Lazarus

In John Chapter 11 we find Mary and Martha fervently taking care of their sick brother and friend, Lazarus. They sent word for Jesus to come. When Jesus heard this news, His immediate response was, “This sickness will not end in death (vs 4).” Jesus told His disciples that Lazarus had fallen asleep; but He was going there to wake him up. In this scenario the disciples assumed Jesus meant natural sleep; however, Jesus was explaining that Lazarus had passed away. He said to His disciples, “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe.” From the very beginning, Jesus’s intention was to bring Glory to God as the witnesses watch the coming miracle.

• Martha knew who Jesus was and still put Him in a box.

When Jesus arrived, Martha greets Him by saying, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

Jesus responded, “Your brother will rise again.”

Martha replies, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

Jesus answers, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

Martha replies, “Yes, Lord, I believe you are the Messiah, the Son of God who is to come into the world.”

At this point, Martha believes that Jesus is the Messiah but doesn’t fully comprehend His limitless power.

As Christians, we believe that Jesus died for our sins, resurrected, and is coming again. Just like Martha, we know that He can do all things, but at times we often doubt

His infinite power and His desire to reveal this to us when we put our faith in Him.

• It’s not just about Lazarus

When Jesus arrived, Lazarus had been dead for four days. Four days, his soul was at rest in a much better place. Again, through all of this, Jesus’s intention was to bring Glory to God.

In verse 41, Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me.  I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”

When he said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.

Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

To Mary, Martha, the disciples and all those who bore witness to this miraculous event, were amazed by what they had just witnessed. Imagine how you would react to seeing a dead man come back to life. However, what those witnesses didn’t realize was what Lazarus left in order to return to an earth filled with sin. He was returning to a place of lust, deceit, fear, and anguish.

God used Lazarus, his sickness and death as a testimony of God’s goodness and power. We don’t always realize that our trials may exist for the benefit of someone else.

• The Bigger Picture

The word of Jesus’s miracle of bringing Lazarus back to life spread quickly. For some this event opened their eyes to the Glory of God, but others turned away and fled to the pharisees instead.

⁴⁷ Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. “What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. ⁴⁸ If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.” ⁴⁹ Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! ⁵⁰ You do not realize that it is better for you that one man dies for the people than that the whole nation perishes.”

At this point, the pharisees plotted to take His life.

They believed they had the power to stop Jesus’s plan. They thought if they ended His life, they could stop the people’s belief in Him. What they didn’t realize was that even their plans to kill Him, were not their own. This miracle sparked the plan to kill Jesus. The pharisees believed his death would be the end. Instead, the miracle and plot to end His life was the beginning of Jesus’s plan to pay the penalty for the world’s sins and offer enteral life to all those who put their faith in Him.