[1]Our world is in a state of unrest. Covid-19 has spread across the globe, bringing with it feelings of uncertainty and insecurity. These feelings have caused a certain amount of fear to take root in the hearts of humanity. Some display fear of this virus with their rash and reckless behavior. Acting as if they are immune to the virus, they go about their day with little to no thought as to how their actions affect others; they do not avoid places or persons where the risk of infection is high, but laugh and joke about it wishing to prove how independent they are. They speak of government conspiracies and media propaganda. They say things like, “when it’s your time it’s your time. If the good Lord wants to take me, He will, otherwise I don’t need to be concerned about this virus.” But as is often the case, behind such boasting bravado is fear.
Others display fear of this virus with their panicky and anxious behavior. Acting as if infection is all but inevitable, they go about their day with little to know thought as to how their actions affect others; disregarding their duties and obligations to their fellow man they physically and virtually cut themselves completely off from their community. When they do venture out it is to horde supplies that they do not need and in so doing they deprive their neighbor of their basic needs. They say things like, “I must do all that I can to ensure that my family is protected from this virus by any means necessary. If that means that others have to do without or are put at greater risk as a result, then so be it.” In this instance it is easier to see that behind such wild worry is fear.
What is it about this virus that has caused such fear in the hearts of humanity? The disruption to daily life, empty shelves at the grocery store, and economic volatility play a part to be sure, but it’s more than that. The reason Covid-19 causes fear is because this virus carries with it the threat of death. Every day I get my channel 2 update and every day the death toll rises. Globally, over 22,000 people have died from this virus. Here in the state of Georgia, nearly 50 of our own have died. Numbers like these are unsettling. They are unsettling because they force us to think about death and not just the deaths of the unknown thousands, but our own death.
It is normal that thoughts of death should unsettle us, at least it is normal now. You see, death is not a natural thing. I know we often speak of it as if it were, but you were not created to die. You were created to live. When God decided among Himself to make us in His image, He created us to live in eternal perfection. But when Adam and Eve sinned against God by eating the forbidden fruit, they chose death. They chose death not only for themselves, but they chose death for all of their children who would be born not in the image of God but in the image of their sinful parents, that includes you and me. Saint Paul describes our situation rather succinctly in Romans 6:23 where he writes, “the wages of sin is death.”
It is now normal for thoughts of death to unsettle us, but there is no reason for those thoughts to cause us fear. Today, in our lesson from John 11:17-45, we are reassured and encouraged as we see our Savior at war with death.
Death looms in the background of our lesson for this morning, specifically the death of a man named Lazarus. Though we have previously been introduced to his sisters Mary and Martha, this is the first mention of Lazarus in the gospels. He is described by John simply as a friend whom Jesus loved. The love that Jesus has for his friend Lazarus is repeated twice. Likely repeated because upon hearing that Lazarus was sick, Jesus waited two days before He went to visit him. By the time Jesus arrives John tells us, “17 Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.” There was an old Jewish superstition that the soul of the dead hovered near the corpse for three days. By the fourth day the soul was said to depart. Jesus gives us no indication that this superstition is true. But it is likely he waited till the fourth day so that everyone would know that Lazarus was dead-dead. Saying Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days is a polite way of saying Lazarus was as dead as a doornail.
Before his death, Lazarus must have been a likeable fellow. John tells us “19 many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother.” As was the custom relatives mourned the death and revisited the tomb of a loved one for seven days. During this time friends and neighbors would come to pay their respects. I wonder if they said the same types of things we say when trying to comfort the grieving. I wonder if they spoke of Lazarus’ passing saying things like “he’s in a better place.” or “He’s resting.” or “it was his time to go.” We say such things in an attempt to comfort the grieving, but honestly, we are very much aware that they aren’t really all that comforting. But we say these things anyway because we really don’t know what to say. We don’t really know how to comfort someone who has come face to face with something as frightening as death.
Thankfully, Jesus does; Jesus knows what to say to comfort the grieving. Jesus said to Martha, “23 Your brother will rise again.” Thinking this to be yet another well-meaning platitude “24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” In effect, “thank you for saying that Jesus. It’s nice to know you care.” Likely Martha had been hearing things like this for the past four days. But this was no platitude. Jesus, wanting her to understand the comfort that he offered her “25 said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26 and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” Jesus tells Martha that He is the great “I AM”; that is “the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”[2], the all-mighty and all-powerful God of heaven and earth. He tells her that as the great I AM He is the defeater of death and the giver of life. He tells her physical death cannot separate her brother Lazarus from his Savior. He tells her because her brother believes in Jesus as his Savior he will live for all eternity in heaven. And then Jesus asks Martha the most important question of her entire life. “Do you believe this?”
What would your answer be? Think about it for a moment. Do you believe this? Do you believe this even when the death toll continues to rise? There is no denying that death is sin’s most powerful weapon. As the sinful sons and daughters of Adam and Eve we cannot avoid death, despite our greatest efforts the best we can manage is to delay it for a while. Whether it comes as a result of a virus or so-called natural causes, death eventually comes for us all. It’s not difficult to understand why death is a foe that many people fear. But the question is, do you believe that Jesus is who He says He is? Do you believe that Jesus is the defeater of death and the giver of life? Do you believe this? Your answer to this question will greatly impact how you feel about death.
Martha answered Jesus’ question with these words, 27 “Yes, Lord,” “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.” Martha believed that Jesus was the one set aside by God for the purpose of saving humanity from the wages of sin. She believed He not only had power over death but that He came into this world to defeat death for her and for all people. Martha believed that Jesus was Who He said He was, and her faith in Jesus chased away her fear of death.
Your faith in Jesus can do the same for you. 500 years before Covid-19 spread across the globe Martin Luther faced the Bubonic plague. He faced it not with a fear of death but with faith in Jesus. Listen to what he wrote. “act like a man who wants to help put out the burning city. What else is the epidemic but a fire which instead of consuming wood and straw devours life and body? …Therefore, I shall ask God to mercifully protect us. Then I shall fumigate, help purify the air, administer medicine, and take it. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance infect and pollute others, and so cause their death as a result of my negligence. If God should wish to take me, he will surely find me having done what he has expected of me and so I am not responsible for either my own death or the death of others. If my neighbor needs me, however, I shall not avoid place or person but will go freely, as stated above. See, this is such a God-fearing faith because it is neither brash nor foolhardy and does not tempt God.” Only a person who believes Jesus is Who He says He is can face death without fear.
Martha believed Jesus was Who He said He was. Her faith in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world allowed her to face her brother’s death without fear. Jesus, wanting to reassure her that her faith was well placed, went to the tomb where Lazarus had been laid. “39 Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” (A reminder that Lazarus is dead-dead.) Despite her objections the stone is removed. Jesus then called out in a loud voice, “43… Lazarus, come out!” and John tells us “44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” There is no denying that death is sin’s most powerful weapon, but never forget, sin’s most powerful weapon is no match for Jesus.
I understand why Covid-19 might be unsettling. As the death toll continues to rise there is a temptation to be filled with fear that causes us to be either reckless and rash or panicky and anxious. In this unsettling time, I pray you find assurance and comfort in the One Who is both resurrection and life, so that you may face Covid-19 not with fear of death but with faith in Jesus. God grant it for us all. Amen
[1] The reader may want to read Martin Luther’s letter “Whether One May Flee from a Deadly Plague”.
[2] Revelation 22:13