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Sometimes it seems that even Jesus is not enough. I know that’s a startling statement, but it’s a way of stating just how terrible death is.

In Mark’s gospel even Jesus cries, 'My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?' And it’s okay if we sometimes have to cry those same words, too.

But Jesus is enough. That’s the message that I have to bring today. Jesus is enough, not because he is some kind of miracle-worker or some magician, but because he is, at one and the same time, both God and the one true revelation of the living God.

That can make all the difference to us in our grief. The One we come to is not just some good and holy man, and not just some great prophet who tells us about God. He’s that, of course, but he’s much more.

'If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?' Moses asks God in fear and trembling.

To use a trite expression, Moses was between a rock and a hard place when he asked that question. He could challenge the most powerful human being living on the earth, Egypt’s Pharaoh, or he could go against the living God.

And God replied: 'I AM WHO I AM ... Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ '

God’s name is 'I AM.' Or maybe that’s a way of concealing God’s name from Moses. In either case, have you noticed how often Jesus says, 'I am ...?'

'I am the bread which came down from heaven ...'

'I am the vine ...'

'You call me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am (13:13).'

Jesus is enough! No matter how much grief and pain we feel, Jesus is enough!

I don’t know how many times Jesus uses the words 'I am ...' in John’s gospel, but in John 6 he tells us why he does it.

'Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life ...,' he tells those who followed him across the sea.

And they reply, 'Then what sign do you do, that we may see, and believe in you? Our fathers ate manna from the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ '

And Jesus answers: 'Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world.'

And they said to him, 'Lord, give us this bread always.'

And he did because he was that bread. He did, because he, too, is 'I AM ...' It’s not that he supplants God or the Holy Spirit, but he is, as we have always been taught, fully human and yet fully divine, and the gospel according to John emphasizes the divine.

That’s what makes the story of the raising of Lazarus so powerful. The ancient world was full of people who claimed to be able to raise others from the dead. It was full of miracle workers of all kinds.

And whether or not the miracles were true, people believed them.

But Jesus’ raising of Lazarus was different. It wasn’t a trick, it wasn’t even a miracle. It was the final revelation of the glory of the living God, the final revelation aside from his passion, his crucifixion and his resurrection.

'Did I not tell you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?' Jesus told Martha just before he rolled away the stone.

The glory of God. They had seen it in the wedding feast at Cana. They had seen it in the healings and in so many other things Jesus did. And now they saw it in the raising of the dead.

Jesus is enough. Jesus is both God and the revelation of the one true living God. He is the Light, the Way, the Bread, the Vine, the Word who was with God from the beginning and through whom all things are made.

Believe it or not, it’s not his raising of the dead that brings us hope, it is that he is God and that he reveals the one true living God.

There’s no pay off in our faith. We can’t earn God’s peace or God’s salvation, but we, like *, can trust in God, can trust in Jesus.

Let Us Pray

Loving and caring God, what a blessing we can find in Holy Scripture. As a child said one time, 'Thank you for you,' and thank you for the hope you bring in Jesus. Amen.


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