[Music] hello i'm pastor aaron and this is redeemer lutheran's midweek devotion thanks for listening in the season of easter it may seem that i'm asking a rather strange question but what do you think was the greatest funeral sermon ever preached you might think of pastor bugenhagen's funeral sermon for martin luther or maybe it was some other person maybe charles hadden spurgeon for example maybe he had a great funeral sermon maybe a pastor that you know and love has preached a fantastic funeral sermon maybe it was a funeral sermon preached at the funeral of one of your loved ones and you just thought that was the greatest sermon that you'd ever heard it was just timely it hit the mark if you asked me what was the greatest funeral sermon ever preached i think it would probably be the shortest funeral sermon ever preached at least as far as i know i know many people would agree it was good just because it was short but it wasn't the length of the sermon that made it so good it was the preacher that preacher of course was jesus and he preached that sermon to the sister of a dear friend who had died he told her he said i am the resurrection and the life whoever believes in me will live even though they die and whoever lives and believes in me will never die you know that sounds so much better than our thoughts and prayers are with you now it's great that we pray for the families of those who have suffered lost but i don't know that my thoughts for anybody help anyone and my prayers i know avail before god in heaven but i could not preach the sermon that jesus preached because i am not the resurrection and the life i can direct you only to the one who is and that's why i believe the sermon jesus preached to martha at the funeral of her brother lazarus is the greatest funeral sermon ever preached because it was jesus preaching it and because he said what only he could say not my thoughts and prayers are with you not well i really hope that this turns out all right or you know we know he's in a better place there's some of those nice things that i hear people say no jesus was very direct with his comfort he looked right into her eyes and said i am the resurrection and the life it wasn't long after that jesus would die he would die draped with our sins all over him with our guilt and our shame and god's anger poured out on him for those sins and he would lay down and take his place in the grave dead he had to it was the only way to make atonement for our sins which is the cause of death but unlike anyone else before or since jesus woke up he woke himself up from the sleep of death because he is the resurrection and the life just as he told martha what comfort then those beautiful words give to us when they come to us from the lips of our savior what he says to martha he says to every one of us i am the resurrection and the life and by his resurrection he proves it to us and the life he wins for us is not just a life here but a life with him forever his resurrection guarantees that even though we die as he says we will live he is going to raise us again he has the power to do that because he himself is the resurrection i don't know if what kind of sermons you've heard of in the past at funerals but i think you'd have to agree with me that any time a pastor can point you to the words of of your dear savior and just let those words penetrate your ears and your heart it has got to be the greatest funeral sermon ever preached why it might just be one of the greatest sermons preached regardless of the circumstances i am the resurrection and the life i am i encourage you to continue to put your faith in jesus forever for whoever believes in him will live even though they die that is our hope that is our comfort and i pray that that will give you comfort and strength this week have a blessed week [Music] you