by Rev. Dr John Evans
John 11:1-45
Today our Gospel reading concludes our examination of significant encounters involving Jesus as recorded in St John’s Gospel. We have heard about a leader of the Jews, Nicodemus who was challenged to be born again, or born from above; we have seen Jesus meet a women in the despised territory of Samaria, a woman whom he offered living water. Last week there was a blind beggar who Jesus heals and so indicates that he is “the light of the world”. Today Jesus raises back to life Lazarus who has been dead four days. This time he asserts “I am the resurrection and the life”.
In each of these encounters we have asked this question – how do they help us understand that Jesus is the Christ, and that through believing in him, we may have the fullness of life – eternal life? In the previous weeks we have focused on how we believe and what we might believe – today the issue is why we might believe. Why? And the answer seems to be bundled up in this proposition – that in believing in Jesus we have “life in his name”; or as Jesus asserts today- we have “resurrection and the life”. What is this life – eternal life?
The incident itself, and the conversation surrounding this incident helps. Unfortunately this account can also lead us up some very awkward and unhelpful paths about life after death – but more of that later. First, what happened.
Lazarus was ill; a brother of Mary and Martha – two women known by Jesus. Jesus, who is a distance away from Bethany, is advised by the sisters of Lazarus’ illness. He then delays his departure – and there is an interesting discourse with his disciples about how this illness will not lead to death. He eventually arrives in Bethany, which is just next door to Jerusalem. On arrival he discovers that Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days. At this point there is a conversation between Jesus and a very distressed Martha (the very practical Martha). Jesus says Lazarus will “rise again” – he is the resurrection and the life. Mary then comes and greets, indeed worships, Jesus – also distressed. She is weeping along with others who also are weeping. Jesus at this point also becomes distressed – he too weeps at Lazarus’ death. He goes to the tomb, again assures Martha it is not too late, and says that she should have faith. He calls out in a loud voice – Lazarus come out. Lazarus comes out – still bound in his grave clothes, which Jesus then commands to be removed.
So is this it – is this what eternal life means; do the words of Jesus that “those of who believe, even though they die, will live” mean when you are at the point of death, or even dead, even dead for four days and beginning to rot, you may return to life. Is this why we would believe Jesus is the Christ?
Now you are a modern, scientific rational congregation, here today. I can say to you, I do not know what happened here. The how question of this story. How all this happened. Just like last week, I don’t know how mud made from dust and spit washed in the pool of Siloam could heal a blind man – or indeed how any of the signs or miracles recorded by John happened. I am prepared to push the margins of my normal scientific world and say miracles do happen – and that there are mysteries, in the best sense of the word, in this world. But what I am sure about that Jesus, at least the Jesus of John’s gospel, is that faith just based on the observable, and particularly observable extraordinary events, is not a deep and true faith and perhaps is not even faith. This was the problem of Nicodemus and the problem of all those people who will only believe if they see signs – see miracles, extraordinary things. Here with Mary and Martha – Jesus again is saying the same thing: please don’t just believe because of this miracle, perhaps the most amazing miracle of all – the raising of the dead. But more, don’t believe that life, eternal life, is living on this planet when we are 100, or 200 or whatever years old – and not actually dying. That is not life in Jesus’ name – that is not eternal life.
I don’t usually credit politicians with profound theological insights, however, when Paul Keating once referred to John Howard as Lazarus with a triple bypass, he actually got at the heart of what the Lazarus story is about. It is a about a comeback; in that instance Howard’s return to a role of leadership that everyone had assumed had been beyond his grasp. Keating was not on about a new intensity of a relationship with God, or eternal life. He was on about a comeback in which there had been continuity with what had happened before. . . . amazing, but still continuity. Resurrection is different.
Consider these aspects of our story.
Jesus is adamant that Lazarus is not really dead – he is just asleep. He delays his return to Judea because of this. So if Lazarus is raised form the dead – is Jesus really saying, that from Lazarus’ perspective, he has really just been sleeping, and he has now woken up. It is still the same Lazarus, life goes on, and at some point in the future he will die. This miracle was about resuscitation, not resurrection. A miracle all the same, and a miracle which might lead people to understand more deeply the glory of God. It was not however, resurrection.
Consider also how John treats this story in his over all gospel account. John has only a few miracles – he calls them signs. This is the last and arguably the most spectacular– before the passion and resurrection of Jesus. It is located here as a clear pointer to the passion story – but it is not this story. Let us fast forward to that story – the essence of which is that from Christ’s death, death on the cross, we are given life the fullness of life, because Jesus is no longer constrained by death. Out of death comes life. New life.
In contrast here, what happens is that from this miracle, at least according to John, it leads directly to his death. From 46 onwards listen
Some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what he had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees call a meeting of the council and said, What are we going to do? This man is performing many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him.
Well to cut the story short – as verse 53 says –
From that day on they planned to put him to death.
From life to death. From the raising of Lazarus – life, to Jesus’ death. Resurrection would be different. It was not just a sign that would lead people to follow him. From death of the old – the old ways, the way of the flesh – the way of sin – to a new creation; a new way of being – to the fullness of life, even eternal life. Resurrection was new life, which is God’s gift.
And the details of this story are different.
When the two disciples get to the tomb on Easter morning, John and Peter discover the grave clothes lying there in the empty tomb: that empty tomb a symbol, a pointer to the reality of the new life in Christ. When Lazarus is resuscitated - he still has his tomb clothes on. Indeed Jesus has to order that they be removed. The dead, though now breathing and living again, is still bound by the reality of death, and for him to resume his life – something still has to happen to him. Resurrection is new life; not the old life with a triple bypass. There is not a continuity, but disjunction.
So if what we gain in believing in Jesus is not resuscitation, what and when is this resurrection. In a sense we need to wait till Easter for this, however, in Jesus’ conversation with Martha, some insight is given. She too is concerned about resurrection. A view at the time was that there was resurrection, however, it only occurred on the last day. When one died there was no life after death, or immortality of the soul, or being always in the grace and presence of God. When one died, that was it. You died. However, on the last day, at the end of the age, or “at the end of the world” there would be a resurrection of the dead – a very physical thing. This was off into the future – you would have to wait . . . and wait a long time.
It was at this point Jesus says – “I am the resurrection and the life”. Jesus, without going into details as to what this resurrection is, brings this whole time scale forward. He is talking about now – the now, even before you die. Jesus is the resurrection and the life – now. This hope of living in the relationship with God; living within the peace of God – begins now, of living life with a depth and intensity of peace and assurance, is now. It begins while we are alive. Jesus shares this life now – it is not simply an extension of the bodily functions of the old ticker and rickety bones; it is a new relationship now. It is what we celebrate in our baptism.
In a sense the miracle of the raising of Lazarus – is just about how Jesus addresses the grief and emotion of his two sisters. Jesus, like the others, is overcome with sadness. He is compassionate. Lazarus is raised . . . and at that level it is almost a frivolous miracle, in that Jesus is not able to cope with the normally processes of life, illness and death. But John helps us use this incident to see important realities about our future and relationship with God. It is not about living again or extending our life on this planet; or even living and breathing in some parallel universe. Nor is our resurrection about dying, and then entering some amorphous spirit world, undifferentiated from some kind of spiritual soup swirling around. It is about you and I now, with our own unique and distinct existence, with our own histories and personalities – forever being able to know or more likely, to be forever known by God. We don’t just drift into that relationship, or bring it about with our own endeavour – that is God’s grace and love to offer to us this “life in Jesus’ name”. We simply need to believe in him – as he says “whoever believes in me, even though they die will live and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die”.
These things are written so that in believing that Jesus is the Christ we may have “life in his name”.
