John 1:1-14
The Word Became Flesh
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 3:1-15
Jesus Teaches Nicodemus about Death
1 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”
John 11:17-44
Jesus Comforts Mary and Martha about Lazarus' Death
17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.18 Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, 19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died.22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
28 After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked.
“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.
35 Jesus wept.
36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said.
“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”
40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “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.”
43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
Matthew 26:36-46
Jesus Prays in the Garden of Gethsemane
36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping.“Couldn't you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
42 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”
43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.
45 Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”
Romans 6:23
The Wages of Sin is Death, but God's Gift is Eternal Life in Jesus
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The wages of sin is death...And the punishment we get for sinning, is even more horrible in Jesus' eyes than in ours...
C. S. Lewis tells, us in his book God in the Dock, that man and especially in hospitals we fight death on a daily basis...Lewis said, "The world, knowing how all our real investments are beyond the grave, might expect us to be less concerned than other people who go in for what is called Higher Thought and tell us that “death doesn't matter”; but we “are not highminded,” and we follow One who stood and wept at the grave of Lazarus — not surely, because He was grieved that Mary and Martha wept, and sorrowed for their lack of faith (though some thus interpret) but because death, the punishment of sin, is even more horrible in His eyes than in ours...The nature which He had created as God, the nature which He had assumed as Man, lay there before Him in its ignominy; a foul smell, food for worms...Though He was to revive it a moment later, He wept at the shame; if I may here quote a writer of my own communion, “I am not so much afraid of death as ashamed of it.”...And that brings us again to the paradox...Of all men, we hope most of death; yet nothing will reconcile us to — well, its unnaturalness...We know that we were not made for it; we know how it crept into our destiny as an intruder; and we know Who has defeated it...Because Our Lord is risen we know that on one level it is an enemy already disarmed; but because we know that the natural level also is God’s creation we cannot cease to fight against the death which mars it, as against all those other blemishes upon it, against pain and poverty, barbarism and ignorance...Because we love something else more than this world we love even this world better than those who know no other."...
Death is this great mystery for man and being human...So man is always trying to cheat death out of one more day by living...That seems to be man's way to live on and want to live another day...But the real happiness or joy is beyond the grave...Most of us haven't realized this yet, that there is hope and comfort beyond the grave...Man just cannot come to this realization of this, yet...Man sees death as unnatural, and of course, just the opposite of living, so we fear and fight it...All we know and any knowledge we is from here...The knowledge we have learned from earth and being on earth...And because of this earthly knowledge of death, we grieve death and fear death...Mary and Martha grieved for their brother Lazarus, but Jesus was there to comfort them...And the longer He stayed there, the more and more comforting He became for them...And if we believe in this story and the One who comforts, there is Something and Someone beyond the grave...He is the Resurrection and the Life...Someone who will wipe our tears, after we have left earth...The One who wept talking to Mary about her brother's death, knows all about death...The One who sees sin much more of the calamity than death...One who knows all about life and all about death...One who understands both heaven and earth...One who not only created earth and had all things made through Him, but came and dwelt on earth...Since all things are made through Him, He is the Originator of Life...And He says He came from above...We know that no one has ever gone into heaven except the One who actually came from heaven—and that is the Son of Man...But even the One who came from heaven was fully human and had turmoil over death, which is one of the reasons for His Prayer in Gethsemane...But He followed the will of His Father in all His turmoil...Jesus knows both heaven and earth...And because He sees death for what it is and knows what death is (and has experienced it) -(and according to Lewis) He sees sin as being worse than the death we will have...The wages of sin is death, but He died for our sins, He did not die for our deaths...When we finally realize these things about death, we will be with the Two Entities that have been here from the beginning, and they will explain to us the very purpose of life...And because being human, we naturally see the act of death as an unnatural act, so we fear it and grieve it...Jesus paid the price for us to receive eternal life with His death...