Sermon Discussion Questions:

1. What is a "dollhouse religion"? 
2. How does reflecting on our death make us wise? (See Ps 90:12)
3. What is the connection between resurrection and judgment? 
4. How does the doctrine of God's judgment satisfy some of our intuitive longings for justice?
5. What is the difference between Jesus saying "I will give resurrection and life" and "I am the resurrection and the life"?

The advent season is filled with traditions. Rhythms and routines that help remind us of what the season is about. And those traditions change over time.

One tradition that started a few hundred years ago was to light four candles in order of the weeks leading up to Christmas. One for hope, one for peace, one for joy, and one for love. These four virtues were said to be what the birth of Christ would bring with His arrival.

Well, believe it or not, there is an even older tradition in the church for how to prepare for Christmas. The word “advent” means coming. And the first advent of Jesus leads Christians to consider the second advent, the return of Christ at the last day. Historically, it was expected that pastors would preach on personal eschatology, or “the four last things” on the four Sundays leading up to Christmas day. Those were: Death, Judgment, Heaven, and Hell. And it was specifically in that order so that the sermon on Hell would be on the Sunday immediately before Christmas. “That was no accident. The idea was—and is—to show how the light of the birth of Christ appeared against a backdrop of darkness, depravity, and despair.” (Fleming Rutledge, Advent: The Once and Future Coming of Jesus Christ, 2018, p. 238)

If we fail to address the darkness, depravity, and despair of this world in church then we will give off the impression that our spirituality is a dollhouse religion: it has all the furniture and trappings of a real home, but it is too small to really live in. It is only helpful for make believe, for children. But our faith does answer the big questions and it does teach directly on the heaviest and most challenging of issues we will face.

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1 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. 3 So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” 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 may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. 7 Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” 8 The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” 9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” 11 After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” 12 The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” 13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. 14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, 15 and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16 So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

17 Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. 20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”

• John 11:1-27

Everyone Will Die

The shadow of death hangs over this entire story. Lazarus is struck with a fatal illness. Jesus has just barely escaped being stoned to death in Jerusalem and His disciples fear that a journey to Bethany (which is only a few miles from Jerusalem) might result in Jesus being lynched. The passing comment about Mary being the one who anoints his feet with ointment (which will happen next chapter) foreshadows Jesus’ death, since it is seen as a preparation for his burial. Even Thomas’ strange comment in verse 16 casts the pall of death over the whole of the disciples: “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” I am not entirely sure what Thomas intended by those words, but it seems he was likely speaking better than he knew. For, Jesus’ introductory summons to follow Him is death-shaped: take up your cross and follow me. To follow Jesus is to surrender to Jesus, a kind of death. And, more grimly, we know that all but one of the disciples are eventually executed for following Jesus.

Why does Jesus want us to think about death? The one psalm we have written from Moses is Psalm 90, and in it he tells us:

Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom. - Ps 90:12

Awareness of the limitation of our life—that our days are numbered—is not morbid or the unhealthy mind of the depressive. It is wise. A few weeks ago Aaron preached out of Psalm 139. There the psalmist tells us:

in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. (Ps 139:16)

God has numbered our days. He determines the length of our life. And being aware of this, according to Moses, makes us wise. Young people tend to think they live forever. Young people also tend to be notorious for being less-than wise. And those, according to Moses, are not unrelated. When you live like you are not going to die, you don’t live well. You sacrifice what matters for what doesn’t.

A few years ago, another pastor I follow shared this:

I recently had lunch with a brother from church.

He shared that he was offered a dream promotion at work.

Yet, He turned it down.

Why?

It would hinder his freedom to meet with people he’s discipling.

Make decisions today that you’ll be thankful for 10,000 years from now.

How many decisions do you make thinking about how you will reflect on it in 10,000 years time? To make those kinds of decisions, you must be mindful of death. Death teaches you that this life and all its concerns are, in the words of John, fading away—but the one who does the will of God lives forever.

Our awareness of eternal things waxes and wanes in life. We have spiritual highs, and valleys. We have times where we are dialed in and living precisely how we want to, and times where life is just happening to us and we are bobbing along. In those seasons of success, our eyes are clearly fixed on eternal life. We are living with an awareness that Jesus is alive and for us and our life extends far beyond this world. And in those low moments, we live like this life and world is all. Heaven and hell, sin and righteousness, the presence of God—all of those things feel fuzzy and distant, while the schedule and bills and notifications and projects and chores and vacations and entertainment of this life feel like they are the really real things.

Come,” they say, “let me get wine; let us fill ourselves with strong drink; and tomorrow will be like this day, great beyond measure.”

• Is 56:12

And here is where contemplating death is instructive. Whether we are on top of the mountain or in the valley, whether we are living with an eye towards heaven or an eye fixed on earth—we cannot avoid the fact that we will die, and we have no idea when that will be.

Lazarus’ death apparently was unexpected. We are not given anyone’s age, but the feeling throughout the story is that Lazarus was young enough that the death seemed to be unforeseen. Lazarus, Martha, and Mary did not see it coming. They are passive, at the mercy of powers above and beyond them through the whole story: and those two powers are Jesus and Death.

Why does Jesus want us to think about death? Because one day, we will die.

And what happens after we die?

Everyone Will Be Judged

Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” (John 11:23-24)

Jesus is using some dramatic irony here. We, the readers, know that Jesus is intending more than what Martha assumes. But Jesus wants to evoke in Martha the idea of the final judgment, so that He can (as we will see in our next point) show her that concept must be understood in reference to Him. But first we need to know what Martha is referring to when she says “The resurrection on the last day.” What is that?

This is the belief that there will be a final, concluding “day” of history. At some point, God will stop flipping the calendar over. And we will reach the last day. And on that day God will hold court and will judge all of the living and the dead. This is where the term “resurrection” comes in. Resurrection refers to the re-uniting of soul and body, the restoration of what was cleaved upon death. The body, which has been swallowed be the grave, will be reanimated, restored, in some fashion, so that the soul once again inhabits it.

Martha is likely thinking of the Old Testament teaching:

• “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” - Dan 12:2

Jesus taught this:

• Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. - John 5:28-29

But we see this laid out most clearly in another book the apostle John wrote, Revelation:

• Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. - Rev 20:11-13

Judgement may feel like one of those doctrines that the Bible teaches that you kind of wished it didn’t. But not so fast. I think that the idea of Judgment is something we all intuitively crave, in little and big ways.

• Vindication
  • You are in an argument with someone. It isn’t clear who is right and who is wrong. Who can know? God knows. And at the last day, God will make it clear.
• Justice
  • Every wrong will be righted. No bad guy ever gets away with anything.
  • Home Alone, the satisfaction of justice being served.
  • Why are we as a nation obsessed with a figure like Jeffrey Epstein? Because we hate the idea of the rich and powerful doing terrible things and getting away with it.

But what happens if we have done wrong? If we have been on the wrong side of the argument?

I am the LORD. I have spoken; it shall come to pass; I will do it. I will not go back; I will not spare; I will not relent; according to your ways and your deeds you will be judged, declares the Lord GOD.” - Ez 24:14

And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. - Rev 20:15

Do You Believe?

The strangest element in the first half of the story of Lazarus, by far, isn’t only Jesus’ decision to not rush to Lazarus’ side to heal him, but the way in which John makes it clear that Jesus’ refusal is an expression of His love.

So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” 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 may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. (John 11:3-6)

Later, Jesus tells His disciples: ““Lazarus has died, 15 and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”” - John 11:14-15

This shows us the complexity of God’s will, doesn’t it? At first blush, Jesus appears incredibly calloused. He is glad that Lazarus died? I thought He loved him! I thought He loved Martha and Mary!

He did. He does. God’s providence folds darkness in as well as light. God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform, He plants His footsteps in the sea, and rides upon the storm.

God's purposes will ripen fast, Unfolding every hour. The bud may have a bitter taste, But sweet will be the flower.

“If God loved me, He wouldn’t let these bad things happen” is an understandable cry of a hurting heart. But we temper our feelings with truth. And God’s truth shows us that God is always at work for our good, even in great loss and pain. Martha and Mary could not see what that good would be as they saw their brother take (what they thought) was his last breath. The disciples could not see that a few days later as they watched Jesus take (what they thought) was His last breath on the cross. God’s ways wind through the dark places, but they lead us to a place of Light we would not know were we not to be taken through the valley of the shadow of death.

Jesus is glad that He was not there because His disciples and Martha and Mary (and Lazarus!) will now know something Jesus through this experience that they would not have known otherwise. What is that? This:

“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

What happens if you do?

• Your judgment day is over.
  • “Born that man no more may die, born to raise the sons of earth”
  • And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. - Heb 9:27-28
  • Jesus’ resurrection is our resurrection. His judgment was our judgment. As we are scrutinized before the Great White Throne, as our flaws are exposed, we know that they are already atoned for and forgiven. Why are they then pointed out? Because they will deepen our joy and wonder at what Christ has done for us, for all eternity.
• Jesus is
  • Jesus did not say: “I will give you resurrection and life” He said I am the resurrection and the life.
  • I can give medicine to my child and they be healed by it without knowing everything that goes into it. So too, we may not know everything about intricacies of what Jesus provides for us—but since all those benefits are bound up in His person, and He gives Himself to us, we can be nourished and sustained in our faith even in our limited understanding.
• You can die well.

Perhaps you have heard the famous poem by Dylan Thomas, the Welsh poet who penned these words after reflecting upon his father’s death:

Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

That is not how a Christian faces death: raging in futility. We can die in confidence. We can die in hope. We can rest in peace.

A Christian knows that death shall be the funeral of all his sins, his sorrows, his afflictions, his temptations, his vexations, his oppressions, his persecutions. He knows that death shall be the resurrection of all his hopes, his joys, his delights, his comforts, his contentments. (Thomas Brooks)