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c) The raising of Lazarus (John 11:34-44)
JOHN 11:38-40
38 Jesus therefore, again groaning in himself, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed, you would see God’s glory?”
Around Jerusalem people would bury their dead in a room hewn from rock and place a large circular stone at the narrow opening. It was possible to roll that stone to left or right if they wanted to open or shut the tomb.
There lay Lazarus, buried in the rock-hewn grave. Jesus approached and noted the terror of death on all. He saw in death God’s wrath poured on all sinners as if God had delivered the living into the hands of the destroyer. But the Creator does not desire the death of the living but their repentance and conversion to life.
Jesus ordered the rolling away of the stone blocking the tomb. People were shocked because touching the dead was pollution for some days. Decomposition would have begun to set in after four days. Martha protested, saying, "Lord, it is not right to disturb the rest of the dead, he stinks." Martha where is your faith? You had just confessed that Jesus is God’s Son and Messiah and able to raise the dead. The fact of death and the image of the tomb had dimmed her eyes and she did not know what her Lord wanted.
However, he strengthened her faith and exhorted her confidence surpassing man’s abilities. He demanded total reliance that merit the vision of God’s glory. Jesus did not say, "Believe, and you will see me performing a great miracle." He had earlier foretold his disciples that Lazarus’ sickness was not unto death, but to God’s glory (John 11:4). Jesus knew what he had to do in doing His Father’s will. He tried to draw Martha's attention from the reality of death to God’s glory, which was revealed for faith. Not his own honor but his Father’s majesty and glory was his aim.
Likewise, Christ says to you, "If you believe, you will see God’s glory." Turn your eyes away from your problems and trials. Do not be obsessed by your guilt and maladies, and look to Jesus, believe in his presence, yield yourself to him as a child embracing his mother. Let his will be done; he loves you.
JOHN 11:41-42
41 So they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, “Father, I thank you that you listened to me. 42 I know that you always listen to me, but because of the multitude that stands around I said this, that they may believe that you sent me.”
Martha’s confidence In Jesus’ words accorded with faith in his command. She charged those present to remove the stone. Tension rose among the crowd. Will Jesus enter the tomb and embrace the beloved’s corpse, or what shall he do?
But Jesus stood calmly before the tomb. He lifted his eyes in prayer, uttering audible words. Here we have one of the recorded prayers of Jesus. He called God as Father. He thanked the Father because his whole life was just a sanctifying and adoration of God’s Fatherhood. He clearly thanked God for answering his prayer before Lazarus was actually raised. While others wept, Jesus prayed. He asked his Father to revive his friend, a sign of divine life that overcomes death. The Father consented and gave him the authority to rescue a victim of death’s terror. Jesus believed that his prayers would be answered. For he constantly heard his Father’s voice. At all stages of his life Jesus continued to pray but here he prayed aloud so that people might know the mysteries that would occur there. He thanked his Father for always answering his prayers. No sin separated them, no barrier rose between them. The Son does not insist on his own will, nor demand honor for himself, or the mastery of power for its own sake. The Father’s fullness operates in the son. His fatherly will raised Lazarus from the dead. All this Jesus confessed before the crowds so that they would realize that the Father had sent the Son to them. So the raising of Lazarus becomes glory for the Father, a miraculous sign of the Trinity’s unity.
JOHN 11:43-44
43 When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 He who was dead came out, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Free him, and let him go.”
As soon as Jesus had cried out, "Lazarus come out", after giving glory to God, the dead man heard (when the dead normally hear nothing). Human personality does not perish at death. In heaven, believers’ names are recorded. The call of the Creator, the voice of the redeemer and prompting of the life-giving Spirit penetrates the lower layers of death. Just as the Holy Spirit was brooding in the beginning amidst the darkness, creating order out of chaos.
Lazarus was used to hearing Jesus’ voice and obeying. In the grave he also heard and obeyed by faith. Christ’s life principle flowed into him; his heart began to beat, his eyes opened, his limbs moved.
Next, the second stage of the miracle took place, for Lazarus had been bound tightly wrapped in bandages. The dead man was like a worm in a chrysalis, unable to feel anything. He was unable to move his bandaged hands to remove the kerchief covering his face. So Jesus ordered them to untie him.
All were astonished to see Lazarus’ pale face; he was moving despite his bandages. They all stared at him as he drew towards Jesus.
Lazarus walked between the crowd towards his house. John tells us nothing about the bowing down of those present before Jesus, nor about tears of joy or mutual embraces. Nor does he compare this raising with the rapture of believers to Jesus at his second coming. All this was of secondary importance. John draws the picture of Jesus, the life-giver before our eyes in order that we might believe and receive eternal life. John the evangelist, was among the crowds, by faith he saw God’s glory in the Son, because he heard Christ’s voice and yielded to his power. Have you risen from the dead by faith in Christ?
PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for raising Lazarus in the name of your Father. You have also risen from the dead. We thank you for your life in us. By faith we have risen with you. We beseech you to raise the dead from among our nation, that unbelievers may trust in you, and in union with you receive eternal life.
QUESTION:
- How did God’s glory appear in the raising of Lazarus?