death no longer has power over us in our sin. Instead we are now Christ’s, now we have certainty of life.
But do we have certainty? Do we really believe that Christ was raised from the dead? I have never seen anyone rise from the dead. I have never seen someone whose heart has ceased beating for more than a few minutes, who has come back to life. I have never seen a person who’s body was bloated and decaying in a tomb for three days, rise again. It is beyond what I can understand. It doesn’t make sense. It seems beyond belief. But that is what we proclaim today with loud alleluias. He is risen, he is risen indeed, even if I struggle to believe it. He is risen, because God has power over life and death.
Scripture tells us that Jesus is not the only one who rises from the dead through the power of God. We have several more examples which show us that God has the power over life and death. We have Jairus’s daughter, who dies and is raised by Christ. We have the widow’s of Nain’s Son, raised by Jesus. And we have the most famous, Lazarus, Jesus’ friend who was raised by the power of Christ.
If we look at the story of Lazarus, we see it is quite the interesting story. It takes place about a week before Good Friday. We see that a friend of Jesus is sick, and dies. They bury him in a tomb, and by the time Jesus arrives, he has been laying there for four days. 2000 years ago, in the warm spring climate of Israel, it did not take long for a body to begin to deteriorate. It didn’t take long for the stench of death to come from a body. Lazarus died, and after four days, the text makes note that his remains would already have been decaying. There is no doubt at this point that Lazarus is dead. He has passed into eternal rest, and nothing can bring him back.
The family, certain of this has begun to mourn and wail. All of Lazarus’s friends come and weep for the loss of their friend Lazarus. But he is gone, nothing can bring him back. Even Jesus mourns at the loss of Lazarus. He mourns that because of sin, mankind must die. He mourns that in our sin we must deal with death. Lazarus too was a sinner, and in that sin, he has now died. The loss assosciated with death overcomes all those around.
But Jesus had said, “I am the resurrection and the life.” And here he proves it. Jesus has the tomb opened, and standing outside calls forth Lazarus. He who was dead is returned to life. He is raised from the dead and he is returned to his family. The mourning of loss turns into joyful shouts, and accolades. By the mere speaking of His words, Jesus brings one of his believers back to life. By the speaking of His words, Christ can make death run backwards.
This is quite the magic trick isn’t it. Except that it isn’t a magic trick. Today, you can go and see this, Lazarus’s first tomb. You can walk down inside of it, and see where Jesus called Lazarus forth from death. You can walk the same steps Lazarus walked out of the tomb. This isn’t a magic trick it is the work of God. It is a miracle that God used to show that He truly is the Resurrection and the Life (John 10)
This miracle happened, because Christ is true God. It happened because shortly after raising Lazarus, Jesus was headed to his own suffering and death. Unlike Lazarus, Jesus would not die for his own sin, but instead for your sin. Jesus would suffer and die, and be laid in a tomb, just like Lazarus.
Imagine that you are one of the disciples on Easter Saturday. The man who you quit your job to follow has been brutally killed before your eyes. You thought he would be ushering in a new Israelite kingdom, but instead He was arrested tried and crucified. He died on a cross on Good Friday. What now for you? You are afraid to even go outside for fear of being arrested yourself. You are afraid of being condemned yourself. What can you do? Where will you turn?
But Christ has power over death and life. Even though He is killed, the grave cannot hold him in. Even though He was executed, His life could not be permanently ended by human means. Instead, Christ is the Ressurection and the Life. He is the one who has control over life and death.
And He has earned that right. He earned it by obeying God’s law completely and totally. He earned it by passively submitting to the will of the Father and drinking the cup of wrath prepared for sinners. Christ took our place and He suffered for us. And when our salvation was assured to us by the spilling of his holy precious blood, He announced to the world that sin and Satan were defeated by His resurrection.
On this day, almost 2000 years ago, His tomb was found empty, just like the tomb of Lazarus was found empty. Just as He called Lazarus back into life, God the Father raised Jesus back to life through His glory and power.
Bur Jesus’ resurrection was even more wonderful than Lazarus’. Lazarus would die again. Lazarus had two tombs, one in Bethany and one that church tradition holds was in the city of Larnaca on the island of Cyprus. He served as a pastor there until again he died and was reburied.
Jesus will not die again. As the prophet Isaiah says, “He has swallowed up death forever.” (Isaiah 25:8) Where O death is thy victory, Where O death is they sting? (1 Corinthians. 15:55, Hosea 13:14) It is gone forever. Death cannot defeat Jesus Christ, because by his own death, he defeated death. On that first Easter morning, when the tomb was found empty, that message has resounded throughout all the world. “Through Christ, death is defeated. Through Christ you have life.”
This is the Easter Message, Christ has risen, he has risen indeed. And this message is important to the whole world, especially to us poor miserable sinners. We hear promises in God’s word about our own selves. We hear that we have not kept God’s law. Scripture even says that “If we say we are without sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” We are poor miserable sinners, and as sinners we too must die. Just as Lazarus died from his illness of sin, we too will die unless we live to see that last day. Just as Jesus laid in a tomb, we too will lay in a grave of some kind.
It is the price that we must pay for our sin. It is the consequence of our disobedience to our heavenly Father.
And we see that in our daily lives. Even when we try to obey God, we fail, we cannot keep His laws. And in our failure we feel trapped. We are uncertain which way we should turn. We are uncertain if there is a way out at all! All we can do is flounder around in our sin.
Being trapped in our sin is very much like being trapped in a grave. In our sin we are dead. In our sin we cannot climb or dig our way out. There is nothing that we can do. We are stuck, permanently. Just as a dead Lazarus could not remove himself from his own tomb, neither can we rescue our selves. We are lost in our sin. We are dead in sin.
But Christ is risen. His tomb has been opened and the message of His victory has been spread over the entire Earth. It has come to our ears as we hear that beautiful message both in song and word. Alleluia. Christ the Lord has Risen today. I know that my Redeemer lives. Alleluia. That message has come to our eyes as we see a tomb opened with angel proclaiming the victory of the Lamb. We taste that message as we this morning participate in the body and blood of the God man, Jesus Christ. And this body and blood we eat is no longer laying dead in a tomb, instead it is the body and blood of the Living Lord Jesus Christ. For Christ is Risen.
Because Christ is risen, so too are you risen. One day, we may die, but we still have the promise of eternal life. In Christ, you have life. In Christ you no longer need fear death or the power or the power of the devil. You are set free, to live and reign with hi for all eternity. In Christ’s life, you too receive life, life to the full.
How do you receive this gift? In the waters of Holy baptism we already have died with Christ and been raised with Him to everlasting life. We no longer need fear death, for Christ has overcome. The strife is over, the battle done. Now is the victor’s triumph won. Now be the song of praise begun. Alleluia.
Death has no power over you. Even if you shall die, yet shall you live. In Christ there is victory. In Christ you triumph, the enemy is destroyed. Today, you have eternal life. You are risen with Christ.
Christ is Risen, He is risen indeed. Alleluia. Amen!
