If marriage is ended by death, then surely the sacrificial love between husband and wife also must die. There is nothing that can be done to help a dead person. All that is left is sentimental feelings and sorrow after death. Most of the things we do for the dead are for our own benefit, not theirs.
There is nothing left we can do. This is why, at a funeral, our love for the departed one is expressed in the past tense - "how much he loved her."
This is what the Jews said about Jesus' love for Lazarus: "behold, how He loved him!" They knew that Jesus couldn't do anything to help Lazarus, because once he died, nobody could help him.
But they were wrong about Jesus' love, because He is the resurrection and the life, with power to raise His people from the dead!
God's love is stronger than ours! While our love is quenched at death, nothing can quench God's love for us.
Jesus proved then when He commanded Lazarus to "come forth" from the grave.
The crowd was wrong to suppose that Jesus had loved Lazarus, for He loved him still even in death. That is why He raised Lazarus from the dead, because He still loved Lazarus!
God's love extends to His people while we were yet sinners, when we were in rebellion and unrighteousness, yea, even while we were His enemies! In that hopeless condition, God loved us and Christ died to save us!
But even worse, God loves us while we are dead in our sins! God loves dead people!
Why shouldn't He? After all, He is not powerless to save His dead loved ones like we are.
We were all in the worst case of deadness - spiritual deadness in our sin. Nobody could do anything to help us because we were dead.
But Jesus did! |
#35 - Top Played Sermon (48-Hours) on 4/1/2018
