1. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Dear family and friends of Tom, on behalf of the congregation here at Grace Lutheran Oak Creek, I want to express to you my deepest sympathies as you mourn over his death. But, I want to tell you today that even though we grieve over his death, we don’t grieve as those who have no hope. We can take hope and comfort that Tom was baptized into the Christian faith through water and the power of God’s Word and was brought from death to life on February 1st, 1947. Baptism gave to Tom the promise of the forgiveness of his sins, eternal salvation, and rescued him from death and the devil on account of our Lord Jesus. This is what the Apostle Paul teaches us in Romans chapter 6. The message from God’s Word is taken from John 11:20-27 and is entitled, “Asleep & Awake in Jesus,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
2. As all of you know Tom was deeply loved by his family and friends. He was a devout husband and father, providing for his family, as he worked for the Post Office for many years. These past seven years were especially difficult for him and his wife Rose, as his health was declining. But, even though his health was failing Him, Tom remained in good spirits, trusting in the promises of God through His Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Even though I only recently got to know Tom and his wife Rose, after they recently became members here at Grace this past Fall, I felt privileged to get to know Tom as his Pastor and care for him with God’s Word and Sacraments. One thing that Tom could trust in even though his memory was failing him, that God would never forget him as his chosen and adopted child through the hearing of God’s Word and the gift of holy baptism.
3. We’re here today because sin has caused our loved one to die. The Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 6:23 that, “the wages of sin is death.” Sin came into the world when Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating from the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden. Sin is what has caused all the suffering, pain, and toil that we go through in this fallen world. It’s because of our fall into sin that we rebel against God and harm our neighbor through our words and actions. If the result of sin is death, then how is it that we can have the hope of living eternally in heaven? Well, we get an answer to this question in our text from John 11.
4. When Jesus receives the message from Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus, that their brother has died, He says to the disciples in John 11:11, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him." Jesus often referred to being dead as sleeping. He did this when Jairus's daughter was dead, and again in the New Testament the dead are referred to as, "those who have fallen asleep," such as in 1 Corinthians 15:6, 18. Therefore, death is a kind of sleep. It's easy to misunderstand this expression because people have an incorrect assumption about natural life and sleep. We assume life is something we "own," something we have control over. Sleep is a pause, a period of rest in this life. We still own our lives during sleep, and we’ll wake up. But life isn't something we possess. It's something we receive from our Creator. We’re in His hand our entire lives, dependent upon Him. We live only as long as God continues His creative work and gives us life. That’s what sleep is too. The biblical truth about sleep is found in the Psalms, in Psalm 3:5 it says, "I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me." If I wake to a new day, it's because God has sustained me. When death is called sleep, it means that the dead are also in God's hand. This is the comfort we have for our dear brother in the faith, Tom, that He has fallen asleep in Christ. God our Creator has the same power over those who have died that He has over those who are alive. They, too, are in God's hands, completely dependent upon Him.
5. Upon arriving at Bethany, Martha, Lazarus’ sister says to Jesus in John 11:21, “Lord if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” It’s like Martha is saying, “Jesus, if you really loved us, You would have come here right away to heal my brother.” And such is the devil’s temptation. He loves to make us think, “Jesus, if you truly loved me, You wouldn’t have taken my loved one from me.” Jesus if you truly cared, then I wouldn’t be so sick.” “Jesus if You are always there for me, why am I feeling so lonely?”
6. Jesus loves Lazarus, and his sisters Mary and Martha, and that’s why he waits. Although it’s hard to understand, Jesus’ inaction is the best action. He knows what’s going to happen—Lazarus will be raised from the dead, and the result of this miracle will be that Jesus will be glorified and many more will believe that He’s the Son of God. And because Jesus loves you, He often waits. He doesn’t answer your prayer in the way or the time that you had hoped. He unexpectedly calls someone you love to his heavenly home like he did to our beloved Tom. In the midst of trial, he appears to be slow to help. It’s not easy for us to wait on the Lord. But know this, our Lord will act. And when He acts, He will bring glory to Himself. He may not heal your sickness or take away your cancer, but He will strengthen your faith through suffering and even use it as a witness to others. Because he loves you, your Lord will always do what is best for you.
7. If Jesus says that Lazarus has gone to sleep, why is it that in our text he weeps? It seems strange to the grieving family and friends of Lazarus. Their response in John 11:37 is, “Could not He who opened the eyes of the blind man also kept this man from dying?” If Lazarus’ death would make Jesus cry, why didn’t He keep Lazarus from dying? And it’s strange to us as well that Jesus wept. Jesus stayed where he was for two days before going to Bethany to see Lazarus and his family. And when he finally decided to take the journey he told his disciples, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him” (John 11:11). Jesus knew what He was going to do in Bethany and it’s for that reason that He waited.
8. Keep in mind that Jesus doesn’t weep because Lazarus had died or because he felt helpless or weak. He weeps for Mary and Martha, and their family and friends that the pain of death brings. Jesus is the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Jesus will live even though he dies, and the believer shall never experience eternal death in Hell. He who conquered death and the grave by His own death and resurrection gives life to all who believe now and also at the resurrection on the Last Day. And this is the same promise that Tom received in his baptism and by which we who are left here on earth can be comforted. As true man, Jesus sympathizes with our weaknesses as Hebrews 4:15 reminds us. In the church, we rejoice with those who rejoice, and we weep with those who weep. And what is true of the church, is also true of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the head of his body the Church. When a loved one dies, we can be certain that Jesus, the resurrection and the life, has given eternal life to that loved one who died in the faith. We can be confident that the one we love will be raised again on the Last Day. We have that sure and certain hope and yet we weep.
9. Yes, we weep at the face of death and our Lord Jesus weeps too. Even as He gives life to all who have fallen asleep in faith, He weeps with us who continue on our earthly journey. He not only weeps, but He also comforts us, He reminds us that He’s the resurrection and the life and by His word of promise, He strengthens us as we mourn. And we can take comfort in the fact, that this same Jesus, who has the power to raise the dead, will raise us and our dear Tom from the dead. when He comes again in glory on Judgment Day. So that we will be together again with Him and all the saints of God for all eternity. Amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, until life everlasting. Amen.
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