John 11:38-44

Jesus Raises Lazarus to Life

Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’ Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, ‘Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead for four days.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?’ So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upwards and said, ‘Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.’ When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.’

If we’re honest, it’s easy to claim to have faith when there appears to be the possibility of something happening, and much less so when all those possibilities seem to have vanished. As Jesus, the bereaved sisters and the gathered mourners arrive at the tomb, the general thinking continues: that if Jesus had been around earlier, he could have prevented Lazarus’ death. That much is easy for everyone to believe. Bringing a four-day-old corpse back to life, on the other hand – now, that’s a tough call, even for Jesus!

And yet it happens – in full view of the grieving sisters and an increasingly cynical crowd. Jesus himself never doubted that it would (as he points out in his brief prayer before calling Lazarus out, but he still needed to do something publicly to get everyone’s attention. He calls out – and in a scene reminiscent of those old horror films involving mummies, out of the tomb walks the previously dead Lazarus, wrapped up with strips of cloth from his head to his toes.

Blessings as we pray that we might believe even though we do not see.  Be safe!  Be well!  The Spirit has come!

To Ponder:

• If Jesus had healed Lazarus earlier when he was just ill (as opposed to letting him die first), do you think the response from the public would have been the same? Why?
• Imagine being Lazarus for a minute. How do you think he might have felt when he realized he was back on Earth amongst the living?