Ringwood Knox Lutheran Parish

where love comes to life

Year A – Fifth Sunday In Lent – Signs

26 March 2023 - Year A - Fifth Sunday In Lent

Text: John 11:1-45

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. 3 So the sisters sent a message to Jesus,[a] “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” 4 But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” 5 Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, 6 after having 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 trying to stone you, and are you going there again?” 9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. 10 But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them.” 11 After saying this, he told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.” 12 The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.” 13 Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. 14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. 15 For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16 Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

Jesus the Resurrection and the Life

17 When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.” 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. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.”

Jesus Weeps

28 When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” 29 And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 32 When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. 34 He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus began to weep. 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 have kept this man from dying?”

Jesus Raises Lazarus to Life

38 Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

The Plot to Kill Jesus

45 Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.

New International Version - for other versions see BibleGateway.com

Read the text

Sermon - Year A – Fifth Sunday In Lent – Signs

Pastor Peter Ghalayini

We are almost at the end of our Lenten road since Ash Wednesday: We are in the home stretch with Palm Sunday next Sunday. During the past few weeks of this Lenten season we have been reading long stretches from the Gospel According to John. We had the Samaritan Woman at the well; we had the man born blind who was healed and today we have the raising of Lazarus from the dead – all quite long readings compared to other weeks.

John’s Gospel is different to the other 3 – Matthew, Mark and Luke – often referred to as the “synoptic” Gospels – meaning one eye – as they basically have similar structure and teachings of Jesus particularly the Parables. One of the specific details about John’s gospel is the fact that it doesn’t refer to “miracles” in regards to what Jesus did. Such as today – the raising of Lazarus is not done as a miracle but rather as a sign.

And we see that reference in the very first act by Jesus when he turned water into wine at the wedding at Cana. At the end of that account it says: What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

Miraculous things happen in John’s Gospel but John does not call them miracles; instead, the word “signs” is used. In John’s gospel, This is no accident but a way of John teaching us. Another thing about John is he loves the number 7

There are 7 I am statements in John’s Gospel –

1) I Am the Bread of Life.

2) I Am the Light of the World.

3) I Am the gate for the sheep.

4) I Am the Good Shepherd.

5) I Am the resurrection, and the life.

6) I Am the way, the truth, and the life.

7) I Am the true vine.

And today the raising of Lazarus, is the seventh and final sign.

Turning Water Into Wine (John 2:1-12) …

Healing the Nobleman’s Son (John 4:46-54) …

Healing the Man at the Pool (John 5:1-11) …

Feeding of the 5,000 (John 6:1-15) …

Walking on Water (John 6:16-21) …

Healing a Man Born Blind (John 9:1-12) …

Raising of Lazarus (John 11)

Seven is an important number in the Bible – the number of holiness, the number of completeness, the 7 days of Creation in Genesis. Being a sign, rather than a miracle, we therefore see the raising of Lazarus a bit different. It wasn’t a miracle to show Jesus’ power but rather a sign pointing to what Jesus was about to fulfil.

If it were just about raising Lazarus from the dead as a miracle act it would be meaningless very soon when Lazarus dies again as everyone else does. And it’s not about resurrection because that will be done by Jesus very soon as his fulfilment.

Jesus is showing us an early sign that he has authority over death rather than death having authority over us.

And the sign is in the dialogue between Jesus and the 2 sisters, Mary and Martha when he says: “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. So Jesus is not wanting to bring comfort by undoing something that has caused pain like healing the blind man. Bringing Lazarus back to life is not going to give lasting comfort from grief.

Just as healing someone from a sickness is not a lasting comfort because something may happen the next day.

Jesus is giving a sign pointing to something else – something more powerful and meaningful. The true resurrection. That’s what signs do. They point us in the right direction. So the raising of Lazarus is a sign pointing us further than just bringing Lazarus back from the dead. It is pointing us to the Resurrection where there will be no more dying or death ever again. When it’s considered a miracle there is the danger that it’s just a trick like when you watch a magician do something you can’t explain. That’s how many people treated Jesus’ miracles. Like in Matthew 16: The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus, wanting to trick him. So they asked him to show them a miracle from God so they could prove it’s just a trick. They saw his signs as “tricks” and were therefor trying to reveal him as a fake. And people over the centuries have tried to work out how the magician got out of that locked box – was there a secret passage.

How did that magician cut the woman in 2 – there must be a hidden compartment with 2 women involved. As you scour through YouTube you can see a multitude of videos revealing how magicians do their “tricks”. And over the years people have tried to disprove Jesus’ “miracles” as nothing more than magic tricks. There has to be a trick as to how he walked on water or, like last week’s healing of the blind man. Remember how they tried to reveal his “trick” with the blind man. It’s not really him but someone who looks like him.

But what we see with the raising of Lazarus was not a trick – it was a sign pointing us to a reality. That Jesus has authority over death. That when Jesus speaks he creates. The focus is not to be on Lazarus but on Jesus. Jesus even allowed death to do its worse by allowing Lazarus to remain dead for 4 days – one day longer than what that culture believed the spirit of a person remained after death. Not even the stench of death could stop Jesus from commanding death to let go of Lazarus. And it’s also the reason why Jesus didn’t do what he did to heal the blind man. Remember, he spat on the ground, make mud and rubbed it on his eyes.

Jesus didn’t do anything physical like lay his hand on him – He ordered death to let go of Lazarus – “Lazarus come out”. And that because God’s word is his authority. Like when Jesus calmed the storm by his authoritative command: Jesus got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. It is how God created – God said let there be light – and there was light. And that’s why Jesus is called the Word of God made flesh. The same word from Creation.

So when you hear God’s word “by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ and by his command I forgive you all your sins” you are forgiven. When you hear the words – this is my body – this is my blood shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins – they are authoritative words that do what they say. That’s where we get our comfort in death from the one who said – “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Authoritative words – no magic or tricks but authority over death. And that means that we too can have confidence when Jesus say that we have a home in his Father’s house and he will come an take us home – we can truly believe.