Fifth Sunday in Lent, March 26th
Year of
Our + Lord 2023
Our Savior’s and Our Redeemer Lutheran
Churches
Hill City and Custer, SD
Hymn 496: 1 - 2
Holy
Spirit, light divine,
Shine
upon this heart of mine;
Chase
the shades of night away,
Turn
the darkness into day.
Let
me see my Savior’s face,
Let
me all His beauties trace;
Show
those glorious truths to me
Which
are only known to Thee.
OLD TESTAMENT Ezekiel 37:1-14 (ESV)
The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. [2] And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. [3] And he said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord God, you know." [4] Then he said to me, "Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. [5] Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. [6] And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord."
[7] So I prophesied as I was commanded. And
as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came
together, bone to its bone. [8] And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on
them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no
breath in them. [9] Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy,
son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four
winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live." [10] So
I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived
and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.
[11] Then he said to me, "Son of man,
these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, 'Our bones are
dried up, and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off.' [12] Therefore prophesy,
and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and
raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of
Israel. [13] And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves,
and raise you from your graves, O my people. [14] And I will put my Spirit
within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you
shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the
Lord."
L: This is the Word of the Lord C: Thanks be to God
Preaching
It was just a vision. We think.
Maybe. But as we consider the
whole of Scripture, it becomes clear that this vision of dry bones becoming
living, breathing people, by the power of God’s Word, doesn’t have to be just a
vision. Such a miracle would be no
greater than the other miracles the Bible describes. In fact, it is quite similar to the main
miracle that God has promised to perform for His chosen people: to re-create
them from fallen sinners to eternal saints.
Many modern people struggle to accept that a giant fish swallowed Jonah,
and also, oddly, they ask how it was that Jonah survived. Jonah’s story is definitely not presented in
Scripture as a vision, but rather as an historical event.
Much of the world today denies the possibility of the miraculous, ridiculing anyone so backward and foolish as to suggest that God works miracles. This rejection of miracles is the very shade of darkness, the denial of God. Such dark lies may even cloud our own thoughts from time to time. So we sing, and pray for the Holy Spirit to chase these shades of night away, by the power of His Word.
Hymn 496:3
Holy
Spirit, pow’r divine,
Cleanse
this guilty heart of mine;
In
Thy mercy pity me,
From
sin’s bondage set me free.
EPISTLE Romans 8:1-11 (ESV)
There is therefore now no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus. [2] For the law of the Spirit of life has
set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. [3] For God has
done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son
in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, [4]
in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us,
who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. [5] For those
who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but
those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the
Spirit.
[6] To set the mind on the flesh is death,
but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. [7] For the mind that is
set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law;
indeed, it cannot. [8] Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
[9] You, however, are not in the flesh but
in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not
have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. [10] But if Christ is in you,
although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of
righteousness. [11] If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells
in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your
mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
L: This is the Word of the Lord C: Thanks be to God
This is what it’s all about. The Creation, miracles, the power of God,
these are all necessary facts of the Christian faith. But here in Romans 8 St. Paul reveals the
heart and center. Here is the purpose to
which God applies His divine power. Here
is the thing the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to see: Sinful, dying human beings freed from sin and
death in and through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Jonah’s three days and nights in the belly of the great fish foreshadow the three days Jesus spent in the clutches of death and the devil, as He suffered to wash away the sins of the world. The prophesying of Elijah to give flesh and breath to the valley of dry bones is a foreshadowing of the resurrection to eternal life of God’s faithful people. The Ten Commandments help believers, still struggling with the sins of the fallen flesh, helping us to know and remember how God desires us to live, and reminding us to rejoice that we are saved by Christ, not by our own works. Because they always fall short. Baptism is the joining of Christ and His Spirit to the believer, so that led by Christ, we can live to righteousness, free from the fear of condemnation, free from the fear of death. Christ is the center, for He is our salvation. And so, above all songs, we sing His story.
Holy
Spirit, joy divine,
Cheer
this saddened heart of mine;
Yield
a sacred, settled peace,
Let
it grow and still increase.
Holy
Spirit, all divine,
Dwell
within this heart of mine;
Cast
down ev’ry idol throne,
Reign supreme, and reign alone.
INTROIT Ps. 116:1–4, 8; antiphon: Ps. 116:15
P: Precious
in the sight of the LORD
C:
is the death of his saints.
P: I
love the LORD, because he has heard
C:
my voice and my pleas for mercy.
P: Because
he inclined his ear to me,
C:
therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
P: The
snares of death encompassed me;
the pangs of
Sheol laid hold on me;
C:
I suffered distress and anguish.
P: Then
I called on the name of the LORD:
C:
“O LORD, I pray, deliver my soul!”
P: For
you have delivered my soul from death,
C:
my eyes from tears, my feet from
stumbling.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy
Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be
forever. Amen.
P: Precious
in the sight of the LORD
C:
is the death of his saints.
L: The Holy Gospel, according to St. John, the
11th chapter.
C: (Spoken) Glory to you, O Lord
Verses 1-16
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."
What wondrous love is this,
O my soul, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this
That caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul!
But faith is not merely knowledge. Faith is dyng and rising. Faith comes by hearing the Word of Christ, which kills the sinner and raises a believer to new life. Faith lives in and from Christ. Faith needs to hear, again and again, of the words and actions of that one man, that unique man, the One who is both God and man, Jesus Christ. Because His life is our salvation. His perfect loving service takes the place of our failures to serve. His wisdom drives out our foolishness. He dies our death. Our faith in Him is kindled and fed and kept alive by the Spirit telling us His story, again and again.
Today, then, is an excellent day for your faith, because we have a whole bunch of John’s Gospel in front of us, a wonderful window into the work of Christ. Today we are reminded that Christian faith is no easy thing, not easy grasp, or embrace. Because the Savior hides Himself and His love under things that seem the exact opposite. Jesus loves Lazarus, Mary and Martha, by waiting two days before going to them in their distress. Jesus, loving them, delays His response to their prayer, so that Lazarus can die. Strange love, from One who has shown many times that He has the power to heal the sick. Mary and Martha, like us, want Jesus to heal every illness. But Jesus loves Lazarus, Mary and Martha, by letting Lazarus die.
In this we learn that faith in Christ is more important than earthly life. We love our lives and are frightened of losing them, or even of facing struggles. But through the story of Lazarus, we learn that life comes from Jesus. So being connected to Him is literally more important than maintaining our earthly life. For our true and eternal life is hidden in Christ Jesus.
Verses 17 - 27
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."
Hymn 543:2
When I was sinking down, sinking
down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down
Beneath God's righteous frown,
Christ laid aside his crown for my soul, for my soul,
Christ laid aside his crown for my soul.
Preaching
Jesus used the death of Lazarus to draw a crowd, and reveal the truth to them. He is still doing it. Funerals are very often important evangelistic opportunities for the Christian Church, a chance to speak of Christ to people who normally stay away from Church.
And yet, at a funeral the first concern is always for the family. That’s why most people come. Many, maybe most people, try to keep their ears firmly shut during the service; they are just there to show support for the wife, the sisters, the children of the dead. This concern is fine. Jesus Himself showed similar concern, as He tends to Martha. But notice Jesus speaks no pious platitudes about what a good fellow Lazarus was, or how he’s “in a better place.”
Jesus wants to comfort her, but only with a true word. And so His Word to Martha, while it is about Lazarus, is also about Jesus: “Your brother will rise again.” Martha acknowledges that this is a promise of God: "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." Jesus, having guided the conversation to where He wants, declares that He Himself is the promise of God: “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.”
Now, that is a good Word. So good, we use that line in our funeral service, two times, in fact, including right before we head to the graveyard. We want to make sure the focus is, at the end, on Christ. These words are good, so good that Jesus’ proclamation creates faith in Martha. “Do you believe?” asks Jesus. "Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world."
Verses 28-44
When she
had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private,
"The Teacher is here and is calling for you." [29] And when she heard
it, she rose quickly and went to him. [30] Now Jesus had not yet come into the
village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. [31] 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.
[32] 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." [33] 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. [34] And
he said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come
and see." [35] Jesus wept. [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?"
L: This is the Gospel of the Lord. C: (Spoken) Praise to you, O Christ.
To God and to the Lamb I will sing, I
will sing;
To God and to the Lamb I will sing;
To God and to the Lamb,
Who is the great I AM.
While millions join the theme, I will sing, I will sing.
While millions join the theme, I will sing.
Preaching: Believe, and you will see the glory of God. This is the promise Jesus makes, that all who believe, all who, even in the face of death, confess with Martha that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, coming into the world, all such believers will see the glory of God. And Jesus is not just promising the minor peek at glory given to those gathered around Lazarus’ tomb. That was quite a reversal, quite a testimony. There had not yet been time for the bones to dry, so their noses tremble in dread expectation of a foul odor proceeding from the corpse of the four-day-dead Lazarus. Miraculously, they instead smell the breath of life, as the Word of Christ raises Lazarus from the dead.
And yet, the miracle God promises His people is even greater than this. Lazarus was unbound from his funeral clothes, but not yet set free from evil, forever. Lazarus was blessed, but not yet with eternal blessing, not yet with the final victory. But it was coming, very soon.
Verses 45-57
Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with
Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, [46] but some of them went to
the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. [47] So the chief priests and
the Pharisees gathered the Council and said, "What are we to do? For this
man performs many signs. [48] If we let him go on like this, everyone will
believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our
nation." [49] But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year,
said to them, "You know nothing at all. [50] Nor do you understand that it
is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole
nation should perish." [51] He did not say this of his own accord, but
being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation,
[52] and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of
God who are scattered abroad. [53] So from that day on they made plans to put
him to death.
[54] Jesus
therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the
region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with
the disciples.
[55] Now the
Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up from the country to
Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves. [56] They were looking for
Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, "What do you
think? That he will not come to the feast at all?" [57] Now the chief
priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he
should let them know, so that they might arrest him.
Hymn 543:4
And when from death I'm free, I'll
sing on, I'll sing on;
And when from death I'm free, I'll sing on.
And when from death I'm free,
I'll sing His love for me,
And through eternity I'll sing on, I'll sing on,
And through eternity I'll sing on.
Preaching: Jesus has raised Lazarus from the dead. So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the Council and said, "What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation."
Wow. What’s it going to take? Why won’t the Jewish leaders believe in Jesus? Earlier in His ministry Jesus declared: "If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.” Here we see this Word lived out. Despite that Jesus had raised the dead man Lazarus back to life, the Pharisees and the Council and the High Priest Caiaphas will not believe in Jesus. They will not believe, because they do not think they need a Savior from sin.
Oh, they don’t deny they are sinners, but they don’t take sin seriously. They truly believe that they are on balance good people, so much more good than evil that God must accept them. They reject Jesus’ word that all who sin, even just a little, are slaves to sin, and must be set free by the Son of Man. This is the law of Moses and the warning of the Prophets, the first, condemning Word from God, that sinners must believe before Jesus can help you. Sadly, the Pharisees, Elders and Priests will not hear this message, because it insults their religion and their pride. And so they hatch their plan to kill Jesus, before things get altogether out of hand. Lord have mercy.
Through whom can God speak eternal truth? Through whomever He wants, even through unbelievers, even through demons. In the midst of this wicked council, God was causing His truth to be declared. The High Priest Caiaphas is quite right, it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish. Caiaphas at this point is displaying exceptional wickedness, but his words are true. It is even better for Caiaphas. An expert in God’s Word, Caiaphas knows that Jesus is fulfilling prophecy after prophecy. But in his pride and desire for comfort and prestige and power, in his love for his religion of works, Caiaphas stubbornly rejects Jesus. But Jesus dies for him too. Jesus’ pleads to His Father to forgive even Caiaphas. If only he would repent of his wickedness and confess Christ like Martha. Lord have mercy.
The table is set, the pieces are all in place. The evil plans of the priests and Pharisees are set in motion, and without knowing it, they serve the forgiving plans of God.
What they did to Jesus was wicked. But I cannot claim innocence, and neither can you. This is a great danger for us church-going, religious people, to see Christ’s death as coming at the hands of “those” wicked people. To fail to see your own guilt is to be like Caiaphas. It is to cut yourself off from the Cross, and the Cross is your salvation.
So go ahead, marvel at the ignorance and evil that killed Jesus, but also confess and fear your own sin. Know that in your sin you are just as deserving of God’s eternal punishment as Caiaphas. Confess the Cross for what it says about your sin, so that Jesus can confess what His blood says about you. For all who see Christ crucified and repent of their sin will hear His blood declare, in heaven and on earth, that you are forgiven, washed clean, accepted by the Father, beloved children of God, for Jesus’ sake. In love, God has destined you for the resurrection to new and glorious life, by the power of His Word, Amen.
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