Funeral Message

Pastor Jeff Tague gave this message at Malachi's funeral. Absolutely perfect.

We’re here today because of Malachi.

Malachi S. Sharbaugh, 6 months, passed away May 25, 2010. He was born Oct. 27, 2009 to his parents John D. & Marissa K. Sukut Sharbaugh in Indianapolis, Indiana. Besides his parents, he is survived by a sister, Emerson G. Sharbaugh; grandparents Norm & Teri Sharbaugh, Russ & Karla Sukut, and Kathy Sukut; great-grandparents Robert & Elaine Andresen and Leroy Pfeifle; and several aunts, uncles, and cousins.

We’re here today because of Malachi—he’s the reason.

But we’re here today for God and His glory—He’s the purpose. And His glory is bound up with and in His love and grace for us, and then the resulting blessing, help, comfort, and good to us.

Now the comfort, the help we need today is not superficial. Superficial answers to our hearts’ cries produce shallow faith. No, we need careful, thoughtful, and biblical answers—Why did this happen? What is God doing? This is hard. If it’s not hard for you, then you’re not thinking. And I want to challenge you to think. I know my head is spinning, but we can find answers today. While they may not be thorough or specific answers, they can be meaningful, helpful, and satisfying answers to hard questions.

1. Malachi is a reward, not a punishment. In John 9 Jesus’ disciples encounter a man who was born blind. They ask, “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus’ response? “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.” Malachi’s struggles are the result of being born in a sinful world; but that’s very different from being punishment for personal sin. No, Malachi is a blessing, a reward, not a punishment, a heritage from the Lord (Psalm 127). And I deliberately say “is,” not “was.” John and Marissa have 4 kids, 2 here and 2 in heaven. In Job 42 God blessed Job with “twice as much as he had before.” Seven thousand sheep became 14,000. Three thousand camels became 6,000. Five hundred yoke of oxen became 1,000. Though he had 10 kids before, he only had 10 more children born afterward; but on the authority of God’s Word, he had twice as much as he had before. That means he still had 20 kids, even after 10 of them had died.

Malachi IS a reward, not a punishment.

2. Malachi serves as a warning from God to us. Luke 13:1-5 says, “There were present at that season some who had told Him [Jesus] about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower of Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.’” While Malachi’s story is difficult and sad, the tragedy is not just that he died—we’re all going to die. Malachi reminds us of the brevity of all life, and of the awful certainty of death. It is an enemy, but it is an enemy that Christ will destroy some day (1 Cor. 15). This is God’s warning to us—be ready. Prepare to meet your God. That’s not the raving of some lunatic with a sandwich board downtown somewhere. It is the gracious warning of God through His prophet Amos in the Bible. And Malachi was ready, not because he was an “innocent baby.” He, like the very best of us, was a sinner in need of a Savior. He was a precious, beautiful baby. And if he needs a Savior, so do you! He was by nature a child of wrath, born in sin, conceived in iniquity. “But God, who is rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses and sins, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:4-9). Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one—not even a beautiful baby like Malachi—no one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus makes that statement on the eve of His death on the cross. He also said, “Let not you hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. In My Father’s house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know….I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:1-6). Though good men who love the Lord disagree, I think that when Jesus said He was going to prepare a place, He was talking about the cross. The cross of Jesus Christ is the preparation Jesus made so that we can go to be with Him forever. It’s all about the cross. That is where Jesus died in the place of sinners. He was our substitute. He took what we deserve because of our sin against God, and He died that on the cross so that we can have what He deserves—a relationship with God and a home in heaven. He is the only One who has ever lived who did not deserve to be on that cross, because He is the only One who has ever lived who never sinned! Jesus is the only way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him. He is the way for Malachi, and He is the way for you. The only difference is that you have the opportunity and the responsibility to respond to this message with faith. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved. Trust Him. Embrace Him as your only hope.

3. Malachi’s life and death are worth it. I’m not making that statement carelessly, coldly, or superficially. I know that it’s one thing to hear that God does have a purpose for Malachi’s sufferings, and it’s another thing to say that that purpose is worth it. I did not feel that it was worth it Wednesday night. Pastor Mark made a statement that our church would be a different church had it not been for the last 7 months. I think that’s true, but I sat right back there and wondered if it was really worth the death of a child. John and Marissa have been exemplary in their responses and godliness, but they may have times when they don’t feel that it’s worth it. But I still make that statement confidently—Malachi’s life and death are worth it—and here’s why. I know that I, and dozens of others like me, have been touched and helped by Malachi’s sufferings: his prayer life grew, her faith increased, their ability to endure their own trials was bolstered. I’m also hopeful and prayerful that there will be some who are saved as a direct result of Malachi’s suffering. So let’s suppose that one day one of us meets Malachi in heaven. Let’s say it’s me. I go up to Malachi and say, “Malachi, I was helped because of your suffering, but it seems so extreme. I feel guilty that you had to go through what you did so that I could be helped. Let me ask you, was it worth it?” Malachi might smile and say something like this: “Worth it? The sufferings of those 7 months are not worth comparing to the glory being revealed.” And then John and Marissa might step up behind him and say, “Our light affliction, which was but for a moment, was working for us and for you a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. God is our glory, and He’s worth it. Jesus is our glory, and He’s worth it. And even you are our glory, our crown, and you are worth it!”

And as wonderful as that may be, their faces will not be the first you want to see. For the God who graciously planned the life and death of John and Marissa’s son, first planned the life and death of His own Son. He did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all. He demonstrates His love toward us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. And if we were to meet Him and say, “Jesus, I’m saved because of Your suffering and death, but it seems so extreme. Was it worth it?” Jesus will grab us up in His loving arms and say, “My child, I endured the cross and despised the shame for the joy that was set before Me. You are that joy. There’s joy in the presence of the angels—and that’s My joy—when one sinner repents.”

Closing prayer—Job 1:21; Psalm 90