Life is Waiting

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Life Is Waiting

Life is all about waiting. This what our lives have turned into. We wait for word of when things might go back to normal. We wait, hoping and praying that the situation with the spread of the virus shrinks instead of grows. But waiting has always been around. And what we see in the words we are looking at today is that the Lord can use waiting for our good. In John 11, we read: “¹⁷ On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. ¹⁸ Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, ¹⁹ and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother.” (John 11:17–19 NIV)

Notice the waiting in these words. Jesus hears that Lazarus is on his death bed, and then what does he do? He waits. He waits long enough that Lazarus dies. And notice the geography in these words. How far was Jesus away from Lazarus? He was less than two miles away. Jesus, in a very clear and deliberate way makes Martha and Mary wait. But he does so for a reason. We read: “²⁰ When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. ²¹ “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²² But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” ²³ Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” ²⁴ Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”” (John 11:20–24 NIV)

What Martha says here is amazing. She confesses the fact that, on the last day, Lazarus will rise again. How many were there before Martha who were willing to call Jesus a good teacher. But none of them was ready to call Jesus the Christ, the son of God, the Coming One—the one who will raise all believers to be with him forever in heaven. Martha did. The resurrection was what Martha was looking for. It gave her comfort, hope, and strength in this time of immense and intense pain.

And this is important for us to see, for there are times when we are tempted to have the opposite point of view. There are times when the cares and worries of this life overshadow the fact of Judgment Day and its joy. Sadly, there are sources of news that should be showing restraint, and instead are feeding the fires of panic. But, trust me, my friends, on the Last Day, a virus is a small, trivial problem. When the entire universe is dissolved with fire; when the stars fall from their place in space, all of this will be small and trivial in comparison. So the cares and worries of our current crisis can take our eyes of bigger troubles. But these cares and worries and waitings can take our eyes off of the joy of that last day too. For Jesus tells us that when that day comes we will lift up our eyes. For when we see the world being disassembled by fire, we can lift up our eyes and know our redemption is drawing near.

When we face these temptations to take our focus off of the fact and good news that Judgment Day is coming, how wonderful it is to hear Martha’s real and true confession that on the Last Day all those who believe in our Triune God will rise to eternal life. But, my friends in Christ, the words take an interesting twist from here: “²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; ²⁶ and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” ²⁷ “Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”” (John 11:25–27 NIV)

Life is waiting. Life—eternal life is waiting for us on Judgment Day. But notice how Jesus, instead of commending Martha, corrects her. He tells her, “I am the resurrection and the life.” This is a massive and momentous statement. What Jesus is getting at is that he is not bound by time to have mastery over death. He is not waiting to the perfect, right moment when he gets to have control over death and give eternal life. No, he has control over life and death right now. In fact, he has always had the power over life and death. So what we learn in these words is that life is waiting for us. Yes, eternal life is waiting for us on the Last Day. But life is also waiting for us every day. And Jesus proves this statement in the words that follow: “³⁸ Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. ³⁹ “Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” ⁴⁰ Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” ⁴¹ So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. ⁴² I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” ⁴³ When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” ⁴⁴ The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” ⁴⁵ Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him.” (John 11:38–45 NIV)

Jesus isn’t just able to give life on the last day. He is able to give life every day—even now. And what is so amazing is not just that he has control over life and death now. What’s also amazing is how he shows this mastery and control. He shows this mastery amidst such misery. It’s so very hard not to hurt as your read these words. Jesus sees his good friend in the tomb and the emotions flood over him. Not once, but twice we read that Jesus is angry.¹ Jesus is angry at sin. Jesus is angry at death. Jesus is angry that sin has brought such misery into our lives. And the result is we spend our lives waiting. We wait day after day and decade after decade until that day when we die and we are taken out of this world. And we have to endure the misery of saying goodbye to those close to us.

But my dear friends in Christ, that is precisely the point. Jesus is the resurrection and the life. That means that eternal life is waiting for us on the last day. But that also means that true life is here, just waiting for us, every day. Jesus hasn’t just redeemed us for living from the last day on into eternity. He has also redeeded us to live here every day. And that too is where we see our own temptation to sin. We can fall into this trap where we end up concluding that there can be no joy, no contentment, no meaning before the last day. Our lives become a weary waiting it out until the final end. No, my dear friends in Christ, the opposite is true. Jesus has paid for all your sins. He has paid for your sin of getting so caught up in present worries that you forget to care and rejoice in your eternal life on Judgment Day. He has paid for your sin of being so absorbed in the promise of eternal life that you forget to live your every day life.

And so, my friends in Christ, life is here waiting for you. Jesus has redeemed it for you. So now, go out and live it. If you are deemed “essential” by the government to work, then work. If you are out of work, then take advantage of it. Rest a little, but still live. Take advantage of life right now as if Jesus means is when he says that he is the resurrection and the life. There is still life to live now. So, if you are safe at home, live your life as if there is meaning and hope for you now, because in Christ there is. And should the worst happen that you should get the Corona virus, then know that sickness, pain, and death are not natural and normal. Jesus wept over them. Jesus was angry at them. For they were not there before the fall into sin. But know that even in them, Jesus is in control of every aspect of your life—not just when times are good. He is also there in when times are bad and tragic too. So life is waiting. Yes, that means that we spend our lives waiting patiently for Jesus, just as Martha and Mary did. But don’t miss out on the other truth. We aren’t just the ones who wait for life. Life is here just waiting for us. Martin Luther was once asked what he would do if he knew what day the world would end. He responded that he would go out and plant a tree. His point was that, since Jesus was the Life and in control of life; and if, when we die, we never cease to live, then we do not need to worry. We can get busy with what the Lord has placed in our lives. So yes, life is waiting. And we will spend our lives waiting for Judgment Day until Jesus, in his own good time comes. But life is also waiting in a different way. Life is here, waiting for us. For the same Savior who redeems eternal life in heaven for us redeems every day life for us too. Amen.