Lazarus' Bait and Switch

From February 22, 2026 - John 11:1-44....

"I wonder, after all that over the top set up, if the story of Lazarus’ miraculous resurrection was actually intended to fail. Haven’t you ever been the victim of a scam or magic trick or elaborate prank before? With someone whose gone to all these great lengths to get you right where they wanted you and then BAM, turning the tables, leaving you stunned or ashamed for taking the bait? At stake for the religious leaders of Jesus’ day and John’s late first century audience was simply too much power to lose..."

Thanks for listening! May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13) For more information about Keith visit www.authorkeithlong.com or St. Luke Lutheran Church visit www.stlukecg.org

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Welcome to the Pocket Pastor Podcast, Sermons on Demand, a show for those on the go, instant inspiration, questions for the quest, strength for the soul. I'm Keith Long, and this Pulpit to Your Pocket preaching comes to you from St. Luke Lutheran Church, a congregation of the ELCA in Cottage Grove, Minnesota. For more information about me, check out authorkeithlong.com. To see what we've got going on at St. Luke, visit us in person at the corner of 70th and Hinton in Cottage Grove, Sundays at 9 a.m., or check out Saint LukeCG.org for more information. Thanks for listening. I'm honored to be part of your spiritual journey. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Can you imagine if Jesus walked among us today compared to the first century? Let's be honest, if he were ever in the flesh in today's world, he'd either be immediately locked up in a detention center or killed within the first few days of his arrival. Even if he managed to stay out of trouble, no one would believe it was actually him. Seriously, if people can dream it up and type it out with AI, you'll see just about anything. From mermaids and mythological creatures suddenly popping up everywhere, to ghostly activity inexplicably caught on camera because apparently nowadays people have video cameras routinely taking footage of their kitchen and living rooms. I thought I'd be much more prepared. What with all those scars from the nineteen nineties? Thank you very much, Terminator and Bicentennial Man. But AI and the masterminds behind its use are terribly gifted at manipulation. I'm finding it harder and harder to spot the truth from reality. Kinda makes me wonder if anyone reading about Jesus' resurrection stories decades from now will just think AI. Thankfully, resurrection goes back a ways when it was a bit tougher to fake, at least before some biblical editors took matters into their own hands anyway. From his New York Times bestselling examination of how modern concepts of the afterlife evolved from ancient Greek, Jewish, and early Christian traditions, Bart Ehrman's book Heaven and Hell argues that these ideas in fact developed over centuries. The idea of a future bodily resurrection of the dead first occurs two centuries before Jesus in a book known today as First Enoch. So there you have it. Resurrection is ancient, at least two hundred years before Jesus made resurrection a household term. It is not an AI creation. But what is it exactly? And why is John including two accounts of it in his gospel? First of all, let's get on the same page. We're discussing resurrection, a term we use to describe something dead coming back to life again. As in dead dead, not suspended or on a break or temporarily offline. Resurrection, unlike resuscitation, is making the dead alive again. Prior to Jesus, Lazarus was a textbook resurrection account of someone who was clinically dead, and then some, but who didn't stay dead. For instance, look at how deliberate the writer goes about describing Lazarus' fate. This scene is absolutely loaded with description that builds the drama and tension. I've often compared John's writing to an ancient screenplay, something to see, not just read or listen to. That's because John wanted readers like us to engage with his words differently than the other accounts. So with great emphasis we learn that Jesus, when first notified of Lazarus' sickness, refused his summons to go until Lazarus was dead and buried. And how dead was he when Jesus finally made it? Lazarus was so dead by the time Jesus arrived that he had been in the grave four days. The King James Bible's translation says it best, stating that already he stinketh. In other words, grab your popcorn because here we go, this is what we've come to expect from John's Jedi, John Wayne like Jesus. He did not just turn water into wine, but he turned it into a hundred and fifty gallons of water into wine. He didn't just heal a cripple, he healed a man crippled for thirty eight years. He didn't just restore sight to a blind man, but to a man born blind. And now here he raises a man dead four days who already stinketh back to life. No sliver of doubt would possibly remain about Jesus' power after this. How could anyone remain on the fence about him after the certainty of Lazarus' death was so firmly established? But there's more to it than that, especially if you keep reading. As with most of this gospel, John has a bone to pick with the ruling class of Jewish teachers and synagogue leaders. If only this were about Lazarus' miraculous healing, but no, John may have been up to something far more theologically subversive. Yes, John wants you to know beyond a shadow of a doubt how amazing Jesus is, but also to demonstrate that not even Lazarus' new lease on life was enough for some to take Jesus seriously. Because the story of Lazarus did not end with everyone riding off into the sunset together. I wonder after all that over the top setup, if the story of Lazarus' miraculous resurrection was actually intended to fail. Haven't you ever been the victim of a scam or magic trick or elaborate prank before? With someone who's gone to all these great lengths to get you right where they wanted you, and then bam, turning the tables, leaving you stunned or ashamed for taking the bait? At stake for the religious leaders of Jesus' day and John's late first century audience was simply too much power to lose. So I think all that four days dead, so he already stinketh, the burial clothes, Jesus weeping, all of it was ultimately leading everyone to the same old result as always disbelief and condemnation. If we keep reading we land at John chapter twelve, nine through eleven. They came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death as well, since it was on account of him that many of the Jews were deserting and believing in Jesus. Riding off in the sunset, or rather the sunrise would have to wait a bit longer. This is not the resurrection Jesus would be known for, after all, if it ever literally happened at all. Be it today's artificial intelligence tricks to Facebook ads or spring training stats, in other words, it's a trap. John Shelby Spong again from the fourth gospel Tales of a Jewish Mystic. The result of this final sign is that even in the face of the raising of four days dead Lazarus, the result is still predictable. The synagogue authorities are not moved to open themselves to new possibilities. From their perspective, new possibilities are terribly threatening. Jesus thus represented an ultimate threat to their tribal and religious life. It was this vision of resurrection that finally broke the synagogue in two. Not even the raising of Lazarus dead for four days made a difference for those with only the fear of losing power driving them. As Representative James Tallarico from my Ash Wednesday sermon sums up, don't tell me what you believe, show me how you treat other people and I'll tell you what you believe. News flash is that those with something to lose, like the religiously orthodox, did not see what Jesus had the power to do as life giving, but as dangerous and threatening to their ways of life. Jesus' words were not words to live by, but words to silence and snuff out altogether. The chief priests simply refused to see things from a point of view view beyond their own privileged perspectives. In the words of Luther's small catechism that me and my confirmation kids are currently studying, so what does this mean for us? Well, are you disciples or do you see yourselves as the chief priests? Are you keeping your ears, eyes, hearts, and minds on the gospel of Jesus Christ or on something else? Because resurrection people are willing to see and do some things differently. Risen with Christ and baptism is a call to stick with what the Holy Spirit is doing among us, opened to new possibilities, even in the face of defeat, death, or destruction. In Christ we trust and believe that Jesus is risen, and that belief in His name means we, the Church, are who Jesus works through to reach all people today. May you come to see and believe that there's plenty more resurrection joy still left to share. Amen.