Sermon Index
April 2, 2017, Lent 5A
GOSPEL LESSON: John 11:1–41 [Jesus heals the blind man on the Sabbath.]
As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” Having said these things, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing. The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.” They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”
They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them. So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”
The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” (His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.) Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.” He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out.
Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.
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Lazarus died. He was dead. He had been buried. The funeral was over but people were still in mourning. He had been buried for four days and the tomb was closed. With no food nor water nor fresh air for four days, he was surely dead. Therefore, the miracle of Jesus was surely a miracle that even the Pharisees had to admit.
Jesus died. He was dead. The soldier at the foot of the cross knew it. He stuck him in the side with his spear. Perhaps he pierced him to make sure, perhaps for fun or disrespect, but then blood and water poured out of his side, which alone would have killed him. Pilate made sure Jesus was dead and then gave the officially allowed Jesus to be buried.. He was buried in a sealed tomb. Therefore, the resurrection of Jesus was surely a true resurrection even if the Pharisees did not want to admit it.
There was mourning for Lazarus. Even Jesus wept. There was mourning for Jesus also. His Mother and his followers wept.
Martha, the sister of Lazarus, had hope for the resurrection on the Last Day and eternal life. In contrast, it seems that the disciples of Jesus had lost all hope. Rather than hope, they had fear.
Why did Jesus raise Lazarus? Surely it was out of love. Lazarus was his good friend, and so were his sisters Mary and Martha. His love was shown in his tears. But perhaps Jesus was also crying because he had the vision of his own dying. He knew that in order to give life to not only Lazarus but to all the dead, he himself would have to suffer and die. Perhaps in this gospel story we see a Jesus whose unhindered tears brought him into deep solidarity with the pain and sorrow of this world. Jesus knew and felt and experienced the pain and sorrow of this world. It is the love of John 3:16 which sent Jesus to save the grieving world.
Why did God the Father raise Jesus? Jesus is the “Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world,” then as a sacrifice with our sins upon him, it would be normal that he died. When sin is forgiven, we want that sin to remain dead. We do not want it resurrected. But in Jesus Christ, our sin is so forgiven that it disappears. The resurrection of Jesus proves that fact. The grave stone is rolled away so that we can look into the tomb and see that it is empty. Jesus was victorious over death and sin and hell.
Just as Lazarus died, we too must die. Unless Jesus returns in Glory soon, we will all die sometime. But before we physically die, we must first spiritually die. We must die with Jesus. The condemnation of our sin puts us on the cross with Jesus. When we confess our sin, our sin is put on Jesus. And so, just as Jesus rose from the dead, we do also. Just as Jesus left our sin in Hell so that he rose pure and holy, so we too must leave our sin behind and rise pure and holy. That is what Baptism is. Baptism is a daily dying and rising with Christ.
Jesus calls to us as he called to Lazarus, “Come out!” It is resurrection, it is new life, it is new birth. We take off the grave
Amen.
Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church