THEME WEEK: Death & the Kingdom – John 11
Old Testament: 1 Kings 13 & 14
Poetry: Psalm 122
“Heaven tourism” is a great money maker.
Perhaps you’ve never heard the term, but I know you’ve seen the book. Or books.
Don Piper claimed to spend 90 Minutes in Heaven (6 million copies), while Bill Wiese had the greater misfortune of spending 23 Minutes in Hell. (Unfortunately only 1 million copies sold)
Heaven is for Real sold more than 10 million copies by 2014, and it’s movie earned $101 at the box office that same year.
However, not every book can be a winner. After his story being told by his father in The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven, Alex Malarkey denied that he ever went to heaven, that he had any memory of it. He claimed he said those things because it gave him attention.
For a while in Christian writing, everyone seemed to be claiming that they had had near-death experiences, out-of-body experiences, and visited heaven and hell.
I’d like to tell about one of these stories from the Bible.
I’d like to, but I can’t.
In John 11, Lazarus, a good friend of Jesus, a person who believes (like his sisters Mary and Martha) that Jesus is the Messiah, dies. Jesus goes to Bethany, having already told his disciples that Lazarus was dead and that he was going to bring him back to life. He speaks to the sisters of Lazarus. He weeps over the death of his friend. Then he goes to the tomb. Though Mary protested that they should not remove the stone (“Lord he stinketh” John 11:39 KJV), Jesus told her that if she would believe she would see the glory of God. After declaring the glory of God in prayer, Jesus said “Lazarus, come forth.” And out of the grave came the dead man. They unbind the man so that he can move freely.
Then Lazarus writes long scrolls called “Four Days in Sheol”, signs a theater deal, and makes hundreds of talents on the royalties. Because if anyone walks through the pearly gates, it’s a personal friend and follower of the Messiah.
… OR …
The only other time Lazarus gets mentioned again is in chapter 12 when “the Jews” decide to try and kill Lazarus along with Jesus because Lazarus was a walking, talking, breathing, LIVING reminder of the power of God on display in Jesus Christ.
Please don’t miss that this is the point of the story! Jesus is not simply a healer, not simply a bringer of resurrection. Jesus is the resurrection himself.
Jesus said to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26)
Christ promises those who believe in him that they will live, even though they die. But this resurrection is not taking place now, as if there is some sort of eternally present resurrection. Jesus’ statement that he is the resurrection is made in response to Martha. She had just said to him, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
What we need to see is that Martha is not wrong. She knew about the timing of the resurrection of every believer; she just didn’t realize the blessing that was about to happen to her.
If it is true that the dead cannot praise God (Isaiah 38:18), if it is true that there is no work, planning, knowledge, or wisdom in the grave (Ecclesiastes 9:10), then maybe we should take to heart the deafening silence of Lazarus. He didn’t tell us anything because their isn’t anything that we need to know beyond what Jesus has said about himself in this chapter. We shouldn’t be waiting to fly away to glory when this life is over, but instead, we will be raised by the Resurrection and the Life Himself when this age comes to an end. Christ will open the book of life, and if we put our trust and hope in him, he will read our names.
Now that’s a book worth reading. The Resurrection is For Real.
-Jake Ballard
Reflection Questions:
- What does it mean to you that Jesus IS the resurrection and the life?
- Do you have a hope in the resurrection on the last day (of this age) like Martha did? If not, is there more study you can do about this hope – not in heaven tourism books but in God’s book.
Seek Grow Love 