First Baptist Church of El Dorado - Sermons
Tune in each week as Pastor Taylor Geurin leads us into a study of God's Word.
First Baptist Church of El Dorado - Sermons
Autobiography: Enduring Hope: Exploring Faith, Grief, and Resurrection at Lazarus' Tomb | John 11:1-44
What if you could experience a profound hope that transcends the challenges of this world? Join us on an journey through the powerful narrative of Jesus at Lazarus' tomb. We promise you’ll gain fresh insights into themes of faith, belief, and resurrection, as we unpack Jesus' bold declaration, "I am the resurrection and the life." Through this lens, we explore the deep, unwavering love and faith shared between Jesus, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus across three pivotal locations, emphasizing the eternal life Jesus extends to all believers.
Experience the depth of emotion as we reflect on the poignant encounters between Jesus and Lazarus's sisters, Mary and Martha. Their interactions with Jesus reveal a complex balance between frustration and faith, offering a sincere portrayal of grief and trust in divine plans. Through Martha's theological dialogue and Mary's emotional confrontation, we find a space where expressing vulnerability to God is both authentic and encouraged. Discover how Jesus embodies both humanity and divinity, as His empathy beautifully unfolds in the midst of divine intentions.
In our final reflections, we turn our gaze towards the theme of resurrection and its impact on our lives today. By contrasting Lazarus's temporary resurrection with the eternal promise for those in Christ, we invite you to consider the future joy that awaits amidst current struggles. Drawing inspiration from a personal journey to the Holy Land and the promises in Revelation 21, we encourage listeners to let their grief carve new spaces for joy, grounded in Christ's assured resurrection. Embrace this message of enduring hope, and join us on a path toward a future where pain and sorrow are no more.
1st Baptist Baptist El Dorado. Will you join me now in listening to our sermon from this week? Let's open up to John, chapter 11. John, chapter 11, where today we see our fifth I Am statement, where today we see our fifth I Am statement. There's a lot going on in John chapter 11. We also see what is really the seventh sign. Jesus does seven signs throughout the book of John that John records and they show very clearly who Jesus is. Through the I Am statements. He tells us who he is Through these signs. He shows us who he is Through the I Am statements. He tells us who he is Through these signs. He shows us who he is. And so today we have the fifth sign excuse me, the seventh sign and the largest, most grand, miraculous one, and we also have our fifth I Am statement. I want to quickly read and pray for us as we begin. I want to start in verse 20.
Speaker 1:So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. Martha said to Jesus Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, god will give you. Jesus said to her your brother will rise again. Martha said to him I know that he will rise again in the resurrection. On the last day, jesus said to her I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die yet, shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? She said to him yes, lord, I believe that you're the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world. Let's pray. Lord Jesus, thank you for your word. Would you teach us this morning through your word, spirit, would you speak? Would you speak to each of our hearts, encourage us with the good news of the gospel. Let us leave with the kind of hope that the world cannot offer and the world cannot take away. We ask this in Christ's name, amen.
Speaker 1:John chapter 11 is really a story told in three settings. A story told in three settings. Number one is on the other side of the Jordan River. Why? Jesus, in the last chapter, has been teaching, and we saw this. He talks about being the gate and being the good shepherd, and then he takes it even a step further and says I am the and the father are one. I and the father are one. The Pharisees and the religious teachers do not like this one bit, and so they actually try to stone Jesus. They literally try to kill him. And Jesus and the disciples are able to escape, and it says they escape to the other side of the Jordan. And so now they've found this place of retreat. Setting number one. Setting number two is on the outskirts of Bethany, right outside this town, that is, about two miles outside of Jerusalem. Setting number three is at the tomb of Lazarus. It's a story told in three settings.
Speaker 1:Let's begin in John 11, 1. Now a certain man was ill, lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary, and her sister, martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother, lazarus, was ill. So we're setting the scene with the characters. You have Mary and Martha and you have their brother, lazarus, and this is a family that Jesus loves deeply.
Speaker 1:We see in Luke, chapter 10, a story of Mary and Martha. Jesus comes to their house and Mary is sitting at the feet of Jesus, learning from Jesus. Martha is doing all the tasks and the duties, and Jesus gives her this reminder that there are better things than being busy, and being with Jesus is the better thing. We see even in the next chapter John, chapter 12, and we see the story of Mary anointing Jesus' feet, washing them with her hair. This is a family Jesus loved and this is a family that loved Jesus. And so in verse three.
Speaker 1:So the sister sent to him saying Lord, he whom you love is ill. It's as simple as that, just a few words. Lord, he whom you love is ill. It's as simple as that, just a few words. Lord, he whom you love is ill. That's all they had to say. Notice, they didn't add anything to that. They didn't say Jesus, can you drop everything you're doing? Lazarus is ill. Jesus, we need you to get here as soon as possible. Lazarus is ill. They didn't say that. Why? Because they didn't have to Think about it this morning. And God forbid. But if I'm preaching up here and someone comes and whispers to me and says, taylor, one of your children is very ill and Katie's got them on the way to Children's in Little Rock, I'm sorry, but you know we will close the sermon and I will be on my way to Little Rock and Dustin can come up and we can take requests from the hymnals and that's how the service can end, but I will not be here and I hope you'll forgive me for that. Notice, katie in that message didn't have to say Taylor, could you cut the sermon short? Could you get here quick? No, I'm already there, I'm on the way. When Mary and Martha reach out to Jesus, all they have to say is those words Lazarus, the one you love, jesus, he's sick. And for Mary and Martha they know everything else is taken care of that. If Jesus can just get those words, jesus will be on the way.
Speaker 1:Verse 4, but when Jesus heard it, he said this illness does not lead to death, it is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God might be glorified through it. This first statement. We see a few that something is stirring underneath the story. There's something deeper going on here. Jesus is up to something and he doesn't let us know yet, and John doesn't let us know yet, but something's stirring that this illness is going to be used in some kind of way.
Speaker 1:Verse 5, now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was ill now here's the weird part he stayed two days longer in the place where he was Again. Verse 5, jesus loves this family. Verse 6, jesus hears that Lazarus is ill. The end of verse 6, jesus stays two days longer in the place where he was Again Jesus, the one who Mary and Martha didn't have to say please come. That was implied. What does he do? He stops and he stays, not for one day, for two days longer, right where he is Now. What in the world do we do with that? That doesn't feel right. That doesn't sit right with many of us. That doesn't feel like it fits with my timetable. Have you ever prayed to the Lord and it felt like he stayed two days longer in the same place? And it felt like he stayed two days longer in the same place. You prayed to the Lord and you needed something immediately and you knew what you needed, and it wasn't even a selfish prayer, it was for someone else and you needed it, and it just felt like Jesus stayed two days longer in the same place.
Speaker 1:We're not going to answer the question of what's going on here yet, because the whole text is going to do this, but one preacher says it like this that we've got to remember that God's delays are not God's denials, that something deeper is happening underneath the whole story here. Then, after this, he said to the disciples let's go to Judea again. Just to briefly summarize 8 through 16 for the sake of time, they're going to go back to Judea. They're a little nervous about it. Remember, we were just in Judea and they tried to kill us, and now you're sending us back there. But we're going to go and Jesus, we're going to follow you. And so, setting number one we are on the other side of the Jordan. We're staying there two days longer than you and I might have thought we should have. Now we come to setting number two on the outskirts of Bethany. Look with me at verse 17. Look with me at verse 17.
Speaker 1:Now, when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Have you ever prayed something that felt like Jesus stayed in the same place four days, that you prayed for something and even the two-day answer might would have worked. God, we might could have worked with two days, but you waited four. You waited a year, you waited four years. Jesus waits four days. I would have felt a little better if the text had told me Jesus just barely missed it, like he didn't arrive in the nick of time. But he just barely, barely missed it. He got there as quick as he could, but he couldn't get there in time. But it says he got there four days later.
Speaker 1:Something's stirring underneath all this and we'll get our answers some of them but what we need to see is this that Jesus is coming at a time not just when Lazarus is dead, but when Lazarus is dead. Did you catch the difference there? Jesus is coming four days later, not just so that Lazarus is dead, but in this moment Lazarus is dead. There's not going to be any hocus-cus, work of magic, smoke and mirrors. This is not some type of oh, we thought we had lost Lazarus, but maybe he was okay all along. Lazarus is dead, four days dead. We've seen a few verses. When they go to the tomb, the sisters don't even really want it open. There'll be an odor by now. He is dead. So he arrives. He'd been in the tomb four days.
Speaker 1:Verse 18, 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. So when Mary heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. Verse 21,. Martha said to Jesus Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. Let's think about that verse for a second. If you had been here, my brother would not have died.
Speaker 1:There's two ways we can read that and if you read most anybody talking about this passage, they're going to be split on how we read that. There's a charitable version of that and a not-so-charitable version of that. I think we understand the not-so-charitable version. Lord, if you had been here, my brother would still be alive. Lord, if you would not have just shown up four days later, my brother would be alive and well right now. But there's also another way, because in one sense we do see Mary's faith and understanding as the verses continue Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
Speaker 1:That's a fact. Continued Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. That's a fact. She knows who Jesus is. She knows the reality of what he's able to do. Of course, jesus, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But she continues. But even now, I know that whatever you ask from God, god will give you. There's still this look at the authority and ability of Jesus and look at this 23,. Jesus said to her your brother will rise again and that's good news.
Speaker 1:Verse 24, martha said to him I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day. Now, the way Martha responds here is it's a strong response, it's a wise response, it's a very hopeful response. Is it's a strong response? It's a wise response, it's a very hopeful response and it's a very accurate response. Theologically she is absolutely correct. She knows her scripture and she looks towards that day of the Lord when the resurrection will occur for those who are in the Lord. And she is waiting on this day. And so when Jesus is saying your brother is rising again or will rise again, she hears those words. Martha does, and she's looking at that day far into the future, and I'm thankful she is, and that's accurate and that's hope for each one of us today looking to that day in the future. Yet in this specific moment, jesus doesn't mean less than that, but he certainly means more because he's got something a little sooner in mind.
Speaker 1:Verse 25, jesus said to her I am the resurrection and the to Martha, excuse me, gives this I am statement. And really what he's saying is this that resurrection is something that you're looking towards far into the future. But if you'd open your eyes, resurrection is something that is standing right in front of you, someone that is standing right in front of you. We see all throughout so many of these, I am statements. It's as if Jesus is saying that this resurrection is not something that I reach into my bag of tricks and hand out. It is something that I am. I am the resurrection and the life. If you want resurrection and life, that is not a thing you get, that's a person you get. That is a reality that I provide in and of myself. I am the resurrection. Whoever believes in me, though he die, he will live. Everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.
Speaker 1:And we sit here and say, well, taylor, or maybe we say John, I mean Jesus, I mean I know I'm going to die, and that's true. If the Lord does not return first, that will happen to you and that will happen to me. That is a reality. And yet, at its ultimate level, there is eternal life, that, though we die, we will live. And we'll see more and more about that as this text unfolds.
Speaker 1:But then Jesus turns it around. Do you believe this? Jesus doesn't need the theological lesson. He doesn't. Jesus is theology. Standing before her, he turns it around. Do you believe this? And this beautiful response? She said to him yes, lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the son of God, who is coming into the world. I believe this. I still don't believe she has any idea what's about to happen in this moment, in a few moments, but I do believe that she believes this with all her heart. In a few moments. But I do believe that she believes this with all her heart. So we continue.
Speaker 1:When she had said this, she went and called her sister, mary, saying in private the teacher is here and is calling for you. And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. Now, jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. We're still in our second setting the outskirts of Bethany. When the Jews who were with her in the house consoling her saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there.
Speaker 1:Now, when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. Once again, there's two ways to read it charitably or not so charitably, and, to be honest, with Mary right here, I think we can read it more as frustration, raw emotion. Lord, if you had been here, lazarus would be alive right now. Lord, if you would have just done something, everything would be different right now. Lord, if you would have just done something, everything would be different right now. Lord, maybe if you had gotten our note and it hadn't taken four days for you to arrive, our brother would still be alive. I wonder this morning if, in our honest moments, if you've prayed any prayers like this to the Lord, just those times where you do realize the Lord knows my heart anyway, and so you come before him with the reality of what you're feeling and what you're thinking and you just voice to the Lord. Lord, if things just could have been different.
Speaker 1:Lord, why me, and why now? And why this? And why am I walking through this loss? Because my family's already walked through that loss. And, god, why, at this time in my life, do we have this diagnosis in the family? God, why am I, you know, having to like on Instagram all the posts of the pregnancy announcements, when we've been praying for months and months and months and there's no announcement on our part. God, why am I waiting? Why is this happening? God, what in the world are you up to? Why are you taking so long? It really is God that you don't even hear me. God, where are you in this moment? And maybe you prayed those prayers that, if you had been here, my brother might still be alive.
Speaker 1:God, if you could have just answered my prayers how I prayed them, when I prayed them, in the way that I prayed them, things might be different. But I want you to notice something, as Mary comes with this very raw, very authentic cry out to Jesus, where is she? Verse 32 again now. When mary came to where jesus was and saw him here it is she fell at his feet, and so mary is bringing her raw feelings to the lord, but is doing so at the feet of Jesus. Notice, she's not back at the house with the others kind of gossiping about what had happened. And can you believe Jesus couldn't be bothered to get here four days late? He can do whatever he wants. He healed a blind man, you know, just a few days ago. If he could have been here, he could have done things differently. He's not running from Jesus. He's actually running right up to Jesus and in that moment, at the feet of Jesus, acknowledging that he is still one to come to, that he is still an authority and in a sense, there is this mode of worship that is existing, even while, at the same time, my raw feelings and prayers on the situation are coming forward, because there is this reality that our authentic prayer and our worship can go hand in hand.
Speaker 1:Think about David. 2 Samuel, chapter 11 makes the biggest mistakes maybe one person could make in about one week's time. He commits adultery, he tries to cover it up, he manipulates, he deceives. He eventually sends a letter to have an individual killed. So now murder's involved. A few days later, nathan comes to him, tells him what he's done.
Speaker 1:David authentically asks for the Lord's forgiveness, repents of his sin. It's this beautiful moment. Even after failure, the Lord says your sins are forgiven. But in that moment the consequences do remain. And the Lord says that the son who was born to you by Bathsheba will die. And so what does David do for the next seven days after the child is born to you by Bathsheba will die. And so what does David do for the next seven days after the child is born.
Speaker 1:He fasts and he prays. And he's on the floor and he's fasting and he's crying out and he's praying for God to spare his son. And he's praying, and he's praying and he's praying, and on the seventh day the text says this happens the son dies. And then what is David's response? You can look it up 2 Samuel 12,. He rises, he cleans himself up, he puts on clothes and the text says he goes to the temple and he worships. He goes to the temple and he worships. And this seems strange.
Speaker 1:And yet there's this reality that even our confusion and uncertainty about the movement of God in a moment can still go hand in hand with our worship of God. Even when I don't understand what you're up to or how you're doing it, or what you're thinking in this moment, or why you haven't answered these prayers, and even when I can't understand the road that you're taking me on or why I'm walking through this, I can still acknowledge who you are and the authority you have, even in the midst of the circumstance that, even in the confusion and the pain, I can still run to your feet and acknowledge that you are who you say you are. And so here's Mary falling at his feet. If you had been here, my brother would not have died. And when Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. This word, this moved, it's a very deep word and really it's indignant. There's something deep going on, almost a frustration, and it's strange like what is he frustrated over in this moment? It's kind of weird to get indignant at a funeral. That's probably not a good response, but commentators are split that maybe he's looking at both Mary and the Jews in the crowd and there's this grieving without hope. But really maybe it's that Jesus is just angry at death. He knows what he's about to do. He knows what he's about to do. He knows he's about to turn the time clock of death backwards for one individual. And yet in this moment he's just a little mad that death has chosen to show up today, because in this moment there's a group of people that are completely torn up over the reality that we live in a broken world where death is real. And he said where have you laid him? Verse 34,. And they said to him Lord, come and see.
Speaker 1:In verse 35, jesus wept. Throughout John 11, we get incredible pictures of Jesus' divinity You're about to see a big one in a minute but we also see these beautiful glimpses of Jesus' humanity. The reality is, his friend is in a tomb. He's about to head that way. Mary Martha, these Jews, they are weeping over their friend.
Speaker 1:Verse 35 again Jesus wept. Have you ever wept in Bethany? Have you ever wept in Bethany? Have you ever stood on the outskirts of Bethany and wept In a hospital room and wept On your living room floor and wept, staring into an unknown future and wept? Have you ever stood heading to a funeral and wept? If that is you, then you have a Savior that can walk with you in that, that is willing to associate with the emotions of his humanity, that is willing to really meet us in our most vulnerable moments, that even in these painful periods of our lives, we have a Savior that understands, that can walk with us. A Savior that's about to do something pretty big here but even in this moment is willing to associate with our weakness, with our sadness, with our grief over death.
Speaker 1:Verse 36, so the Jews said see how he loved him. 37, but some of them said could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying. Something's stirring underneath. Here we're going to go to our final setting at the tomb of Lazarus in verse 38. Then Jesus deeply moved. Again that same word. Then Jesus deeply moved again that same word. Came to the tomb, it was a cave and a stone lay against it. Jesus said take away the stone. Did Jesus need anybody to take away the stone? I don't think Jesus has ever needed a group project, never needed help with anything. At his own resurrection he didn't rise from the dead and knock on the door, hoping someone would let him out.
Speaker 1:In this moment at Lazarus' tomb, I believe Jesus wanted participants. This is his seventh and final sign. We'll see from the following verses that this sign really kind of lights the Pharisees on fire and they're ready to be done with them. And Jesus is okay with people hearing about this them. And Jesus is okay with people hearing about this one. And Jesus is okay with people running into town and telling people what happened and someone will say there's no way, dead people don't rise from the grave. I don't believe you. And for that person to look back at them and say, hey, I'm telling you the truth, I rolled away the stone myself. He wants participants in this moment. So Jesus says take away the stone.
Speaker 1: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. And she's right. Jesus has been four days. And this is honestly Jesus. This is inappropriate for a funeral service. This is not the moment. This is awkward. Should we really be doing this? And Jesus says this Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God? So they took away the stone. Jesus lifted up his eyes and said Father, he prays now. I thank you that you've 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. God is praying. Remember just last chapter. He said I and the Father are one. More and more in this time, he wants you to realize that everything that's happening is happening because I and the Father are one. And this thing that is about to happen, don't confuse it, don't mistake it for anything else. This is God at work. And so he prays this prayer.
Speaker 1:And when he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice. Now that word cried out used six times, that specific word, six times in the book of John, one time by Jesus. Five times it's used, really, about Jesus. One of those is okay. Four of those very negative towards Jesus. One time it's people crying out Hosanna, hosanna, as Jesus comes into town. The four other times, two times people cry out crucify him. That's the word used. One time the people cry out for Pilate to punish him. And that fourth time the people cry out to release to us Barabbas instead of Jesus. And so this cry out is how this word is used. And yet in this moment is the only time that Jesus uses it. And almost this idea that maybe John's saying, hey, this time Jesus is going to be the one crying out. This time Jesus is going to be the one to out. This time Jesus is going to be the one to truly see the results of what his cries lead to. And when he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice Lazarus, come out. One preacher said that Jesus was careful to say Lazarus, come out, because if he had just said come out, the whole cemetery would have started walking towards him Lazarus, come out. And it must have been an awkward few seconds. This was highly inappropriate for a funeral service. You don't do this.
Speaker 1:And then, all of a sudden, from the tomb there came the sound of shuffling Verse 44. The man who had died came out. Now John does something interesting here. The man who had died came out. Well, we know who he is. For 44 verses now we've been saying his name Lazarus, lazarus, lazarus. It's written Lazarus Lazarus. We're not shying away from that name. And yet here in verse 44, the man who had died came out. Because John knows something that I got a feeling. You and I know something that I got a feeling, you and I know that dead men don't walk out of tombs. It doesn't happen. Dead men don't come back to life.
Speaker 1:And John wants to remind us here at verse 44, when Lazarus is walking out of the tomb. This is not some trick, this is not some made-up thing. This man had died and now he's coming out Again. 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. And now Lazarus has risen out of the tomb and literally he had these grave clothes wrapped around him, he had to shuffle out of the tomb. It was probably as strange as it was comical to see him shuffle out of the tomb. But now Lazarus the one who for four days we've been gathering in the home grieving over him, and we knew he was gone and we knew our only chance got here four days too late and he was sealed tight in this airtight tomb. And now Jesus has said roll away the stone. And there Lazarus is and he's alive. And this is good news for Mary and Martha, this is good news for the Jews who are grieving, this is good news for you and I.
Speaker 1:But I want to ask this question, now that we've gotten Lazarus out of the tomb. I want to ask this question Is this our story? And mainly, I want to ask it by asking this what do you and I do with our grief when we're at the tomb of the Lazarus in our own lives? What do we do with our grief? What do we do with our own pain and sorrow? What do we do when we're standing outside of a tomb? Mary and Martha got their happy ending. My question is this do you and I get our happy ending? And I'll say this for you and I personally, for those in Christ that we have lost along the way and will lose in the future.
Speaker 1:The reality is we do not get Mary and Martha's happy ending, but we do get something far better. You see, lazarus wore his grave clothes and he shuffled out of the tomb. But the reality is this there would come a day when Lazarus would have to shuffle right back in the tomb, that he was raised to life in this moment, but he was not raised to life forever. Lazarus was raised from the dead, but he would die again. But those who were raised in Christ, what does that happy ending look like? It looks like the kind of resurrection that is forever. It looks like the kind of resurrection that is forever, that glorified life that you will not go back into the tomb again. How is this possible? It's possible because John 11, 53.
Speaker 1:So from that day on, they made plans to put him to death, because this sign did exactly what this sign was designed to do outside of just giving glory to God. It made the religious elite very, very angry and they said Jesus has got to go. Now we know from a few weeks ago, nobody really put Jesus on the cross. Jesus was in control the whole time. Yet these religious authorities said that is enough and Jesus is taken to the cross and, by the way, your sin and my sin are upon him, lazarus' sin are upon him. Really, all of our hopes in this life and beyond this life are on Jesus, on the cross, and Jesus is taken to the cross and he's killed upon that cross and he's taken down into the grave.
Speaker 1:In 2016, katie and I were in Israel and we had a week in Galilee and then drove down, really, I should say drove up to Jerusalem and Mount of Olives and kind of trailed down into the old city of Jerusalem and walked the road of the cross all the way to a location the Temple of the Holy Sepulchre. Maybe you've been to the Holy Land, you've been to the Temple of the Holy Sepulchre and it's this church there that's built on top of what tradition tells us is the Mount of Calvary and where the tomb was, and you know somewhat reliable, not 100%, but tradition speaks to that and there's some other options, but tradition likes this one and so we go and I mean it's pretty neat and we walk up these kind of dark stairs and you see in this glass, the rock there and if you've been there, you know this glass and you see the rock under it that tradition says is literally the Mount of Calvary. It's kind of you just kind of feel like you're somewhere that's above you, Like it's unbelievable. And then we walk down the stairs and we walk around the corner and down this hall and you see this long line that has formed and it's the line to go into. Again, what tradition.
Speaker 1:What some say was the tomb of Jesus. And now in my mind I mean, I'm thinking, if there is a 0.1% chance, this is the tomb of Jesus and I, you know, and I wait in line for a roller coaster or the DMV, like I'm gonna wait in line for this. And so we're there, we wait in line and we kind of turn the last corner of the line and it's kind of you kind of see where you're about to go and it's very dark in there, outside of a few candles, but we're about to walk in this tomb and then it's our turn, and so Katie and I go in and there's just a few candles. I go in and there's just a few candles. It's dark but there's just a few candles lit. And we go in and I'll tell you what we saw in there. It was unbelievable. We saw absolutely nothing. And by that I don't mean it was too dark there were candles lit, I mean we could see what was around us. But we walk in this tomb and we saw nothing.
Speaker 1:And I think I know why Because there was nothing to see, because there was no one there, because at a very real place, on a very real day, on a very real time, outside of a very real city wall, a very real individual who was very much dead by the power of a very real Holy Spirit, walked out of a tomb by the power of a very real Holy Spirit, walked out of a tomb and in so doing, defeated sin, yes, and defeated death as well, and in his resurrection. Now you and I have resurrection, and here's what 1 Corinthians 15 says that in fact, christ has been raised from the grave. And look at this the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep, so that Christ has been raised from the grave. If he is the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep, if he's the first fruits, that means more fruit is coming, so that, if Christ has been raised from the grave, those who are in Christ one day will be raised from the grave. Here's what blows me away that Christ has received no resurrection, that you and I, who are in Christ, will not also receive. That if Christ got up, you and I will get up and those we've lost will get up. Get up, and those we've lost will get up and all who are in Christ, jesus will rise. I'm going to close in just a moment, but I'll invite our worship team on up so we can get to worshiping in just a second and you can come on up, but because Christ got up, we will get up.
Speaker 1:So I do want to ask this question once again what do we do with our grief? With that in mind, what do we do with our grief and in a moment I'll be down front If you'd like to come, please, please come. We can talk about joining this church or being baptized, or I can pray with you, however you'd like, please, please come as we worship and I'll be down front. What do we do with our grief With all this in mind? Number one is this we live in it. I mean, we don't act like it's not there. We grieve. Some of you know that more than you'd like to know it. We grieve. We cry, we feel the loss, we feel the sting of it. Of course we do. But church, family, we also do this. We wait. We wait Because the reality is this that if Christ got up, then those who are in Christ will rise from the grave.
Speaker 1:And that means this that there is more ahead than what has been behind. And that means this that the best laughs have not been laughed yet and the best meals have not been tasted yet, and the best fellowship has not been enjoyed yet and the best songs have not been sung yet and the best fellowship has not been enjoyed yet and the best songs have not been sung yet and the best hugs have not been given yet and the greatest joy has not been felt yet. Because there is something waiting for us. Because, why? Because Christ has gotten up. That's why Revelation 21 says this.
Speaker 1:Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.
Speaker 1:The sea was no more, and I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband, and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man and he will dwell with them and they will be his people, and God himself will be with him as their God, and he will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall be no more. Neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. In our grief, we wait. We wait for the day where we dwell with Christ Jesus, where you and I and those in Christ whom we have lost, that great cloud of witnesses, we will join together with Christ and we will feast in the house of Zion and we will experience the greatest that God has to offer. How? Because we will experience God. We will experience the gift Christ Jesus.
Speaker 1:And, like Paul, we can say this that I consider that my present sufferings they're real, they're there are not worth comparing to the weight of glory that will be revealed. Or we can say it like this prayer does. So let these sighs and tears, lord Christ, prepare me for that better gladness that will be mine. Let all your children learn to grieve well in this life, knowing we are not just homesick. We are letting sorrow carve the spaces in our souls that joy will one day fill. We are letting sorrow carve the spaces in our souls that joy will one day fill. We are letting sorrow carve the spaces in our souls that joy will one day fill because, in fact, christ has been raised from the grave, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.