From Ashes to Alleluia: With Jesus at the Grave

The Fifth Sunday in Lent

March 22, 2026

John 11:1-53

“From Ashes to Alleluia: With Jesus at the Grave”

We’ve all been there: gathered with family and friends around an open grave at the cemetery, or an open niche in a columbarium, preparing to lay a loved one to rest. We know what that looks like, and we know what that feels like: the grief that seems overwhelming, the emptiness and loneliness even though we are surrounded by others, the numbness that can leave us wondering how we’ll carry on. In the midst of this, we affirm the truth that Jesus is with us at the grave. He meets us in our sorrow and emptiness, just as he met Martha and Mary in their grief, their emptiness and numbness, at the grave of their brother, Lazarus. Today, we get a foretaste of Easter Sunday. Today, we get a sneak preview of resurrection victory and new life, as Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. In this, we receive blessed hope and assurance that in Jesus, even when we die, yet shall we live in him who is the resurrection and the life. Our Lenten preaching series, “From Ashes to Alleluia,” continues today under the theme “With Jesus at the Grave.” May the Lord’s rich and abundant blessing rest upon the preaching, the hearing, and the living of his Word for Jesus’ sake.

By way of review, in our Lenten journey, we have been with Jesus in all the places and with all the people that he encounters on his way to the cross. We have been with Jesus in the wilderness as he grappled with the power of the tempter, overcoming temptation and the tempter (Matthew 4:1-11). We have been with Jesus in his late-night conversation with Nicodemus about being born from above, being born again, by water and the Spirit, and so enter the kingdom of God (John 3:1-17). We have been with Jesus at Jacob’s well where he spoke with the Samaritan woman about the gift of living water that he alone can give (John 4:1-42). And we have been with Jesus at the pool of Siloam in Jerusalem where he gave sight to a man who was blind from birth (John 9:1-41). And now today, we are with Jesus at the grave of his friend, Lazarus.

Today’s Old Testament lesson (Ezekiel 37:1-14) is a well-known passage from Scripture about Ezekiel and the dry bones. The context here is that Israel’s homeland, city, and temple were destroyed, and now they were exiled in far-off Babylon. In a vision, Ezekiel the priest is called by God to walk in the midst of this great valley filled with dead, dry bones. He was to walk through unclean things in the midst of suffering and despair. This is how Israel thought of themselves, and verse 11 sums up their lament: “Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.” Their lament mirrors the grief and sorrow of Martha and Mary at the death of their brother. And if we’re honest with ourselves, that is exactly how we sometimes feel as well: dried up, without hope, and cut off. We feel and then act as though God himself were limited by these circumstances, but that is never true. God is able to bring life from the dead. Listen to what the Lord said to Ezekiel: “Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord” (Ezekiel 37:12b-14). That is God’s own promise, and that promise is gloriously fulfilled with the Son of God raising of Lazarus from death to life.

The good news is that not only are we with Jesus at the grave of Lazarus, but that he is with us at the graves of our loved ones. More than this, Jesus will be with us at our own grave when that time will come. The shortest passage of Scripture is here in today’s Gospel lesson where we read: “Jesus wept” (John 11:35). Not only is Jesus the divine Son of God, he is also the human Son of Man. Because he himself became like us in every respect except for sin (Hebrews 2:17-18; 4:14-16), he knows what it means to be human. He knows the pain and sorrow of losing a dear friend. When we grieve the death of someone we love, we take comfort in knowing that we have a Savior who understands what we ourselves experience. As wonderful as this is, we have even greater comfort in this Savior who has power over death and the grave. Jesus’ blessed words of comfort were spoken not only to Martha, but to each and every one of us: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die” (John 11:25-26). At the end of the day, at the end of our life, at the end of the world, this is what truly matters. After saying this, Jesus then asks Martha, and he asks us as well: “Do you believe this?” (John 11:26b). No one can believe for us, and no one can answer for us. We must all answer for ourselves. Let us with all joy answer as Martha did, and as countless fellow believers have throughout the ages: “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world” (John 11:27).

After calling Lazarus out from the grave and raising him to new life, a target was now on Jesus’ back. Caiaphas’ prophetic words point ahead to Jesus own impending death: “It is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish” (John 11:50).  In raising Lazarus from death to life, Jesus himself would willingly give his life into death. Jesus suffered and died, taking the penalty of our sin and disobedience upon himself. He rose from the dead to assure us that even when we die, death is not the final word. The finality of death is not final. In Jesus, who died and who is risen from the dead, we see the grave differently now. Yes, it still hurts when loved ones die, but that is not the end. In Christ, death and the grave become the gateway to eternal life. In Christ, we do not have hopeless despair in the face of death. Instead, we have hopeful joy that triumphs over death. It is as today’s Epistle lesson closes: “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans 8:11). Amen.