The Call of Jesus

Trinity 16

John 11:32-35

Sept 17, 1961

"The Call of Jesus"

"Lazarus, come out." These are the words of Jesus. But can you imagine the mental shock to those people present at the tomb of Lazarus? Four days Lazarus had been dead. Certainly, anybody living in Palestine knew that the body began to decompose on the 4th day. "Lazarus Come Out" The words must have cut like a knife into the hearts of the poor weeping sisters Mary and Martha. Lazarus Come Out - cruel words these must.

Can you imagine the thoughts of the bystanders as Jesus approached the tomb and talked of raising Lazarus — why doesn't Jesus leave well enough alone. There are some things in life that are sacred — and one of these is death. Leave the dead alone Jesus — Lazarus is dead — don't come here disturbing people's thoughts and feelings. Leave well enough alone Jesus, Mary even seemed to cast a rebuke at the Lord Jesus "Lord if you had been here, my brother would not have died"?

Stop Jesus — what does he think he is doing, certainly many must have at least thought this. But Jesus is persistent — Take away the stone — are the words of Jesus. But Lord Martha replies, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor for he has been dead four days.”

"Lazarus come out” people must have been stunned at the words, and they must have been more stunned when they saw Lazarus come forth. You can see the people recoil back in awe. There was Lazarus covered with bandages, there was Lazarus standing pale alive as anybody.

Lazarus, what did you see? Lazarus what was it like — Certainly these such questions must have been thrown at Lazarus for the rest of his natural life. What did he see — what was it like to be dead — This is a haunting question.

Tennyson the English poet wrote:

> Where were you brother those 4 days?

> There lives no record of reply.

> Which telling what it is to do.

> Had surely added praise to praise.

Tradition has it that Lazarus walked the rest of his life sad, a man with a dejected appearance. The fact is, however, there is no record of what Lazarus felt or saw. This we can only speculate. Maybe he was sad or super happy. Eugene O'Neil, the great American playwright wrote a play "Lazarus Laughed" and in his play he had Lazarus laugh at all things even death — he even stands before the Roman Caesar and laughs and tells Caesar there is no death — only life.

What did Lazarus see — for many this is an intriguing question. Here is a great deal of curiosity you know about the Hereafter and what it is like. Many people turn to spiritualists and houses for seances and the rest.

But the fact is no one has yet given us any real description of what it is like, and the fact is it is probably impossible to do so. Try giving a man who has been blind all of his life a description of a sunset. Try giving a man deaf all of his life a description of a beautiful piece of music. You can't do it because these people haven't the faculties — the senses need the understand these things — and I have an idea that is true of us and Heaven — we on this earth couldn't understand what it is like even if someone did try to tell us what it is like — we haven't the organs needed — we are still human and you have to be dead and receive divine life to understand. Jesus did say Heaven is like a great wedding feast or like a place with many mansions but even in saying this probably all he meant is that there is plenty of room and it will be a Happy place.

But in asking all of these questions look in our text — remember that what the author is basically trying to say is that Jesus is the life and the giver of life. The main concern of this text is not to ask what did Lazarus see or what is the Hereafter like. — the main concern is not to even speculate on the shock to the people present or how frightening Lazarus must have looked coming out of that tomb.

What John is trying to tell you and I here in this text is that Jesus is the giver of life — He is the life.

Lazarus come out — Lazarus come to life — these were the words of Jesus and many must have said — why doesn't Jesus leave well enough alone — why doesn't Jesus get out of here and let these poor sisters grieve in peace —

And today this same Jesus stands before us and he confronts us as the life and he says — Jim or Dick or Martha come out — come alive — come out — come out from the tomb of self-righteousness come out from the tomb of discontent — come out from your indifference and lack of concern about spiritual matters.

Yes, Jesus always stands before us and challenges us. We wish he would go away — we wish he would stop bothering us. We wish he would stop pestering our consciences, for Jesus to go away — leave us until another day.

But Jesus will not go away — he has the habit of getting into your household — into your recreation, into your farming, — you simply want to live your life in peace and pursue your own course. We as men can sit down and figure things all out for ourselves.

We can say — well let me see now this week I plan to make a new dress, I plan to wash the kitchen floor, I plan to go visiting, or I plan to make a new addition to that shed, I plan to get some welding done — But even in these things Jesus sticks his hands and says "Come Out" — "Come out" and do all these things for my glory — and live for me I plan to do our work in our recreation, in all areas of our life Jesus intrudes and says "Come out" — come out from the world, come out from preoccupation to with things of with the things of life, come out from just seeking material things, come out from just existing for pleasure and work — come out from pride or jealousy.

We cannot escape it — whatever we do or wherever we go we hear the call of Jesus and he says "Come Out" — come out from the world and follow me — come out from sinful ways and follow me. You may be with a group talking about things they should not talk and Jesus says, "Come Out" you may wish to avoid going to church or praying or reading your Bible and Jesus says: "Come Out."

Hand of Jesus It may seem unfair for Jesus to constantly confront us. It may seem unfair for Jesus to demand so much of our time or attention. But God and we as men, God comes to us from above and he sticks his intrudes into every nook and cranny of our life and it is not for us to question why — for God is God, God does not have to conform to our standards, He is above our ways and our thoughts and for us to question why He does things in certain ways, why he demands discipleship, why he demands that we give all of our lives to Him — to question these things is sheer blasphemy.

God deals with us on His terms — not on our terms — remember that — God deals with us on His terms — not on our terms. We cannot dictate to God, we cannot even come to God on our own strength — but God comes to us and He calls us as he called Lazarus long ago and says, "Come Out" Come out from deadness in sin and all we can do is obey or reject.

There are many notions of what life is. Ernest Hemingway, the noted author who it seems killed himself with a shotgun recently seemed to that life was brutal and cruel, a game of chance against the elements and the only things that make life worthwhile are courage, good liquor, hunting wild game and that's about it.

Dostoyevsky, the great Russian novelist felt that seemed to feel that life is basically suffering and if you suffer enough — in the end you will achieve salvation.

And the average man — Average man in U.S.A. must have a philosophy to this extent: Life is living. You eat, you sleep, you work, you try to enjoy yourself a little — you try to accumulate some this world's goods — you pursue some hobby you like, you look at T-V. in much of your spare time — mainly life is living — trying to get along as best you can from day to day, you go to church once in a while — maybe every Sunday — as the man, but basically life is living — trying to mind your own business and get on in the world.

But Shakespeare puts these words into the mouth of Macbeth: Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more; it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury signifying nothing.

Jesus is life, here in this life — Jesus is not really life but light from a persistent perspective.

We can take our pick — we can have our own views about life — we can say it is a battle, we can say it is suffering, we can say it is just living and getting along, we can say it is a tale told by an idiot signifying nothing.

But the Bible says that Jesus is life. He is the Resurrection and the life, and here in our text for today Jesus John would tell us that just it is only Jesus that can give eternal life.

Lazarus comes out — the words must have sounded strange and incredible in the Palestinian air — and the sight must have been more incredible as Lazarus struggled, stumbled from the tomb.

no demand to our human manner, these are many notions of what life is and beyond life there is the void which confronts every man. Across this void there is only one who can safely guide you. There is only one that can say come out and give you eternal life — and the message of the Bible is that Jesus Christ is the giver of life.

Come out — these were the words to Lazarus and today these are the words of Jesus to us. — Come out — come out from selfishness, come out from living for yourself and yourself alone, come out from indifference to spiritual matters. Come out from spiritual deadness — come out from the world and receive.

Jesus Christ as your Savior — as your Lord and Master and then you will have life — you will have life here and now for you will know the joy, the challenge of walking as a Christian and you will know the joy of eternal life. Perhaps all of you accepted this Jesus long ago — but then long there is always the danger that some have not yielded their lives to Him — there is always the danger of fooling yourself and thinking that attending church is making things all right with God.

James Stewart — the great Scottish preacher, writer — the fact remains that the greatest drag on the church today, the most serious drag menace to the church's mission is not the secularism without — it is the reduced Christianity within.

Reduced Christianity James Stewart says is the great menace to the church. And maybe some of us have reduced our faith to the point that it is no faith and then we must hear the call of Jesus to come out.

Lazarus come out — these were the words of Jesus and today he stands before us and here in time — here in our present moment of existence Jesus says Come-Out — come out from spiritual laziness, come out from indifference — Come out from self-seeking, or some of you have not done so. — Come out and accept me as your Lord and Savior.

Jesus’ caller of Lazarus has answers to the greatest problem, the most haunting problem. What after eternity?

My Grandfather's Word weaves the personal sermon notes from 1961 into a reflective, narrative-driven post that honors both the history of the manuscript and the timelessness of his message.

The Intrusion of Grace: Notes from September 1961

By: Theodore Nance

A look into the handwritten archives of "My Grandfather’s Word"

Leafing through old, yellowed notebook paper can feel a bit like time travel. You handle the pages carefully, tracing the dips and loops of a pen that moved across the paper decades before you were even a thought.

Today, I’m looking at a sermon outline dated September 17, 1961. At the top right corner, in my grandfather’s characteristic script, it reads: Trinity 16, John 11:32-35.

The title he gave it is simple, but heavy: "The Call of Jesus."

What follows is a beautiful, deeply challenging reflection on the raising of Lazarus. But rather than focusing purely on the ancient miracle, my grandfather used those three famous words. "Lazarus, come out"* to pierce right through the comfortable boundaries we build around our daily lives.

Here is a look at what he wrote, and why his words still echo so loudly today.

The Shock of the Tomb

Grandfather begins by setting a scene we often sanitize in our modern minds. He reminds us of the raw, offensive reality of death in first-century Palestine.

"Four days Lazarus had been dead. Certainly, anybody living in Palestine knew that the body began to decompose on the 4th day. 'Lazarus Come Out'—The words must have cut like a knife into the hearts of the poor weeping sisters Mary and Martha."

He notes that the bystanders were likely thinking, why doesn't Jesus leave well enough alone? There is a comfort in finality, even when it’s tragic. Death is sacred; grief has its place. When Jesus commands the stone to be rolled away, it’s an uncomfortable, messy intrusion into a family's mourning.

But as Grandfather writes, "Jesus is persistent."

A Haunting Silence vs. A Joyful Shout

One of my favorite sections of his notes is where he explores how history and literature have wrestled with life after death. He notes that tradition often painted a somber picture of a resurrected Lazarus—a man who walked the rest of his life "sad, with a dejected appearance," burdened by what he had seen. He quotes the poet Alfred Lord Tennyson:

Where were you brother those 4 days?

There lives no record of reply...

Then, he contrasts that heavy silence with Eugene O'Neill's play Lazarus Laughed, where Lazarus returns from the grave laughing at death itself, boldly telling the Roman Caesar that "there is no death—only life."

Grandfather points out that trying to decipher what the afterlife looks like is a bit like trying to describe a sunset to a man born blind, or a symphony to a man born deaf. We simply don't have the earthly faculties to comprehend it yet.

But then he pivots to the true core of the text: John’s Gospel isn't trying to satisfy our curiosity about the afterlife. John is trying to tell us that Jesus is the life.

"Jim, or Dick, or Martha—Come Out"

This is where Grandfather’s sermon hits home. He stops looking at the tomb in ancient Judea and looks directly into the pews of 1961—and, inadvertently, into our lives today.

He writes that Jesus has a persistent, meddlesome habit of stepping into our neat little routines:

"But Jesus will not go away—he has the habit of getting into your household—into your recreation, into your farming... We as men can sit down and figure things all out for ourselves. We can say—well let me see now, this week I plan to make a new dress, I plan to wash the kitchen floor, I plan to go visiting, or I plan to make a new addition to that shed, I plan to get some welding done—But even in these things Jesus sticks his hands and says 'Come Out'..."

I love the grounded imagery here. Washing floors, welding, building sheds, making dresses, the regular, quiet rhythms of mid-century life. Yet, Grandfather insists that Christ intrudes upon our ordinary days with a spiritual wake-up call.

He lists the modern "tombs" we hide in:

  The tomb of self-righteousness*

  The tomb of discontent*

  The tomb of indifference*

  The tomb of spiritual laziness*

To all of it, the call remains the same. Come out.

The Danger of a "Reduced Christianity"

Near the end of his notes, Grandfather quotes the great Scottish preacher James Stewart, writing down a warning that feels incredibly urgent for the modern church:

"The fact remains that the greatest drag on the church today, the most serious menace to the church's mission is not the secularism without—it is the reduced Christianity within."

He warns against the danger of "fooling yourself and thinking that attending church is making things all right with God." A reduced Christianity is safe. It stays on its side of the ledger. It doesn't require us to step out of our comfortable tombs.

But the real Gospel demands that we answer a call to live—fully, uncomfortably, and eternally.

Leaving my grandfather’s notebook open on my desk, I’m reminded that the human heart hasn't changed all that much since September of 1961. We still like our boundaries. We still want Jesus to bless our plans rather than disrupt them.

But as Grandfather reminds us from across the decades: God deals with us on His terms, not ours. And thankfully, His terms involve calling us out of our deadness and into His light.

Until next time, keep holding onto the Word.

What part of Grandfather's notes resonated most with you? Let me know in the comments below!