The Sweet Names of Death

Rev. Stephen Preus, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Vinton, IA, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study John 11:1-16. Jesus’ raising of Lazarus serves as a climax within the Gospel according to St. John. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were all loved by Jesus, yet when Jesus found out that Lazarus was ill in Bethany, He did not go right away. Nonetheless, the Lord’s love for these three did not change. Instead, Jesus was doing the work that the Father had given Him to do. When Jesus tells His disciples that Lazarus had fallen asleep, He speaks a word of glorious promise. Jesus can call death “sleep” because He is the One who awakens His people from the grave on the Last Day. This is comforting because death is the real enemy that cannot be overcome by our power or anything or anyone other than Jesus, the Savior. “The Word Made Flesh” is a series on Sharper Iron that goes through the Gospel according to St. John. The disciple whom Jesus loved wrote his Gospel account as an eyewitness to Jesus’ life and ministry. As we read the Word of God recorded by St. John, the Holy Spirit works in us so that we might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and so have life by faith in His name.