There is life beyond the bucket. - John 11
I don’t know if it is because I am now in the autumn of my life, but I have found myself thinking more and more about my bucket list; you know things I want to do before I kick the bucket. For example, I think it would be surreal to run a marathon in the Greek city of Marathon. I want to write a book. I also want to kick all my children out of my house. And before I shed my mortal coil, I want to hobble around the world holding the hand of a white-haired granny named Michelle.
Have you ever thought about, maybe even made a list; a bucket list of things you would like to do before you die? Anyone have one they would like to share; something you would like to do before you kick the bucket? … Apparently it is not unusual to make a bucket list. I came across a website dedicated to the bucket list. Some of the most common things to go on a bucket list included: seeing the northern lights, going on an African Safari, explore the pyramids of Giza. Bucket list items don’t have to be grand adventures in far off places. I was intrigued by some of the less noble bucket list items some people listed. Like: accusing a stranger of passing gas in a crowded elevator, convince someone you are from the future, crash a wedding and give a toast.
Why do you think we write bucket lists? What is this fascination we have with accomplishing, experiencing, and enjoying certain things before we die? I suspect it is because we imagine that when we kick the bucket there is no longer any time to accomplish or experience or enjoy life. Maybe that is part of the reason we tend to face death with such trepidation and fear; I mean we even personify death as the Grim Reaper of souls. No one looks forward to going to the funeral of a loved one and we are practically in denial when it comes to thinking about loved ones coming to our funeral. Our poets encourage us to, “not go gentle into that good night,” but rather, “Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” Sometimes it almost seems like we have forgotten that death, for those who believe in Jesus as their Savior, is not the end. Today Jesus is going to challenge; he is going to change the way we see death. From John 11 Jesus reminds us, and assures us, that kicking the bucket is not the last thing we will do.
As a pastor I have seen many people face death. I have listened as friends and loved ones attempt to comfort each other in their time of loss. They say the kind of things that many of you have probably said. “He is no longer suffering.” “It was her time.” “They had a good life.” No doubt Mary and Martha were hearing sentiments like these as they mourned the death of their brother Lazarus. John tells us, “19 many Jews (family, friends, neighbors, business associates) had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother.” The friends, like you, of course meant well. But such sentiments do not have the power to comfort a person who has had to face the death of a brother, sister, mother, father, husband, or wife.
There was one friend who knew exactly what to say to Mary and Martha in their time of mourning. His name was Jesus. It had taken him a while to come. Lazarus had been dead four days by the time Jesus arrived at his grave side. 20 “When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him.” They were close friends. At a time like this it is good to have close friends by your side. A reassuring hug and someone to shed a tear with is nice. Our text does not include verse 35 but there we read, “Jesus wept.” I am happy God caused this small bit of information to be included. When my eyes burn red and tears fall from my face it is good to know that Jesus knows how I feel. Jesus knows what it is like to lose someone you care about and love. And when I am morning the death of a loved one, it is nice to know my friend Jesus is crying with me.
It was good to have Jesus there. And yet Martha struggled with her grief. 21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Martha had seen what Jesus could do. She had seen Him heal the sick and feed the hungry and do many miraculous things for others; for strangers. I wonder if there was a slight bitterness to her words, I imagine there would be to mine if I had a friend who did amazing things for strangers but failed to do the same for me in my time of need. If I were in Martha’s sandals, I would probably be thinking what some in the crowd were saying, “37Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
Such questions do not mean we have lost our faith. They just mean we are struggling with the effects of sin. Martha had not lost her faith. She told Jesus, “I know he (my brother) will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” It is at this point that her friend Jesus said to her the only words that have any real and lasting comfort for a person mourning the death of a loved one. “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.” Jesus did not seek to comfort Martha by eulogizing Lazarus’ life. I have noticed that we have a tendency to do that. We tell stories and share memories about all the things we got to do before the bucket was kicked. It is fun to talk about how God blessed you with the life of that person. But the greater blessing; real lasting comfort is not found in the memories of all the bucket list things that were done before the bucket was kicked. Real and lasting comfort is found in the assurance that there is life beyond the bucket. Real and lasting comfort is found in knowing that whoever believes in Jesus as their Savior will live even though they die and will live not just for a moment but for an eternity. Jesus promised Martha and He promises you and He promises me, for those who believe in Jesus as their Savior there is an eternity of life beyond the bucket.
Jesus asked Martha, “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.” It was Martha’s faith in Jesus that brought real and lasting comfort to her as she stood at the grave side of her brother. Real and lasting comfort is there for you too. When it comes time for you to stand at the grave side of a loved one, your friend Jesus is there too. He is there in His Word, The Scriptures that powerfully proclaim how the sinless Son of God died so that your loved one might live. The Word of God is there to remind you that there is life beyond the bucket for your dearly departed loved one who believes that Jesus is the resurrection and the life; Jesus will be there to comfort you when you have to face the death of a brother, sister, mother, father, husband, or wife. When the time comes, Jesus will be there for you, reminding you that there is life beyond the bucket. You see, when Jesus said to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life” he was not only comforting her as she gathered at the grave side of her brother, but he was also comforting her as she prepared for the day when loved ones would gather at hers.
Crying; Mary, Martha, and Jesus make their way to the tomb that for the past four days held the dead body of Lazarus. After some protest about the smell of a body which was four-days dead, Jesus convinces them to roll away the stone that sealed the entrance to the dead man’s tomb. And then, inexplicably, “43 Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” and “44 The dead man came out.”
Lazarus believed in Jesus as the resurrection and the life. As a believer, the promises of God were also his. His death although perhaps tragic, maybe unexpected, and sad for his family and friends was the greatest thing that ever happened to Lazarus. Lazarus had every reason to be happy about his death, possibly overjoyed that he had kicked the bucket. No more sorrow, no more pain, no more sickness, no more sin. He would finally be able to live like he was created to live with a glorified boy in perfect harmony with his God. I mention this because I think it is clear that Jesus did not raise Lazarus from the dead to do Lazarus a favor. So then why do you suppose Jesus did it?
I think Jesus’ decision to call out in a loud voice, hints at the answer. In the past Jesus performed many miracles without speaking a word. Water was changed to wine, and the sick were healed with a touch. As almighty God, Jesus did not need to speak to perform this miracle. So then why do you suppose he spoke but called out in a lud voice?
The answer is given to us from Jesus himself when he prays, “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.” Lazarus was raised from the dead for the benefit of the people standing there; for Mary, for Martha, for the people who mourned the loss. He was raised for all the witnesses who had gathered at the grave side. And he was raised for you and for me and all the witnesses across time who have, through Saint John, have stood at this grave side and seen the power of the one who said, I am the resurrection and the life.
You see, one day Jesus will stand at your graveside. He will call you to rise up with the same power and authority he raised Lazarus. Through Jesus you will live even though you die. There will be, for you and for all who believe, life beyond the bucket; eternal life in heaven with Jesus and all the saints who have gone before. This is the comfort that Jesus offers at the grave side to all who believe that “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.” From the smiling Bobba girls and the wrestling Krause boys and all the other rug rats running through the legs of the adults in the narthex, to Mr. and Mrs. Hiltzhiemer, Jackovatz, Baehman, Sanjillio and all the other kissy kissy newlyweds, to old man Mcmiller, his much much much younger wife and all of us who now find ourselves in the autumn of life, this is the comfort Jesus has for us. When we stand at the graveside of someone we love and when the time comes for people to stand at our graveside. For those who believe in Jesus as the resurrection and the life, there is life beyond the bucket.
Like many people, I have a bucket list. I am not sure if I will be given the time to do everything on my list. I am not sure if you will be given time to do everything on yours. But even if we can’t cross every item off our list, can you imagine the kind of bucket list we will be able to compose in heaven? Take a tour of the Garden of Eden with Eve, feed the leviathan with Job, peel back the mysteries of the universe with Solomon, sing in a choir of angels, binge-watch reruns of the history of creation complete with the directors commentary while sharing a bucket of popcorn with your spouse, and best of all- saying thank you to Jesus for making life beyond the bucket possible. When the time comes for us to stand at the grave side of a loved one or when the time comes for loved ones to stand at the side of our graves it is comforting to know that for all who believe in Jesus as their savior, there is life beyond the bucket. Amen