John 11:30-47; 53 (NIV)
30Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still
at the place where Martha had met him. 31When the Jews who
had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed
how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing
she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
32When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw
him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you
had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come
along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit
and troubled.
34“Where have you laid him?” he asked.
“
Come and see, Lord,” they replied.
35Jesus wept.
36Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
37But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the
eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” Jesus
Raises Lazarus From the Dead
38Jesus, 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.”
40Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you
believed, you would see the glory of God?”
41So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and
said, “Father,
I thank you that you have heard me. 42I 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.”
43When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus,
come out!”
44The 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.” The Plot to Kill Jesus
45Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and
had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him. 46But some
of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had
done.
47Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting
of the Sanhedrin.
53So from that day on they plotted to take his life.
Austria's former women's minister has admitted he has a
hearing difficulty that means he can't hear women's voices.
Herbert Haupt, who was women's minister for three years and
is still an MP, revealed his weakness during a Parliamentary
debate.
After Haupt complained he could not understand a female colleague
during a debate, the Parliamentary president Andreas Kohl
was forced to ask the woman to repeat her statement with
a deeper voice.
Haupt admitted that the hearing difficulty meant he could
not hear sounds over 3,500 Herz, the range in which many
female voices lie.
(Ananova November 19, 2004)
A politician who can’t hear his constituents. How
ironic—or how normal! Let’s be kind and say
ironic.
The dictionary defines irony as: "the incongruity
between the actual result of a sequence of events and the
normal or expected result."
I’m a great fan of irony—life lived with a
twist!
Our Scripture lesson from John 11 is a passage filled with
irony. It’s the irony that makes what happens ultimately
so powerful and important.
John 11 tells us of the story Jesus raising His friend
Lazarus from the dead.
There are three major points of irony in the story.
The first point has to do with the fact that the resurrection
of Lazarus foreshadows the resurrection of Jesus, Himself.
As Jesus stood before the tomb so many things pointed to
future events.
Lazarus was truly dead as Jesus would be, soon.
Lazarus had been dead for a number of days, as Jesus would
be.
Lazarus was buried in a tomb covered by a great stone.
The stone was dramatically rolled away.
Jesus was deeply moved and troubled even as He would be
in the Garden of Gethsemene.
The power of God, to overcome death, was manifested as Lazarus
walked out of the tomb.
That same power would raise Jesus.
Point by point—step by step, as Jesus worked this
miracle, He was facing His own death and resurrection.
Isn't it ironic that the situations should be so parallel?
The second point of irony has to do with the fact that raising Lazarus actually
precipitated Jesus going to the Cross.
Verse 8 tells us that Jesus had had difficulties, in Bethany,
where Lazarus lived. Indeed, we are told Jesus left because
the Jews tried to stone Him to death. In going back to Bethany
the Lord was entering very dangerous territory.
But surely one would think raising someone from the dead
would prove once and for all who Jesus truly was!
The irony is that working this miracle was the final straw
for the Jewish leaders, who were so afraid of Jesus.
John tells us, that, as soon as the wonderful event of
resurrection took place, there were those who scurried
off to report to Pharisees and chief priests. The result
was the "religious experts" who should have
welcomed the Messiah with open arms, instead, heated
up their plot
to have Him destroyed.
Isn't it ironic that the greatest proof or sign of who
Jesus truly was, was the final straw that brought about the
Cross?
The third point of irony comes from the pen of Fred Craddock in his commentary
on this passage. Craddock very astutely notes a possible underlying meaning
in verses 34-35.
Jesus asked where they had laid the body of Lazarus. The
reply was "Come and see."
"Come and see" were the same words, Jesus often used in calling people
to discipleship.
Craddock wonders about the irony of the Lord having these
same words turned back upon Him.
"Come and see."
Was Jesus prepared to go to Lazarus and do what He knew
would cause His own death?
As He had asked others to follow Him, would He summon the
courage to follow what He knew was the will of His Father?
In being a devoted disciple to the Father's will—in "going
to see" where Lazarus was—Jesus was writing
His own death certificate.
We are told that "Jesus wept".
It’s the shortest verse in the Bible.
Was Jesus weeping for Lazarus or was He, perhaps as well,
having a mini-Gethsemene experience and struggling with His
own future?
Isn't it ironic that the Lord's own call for discipleship
should be the call that points Him towards His own death?
All of the irony in this whole passage was summed up well by Craddock when
he wrote:
"Lazarus left the tomb, but the price was that Jesus had to enter it."
Life with a twist!
We can learn to see the hand of God in the ironies of life—in the twists
and turns. God’s hand is there because God is sovereign—God
is ultimately in control.
Because of that I don’t believe in coincidence.
Coincidence couldn’t be so dramatic and rich an explanation
for some of life’s events.
I do believe in irony—even when I don’t understand
it.
Sometimes irony is startling—even tragic.
Sometimes irony is humorous—and reveals that God
does, indeed, have a sense of humour.
Always, irony—life with a twist—is interesting.
As I look back at my own life there have certainly been
some sad ironies take place. But I want to mention two that
have a more positive light to them.
We used to have a family custom to have my Mom and Dad
over on New Year's Day for steak and kidney pie. A number
of years ago my Mom was knocked flat with a virus over the
Christmas season and we had to cancel our dinner plans. As
a result we were invited to Eileen's parents for dinner.
We had a wonderful time with the family, including Eileen's
Grandmother. That family event was the last time we saw her
before she died. What had started out in disappointment,
with my family, led us to an unexpected blessing with Grandma
Cartwright.
Another ironic event in my life affirms that God has a
wonderful sense of humour.
I didn’t become a Christian until after Eileen and
I were married. Once I got involved in the Church, I
felt a growing call to ministry.
One day our minister asked if I would offer a short sermon
at an evening Lenten Service at a neighbouring Church. I
said yes even though I had never spoken to a group like that,
in public before.
I was, of course, very nervous and unsure of myself. Not
only was I concerned about stumbling and mumbling my way
through, but what if I came out with some kind of blasphemy
to boot?
As the service began there was a choir procession. As I turned
to see the choir I realized that one of the women was someone
I had had a real crush on in High School. She had never known
how I felt and I hadn't seen her for years.
There I stood giving my first public address, with an old
flame sitting there just to add to the nervousness.
At coffee after I talked with her and found out she was married
to the minister of that congregation.
God has a sense of humour!
The ironies of life—the twists of life point to the
fact that our God is a sovereign God.
God has created this world and ordered it in a way that
fulfils God’s plan and God’s purpose.
That’s hard sometimes for us to accept—especially
when the twists lay us low.
Ironies can sometimes seem cruel and harsh. One cannot deny
the tragic circumstances that touch us.
When faced with those tragic twists we can do many things.
Some people simply deny that God exists.
Some blame God.
Some shake their fists at God.
Some seek comfort in God’s sovereignty.
Everyone comes at their own pain, in their own way, and
with their own experiences.
What we need to know and affirm, as Christians, is that
God seeks to be with us when tragedy touches those ironic
twists.
God seeks to help us by offering fellowship and support.
God seeks to direct us through the surprise and pain.
God seeks to listen and understand when we need to cry out
and vent our emotions.
John 11 reminds us that God did not spare God’s own
Son when the world required a Saviour.
Indeed, in the life, death and resurrection of our Lord
we see history's greatest irony.
That the perfect Creator of the entire universe goes out
of His way to restore His rebellious, imperfect creation.
And that God does it, not from afar with a wave of a wand.
God does it by coming to this sin riddled world as a human
being to live life as we live. God does it by accepting a
place on the Cross and doing it in love.
All of this, in no way benefiting God, but done for us—done
to bring us back to Him.
As I said at the beginning, I’m a fan of irony!
I don't always like it or appreciate it but I always respect
it.
I always seek to learn from it.
(1506)
© The Rev. Dennis Cook, St. Timothy’s Presbyterian
Church, Ajax, ON, Canada
