John 11:14 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. 15 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him. John 11:25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
As I sat in a little country Methodist church on Sunday, the minister used the scriptures about the death of Lazarus. I followed along with the scripture
Isa 53:9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
readings thinking and making the connection with the minister’s text which was ‘First Things First – Love.’ Fully familiar with the text and its point of Love, I did not expect what happened next.
As I continued reading over the words groan, weeping, dead, stinketh, grave, stone, Christ’s groaning within himself as he approached the tomb, and the fourth day…I became deeply aware that the text was speaking not only of the death of Lazarus but of Christ. …of real Death…and of the full suffering Love would endure for the handiwork of God…fallen man. The time of His own suffering, entombment, and Death was near. Already it had become dangerous for Christ to be seen in public.
Christ’s grief was about much more than the death of Lazarus. Christ made clear that Lazarus was dead by the will and purpose of God. God would reveal His love through resurrection. Lazarus’s physical death was another tool being used by God that would become a lesson in being moved from death to life….a lesson in rejoicing. All who experienced its power would be given increased faith to believe Christ’s prophetic promises about His own death, burial, and resurrection. Jesus was not intended to prevent the death of Lazarus through healing but to heal him through His own death. And Christ’s arrival to the site of Lazarus’s death was full encounter with the Jews whom He knew only a short time away…would shout ‘Give us Barabas!’
John 11:33 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled,’.
Jesus did not weep until He was face to face with the tomb which held dead Lazarus on the fourth day.( John 11:34,35). . But why weep now??? Why weep just before all glory and rejoicing is about to break forth??? Why weep on the way to see the stone which imprisons the dead??? Why now??? Now because Christ’s terror had already begun. Being both God and man, He is painfully aware that He very soon will be that man who lies in death by the will of the Stone cut out without hands…God. He is painfully aware of the coming anguish and terror of being separated from Life…of going into Death in the person of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world!!! And He is not groaning within himself about physical death but about the pain of (Isaiah 53:6-12) becoming iniquity for all, of becoming the sacrificial Lamb of God, of the highest spiritual oppression, of the greatest of all affliction, of
Joh 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
imprisonment, of judgement, of darkness, of being cut off from the land of the living, of making his grave with the wicked and the rich though innocent, of being bruised by the Father, of making His soul an offering for sin, and of pouring out His soul to the horror of all horrors….damnation!!! It is in this place …in this reality…in this sorrow..that Jesus wept!!!! As He orders the stone be rolled away so Lazarus can walk forth at the command of God, Jesus’s heart is broken. Oh…my!
What an unexpected blessing while seated on a pew in a little country church…to be transported…to be there in spirit with Martha, Mary, Jewish family and friends, and with Christ as He suffers because of Love. Standing at the tomb of Lazarus, Christ had compassion for the sadness and grief of those He loved. But His suffering was about things
spiritual…about things eternal…and not about a physical body which turns to dust from which it came.
Lazarus was brought from death to Life. All will be moved from Death to Life who receive the gift purchased by the price of the innocent Life of the Son of God….purchased by the suffering of Love.
John 11:25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
Good message. I understand that there are two different men in the New Testament of the Bible with the name of Lazarus. The most known one (John 11:1) was the Lazarus who died and was brought back to life by Jesus. The other was known as Lazarus the beggar (Luke 16:20).
Thanks for visiting, Bobby. And because of Grace…both Lazaruses made their way to God.
In Genesis 3:4 the crafty serpent spun to Eve: “You will not surely die…” But die she did on the spiritual level, then; later, on the physical level, as all of her decendents have. Hence the reason for your last reference of John 11:25. Jesus came to give us life eternal! GLORY TO GOD!!!
Amen. Thanks for visiting!