Today's text is John 11.
I wish there were more such personal stories of Jesus' life in the Bible. This one, recorded only in the book of John, shows that Jesus was not a remote, impersonal God-in-flesh. He had human relationships, friendships, as this account illustrates. I think it is to show Jesus' human dimension that this story was included, as well as His incredibly supernatural nature. Such a juxtaposition!
I wonder...are you afraid of death?
Surely no mentally and/or physically healthy person longs to die. It is just not in our nature to desire death. Sometimes, we live mired down in despair, as if death is unconquerable.
For the Christian, there should be no fear of death. Why not? Because we know that physical death is not the end. And, how do we know this? Because our Savior was not and is not bound by death.
In this story, tragedy has come to Jesus' dear friends. Lazarus has gotten deathly sick. Mary and Martha, his sisters, knowing that Jesus can heal him, having sent word to ask Him to come.
In verse 5 John makes it clear how deeply Jesus cared for Martha, Mary and Lazarus. So, He did not delay His coming because of a lack of love for them. Why did He delay then? Look at verses 15 and 40. He delayed His arrival in Bethany because He wanted to demonstrate the mighty power and glory of God. He did this so that his disciples and his friends (and WE) would believe.
Yet, it grieved Him to see His friends in pain.
In my day I have attended many funerals. When I think back on those at which I shed the most tears, it was those at which my friends or loved ones were grieving. It broke my heart to see them in pain.
Jesus was not crying (vs. 35) at the hopelessness of the situation; He knew exactly what He was going to do.
He was crying because Lazarus's family and friends were brokenhearted.
Look in verses 41-42 at what Jesus prayed before raising Lazarus. He thanked God for hearing Him, for always hearing Him, and mentioned that the reason He was praying this aloud was for the benefit of those who were standing there listening (and for us, His future followers, of course).
Then, He called Lazarus forth from the grave. The voice that spoke the universe into existence reached beyond the physical grave to Lazarus's soul's abode and brought his soul back into his body, rejuvenated that decaying body, and caused him to come walking out of the tomb.
This miracle, a pivotal one in the ministry of Jesus, occurred six days before Jesus' last Passover Week on earth, and approximately two weeks before His own death, burial and resurrection. The raising of Lazarus from the dead caused such a stir that word quickly spread to the Jewish religious leaders, who reacted by giving orders that anyone knowing where Jesus was should report it, so that He could be arrested. As was the previous pattern, Jesus controlled the Sanhedrin's access to Him. For the remaining days until Passover, He withdrew to the region called Ephraim, until His "triumphant entry" into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, a few days later.
The raising of Lazarus foreshadowed His own resurrection and, indeed, our own.
'Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live even if he dies, and the one who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” '
John 11:25-26
Those who die, knowing and trusting in Jesus Christ, will only die physically; they will never die spiritually. His question is for all of us: Do YOU believe this?
The apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15:21-23 explains it like this:
"For since by a man {Adam} came death, by a man {Jesus} also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's at His coming,…
Here is a favorite worship song that glorifies God by emphasizing that Jesus Christ is the only One who has overcome and will continue to overcome death.
There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ
No guilt of life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
'til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand
In Christ Alone
(Writer(s): Donald A. Koch, Andrew Shawn Craig, Barry Gibb
Copyright: Crompton Songs, New Spring Publishing Inc.)
Dear Lord Jesus, thank you that, for me and Your other sheep, physical death is not the end. Thank you for being on the other side of that door, so that to take my last earthly breath is followed immediately by entrance into Your presence (2 Corinthians 5:8). "No fear in death: this is the power of Christ in me." Hallelujah! Amen.
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