Finding the End of the Road

Back in the day when we had 3 or 4 children at home at a time, we often took road trips. Once, I recall, we were living on the East side of Atlanta, and decided to go through Birmingham, AL toward a civil war battlefield in Tennessee, but I miscalculated the distance and so we stopped in Birmingham for a hamburger. We were all tired by the end of the meal, so we turned around and drove home. It began known as “the time we drove to Birmingham for a hamburger”.

Other times, we’d just go exploring, trying to find a new place like a state park or just a place where we’d heard there might be a pretty place. I remember us driving around, trying to figure out on the map where to go. Yes, this was before GPS systems.

We looked at the map, turned off the four-lane, drove down a two-lane, made a couple of turnoffs, then went down a small two-lane road, it became a one-lane road, more and more it became a gravel road, and then we saw a sign pointing to the little town we wanted to get to. We were excited, because we knew we were getting close. We kept driving until we came to a bridge. Well, not quite. There was no bridge – only a “Bridge-out” sign and a sudden drop off. We could see the road we wanted to travel on the other side of the river, but that didn’t do us any good. All of our fiddling with the map had been worthless. Sometimes, you can’t get to where you want to go to. We needed a guide - the map was useless. Sometimes the road ends before you thought the road would end.

Early in the last week of His life on the earth before He was executed on the cross, Jesus and His disciples got into a series of debates with Pharisees and Sadducees, the two principle groups of Jewish leaders. They debated paying taxes, marriage during the resurrection, what the greatest commandment was, and how the Messiah, the Savior, could possibly be the Son of David if David called him “Lord”. Jesus then warned about the teachers of the law and how they put on a great show for prestige and money – and then complemented the faith of a widow who put two pennies into the Temple treasury, all she had. They then left the Temple complex, a huge area.

One of the disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!”

Jesus replied, “Do you see all these great buildings? Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

A few minutes later, as Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives where they could clearly look down upon the Temple, which undoubtedly glittered and sparkled in the setting sun because of all the gold and gems and limestone blocks. Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him quietly, “When will all these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?”

Jesus told them tat it would be a while. “Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will claim to be Me and will deceive many. Don’t be alarmed when you hear of wars and rumors of wars. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places and famines. These are beginning of birth pains.”

Jesus spoke for several more minutes, reminding them that they would be persecuted, but they must be His witnesses, speaking to governors and kings. The gospel must be preached to all nations – but don’t worry when you are arrested, just let the Holy Spirit speak.

But when they saw a sight from Daniel’s prophecies – “The abomination that causes desolation” standing where it does not belong, then all those in Judea should flee to the mountains. Quickly. Immediately. A bad time follows. But then, after many false sightings, Jesus would be seen coming in the clouds with great power and glory. But only the Father knows when – not even the angels in heaven – nor even Jesus, but only the Father. So, Jesus said, “Stay alert.”

Verse 30 is intriguing: “Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.”

So looking back from the 21^st century, we know certain things.

First, we know that Jesus was speaking in the year 33 or 34 AD.

Second, we know that about 30 years later, within the lifetime of many of the disciples, in 64 AD, a large Jewish revolt against Roman rule began. The war continued until August of the year 70, when the Romans broke down the gates of Jerusalem, entered the city, and then spent several months destroying the city – and most particularly, the Temple of God.

Third, we know that in the year 134, after several smaller revolts, the Romans had enough, and kicked the Jews out of Jerusalem, later allowing them to return for a single day each year to mourn at what remained, which was the Western retaining wall that supported the compound, that wall we still see today as the Western Wall. It is all that remains of the Temple complex. One group of Jews moved to Eastern Europe and Russia by way of Babylon, Persia, and Kazakstan, the Askanazi, while another group moved to Egypt and eventually to Spain, France, and England. These were the Sephardim.

Fourth, Jews slowly returned to Jerusalem over the centuries, but not in great numbers until the late 1890’s, and then in increasing numbers after World War I and again after World War II and another surge came after the fall of the Soviet Union. Of course, the modern state of Israel retook Jerusalem and declared it to be the capital during the 1967 Six-day war.

At the time of Jesus, there were about 6 million Jews, almost all of whom lived in the Roman Empire, with about half living in the Holy Land, and the other half living dispersed throughout the Empire. The Empire’s total population at that time was about 100 million, so about 1/16^th of the population was Jewish.

Today, there are about 18 million Jews worldwide, with about 6 million living in the Holy Land, about 6 million living in the United States, and the rest scattered throughout the world. About 6 million died during World War II in work camps, prisons, and extermination camps in German-occupied territory. The Jews have suffered tremendously over the centuries since the Romans destroyed their Temple. But prophecies have kept them optimistic about the future.

 In times of stress and fear, many Christians look to the prophecies with an attempt to determine whether the end is near. In fact, about twenty years ago, an entire series of fictional books, the “Left Behind” series was written which attempted to make sense of the various prophecies in the Bible, which are mainly located in the Book of Daniel, the Book of Revelation, as well as II Thessalonians and this section of Mark – and the equivalent sections of Matthew and Luke. A particular view of the end times has come to dominant popular Christianity because of these books, the Scofield Bible, and the pronouncements of Herbert W Armstrong, a Sunday morning televangelist from the 1960’s and 70’s. I call it the "standard model".

In this view, the return of Christ will be signified by a series of events which leads up to the Rapture, when all the dead and living Christians will meet Jesus in the air. Then, a series of terrible events we call the Tribulation will happen over the next seven years, in two periods of three and a half years, during which the world is basically destroyed and non-believers may or may not have a chance to repent and be saved. All of these points are argued over. 

An Anti-Christ appears, an evil man opposed to Christ. After this, the old heaven and earth pass away and a new Heaven and a New Earth appear, with New Jerusalem, descending in Revelation 21, a massive city 1500 miles wide by 1500 miles long by 1500 miles high.

In New Jerusalem there is no Temple. None is needed, for God the Father and Jesus the Son walk with us. The Tree of Life is there, bearing fruit twelve times a year – and the living water flows from the throne of God. Life is good, life is eternal, and we are ruled by the wisest king of the Universe, which is what makes New Jerusalem such a special place.

Unfortunately, while New Jerusalem is promised, this standard model of how we get there may or may not be true. The end has been predicted many times, especially in America, by this preacher and that preacher, beginning in the 1800’s. In fact, since 1901, there have been at least 81 predictions of the end of the world. For example, in 1918, the Jehovah’s Witnesses began to say that “Millions now living will never die” as they expected the Return to occur in the mid 1920’s. Other preachers have given countdowns to the end. As my son Andy is fond of saying, despite his young age of 24, the world has supposedly ended five times in his life alone. But we clearly don’t know how to interpret all of these ideas about end times. And, by the way, there are currently six more predictions of the end of the world between now and 2088.

Interpretations have varied over time. For example, it appears likely that the destruction Jesus talked about in Mark’s Gospel was the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 AD. There are many historical figures who have been identified as the Anti-Christ, such as the Roman Emperor Nero who ruled at the time the Jewish Revolt began in 64 AD; Attila the Hun who sacked Rome a few centuries later; Martin Luther, who began the Protestant Reformation; Napoleon Bonaparte, who temporarily conquered much of Europe around 1800; Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany who led Germany during World War I; Adolph Hitler, who led Germany during World War II; Stalin, the leader of Russia during and after World War II; and even Ronald Wilson Reagan, our President, who happened to have 6 letters in each of his names, and thus was tied to "666", the "Number of the Beast" by some people.

My point is simple – Only God the Father knows the time schedule for the end – not even Jesus nor any of His disciples. This is something that Jesus Himself has told us. And so I think that anyone who claims to know the schedule for the end of the world is simply trying to sell books and videos.

So what should a person do?

It is good to break away from the useless study of things we have been told we cannot understand, and study those things of God that we can understand. In the Book of Hebrews, chapter ten, the writer tells us:

¹¹ Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 

The writer is referring to the Temple priests of his time, where the priest perform sacrifices to pay the penalties for sins, which still did not take away those sins, merely paying the fines, merely apologizing for the sins.

¹² But when this priest [meaning Jesus] had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, ¹³ and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. ¹⁴ For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

Those of us who are followers of Jesus Christ, who have repented of our sins and been made clean by baptism are made perfect by the sacrifice of Jesus. As far as God is concerned, our sins are taken away forever. The writer continues:

¹⁵ The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says:

¹⁶ “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.”

¹⁷ Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” ¹⁸ And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.

There is no longer any need to sacrifice animals and grain at the Temple, for God the Father has forgiven us and no longer remembers our sins and lawless acts. Through the Holy Spirit, God has put the laws in our hearts and written them on our minds. We are no longer bound to laws engraved on tablets and written on scrolls, but through the Holy Spirit, we can understand what God’s law is for this specific occasion, rather than worry about interpreting between conflicting laws that were engraved permanently and could not take into account changing situations.

¹⁹ Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰ by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 

In the great Temple of God, there was a Most Holy Place where only the high priest could visit – and he could only visit once a year. A rope was tied to his leg in case he messed up and God killed him - it happened several times over the centuries. 

This Most Holy Place was separated from the world by a special curtain. Yet, because of the self-sacrifice of Jesus, the blood of Jesus has opened a way for us to approach God in this Most Holy Place. The Gospels tell us that upon the death of Jesus, there was a great earthquake and the curtain was ripped in the Temple from the top to the bottom by God.

²¹ and since we have a great priest over the house of God, ²² let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 

Through baptism, we are now clean enough to approach God, following Jesus Christ who presides of the house of God today. Have you considered how much misery we have brought into our lives because of our guilty conscience about all we’ve done wrong? Trust in God and Jesus – they have said that they forgive our sins and lawless acts no longer. Even forgive yourself, because when we don’t forgive ourselves, we are pretending that our opinion of what we have done wrong is more important than God’s opinion of what we have done wrong – and God is the one who established what is right and what is wrong in the first place. The writer continues:

²³ Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. ²⁴ And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, ²⁵ not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Because we can approach God in the hope and faith of eternal life, we can stop being selfish and instead do acts of love and good deeds toward one another, continuing to meet together and encourage one another. And the closer we get to the end, the more we should do this.

But do you remember I told you about us driving down a road, only to find a Bridge Out sign – and no bridge? The road continued on the other side of the river.

For most people, this is the way that the road to the end of the world has been. For centuries, people have been trying to get to New Jerusalem where they will meet Jesus, drawing out all sorts of maps to get there. We come up with all sorts of ways to get there, arguing with each other whether there will be a rapture – or not, whether the rapture will happen before the seven years of tribulation, in the middle of the tribulation, or after the tribulation, some people say that the tribulation has already happened because it was what the Jews went through during World War II or maybe under the Emperor Nero, and so we try to draw out the map and figure out the way to New Jerusalem with Jesus.

And then, a bus hits us as we cross the road, COVID comes and we end up on a ventilator, we have a heart attack, we are diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer, and we see the sign ahead: “BRIDGE OUT”. And after our drive down the road of life stops, we realize that we were always headed to New Jerusalem with Jesus, following Jesus – or we were going to fall over that sudden drop off, because we weren’t following Jesus.

How the end times happen isn’t important.

What is important is whether or not you’ve decided to follow Jesus, our great high priest. For Jesus knows the way to New Jerusalem. Only Jesus. As the writer of Hebrews says:

“since we have a great priest over the house of God, ²² let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. ²³ Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. ²⁴ And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, ²⁵ not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Take the trip. Find New Jerusalem. Follow Jesus, for He is the only way to get there.

Show and Sacrifice

Throughout history, there have always been people who saw in the worship of the gods an opportunity to make money. In ancient Egypt, in Greece, in Rome, there were men and women who saw in the hopes and dreams of people a chance to make a fortune by declaring that such and such a god or goddess required a great temple to be built, with a large statue of the god or goddess to be built in the temple. In Athens, there was the temple of Athena with a huge statue of the goddess. In Ephesus was the beautiful temple of Artemis, and an entire industry of silversmiths who made small replicas for tourists – when the population of Ephesus began to convert to Christianity through Paul’s preaching, the silversmiths went to the town leaders and had Paul thrown in prison. And in the great Temple of God in Jerusalem, there were so many men who ran businesses selling sacrificial lambs, changing money, and other such things that Jesus turned over their tables and chased them out with a whip.

Other people have seen in the worship of gods – even in the worship of Jesus Christ – an opportunity for money and power, a chance for prestige and celebrity, a chance to be greeted with “respect in the marketplaces”. There have always been people who announce boldly their worship of a locally popular god, such as Apollo or Baal or Jesus and then strive for political power – and then there are those who work quietly to advance the cause of God or Christ. Our two readings today show the difference between those who would become known in this world for their mention of God – and those who would be great in the kingdom of God for their humility and quiet devotion to God, to Christ, and to the Holy Spirit.

Our first reading speaks of the prophet Elijah. Elijah comes upon the scene in the Book of I Kings, in chapter 17. He walks into the throne room of King Ahab of Israel, who’s wife had brought into the country several hundred priests of the Lebanese god Baal. Elijah then announces, ““As YAHWEH, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.” Then, Elijah leaves town, goes into a ravine east of the Jordan, and stays there, with the ravens bringing him food, and he drank from the brook in the ravine. No great following, no great prestige – Elijah was a quiet hermit. He stayed there until the brook dried up because of the lack of rain.

Then, the word of the Lord came to Elijah, telling him to go to the village of Zarephath near Sidon in Lebanon where a widow would supply him with food. He met the poor widow gathering sticks to cook the last meal for herself and her son, for they were about to run out of flour and oil. Elijah told her not to be afraid, for God will provide. And miraculously, there was always flour and oil during the time Elijah stayed there. God had honored God’s word.

Notice that although Elijah was very opposed to King Ahab because Ahab’s wife Jezebel had supported the worship of Baal, a Lebanese god, instead of worshiping Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Elijah did not seek the public spotlight. One visit, a short announcement which directly confronted Ahab’s god Baal – since Baal was the Lebanese god who controlled the weather and storms – and then Elijah disappears for several years – over three years, in fact. This is in marked contrast to those preachers today who strive to stay in the spotlight when they oppose a particular politician, like yapping small dogs who irritate the mailman as he walks by a house. No, Elijah delivered God’s words and then let God handle the day-by-day effects. Elijah understood that it is God who must be glorified, not the prophet.

Well, eventually, God told Elijah to directly challenge priests of Baal to a battle of the gods on the top of Mount Carmel in front of tens of thousands of spectators.  Each side built an altar and prayed to their god to light the fire on the altar sacrifice. Hundreds of priests of Baal prayed and danced and chanted all day long to no effect. Elijah then built his altar, poured water on it, and prayed to God. God lit the sacrifice with fire from heaven. Elijah took advantage of the situation to have the large crowd kill the priests of Baal. Then, because Ahab’s wife Jezebel vowed revenge upon Elijah, Elijah ran into the desert, to the mountain of God where Moses had brought down the tablets of the Law, once again disappearing from the spotlight and listening to the quiet whisper of God speak to him.

Upon his return, after finding and training Elisha, Elijah’s replacement, Elijah was taken into heaven by a fiery chariot, out in the middle of nowhere. For, you see, God is due the glory, not those who speak for God.

When God came to earth personally as Jesus Christ, God the Son who walked upon the earth,he specifically spoke about a group of Jewish teachers of the law. Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”

Let’s look carefully at what Jesus is critical of. He is not critical of those who teach – but of those who teach for prestige, to develop respect and honor. He is not upset because these men wear nice clothes – but because they wear these clothes for prestige and so they will be greeted with respect. Jesus is not upset that they make long prayers, but because they make lengthy prayers “for a show.” He is upset that they take money from poor widows, that “they devour widows houses”. You see it is the motive – they act good, doing things which are good and holy – teaching, praying, etc. – but they do these things not because they are good and holy, but because they want respect and places of honor and money, they want the SHOW of being good and holy. Thus, according to Jesus, these men will be punished most severely. Jesus says that God does not like people who do things for show.

It was in the Middle Ages that this problem reached its peak. In Germany, in the 1400’s and 1500’s, entire county-sized areas were controlled, not by counts, but by bishops. The land was actually owned by the bishops – and families competed to buy these lands when a bishop died. This was one of the issues which upset Martin Luther, the man who 504 years ago launched the Protestant Reformation of the church.

Don’t do things for show. And this applies to our purchases today – how much of what we buy is for show, to impress neighbors, to impress family, to gain respect of people rather than God.

To draw a contrast, after pointing out the duplicity of the teachers of the law, Jesus takes his disciples to sit near the money box where people put money into the temple treasury. There was no collection – simply a large box with a slot where people could drop coins in.

Jesus and the disciples watched and saw some rich people putting in large amounts. Then, a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, essentially a pair of pennies.

Jesus pointed this out to his disciples. “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything – all she had to live on.”

It is from this teaching of Jesus that we get the idea that giving of treasure is to be in proportion to our income. Let me put it into today’s situation:

Imagine watching. Bill Gates and Warren Buffet and Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk and Jeff Zuckerberg come to the church, each of them billionaires worth between fifty and 200 billion dollars. They each put a billion dollars in the box.

Then, here comes great aunt Sally, who lives on minimal social security, and puts her last $20 bill into the box, all she had left for the month. Jesus would commend great aunt Sally, for she had put in everything she had to live on, saying she had given far more than the billionaires, because she chose to depend upon God rather than her money.

So how much should we give?

In the ancient law of Moses, each person is to give one-tenth of the harvest – the first tenth of the harvest – to the temple. This was to support the entire tribe of Levi, who were the temple priests and local priests. But in fairness, that tenth was also to support the judges, as well as the army and police and the king. Ten percent – one tenth – and notice it was to be the first tenth, before you actually had a good feel for what the season’s harvest would be.

From this, many churches have adopted the idea that the ideal is for everyone to give a tenth of our income to the church. But should that be 10% before or after taxes. If you have to ask that question, you’ve missed the point.

For the point is that we are to assume that God will take care of us, just as God takes care of sparrows and mice and wolves and porpoises. But shouldn’t we save money for a rainy day? Only within reason, for the more money we save for a rainy day, the more likely it is that we will depend upon our savings rather than upon God.

I’ve told the story of my devout Christian friend who lived very frugally. They tithed to their church. He and his wife paid off their home very early, in about ten years. They paid off their vehicles. They set aside money for college for their children and money for retirement. Eventually, my friend’s retirement account was topping a million dollars – and he was just reaching 50 years of age. His company down-sized – and he was laid off. A quick look at the math showed that he could have lived comfortably for the rest of his life off his retirement savings. No mortgage, no car payments – and over $40,000 a year, just from the interest from his retirement savings.

But he panicked. His savings account was no longer growing! So he took an out of town temporary job, and then another, because his security revolved around the growth of that retirement account. Eventually, his wife left him and his children rejected him. He had transferred his need for security to the account, rather than to God.

Another view of giving is that rather than give 10% of our income, we should all be like the widow, giving away whatever we have left over. Probably not, although the Franciscan order of monks operate on that as a daily principle – one of their guiding principles is that they will never take a payment for work that would result in money kept until the next day. They are to hold onto nothing except a change of clothing, a place to sleep tonight, and food for the next few hours, depending upon God for all daily support. Of course, this sets us up for trouble when we break a leg, an arm, or get sick.  

John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, famously said, “earn all you can, save all you can, and give all you can.”

But here’s a practical guide for today. Attempt to give about 10% of your monthly income to the church. This is a long goal. But if you are new to this idea, don’t panic. Instead, gradually start with a small amount – say, $5 a week – and then, as you are able to give up the useless, frilly, luxuries of life, increase what you are giving over a period of months and years. For example, if you are spending $4 on coffee a day, consider making your own for a dollar a day, and you’ll find that in a five-day week, you’ve saved $15.

Pay off your debts and then divert that money toward being generous to your church. Don’t buy on credit for Christmas this year and in January you’ll be pleasantly surprised as what you have available. Trust God, not your credit card. Each year, see if you can increase your giving until you reach the 10% target. And then – you might give even more for special projects.

A large part of Christian growth is turning from a selfish look at ourselves to gradually opening up to others. When we give, we are actively saying to ourselves, “Self, let’s be less selfish!”

Another large part of Christian growth is a growth in our faith, in our trust that God will take care of us. Many times in my life, I’ve seen where we’ve given $20, $50, $100, even $300 to someone generously – and God has repaid us over the next few days or weeks. As we give more to God and others, we are actively saying to ourselves, “Self, let’s trust God more!”

As we move into the holiday season, every day you’ll be given choices to make. You’ll be choosing whether to give a child a toy – or a Christian video such as a VeggieTales video. You’ll be choosing whether to give a sweater or a Bible or a devotional book or a Billy Bass singing fish. You’ll be deciding whether to give your family a set of matching pajamas or the Angel tree a gift. You’ll be deciding whether to go in debt or pay off debt. Will you eat at a restaurant or at home? Each time you make this decision, you’ll be making a decision between what the world would have you do – and what Christ would have you do.

You may be nearly broke. And if you cannot give to the church – pray. Pray together as man and wife. God will grant your prayer that you can give to the church and to other people. For you are turning to God, learning to trust God, wanting to trust God. And so God will help you to overcome that barrier. But never let your finances stop you from coming to this church. We’d rather see you every week for a year without you giving a single penny – or two pennies – than not see you at all.

After all, as a church, we’ve been through COVID and God has been good. Today, we have several more people with us than before the first lockdown. God honors those who do God’s will – and we expect that to continue. Remember to pray and ask God for God’s will before you make your decisions about what to buy and what to give, when to go in debt and when to pay off debt, whether to go for the show and whether to go for sacrifice.

And if you are one who has been listening to us on Facebook or on the radio or receiving our sermons, consider a small donation to support these ways we have been reaching out to you. On our website, cedargroveunitedmethodist.org, you’ll see the word “give” in the top middle of the screen. Click on that and you’ll find a page where you can give a one-time or recurring donation of an amount of your choice.

The Hope

One day in the spring of the year 33 or 34, Jesus and his disciples were spending time in the northern part of the Jordan Valley. Word came from Mary and Martha, innkeepers who lived in Bethany near the top of the Mount of Olives, that their brother Lazarus was very sick. Could Jesus come quickly?

The family were old friends of Jesus, possibly going back decades. Martha, you’ll recall, was the older sister who hustled and bustled around arranging a dinner for Jesus, while younger sister Mary sat at the feet of Jesus and listened to his teachings during a previous trip where Jesus and the disciples stayed at their home on a visit to Jerusalem. They well understood the power that Jesus had to heal people.

When the word came to Jesus of this illness, Jesus delayed for two days, saying “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” After two days, he said, “Let’s go back to Judea”, which is the Wood County-sized area around Jerusalem.

The disciples protested that the Jews of Judea had tried to stone Jesus during His last visit to Judea, but Jesus insisted that he needed to go back, because “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there it wake him up.”

The disciples, still afraid of the Judean Jews, reminded Jesus that if Lazarus was sleeping, he would get better, so Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead” So they decided to go, with Thomas giving the sarcastic comment, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

They traveled to Bethany, to the home and found many mourners there, because Bethany is just a two-mile walk from Jerusalem, up and over the crest of the Mount of Olives. Martha came out and chewed out Jesus. “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died!” Aggressive, accusing, almost abusive, spoiling for a fight! Then, her tone softened. “But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha agreed, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day,” looking forward to that future resurrection that many Jews then – and many Christians today look forward to.

Jesus corrected her. “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?”

Somewhat taken aback, Martha answered. “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” She retreated then, going back to the house and calling her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here and is asking for you.”

Mary got up quickly and went to Jesus. The mourners followed her, thinking she was going to the tomb to mourn Lazarus.

When Mary reached Jesus, she fell at his feet and said the same thing that Martha had said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” But Mary said it while laying at Jesus’ feet, heart-broken and weeping. There was not the accusing tone that Martha had brought; instead there was a great feeling of sadness, of tremendous loss, of what might have been.

The effect upon Jesus was immediate. He was deeply moved in his spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” he asked.

Mary and the crowd said, “Come and see.”

And Jesus wept. The Son of God, knowing the power He had, the Savior of all people, knowing the wisdom He had, God the Son walking upon the earth, the One who had created all things by directing the power God the Father had sent His way, this divine man wept. Why did he weep?

Perhaps he wept because he had seen death millions of times since the creation of the earth, the death that had not been part of the original plan.

Perhaps he wept because he remembered what had been intended with Adam in the garden, and He remembered what was lost when Adam disobeyed.

Perhaps he wept because another one of his beloved friends had suffered, enduring that time of transition.

Perhaps he wept because he saw the pain that Mary and friends suffered as they had watched her brother die.

Perhaps he wept because he knew that it was critically important that in less than five minutes Jesus would need to bring His friend Lazarus back to this life from where Lazarus was, but Jesus also knew the additional pain Lazarus would endure by living again in this life!

The Jews stared at him and, as people do, they whispered. “See how he loved him!” some whispered. Others said, “He’d opened the eyes of the blind man. Couldn’t he have kept this man from dying?” But none were willing to let their understanding of the power of God go far enough to imagine what was about to happen. For few men have the imagination to know what God can do, bound up as we are in the solidness of this world, tied down to what we can touch and see and feel.

Jesus, once again deeply moved, came to the tomb, a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone,” he said.

Martha, always practical, bound to what she had seen and felt and tasted,  always knowing that these religious types were prone to forgetfulness, reminded him of the practical issue. She had believed that Jesus could heal people because she had seen it in earlier visits. But she also knew that there was a practical reason people put dead bodies in tombs and then seal the tombs. “Lord, by this time there will be a bad stench, because he’s been there four days. It will stink.”

But Jesus turned to her confidently and said, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?”

Martha stared back. She probably didn’t know if she was looking at a madman or not, but she wanted to believe. Did she believe in this man? Was it really possible for a man to come back to life? Did her brother’s life depend upon her belief? But people didn’t reopen graves. Graves were not places where nice, good people went to. She dithered for a minute and then decided to believe in this strong, wise man from Galilee who had been so much a friend over the years. So she waved to a couple of servants who removed the stone.

Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” And then, he called out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”

And 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.” And so they did.

Even today, like Martha, our practicality keeps us from fully believing in the complete power of Jesus over life and death. We like to talk about Jesus healing people, we like to talk about a future resurrection of everyone one day, and we love to tell people that they need Jesus. But somehow, we’ve failed to take those ideas and make them the basis of our lives. As the days go on and on, we don’t see Jesus, and a loved one dies, and we are sad, like Mary and the mourners with her, filled with tears and sobs and misery.

You see, we have transferred much of our faith in God’s wisdom and power to our faith in the wisdom and power of physicians, of scientists who develop antibiotics, of machines that see inside of us. And yet we forget that God designed our bodies and knows how they operate much better than the physicians. We forget that the interrelationships between the various chemicals in our bodies were working hundreds of years before drug companies began selling pills by the millions. We forget that God knit us together in the womb, each of us, before ultrasounds and x-rays ever showed us what we look like.

There is nothing wrong with listening to the wisdom of physicians, to the experience and studies of the drug scientists, to using the MRI’s and ultrasounds and Cat scans. But we must always remember that, in many ways, physicians and pharmaceutical companies, instead of being our healers, they have become our enablers who support us in our sinful behavior, gluttonous behavior such as overeating, smoking, drinking too much, lustful behavior which leads to certain diseases, slothful behavior which leads to much less exercise than what we were designed for to clear out troublesome chemicals like glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, and kidney stones.

Have we developed diabetes because we eat too much sugar? No problem, we have metformin, a pill that will allow us to keep eating and drinking sugar, but reduce our blood glucose levels, at least for a while. We won’t need to develop self-control or ask God for help. We won’t even need to walk for exercise.

Do we worry? No problem, we have pills for that, too, and we won’t have to admit that things are out of our control, we won’t have to turn problems over to God, we can keep worrying, but we won’t be scared anymore because of the pills they have given us. And so we worry constantly, losing sleep, and because we don’t sleep, our brains begin to shrink and develop plaques which lead to Alzheimer’s instead of trusting God to take care of our lives and the lives of others around us.

No, we use our physicians as crutches instead of turning to the teachings of our God who walked upon the earth, Jesus Christ, who would keep us healthier if we actually believed what He has told us – that in the last days, God will dwell with his people. And we don’t really use our physicians’ pills as crutches, because crutches are supposed to be used for a matter of days or weeks and instead, we use the pills until we die so we can continue our bad habits, our sinful behavior, our gluttony, our sloth, our lust, our worries rather than following the instructions and believing the promises of God. No, we don’t really believe what Jesus and His disciples told us, like the Apostle John in Revelation 21:

“³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations will be destroyed by Jesus.”

 

That death shroud began unraveling when the tomb was found empty so long ago in that garden. Jesus will swallow up death forever!

⁵ He who was seated on the throne said to John, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

⁶ He said to John: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.

Oh, if only we would believe this, not only in our heads, but in our hearts!

Oh, if only we would live our lives knowing that one day, like Lazarus, we will sleep, but then Jesus will awaken us.

Oh, if only we would let go of the terror of death, knowing that Jesus has conquered and lit a match to that death shroud, and knowing that we have nothing to fear!

When I am worried – and I worry from time to time – I have found that nothing settles me down like the vision of New Jerusalem coming to earth that is found in Revelation 21, for there is one certainty in my life. I will walk in New Jerusalem! I will walk beside the river that flows from God’s throne, under the tree of life that produces twelve different fruits every year. And, no matter the condition of my body between now and my death sleep, I will walk, for I will have a new, incorruptible body, just as Jesus did after His resurrection. And I will praise God.

Please join me in that praise.

DOXOLOGY 95

Take this time to pray for your twelve people you are leading to Christ. Take this time to pray for them to come to know Christ and His love for us. Take this time to pray for God to save their souls. Become the saint who will be known for leading others to eternal life.

Let us sing:

It is Well with my Soul