The Lutheran Hour

"Death Without Dignity"

#72-39
Presented on The Lutheran Hour on June 12, 2005
Speaker: Rev. Ken Klaus
Copyright 2025 Lutheran Hour Ministries

Text: Romans 5:6-8

Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! The resurrection victory of the Savior shows that Jesus’ great sacrifice to save us is complete. At the open tomb we see how far God’s grace was willing to go to save us.

How far would you go? What would you be willing to do to save somebody’s life? To a large extent, at least for most of us, the answer to that question probably depends on whose life we’re saving. Although it doesn’t sound very Christian, and it isn’t, most of us probably know a few people that we might not want to save at all. So, how far would you go? To find an answer to that, let’s put you into a story, shall we? Over 30,000 people died in a 1989 earthquake that hit the country of Armenia. As many of the shocked and stunned people wandered aimlessly through wreckage and rubble, one father was filled with an overpowering objective: to find his son. He raced to his boy’s school and found it had, like so many other buildings, been leveled. He stood there looking confused as to what he should do. Then, slowly the father’s confusion was pushed aside by the remembrance of a promise he had made. From before his son could understand, the father had regularly said, “Son, no matter what, I’ll always be there for you.¨

The father went to the back corner of the building, where his son’s classroom had been. It was there he started to dig. It didn’t take long before other parents arrived. They, too were shocked at what they saw. They sympathized with the man who had attacked the rubble wit his bare hands. They understood, but it was a time for all of them to be practical. They spoke to the man in his grief. They said some very commonsense things. They said: “Don’t do this to yourself. There’s no hope. Without stopping his digging, the father asked each of the other parents one question: “Are you going to help me now?” As I said, I was going to put you into this story. So, let me ask. Honestly, what would you have done? Would you have helped? Would it have made a difference if one of your children was in that school? What would you have done? I can tell you what did happen. The other parents left and the man kept digging alone.

A policeman came by. He said, “My friend, I know you’re upset. I know you’re filled with sadness. What happens if you keep digging and the rubble caves in? You’ll be caught and then somebody will have to rescue you. Go on home. We can take care of this.” The father looked at the officer and asked his question: “Are you going to help me now?” What would you have done? I can tell you what did happen. The officer left and the man kept digging.

It was some time before the head of the fire department arrived. The fire chief said, “You’re risking your life as well as that of others. Why not let the professionals do what they’ve been trained to do. Go home.” You know what the father said. He asked, “Are you going to help me now?” Once more, I ask, “What would you have done? Would you have helped the man and risked your life and that of others to save a child that was probably already dead?” I can tell you what did happen. The fire chief went and worked somewhere else. The father kept digging.

If you had decided to help, how long would you have helped before you gave up? I can tell you what did happen. The father dug for eight hours. Would you still have been there by his side? Twelve hours of steady scraping by hand went by. Would you have been there then? Twenty-four hours and the entire day had gone by. Normal people would have gone home to sleep. Would you have stayed? The father kept digging. The clock said thirty-six hours had passed since he had begun. Would you still have been helping him? I can tell you what did happen. In the 38th hour, the father moved a large stone and heard his son’s voice. “Dad, it’s me.”

The father shouted down, “How are you? How is it?” The son told him, “When the building collapsed, it made a wedge, like a triangle, and it saved us.” “Come on out, boy!”, the father called down. All 14 of the children came out. With bleeding hands, the father hugged each of them. They didn’t mind. They had been saved by the man with bloodied hands and a fierce determination. Would you have done the same? How far would you go to save someone’s life?

I admire that man from Armenia. He had qualities which made him stand out from many of us. He’s a man who believed in keeping his word. It didn’t matter what other people thought of his mission. He had made a promise, and he was going to keep it, no matter the cost, no matter the pain. But I also admire this man, because he was motivated by a deep love. No, I would never say that the other parents didn’t love their children. I’m just saying that this man loved in a way that was not going to be put off by time or circumstance.

Having said that, I wonder, do you think he would have remained so fiercely faithful, so totally dedicated and devoted to the digging if his son hadn’t been down there? If it had been someone else’s child trapped in the rubble, might he not have become reasonable, rational, and realistic like everyone else who stopped by? The Bible says that might have indeed been the case. After all, as St. Paul wrote in the book of Romans: “Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man,” and then he concedes, “though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.” It’s just like we said at the beginning of the message, how far you will go to help somebody or save somebody depends a great deal on who that somebody is. Our Armenian man did what he did because he remembered the pledge and promise he had made to his son; he recalled to mind the memory of his beautiful little boy’s face; he was filled with the remote hope that things might, against all odds, work out all right. Those were the things which kept him digging, even if it might cost him his life. But would he have stayed on the job without these personal motivations? Would you?

It saddens me to confess that I probably wouldn’t have stayed. Most of you probably wouldn’t either. Those other parents, that fire chief, that policeman weren’t all that much different than we are. Sure, we might be willing to get our hands dirty and bloody if we were positive that the children were still alive. But if the experts said there was no hope, well, that would make the search a different matter. It’s possible some of us might, even in the face of uncertainty, be willing to work for a few hours. Maybe some of us, the really good ones of us, might be willing to put in a full day of digging. But the sad, sorry truth is, most of us don’t think we’re our brother’s keeper. It’s painful to admit but if it’s not our problem, then it’s not our priority. Deep down we watch out for number one. On a regular basis we don’t do unto others as we would have them do to us. We think it’s a good idea, but we don’t love our neighbors as ourselves. That’s because we’re sinners.

Now, you may not want to hear that. You probably don’t; after all, most of us like to think of ourselves as pretty good folks. But let me ask, when you see someone pulled off along the side of the road with his car hood up, what do you do? Do you pass by without helping?’ I can almost hear you say in reply. “That’s not fair. It might be dangerous. That person might be a criminal, and they might be trying to trick me. Anyway, that’s why we have highway patrol officers. They’d be along directly to provide assistance.” OK, let me concede that one. But I’m not done. Let me ask, seeing this car along the roadside, did you use your cell phone to call for a wrecker, or a highway patrolman? What did you do to make sure that someone was coming to help that individual? Might not your reply to that be, “They probably already called themselves. It wouldn’t help for 100 people to call in about the same problem.” So, what did you do? If you’re like most of us, you drove on by. That’s it. You drove on by. It wasn’t your problem, so you drove on by. Maybe you felt a small stab of guilt, but you drove on by. Still don’t believe me?

When you see the commercials on TV asking you to help the children, do you help? When you hear of the homeless, do you find comfort knowing that there are government institutions to take care of these folks? Maybe I still haven’t made my point. When you’re driving out of a parking lot and an elderly person s-l-o-w-l-y crosses the intersection, do you wait patiently, sympathetically, or do you say, “Shake a leg, grandpa, I don’t have all day.”? We’re not as caring, as concerned, as considerate and as compassionate as we would like ourselves to think. How far are we ready to go to help somebody? The answer for all of humanity is: not very far.

Well, there is an exception to that last statement, the one concerning our sin and selfishness. Humanity has seen a single, solitary, exception: the Savior, Jesus Christ. Take a look in God’s inspired, inerrant Word and you will quickly see just how far Jesus was willing to go to help us and to save us. When Adam and Eve, our first ancestors disobeyed God and fell into sin, there was no hope. They, and all who would be born after them, would be tainted with sin. There was no human way to escape it: a sinful nature became part of our inheritance. We could work at doing good, but nobody would ever do good, be good enough to achieve perfection. We could struggle and strive to escape our sin, but we could never work hard enough to get away from who, and what, we are. Everyone was irretrievably, unalterably, eternally lost unless someone, somehow, managed to fulfill every law that God had given; until someone was able to reject every temptation that Satan suggested; until someone managed to defeat death itself.

Who could be expected; who would be wiling to do these things for us? The hopelessness of our situation was horrible. If we were to be saved, someone would have to be born for us, live for us, die for us. If we were to be delivered from damnation, that someone would never be allowed to stumble or slip – not for a second, not for an instant. It was the kind of work that only the Son of God could do, and who would expect God’s Son to live and die for the very people who had willingly, willfully turned their backs on Him? Remember, very rarely will someone die for a righteous man, or for a good man, and we had shown ourselves to be neither righteous or good. No, such a thing was beyond hope or belief.

But it was not beyond God’s grace. Without any merit or worthiness in us, Jesus Christ, God’s Son, left all the glories of heaven and was born for us. Was He born in a palace? No, He was born in a stable with all the sights and smells of a stable. Was He welcomed by the people He had come to save? No, most of the world didn’t know He’d arrived. How far would Jesus go to save us? Early in this message I talked about a father who had dug for 38 hours to save his son. Jesus spent 33 years, struggling and striving to save you. Let me ask, what things are most important to you in life? Having a nice house? A house is important to some. Jesus had no home. He gave that up for you. Personal time for yourself? Some people need that. Jesus was on call for His entire ministry. The sick, the lame, the blind, the possessed, the lepers, the lost, the friendless, the lonely, the mourners, they all came and wanted something from Him. And no matter how tired He was, He listened to them, and He helped them. What’s important to you? Money? He had none. Good job? His only job was to save you. Vacation? He never was allowed to take one. Family? You are His brothers and sisters. Wife? Not for Him.

How far would Jesus go to save you? When the devil offered to supply His needs; when He was given the opportunity to take a short cut to His ministry; when He was tempted with all the riches and power that this world can offer, Jesus turned it down. How far was Jesus willing to go to save you? His childhood friends; His hometown tried to kill Him. His disciples tried to dissuade Him from His mission and then deserted Him; one of them betrayed Him with a kiss. The respected pillars of the community called Him a devil; His church plotted against Him; His government denied Him justice. How far would Jesus go? Although He had the power of God; although He could have called down a legion of angels to deliver Him, He allowed Himself to be sacrificed for your salvation. When He was spit upon, He didn’t strike the offender dead. When He was beaten and whipped, He didn’t wither the hands of those who had struck Him. When He was nailed to a cross, He forgave those who had put Him there. His was a death without dignity for you. Look in the Bible and see how far Jesus was willing to go so that you might be saved. See Him rejected and refused, unwanted and unwelcomed. See Him live for you and see Him die for you, and then see Him rise for you. His task completed, Jesus rose from the dead and returned to let the world see, beyond any doubt or question that their lives, their eternity could be different. “See My hands, My feet” the living Lord said to His doubting disciples. “See and believe and be saved,” is what He says to you and me. With nail-pierced hands, the Savior reaches out to us. By faith we are saved by the man who had bloody hands and a Godly determination.

How far was Jesus willing to go to save us? Scripture says it, “God demonstrated His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” That is good news, great joy for all humanity. God so loved the world that He gave His only Son so that whoever believes on Him will not perish but have everlasting life. Hope, heaven, happiness is ours. A Friend, a future, God-given forgiveness is yours.

This Lord’s day, is your conscience accusing you of a multitude of things that you have done wrong? I can tell you that Jesus has carried those wrongs and your sin. Do you feel lost and alone? A living Lord Jesus is by your side. Do you feel unloved and ask for proof that God genuinely, graciously cares for you? Look to the cross. Look into the empty tomb. Cross and grave are proof positive that God cares. Cross and grave show us the love that is in God’s heart. Cross and grave tell us that judgment and damnation are to all who believe, a forgotten thing in our past. Cross and grave tell us that while we were yet sinners, Christ died and rose for us.

What a difference God’s grace can make. That it does make. Let me tell you about a lady that I never met, but I have met a thousand men and women like her. The lady’s name was Neva Rogers. An English teacher, Neva had a desire to do something, go somewhere where she could make a big difference in a child’s life. She found such a place, teaching English at Red Lake High School. There she tried to give help to poverty-stricken children who struggled with drugs, drink, suicide, and teen pregnancy. Some who knew Neva personally said there wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do for her students. That’s how far she was ready to go.

How far would Neva go to help? Neva went this far: when a teen-age gunman showed up at Neva’s school and started shooting, she told the children to hide, to get down under their desks in a corner. While they did that, Neva stood out in the open and started to pray. Did she make herself a deliberate target to save her students? I don’t know. I do know that Neva prayed, “God be with us. God help us.” The gunman marched into the room, walked up to Neva and pulled the trigger on his shotgun. It didn’t fire. Then the gunman pulled out his pistol and shot Neva three times: twice in the side and once in the face. How far would Neva go to save someone? Neva’s funeral was in March, 2005, at Calvary Lutheran Church in Bemidji, Minnesota. She had prayed, “God be with us, God help us.” And He was. Jesus had been with her. Jesus, the living Lord had helped her. He had done all that was necessary to help her. That’s how far Jesus was ready to go. He helped her as He has millions of others, as He wants to help and save you. Amen.

LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for June 12, 2005
TOPIC: Christian Women as Second Class Citizens in God’s Kingdom

ANNOUNCER: Now Pastor Ken Klaus answers questions from listeners. I’m Mark Eischer. Pastor Klaus, a lady wants to know why Christianity looks down upon women as second-class citizens.

KLAUS: Mark, I don’t agree with that premise. For some reason, this lady thinks Christianity has relegated women to being second-class citizens. I would say that’s not true. Now, there are some religions where women can only be saved because of their husbands, or where a woman’s testimony carries only half the value of a man’s word in a court of law. But Christianity does not regard women as second-class anything in the kingdom of God. God’s Word does say that each of us has a special position to fill in life, but that has nothing to do with being first or second rate citizens.

ANNOUNCER: Where does the Bible say that?

KLAUS: The Apostle Paul wrote most of the books of the New Testament, and he’s been frequently, and unjustifiably, criticized for promoting a negative attitude towards women. Still, under the Holy Spirit’s direction, he wrote to the Christians in Galatia: “For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

ANNOUNCER: How would you paraphrase that for us?

KLAUS: Paul was writing at a time when society was definitely divided into classes. He was saying, in the eyes of God, in the love of God, in the redemption of Jesus, there is no difference. Everyone who is baptized into Jesus, everyone who has faith, belongs to the Lord and shares equally in God’s grace. The differences between a slave and a free person were gone. The spiritual differences between men and women, if there were any, had been removed.

God looks at us this way. We are, both men and women, sinners. We are, both men and women, rightly to be condemned for our sin. But Jesus entered this world to carry the sins of everybody, both men and women. When He fulfilled the law, He did so for both. When He rose on the third day, the victory that He won was for all humanity, not just for a specific race, or class, or gender.

ANNOUNCER: And going beyond the realm of the church, that spiritual truth has had a profound effect upon all of Western society.

KLAUS: It did. The idea that we are all equal before God was a radical, powerful, and uniquely Christian idea. It was welcomed by many, and feared by a few who wanted to hold on to the status quo.

ANNOUNCER: Is there anything else you can to say with regard to this question?

KLAUS: Absolutely. Look at the way Jesus treated women. There is the Samaritan woman at the well. Jesus’ contemporaries might have avoided her for both her sex, her reputation, and her nationality. Jesus treated her like a person and changed her life. There was the Syrophenician woman whose child was possessed by the devil. She could have been avoided because of her nationality. Jesus healed her daughter and gave her eternal hope. Jesus forgave and changed the lives of so many of the ladies that he met. He never treated any woman as a second-rate citizen.

ANNOUNCER: But how about the disciples? What about them?

KLAUS: Take a look at the four Gospels. They were written by men. How do these Gospels show women? There is Mary, the mother of the Lord Jesus, God’s handmaiden. She’s shown as a woman who had found favor with God. There is the story of the priest, Zacharias. He doubts the announcement conveyed to him by the Lord’s angel; his wife doesn’t. At Jesus’ death and resurrection, how are women shown during those crucial days? When the disciples have run away and are in hiding, it’s the women who follow Jesus to the cross. Only John is left at Calvary. But the women, including Jesus’ mother, are there. It’s the women, not the disciples, who see where Jesus is buried. It’s the women, not the disciples, who go to the tomb on resurrection morning. It’s the women, not the disciples, to whom the resurrected Jesus first appears. It’s the women, not the men who are the first to tell good news that Jesus was alive. Now, if the Gospel writers had thought women were second-class, don’t you think they would have told the story a different way? Don’t you think they would have portrayed themselves as the heroes of faith instead of the women?

ANNOUNCER: But they told it the way it was, and the ladies look pretty bold.

KLAUS: They looked bold back then and they still do now.

ANNOUNCER: This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.